Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Invention of Pottery

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Invention of Pottery Sep 3rd 2011, 10:00 Of all the kinds of artifacts which may be found at archaeological sites, ceramics--objects made from fired clay--are surely one of the most useful. Ceramic artifacts are extremely durable, and may last thousands of years virtually unchanged from the date of manufacture. And, ceramic artifacts, unlike stone tools, are completely person-made, shaped of clay and purposely fired. Clay figurines are known from the earliest human occupations; but clay vessels, pottery vessels used for storing, cooking and serving food, and carrying water were first manufactured at least 12-13,000 years ago, and perhaps a little earlier yet. Pre-Jomon: The Kamino Site Sherds from the earliest pottery vessels known in the world have been found at the Kamino site in southwestern Japan. This site has a stone tool assemblage which appears to classify it as late Paleolithic, called Pre-ceramic in Japanese archaeology to separate it from the Lower Paleolithic cultures of Europe and the mainland. At the Kamino site in addition to a handful of potsherds were found microblades, wedge-shaped microcores, spearheads and other artifacts similar to assemblages at Pre-ceramic sites in Japan dated between 14,000 and 16,000 years before the present (BP). This layer is stratigraphically below a securely dated Initial Jomon culture occupation of 12,000 BP. The ceramic sherds are not decorated, and are very small and fragmentary. Recent thermoluminescence dating of the sherds themselves returned a 13,000-12,000 BP date. Jomon Culture Sites Ceramic sherds are also found, also in small quantities, but with a bean-impression decoration, in a half-dozen sites of the Mikoshiba-Chojukado sites of southwestern Japan, also dated to the late Pre-ceramic period. These pots are bag shaped but somewhat pointed at the bottom, and sites with these sherds include the Odaiyamamoto and Ushirono sites, and Senpukuji Cave. Like those of the Kamino site, these sherds are also quite rare, suggesting that although the technology was known to the Late Pre-ceramic cultures, it just was not terribly useful to their nomadic lifestyle. In contrast, ceramics were very useful indeed to the Jomon peoples. In Japanese, the word "Jomon" means "cord-mark," as in cord-marked decoration on pottery. The Jomon tradition is the name given to hunter-gatherer cultures in Japan from about 13,000 to 2500 BP, when migrating populations from the mainland brought full-time wet rice agriculture. For the entire ten millennia, the Jomon peoples used ceramic vessels for storage and cooking. Incipient Jomon ceramics are identified by patterns of lines applied onto a bag-shaped vessel. Later, as on the mainland, highly decorated vessels were also manufactured by the Jomon peoples. Read more about Jomon culture By 10,000 BP, the use of ceramics is found throughout mainland China, and by 5,000 BP ceramic vessels are found throughout the world, both independently invented in the Americas or spread by diffusion into the middle eastern Neolithic cultures. Porcelain and High-Fired Ceramics The first high-fired glazed ceramics were produced in China, during the Shang (1700-1027 BC) dynasty period. At sites such as Yinxu and Erligang, high-fired ceramics appear in the 13th-17th centuries BC. These pots were made from a local clay, washed with wood ash and fired in kilns to temperatures of between 1200 and 1225 degrees Centigrade to produce a high fired lime-based glaze. Shang and Zhou dynasty potters continued to refine the technique, testing different clays and washes, eventually leading to the development of true porcelain. See Yin, Rehren and Zheng 2011. Read more about the Shang Dynasty Sources and a Bibliography This article was written based on Keiji Imamura's Prehistoric Japan: New Perspectives on Insular East Asia, and with the assistance of Charles Keally's summary of Japanese archaeology. A source bibliography on the invention of pottery is on the next page.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. 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: Zhou Dynasty, China

