Saturday, August 13, 2011

Archaeology: What's Hot Now: The Taj Mahal (India)

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
The Taj Mahal (India)
Aug 13th 2011, 10:00

The Taj Mahal, at Agra, India, was built at the request of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century in memory of his wife and queen Mumtaz Mahal who died in AH 1040 (AD 1630). The exquisite architectural structure, designed by the famed Islamic architect Ustad 'Isa, was completed in 1648.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: The Taj Mahal (India)

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
The Taj Mahal (India)
Aug 13th 2011, 10:00

The Taj Mahal, at Agra, India, was built at the request of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century in memory of his wife and queen Mumtaz Mahal who died in AH 1040 (AD 1630). The exquisite architectural structure, designed by the famed Islamic architect Ustad 'Isa, was completed in 1648.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Material Culture

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Material Culture
Aug 13th 2011, 10:00

Definition:

The term "material culture" is often used by archaeologists as a non-specific way to refer to the artifacts or other concrete things left by past cultures. An archaeologist thus can be described as a person who studies the material culture of a past society.

A "material culture study", however, is one that emphasizes artifacts as a subject unto themselves, that is, largely separate from their context. Someone who studies textiles or paintings in a museum, or investigates classes of artifacts such as projectile points or ceramic vessels, would be a material cultural specialist.

Material Culture and Material Culture Study

The distinction is an important one to make as separate from, say, a behavioral ecologist or post-processualist.

Material culture means something else to art historians. Interestingly enough, when they speak of material culture they look at an object within its environmental and cultural context, as you can see at this description of Material Culture from the Art History department at UW Madison.

More Information

The Journal of Material Culture is a fairly new journal dedicated to the archaeological side of this fascinating study.

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: Plant Domestication

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Plant Domestication
Aug 13th 2011, 10:00

The domestication of plants is one of the first steps in moving towards a full-fledged agricultural economy, although the process is by no means a one-directional movement. A plant is said to be domesticated when its native characteristics are altered such that it cannot grow and reproduce without human intervention. Domestication is thought to be the result of the development of a symbiotic relationship between the plants and humans, called co-evolution, because plants and human behaviors evolve to suit one another. In the simplest form of co-evolution, a human harvests a given plant selectively, based on the preferred characteristics, such as the largest fruits, and uses the seeds from the largest fruits to plant the next year.

The following table is compiled from a variety of sources, and detailed descriptions of the domesticates will be added to as I get to them. Thanks again to Ron Hicks at Ball State University for his suggestions and information.

See the Animal Domestication table for the latest on animals.

Plant Domestication

Plant Where Domesticated Date
Fig trees Near East 9000 BC
Rice East Asia 9000 BC
Barley Near East 8500 BC
Einkorn wheat Near East 8500 BC
Emmer wheat Near East 8500 BC
Chickpea Anatolia 8500 BC
Bottle gourd Asia 8000 BC
Potatoes Andes Mountains 8000 BC
Squash (Cucurbita pepo) Central America 8000 BC
Maize Central America 7000 BC
Broomcorn millet East Asia 6000 BC
Bread wheat Near East 6000 BC
Manioc/Cassava South America 6000 BC
Avocado Central America 5000 BC
Cotton Southwest Asia 5000 BC
Bananas Island Southeast Asia 5000 BC
Chili peppers South America 4000 BC
Amaranth Central America 4000 BC
Watermelon Near East 4000 BC
Olives Near East 4000 BC
Cotton Peru 4000 BC
Pomegranate Iran 3500 BC
Hemp East Asia 3500 BC
Cotton Mesoamerica 3000 BC
Coca South America 3000 BC
Squash (Cucurbita pepo ovifera ) North America 3000 BC
Sunflower Central America 2600 BC
Sweet Potato Peru 2500 BC
Marsh elder (Iva annua) North America 2400 BC
Sorghum Africa 2000 BC
Sunflower North America 2000 BC
Pearl millet Africa 1800 BC
Chocolate Mexico 1600 BC
Chenopodium North America 1500 BC
Coconut Southeast Asia 1500 BC
Eggplant Asia 1st century BC
Vanilla Central America 14th century AD

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Material Culture

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Material Culture
Aug 13th 2011, 10:00

Definition:

The term "material culture" is often used by archaeologists as a non-specific way to refer to the artifacts or other concrete things left by past cultures. An archaeologist thus can be described as a person who studies the material culture of a past society.

