Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Archaeology Quiz: Tutankhamun's Tomb

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Archaeology Quiz: Tutankhamun's Tomb Jan 7th 2012, 11:08 Archaeology Quiz Stumped? The answers can be found here: Tutankhamun's Tomb Thanks to Tutankhamun fan Christopher Townsend for his assistance with this puzzle For More Games, Visit About Archaeology's Puzzles and Games

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Discovery of Troy

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Discovery of Troy Jan 6th 2012, 15:01 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: Kilwa Kisiwani

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Kilwa Kisiwani Jan 6th 2012, 15:01 On a small island off the coast of Tanzania lies the site of Kilwa Kisiwani, also called Kilwa (and spelled in Portuguese Quiloa), the most important of about thirty-five trading sites on the Indian Ocean during the 11th through 16th centuries AD. Archaeological investigations at the site began in earnest in 1955, and the site and its sister port Songo Mnara were named UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981. Kilwa History The earliest substantial occupation at Kilwa Kisiwani dates to AD 800, and the city became a major trade center from the 1100s to the early 1500s. The site was important during the Shirazi dynasty of the 11th and 12th centuries AD, and under the rule of Ali al-Hasan, a Great Mosque was built, and trade connections to southern Africa and the near and far east were established. Kilwa Kisiwani was one of the principal ports of trade on the Indian Ocean, trading gold, ivory, iron and coconuts from southern Africa, including the Mwene Mutabe south of the Zambezi River, for cloth and jewelry from India, and porcelain from China. The first gold coins struck south of the Sahara after the decline at Aksum were minted at Kilwa Kisiwani, presumably for facilitating international trade. One of them was found at the Mwene Mutabe site of Great Zimbabwe. Kilwa and Ibn Battuta The famous Moroccan trader Ibn Battuta visited Kilwa in 1331 during the Mahdali dynasty, when he stayed at the court of al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman Abu'l-Mawahib [ruled 1310-1333]. It was during this period that the major architectural constructions were made, including elaborations of the Great Mosque and the construction of the market complexes of Husuni Kubwa and Husuni Ndogo. The prosperity of the port city remained intact until the last decades of the 14th century, when turmoil over the ravages of the Black Death took its toll on the international trade. By the early decades of the 15th century, new stone houses and mosques were being built up in Kilwa, but in 1500, Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral visited Kilwa, and reported seeing houses made of coral stone, including the ruler's 100-room palace, of Islamic Middle Eastern design. Vasco da Gama arrived in 1502 and exacted tribute to the King of Portugal, and afterwards the city's importance declined, except for a brief florescence during the slave trade of the late 18th century. Archaeological Studies at Kilwa Archaeologists became interested in Kilwa because of two 16th century histories about the site, including the now-lost Kilwa Chronicle (although remnants of this document do still exist). Excavators in the 1950s included James Kirkman and Neville Chittick, from the British Institute in Eastern Africa. Scholars believe the Kilwa society developed into the later Swahili societies. Sources David Phillipson. 2005. African Archaeology: Third Edition. Cambridge University Press, London. Mark Horton. 1998. Kilwa. In Oxford Companion to Archaeology, edited by Brian Fagan. Oxford University Press, London. J.E.G. Sutton. 2002. The Southern Swahili Harbour and Town on Kilwa Island, 800-1800 AD: A chronology of booms and slumps. In The Development of Urbanism from a Global Perspective, an online book available at Uppsala University. There is also a great article on the architecture and history of Kilwa on the ArchNet site. Google Earth Placemark for Kilwa Kisiwani

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Mayan Economics

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Mayan Economics Jan 6th 2012, 15:01 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