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Zhou Dynasty, China Sep 3rd 2011, 10:00 The Zhou Dynasty (also spelled Chou) is the name given to a historical period roughly consisting of the last two-fifths of the Chinese Bronze Age, traditionally marked between 1046 and 221 BC (although scholars are divided on the starting date). It is broken into three periods: Western Zhou (ca 1046-771 BC) The Zhou ruling dynasty was founded by King Wen, and solidified by his successor King Wu, who conquered the Shang Dynasty. During this period, the Zhou were based along the Wei River in Shaanxi Province and ruled much of the Wei and Yellow River valleys as well as portions of the Yangzi and Han river systems. The rulers were kin-based, and the society was strictly tiered with a strong aristocracy in place. Eastern Zhou (ca 771-481 BC) About 771 BC, the Zhou leaders were forced eastward out of their previous strongholds near Mount Qi and into a reduced area near their capital city of Luoyang. This period is also called Springs and Autumns (Chunqin), after a history of that name which documented the Eastern Zhou dynasties. The Eastern Zhou rulers were despotic, with a centralized administration and a ranked bureaucracy. Taxation and corvee labor were present. Warring States (ca 481-221 BC) About 481 BC, the Zhou dynasty fragmented into separate kingdoms, the Wei, Han and Zhao kingdoms. During this period, iron working became available, the standard of living rose and the population grew. Currency was established enabling farflung trading systems. The Warring States period ended when the Qin dynasty reunited China in 221 BC. Zhou Sites and Historical Documents Historical documents dated to the Zhou include the Guo yu (the oldest known history of China, dated to the 5th century BC), the Zuo zhuan, the Shangshu and the Shi jing (poetry and hymns). Capital cities of the Zhou which have been identified archaeologically are relatively rare, but probably include Wangcheng (in present-day Xiaotun), Doumenzhen, Luoyang, Hao-Ching and Zhangjiapo, where some 15,000 tombs were identified and 1000 excavated during the 1980s. Bronze vessel hoards, deposited when the Zhou fled the west, have been identified in Qishan county of Shaanxi province, such as at several sites in the modern town of Baoji. These beautiful vessels (the two 'you' illustrated here are from Baoji) often have inscriptions which contain genealogical data, which allowed researchers to reconstruct lineage data for the various Zhou royal families. Sources Falkenhausen, Lothar von. 2007. Chinese Society in the Age of Confucius (1000-250 BC). Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Los Angeles. Shaughnessy, Edward L. 2004. Western Zhou Hoards and Family Histories in the Zhouyuan. pp 255-267 in Volume 1, Chinese Archaeology in the Twentieth Century: New Perspectives on China's Past. Xiaoneng Yang, ed. Yale University Press, New Haven. Taketsugu, Iijima. 2004. An investigation of the Western Zhou capital at Luoyang. pp. 247-253 in Volume 1, in Volume 1, Chinese Archaeology in the Twentieth Century: New Perspectives on China's Past. Xiaoneng Yang, ed. Yale University Press, New Haven.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. 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: Lascaux Cave

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Lascaux Cave Sep 3rd 2011, 10:00 Lascaux Cave is a rockshelter in the Dordogne Valley of France with fabulous cave paintings, painted between 15,000 and 17,000 years ago. Although it is no longer open to the public, a victim of too much tourism and the encroachment of dangerous bacteria, Lascaux has been recreated, online and in replica format, so that visitors may still see the amazing paintings of the Upper Paleolithic artists. Lascaux's Discovery During the early fall of 1940, four teenage boys were exploring the hills above the Vézère River near the town of Montignac in the Dordogne Valley of south central France when they stumbled on an amazing archaeological discovery. A large pine tree had fallen from the hill years before and left a hole; the intrepid group slipped into the hole and fell into what is now called the Hall of the Bulls, a 20 by 5 meter (66 x 16 foot) tall fresco of cattle and deer and aurochs and horses, painted in masterful strokes and gorgeous colors some 15,000-17,000 years ago. Lascaux Cave Art Lascaux Cave is one of the world's great treasures. Exploration of its vast interior revealed about six hundred paintings and almost 1,500 engravings. Subject matter of the cave paintings and engravings reflect the climate of the time of their painting. Unlike older caves which contain mammoths and woolly rhinoceros, the paintings in Lascaux are birds and bison and deer and aurochs and horses, all from the warming Interstadial period. The cave also features hundreds of "signs", quadrilateral shapes and dots and other patterns we'll surely never decipher. Colors in the cave are blacks and yellows, reds and whites, and were produced from charcoal and manganese and ocher and iron oxides, which were probably recovered locally and do not appear to have been heated prior to their use. Restorations at Lascaux Cave Sadly, or perhaps inevitably, the beauty of Lascaux drew tremendous numbers of tourists by the late 1950s, and the size of the traffic endangered the paintings. The cave was closed to the public in 1963. In 1983, a replica of the Hall of the Bulls was opened, and it is there that most tourists go. The original paintings have been restored, and we are tremendously fortunate that one of the first websites on the Internet was the Lascaux Cave siteâ€"in fact, it was the first web site I ever saw, back in 1994 or so. Today it is a marvel of wonderful graphics-enhanced information, truly one of my favorite web sites. Loads of pictures from each of the rooms; pictures of the boys as they are today and history and archaeological information as well. The discussion of the deterioration of Lascaux in 1963 and what the French government did to create a replica is particularly interesting. A time line illustrates Lascaux's place in time within the collection of known Paleolithic cave art sites, and active links on the line take you to Cosquer, Chauvet, La Ferassie, Cap Blanc and other caves in the Dordogne valley. In 2009, the French government opened a new webpage for Lascaux. It features a video walk through of the cave, so you really get a feel for the warm, womb-like cave. A haunting sound track and extremely detailed views of each of the large panels are also available. It is even more spectacular than the original, and that's saying quite a bit. Recent Research at Lascaux Recent research on Lascaux has included some investigations of the hundreds of bacteria which have formed in the cave. Because it was air conditioned for decades, and then treated biochemically to reduce mold, many pathogens have made a home in the cave, including the bacillus for Legionnaire's disease. It is unlikely that the cave will ever be opened to the public again. Lascaux's web sites are fully realized in French, Spanish, German, and English, and a real treat to visit. The website is a true innovation on the part of the French government, both conserving one of the world's most treasured art galleries and permitting untold numbers of visitors to see it. Even if we can never get into Lascaux Cave, there's two wonderful web sites to let us get a taste of the work of the masters of Paleolithic cave art. Sources This glossary entry is a part of the Guide to Parietal (Cave) Art and part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Bastian, Fabiola, Claude Alabouvette, and Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez 2009 Bacteria and free-living amoeba in the Lascaux Cave. Research in Microbiology 160(1):38-40. Chalmin, Emilie, et al. 2004 Les blasons de Lascaux. L'Anthropologie 108(5):571-592. Delluc, Brigitte and Gilles Delluc 2006 Art paléolithique, saisons et climats. Comptes Rendus Palevol 5(1-2):203-211. Vignaud, Colette, et al. 2006 Le groupe des « bisons adossés » de Lascaux. Étude de la technique de l'artiste par analyse des pigments. L'Anthropologie 110(4):482-499.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. 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: Australopithecus

