QuoteReplyTopic: Anthropology news updates Posted: 13-Mar-2012 at 17:40
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120306131640.htm "..."...ScienceDaily (Mar. 6, 2012) — A professor of
classics is translating and analyzing ancient inscriptions from columns,
stones, tombs, floors, and mosaics of ancient Israel to uncover the
life of the common men -- and women -- of antiquity....
...Graffiti, which comprise a significant amount of the collected
inscriptions, are a common phenomenon throughout the ancient world.
Famously, the walls of the city of Pompeii were covered with graffiti,
including advertisements, poetry, and lewd sketches. In ancient Israel,
people also left behind small traces of their lives -- although
discussion of belief systems, personal appeals to God, and hopes for the
future are more prevalent than the sexual innuendo that adorns the
walls of Pompeii.
"These are the only remains of real people. Thousands whose voices
have disappeared into the oblivion of history," notes Prof. Price. These
writings are, and have always been, a way for people to perpetuate
their memory and mark their existence.
Of course, our world has its graffiti too. It's not hard to find,
from subway doors and bathroom stalls to protected archaeological sites.
Although it may be considered bothersome and disrespectful now, "in two
thousand years, it'll be interesting to scholars," Prof. Price says
with a smile..." ..."
An ancient Greek graffito from Beth She'arim. (Credit: Image courtesy of Am
Scientists stumped by prehistoric human whose face doesn't fit
THEY have been dubbed the Red Deer Cave people and they are a big mystery.
Fossils of this previously unknown group of prehistoric humans, who lived as recently as 11,500 years ago, have been discovered in south-west China by a team including Melbourne researchers.
Their highly unusual mix of archaic and modern features raises the possibility they represent a new species of human.
Team co-leader Darren Curnoe, of the University of NSW, said the physical appearance of these extinct people was unique.
''They look very different to all modern humans, whether alive today or in Africa 150,000 years ago.''
He said one possibility was that they were modern humans who left Africa very early on and reached China, but then did not contribute genetically to people alive in East Asia today.
Alternatively, they could be a previously unknown species of human, an explanation he cautiously favours. ''While finely balanced, I think the evidence is slightly weighted towards the Red Deer Cave people representing a new evolutionary line,'' Professor Curnoe said.
The find follows the discoveries of two new human species in Asia, dubbed the Hobbit and the Denisovans, in the past eight years.
The research describing the Red Deer Cave people is published today in the journal PLoS One.
The discovery team, co-led by Professor Curnoe and Professor Ji Xueping, of Yunnan University in Kunming, includes researchers from five Australian and six Chinese institutions.
The fossils, dated between 14,500 and 11,500 years old, were found in Maludong, or Red Deer Cave, in Yunnan Province and in Longlin Cave in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The prehistoric people had short, flat faces with archaic features such as big teeth and thick skulls, but brains with modern-looking frontal lobes.
They cooked and ate lots of venison, including a giant red deer now extinct.
They may have survived in isolation from the modern-looking people who lived around them and were beginning to develop a farming culture.
Professor Colin Groves, of the Australian National University, who was not involved in the find, said: ''I think it is potentially very important, telling us something about species close to us but not quite 'us'.''
The Red Deer Cave population are the youngest people to have been found in the world who do not look like modern humans.
In 2004 it was announced that the remains of a tiny species, Homo floresiensis, who lived on the Indonesian island of Flores until about 17,000 years ago, had been unearthed.
Then, in 2010, a mysterious group of humans who lived about 30,000 to 50,000 years ago were identified from DNA extracted from a little finger found in Denisova Cave in Siberia.
"Prayer is when you talk to God. Insanity is when you talk to God and he answers back."
That's a very interesting info, Arab, thank you for posting it. I've been digging on the Denisovans and other possible human sub-species and this comes just on time. Here a picture from the article you posted, I'll take the liberty to post it here, /I hope you don't mind/ just for illustration /I love pictures/
The highly unusual mix of archaic and modern features raises the possibility they represent a new species of human. Photo: Peter Schouten
This is kinda old, and may have been posted somewhere else on the threads /even though I haven't encounter it/, but it's relevant to the Denisovans: "...ScienceDaily (Feb. 7, 2012) — The Max Planck
Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in Leipzig, Germany, has
completed the genome sequence of a Denisovan, a representative of an
Asian group of extinct humans related to Neandertals.... ..."The genome is of very high quality," says Matthias Meyer, who
developed the techniques that made this technical feat possible. "We
cover all non-repetitive DNA sequences in the Denisovan genome so many
times that it has fewer errors than most genomes from present-day humans
that have been determined to date."