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Blombos Cave

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Blombos Cave Jan 6th 2012, 15:01 Blombos Cave is a site at the very tip of South Africa where great strides in understanding the development of modern human beings are being taken these days. While much of the recent press attention has been on the scholarly debate on whether humans evolved once in Africa (the Out of Africa theory), or several times all over the world (the multiregional hypothesis), a quiet revolution has occurred centered on what it means to be human. Blombos Cave and the Creative Explosion For several decades--probably since the discovery of the Lascaux Caves in France--archaeologists believed that while anatomically modern Homo sapiens evolved somewhere between 100,000-150,000 years ago, humans didn't actually develop modern behaviors and thought processes until around 50,000-40,000 years ago. This event, known in some scientific circles as the "creative explosion," was announced by what researchers saw as a sudden blossoming of symbolic thought. What researchers mean by symbolic thought is the ability to identify--and create--representations of things. Thus, the theory went, a species really not much smarter than other hominids of the time suddenly began painting bison and mammoth on cave walls in France. Evidence of the flowering of modern human behavior is held to including fishing, the manufacture of bone tools, the use of decoration, and the production of art. Modern Behaviors in Africa Part of the trouble was, none of the major scientists was really doing much research in Africa-there was a lot to be investigated in France, after all; but in retrospect the neglect of Africa is a little weird, since we've known for a very long time that that's where the earliest humans evolved. Then, evidence of an earlier flourishing of the creative mind began to appear, in southern Africa south of the Zambezi River, dated to the Middle Stone Age, 70,000 years ago and more. Similar artifact collection types-known as assemblages in archaeological parlance-alled Howiesons Poort and Stillbay have been found at sites such as the Klasies River Caves, Boomplaas, and Die Kelders Cave I in South Africa. These sites included sophisticated bone tools, backed blades, a careful selection of raw material for stone tools and the use of a punch technique; but most of these were controversial in one respect or another. That was until Blombos Cave. Modern Behaviors at Blombos Cave Since 1991, South African researchers led by Christopher Henshilwood have been working at the Blombos Cave site. Artifacts found there include sophisticated bone and stone tools, fish bones, and an abundance of used ochre. Ochre has no known economic function; it is almost universally accepted as a source of color for ceremonial, decorative purposes. Read about 100,000 Year Old Paint Pots at Blombos Cave The Blombos Cave layers containing used ochre are dated 70,000 to 80,000 years before the present. Most recently (April of 2004), a cluster of deliberately perforated and red-stained shell beads dating to the Middle Stone Age has been found, and is being interpreted as personal ornaments or jewelry for the occupants of Blombos. The best and most likely interpretation of these finds, and numerous others throughout Africa, is that the growth of the human symbolic thought was a slow process that continued throughout the Middle Stone Age in Africa. How that flourishing of creative thought left Africa is still under discussion, but one way may have been through the Southern Dispersal Route. Flint Knapping at Blombos Cave On October 28, 2010, researchers writing in Science magazine reported the discovery of advanced flint knapping. The photo essay "Flint Knapping Technology at Blombos Cave" includes a description of the cave, a discussion of what pressure flaking is, and the evidence identified at Blombos for pressure flaking. Oh, and a bibliography, of course, with some great photos from the research team. Sources Blombos Cave is part of the Guide to the Middle Paleolithic, and the Howiesons Poort/Stillbay complex, as well as the Dictionary of Archaeology. See the official Blombos Cave website for a great deal of information and photos about the ongoing excavations by Chris Henshilwood. Thanks to Chris Hardaker for the suggestion and assistance in producing this article; to Scott MacEachern for his improvements, and to the (unwitting) members of Palanth-L whose fabulous archives were very helpful indeed. A brief bibliography has been collected for this project.

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Archaeology: Ideologies in Archaeology - A Review

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Ideologies in Archaeology - A Review Jan 6th 2012, 10:36 I confess that I read the edited collection of articles in Ideologies and Archaeology from Reinhold Bernbeck and Randall H. McGuire, published last year by the University of Arizona Press, at least six weeks ago. It took me that long to process it completely. Or at least to be able to write about it. Ideologies in Archaeology. Cover image courtesy University of Arizona Press. The book is a collection of articles considering the turbulent nature of the philosophy of archaeology these days. How does our own political viewpoint of the world impact what we study and write about: and how did the political control of state governments impact the past. It's an important book to read, if you're an archaeologist, or if you crave to understand the philosophical rumblings among archaeologists today, as we attempt to discover and reposition our role in the greater world. I suspect that it will change my own philosophy, but I'm just not sure how. Yet. Read the review: Ideologies in Archaeology