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Australopithecus Sep 3rd 2011, 10:00 Australopithecus is one of several species of hominins who may or may not be Homo sapiens direct ancestor. Fossils of Australopithecus have been found in Africa dating to the period between 4.2 and 1.4 million years ago. They discovered how to use tools approximately 2 million years ago, marking the beginning of the Lower Paleolithic period. Australopithecus used bipedal locomotion (walked upright on two legs), had a long forearm and lumbar column relative to African or Asian apes, stood between 1.2 and 1.5 meters, and had a body mass of 30-35 kilograms and a brain size between 350 and 600 cubic centimeters. Australopithecus Species In general scientists recognize seven species of the genus Australopithecus (although certainly there is debate): Australopithecus afarensis, 3.6-2.9 million years ago (mya). Laetoli (Tanzania), Koobi Fora and West Turkana (Kenya), Omo and Selam aka Dikika (Ethiopia), Middle Awash and Hadar regions in Ethiopia, Sterkfontein, South Africa A. aethiopicus, 2.7-2.3 mya. West Turkana in Kenya, Omo Shungura in Ethiopia. A. africanus, 3-2 mya. Makapansgat, Sterkfontein, Taung in South Africa. A. anamensis, 4.17-3.9 mya. Kanapoi and Allia Bay in Kenya, Fejej and Galili in Ethiopia. A. boisei, 2.3-1.4 million years ago. Chiwondo in Malawi, Olduvai Gorge and Peninj in Tanzania, Koobi Fora and West Turkana in Kenya, Omo Shungura and Konso-Gardula in Ethiopia. A. garhi 2.5 mya. Bouri and Omo Shungura in Ethiopia, Baringo-Chemeron in Kenya. A. robustus, 1.7 mya. Kromdraai, Swartkrans, Drimolen and Gondolin, South Africa. Sources This definition is part of the Guide to the Lower Paleolithic. Alemseged, Zeresenay, et al. 2006 A juvenile early hominin skeleton from Dikika, Ethiopia. Nature 443:296-301. Alemseged, Zeresenay, et al. 2006 A new hominin from the Basal Member of the Hadar Formation, Dikika, Ethiopia, and its geological context. Journal of Human Evolution 49:499-514. Free download. Asfaw, Berhane, et al. 1999 Australopithecus garhi: A New Species of Early Hominid from Ethiopia. Science 284(5414):629-635. Free download. Brown, P., et al. 2007 A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia. Nature 431:1055-1061. de Heinzelin, Jean, et al. 1999 Environment and Behavior of 2.5-Million-Year-Old Bouri Hominids. Science 284(5414):625-629. Johanson, Donald C. 2004 Lucy, Thirty Years Later: An expanded view of Australopithecus afarensis. Journal of Anthropological Research 60(4):465-486. Kimbel, William H., et al. 2006 Was Australopithecus anamensis ancestral to A. afarensis? A case of anagenesis in the hominin fossil record. Journal of Human Evolution 51134-152. McKee, Jeffrey K. 1993 Faunal dating of the Taung hominid fossil deposit. Journal of Human Evolution 25:363-376. McNulty, Kieran P., Stephen R. Frost, and David S. Strait 2006 Examining affinities of the Taung child by developmental simulation. Journal of Human Evolution 51274-296. Prat, Sandrine, et al. 2005 First occurrence of early Homo in the Nachukui Formation (West Turkana, Kenya) at 2.3-2.4 Myr. Journal of Human Evolution 49(2):230-240. Raichlen, David A., Herman Pontzer, and Michael D. Sockol in press The Laetoli footprints and early hominin locomotor kinematics. Journal of Human Evolution in press. Schoeninger, Margaret J., Holly Reeser, and Kris Hallin 2003 Paleoenvironment of Australopithecus anamensis at Allia Bay, East Turkana, Kenya: evidence from mammalian herbivore enamel stable isotopes. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 22(3):200-207. Schubert, Blaine W., Peter S. Ungar, Matt Sponheimer, and Kaye E. Reed 2006 Microwear evidence for Plioâ€"Pleistocene bovid diets from Makapansgat Limeworks Cave, South Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 241:301â€"319. Semaw, Sileshi 2000 The World’s Oldest Stone Artefacts from Gona, Ethiopia: Their Implications for Understanding Stone Technology and Patterns of Human Evolution Between 2·6â€"1·5 Million Years Ago. Journal of Archaeological Science 27:1197â€"1214. Tobias, Phillip V. 1998 Ape-like Australopithecus after seventy years: Was it a hominid? Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 4(2):284-307. Tuttle, R. H., D. M. Webb, and M. Baksh 1991 Laetoli toes and Australopithicus afarensis. Human Evolution 6(3):193-200. Ward, Carol, Maeve Leakey, and Alan Walker 1999 The new hominid species Australopithecus anamensis. Evolutionary Anthropology 7(6):197-205. Free download. White, Tim D. 2002 Earliest hominids. In The Primate Fossil Record. Walter C. Hartwig, ed. Pp. 407-418. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wynn, Jonathan G., et al. 2006 Geological and palaeontological context of a Pliocene juvenile hominin at Dikika, Ethiopia. Nature 443:332-336. This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. 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: Artifacts Ur's Royal Cemetery