A "material culture study", however, is one that emphasizes artifacts as a subject unto themselves, that is, largely separate from their context. Someone who studies textiles or paintings in a museum, or investigates classes of artifacts such as projectile points or ceramic vessels, would be a material cultural specialist.

Material Culture and Material Culture Study

The distinction is an important one to make as separate from, say, a behavioral ecologist or post-processualist.

Material culture means something else to art historians. Interestingly enough, when they speak of material culture they look at an object within its environmental and cultural context, as you can see at this description of Material Culture from the Art History department at UW Madison.

More Information

The Journal of Material Culture is a fairly new journal dedicated to the archaeological side of this fascinating study.

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: Silkworms and Silk Making

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Silkworms and Silk Making
Aug 13th 2011, 10:00

Silkworms (also spelled silk worms) are the larval form of the domesticated silk moth, Bombyx mori. Native to northern China, the silk moth was domesticated from its progenitor species Bombyx mandarina about 3500 BC. Today the silkworm is reliant upon human intervention to reproduce. The cocoons of the silk moth are spun by the larva themselvesâ€"and the silk fibers are simply unraveled, each cocoon producing between 100-300 meters of fine thread.

The history of the use of the cocoons of the silkworm species Bombyx to produce cloth suggests that it was in use at least as early as the Longshan period (3500-2000 BC), and perhaps earlier. Evidence of silk for this period is only known from a few remnant textile fragments recovered from well-preserved tombs. Textual evidence for silk production is found in the Shi Ji, and art depictions of garments.

Silkworms and Jin Brocades

The Western Zhou Dynasty (11th-8th centuries BC) saw the development of the famous Jin brocades, as evidenced by excavations at Wulipai. Many silk textile examples have been recovered from archaeological excavations of sites Mashan and Baoshan sites, dated to the Chu Kingdom (7th century BC) of the later Warring States period.

By the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 9), silk production was so important to international trade that the roadways used to connect Chang'An with Europe were named The Silk Road. The secret of the production for silk remained unknown outside China until the 6th century AD.

Silkworm Sources and Further Information

From About's Ancient History Guide

See the July 2008 article in Smithsonian magazine by Peter Ross Range called Silken Treasure for information on the silk industry in Como, Italy.

This article is part of the Guide to the History of Animal Domestication.

Biological analysis group, et al. 2004 A Draft Sequence for the Genome of the Domesticated Silkworm (Bombyx mori). Science 306(5703):1937-1940.

Wenming, Yan. 2004. The Cradle of Eastern Civilization. Pp. 49-75 in Yang, Xiaoneng. 2004. Chinese Archaeology in the Twentieth Century: New Perspectives on China's Past. Yale University Press, New Haven.

Zhao, Hong-Ping, et al. 2005 Mechanical properties of silkworm cocoons. Polymer 46(21):9192-9201.

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: Silkworms and Silk Making

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Silkworms and Silk Making
Aug 13th 2011, 10:00

Silkworms (also spelled silk worms) are the larval form of the domesticated silk moth, Bombyx mori. Native to northern China, the silk moth was domesticated from its progenitor species Bombyx mandarina about 3500 BC. Today the silkworm is reliant upon human intervention to reproduce. The cocoons of the silk moth are spun by the larva themselvesâ€"and the silk fibers are simply unraveled, each cocoon producing between 100-300 meters of fine thread.

The history of the use of the cocoons of the silkworm species Bombyx to produce cloth suggests that it was in use at least as early as the Longshan period (3500-2000 BC), and perhaps earlier. Evidence of silk for this period is only known from a few remnant textile fragments recovered from well-preserved tombs. Textual evidence for silk production is found in the Shi Ji, and art depictions of garments.

Silkworms and Jin Brocades

The Western Zhou Dynasty (11th-8th centuries BC) saw the development of the famous Jin brocades, as evidenced by excavations at Wulipai. Many silk textile examples have been recovered from archaeological excavations of sites Mashan and Baoshan sites, dated to the Chu Kingdom (7th century BC) of the later Warring States period.

By the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 9), silk production was so important to international trade that the roadways used to connect Chang'An with Europe were named The Silk Road. The secret of the production for silk remained unknown outside China until the 6th century AD.

