Saturday, July 23, 2011

Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Pompeii

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Pompeii
Jul 23rd 2011, 10:00

The most famous archaeological site in the world is not hard to name. If there has ever been a site as well preserved, as evocative, as memorable as that of Pompeii, the luxurious resort for the Roman Empire, buried under the ash and lava erupted by Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 AD.

Pompeii as a Thriving Community

At the time of its destruction, Pompeii was a thriving commercial port at the mouth of the Sarno River in southwestern Italy. While the first occupations at Pompeii date to the 6th century BC, the city grew slowly over the centuries, blossoming with the Roman occupation beginning in 81 BC. Pompeii's known buildings--and there are many that were preserved under the mud and ashfall--include a Roman basilica, built ca 130-120 BC, and an amphitheater built circa 80 BC. The forum contained several temples; the streets included hotels and eating places and gardens within the city walls.

But probably of most fascination to those of us today are the details of the private homes, the eerie negative images of people caught in the eruption, the utter humanness of the tragedy seen at Pompeii.

Pompeii and Archaeology

Of interest to archaeologists is the fact that Pompeii was among the earliest of archaeological excavations, tunneled into by the Bourbon rulers of Naples and Palermo first beginning 1738. Full scale excavations were begun at Pompeii in 1748. Archaeologists associated with Pompeii and Herculaneum include Karl Weber, Johann-Joachim Winckelmann, and Guiseppe Fiorelli; a team was sent there by the Emperor Napoleon as well. Excavations today are being conducted in the streets of Pompeii by the University of Bradford. One of the benefits of such a long excavation is a wealth of images you can find on the Internet.

Current research at Pompeii has been undertaken by the Anglo-American Project in Pompeii, led by Rick Jones at the University of Bradford. Field schools have been led at Pompeii by Bradford since 1995.

Pompeii Walking Tours

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Predynastic Egypt

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Predynastic Egypt
Jul 23rd 2011, 10:00

The Predynastic period in Egypt is the name archaeologists have given to the three millennia before the emergence of the first unified Egyptian state society.

Scholars mark the beginning of the predynastic period somewhere between 6500 and 5000 BC when farmers first moved into the Nile valley from Western Asia, and the ending at approximately 3050 BC, when the dynastic rule of Egypt began. Already present in northeastern Africa were cattle pastoralists; the emigrant farmers brought sheep, goats, pigs, wheat and barley. Together they domesticated the donkey and developed simple farming communities.

Chronology of the Predynastic

  • Early Predynastic (Badarian) (ca 5000-3900 BC)
  • Middle Predynastic (Nagada I or Amratian) (ca 3900-3650 BC)
  • Late Predynastic (Nagada II or Gerzean) (ca 3650-3300 BC)
  • Terminal Predynastic (Nagada III or Proto-Dynastic) (ca 3300-3050 BC)

Scholars typically divide the predynastic period, as with most of Egyptian history, into upper (southern) and lower (northern) Egypt. Lower Egypt (Maadi culture) appears to have developed farming communities first, with the spread of farming from the Lower Egypt (north) to the Upper Egypt (south). Thus, the Badarian communities predate the Nagada in Upper Egypt. Current evidence as to the origin of the rise of the Egyptian state is under debate, but some evidence points to Upper Egypt, specifically Nagada, as the focus of the original complexity. Some of the evidence for the complexity of the Maadi may be hidden beneath the Nile delta's alluvium.

The Rise of the Egyptian State

That development of complexity within the predynastic period led to the emergence of the Egyptian state is inarguable. But, the impetus for that development has been the focus of much debate among scholars. There appears to have been active trade relationships with Mesopotamia, Syro-Palestine (Canaan), and Nubia, and evidence in the form of shared architectural forms, artistic motifs and imported pottery attests to these connections. Whatever specifics were in play, Stephen Savage summarizes it as a "gradual, indigenous process, stimulated by intraregional and interregional conflict, shifting political and economic strategies, political alliances and competition over trade routes." (2001:134).

The end of the predynastic (ca 3050 BC) is marked by the first unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, called "Dynasty 1". Although the precise way in which a centralized state emerged in Egypt is still under debate; some historical evidence is recorded in glowing political terms on the Narmer Palette.

Archaeology and the Predynastic

Investigations into the Predynastic had their start in the 19th century by William Flinders-Petrie. The most recent studies have revealed the extensive regional diversity, not just between Upper and Lower Egypt, but within Upper Egypt. Three principal regions are identified in Upper Egypt, centered on Hierakonpolis, Nagada (also spelled Naqada) and Abydos.

Predynastic Sites: Adaïma, Hierakonpolis, Abydos, Gebel Manzal el-Seyl.

Herbal Wines of Ancient Egypt illustrates trade connections between predynastic Egypt and the Levant region of the near east.

Sources

On Michael Brass's The Antiquity of Man site, you'll find the complete text of Kathryn Bard's 1994 paper in the JFA cited below.