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Artifacts Ur's Royal Cemetery Sep 3rd 2011, 10:00 Queen Puabi herself was discovered in the burial called RT/800, a stone chamber with a principal burial and four attendants. The principal, a middle aged woman, had a lapis lazuli cylinder seal carved with the name Pu-Abi or "Commander of the Father" in Akkadian. Adjacent to the main chamber was a pit with over 70 attendants and many luxury objects, which may or may not be associated with Queen Puabi. Puabi wore a beaded cape and jewelry, illustrated here. Figure Caption: Queen Puabi's beaded cape and jewelry includes pins of gold and lapis lazuli (Length: 16 cm), a gold, lapis lazuli and carnelian garter (Length: 38 cm), lapis lazuli and carnelian cuff (Length: 14.5 cm), gold finger rings (Diameter: 2 - 2.2 cm), and more, from the Royal Cemetery of Ur, ca 2550 BCE. Sources McCaffrey, Kathleen. 2008. The Female Kings of Ur. pp. 173-215 in Gender Through Time in the Ancient Near East, Diane R. Bolger, editor. AltaMira Press, Lanham, Maryland. Pollock, Susan. 2007. The Royal Cemetery of Ur: Ritual, Tradition, and the Creation of Subjects. pp 89-110 In Representations of Political Power: Case Histories from Times of Change and Dissolving Order in the Ancient Near East, Marlies Heinz and Marian H. Feldman, editors. Eisenbrauns: Winona Lake, Indiana. Iraq's Ancient Past: Rediscovering Ur's Royal Cemetery, Penn Museum Ancient Ur, Iraq, glossary entry Timeline and Description of Mesopotamia C. Leonard Woolley

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Archaeology: World's Oldest Acheulean Handaxe - And What it Might Mean

Archaeology Get the latest headlines from the Archaeology GuideSite. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

World's Oldest Acheulean Handaxe - And What it Might Mean Sep 2nd 2011, 10:21 Featured on the cover of the science journal Nature this week is an Acheulean handaxe, the earliest ever found anywhere. It was excavated from the Kokiselei complex of sites, out of the western shores of Lake Turkana's Nachukui geological formation in Kenya, and it reportedly dates to 1.76 million years ago (mya). Acheulean axes are, really, the first recognizably-formed tool ever made by us and our ancestors. Its distinctive shape was so useful, in fact, that it remained in use for an incredible 1.6 million years, and it was used by Homo erectus, Neanderthals and early modern humans, all three of us. All that is really kind of amazing when you think about it. But this handaxe isn't on the cover of Nature for its beauty or the earliness of its existence: well, clearly, it is partly on the cover for those reasons, but the real reason is that the authors of the article pose an interesting question about Acheulean handaxes that I've never seen before, but is definitely worth contemplating. Let me explain. The very oldest stone tools ever found in the world, predating the Acheulean, are from the Gona and Bouri sites in Ethiopia. They date to roughly 2.5 million years ago and they're basically rough forms of tools you can think of as choppers. We call the stone tools Oldowan tradition, after the site where they were first discovered. Helene Roche (at left) leading archaeological excavations in the west Turkana area. Photo credit: Rhonda Quinn> Archaeologists believe that Oldowan tradition tools were made by Homo habilis, the "handy man" of our ancestors, and the first tool maker. The oldest fossil remains of early Homo species, however, only date to 2.38 mya: but that's not too surprising, because stone is much more likely to survive the dim march of millennia than bone. We also firmly believed, or did until recently, that Acheulean tools, the next step up in complexity from Oldowan, were invented by Homo erectus, "erect man", another of our direct ancestors and closer to us in appearance and behaviors than H. habilis. The oldest Acheulean tradition tools in the world appear at Kokiselei, at 1.76 mya. The earliest Homo erectus remains appear outside of Africa at sites like Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgia beginning about 1.8 mya, but they appear to be using Oldowan tradition tools. Did a group of H. erectus leave Africa before Acheulean was, um, invented? Or was there another hominid, another as-yet-identified tool maker in Africa? Was Homo the only species with tool-making abilities? This is not a completely new idea: when the early Oldowan site of Bouri was excavated, Australopithecus garhi was implicated as the tool-maker. The human race has taken several hits lately concerning its status as the sole owners of the planet at any one time: we've learned in the last decade or so that we modern humans shared the world with Neanderthals and Denisovans. It may very well be that when we tie one stone tool type to one particular species of human we are jumping to unwarranted conclusions about that as well. Here is some context, and some details in the site and its geological location in Kenya for them that wants them. Guide to the Lower Paleolithic Acheulean Handaxes Kokiselei Complex Nachukui Formation Gona, Ethiopia Bouri, Ethiopia Dmanisi, Georgia Denisova Cave (Russia) Here's a link to the article in Nature, and a link to John Hawk's blog, well worth reading among the other stuff out there. Lepre CJ, Roche H, Kent DV, Harmand S, Quinn RL, Brugal J-P, Texier P-J, Lenoble A, and Feibel CS. 2011. An earlier origin for the Acheulian. Nature 477:82-85. Digging deeper into the earliest Acheulean, John Hawks