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Shang Dynasty of China

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Shang Dynasty of China Jan 5th 2012, 14:38 The Bronze Age Shang Dynasty in China is roughly dated between 1700-1050 BC, and, according to the Shi Ji, it began when the first Shang emperor, T'ang, overthrew the last of the Xia (also called Erlitou) dynasty emperors. They in turn were overthrown by the first rulers of the Zhou Dynasty, in 1046 BC. Shang Dynasty Chronology Erlitou (or Xia dynasty) 1850-1600 BC (Erlitou, Xinzhai) Early Shang (Erligang) 1600-1435 BC (Erligang, Zhengzhou, Yanshi, Xingyang Dashigu, Anyang) Middle Shang 1435-1220 BC (Yanshi) Late Shang (Yinxu) 1220-1050 BC Archaeological evidence for the Shang Dynasty suggests that the story is far more complex and that the use of the term 'Shang dynasty' or 'Shang civilization' is confusing, and 'Shang period' might be of more use. Settlement patterns of the Shang period include dispersed villages like Taixi, walled settlements like Gucheng and Zhengzhou, and ritual or ceremonial centers like Erlitou and Anyang. Important advances of the Shang Dynasty are the creation of writing, on oracle bones, bones and turtle shells used to record dreams and public and private events and sacrifices. Ritual bronzes were first created at Erlitou, which may or may not represent the early part of the Shang Dynasty, depending on which scholar you listen to. Sites of the Shang The known capital cities of the Shang are Anyang, Ao, Bo, Yinxu and Zhengzhou; other important archaeological sites include Erlitou, Yanshi, Erligang, Zhengzhou, and Sanxingdui. Sources Allan, Sarah 2007 Erlitou and the Formation of Chinese Civilization: Toward a New Paradigm. The Journal of Asian Studies 66:461-496. Campbell Roderick B. 2009. Toward a Networks and Boundaries Approach to Early Complex Polities: The Late Shang Case. Current Anthropology 50(6):821-848. Yuan, Jing and Rowan Flad 2005 New zooarchaeological evidence for changes in Shang Dynasty animal sacrifice. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 24(3):252-270. Yang, Xiaoneng. 2004. Chinese Archaeology in the Twentieth Century: New Perspectives on China's Past. Yale University Press, New Haven.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Tenochtitlan

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Tenochtitlan Jan 5th 2012, 14:38 The largest city of the Aztec culture was called Tenochtitlan, located in what is now Mexico City. Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world, and it is in a very odd place for a capital city; on a marsh in a lake bottom ringed by mountains, and prone to earthquakes and some of the worst smog on the planet. How the Aztecs selected the location of their capital in this miserable place is part legend, part history. Tenochtitlan was the home of the immigrant Mexica, one of the names for the Aztec culture people who founded the city in AD 1325 on an swampy island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, in the Basin of Mexico. According to legend, the Mexica were one of seven Chichimeca tribes who came to Tenochtitlan from their fabled city of origin, Aztlan (Land of the Heron). They came because of an omen: the Chichimec god Huitzilopochtli, who took the form of an eagle, was seen perched on a cactus eating a snake. The leaders of the Mexica interpreted this as a sign to move their population to an unpleasant, miry, buggy, mess; and eventually their military prowess and political abilities turned that mess into the central agency of conquest, the Mexica snake swallowing most of Mesoamerica. Aztec Culture and Conquest Tenochtitlan of the 14th and 15th centuries AD was excellently suited as a place for the Aztec culture to begin conquest of Mesoamerica. Even then, the basin of Mexico was densely occupied, and the island city afforded the Mexica commanding lead over trade in the basin. In addition, they engaged in a series of alliances both with and against their neighbors; together the Triple Alliance overran major portions of what are now the states of Oaxaca, Morelos, Veracruz, and Puebla. By the time of the Spanish conquest in 1519, Tenochtitlan contained around 200,000 people and covered an area of five square miles. The city was crisscrossed by canals, and the edges of the island city were covered with chinampas, floating gardens. A huge market place served nearly 60,000 people daily, and in the Sacred Precinct of the city were palaces and temples the like of which Hernan Cortes had never seen. Cortes was awed; but it didn't stop him from destroying almost all of the city in his conquest. Remnants of the Aztec Culture Only parts of Tenochtitlan are extant in the city of Mexico; you can get into the ruins of the Templo Mayor, excavated beginning in the 1970s by Matos Moctezuma; and there are ample artifacts at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico (INAH).