Silkworm Sources and Further Information

From About's Ancient History Guide

See the July 2008 article in Smithsonian magazine by Peter Ross Range called Silken Treasure for information on the silk industry in Como, Italy.

This article is part of the Guide to the History of Animal Domestication.

Biological analysis group, et al. 2004 A Draft Sequence for the Genome of the Domesticated Silkworm (Bombyx mori). Science 306(5703):1937-1940.

Wenming, Yan. 2004. The Cradle of Eastern Civilization. Pp. 49-75 in Yang, Xiaoneng. 2004. Chinese Archaeology in the Twentieth Century: New Perspectives on China's Past. Yale University Press, New Haven.

Zhao, Hong-Ping, et al. 2005 Mechanical properties of silkworm cocoons. Polymer 46(21):9192-9201.

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: Plant Domestication

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Plant Domestication
Aug 13th 2011, 10:00

The domestication of plants is one of the first steps in moving towards a full-fledged agricultural economy, although the process is by no means a one-directional movement. A plant is said to be domesticated when its native characteristics are altered such that it cannot grow and reproduce without human intervention. Domestication is thought to be the result of the development of a symbiotic relationship between the plants and humans, called co-evolution, because plants and human behaviors evolve to suit one another. In the simplest form of co-evolution, a human harvests a given plant selectively, based on the preferred characteristics, such as the largest fruits, and uses the seeds from the largest fruits to plant the next year.

The following table is compiled from a variety of sources, and detailed descriptions of the domesticates will be added to as I get to them. Thanks again to Ron Hicks at Ball State University for his suggestions and information.

See the Animal Domestication table for the latest on animals.

Plant Domestication

Plant Where Domesticated Date
Fig trees Near East 9000 BC
Rice East Asia 9000 BC
Barley Near East 8500 BC
Einkorn wheat Near East 8500 BC
Emmer wheat Near East 8500 BC
Chickpea Anatolia 8500 BC
Bottle gourd Asia 8000 BC
Potatoes Andes Mountains 8000 BC
Squash (Cucurbita pepo) Central America 8000 BC
Maize Central America 7000 BC
Broomcorn millet East Asia 6000 BC
Bread wheat Near East 6000 BC
Manioc/Cassava South America 6000 BC
Avocado Central America 5000 BC
Cotton Southwest Asia 5000 BC
Bananas Island Southeast Asia 5000 BC
Chili peppers South America 4000 BC
Amaranth Central America 4000 BC
Watermelon Near East 4000 BC
Olives Near East 4000 BC
Cotton Peru 4000 BC
Pomegranate Iran 3500 BC
Hemp East Asia 3500 BC
Cotton Mesoamerica 3000 BC
Coca South America 3000 BC
Squash (Cucurbita pepo ovifera ) North America 3000 BC
Sunflower Central America 2600 BC
Sweet Potato Peru 2500 BC
Marsh elder (Iva annua) North America 2400 BC
Sorghum Africa 2000 BC
Sunflower North America 2000 BC
Pearl millet Africa 1800 BC
Chocolate Mexico 1600 BC
Chenopodium North America 1500 BC
Coconut Southeast Asia 1500 BC
Eggplant Asia 1st century BC
Vanilla Central America 14th century AD

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Friday, August 12, 2011

Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Dama de Elche (Spain)

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Dama de Elche (Spain)
Aug 12th 2011, 10:00

The Dama de Elche (Woman of Elche or Lady of Elx) is the name of a life-sized stone bust of a woman, carved between the fifth and fourth centuries BC. The statue was discovered by accident in 1897 at the archaeological site of La Alcudia, located in the town of Elche, Spain, on the southeast Iberian peninsula.

The bust measures some 56 centimeters high, and it features the head and shoulders of an elite woman. It was carved from fossiliferous limestone, and it was hollowed out with a large opening in its back. Although most of the coloration has faded with, the statue was originally painted in vivid colors ("polychrome"). Two of the colors with which it was painted have been identified: classic natural vermillion and Egyptian blue. These paints were laid over a base coat of gypsum mixed with calcium carbonate.

Dating the bust has been difficult, because the statue was found accidentally and precise provenience data has been lost. Stylistically, the Dama de Elche appears to match the Classic Iberian period, and, given its recovery in the vicinity of La Alcudia, which was destroyed in fourth century BC, archaeologists have chosen to bracket it within the 5th and 4th centuries. recent studies of microscopic contents of the Dama de Elche have identified it as a cinerary urn, a repository for the ashes of a cremated human being.