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. 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: The Kingdom of Kush

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

The Kingdom of Kush Sep 2nd 2011, 10:00 Definition: The Kingdom of Kush is one of several names used for the region of Africa directly south of ancient Dynastic Egypt, approximately between the modern cities of Aswan, Egypt, and Khartoum, Sudan. The Kingdom of Kush reached its first peak between 1700 and 1500 BC. In 1600 BC they allied with the Hyksos and conquered Egypt beginning the 2nd Intermediate Period. The Egyptians took back Egypt and much of Nubia 50 years later, establishing great temples at Gebel Barkal and Abu Simbel. In 750 BC, the Kushite ruler Piye invaded Egypt and established the 25th Egyptian dynasty during the 3rd Intermediate Period, or Napatan period; the Napatans were defeated by the Assyrians, who destroyed the Kushite and Egyptian armies. The Kushites fled to Meroe, which flourished for the following thousand years. Kush Civilization Chronology Upper Paleolithic Period 27,000-10,000 BP Khartoum Mesolithic 8000-4000 BC Early Farming Neolithic aka A Group Culture (Sayala and Qustul) 4000-2000 BC Ancient Kerma, 2500-2050 BC (Kerma) Middle Kerma, 2050-1750 BC Classic Kerma, 1750-1500 BC (allied with Hyksos) Egyptian Nubia, 1550-750 BC (Kerma destroyed, Tombos) Napatan Period, 750-660 BC (Gebel Barkal, El Kurra) Assyrian Rule, 660 BC-270 BC Meroitic Period, 270 BC-AD 370 (Meroe, Qasr Ibrim, Karanoq, Arminna West) Christian [AD 370-AD 1100] Medieval [AD 1100-1400] Islamic Nubia [AD 1400 Sources Bonnet, Charles. 1995. Archaeological Excavations at Kerma (Soudan): Preliminary report for 1993-1994 and 1994-1995 campaigns. Les fouilles archeologiques de Kerma, Extrait de Genava (new series) XLIII: I-X. Haynes, Joyce L. 1996. Nubia. Pp. 532-535 in Brian Fagan (ed). 1996. The Oxford Companion to Archaeology[/link. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Thompson, A.H., L. Chaix, and M.P. Richards. 2008. Stable isotopes and diet at Ancient Kerma, Upper Nubia (Sudan). Journal of Archaeological Science 35(2):376-387. Also Known As: Known as Kush in the Old Testament; Aethiopia in ancient Greek literature; and Nubia to the Romans. Nubia may have been derived from an Egyptian word for gold, nebew; the Egyptians called Nubia Ta-Sety. Alternate Spellings: Cush

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. 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: Otzi the Iceman

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Otzi the Iceman Sep 2nd 2011, 10:00 Otzi the Iceman is one of those amazing discoveries that continues, even decades after the original find, to surprise us with new bits of information. The glossary entry includes a summary, and you'll find some news stories, a bibliography, and even an extended joke in the Bulwer-Lytton style. 1. Otzi the Iceman (definition) Gerbil This entry is a summary of everything known about Otzi that's been published to date: where he was born, where he lived, how tall he was, what he weighed, what he ate, what he did for a living, what his clothes were like, how old he was, and what killed him. We don't know why he was killed--but science suggests that somebody didn't like him very much at all. 2. Moss and the Iceman Studies of the Iceman's innards revealed a surprising variety of mosses, from different climate regimes suggesting that Otzi was a local man who knew and traveled the Alpine region widely 3. Death of an Iceman Using multislice computed tomography, a research team from the Swiss Mummy Project at the University of Zurich discovered a 13-mm tear in an artery in the Iceman's chest, and have pinpointed what they think led to the Iceman's death. 4. Otzi's Clothing A summary and links to detailed news stories about the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry used to examine Otzi's clothes. 5. Bibliography of Otzi the Iceman A list of the journal articles and books written about Otzi to date. 6. A Bulwer-Lytton-like Take on the Iceman T.R. Talbott won a dishonorable mention in the 1997 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction contest (where WWW means "Wretched Writers Welcome"). He (or she, I was never able to contact him or her) took as his/her text the Iceman--and every time I read it I laugh out loud.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. 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 Egypt

