QuoteReplyTopic: Archaeology news updates Posted: 08-May-2012 at 14:05
"...In
a major development for the archaeological excavations across Qatar, an
unmarked grave has been discovered at Wadi Debayan, an important site
with human occupation dating back to about 7,500 years ago.
The exploration of Wadi Debayan, situated on the northwestern side of
Qatar to the south of the site of Al Zubara and the Rá’s ‘Ushayriq
peninsula, is part of the Remote Sensing and Qatar National Historical
Environment Record (QNHER) Project.
“We have come across one burial, probably a full skeleton and though we
cannot say that we have a cemetery there, it is a fair possibility,”
project co-director Richard Cuttler told Gulf Times during a site visit.
QNHER is being developed as part of the Remote Sensing Project, a joint
initiative between the Qatar Museums Authority under the guidance of
Faisal al-Naimi (head of antiquities), and the University of Birmingham,
where Cuttler is a research fellow.
“The grave was a very surprising find that came out of one of the
several test pits. We have seen some pieces of the tibia, one of the two
leg bones, which shows the skeleton is in a crouched position typical
of Neolithic burials” he explained...."http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=503582&version=1&template_id=57&parent_id=56
One more thing for me to see in Sozopol this simmer:
A bronze statue portraying an elderly woman in a sit-down position has been found in Bulgarian Black Sea waters. Photo by BGNES
"...Two divers, father and son, from Bulgaria's Black Sea city of Burgas, found in the waters near the historical town of Sozopol an utterly intriguing statue.
The bronzestatue, located at a depth of 2 meters, some 20 meters away from the shoreline, portrays an elderly woman in a sit-down position. It is 1.4-meter tall and believed to be modern, not ancient work.
The Director of the Archeological Museum in Sozopol, Dimitar Nedev, has been notified. Nedev, together with two other experts from the National Archeology Institute and Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, BAS, have already done an initial examination.
Prison Makes Way for the Holy Land’s Oldest Church
"...Despite the great deal of fanfare surrounding its discovery, the
third century C.E. Christian prayer hall discovered at Megiddo looks
like anything but an archaeological tourist site. Likely the oldest
church ever found in the Holy Land,*
it is located under the Megiddo prison, leading the spectacular
discovery to be covered up again until the site can be developed
properly. Plans have been made to relocate the prison just over a mile
to the west, but the construction of a tourist site around the church
has not yet begun. An international tender seeking out an investor to
construct and manage the tourist site is expected this week, and will
serve as a major step in making the site available to the public.
Project manager Gad Yaakov expects 500,000 tourists to visit the site in
the first year alone, and expects the numbers to rise over the
following years. Bids on developing the site for tourists must be
submitted by June 5.
The structure featured mosaics with Christian symbols such as fish
and a dedicatory inscription “to God Jesus Christ.” Dated to around 230
C.E., the find was considered important enough to Israel President Moshe
Katsav that when he visited Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in
November 2005, he took pictures of the newly discovered mosaic floor
with him to present to the pontiff.
New light on enigmatic burial rituals in Cambodian mountains
"...Researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand working in
remote Cambodian mountains are shedding new light on the lost history of
an unidentified people by studying their enigmatic burial rituals.The Otago researchers have now provided the first radiocarbon dates
for unusual jar and log coffin interments on exposed ledges high in
southern Cambodia's rugged Cardamom Mountains. Since 2003, they have
been working to geo-locate and survey 10 interment sites and to date
these using samples of coffin wood, tooth enamel and bone.
With colleagues from Cambodia, Australia, USA and Scotland, Drs
Nancy Beavan and Sian Halcrow of the Department of Anatomy have just
published the dating of four sites in the journal Radiocarbon.
These reveal that the mysterious funerary rituals, which are unlike any
other recorded in Cambodia, were practiced from at least 1395AD to
1650AD.Dr Beavan, who is currently in Cambodia, says that this period
coincides with the decline and fall of the powerful Kingdom of Angkor,
which was seated in the lowlands.
"Funeral practices in the Angkor Kingdom and its successors involved
cremation rather than anything remotely like those found at sites we
are studying. This stark difference suggests that, in cultural terms,
these unidentified mountain dwellers were a 'world apart' from their
lowland contemporaries."To date, the bulk of research that makes up what is known about
cultural history of the Khmer regions has focused on the lowlands, she
says.
"Through our work we hope to broaden the understanding of this
history beyond the legacies of the great Khmer Kingdom alone to those
who lived within its margins," she says.Dr Sian Halcrow says that archaeological findings from another of
the 10 sites, which she and Dr Beavan are currently preparing for
publication, will offer important new clues about who these mysterious
people were, their culture, trade connections and biological adaptation
to the environment.
Given the rugged and remote locations of the sites, the fieldwork has not been without its challenges, Dr Beavan says."In 2010 one of our campsites was invaded by a wild elephant in the
dead of night and it had to be driven off by our camp crew banging on
cooking pots. It turns out we had pitched camp between two tempting
stands of wild banana. We packed up and headed off soon after that."..." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoo-nlo050812.php
Agents discover archaeological artifacts west of Tucson
"...Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents have discovered two sets of
archaeological artifacts in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
since February, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Tuesday.
In
late February, Ajo Station agents patrolling on foot came across what
they believed to be an ancient bowl hidden in a shady outcropping of
rock, the Border Patrol said.
"...Archeologists have uncovered evidence of pre-farming
people living in the Burren more than 6,000 years ago — one of the
oldest habitations ever unearthed in Ireland.Radiocarbon dating
of a shellfish midden on Fanore Beach in north Clare have revealed it to
be at least 6,000 years old — hundreds of years older than the nearby
Poulnabrone dolmen.
The midden — a cooking area where nomad
hunter-gatherers boiled or roasted shellfish — contained Stone Age
implements, including two axes and a number of smaller stone tools. Excavation of the site revealed a mysterious black layer of organic
material, which archeologists believe may be the results of a Stone Age
tsunami which hit the Clare coast, possibly wiping out the people who
used the midden. The midden was discovered by local woman
Elaine O’Malley in 2009 and a major excavation of the site is being led
by Michael Lynch, field monument adviser for Co Clare. ..."
A cool long article about Tel Kedesh, in Upper Galilee: "...Tel Kedesh is enormous—more than half a mile north to south. It is a
double mound, with an upper tell occupied since the Early Bronze Age
(3150–2300 B.C.) and a plateau-like lower tell likely constructed in the
Middle Bronze Age (2300–1550 B.C.). Since our research interests
focused on a relatively short period in the site’s long history, we
hoped to devise a strategy that would allow us to reach those levels
rapidly. In 1997, we began by surveying the entirety of the lower tell
along two broad north-south and east-west transects. Next we excavated
two small test trenches to discover the site’s uppermost geological
profile, as well as the depth and preservation of Hellenistic remains.
The nature of what we found—which we expected to be largely soil or a
random array of rocks—would help determine which type of remote sensing
technique would be most effective..." http://www.archaeology.org/1205/features/tel_kedesh_mound_upper_galilee_israel.html
An
aerial view shows the immense administrative building constructed
around 500 B.C. and used until the 2nd century B.C. as it appeared after
more than 10 years of excavation. (Courtesy Pascal Partouche, Skyview
Photography, Ltd.)
Ancient language discovered on clay tablets found amid ruins of 2800 year old Middle Eastern palace
"...Archaeologists have discovered evidence for a previously unknown
ancient language – buried in the ruins of a 2800 year old Middle Eastern
palace.
The discovery is important because it may help reveal the ethnic and
cultural origins of some of history’s first ‘barbarians’ – mountain
tribes which had, in previous millennia, preyed on the world’s first
great civilizations, the cultures of early Mesopotamia in what is now
Iraq.
Evidence of the long-lost language - probably spoken by a
hitherto unknown people from the Zagros Mountains of western Iran – was
found by a Cambridge University archaeologist as he deciphered an
ancient clay writing tablet unearthed by an international archaeological
team excavating an Assyrian imperial governors’ palace in the ancient
city of Tushan, south-east Turkey.
A
detail from the 8th century BC Assyrian clay tablet bearing the 45
mystery names written in cuneiform script which have now been deciphered
at Cambridge University.
Earliest Known Painting of Maya Astronomical Calendar Discovered. "...For
the first time, archaeologists excavating at the large, monumental Maya
center of Xultún in Guatemala have uncovered a structure featuring 9th
century wall paintings with numbers and calculations related to the Maya
calendars, including numerical records of lunar and possibly planetary
cycles. The finding predates by several hundred years the heretofore
oldest known record of calendars, which were found in the famous Maya
bark-paper Codices...." http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/march-2012/article/earliest-known-painting-of-maya-astronomical-calendar-discovered
Also here: "...Perhaps most intriguing among the finds were several finds related to
astronomical tables, including four long numbers on the east wall that
represent a cycle lasting up to 2.5 million days.The east wall is mostly covered by tabulations of black
symbols or "glyphs" that map out various astronomical cycles: that of
Mars and Venus and the lunar eclipses.
The wall also features red marks that appear to be notes and
corrections to the calculations; Dr Saturno said that the scribes "seem
to be using it like a blackboard".The Xultun find is the first place that all of the cycles
have been found tied mathematically together in one place, representing a
calendar that stretches more than 7,000 years into the future.
The Mayan numbering system for dates is a complex one in
base-18 and base-20 numbers that, in modern-day terms, would "turn over"
at the end of 2012.But Dr Saturno points out that the new finds serve to further
undermine the fallacy that this is tantamount to a prediction of the
end of the world."The ancient Maya predicted the world would continue, that 7,000 years from now, things would be exactly like this," he said...."http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18018343
The preservation of the artwork surprised archaeologists, given the dwelling's shallow depth
By Jennifer Viegas|Published May 08, 2012|Discovery News
The largest known crocodile was big enough to swallow a human being and likely terrorized our ancestors two to four million years ago.
Remains of the enormous horned croc, named Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni, were unearthed in East Africa. The impressive aquatic reptile exceeded 27 feet long and is described in the latest Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
The croc was the dominant predator of its ecosystem, so there is little doubt that it preyed upon our distant ancestors, especially since remains of Australopithecus(a now-extinct genus of hominids) were found nearby.
From "Archeology" online journal: "...Engravings at the French rock shelter site of Abri Castanet have
been dated to 37,000 years ago, making them at least as old as the
paintings of the Grotte Chauvet. The Abri Castanet engravings were
carved in the limestone ceiling of the shelter, which was probably used
by reindeer hunters. “But unlike the Chauvet paintings and engravings,
which are deep underground and away from living areas, the engravings
and paintings at Castanet are directly associated with everyday life,
given their proximity to tools, fireplaces, bone and antler tool
production, and ornament workshops,” explained Randall White of New York
University...."
"...Anthropologist Pat Shipman of Pen State University thinks that modern
humans may have had an advantage over Neanderthals in Europe through the assistance of domesticated dogs.
A 27,000-year-old dog burial has been unearthed in the Czech Republic,
along with dog teeth that may have been worn as jewelry. Also, dogs are
rarely depicted in cave art, suggesting that Paleolithic people viewed
them as fellow hunters, rather than game animals. It has been shown that
modern humans and dogs are able to communicate with eye contact.