The Dama de Elche is currently on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid.

Sources

This glossary entry is a part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.

Luxán MP, Prada JL, Dorrego F, and Dorrego JF. 2011 Human bone ashes found in the Dama de Elche (V-IV century B.C.) reveal its use as an ancient cinerary urn. Journal of Cultural Heritage 12(3):310-316.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Maya Civilization Guide

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Maya Civilization Guide
Aug 12th 2011, 10:00

The Maya Civilizationâ€"also called the Mayan civilizationâ€"is the general name archaeologists have given to several independent, loosely affiliated city states who shared a cultural heritage in terms of language, customs, dress, artistic style and material culture. They occupied the central American continent, including the southern parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, an area of about 150,000 square miles. In general, researchers tend to split the Maya into the Highland and Lowland Maya.

By the way, archaeologists prefer to use the term "Maya civilization" rather than the more common "Mayan civilization", leaving "Mayan" to refer to the language.

Highland and Lowland Maya

The Maya civilization covered an enormous area with a large variation of environments, economies, and growth of the civilization. Scholars address some of the Maya cultural variation by studying separate issues related to the climate and environment of the region. The Maya Highlands are the southern part of the Maya civilization, included the mountainous region in Mexico (particularly Chiapas state), Guatemala and Honduras.

The Maya Lowlands make up the northern segment of the Maya region, including Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, and adjacent parts of Guatemala and Belize. A Pacific coastal piedmont range north of the Soconusco had fertile soils, dense forests and mangrove swamps.

See Maya Lowlands and Maya Highlands for in-depth information.

The Maya civilization was certainly never an "empire", inasmuch as one person never ruled the entire region. During the Classic period, there were several strong kings at Tikal, Calakmul, Caracol and Dos Pilas, but none of them ever conquered the others. It's probably best to think of the Maya as a collection of independent city states, who shared some ritual and ceremonial practices, some architecture, some cultural objects. The city states traded with one another, and with the Olmec and Teotihuacan polities (at different times), and they also warred with one another from time to time.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Ancient Pigments

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Ancient Pigments
Aug 12th 2011, 10:00

Ancient pigments were created by all human cultures on earth at least since the early modern humans used ochre to stain themselves, to paint walls and objects, some 70,000 years ago in South Africa. The investigations of pigments have led to some interesting conclusions about how pigments were manufactured and what roles they played in prehistoric and historic societies. 

Ochre or Hematite

Ochre, a natural pigment which comes in shades of yellow, red, orange and brown, is the first pigment used by humans, in the Middle Stone Age of Africa, at least 70.000 years ago. Ochre, also called hematite, is found all over the world, and has been used by nearly every prehistoric culture, whether as paint on cave and building walls, staining of pottery or other types of artifacts or part of a burial ritual or body paints.

Royal Purple

A color somewhere between blue-violet and red-purple, royal purple was a dye made from a species of whelk, used by the royalty of Europe for their clothing and and other purposes. It was probably first invented at Tyre during the Imperial Roman period of the 1st century AD.

Chinese or Han Purple

Pit 1, Emperor Qin's Terracotta Warriors and Horses MuseumChina Photos / Getty Images

Chinese Purple, also called  Han Purple, was a manufactured purple pigment invented in China about 1200 BC, during the Western Zhou Dynasty. Some archaeologists believe that the Zhou dynasty artist who invented the color was trying to imitate a rare of jade. Chinese Purple is sometimes called Han Purple, because it was used in painting the terracotta soldiers of the Qin emperor during the first century BC.

Maya Blue

Maya Blue is a bright blue pigment used by the Maya civilization to decorate pottery and wall mural paintings beginning about AD 500. It was also very important in some Maya ritual contexts.

Egyptian Blue

Egyptian blue is an ancient pigment manufactured by the Bronze Age Egyptians and Mesopotamia and adopted by Imperial Rome. First used circa 2600 BC, Egyptian blue decorated many art objects, pottery vessels and walls.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Maya Civilization Guide

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Maya Civilization Guide
Aug 12th 2011, 10:00

The Maya Civilizationâ€"also called the Mayan civilizationâ€"is the general name archaeologists have given to several independent, loosely affiliated city states who shared a cultural heritage in terms of language, customs, dress, artistic style and material culture. They occupied the central American continent, including the southern parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, an area of about 150,000 square miles. In general, researchers tend to split the Maya into the Highland and Lowland Maya.