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Ancient Egypt Sep 2nd 2011, 10:00 Ancient Egypt is considered to have begun about 3050 BC, when the first pharaoh Menes united Lower Egypt (referring to the river delta region of the Nile River), and Upper Egypt (everything south of the delta). Thereafter the civilization had three flowerings, called by historians the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms, interrupted by mini-dark ages, called Intermediate Periods, when Egypt was temporarily conquered by opposing empires. Timeline Predynastic Egypt Narmer Palette Hierakonpolis Adaima Gebel Manzal el Say Herbal Wines of Ancient Egypt Lower Egypt 7000-2950 BC Upper Egypt 4500-2950 BC Early Period, 1st-2nd Dynasties, 2950-2575 BC Abydos Gebel Manzal el Say Old Kingdom Egypt, 3rd-6th Dynasties, about 2575-2150 BC Abu Ghurab Dahshur Scholar and Architect, Imhotep Pyramid Texts of Saqqara Ras Burdran Step Pyramid of Djoser Pyramids of Giza First Intermediate Period, 7th-10th Dynasties, 2125-1975 BC (alternate: 2160-2055 BC) Middle Kingdom Egypt, 11th-13th Dynasties, 1975 or 2055-1640 BC Abydos Karnak Thebes Serabit el-Khadem Tell el Dab'a Second Intermediate, 14th-17th Dynasties, 1630-1520 BC New Kingdom, 18th-20th Dynasties, 1539-1075 BC Tombos Glassmaking at Piramesses Abu Simbel Amarna Hatshepsut's palace at Deir el Bahri Hatshepsut: Secrets of a Lost Queen Kush Kingdom The Workman's Village of Deir el Medina Abu Simbel Tutankhamun's Tomb Nefertiti Third Intermediate, 21st-24th Dynasties, 1075-715 BC Late Period, 25th-30th Dynasties, 715-332 BC Ptolemaic Period, 25th-30th Dynasties, 332-30 BC Roman Period, 31st and 32nd Dynasties, 30 BC-AD 395 The history of Egypt was divided into Dynasties about 280 BC, when the priest Manetho compiled a list of the pharaohs of Egypt and grouped the ancient rulers into 30 dynasties. Later historians grouped the dynasties into 'Kingdoms' and 'Intermediate Periods.' Issues in Ancient Egyptology A Glass Making Workshop of the New Kingdom How do You Tell Who was Who in Ancient Egypt? The Cache at Deir el Bahri Valley of the Kings Rosetta Stone Nefertiti of Amarna Books The Great Pyramid Egypt's Legacy Egypt in the Time of Cleopatra

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. 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: Cactus Hill (USA)

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Cactus Hill (USA) Sep 2nd 2011, 10:00 Definition: Cactus Hill is a buried multicomponent site on the coastal plain of the Nottaway River in Sussex County, Virginia. The site has Archaic and Clovis occupations, but most importantly, below the Clovis and separated by sterile sand, is an apparent Pre-Clovis occupation. Radiocarbon dates on wood from the preclovis level range between 15,070±70 and 18,250±80 RCYBP, calibrated to ca. 18,200-22,000 years ago. Luminescence dates taken on feldspar and quartzite grains in the various levels of the site agree, almost entirely, with the radiocarbon assays. The luminescence dates suggest that the site stratigraphy is primarily intact and has been little affected by movement of artifacts down through the sterile sand; but some doubt must remain. With the continuing discovery of additional preclovis sites in North and South America, however, these issues seem less compelling. Excavations by Joseph McAvoy indicate the preclovis level has a stone tool assemblage with heavy percentages of quartzite blades, and pentangular (five-sided) projectile points. Data on the artifacts has yet to be published. Sources This glossary entry is part of the Guide to Populating America and Preclovis Culture, not to mention the Dictionary of Archaeology. Feathers, James K., Edward J. Rhodes, Sébastien Huot, and J. M. McAvoy 2006 Luminescence dating of sand deposits related to late Pleistocene human occupation at the Cactus Hill Site, Virginia, USA. Quaternary Geochronology 1(3):167-187. Wagner, Daniel P. and Joseph M. McAvoy 2004 Pedoarchaeology of Cactus Hill, a sandy Paleoindian site in southeastern Virginia, U.S.A. Geoarchaeology 19 (4):297-322.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. 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: Guide to the Olmec Civilization