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Bering Strait and Beringia

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Bering Strait and Beringia Jan 5th 2012, 14:38 The Bering Strait is a water way that separates Russia from North America. It lies above the Bering Land Bridge, also called Beringia (sometimes misspelled Beringea), a submerged landmass that once connected the Siberian mainland with North America. While variously described in publications, most scholars would agree Beringia's land mass included the Bering Land Bridge (visible today), as well as existing land areas of northeast Siberia and western Alaska, between the Verkhoyansk Range in Siberia and the Mackenzie River in Alaska. The climate of the Bering Land Bridge (BLB) when it was above the sea level during the Pleistocene was long thought to have been primarily a herbaceous tundra or steppe-tundra. However, recent pollen studies have shown that during the Late Glacial Maximum (say, between 30,000-18,000 years ago), the environment was a mosaic of diverse but cold habitats. Living 0n the Bering Land Bridge The possible occupation of Beringia was determined by the sea level and surrounding ice: specifically, whenever the sea level drops about 50 meters below its present position, the land surfaces. The dates when this happened have been difficult to establish, in part because the BLB is currently mostly underwater. In general, and this may change with additional research, ice cores seem to indicate that most of the Bering Land Bridge was exposed during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (60,000 to 25,000 years ago), and cut off from east and west land bridges during OIS 2 (25,000 to about 18,500 years BP). Climate Change and the Bering Land Bridge Although there is lingering debate, pollen studies suggest that the climate of the BLB between about 29,500 and 11,500 RCYBP was an arid, cool climate, with grass-herb-willow tundra. At about 11,500 RCYBP, when rising sea levels began to flood the bridge, the climate appears to have been a wetter climate with deeper winter snows and cool summers. There is also some evidence that during the end of the LGM (21,000-18,000), conditions in Beringia deteriorated sharply. Sometime between 18,000 and 15,000 calendar years BP, the bottleneck to the east was broken, which might have allowed human entrance into the North American continent along the Pacific coast. The Bering Land Bridge was completely inundated by rising sea levels by 10,000 or 11,000 calendar years BP, and its current level was reached about 7,000 years ago. The Bering Land Bridge and North American Colonization One current theory is that the BLB was occupied during the Last Glacial Maximum, but that the people living there were blocked from entry into North America by ice sheets, and from returning to Siberia by the glaciers in the Verkhoyansk mountain range. Important for understanding possible colonization efforts is the so-called "ice-free corridor" of the North American continent which present investigations indicate was blocked between about 30,000 and 11,500 years BP. However, the northwest Pacific coast was deglaciated at least as early as 14,500 years BP, and it may be this route that was used by the first American colonization. The earliest archaeological evidence of human settlement in the vicinity of the Bering Land Bridge east of the Verkhoyansk Range in Siberia is the Yana RHS site, a very unusual 30,000 year old site located above the arctic circle. Sources This glossary entry is part of the Guide to Populating America and the Dictionary of Archaeology. Ager, Thomas A. and R. L. Phillips 2008 Pollen evidence for late Pleistocene Bering land bridge environments from Norton Sound, northeastern Bering Sea, Alaska. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 40(3):451-461. Bever, Michael R. 2001 An Overview of Alaskan Late Pleistocene Archaeology: Historical Themes and Current Perspectives. Journal of World Prehistory 15(2):125-191. Fagundes, Nelson J. R., et al. 2008 Mitochondrial Population Genomics Supports a Single Pre-Clovis Origin with a Coastal Route for the Peopling of the Americas. The American Journal of Human Genetics 82(3):583-592. Hoffecker, John F. and Scott A. Elias 2003 Environment and archeology in Beringia. Evolutionary Anthropology 12(1):34-49. Tamm E, Kivisild T, Reidla M, Metspalu M, Smith DG, Mulligan CJ, Bravi CM, Rickards O, Martinez-Labarga C, Khusnutdinova EK et al. 2007. Beringian Standstill and Spread of Native American Founders. PLoS ONE 2(9):e829. Volodko NV, Starikovskaya EB, Mazunin IO, Eltsov NP, Naidenko PV, Wallace DC, and Sukernik RI. 2008. Mitochondrial Genome Diversity in Arctic Siberians, with Particular Reference to the Evolutionary History of Beringia and Pleistocenic Peopling of the Americas. The American Journal of Human Genetics 82(5):1084-1100. 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: Zhou Dynasty, China