Bard, Kathryn A. 1994 The Egyptian Predynastic: A Review of the Evidence. Journal of Field Archaeology 21(3):265-288.

Hassan, Fekri 1988 The Predynastic of Egypt. Journal of World Prehistory 2(2):135-185.

Savage, Stephen H. 2001 Some Recent Trends in the Archaeology of Predynastic Egypt. Journal of Archaeological Research 9(2):101-155.

Tutundzic, Sava P. 1993 A Consideration of Differences between the Pottery Showing Palestinian Characteristics in the Maadian and Gerzean Cultures. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 79:33-55.

Wenke, Robert J. 1989 Egypt: Origins of Complex Societies. Annual Review of Anthropology 18:129-155.

This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Woolley at City of Ur

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Woolley at City of Ur
Jul 23rd 2011, 10:00

Although ten of the Royal Tombs at Ur contained the remains of a central or primary individual, six of them were what Woolley called "grave pits" or "death pits" like this one. Woolley's "Grave Pits" were shafts leading down to the tombs and sunken courtyards built around the tomb or adjacent to it. The adjacent shafts and courtyards were filled with skeletons of retainers, most of them also dressed in jewels and carrying bowls.

The largest of these pits was called the Great Pit of Death, located adjacent to Queen Puabi's tomb and measuring 4 x 11.75 meters. Over seventy individuals were buried here, neatly laid out, wearing jewels and carrying bowls or cups. Bioarchaeological studies of these skeletons show that many of these people had labored hard during their lives, supporting Woolley's notion that some of these were servants, even if dressed in finery and perhaps attending a banquet on the last day of their lives.

Sources and Further Information

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Woolley at City of Ur

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Woolley at City of Ur
Jul 23rd 2011, 10:00

Although ten of the Royal Tombs at Ur contained the remains of a central or primary individual, six of them were what Woolley called "grave pits" or "death pits" like this one. Woolley's "Grave Pits" were shafts leading down to the tombs and sunken courtyards built around the tomb or adjacent to it. The adjacent shafts and courtyards were filled with skeletons of retainers, most of them also dressed in jewels and carrying bowls.

The largest of these pits was called the Great Pit of Death, located adjacent to Queen Puabi's tomb and measuring 4 x 11.75 meters. Over seventy individuals were buried here, neatly laid out, wearing jewels and carrying bowls or cups. Bioarchaeological studies of these skeletons show that many of these people had labored hard during their lives, supporting Woolley's notion that some of these were servants, even if dressed in finery and perhaps attending a banquet on the last day of their lives.

Sources and Further Information

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Predynastic Egypt

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Predynastic Egypt
Jul 23rd 2011, 10:00

The Predynastic period in Egypt is the name archaeologists have given to the three millennia before the emergence of the first unified Egyptian state society.

Scholars mark the beginning of the predynastic period somewhere between 6500 and 5000 BC when farmers first moved into the Nile valley from Western Asia, and the ending at approximately 3050 BC, when the dynastic rule of Egypt began. Already present in northeastern Africa were cattle pastoralists; the emigrant farmers brought sheep, goats, pigs, wheat and barley. Together they domesticated the donkey and developed simple farming communities.

Chronology of the Predynastic

  • Early Predynastic (Badarian) (ca 5000-3900 BC)
  • Middle Predynastic (Nagada I or Amratian) (ca 3900-3650 BC)
  • Late Predynastic (Nagada II or Gerzean) (ca 3650-3300 BC)
  • Terminal Predynastic (Nagada III or Proto-Dynastic) (ca 3300-3050 BC)

Scholars typically divide the predynastic period, as with most of Egyptian history, into upper (southern) and lower (northern) Egypt. Lower Egypt (Maadi culture) appears to have developed farming communities first, with the spread of farming from the Lower Egypt (north) to the Upper Egypt (south). Thus, the Badarian communities predate the Nagada in Upper Egypt. Current evidence as to the origin of the rise of the Egyptian state is under debate, but some evidence points to Upper Egypt, specifically Nagada, as the focus of the original complexity. Some of the evidence for the complexity of the Maadi may be hidden beneath the Nile delta's alluvium.

The Rise of the Egyptian State

That development of complexity within the predynastic period led to the emergence of the Egyptian state is inarguable. But, the impetus for that development has been the focus of much debate among scholars. There appears to have been active trade relationships with Mesopotamia, Syro-Palestine (Canaan), and Nubia, and evidence in the form of shared architectural forms, artistic motifs and imported pottery attests to these connections. Whatever specifics were in play, Stephen Savage summarizes it as a "gradual, indigenous process, stimulated by intraregional and interregional conflict, shifting political and economic strategies, political alliances and competition over trade routes." (2001:134).

The end of the predynastic (ca 3050 BC) is marked by the first unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, called "Dynasty 1". Although the precise way in which a centralized state emerged in Egypt is still under debate; some historical evidence is recorded in glowing political terms on the Narmer Palette.