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Guide to the Olmec Civilization Sep 1st 2011, 10:00 Olmec Sites La Venta, Tres Zapotes, San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, Tenango del Valle, San Lorenzo, Laguna de los Cerros, Puerto Escondido, San Andres, Tlatilco, El Manati, Juxtlahuaca Cave, Oxtotitlán Cave, Takalik Abaj, Pijijiapan, Tenochtitlan, Potrero Nuevo, Loma del Zapote, El Remolino and Paso los Ortices, El Manatí, Teopantecuanitlán, Río Pesquero, Takalik Abaj Olmec Civilization Issues The Olmec Civilization is at the center of the mother-sister controversy, which is a debate concerning the relative strength of the Olmec society compared to other early Mesoamerican cultures. The Cascajal Block, a large block found in a quarry that may be among the earliest written records in central America, and The search for bitumen sources, which was an important resource to many archaeological societies in central America. Olmec bloodletting spoons have a new explanation these days Was chocolate first used and domesticated by the Olmec? Sources Blomster, Jeffrey P., Hector Neff, and Michael D. Glascock 2005 Olmec Pottery Production and Export in Ancient Mexico Determined Through Elemental Analysis. Science 307:1068-1072. Cyphers, Ann 1999 From Stone to Symbols: Olmec Art in Social Context at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán. Pp. 155-181 in Social Patterns in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica. David C. Grove and Rosemary A. Joyce, eds. Dunbarton Oaks: Washington DC Diehl, Richard A. 2005 Patterns of Cultural Primacy. Science 307:1055-1056. Flannery, Kent V., et al. 2005 Implications of new petrographic analysis for the Olmec ‘‘mother culture’’ model. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102(32):11219-11223. Flannery, Kent V. and Joyce Marcus 2000 Formative Mexican Chiefdoms and the Myth of the "Mother Culture". Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 19(1):1-37. Follensbee, Billie J. A. 2008 Fiber technology and weaving in formative-period Gulf Coast cultures. Ancient Mesoamerica 1987â€"110. Henderson, John S., et al. 2007 Chemical and archaeological evidence for the earliest cacao beverages. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Early Edition) Joyce, Rosemary A. and John S. Henderson 2007 From Feasting to Cuisine: Implications of Archaeological Research in an Early Honduran Village. American Anthropologist 109(4):642â€"653. Kaufman, Terrence and John Justeson 2007 Writing the history of the word for cacao in ancient Mesoamerica. Ancient Mesoamerica 18:193-237. Pohl, Mary D. and Christopher von Nagy 2008 The Olmec and their contemporaries. Pp. 217-230 in Encyclopedia of Archaeology, D.M. Pearsall, editor. Elsevier: London. Rodríguez Martínez, Ma. d. C., et al. 2006 Oldest Writing in the New World. Science 313:1610-1614. Sharer, Robert J., et al. 2006 On The Logic Of Archaeological Inference: Early Formative Pottery And The Evolution Of Mesoamerican Societies. Latin American Antiquity 17(1):90-103. Wendt, Carl J. and Ann Cyphers 2008 How the Olmec used bitumen in ancient Mesoamerica. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27(2):175-191. Wendt, Carl J. and Shan-Tan Lu 2006 Sourcing archaeological bitumen in the Olmec region. Journal of Archaeological Science 33(1):89-97. About.com's Guide to the Olmec Olmec Timeline and Definition Subsistence and Settlement Important Facts You are here--->Issues, Archaeological Sites and Bibliography

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. 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: Mayan Economics

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Mayan Economics Sep 1st 2011, 10:00 Mayan economics were based primarily on trade and agriculture. Here are some details of some of that system. Currency: Cacao beans, copper bells, marine shells, jade beads were used as exchange media, although calling them "currency" is a bit strong, since the production of any of them wasn't controlled by a specific government Mines and quarries: Obsidian, jadeite, limestone Lapidary arts: jadeite, marine shell, turquoise, specialized workshops, schist, in an elite context Metallurgy: Didn't develop in Mesoamerica until 600 AD (Late Postclassic), and then it was west Mexico that developed it Trade systems: The Maya had a fairly extensive trade network, with obsidian, jade, serpentine, feathers (quetzalcoatl birds), and ceramic vessels being traded throughout Mesoamerica. Trade connections were established with Olmec and Teotihuacan; there were markets in most of the cities. Polychrome Ceramics: Prudence Rice argued in 2009 that during the Late Classic period, elite personages were the painters of the figural specialized polychrome wares, and the painting of them represented a specialized expression of state control. Agriculture: Begins in the highlands about 3000 BC, with maize and beans, the Maya were arranged into small communities of farmers by ca 900 BC. First villages had pole and thatch houses and a few community buildings. Fields were slash-and burn at first, then home gardens and raised terraces. In the Maya highlands, irrigation canals and terraces were constructed to adapt the local environment to agriculture; in the the lowlands, the people grew crops on raised platforms called chinampas. Cultivated crops: maize (domesticated ca 7000 BC), beans (5000 BC), cucurbits (squash), chili peppers, manioc (3000 BC), amaranth, chenopodium, palms, cacao, vanilla; ramon, avocado (500 BC), agave; Domesticated animals: hairless god, turkey, honeybee Overview Timeline and King List Important Facts Maya Ruins and Additional Sources Bibliography

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. 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: Mayan Economics