Shipman suggests that people may have evolved expressive eyes with
highly visible sclera for silent communication while hunting in groups
with dogs. “No genetic study has yet confirmed the prevalence or absence
of white sclera in Paleolithic modern humans or in Neanderthals. But if
the white sclera mutation occurred more often among the former –
perhaps by chance – this feature could have enhanced human-dog
communication and promoted domestication,” she said...." http://www.archaeology.org/news/
A nearly complete skeleton of a towering Tyrannosaurus bataar is set to go on auction on Sunday (May 20). The skeleton measures some 8-feet (2.4-meters) tall and 24-feet (7.3-meters) long.
This is the first full Tyrannosaurus specimen to go on auction since "Sue," a Tyrannosaurus rex, sold for $8.3 million in 1997, said David Herskowitz, director of Natural History at Heritage Auctions, the auction house conducting the sale.
Female genitalia carvings are Europe's oldest rock art
By Stephanie Pappas|Published May 15, 2012|LiveScience
The oldest rock art ever found in Europe reveals an interest in the female form — and the type of décor that the first Europeans preferred for their living spaces.
The new discovery, uncovered at a site called Abri Castanet in France, consists mainly of circular carvings most likely meant to represent the vulva. The carvings were etched into the ceiling of a now-collapsed rock shelter about 37,000 years ago, researchers reported Monday (May 14) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"It's quotidian art, it's everyday art," study researcher Randall White, an anthropologist at New York University, told LiveScience. "It's over their heads as they're doing everyday, banal sorts of things.
Makes sense, since fertility cults are the oldest religion knows to man so far.
Two trepanned skulls from the Middles Ages found in Spain
"...Two skulls with
perforations have been exhumed in the area of Gormaz in Soria, Spain by
researchers from the universities of Oviedo and Leon. They have been
dated to the 13th and 14th centuries – a period in which trepanation
was not commonly practised.
Trepanation, an ancient practice
...Trepanation has been around for a very long time. The earliest
examples found go back to the beginning of the Neolithic Period some
10,000 years ago. There are even authors who suggest that such
iatrogenic practices (induced by physicians) began at the end of both
the Palaeolithic Period and the Mesolithic Period some 12,000 years
ago.
Nonetheless, little evidence exists for later periods, such as the
Middle Ages. The two skulls in Soria trepanned for medical purposes
between the 13th and 14th centuries are therefore a surprising finding.
They were discovered in the area surrounding the San Miguel hermitage
in the area of Gormaz by researchers from the universities of Oviedo
and Leon...." http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/05/2012/two-trepanned-skulls-from-the-middles-ages-found-in-spain
Drawing of the two skulls and their trepanation (above is the female and below is the male). Image: Esther Gómez López
"...Archaeologists Excavate a Lost Kingdom Buried Beneath Volcanic Ash
In
1980, people began to take notice when workers from a commercial
logging company began dredging up pottery fragments and bones in an area
near the little village of Pancasila on the island of Sumbawa,
Indonesia. Other locals began finding coins, brassware and charred
timber in the same region, all buried beneath a thick layer of volcanic
deposits. The finds were not far from the foot of the Tambora volcano, a
volcano that, in April of 1815, produced the largest eruption in
recorded history. In fact, so intense was the eruption, it's atmospheric
effects influenced weather patterns across faraway Europe and North
America. And in one evening alone, it destroyed at least one entire
village kingdom near its feet.
Acting on the discovery of these finds in 2004, Volcanologist
Haraldur Sigurdsson of the University of Rhode Island began
investigating the jungle-shrouded area by using Ground Penetrating
Radar. He identified a complete house buried under 2-3 metres of
pyroclastic flow and surge deposits. Although it was entirely charred,
its form was well preserved, making it possible to distinguish beams and
bamboo floors. Artifacts found inside the structure included Chinese
porcelain, iron tools and copper bowls. Two victims were also
discovered; one complete skeleton was found by the hearth in the kitchen
area and the second, which was very badly damaged, identifiable only by
the leg and a vertebra, was found on the porch. ..."http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/march-2012/article/archaeologists-excavate-a-lost-kingdom-buried-beneath-volcanic-ash
Archeologists unearth Achaemenid city in northeast Iran
"...“The remains belong to an Achaemenid
city spanning an area of more than 110 hectares,” IRNA quoted
Mohamad-Javad Jafari of the North Khorasan cultural heritage office as
saying.
“Archeological evidence shows that the site had been a residential
area from the Iron Age until the Islamic era,” he added saying that the
most flourishing time in the history of the site was during the
Achaemenid period.
The Riba Mound, where the new discovery was made, also yielded
remains of a Parthian castle which was built when Parthia was a
political entity in Achaemenid lists of governorates.
Jafari warned about vandalisms and destructions in the area blaming
three brick kilns for causing damage to more than 30 percent of the
historical site.
The Riba Mound is located three kilometers west of Ashkhaneh in
Iran’s North Khorasan Province and will host archeologists until May 20,
2012.
..."http://www.presstv.com/detail/2012/05/14/241162/archeologist-achaemenid-city-northeast-iran/
The oldest farming village in the Mediterranean islands is discovered in Cyprus
"...The oldest agricultural settlement ever found on a Mediterranean
island has been discovered in Cyprus by a team of French archaeologists
involving CNRS, the National Museum of Natural History, INRAP, EHESS
and the University of Toulouse. Previously it was believed that, due to
the island's geographic isolation, the first Neolithic farming societies
did not reach Cyprus until a thousand years after the birth of
agriculture in the Middle East (ca. 9500 to 9400 BCE). However, the
discovery of Klimonas, a village that dates from nearly 9000 years
before Christ, proves that early cultivators migrated to Cyprus from the
Middle Eastern continent shortly after the emergence of agriculture
there, bringing with them wheat as well as dogs and cats...." http://phys.org/news/2012-05-oldest-farming-village-mediterranean-islands.html
http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/004776.html The Dolmen at Monticello "...The village of Monticello - near Finale Ligure, in the west of Italy, is
located along the western slopes of Gottaro. The dolmen is located in
Valeggia, 199 metres above sea level along the northern slopes of Bric
delle Pernici.
The dolmen is made of limestone, about 250 centimetres high, with a
horizontal cap stone supported on one side by a single stone, and on
the other side by two large stones and a sort of dry wall. The chamber
has a maximum height of 1 metre. The cap stone has a transverse V-shaped
crack, and the top is eroded, but some erosion could be interpreted as a
petroglyph and even as cup marks. A larger depression is similar to
those found on the Stone-Altar above Arma Strapatente, and might have
had the function of collecting liquid, and therefore a ritual
significance. The floor of the chamber has not been probed, since the
complex has been considered the result of a landslide, but the
arrangement is not typical of a landslide.
Dolmens and menhirs are not strangers to the Finalese and
Subalpine cultural zones, as thought until a few decades ago, when it
was believed that the megalithic culture had been arrested without
crossing the Alps. The only exception was Puglia, in southern Italy.
There the dolmens and other megaliths were attributed to the influx of
populations from the Balkan Peninsula, across the Adriatic.
In the late 1980s, two circular burial mounds were identified near
Sanremo, Imperia province, one of which was attributed to the final
phase of the Bronze Age. Accordingly, other Ligurian artefacts -
especially in the Finalese (the menhir and dolmen of Verezzi, for
example) - acquired new importance, and the lack of megalithic remains
in Italy could be explained by the change of civilisation over time,
resulting in the loss of many sites.
The creation of megalithic structures, such as menhirs and
dolmens, is placed in a period between the end of the fifth millennium
at the end of the third millennium BCE, roughly between the Neolithic
and the Bronze Ages, and corresponding with that of other megaliths
already described by experts and by the author, in the vicinity of
Monticello - such as the rudimentary anthropomorphic Stele of 'Pila
delle Penne', Plateau of St Bernardino (including the so-called
Observatory of Bric Pianarella) - but also other megaliths of Finalese...."
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