Archaeology and the Predynastic

Investigations into the Predynastic had their start in the 19th century by William Flinders-Petrie. The most recent studies have revealed the extensive regional diversity, not just between Upper and Lower Egypt, but within Upper Egypt. Three principal regions are identified in Upper Egypt, centered on Hierakonpolis, Nagada (also spelled Naqada) and Abydos.

Predynastic Sites: Adaïma, Hierakonpolis, Abydos, Gebel Manzal el-Seyl.

Herbal Wines of Ancient Egypt illustrates trade connections between predynastic Egypt and the Levant region of the near east.

Sources

On Michael Brass's The Antiquity of Man site, you'll find the complete text of Kathryn Bard's 1994 paper in the JFA cited below.

Bard, Kathryn A. 1994 The Egyptian Predynastic: A Review of the Evidence. Journal of Field Archaeology 21(3):265-288.

Hassan, Fekri 1988 The Predynastic of Egypt. Journal of World Prehistory 2(2):135-185.

Savage, Stephen H. 2001 Some Recent Trends in the Archaeology of Predynastic Egypt. Journal of Archaeological Research 9(2):101-155.

Tutundzic, Sava P. 1993 A Consideration of Differences between the Pottery Showing Palestinian Characteristics in the Maadian and Gerzean Cultures. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 79:33-55.

Wenke, Robert J. 1989 Egypt: Origins of Complex Societies. Annual Review of Anthropology 18:129-155.

This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Pompeii

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Pompeii
Jul 23rd 2011, 10:00

The most famous archaeological site in the world is not hard to name. If there has ever been a site as well preserved, as evocative, as memorable as that of Pompeii, the luxurious resort for the Roman Empire, buried under the ash and lava erupted by Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 AD.

Pompeii as a Thriving Community

At the time of its destruction, Pompeii was a thriving commercial port at the mouth of the Sarno River in southwestern Italy. While the first occupations at Pompeii date to the 6th century BC, the city grew slowly over the centuries, blossoming with the Roman occupation beginning in 81 BC. Pompeii's known buildings--and there are many that were preserved under the mud and ashfall--include a Roman basilica, built ca 130-120 BC, and an amphitheater built circa 80 BC. The forum contained several temples; the streets included hotels and eating places and gardens within the city walls.

But probably of most fascination to those of us today are the details of the private homes, the eerie negative images of people caught in the eruption, the utter humanness of the tragedy seen at Pompeii.

Pompeii and Archaeology

Of interest to archaeologists is the fact that Pompeii was among the earliest of archaeological excavations, tunneled into by the Bourbon rulers of Naples and Palermo first beginning 1738. Full scale excavations were begun at Pompeii in 1748. Archaeologists associated with Pompeii and Herculaneum include Karl Weber, Johann-Joachim Winckelmann, and Guiseppe Fiorelli; a team was sent there by the Emperor Napoleon as well. Excavations today are being conducted in the streets of Pompeii by the University of Bradford. One of the benefits of such a long excavation is a wealth of images you can find on the Internet.

Current research at Pompeii has been undertaken by the Anglo-American Project in Pompeii, led by Rick Jones at the University of Bradford. Field schools have been led at Pompeii by Bradford since 1995.

Pompeii Walking Tours

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Archaeology: Most Popular Articles: Terracotta Army

Archaeology: Most Popular Articles
These articles are the most popular over the last month.
Terracotta Army
Jul 23rd 2011, 10:13

The exquisite terracotta army of the first Qin Dynasty ruler Shihuangdi represents the emperor’s ability to control the resources of the newly unified China, and his attempt to recreate and maintain that empire in the afterlife. The soldiers are part of Shihuangdi's tomb, located near the modern town of Xi'an, Shaanxi province in China.

The first emperor of all China was a fellow named Ying Zheng, born in 260 BC during the "Warring States Period", a chaotic, fierce, and dangerous time in Chinese history. He was a member of the Qin dynasty, and ascended to the throne in 247 BC at the age of twelve and a half. In 221 BC King Zheng united all of what is now China and renamed himself Qin Shihuangdi ("First Emperor of Qin"), although ‘united’ is rather a tranquil word to be using for the bloody conquest of the region’s small polities. According to the Shiji records of the Han dynasty court historian Sima Qian, Qin Shihuangdi was a phenomenal leader, who began connecting existing walls to create the first version of the Great Wall of China, constructed an extensive network of roads and canals throughout his empire, standardized written language and money, and abolished feudalism, establishing in its place provinces run by civilian governors. Qin Shihuangdi died in 210 BC, and the Qin dynasty was quickly extinguished within a few years by the early members of the Han dynasty. But, during the brief period of Shihuangdi’s rule, a remarkable testament to his control of the countryside and its resources was constructed: a semi-subterranean mausoleum complex and an army of 7,000 life-size sculpted clay terracotta soldiers, chariots, and horses.

Terracotta Army and Shihuangdi's Necropolis

Shihuangdi’s necropolis was surely large enough to merit the name of city of death. The outer wall of the mausoleum precinct measured 2100 x 975 meters and enclosed administrative buildings, horse stables and cemeteries; the heart of the precinct was the 500x500 meter tomb for Shihuangdi. Found in the precinct were ceramic and bronze sculptures, including cranes, horses, chariots, stone carved armor for humans and horses, and human sculptures that archaeologists have interpreted as representing officials and acrobats. The three pits containing the now-famous terracotta army are located 600 meters east of the mausoleum precinct, in a farm field where they were re-discovered by a well-digger in the 1920s.

The mausoleum precinct was built beginning shortly after Zheng became king, in 246 BC, and construction continued until about 209 BC. Four pits were excavated to hold the terracotta army, although only three were filled by the time construction ceased. The construction of the pits included excavation, placement of a brick floor, and construction of a sequence of rammed earth partitions and tunnels. The floors of the tunnels were covered with mats, the life-sized statuary was placed erect on the mats and the tunnels were covered with logs. Finally each pit was buried. In the largest pit (14,000 square meters), the infantry was placed in rows four deep. Pit 2 includes a U-shaped layout of chariots, cavalry and infantry; and Pit 3 contains a command headquarters. Only about 1,000 soldiers have been excavated so far; archaeologists estimate that there are over 7,000 soldiers (infantry to generals), 130 chariots with horses, and 110 cavalry horses.

The statues of the infantry soldiers range between 5 foot 8 inches and 6 foot 2 inches; the commanders are 6 and half feet tall. The lower half of the kiln-fired ceramic bodies were made of solid terracotta clay, the upper half hollow. It is evident that the statues were vividly painted including a color called Chinese purple; although most of that paint has flown, traces of it may be seen on some of the statues.

Chinese excavations have been conducted at Shihuangdi’s mausoleum complex since 1974, and have included excavations in and around the mausoleum complex; they continue to reveal astonishing findings. As Xiaoneng Yang describes Shihuangdi’s mausoleum complex, “Ample evidence demonstrates the First Emperor’s ambition: not only to control all aspects of the empire during his lifetime but to recreate the entire empire in microcosm for his after life.”

Sources

Hu, Ya-Qin, et al. 2007 What can pollen grains from the Terracotta Army tell us? Journal of Archaeological Science 341153-1157.

Liu, Z., et al. 2007 Influence of Taoism on the invention of the purple pigment used on the Qin terracotta warriors. Journal of Archaeological Science 34(11):1878-1883.

Xiaoneng Yang. 2004. “Mausoleum of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty and its Terracotta Army Pits at Lishan and Xiyang, Lintong, Shaanxi Province.” In Chinese Archaeology in the Twentieth Century: New Perspectives on China's Past, Volume 2, pp 225-229. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut.

More on the Terracotta Army

See the terracotta army photo essay.

Pollen and the Terracotta Army describes how pollen has helped identify where the various terracotta sculptures were made.

Chinese purple is a manufactured pigment used on the soldiers.

Stan Parchin, Senior Museum Correspondent for Art History, reports that replicas of the terracotta soldiers currently reside in the public lobby of an office building on Fifth Avenue and East 53rd Street in Manhattan. England just executed a cultural agreement with China, and some of the terracotta figures will be featured soon as part of a special exhibition in London.

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Friday, July 22, 2011

Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Chalcolithic

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Chalcolithic
Jul 22nd 2011, 10:00

Definition:

The Chalcolithic is the name given to the period in the Near East and Europe after the Neolithic and before the Bronze Age, roughly between about 4500 and 3500 BC.

This period has the earliest evidence for complex societies, the location of cemeteries outside of settlements, craft specialization in copper tool production (casting and lost wax), ivory, and ceramics. Chalcolithic is sometimes referred to as the 'Copper Age', and the word is from the Greek for copper (chalcos) and stone (lithos).

Sources

Hauptmann, Andreas, et al. 1989. Ancient copper production in the area of Feinan, Khirbet en-Nahas, and Wadi-el-Jariye, Wadi Arabah, Jordan. Fleming, Stuart J. and Schenck, Helen R. MASCA: History of Technology: The role of metals, 6-16.

A nicely detailed discussion of the Chalcolithic in Turkey may be found at the Ancient Anatolia site.

This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.

Examples:

Be'er Sheva, Israel; Chirand (India); Los Millares, Spain; Tel Tsaf (Israel), Krasni Yar (Kazakhstan), Teleilat Ghassul (Jordan), Areni-1 (Armenia)

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Out of Africa Hypothesis

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Out of Africa Hypothesis
Jul 22nd 2011, 10:00

Definition:

The Out of Africa or African Replacement Hypothesis argues that every living human being is descended from a small group in Africa, who then dispersed into the wider world displacing earlier forms such as Neanderthal. Major proponents of this theory are led by Chris Stringer.

The Out-of-Africa theory was bolstered in the early 1990s by research on mitochondrial DNA studies by Allan Wilson and Rebecca Cann which suggest that all humans ultimately descended from one female: the Mitochondrial Eve.

Leaving Africa: Three Theories

Sources

Gabunia, Leo, et al. 2001 Dmanisi and dispersal. Evolutionary Anthropology 10:158-170.

Klein, Richard G. 2008 Out of Africa and the Evolution of Human Behavior. Evolutionary Anthropology 17:267-281.

Rightmire, G. P. 2000 Middle Pleistocene humans from Africa. Human Evolution 15(1-2):63-74.

Rose, Jeffrey I. 2004 The Question of Upper Pleistocene Connections between East Africa and South Arabia. Current Anthropology 45(4):551-555.

Straus, Lawrence G. 1999 Iberia: Bridge or cul-de-sac? Implications of the Iberian record for the debate on the middle to upper paleolithic transition. Human Evolution 14(1-2):139-149.

Also Known As: African Replacement Hypothesis

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: L'Anse aux Meadows

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
L'Anse aux Meadows
Jul 22nd 2011, 10:00

L'Anse aux Meadows is the name of an archaeological site that represents a failed Viking colony of Norse adventurers from Iceland, located in Newfoundland, Canada and occupied for somewhere between three and ten years.

Discovering L'Anse aux Meadows

Around the turn of the 19th century, Canadian historian W.A. Munn pored over medieval Icelandic manuscripts, reports by the 10th century AD Vikings. Two of them, "the Greenlander Saga" and "Erik's Saga" reported on the explorations of Thorvald Arvaldson, Erik the Red (more properly Eirik), and Leif Erikson, three generations of a rather cranky family of Norse mariners. According to the manuscripts, Thorvald fled a murder charge in Norway and eventually settled in Iceland; his son Erik fled Iceland under a similar charge and settled Greenland; and Eirik's son Leif (the Lucky) took the family westward still, and circa AD 998 he colonized a land he called "Vinland," Old Norse for "land of grapes".

Leif's colony remained at Vinland for between three and ten years, before they were chased away by constant attacks from the residents, called Skraelings by the Norse. Munn believed that the most likely site for the colony was on the island of Newfoundland, arguing that "Vinland" did not refer to grapes, but rather to grass or grazing land, since grapes don't grow in Newfoundland.

  • Read more about who the Skraelings might have been
  • Read more about Vinland and studies resolving the grapes issue

L'Anse aux Meadows and Archaeology

In the early 1960s, archaeologists Helge Ingstad and his wife Anne Stine Ingstad undertook a close survey of the coastlines of Newfoundland and Labrador. Ingstad, a Norse investigator, had spent the majority of his career studying Northern and Arctic civilizations, and was following up on research into the Viking explorations of the 10th and 11th centuries. In 1961, the survey paid off, and the Ingstads discovered an indisputably Viking settlement near Epave Bay and named the site "L'Anse aux Meadows," or Jellyfish Cove, a reference to the stinging jellyfish found in the bay.

Eleventh century Norse artifacts recovered from l'Anse aux Meadows numbered in the hundreds, and included a soapstone spindle whorl and a bronze-ringed pin process, as well as other iron, bronze, stone, and bone items. Radiocarbon dates placed the occupation at the site between ~990-1030 AD.

Living at L'Anse aux Meadows

L'Anse aux Meadows was not a typical Viking village. The site consisted of three building complexes and a bloomery; but no barns or stables that would be associated with farming. Two of the three complexes consisted solely of a large hall or longhouse and a small hut; the third added a small house. It appears that elites resided in one end of the large hall, ordinary sailors slept in sleeping areas within the halls and servants, or, more likely, slaves resided in the huts.

The buildings were constructed in the Icelandic style, with heavy sod roofs supported by interior posts. The bloomery was a simple iron smelting furnace within a small subterranean hut, and a pit charcoal kiln. In the large buildings were sleeping areas, a carpentry workshop, a sitting room, a kitchen and storage.

L'Anse aux Meadows housed between 80 to 100 individuals, probably up to three ship crews; all of the buildings were occupied at the same time. Based on the reconstructions accomplished by Parks Canada at the site, a total of 86 trees were felled for posts, roofs, and furnishings; and 1,500 cubic feet of sod was required for the roofs.

L'Anse aux Meadows Today

L'Anse aux Meadows is now owned by Parks Canada, who carried on excavations at the site during the mid-1970s. The site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978; and Parks Canada has reconstructed some of the sod buildings and maintains the site as a "living history" museum, complete with costumed interpreters, as shown in the photograph.

Sources

This glossary entry is a part of the Guide to the Viking Age, and part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.

A great source of information about L'Anse aux Meadows is the Canadian Parks website, in French and English.

Ingstad, Anne Stine. 2001. The Viking Discovery of America: The Excavation of a Norse Settlement in L'Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland . Facts on File.

Kaplan, Susan A. and Jim M. Woollett. 2000 Challenges and Choices: Exploring the Interplay of Climate, History, and Culture on Canada's Labrador Coast. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 32:351-359.

McGhee, Robert 1984 Contact between native North Americans and the medieval Norse: A review of the evidence. American Antiquity 49(1):4-26.

Wallace, Birgitta Linderoth. 2006. Westward Vikings: The Saga of L’Anse aux Meadows. St John’s, Newfoundland: Historic Sites Association of Newfoundland and Labrador in association with Parks Canada.

Wallace, Birgitta Linderoth. 2003. L’Anse aux Meadows and Vinland: An Abandoned Experiment. Pp. 207-238 in Contact, Continuity, and Collapse: The Norse Colonization of the North Atlantic, edited by James H. Barrett. Brepols Publishers: Trunhout, Belgium.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: L'Anse aux Meadows

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
L'Anse aux Meadows
Jul 22nd 2011, 10:00

L'Anse aux Meadows is the name of an archaeological site that represents a failed Viking colony of Norse adventurers from Iceland, located in Newfoundland, Canada and occupied for somewhere between three and ten years.

Discovering L'Anse aux Meadows

Around the turn of the 19th century, Canadian historian W.A. Munn pored over medieval Icelandic manuscripts, reports by the 10th century AD Vikings. Two of them, "the Greenlander Saga" and "Erik's Saga" reported on the explorations of Thorvald Arvaldson, Erik the Red (more properly Eirik), and Leif Erikson, three generations of a rather cranky family of Norse mariners. According to the manuscripts, Thorvald fled a murder charge in Norway and eventually settled in Iceland; his son Erik fled Iceland under a similar charge and settled Greenland; and Eirik's son Leif (the Lucky) took the family westward still, and circa AD 998 he colonized a land he called "Vinland," Old Norse for "land of grapes".

Leif's colony remained at Vinland for between three and ten years, before they were chased away by constant attacks from the residents, called Skraelings by the Norse. Munn believed that the most likely site for the colony was on the island of Newfoundland, arguing that "Vinland" did not refer to grapes, but rather to grass or grazing land, since grapes don't grow in Newfoundland.

  • Read more about who the Skraelings might have been
  • Read more about Vinland and studies resolving the grapes issue

L'Anse aux Meadows and Archaeology

In the early 1960s, archaeologists Helge Ingstad and his wife Anne Stine Ingstad undertook a close survey of the coastlines of Newfoundland and Labrador. Ingstad, a Norse investigator, had spent the majority of his career studying Northern and Arctic civilizations, and was following up on research into the Viking explorations of the 10th and 11th centuries. In 1961, the survey paid off, and the Ingstads discovered an indisputably Viking settlement near Epave Bay and named the site "L'Anse aux Meadows," or Jellyfish Cove, a reference to the stinging jellyfish found in the bay.

Eleventh century Norse artifacts recovered from l'Anse aux Meadows numbered in the hundreds, and included a soapstone spindle whorl and a bronze-ringed pin process, as well as other iron, bronze, stone, and bone items. Radiocarbon dates placed the occupation at the site between ~990-1030 AD.

Living at L'Anse aux Meadows

L'Anse aux Meadows was not a typical Viking village. The site consisted of three building complexes and a bloomery; but no barns or stables that would be associated with farming. Two of the three complexes consisted solely of a large hall or longhouse and a small hut; the third added a small house. It appears that elites resided in one end of the large hall, ordinary sailors slept in sleeping areas within the halls and servants, or, more likely, slaves resided in the huts.

The buildings were constructed in the Icelandic style, with heavy sod roofs supported by interior posts. The bloomery was a simple iron smelting furnace within a small subterranean hut, and a pit charcoal kiln. In the large buildings were sleeping areas, a carpentry workshop, a sitting room, a kitchen and storage.

L'Anse aux Meadows housed between 80 to 100 individuals, probably up to three ship crews; all of the buildings were occupied at the same time. Based on the reconstructions accomplished by Parks Canada at the site, a total of 86 trees were felled for posts, roofs, and furnishings; and 1,500 cubic feet of sod was required for the roofs.

L'Anse aux Meadows Today

L'Anse aux Meadows is now owned by Parks Canada, who carried on excavations at the site during the mid-1970s. The site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978; and Parks Canada has reconstructed some of the sod buildings and maintains the site as a "living history" museum, complete with costumed interpreters, as shown in the photograph.

Sources

This glossary entry is a part of the Guide to the Viking Age, and part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.

A great source of information about L'Anse aux Meadows is the Canadian Parks website, in French and English.

Ingstad, Anne Stine. 2001. The Viking Discovery of America: The Excavation of a Norse Settlement in L'Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland . Facts on File.

Kaplan, Susan A. and Jim M. Woollett. 2000 Challenges and Choices: Exploring the Interplay of Climate, History, and Culture on Canada's Labrador Coast. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 32:351-359.

McGhee, Robert 1984 Contact between native North Americans and the medieval Norse: A review of the evidence. American Antiquity 49(1):4-26.

Wallace, Birgitta Linderoth. 2006. Westward Vikings: The Saga of L’Anse aux Meadows. St John’s, Newfoundland: Historic Sites Association of Newfoundland and Labrador in association with Parks Canada.

Wallace, Birgitta Linderoth. 2003. L’Anse aux Meadows and Vinland: An Abandoned Experiment. Pp. 207-238 in Contact, Continuity, and Collapse: The Norse Colonization of the North Atlantic, edited by James H. Barrett. Brepols Publishers: Trunhout, Belgium.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Discovery of Troy

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Discovery of Troy
Jul 22nd 2011, 10:00

According to legend, the finder of the true site of Troy was Heinrich Schliemann, adventurer, speaker of 15 languages, world traveler, and gifted amateur archaeologist. In his memoirs and books, Schliemann claimed that when he was eight, his father took him on his knee and told him the story of the Iliad, the forbidden love between Helen, wife of the King of Sparta, and Paris, son of Priam of Troy, and how their elopement resulted in a war that destroyed a civilization. That story, said Schliemann, awoke in him a hunger to search for the archaeological proof of the existence of Troy and Tiryns and Mycenae. In fact, he was so hungry that he went into business to make his fortune so he could afford the search. And after much consideration and study and investigation, on his own he found the original site of Troy, at Hisarlik, a tell in Turkey.

Ah, Romance!

The reality, according to David Traill's 1995 biography, Schliemann of Troy: Treasure and Deceit, is that most of this is romantic baloney. Schliemann was a brilliant, gregarious, enormously talented and extremely restless con man, who nevertheless changed the course of archaeology and focused interest in the sites and events of the Iliad and created widespread belief in their physical reality. During Schliemann's peripatetic travels around the world (he visited the Netherlands, Russia, England, France, Mexico, America, Greece, Egypt, Italy, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan, all before he was 45), he took trips to ancient monuments, stopped at universities to take classes and attend lectures in comparative literature and language, wrote reams of pages of diaries and travelogues, and made friends and enemies all over the world. How he afforded such traveling may be attributed to either his business acumen or his penchant for fraud; probably a bit of both.

In 1868, at the age of 46, Schliemann took up archaeology. There is no doubt that before that Schliemann had been interested in archaeology, particularly the history of the Trojan War, but it had always been subsidiary to his interest in languages and literature. But in June of 1868, Schliemann spent three days at the excavations at Pompeii directed by the archaeologist Guiseppi Fiorelli. In July, he visited Mount Aetos, considered then the site of the palace of Odysseus, and there Schliemann dug his first excavation pit. In that pit, or perhaps purchased locally, Schliemann obtained either 5 or 20 small vases containing cremated remains. The fuzziness is a deliberate obfuscation on Schliemann's part, not the first nor the last time that Schliemann would fudge the details in his archaeological investigations.

Three Candidates for Troy

At the time Schliemann's interest was stirred by archaeology and Homer, there were three candidates for the location of Homer's Troy. The popular choice of the day was Bunarbashi (also spelled Pinarbasi) and the accompanying acropolis of Balli-Dagh; Hisarlik was favored by the ancient writers and a small minority of scholars; and Alexandrian Troas, since determined to be too recent to be Homeric Troy, was a distant third. Schliemann excavated at Bunarbashi during the summer of 1868 and visited the Troad and Hisarlik, apparently unaware of the standing of Hisarlik until, at the end of the summer he dropped in on the archaeologist Frank Calvert. Calvert, a British archaeologist, was among the decided minority among scholars; he believed that Hisarlik was the site of Homeric Troy, but had had difficulty convincing the British Museum to support his excavations. He had put trenches into Hisarlik in 1865 and found enough evidence to convince himself that he had found the correct site. Calvert recognized that Schliemann had the money and chutzpah to get the additional funding and permits to dig at Hisarlik. Calvert spilt his guts, beginning a partnership he would learn to regret.

Schliemann returned to Paris in the fall of 1868 and spent six months becoming an expert on Troy and Mycenae, writing a book of his recent travels, and writing numerous letters to Calvert, asking him where he thought the best place to dig might be, and what sort of equipment he might need to excavate at Hisarlik. In 1870 Schliemann began excavations at Hisarlik, under the permit Frank Calvert had obtained for him, and with members of Calvert's crew. But never, in any of Schliemann's writings, did he ever admit that Calvert did anything more than agree with Schliemann's theories of the location of Homer's Troy, born that day when his father sat him on his knee.

More Homeric Questions

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Human Migration

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Human Migration
Jul 22nd 2011, 10:00

Someplace in Africaâ€"probably in East Africa near the Rift Valleyâ€"modern humans evolved about 200,000 years ago. The population rose and fell, and for one reason or anotherâ€"perhaps climate changes, perhaps population pressure, perhaps wanderlustâ€"small subsets of the people left to go elsewhere, creating their own groupsâ€"or rather our own groups, for these are, after all, our ancestors. Those groups spread in the same way, small subsets of the original groups leaving for greener pastures, sometimes returning and rejoining, sometimes leaving again. Africa has a huge range of environmentsâ€"deserts, coastal regions, pampas, rivers, lakes, and mountains, and it is certain that some of these required human adaptationsâ€"behavioral, cultural and physicalâ€"to the demands of the various climates.

Eventually, we left Africa, somewhere between 50,000â€"100,000 years ago. Tishkoff and colleagues believe that the main exit path way was out of east Africa, in the Red Sea area.

Sources and Further Information

Tishkoff, Sarah A., et al. 2009 The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans. Science Express. 30 April 2009

Human Migration from Africa: Four Theories

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Discovery of Troy

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Discovery of Troy
Jul 22nd 2011, 10:00

According to legend, the finder of the true site of Troy was Heinrich Schliemann, adventurer, speaker of 15 languages, world traveler, and gifted amateur archaeologist. In his memoirs and books, Schliemann claimed that when he was eight, his father took him on his knee and told him the story of the Iliad, the forbidden love between Helen, wife of the King of Sparta, and Paris, son of Priam of Troy, and how their elopement resulted in a war that destroyed a civilization. That story, said Schliemann, awoke in him a hunger to search for the archaeological proof of the existence of Troy and Tiryns and Mycenae. In fact, he was so hungry that he went into business to make his fortune so he could afford the search. And after much consideration and study and investigation, on his own he found the original site of Troy, at Hisarlik, a tell in Turkey.

Ah, Romance!

The reality, according to David Traill's 1995 biography, Schliemann of Troy: Treasure and Deceit, is that most of this is romantic baloney. Schliemann was a brilliant, gregarious, enormously talented and extremely restless con man, who nevertheless changed the course of archaeology and focused interest in the sites and events of the Iliad and created widespread belief in their physical reality. During Schliemann's peripatetic travels around the world (he visited the Netherlands, Russia, England, France, Mexico, America, Greece, Egypt, Italy, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan, all before he was 45), he took trips to ancient monuments, stopped at universities to take classes and attend lectures in comparative literature and language, wrote reams of pages of diaries and travelogues, and made friends and enemies all over the world. How he afforded such traveling may be attributed to either his business acumen or his penchant for fraud; probably a bit of both.

In 1868, at the age of 46, Schliemann took up archaeology. There is no doubt that before that Schliemann had been interested in archaeology, particularly the history of the Trojan War, but it had always been subsidiary to his interest in languages and literature. But in June of 1868, Schliemann spent three days at the excavations at Pompeii directed by the archaeologist Guiseppi Fiorelli. In July, he visited Mount Aetos, considered then the site of the palace of Odysseus, and there Schliemann dug his first excavation pit. In that pit, or perhaps purchased locally, Schliemann obtained either 5 or 20 small vases containing cremated remains. The fuzziness is a deliberate obfuscation on Schliemann's part, not the first nor the last time that Schliemann would fudge the details in his archaeological investigations.

Three Candidates for Troy

At the time Schliemann's interest was stirred by archaeology and Homer, there were three candidates for the location of Homer's Troy. The popular choice of the day was Bunarbashi (also spelled Pinarbasi) and the accompanying acropolis of Balli-Dagh; Hisarlik was favored by the ancient writers and a small minority of scholars; and Alexandrian Troas, since determined to be too recent to be Homeric Troy, was a distant third. Schliemann excavated at Bunarbashi during the summer of 1868 and visited the Troad and Hisarlik, apparently unaware of the standing of Hisarlik until, at the end of the summer he dropped in on the archaeologist Frank Calvert. Calvert, a British archaeologist, was among the decided minority among scholars; he believed that Hisarlik was the site of Homeric Troy, but had had difficulty convincing the British Museum to support his excavations. He had put trenches into Hisarlik in 1865 and found enough evidence to convince himself that he had found the correct site. Calvert recognized that Schliemann had the money and chutzpah to get the additional funding and permits to dig at Hisarlik. Calvert spilt his guts, beginning a partnership he would learn to regret.

Schliemann returned to Paris in the fall of 1868 and spent six months becoming an expert on Troy and Mycenae, writing a book of his recent travels, and writing numerous letters to Calvert, asking him where he thought the best place to dig might be, and what sort of equipment he might need to excavate at Hisarlik. In 1870 Schliemann began excavations at Hisarlik, under the permit Frank Calvert had obtained for him, and with members of Calvert's crew. But never, in any of Schliemann's writings, did he ever admit that Calvert did anything more than agree with Schliemann's theories of the location of Homer's Troy, born that day when his father sat him on his knee.

More Homeric Questions

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