By the way, archaeologists prefer to use the term "Maya civilization" rather than the more common "Mayan civilization", leaving "Mayan" to refer to the language.

Highland and Lowland Maya

The Maya civilization covered an enormous area with a large variation of environments, economies, and growth of the civilization. Scholars address some of the Maya cultural variation by studying separate issues related to the climate and environment of the region. The Maya Highlands are the southern part of the Maya civilization, included the mountainous region in Mexico (particularly Chiapas state), Guatemala and Honduras.

The Maya Lowlands make up the northern segment of the Maya region, including Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, and adjacent parts of Guatemala and Belize. A Pacific coastal piedmont range north of the Soconusco had fertile soils, dense forests and mangrove swamps.

See Maya Lowlands and Maya Highlands for in-depth information.

The Maya civilization was certainly never an "empire", inasmuch as one person never ruled the entire region. During the Classic period, there were several strong kings at Tikal, Calakmul, Caracol and Dos Pilas, but none of them ever conquered the others. It's probably best to think of the Maya as a collection of independent city states, who shared some ritual and ceremonial practices, some architecture, some cultural objects. The city states traded with one another, and with the Olmec and Teotihuacan polities (at different times), and they also warred with one another from time to time.

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If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Ancient Pigments

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Ancient Pigments
Aug 12th 2011, 10:00

Ancient pigments were created by all human cultures on earth at least since the early modern humans used ochre to stain themselves, to paint walls and objects, some 70,000 years ago in South Africa. The investigations of pigments have led to some interesting conclusions about how pigments were manufactured and what roles they played in prehistoric and historic societies. 

Ochre or Hematite

Ochre, a natural pigment which comes in shades of yellow, red, orange and brown, is the first pigment used by humans, in the Middle Stone Age of Africa, at least 70.000 years ago. Ochre, also called hematite, is found all over the world, and has been used by nearly every prehistoric culture, whether as paint on cave and building walls, staining of pottery or other types of artifacts or part of a burial ritual or body paints.

Royal Purple

A color somewhere between blue-violet and red-purple, royal purple was a dye made from a species of whelk, used by the royalty of Europe for their clothing and and other purposes. It was probably first invented at Tyre during the Imperial Roman period of the 1st century AD.

Chinese or Han Purple

Pit 1, Emperor Qin's Terracotta Warriors and Horses MuseumChina Photos / Getty Images

Chinese Purple, also called  Han Purple, was a manufactured purple pigment invented in China about 1200 BC, during the Western Zhou Dynasty. Some archaeologists believe that the Zhou dynasty artist who invented the color was trying to imitate a rare of jade. Chinese Purple is sometimes called Han Purple, because it was used in painting the terracotta soldiers of the Qin emperor during the first century BC.

Maya Blue

Maya Blue is a bright blue pigment used by the Maya civilization to decorate pottery and wall mural paintings beginning about AD 500. It was also very important in some Maya ritual contexts.

Egyptian Blue

Egyptian blue is an ancient pigment manufactured by the Bronze Age Egyptians and Mesopotamia and adopted by Imperial Rome. First used circa 2600 BC, Egyptian blue decorated many art objects, pottery vessels and walls.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Stonehenge (United Kingdom)

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Stonehenge (United Kingdom)
Aug 12th 2011, 10:00

Definition:

Stonehenge is a megalithic rock monument of 150 enormous stones set in a purposeful circular pattern, located on the Salisbury Plain of southern England, the main portion of it built about 2000 BC. The outside circle of Stonehenge includes 17 enormous upright trimmed stones of hard sandstone called sarsen; some paired with a lintel over the top. This circle is about 30 meters (100 feet) in diameter, and, stands about 5 meters (16 feet) tall.

Inside the circle are five more paired-and-linteled stones of sarsen, called trilithons, each of these weighing 50-60 tons and the tallest 7 meters (23 feet) high. Inside that, a few smaller stones of bluestone, quarried 200 kilometers away in the Preseli Mountains of western Wales, are set in two horseshoe patterns. Finally, one large block of Welsh sandstone marks the center of the monument.

Stonehenge has been the focus of archaeological investigations for a very long time indeed, beginning with the likes of William Harvey and John Aubrey in the 17th century. Although claims for Stonehenge's 'computer' have been pretty wild, the alignment of the stones is widely accepted as intended to mark the summer solstice.

Because of its location near two major British arteries, the site has also been subject to development issues since the 1970s.

Sources

See Solstices at Stonehenge for photos and ancient observatories for others.

Baxter, Ian and Christopher Chippendale 2003 Stonehenge: The brownfield approach. Current Archaeology 18:394-97.

Bewley, R. H., S. P. Crutchley, and C. A. Shell 2005 New light on an ancient landscape: Lidar survey in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. Antiquity 79:636-647.

Chippindale, Christopher 1994 Stonehenge Complete. New York: Thames and Hudson.

Johnson, Anthony. 2008. Solving Stonehenge. Thames and Hudson: Lond.

Common Misspellings: Stone henge

Related Glossary Entries

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Stonehenge (United Kingdom)

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Stonehenge (United Kingdom)
Aug 12th 2011, 10:00

Definition:

Stonehenge is a megalithic rock monument of 150 enormous stones set in a purposeful circular pattern, located on the Salisbury Plain of southern England, the main portion of it built about 2000 BC. The outside circle of Stonehenge includes 17 enormous upright trimmed stones of hard sandstone called sarsen; some paired with a lintel over the top. This circle is about 30 meters (100 feet) in diameter, and, stands about 5 meters (16 feet) tall.

Inside the circle are five more paired-and-linteled stones of sarsen, called trilithons, each of these weighing 50-60 tons and the tallest 7 meters (23 feet) high. Inside that, a few smaller stones of bluestone, quarried 200 kilometers away in the Preseli Mountains of western Wales, are set in two horseshoe patterns. Finally, one large block of Welsh sandstone marks the center of the monument.

Stonehenge has been the focus of archaeological investigations for a very long time indeed, beginning with the likes of William Harvey and John Aubrey in the 17th century. Although claims for Stonehenge's 'computer' have been pretty wild, the alignment of the stones is widely accepted as intended to mark the summer solstice.

Because of its location near two major British arteries, the site has also been subject to development issues since the 1970s.

Sources

See Solstices at Stonehenge for photos and ancient observatories for others.

Baxter, Ian and Christopher Chippendale 2003 Stonehenge: The brownfield approach. Current Archaeology 18:394-97.

Bewley, R. H., S. P. Crutchley, and C. A. Shell 2005 New light on an ancient landscape: Lidar survey in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. Antiquity 79:636-647.

Chippindale, Christopher 1994 Stonehenge Complete. New York: Thames and Hudson.

Johnson, Anthony. 2008. Solving Stonehenge. Thames and Hudson: Lond.

Common Misspellings: Stone henge

Related Glossary Entries

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Dama de Elche (Spain)

Archaeology: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week
Dama de Elche (Spain)
Aug 12th 2011, 10:00

The Dama de Elche (Woman of Elche or Lady of Elx) is the name of a life-sized stone bust of a woman, carved between the fifth and fourth centuries BC. The statue was discovered by accident in 1897 at the archaeological site of La Alcudia, located in the town of Elche, Spain, on the southeast Iberian peninsula.

The bust measures some 56 centimeters high, and it features the head and shoulders of an elite woman. It was carved from fossiliferous limestone, and it was hollowed out with a large opening in its back. Although most of the coloration has faded with, the statue was originally painted in vivid colors ("polychrome"). Two of the colors with which it was painted have been identified: classic natural vermillion and Egyptian blue. These paints were laid over a base coat of gypsum mixed with calcium carbonate.

Dating the bust has been difficult, because the statue was found accidentally and precise provenience data has been lost. Stylistically, the Dama de Elche appears to match the Classic Iberian period, and, given its recovery in the vicinity of La Alcudia, which was destroyed in fourth century BC, archaeologists have chosen to bracket it within the 5th and 4th centuries. recent studies of microscopic contents of the Dama de Elche have identified it as a cinerary urn, a repository for the ashes of a cremated human being.

The Dama de Elche is currently on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid.

Sources

This glossary entry is a part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.

Luxán MP, Prada JL, Dorrego F, and Dorrego JF. 2011 Human bone ashes found in the Dama de Elche (V-IV century B.C.) reveal its use as an ancient cinerary urn. Journal of Cultural Heritage 12(3):310-316.

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