The genome represents the first high-coverage, complete genome
sequence of an archaic human group -- a leap in the study of extinct
forms of humans. "We hope that biologists will be able to use this
genome to discover genetic changes that were important for the
development of modern human culture and technology, and enabled modern
humans to leave Africa and rapidly spread around the world, starting
around 100,000 years ago" says Pääbo. The genome is also expected to
reveal new aspects of the history of Denisovans and Neandertals...."
Interesting research on the effect of the climatic changes ovef the development of human cultures - the Agricultural Revolution in this case: "...ScienceDaily (Mar. 16, 2012) — A fundamental
shift in the Indian monsoon has occurred over the last few millennia,
from a steady humid monsoon that favored lush vegetation to extended
periods of drought, reports a new study led by researchers at the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The study has implications for
our understanding of the monsoon’s response to climate change.... The Indian peninsula sustains over a billion people, yet it lies at the
same latitude as the Sahara Desert. Without a monsoon, most of India
would be dry and uninhabitable. The ability to predict the timing and
amount of the next year’s monsoon is vital, yet even our knowledge of
the monsoon’s past variability remains incomplete....
...“What the new paleo-climatic information makes clear is that the
shift towards more arid conditions around 4,000 years ago corresponds to
the time when agricultural populations expanded and settled village
life began,” says Fuller of the Institute of Archaeology, University
College London. “Arid-adapted food production is an old cultural
tradition in the region, with cultivation of drought-tolerant millets
and soil-restoring bean species. There may be lessons to learn here, as
these drought-tolerant agricultural traditions have eroded over the
past century, with shift towards more water and chemical intensive
forms of modern agriculture.”
Together, the geological record and the archaeological evidence tell a
story of the possible fate of India’s earliest civilizations. Cultural
changes occurred across the Indian subcontinent as the climate became
more arid after ~4,000 years. In the already dry Indus basin, the urban
Harappan civilization failed to adapt to even harsher conditions and
slowly collapsed. But aridity favored an increase in sophistication in
the central and south India where tropical forest decreased in extent
and people began to settle and do more agriculture. Human
resourcefulness proved again crucial in the rapid proliferation of
rain-collecting water tanks across the Indian peninsula, just as the
long series of droughts settled in over the last 1,700 years...."http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120316145802.htm
Map of the
Indian peninsula, showing where the monsoon winds blow (white arrows)
and how the salinity (white lines) is lower in Bay of Bengal due to
monsoon rain over the Bay and rivers draining into the it. (The black
arrow represents non-monsoon wind.) The study's sediment core (red dot)
was extracted from a “sweet spot” in the Bay of Bengal where the
Godavari River drains the central Indian peninsula and over which
monsoon winds carry the most precipitation. (Credit: Courtesy of C.
Ponton and L. Giosan)
More on the connection between climate changes are human evolution: "...ScienceDaily (Mar. 15, 2012) — According to a paper published in Science, models of how animal and plant distributions are affected by climate change may also explain aspects of human evolution....
The approach takes existing knowledge of the geographical spread of
other species through the warming and cooling of the ice ages to provide
a model that can be applied to human origins.
"No one has applied this knowledge to humans before," said Dr John
Stewart, lead author on the paper and researcher at Bournemouth
University.
"We have tried to explain much of what we know about humans,
including the evolution and extinction of Neanderthals and the
Denisovans (a newly discovered group from Siberia), as well as how they
interbred with the earliest modern populations who had just left Africa.
All these phenomena have been put into the context of how animals and
plants react to climate change. We're thinking about humans from the
perspective of what we know about other species."...
...Climate is believed to be the driving force behind most of these
evolutionary processes, including geographical range change. It dictates
which species are where at what time, driving their geographical spread
or contraction.Dr Stewart continued: "Ultimately, this model explains why Homo sapiens as a species are here and the archaic humans are not."
The research also leads to interesting conclusions as to how and why
Neanderthals, and indeed the Denisovans, evolved in the first place."One of the models we've formulated is that the adoption of a new
refugium (an area of refuge from the harsh climatic conditions of the
Ice Age) by a subgroup of a species may lead to important evolutionary
changes, ultimately leading to the origins of a new species. In fact
this could apply to all continental species, whether animals or plants"
said Dr Stewart..."http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120315152514.htm
The Neolithic Revolution may have started some 8 milllenia earlier than thought: "...Excavation of 19,000-year-old hunter-gatherer remains, including
a vast camp site, is fuelling a reinterpretation of the greatest
fundamental shift in human civilisation – the origins of agriculture...."
"...The moment when the hunter-gatherers laid down their spears and began
farming around 11,000 years ago is often interpreted as one of the most
rapid and significant transitions in human history – the ‘Neolithic
Revolution’.
By producing and storing food, Homo sapiens both mastered the natural
world and took the first significant steps towards thousands of years
of runaway technological development. The advent of specialist
craftsmen, an increase in fertility and the construction of permanent
architecture are just some of the profound changes that followed.
Of course, the transition to agriculture was far from rapid. The
period around 14,500 years ago has been regarded as the point at which
the first indications appear of cultural change associated with
agriculture: the exploitation of wild grains and the construction of
stone buildings. Farming is believed to have begun in what is known as
the Fertile Crescent in the Levant region, which stretches from northern
Egypt through Israel and Jordan to the shores of the Persian Gulf, and
then occurred independently in other regions of the world at different
times from 11,000 years ago.
Recent evidence, however, has suggested that the first stirrings of
the revolution began even earlier, perhaps as far back as 19,000 years
ago. Stimulating this reinterpretation of human prehistory are
discoveries by the Epipalaeolithic Foragers in Azraq Project (EFAP), a
group of archaeologists and bioarchaeologists working in the Jordanian
desert comprising University of Cambridge’s Dr. Jay Stock, Dr. Lisa
Maher (University of California, Berkeley) and Dr. Tobias Richter
(University of Copenhagen).
Over the past four years, their research has uncovered dramatic
evidence of changes in the behaviour of hunter-gatherers that casts new
light on agriculture’s origins, as Dr. Stock described: “Our work
suggests that these hunter-gatherer communities were starting to
congregate in large numbers in specific places, build architecture and
show more-complex ritual and symbolic burial practices – signs of a
greater attachment to a location and a changing pattern of social
complexity that imply they were on the trajectory toward agriculture.”..."http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-03-foraging-farming-year-revolution.html
A nice example of ecological thinking and careful resource-usage in ancient native cultures - Hawaian, in this case.
Ancient Hawaiians Caught More By Fishing Less
"...Centuries ago, Hawaiians caught three times more fish annually than
scientists generally consider to be sustainable in modern times — and
maintained this level of harvest for more than 400 years, researchers
report in a new study in the journal Fish and Fisheries.
The findings could be instructive for agencies that enforce fishing limits in overfished waters around the globe.
Native
Hawaiians caught about 50 percent more fish than modern fleets catch
today in both Hawaii and the Florida Keys, the two largest reef
ecosystems in the United States, said a co-author of the study, Loren McClenachan, a fisheries researcher at Colby College in Waterville, Me.
Hawaiians
harvested about 15 metric tons of fish per square kilometer of reef
annually from the years 1400 to 1800, the study found. That’s five times
the median harvest in island nations worldwide today.
Dr. McClenachan and her co-author, John Kittinger, a researcher at the Center for Ocean Solutions
in Monterey, Calif., drew on a variety of historical records and a
method called catch reconstruction to estimate historical harvests in
the Hawaiian Islands and the Florida Keys.
The Hawaiians used many
techniques similar to those employed today, like temporary or permanent
bans from fishing in certain areas, restrictions on certain species and
gear, and catch limits. But they enforced the rules strictly; breaking
them could mean corporal punishment or even death...."http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/ancient-hawaiians-caught-more-by-fishing-less/
Interesting perspective on gender roles and the impact the social values on the them in different cultures:
"...For economic and social
reasons, many Afghan parents want to have a son. This preference has led
to some of them practising the long-standing tradition of Bacha Posh -
disguising girls as boys.
When Azita Rafhat, a former member of the Afghan parliament,
gets her daughters ready for school, she dresses one of the girls
differently.Three of her daughters are clothed in white garments and
their heads covered with white scarves, but a fourth girl, Mehrnoush, is
dressed in a suit and tie. When they get outside, Mehrnoush is no
longer a girl but a boy named Mehran.
Azita Rafhat didn't have a son, and to fill the gap and avoid
people's taunts for not having a son, she opted for this radical
decision. It was very simple, thanks to a haircut and some boyish
clothes.There is even a name for this tradition in Afghanistan - Bacha Posh, or disguising girls as boys."When you have a good position in Afghanistan and are well
off, people look at you differently. They say your life becomes complete
only if you have a son," she says....
This child has been temporarily transformed from Mehrnoush the girl to Mehran the boy
....Many girls disguised as boys can be found in Afghan markets. Some
families disguise their daughters as boys so that they can easily work
on the streets to feed their families.
If my parents force me to get married, I will compensate for the sorrows of Afghan women and beat my husband so badly ”ElahaGirl who lived as a boy
Some of these girls who
introduce themselves as boys sell things like water and chewing gum.
They appear to be aged anywhere between about five and 12. None of them
would talk to me about their lives as boys.Girls brought up as boys do not stay like this all their
lives. When they turn 17 or 18 they live life as a girl once again - but
the change is not so simple....
Elaha lives in Mazar-e Sharif in northern Afghanistan. She
lived as a boy for 20 years because her family didn't have a son and
reverted only two years ago when she had to go to university.However, she does not feel fully female: she says her habits are not girlish and she does not want to get married."When I was a kid my parents disguised me as a boy because I
didn't have a brother. Until very recently, as a boy, I would go out,
play with other boys and have more freedom."She has returned reluctantly to her gender and says she has done it only because of the social traditions....
...The tradition has existed in Afghanistan for centuries. According to
Daud Rawish, a sociologist in Kabul, it may have started when Afghans
had to fight their invaders and for this women needed to be disguised as
men.But Qazi Sayed Mohammad Sami, head of the Balkh Human Rights Commission, calls it a breach of human rights.
"We cannot change someone's gender for a while. You cannot
change a girl to a boy for a short period of time. It's against
humanity," he says.The tradition has had a damaging effect on some girls who
feel they have missed out on essential childhood memories as well as
losing their identity.For others it has been good experiencing freedoms they would never have had if they had lived as girls.
I can understand that - who would like to be a woman in sexist society with rigid gender roles? Even in proclaimed gender-equal society it's hard enough to be a woman /women are far more frequently abused, psychologically, physically and sexually than men are - only in the US 600 women are raped or sexually assaulted every day /2006 data/, one can imagine what this number is worldwide/, let alone in societies that proclaim rigid traditional gender roles.
Modern Bedouin customs and their connection to ancient ones:
Bedouin Animal Sacrifice Rituals Provide Clues to Archaeological Remains
"...Miami, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/28/2012 --
Harvard University educated archaeologist and president of the
Paleontological Research Corporation, Dr. Joel Klenck, conducted an
ethnoarchaeological study of modern Bedouin sacrificial practices in the
Levant to provide insight on the deposition of remains at ancient cult
sites. Ethnoarchaeology comprises the analysis of modern behaviors and
the remains left over from these activities. These studies are linked
with a concept in archaeology called middle range theory where
observations of natural processes or human behaviors are used to explain
the deposition of archaeological finds. Deriving his theories from the
sociologist Robert Merton, the American archaeologist Lewis Binford
strongly encouraged middle range theory and completed ethnographic
studies of Australian aborigines, Nunamiut Eskimo and other groups.
Binford then compared his data to remains from archaeological sites.
Klenck remarks, “During my excavations and research in the Levant, I
observed many foot bones of sheep, goats and cattle near ancient
sanctuaries particularly at the Middle Bronze IIB/C period (1800-1550
B.C.) cult site at Tel Haror. At the same time, I learned that modern
Bedouin communities sacrificed sheep, goats, cattle and an occasional
camel to a “weli” or a revered person at their sepulchers.” Sponsored by
a grant from the Joe Alon Museum, Klenck conducted an
ethnoarchaeological study of Bedouin sacrificial rituals taking
photographs and recordings of his observations. He then analyzed the
animal bone remains strewn around the venerated areas after the rituals.
An analysis was completed in 2012 of the butchery and preservation
processes affecting these bones for a forthcoming manuscript. Klenck
comments, “It was quickly apparent that the bones with meat on them such
as upper limb bones, ribs and vertebrae were subjected to more
intensive butchery processes, were boiled and eaten by the families and
then targeted by dogs and other scavengers after the Bedouin left the
cult areas. At two of the sacrificial areas, the Bedouin burned the
bones. Without any hides covering them, the meat bones disintegrated in
the fires.” The archaeologist notes that the foot bones
were treated in a different manner. Klenck states, “Bedouin removed the
hooves from the carcass at the beginning stages of butchery. The foot
bones remained encased in animal skins and were discarded around the
cult sites and not eaten. The sparse meat and marrow in these bones made
them less attractive to scavengers and the skin surrounding these bones
protected foot bones when Bedouin burned animal bones at the conclusion
of the sacrificial meals.” The researcher then compared activities
around the venerated tombs to the types of animal bones brought into
Bedouin homes. The latter brought mostly meat bones into their homes
while foot bones were removed in butcher shops at considerable distances
from their domestic dwellings. Conversely, at the cult sites the entire
butchery process was conducted near the venerated sepulcher. Klenck
concludes, “The study of Bedouin sacrificial rituals provides
archaeologists with valuable insight as to behaviors that might explain
the enhanced preservation of foot bones at ancient cult sites in the
Near East.”..." http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/bedouin-animal-sacrifice-rituals-provide-clues-to-archaeological-remains-133733.htm
"...A
research team of archaeologists and paleoecologists have concluded that
a group of pre-Columbian farmers living in the savannas surrounding the
Amazonian rainforest in French Guiana, South America, practiced an
agricultural and land-use technique that can serve as an example of
sustainability for the future.
The research, published in the April 9, 2012 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows
that an indigenous people living in a savanna environment near the
Amazon forest farmed without using fire, otherwise called "slash and
burn" agriculture. By analysing pollen, charcoal and other plant remains
across a period of more than 2,000 years, they determined that the
early inhabitants of these savannas practiced 'raised-field' farming,
which required the construction of cultivated agricultural mounds using
wooden implements. This method resulted in improved drainage, soil
aeration and moisture retention. Increased fertility was obtained by
removing nutrient-rich muck from the flooded basin of the area and then
depositing it on the mounds. The total system limited or eliminated the
need to use fire, conserved soil nutrients and organic matter, and
preserved critical soil structure. This is in contrast to the wide use
of "slash-and-burn" agriculture and the use of fire for deforestation to
achieve needed levels of production to sustain growing populations in
the past and present, a major reason underlying the disappearance of
environmentally critical ecosystems in today's world.
The study results contradict the long-standing belief that the
arrival of Europeans after 1492, and the ensuing collapse of as much as
95 percent of the native populations due to disease and other means
brought by European conquerors and settlers, led to decreased forest
clearance and agricultural burning by the indigenous population. The
prolific use of fire as an agricultural technique in these Amazonian
savannas is thus actually a post-1492, as opposed to the generally
accepted pre-1492, phenomenon. In fact, the research suggested a sharp increase in fires with the arrival of the first Europeans..."
...This ancient, time-tested, fire-free land use could pave the way for
the modern implementation of raised-field agriculture in rural areas of
Amazonia," says lead author Dr José Iriarte of the University of Exeter.
"Intensive raised-field agriculture can become an alternative to
burning down tropical forest for slash and burn agriculture by
reclaiming otherwise abandoned and new savanna ecosystems created by
deforestation. It has the capability of helping curb carbon emissions
and at the same time provide food security for the more vulnerable and
poorest rural populations."..." http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/march-2012/article/achaeologists-say-ancient-south-american-farmers-provide-example-of-sustainability
Rarely revealed by
Western researchers, Arab pastoral nomads practice several types of
sacrificial rituals other than the main feast of sacrifice or “Id al
‘Adha” that occurs the tenth day of the Hadj or “Dhul Hijjah” and is
practiced by all observing Muslims. Three other rituals include
sacrifices to spirits or “ginn”, ritual slaughters to ward off curses
and bless newly married couples, and commemorations to deceased family
members. Another type of sacrifice practiced by Bedouin in the Levant
comprises sacrifices to a “weli” or revered person. Klenck states,
“Bedouin sacrifice sheep, goats, cattle and occasionally a camel to a
weli to redeem vows, incur healing, give thanks or insure fertility.
Individuals performing the sacrifices believe the weli will act as a
mediator between them and Allah to facilitate their requests.”
Around 1771, Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, a cleric who traveled
throughout Saudi Arabia and Iraq, began to influence the ruler of
Dara’iya, Muhammad Ibn Sa’ud, whose tribe created the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia in 1932. The religious leader al-Wahhab formed a movement that
denounced Bedouin believing in the special powers of a weli, punished
individuals performing sacrificial rituals to these revered persons and
largely eradicated these practices.
Although sacrifices to Bedouin saints are mostly forbidden in Saudi
Arabia, these rituals continue to be practiced by Muslim pastoral nomads
in the Levant and North Africa. Klenck states, “I was able to observe
Bedouin venerating the tombs of Sheikh Abu-Hurreira, Ibrahim, Hussein,
Falougie, Nebi Musa, and the adjacent sepulchers of Al-Azzam and
Al-Nabari. The sheikhs’ tombs vary in their size, care and decoration.
The tombs often feature sticks of wood mostly of palm with white or
green cloth tied to each structure. According to the Bedouin, the white
cloth represents peace and goodwill and is a beneficial omen for those
petitioning Allah through a weli. The Bedouin consider the color green
to be very holy as its significance stems from their traditions and
because they allege the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad and the Kabbah in
Saudi Arabia are covered with green tapestries. At the tombs the Bedouin
often light candles and sometimes leave salt, sugar, matches, and coins
in the sacred area.”
While Bedouin women perform prayers and light candles at the tombs, the
men perform animal sacrifices near the sepulchers. At the tombs of
Al-Azzam and Al-Nabari, the trees surrounding the sacred areas exhibit
slash marks where Bedouin hang animal carcasses during butchery
activities. After the sacrifice, the meat is boiled and everyone
participates in the subsequent feast, especially the poor. Several
Bedouin stated that in past centuries, individuals left valuable
possessions at the sheikh’s tombs knowing that no Bedouin would dare
steal from the tomb for fear of being cursed. Klenck concludes, “Studies
of Bedouin animal sacrifices reveal a diversity of beliefs and are
important in understanding cultures and ritual activities in the
Levant.”
Chimpanzee Ground Nests Offer New Insight Into Our Ancestors' Descent from the Trees
"...ScienceDaily (Apr. 16, 2012) — The first study
into rarely documented ground-nest building by wild chimpanzees offers
new clues about the ancient transition of early hominins from sleeping
in trees to sleeping on the ground. While most apes build nests in
trees, this study, published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, focused on a group of wild West African chimpanzees that often shows ground-nesting behaviour....
..."We believe that, like modern apes, the common ancestor of
chimpanzees and humans also slept in the trees 6 million years ago,"
said Dr Koops. "However, these nests are not preserved in the fossil or
archaeological record, so it is impossible to study directly the ancient
transition from sleeping in trees to building shelters on the ground.
Recording this rare behaviour in the chimpanzee, our closest relative,
may provide vital clues."
As the Nimba chimpanzees do not yet tolerate human presence at close
range, the team used new molecular genetic techniques to analyse hairs
collected from the nests. This allowed the team to establish the sex of
chimpanzees displaying the behaviour and to identify individuals in the
group..." http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120416113058.htm
Anthropologists Discover New Research Use for Dental Plaque: Examining Diets of Ancient Peoples
"...Scott obtained samples of dental calculus from 58 skeletons buried in
the Cathedral of Santa Maria in northern Spain dating from the 11th to
19th centuries to conduct research on the diet of this ancient
population. After his first methodology met with mixed results, he
decided to send five samples of dental calculus to Poulson at the
University's Stable Isotope Lab, in the off chance they might contain
enough carbon and nitrogen to allow them to estimate stable isotope
ratios.
"It's chemistry and is pretty complex," Scott explained. "But
basically, since only protein has nitrogen, the more nitrogen that is
present, the more animal products were consumed as part of the diet.
Carbon provides information on the types of plants consumed."..."http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120502184838.htm
Centuries
ago, dental calculus would build up through the years, layer after
layer, like a stalagmite, sometimes reaching impressive proportions.
University of Nevada, Reno researchers have discovered that analysis of
tiny fragments of this material can be used effectively in paleodietary
research – the study of diets of earlier ancient and populations –
without the need to destroy bone, as other methods do.
Mystery of the Domestication of the Horse Solved: Competing Theories Reconciled
"...ScienceDaily (May 7, 2012) —
New research indicates that domestic horses originated in the steppes
of modern-day Ukraine, southwest Russia and west Kazakhstan, mixing with
local wild stocks as they spread throughout Europe and Asia... ...
For several decades scientists puzzled over the origin of
domesticated horses. Based on archaeological evidence, it had long been
thought that horse domestication originated in the western part of the
Eurasian Steppe (Ukraine, southwest Russia and west Kazakhstan);
however, a single origin in a geographically restricted area appeared at
odds with the large number of female lineages in the domestic horse
gene pool, commonly thought to reflect multiple domestication "events"
across a wide geographic area.
In order to solve the perplexing history of the domestic horse,
scientists from the University of Cambridge used a genetic database of
more than 300 horses sampled from across the Eurasian Steppe to run a
number of different modelling scenarios.
Their research shows that the extinct wild ancestor of domestic horses, Equus ferus, expanded out of East Asia approximately 160,000 years ago. They were also able to demonstrate that Equus ferus
was domesticated in the western Eurasian Steppe, and that herds were
repeatedly restocked with wild horses as they spread across Eurasia...." http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120507154107.htm
George Washington University Professor’s Research on Ancient Ballgame Reveals More about Early Mesoamerican Society
"...While early games used a hard rubber ball, the ballgames Dr. Blomster
researches bear little resemblance to today’s Major League Baseball.
The games and the costumes or uniforms participants wore were tied to
themes of life and death, mortals and underworld deities or symbolizing
the sun and the moon. In some instances, the ballcourt itself
represented a portal to the underworld.
According to Dr. Blomster, “Because the ballgame is associated with
the rise of complex societies, understanding its origins also
illuminates the evolution of socio-politically complex societies.”
During the Early Horizon period, or roughly between 1400 BCE (Before
the Common Era) and 1700 BCE, there was little evidence of ballgame
activity in the way of artifacts in the Oaxaca region of Mexico. Dr.
Blomster’s findings of a clay figurine garbed in distinctive ballgame
costume, similar to both Olmec figurines and monumental sculptures from
the Gulf Coast, indicate such engagement did take place in the area.
“Exploring the origins and spread of the ballgame is central to
understanding the development of the Mesoamerican civilization,” he
said. “We know there were earlier versions of a ballgame prior to the
Early Horizon with both a ballcourt and rubber balls found in coastal
Chiapas and the Gulf Coast, but the institutionalized version of the
ballgame, a hallmark of Mesoamerican civilizations, developed during the
Early Horizon. While there has been some limited evidence about the
participation of the nearby Valley of Oaxaca in the ballgame, the
Mixteca has largely been written off in terms of involvement in the
origins of complex society in ancient Mexico. This discovery
reemphasizes how the ancient Mixtecs were active participants in larger
Mesoamerican phenomenon.”..." http://www.gwu.edu/explore/mediaroom/newsreleases/georgewashingtonuniversityprofessorsresearchonancientballgamerevealsmoreaboutearlymesoame
"...Study reveals trade patterns for crucial substance played key role in Maya collapse
Shifts in exchange patterns provide a new perspective on the fall
of inland Maya centers in Mesoamerica approximately 1,000 years ago.
This major historical process, sometimes referred to as the "Maya
collapse" has puzzled archaeologists, history buffs, and the news media
for decades. The new research was published online today in the journal Antiquity.
"Our research strongly suggests that changing patterns of trade
were instrumental in prompting the 'Maya collapse,'" said Gary Feinman,
curator of anthropology at The Field Museum, which collaborated with the
University of Illinois at Chicago on the study.
The new research casts doubt on the idea that climate change was
the sole or principal cause, Feinman said, noting that some Maya
centers, which flourished after the collapse, were located in the driest
parts of the Maya region. Feinman said that climate change, along with
breakdowns in leadership, warfare, and other factors, contributed to the
collapse, but the shifting exchange networks may have been a key
factor.
For the Maya, who did not have metal tools, obsidian (or
volcanic glass) was highly valued because of its sharp edges for use as
cutting instruments. Maya lords and other elites derived power from
controlling access to obsidian, which could be traded for important
goods or sent as gifts to foster important relationships with other
Mayan leaders.
The Field Museum researchers found that prior to the fall of the
Maya inland centers, obsidian tended to flow along inland riverine
networks. But over time, this material began to be transported through
coastal trade networks instead, with a corresponding increase in coastal
centers' prominence as inland centers declined.The shift in trade might have involved more than obsidian. Field
researcher Mark Golitko said, "The implication is that other valuable
goods important to these inland centers were also slowly being cut off."
Golitko led the Social Network Analysis that graphically depicts the
change in trade patterns.
Researchers compiled information on obsidian collected at Maya
sites, and used chemical analysis to identify the source(s) that
produced obsidian found through
archaeological studies at each location. Obsidian from three sources in
Guatemala and
several sources in central Mexico and Honduras were identified. The
researchers generated data for each of four time periods: Classic
(approximately 250-800 AD),Terminal classic (approximately 800-1050 AD), Early Postclassic
(approximately 1050-1300 AD), and Late Postclassic (approximately
1300-1520AD).
Using Social Network Analysis (SNA) software, the researchers developed
maps illustrating which sites had the same or similar percentages of
each type of obsidian, in each of the four time periods. These
percentages were then utilized to infer the likely network structure
through which obsidian was transported
A comparison of the resulting SNA maps show that Classic period
networks were located in inland, lowland areas along rivers, mostly in
what is today the northern part of Guatemala, the Mexican state of
Chiapas, the southern Yucatan, and western Belize. However, maps bearing
data from later time periods show that inland networks diminished in
importance and coastal networks were thriving, in what today is the
northern Yucatan and coastal Belize.
The SNA data "is a very visual way to let us infer the general
layout of the networks that transported obsidian, and the likely paths
it took," Golitko said.Feinman termed the study results significant. "The use of SNA to
display and analyze the obsidian data graphically gives us a new
perspective on these data, some of which has been present for years."
The study did not explore the question of why the transport
networks began to shift. Feinman said there may have been military
animosities that made the inland, river routes less safe or easy to use,
and added that during this period the seagoing transport may have
become more efficient with larger canoes. He noted that scientists
simply don't have the definitive answers to some of these questions...." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/fm-srt052312.php
http://phys.org/news/2012-05-zooarchaeological-indicating-hominids-sophisticated-techniques.html "...More than ten thousands of bone fragments were recovered from
the Lingjing site, Henan Province during 2005 and 2006. By taking
statistical analyses of the skeletal elements of the two predominant
species in this assemblage, aurochs (Bos primigenius) and horse (Equus
caballus), scientists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and
Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Henan
Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, found that
hominids at this site have already practiced sophisticated hunting
techniques and subsistence strategies and may be quite familiar with the
ecological and anatomical characteristics and nutritional values of the
large-sized prey animals and can accordingly take different processing
and handling strategies at the hunting site..."
http://phys.org/news/2012-05-ages-proof-thousand-years-sicilian.html "...Archaeological excavations have provided the first
substantiation that a farmland estate in Sicily boasts a history which
reaches back over a thousand years. Numerous finds demonstrate the
continuous use of the land complex as a nexus of settlement and economic
and religious life between the 5th and 16th century. The findings are
the result of two projects of the Austrian Science Fund FWF which
comprise the first in-depth archaeological exploration of Sicily's
Byzantine period. The projects' findings are now accessible to the
public in the Krahuletz Museum in Eggenburg, Austria...."
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