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Zhou Dynasty, China Jan 5th 2012, 14:38 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.

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Archaeology: Great Zimbabwe's Rulers

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Great Zimbabwe's Rulers Jan 4th 2012, 09:31 A continuing debate concerning shifting residences for rulers at the 13th-16th century AD African Iron Age capital of Great Zimbabwe makes for interesting reading today. The Great Enclosure at Great Zimbabwe; photo by C.T. Snow In an Antiquity article in 2008, archaeologists Chirikure and Pikirayi argued that there is evidence for the current pattern of shifting residences for the rulers, that, like the Shona descendants of Great Zimbabwe, when a new ruler took power, they moved residence. Huffman (in Azania in 2010) argues differently, that the shifting residential pattern is an artifact from Portuguese colonization, and that all (or most) rulers lived at the Great Enclosure. Read more about the debate here: Great Zimbabwe Guide to the African Iron Age

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Mammoths

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Mammoths Jan 4th 2012, 11:01 Definition: Mammoths (Mammuthus primogenus) were a species of ancient extinct elephant. Mammoth adults were about 10 feet tall at the shoulder, with long tusks and a coat of long reddish or yellowish hair--which is why you'll sometimes see them described as woolly mammoths. They roamed Northern Europe and, eventually, North America. Mastodons (Mammut americanum) were also ancient, enormous elephants, slightly smaller (6-10 feet tall), no hair, and restricted to the North America continent. Both of these megafauna died out at the end of the Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago, as part of the great megafaunal extinction. They were hunted by people, and various archaeological sites have been found around the world where the animals were killed and/or butchered. Mammoths and mastodons were exploited for meat, hide, bones, and sinew for food and other purposes, including house construction. Mammoth kill sites Murray Springs (USA), Naco site (USA) Sources Review of NatGeo documentary Waking the Baby Mammoth Photo Essay Lyuba, the Baby Mammoth Mammoth Bone Huts Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinctions Megafaunal Extinctions Trivia Quiz Haynes, Gary 2002 The catastrophic extinction of North American mammoths and mastodonts. World Archaeology 33(3):391-416. Kunz, Michael L., Daniel H. Mann, Paul E. Matheus, and Pamela Groves 1999 The life and times of Paleoindians in arctic Alaska. Arctic Research of the United States 13(Spring/Summer):33-39. Wojtal, Piotr and Krzysztof Sobczyk 2005 Man and woolly mammoth at the Kraków Spadzista Street (B) â€" Taphonomy of the site. Journal of Archaeological Science 32(2):193-206. This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst. Examples: Naco site, Arizona; Manis site, Washington; many many others.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Maya Civilization Guide

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Maya Civilization Guide Jan 4th 2012, 11:01 Overview Timeline and King List You are Here-->Important Facts Maya Ruins and Additional Sources Bibliography Important Facts about the Maya Civilization Population: There is no complete population estimate, but it must have been in the millions. In the 1600s, the Spanish reported that there were between 600,000-1 million people living in the Yucatan peninsula alone. Each of the larger cities probably had populations in excess of 100,000, but that doesn't count the rural sectors that supported the larger cities. Environment: The Maya Lowland region below 800 meters is tropical with rainy and dry seasons. There is little exposed water except in lakes in limestone faults, swamps, and cenotesâ€"natural sinkholes in the limestone that are geologically a result of the Chicxulub crater impact. Originally, the area was blanketed with multiple canopied forests, and mixed vegetation. The Highland Maya regions include a string of volcanically active mountains. Eruptions have dumped rich volcanic ash throughout the region, leading to deep rich soils and obsidian deposits. Climate in the highland is temperate, with rare frost. Upland forests originally were mixed pine and deciduous trees. Writing, Language and Calendars of the Maya Civilization Mayan language: The various groups spoke nearly 30 closely related languages and dialects, including the Mayan and Huastec Writing: The Maya had 800 distinct hieroglyphs, with the first evidence of language written on stela and walls of buildings beginning ca 300 BC. Bark cloth paper codexes were being used no later than the 1500s, but all but a handful were destroyed by Spanish Calendar: The so called "long count" calendar was invented by Mixe-Zoquean speakers, based on the extant Mesoamerican Calendar. It was adapted by the classic period Maya ca 200 AD. The earliest inscription in long count among the Maya was made dated AD 292. Earliest date listed on the "long count" calendar is about August 11, 3114 BC, what the Maya said was the founding date of their civilization. The first dynastic calendars were being used by about 400 BC Extant written records of the Maya: Popul Vuh, extant Paris, Madrid, and Dresden codices, and the papers of Fray Diego de Landa called "Relacion". Astronomy The Dresden Codex dated to the Late Post Classic/Colonial period (1250â€"1520) includes astronomical tables on Venus and Mars, on eclipses, on seasons and the movement of the tides. These tables chart the seasons with respect to their civic year, predict solar and lunar exclipses and tracked the motion of the planets. Maya Civilization Ritual Intoxicants: Chocolate (Theobroma), blache (fermented honey and an extract from the balche tree; morning glory seeds, pulque (from agave plants), tobacco, intoxicating enemas, Maya Blue Sweat baths: Piedras Negras, San Antonio, Cerén Astronomy: The Maya tracked the sun, moon, and Venus. Calendars include eclipse warnings and safe periods, and almanacs for tracking Venus. Observatories: built at Chichén Itzá Maya Gods: What we know of Maya religion is based on writings and drawings on codices or temples. A few of the gods include: God A or Cimi or Cisin (god of death or flatulent one), God B or Chac, (rain and lightning), God C (sacredness), God D or Itzamna (creator or scribe or learned one), God E (maize), God G (sun), God L (trade or merchant), God K or Kauil, Ixchel or Ix Chel (goddess of fertility), Goddess O or Chac Chel. There are others; and in the Maya pantheon there are sometimes combined gods, glyphs for two different gods appearing as one glyph. Death and Afterlife: Ideas about death and the afterlife are little known, but the entry to the underworld was called Xibalba or "Place of Fright" Mayan Economics See the Maya Economics page for information about trade, currency, agriculture and other economic issues. Maya Politics Warfare: The Maya had fortified sites, and military themes and battles events are illustrated in Maya art by the Early Classic period. Warrior classes, including some professional warriors, were part of the Maya society. Wars were fought over territory, slaves, to avenge insults, and to establish succession. Weaponry: axes, clubs, maces, throwing spears, shields and helmets, bladed spears Ritual sacrifice: offerings thrown into cenotes, and placed in tombs; the Maya pierced their tongues, earlobes, genitals or other body parts for blood sacrifice. animals (mostly jaguars) were sacrificed, and there were human victims, including high ranking enemy warriors who were captured, tortured and sacrificed Mayan Architecture The first steles are associated with the Classic period, and the earliest is from Tikal, where a stele is dated AD 292. Emblem glyphs signified specific rulers and a specific sign called "ahaw" is today interpreted as "lord". Distinctive architectural styles of the Maya include (but aren't limited to) Rio Bec (7th-9th centuries AD, block masonry palaces with towers and central doorways at sites such as Rio Bec, Hormiguero, Chicanna, and Becan); Chenes (7th-9th centuries AD, related to the Rio Bec but without the towers at Hochob Santa rosa Xtampack, Dzibilnocac); Puuc (AD 700-950, intricately designed facades and doorjambs at Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Sayil, Labna, Kabah); and Toltec (or Maya Toltec AD 950-1250, at Chichén Itzá. Overview Timeline and King List You are Here-->Important Facts Maya Ruins and Additional Sources Bibliography

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: A Walking Tour of Machu Picchu

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A Walking Tour of Machu Picchu Jan 3rd 2012, 11:01 Half-way down the Inca Road from Machu Picchu on the mountain called Huayna Picchu lies the Temple of the Moon. The Temple covers the entire landscape of the slopes of Huayna Picchu and consists of a set of architecturally enhanced caves, most likely used to hold mummies of important Inca ancestors and provide places for their worship. More fine stonework embellishes the walls of these caves, some of which are decorated with niches and altars carved into the native rock. More Inca Resources Guide to the Inca Empire The Inca capital city of Cusco Inca Road System Inca Road Photo Essay Inca writing system called Quipu Inca archaeological sites

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: World History Timelines

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

World History Timelines Jan 3rd 2012, 11:01 Most of the history of the ancient world has been collected by archaeologists, built in part by the use of fragmentary records, but also through myriad dating techniques. Each of the world history timelines on this list are part of larger resources addressing the culture, artifacts, customs and people of the many many cultures who have lived on our planet for the past 2 million years. Stone Age/Paleolithic Timeline Dave Einsel / Getty Images The Stone Age (known to scholars as the Paleolithic era) in human prehistory is the name given to the period between about 2.5 million and 20,000 years ago. It begins with the earliest human-like behaviors of crude stone tool manufacture, and ends with fully modern human hunting and gathering societies. Jomon Hunter-Gatherer Timeline Perezoso The Jomon is the name of the early Holocene period hunter-gatherers of Japan, beginning about 14,000 BC and ending about 1000 BC in southwestern Japan and AD 500 in northeastern Japan. European Mesolithic Timeline Mazbln The European Mesolithic period is traditionally that time period in the Old World between the last glaciation (ca. 10,000 years BP) and beginning of the Neolithic (ca. 5000 years BP), when farming communities began to be established. Pre-Pottery Neolithic Timeline Roweromaniak The Pre-Pottery Neolithic (abbreviated PPN) is the name given to the people who domesticated the earliest plants and lived in farming communities in the Levant and Near East. The PPN culture contained most of the attributes we think of Neolithic--except pottery, which was not used in the region until ca. 5500 BC. Pre-Dynastic Egypt Timeline ego.technique 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. Mesopotamian Timeline Iraq's Ancient Past: Rediscovering Ur's Royal Cemetery, Penn Museum Mesopotamia is an ancient civilization that took up pretty much everything that today is modern Iraq and Syria, a triangular patch wedged between the Tigris River, the Zagros Mountains, and the Lesser Zab River Indus Civilization Timeline Gregory Possehl (c) 2002 The Indus civilization (also known as the Harappan Civilization, the Indus-Sarasvati or Hakra Civilization and sometimes the Indus Valley Civilization) is one of the oldest societies we know of, including over 2600 known archaeological sites located along the Indus and Sarasvati rivers in Pakistan and India, an area of some 1.6 million square kilometers. Minoan Timeline phileole The Minoans lived in the Greek islands during what archaeologists have called the early part of the prehistoric Bronze Age of Greece. Dynastic Egypt Timeline Daniel Aniszewski 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). Longshan Culture Timeline Editor at Large The Longshan culture is a Neolithic and Chalcolithic culture (ca 3000-1900 BC) of the Yellow River Valley of Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia provinces of China.

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