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Mayan Economics Sep 1st 2011, 10:00 Mayan economics were based primarily on trade and agriculture. Here are some details of some of that system. Currency: Cacao beans, copper bells, marine shells, jade beads were used as exchange media, although calling them "currency" is a bit strong, since the production of any of them wasn't controlled by a specific government Mines and quarries: Obsidian, jadeite, limestone Lapidary arts: jadeite, marine shell, turquoise, specialized workshops, schist, in an elite context Metallurgy: Didn't develop in Mesoamerica until 600 AD (Late Postclassic), and then it was west Mexico that developed it Trade systems: The Maya had a fairly extensive trade network, with obsidian, jade, serpentine, feathers (quetzalcoatl birds), and ceramic vessels being traded throughout Mesoamerica. Trade connections were established with Olmec and Teotihuacan; there were markets in most of the cities. Polychrome Ceramics: Prudence Rice argued in 2009 that during the Late Classic period, elite personages were the painters of the figural specialized polychrome wares, and the painting of them represented a specialized expression of state control. Agriculture: Begins in the highlands about 3000 BC, with maize and beans, the Maya were arranged into small communities of farmers by ca 900 BC. First villages had pole and thatch houses and a few community buildings. Fields were slash-and burn at first, then home gardens and raised terraces. In the Maya highlands, irrigation canals and terraces were constructed to adapt the local environment to agriculture; in the the lowlands, the people grew crops on raised platforms called chinampas. Cultivated crops: maize (domesticated ca 7000 BC), beans (5000 BC), cucurbits (squash), chili peppers, manioc (3000 BC), amaranth, chenopodium, palms, cacao, vanilla; ramon, avocado (500 BC), agave; Domesticated animals: hairless god, turkey, honeybee Overview Timeline and King List Important Facts Maya Ruins and Additional Sources Bibliography

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. 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: Guide to the Olmec Civilization

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Guide to the Olmec Civilization Sep 1st 2011, 10:00 Olmec Sites La Venta, Tres Zapotes, San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, Tenango del Valle, San Lorenzo, Laguna de los Cerros, Puerto Escondido, San Andres, Tlatilco, El Manati, Juxtlahuaca Cave, Oxtotitlán Cave, Takalik Abaj, Pijijiapan, Tenochtitlan, Potrero Nuevo, Loma del Zapote, El Remolino and Paso los Ortices, El Manatí, Teopantecuanitlán, Río Pesquero, Takalik Abaj Olmec Civilization Issues The Olmec Civilization is at the center of the mother-sister controversy, which is a debate concerning the relative strength of the Olmec society compared to other early Mesoamerican cultures. The Cascajal Block, a large block found in a quarry that may be among the earliest written records in central America, and The search for bitumen sources, which was an important resource to many archaeological societies in central America. Olmec bloodletting spoons have a new explanation these days Was chocolate first used and domesticated by the Olmec? Sources Blomster, Jeffrey P., Hector Neff, and Michael D. Glascock 2005 Olmec Pottery Production and Export in Ancient Mexico Determined Through Elemental Analysis. Science 307:1068-1072. Cyphers, Ann 1999 From Stone to Symbols: Olmec Art in Social Context at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán. Pp. 155-181 in Social Patterns in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica. David C. Grove and Rosemary A. Joyce, eds. Dunbarton Oaks: Washington DC Diehl, Richard A. 2005 Patterns of Cultural Primacy. Science 307:1055-1056. Flannery, Kent V., et al. 2005 Implications of new petrographic analysis for the Olmec ‘‘mother culture’’ model. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102(32):11219-11223. Flannery, Kent V. and Joyce Marcus 2000 Formative Mexican Chiefdoms and the Myth of the "Mother Culture". Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 19(1):1-37. Follensbee, Billie J. A. 2008 Fiber technology and weaving in formative-period Gulf Coast cultures. Ancient Mesoamerica 1987â€"110. Henderson, John S., et al. 2007 Chemical and archaeological evidence for the earliest cacao beverages. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Early Edition) Joyce, Rosemary A. and John S. Henderson 2007 From Feasting to Cuisine: Implications of Archaeological Research in an Early Honduran Village. American Anthropologist 109(4):642â€"653. Kaufman, Terrence and John Justeson 2007 Writing the history of the word for cacao in ancient Mesoamerica. Ancient Mesoamerica 18:193-237. Pohl, Mary D. and Christopher von Nagy 2008 The Olmec and their contemporaries. Pp. 217-230 in Encyclopedia of Archaeology, D.M. Pearsall, editor. Elsevier: London. Rodríguez Martínez, Ma. d. C., et al. 2006 Oldest Writing in the New World. Science 313:1610-1614. Sharer, Robert J., et al. 2006 On The Logic Of Archaeological Inference: Early Formative Pottery And The Evolution Of Mesoamerican Societies. Latin American Antiquity 17(1):90-103. Wendt, Carl J. and Ann Cyphers 2008 How the Olmec used bitumen in ancient Mesoamerica. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27(2):175-191. Wendt, Carl J. and Shan-Tan Lu 2006 Sourcing archaeological bitumen in the Olmec region. Journal of Archaeological Science 33(1):89-97. About.com's Guide to the Olmec Olmec Timeline and Definition Subsistence and Settlement Important Facts You are here--->Issues, Archaeological Sites and Bibliography

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions