Archaeology: What's Hot Now: La Iglesia (The Church)

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La Iglesia (The Church) Feb 25th 2012, 11:08 This building was named la Iglesia (the Church) by the Spanish, probably simply because it was located right next to the Nunnery. This rectangular building is of classic Puuc construction with an overlay of central Yucatan styles (Chenes). This is probably one of the most frequently drawn and photographed buildings at Chichén Itzá; famous 19th century drawings were made by both Frederick Catherwood and Desiré Charnay. The Iglesia is rectangular with a single room inside and an entrance on the west side. The outside wall is completely covered with veneer decorations, which extend clear up to the roof comb. The frieze is bounded at ground level by a stepped fret motif and above by a serpent; the stepped fret motif is repeated on the bottom of the roof comb. The most important motif of the decoration is the Chac god mask with a hooked nose standing out on the corners of the building. In addition, there are four figures in pairs between the masks including an armadillo, a snail, a turtle, and a crab, who are the four "bacabs" who hold up the sky in Maya mythology.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Moche Portrait Vessel

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Moche Portrait Vessel Feb 25th 2012, 11:08 Ceramic portrait vessel, Moche (AD 100-800), Ancash Region, Peru John Weinstein, © The Field Museum This portrait vessel, with its commanding features, depicts a prominent ancient Moche ruler from northern Peru. The Moche people were masters of sculpture and frequently depicted elite individuals through sculpture, often creating record of their childhood, adulthood and even death. Moche Civilization Archaeology of Peru Ancient Americas at the Field Museum

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Archaeology: Mammoth Bone Settlements

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Mammoth Bone Settlements Feb 24th 2012, 10:07 Mammoth Bone Settlements, thankfully abbreviated MBS, consist of between one to six huts built of mammoth bone coupled with hearths and storage pit features. Located in central Europe--most are in Ukraine--they primarily date to the late Upper Paleolithic. But dating them has always been a bit problematic. Diorama display at the American Museum of Natural History, based in part on Mezhirich Mammoth Bone Settlement. Photo by Wally Gobetz The first radiocarbon dates from the MBS in Ukraine returned dates extending well back into the Upper Paleolithic of some 20,000 years ago. More recent AMS dates suggest the majority of them date only between 14,000-15,000 years ago, what scholars are calling the Epi-Gravettian of the Late Upper Paleolithic. But there's still one persistent outlier: Molodova, where unarguably Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals built a mammoth bone hut, and had pit features and hearths very similar to those later ones. Molodova in the Dniester valley dates some 30,000 years older than such settlements in the Dnieper valley: very strange indeed. More on Mammoth Bone Settlements Molodova I Mezhyrich Gontsy

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Archaeology: Most Popular Articles: Discovery of Fire

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Discovery of Fire Feb 24th 2012, 11:45 The discovery of fire, or, more precisely, the controlled use of fire was, of necessity, one of the earliest of human discoveries. Fire's purposes are multiple, some of which are to add light and heat, to cook plants and animals, to clear forests for planting, to heat-treat stone for making stone tools, to burn clay for ceramic objects. Discovery of Fire The controlled use of fire was an invention of the Early Stone Age (or Lower Paleolithic). The earliest evidence for controlled use of fire is at the Lower Paleolithic site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov in Israel, where charred wood and seeds were recovered from a site dated 790,000 years ago. Not everybody believes that; the next oldest site is at Zhoukoudian, a Lower Paleolithic site in China dated to about 400,000 BP, and at Qesem Cave (Israel), between about 200,000-400,000 years ago. In a paper published in Nature in March 2011, Roebroeks and Villa report their examinations of the available data for European sites and conclude that habitual use of fire wasn't part of the human (meaning early modern and Neanderthal both) suite of behaviors until ca. 300,000 to 400,000 years ago. They argue that the earlier sites are representative of opportunistic use of natural fires. Read more about Roebroeks and Villa's findings Hearth Fire Construction As opposed to fire, a hearth is a deliberately constructed fireplace. The earliest fireplaces were made by collecting stones to contain the fire, or simply reusing the same location again and again and allowing the ash to act as hearth construct. Those are found in the Middle Paleolithic period (ca 200,000-40,000 years ago, at sites such as Klasies River Caves (South Africa, 125,000 years ago) and Tabun Cave (at Mt. Carmel, Israel) Earth ovens, on the other hand, are hearths with banked and sometimes domed structures built of clay. These types of hearths were first used during the Upper Paleolithic (ca 40,000-20,000 years BP), for cooking, heating and, sometimes, to burn clay figurines to hardness. The Gravettian Dolni Vestonice site in the modern Czech Republic has evidence of kiln construction, although construction details did not survive. The best information on Upper Paleolithic kilns is from the Aurignacian deposits of Klisoura Cave in Greece (ca 32,000-34,000 years ago). Fuels Although relict wood may have been the original fuel, other sources became important in various places with limited wood supply. In places with scarce wood resources, timber and branch wood for structures, furnishing and tools would have cut back the amount used for fuel. If wood was not available, alternative fuels such as peat, cut turf, animal dung, animal bone, seaweed, and straw and hay. Techniques for discriminating fuel from ashy remains are outlined in the Church et al. paper listed below. But of course, everyone knows that Prometheus stole fire from the gods, the Greek myth as reported by our Ancient History guide. Sources This definition is part of the Guide to the Lower Paleolithic. More information on the clay hearths is available at the Klisoura Cave glossary entry. Church, M. J., C. Peters, and C. M. Batt 2007 Sourcing Fire Ash on Archaeological Sites in the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland, Using Mineral Magnetism. Geoarchaeology 22(7):747-774. Goudsblom, J. 2004 Fire, human use, and consequences. In International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. Neil J. Smelser and Paul B. Baltes, eds. Pp. 5672-5676. London: Elsevier. Goren-Inbar, Naama, et al. 2004 Evidence of Hominin Control of Fire at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel. Science 304(5671):725-727. Karkanas, P., et al. The earliest evidence for clay hearths: Aurignacian features in Klisoura Cave 1, southern Greece. Antiquity 78(301):513-525. Karkanas, Panagiotis, et al. 2007 Evidence for habitual use of fire at the end of the Lower Paleolithic: Site-formation processes at Qesem Cave, Israel. Journal of Human Evolution 53(2):197-212. Roebroeks W, and Villa P. 2011. On the earliest evidence for habitual use of fire in Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition:1-6.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Mississippian Civilization

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Mississippian Civilization Feb 24th 2012, 11:08 The Mississippian civilization is the name given by archaeologists to the precolumbian horticulturalists of the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys, between about AD 1100-1450. Mississippian sites can be found in the immense area reaching from the modern American states of Ohio to Iowa, from Minnesota to Louisiana. The southern half of this huge area is often called the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, or Southern Cult; clearly the two are associated based on the similarity of mound construction, artifact assemblage and cultural features. Within this vast area, people grew maize and beans, built extensive earthworks and flat-topped pyramids (called platform mounds), and traded raw material like obsidian and copper and gulf coast marine shells. Most interestingly, the Mississippian also shared religious notions about the world and the way it worked. Social Organization The most important settlements--there are about 16--are widely separated, based on the the size of the site and complexity of a site's mound system. The mound complexity--lots of mounds of different sizes and shapes, arranged in complex pattern--is considered a mark of the leader's abilities, since the ability to direct labor is a mark of control. Mississippian Capitals The largest Mississippian capital was at Cahokia, on the east side of the Mississippi river in the state of Illinois from what is now St. Louis, Missouri. Others include Steed Kisker, Aztalan, Cahokia, Angel Mound, Obion, Moundville, Lake Jackson, Dyar, Toqua, Cemochechobee, Pevey, and Winterville Cahokia has by far the largest mound. Called Monk's Mound, is covers an area of 6 ha at the base and stands 30.1 m high, while most mounds are no more than 3 m high. Platform mounds were residences and mortuaries for high ranking individuals, and sites with plat form mounds are political centers with regional settlement systems. More Mississippian Sites Lyon's Bluff, Spiro Mounds, Serpent Mound, Coles Creek, Etowah, American Bottom Sources A recent bibliography of the Mississippian civilization has been assembled for this project.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Arrowhead Myths and Facts

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Arrowhead Myths and Facts Feb 24th 2012, 11:08 As you might imagine, archaeologists have been studying the projectile point for a very long time; here are some of the lesser known findings of our research. Little Known Fact Number 1: By and large, you can tell how old a projectile point is or where it came from by its shape and size. Projectile points are identified to culture and time period on the basis of their characteristics. Shapes and thicknesses changed over time for reasons probably related to function and technology, as well as style within a particular group, but for whatever reason, generations of archaeologists are very happy they were made this way. Studies of different sizes and shapes of points are called point typologies. In general, the larger, finely made points are the oldest points, and are called spear points, used as the working ends of spears. The middle sized, fairly thick points are called dart points; these are in between arrows and spear points, and they were used with an atlatl. Tiny points are the most recent, used at the ends of arrows shot with bows. Little Known Fact Number 2: Archaeologists use a microscope and chemical analysis to identify scratches and minute traces of blood or other substances on the edges of projectile points. On points excavated from intact archaeological sites, forensic analysis can often identify trace elements of blood or protein on the edges of tools, allowing the archaeologist to make substantive interpretations on what a point was used for. Called blood residue or protein residue analysis, the test has become a fairly common one. In an allied laboratory field, deposits of opal phytoliths have been found on the edges of stone tools, which help identify the plants that were harvested or worked with stone sickles. Another avenue of research is called usewear analysis, in which archaeologists use a microscope to search for small scratches and breaks in the edges of stone tools. Usewear analysis is often used in conjunction with experimental archaeology, in which people attempt to reproduce ancient technologies. Little Known Fact Number 3: Broken points are more interesting than whole ones. Lithic specialists who have studied stone tool breaks for decades can recognize how and why an arrowhead came to be broken, whether in the process of being made, during hunting, or an intentional or accidental break. Points that broke during manufacture often present information about the process of their construction. Intentional breaks can be representative of ritual or other activities. Archaeologists love it when they find a broken point in the midst of the flaky stone debris (called debitage) that was created during the point's construction. Such a cluster of artifacts has just fistfuls of information about human behaviors. Little Known Fact Number 4: Archaeologists sometime use broken arrowheads and projectile points as interpretive tools. When an isolated point tip is found away from a campsite, archaeologists interpret this to mean that the tool broke during a hunting trip. When the haft portion of a broken point is found, it's almost always at a base camp. The theory is, the tip is left behind at the hunting site (or embedded in the animal), while the hafting element is taken back to the base camp for possible reworking. Some of the oddest looking projectile points were reworked from earlier points, such as when an old point was found and reworked by a later group. Little Known Fact Number 5: Some native cherts and flints improve their character by being exposed to heat. Experimental archaeologists have identified the effects of heat treatment on some stone to increase a raw material's gloss, alter the color, and most importantly, increase the stone's knappability. Little Known Fact Number 6: Stone tools are fragile. According to several archaeological experiments, stone projectile points break in use and frequently after only one to three uses, and few remain usable for very long. Little Known Fact Number 7: Stone projectile point use is at least as old as the Middle Paleolithic Levallois period Pointed stone and bone objects have been discovered on many Middle Paleolithic archaeological sites, such as Umm el Tiel in Syria, Oscurusciuto in Italy, and Blombos and Sibudu Caves in South Africa. These points were probably used as thrusting or throwing spears, by both Neanderthals and Early Modern Humans, as long ago as ~200,000 years. Untipped sharpened wooden spears were in use by ~400-300,000 years ago. The atlatl, a device to assist in throwing spears, was invented by humans during the Upper Paleolithic period, at least 20,000 years ago. See the Bibliography of Projectile Point Experiments for references

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Flotation Method

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Flotation Method Feb 24th 2012, 11:08 Definition: Archaeological flotation involves using water to process soil or feature fill to recover tiny artifacts. Dried soil is placed on a screen, and water is gently bubbled up through the soil. Seeds, charcoal and other light material (called the light fraction) float off, and tiny pieces of stone called microliths or micro-debitage, bone fragments, and other relatively heavy materials (called the heavy fraction) are left behind. The original idea to wash soil in this manner was conceived by Stuart Struever at the Apple Hill Hopewell site in the Illinois Valley about 1960, on the recommendations of botanist Hugh Cutler. The first pump-generated machine was developed in 1969 by David French for use at two Anatolian sites. The Flote-Tech, a single standalone machine to conduct flotation, was developed some thirty years ago, although many archaeologists still prefer to process flotation by hand, using a bucket in a laboratory. Sources A bibliography of the flotation method, on its invention and subsequent modifications, has been assembled for this project. French, D. H. 1971 An experiment in water-sieving. Anatolian Studies 21:59-64. Struever, Stuart 1968 Flotation techniques for the recovery of small-scale archaeological remains. American Antiquity 33(3):353-362. 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: Chac Masks - Masks of the Rain God

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Chac Masks - Masks of the Rain God Feb 24th 2012, 11:08 One of the Puuc characteristics seen in architecture of Chichén Itzá is the presence of three-dimensional masks of what was traditionally believed to be the Maya god of rain and lightning Chac or God B. This god is one of the earliest identified Maya deities, with traces back to the beginnings of the Maya civilization (ca. 100 BC-AD 100). Variants of the rain god's name include Chac Xib Chac and Yaxha Chac. The earliest portions of Chichén Itzá were dedicated to Chac. Many of the earliest buildings at Chichen have three-dimensional Witz masks embedded into their veneers. They were made in stone pieces, with a long curly nose. On the edge of this building can be seen three Chac masks; also take a look at the building called the Nunnery Annex, which has Witz masks in it, and the whole facade of the building is constructed to look like a Witz mask. Mayanist Falken Forshaw reports that "What used to be called Chac masks are now thought to be "witz" or mountain deities that inhabit mountains, especially those at the midpoints of the cosmic square. Thus these masks bestow a quality of "mountain" to the building."

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Sir William Flinders Petrie

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Sir William Flinders Petrie Feb 23rd 2012, 11:09 Definition: British archaeologist Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie was one of the pioneers of the science, conducting archaeology primarily in Egypt and Palestine. He excavated at the Pyramids of Giza between 1880 and 1882, and conducted surveys in the Fayyum Depression, and excavated at predynastic cemeteries of Naqada, Diaspolis Parva and Abadiya. It was in these last studies that Petrie developed his still-very-useful seriation analysis, which compared percentages of styles of artifacts to relatively date sites and occupations. Seriation was not of practical use for anybody but Petrie until the 1970s, when computers could be brought to bear on the massive amount of data. Remarkably, Petrie did it with slips of paper. Professionally, Petrie was associated with the Egypt Exploration Fund and Palestine Exploration Fund, and was the first Edwards professor of Egyptology at the University of London. Sources Haynes, Henry W. 1894 Some unwarranted assumptions in archaeology. American Journal of Archaeology 9:26-31. Browman, David L. and Douglas R. Givens 1996 Stratigraphic excavation: The first "new archaeology." American Anthropologist 98(1):80-95. Murray, Margaret 1961 First steps in archaeology. Antiquity 358-13. 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: Context is Everything

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Context is Everything Feb 23rd 2012, 11:09 An important concept in archaeology, and one that isn't given a lot of public attention until things go awry, is that of context. Context, to an archaeologist, means the place where an artifact is found. Not just the place, but the soil, the site type, the layer the artifact came from, what else was in that layer. The importance of where an artifact is found is profound. A site, properly excavated, tells you about the people who lived there, what they ate, what they believed, how they organized their society. The whole of our human past, particularly prehistoric, but historic period too, is tied up in the archaeological remnants, and it is only by considering the entire package of an archaeological site that we can even begin to understand what our ancestors were about. Take an artifact out of its context and you reduce that artifact to no more than pretty. The information about its maker is gone. Which is why archaeologists get so bent out of shape by looting, and why we are so sceptical when, say, a carved limestone box is brought to our attention by an antiques collector who says it was found somewhere near Jerusalem. The following parts of this article are stories which attempt to explain the context concept, including how crucial it is to our understanding of the past, how easily it is lost when we glorify the object, and why artists and archaeologists don't always agree.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: History of Archaeology

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History of Archaeology Feb 23rd 2012, 11:09 The history of archaeology is a long and checkered one. If there is anything archaeology teaches us, it is to look to the past to learn from our mistakes and, if we can find any, our successes. What we today think of as the science of archaeology has its roots in religion and treasure hunting, and born out of centuries of curiosity about the past and where we all came from. Part 1: The Treasure Hunters The beginning of the series on the History of Archaeology, covering the roots (and loot) of archaeology in the 17th and 18th centuries. Part 2: You Call This Enlightenment? The first tentative step forward towards archaeology as a science took place during the Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason. Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries was a time of great growth in scientific and natural exploration, and it was a crucial leap forward in the history of archaeology. Part 3: The Tyranny of the Text Is the bible fact or fiction? This question is at the absolute heart of the history of archaeology, central to the growth and development of archaeology, and it is the one that gets more archaeologists into trouble than any other. Part 4: The Biologist, the Geologist, and the Museum Director By the beginning of the 19th century, the museums of Europe were beginning to be inundated with relics from all over the world. Museums all over Europe, were simply becoming overrun with artifacts, from all over the world, completely lacking in order. Something had to be done. Part 5: The Development of Method The real increases towards the techniques and methodology of what we think of as modern archaeology were primarily the work of three scholars: Heinrich Schliemann, Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers, and William Flinders Petrie. Bibliography A list of books and articles about archaeology's history for your own research.

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Archaeology Equipment: The Tools of the Trade

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Archaeology Equipment: The Tools of the Trade Feb 23rd 2012, 11:09 An archaeologist uses many different tools during the course of an investigation, before, during and after the excavations. The photographs in this essay define and describe many of the everyday tools archaeologists use in the process of conducting archaeology. This photo essay uses as its framework the typical course of an archaeological excavation conducted as part of a cultural resource management project in the midwestern United States. The photographs were taken in May 2006 at the Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist, with the kind assistance of staff there. Flotation Flotation Device Processing the Artifacts: Drying Analytical Equipment Weighing and Measuring Cataloging Artifacts for Storage Mass Processing of Artifacts Long Term Storage of Artifacts Computer Databasees Principal Investigator Archiving Reports

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Natufian Guide

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Natufian Guide Feb 22nd 2012, 11:09 The Natufian culture is the name given to the sedentary hunter-gatherers living in the Levant region of the near east between about 12,500 and 10,200 years ago. They were hunter-gatherers, foraging for food such as emmer wheat, barley and almonds, and hunting gazelle, deer, cattle, horse, and wild boar. Natufian Communities For at least part of the year, Natufian people lived in communities, some quite large, of semi-subterranean houses. These semi-circular one room structures were excavated partly into the soil and built of stone, wood and perhaps brush roofs. The largest Natufian communities (called 'base camps') found to date include Jericho, Ain Mallaha, and Wadi Hammeh 27. Smaller, short-range dry season foraging camps may have been part of the settlement pattern, although evidence for them is scarce. The Natufians were hunter-gatherers, and they located their settlements at the boundaries between coastal plains and hill country, to maximize their access to a wide variety of food. They buried their dead in cemeteries, with grave goods including stone bowls and dentalium shell. Natufian Artifacts Artifacts found at Natufian sites include grinding stones, used to process seeds, dried meats and fish for planned meals, and ochre for likely ritual practices. Flint and bone tools, and dentalium shell ornaments are also part of the Natufian assemblage. Specific tools created for harvesting various crops are a hallmark of Natufian assemblages, such as stone sickles. Large middens are known at Natufian sites, located where they were created (rather than secondary refuse pits). Dealing with refuse is one defining characteristics of the descendants of the Natufians, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. Some scarce evidence indicates that the Natufian people may have cultivated barley and wheat. The line between horticulture (tending wild stands of crops) and agriculture (planting specific stands) is a fuzzy one. Most scholars believe that it was not a one-time decision, but rather a series of experiments that may well have taken place during the Natufian or other hunter-gatherer subsistence regimes. The direct descendants of the Natufian (known as the pre-pottery Neolithic or PPN) were among the earliest farmers on the planet. Natufian Archaeological Sites Important Natufian sites include Mt. Carmel, Ain Mallaha (Eynan), Hayonim Cave, Wadi Hammeh, Nahal Oren, Rosh Zin, Rosh Horesha, Wadi Judayid, Beidha, Jericho, and Skhul Cave, Abu Hureyra Natufian Sites Sources A bibliography of Natufian sources has been collected for this project. 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: Machu Picchu (Peru)

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Machu Picchu (Peru) Feb 22nd 2012, 11:09 Machu Picchu was the royal residence of the Inca king Pachacuti, ruled between AD 1438-1471. The huge structure is located on the saddle between two huge mountains, and at an elevation of 3000 feet above the valley below. Machu Picchu: A Home in the Clouds A Walking Tour of Machu Picchu Inca Civilization Time Line More on the Inca Civilization

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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 Feb 22nd 2012, 11:09 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: Cotton (Gossypium)

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Cotton (Gossypium) Feb 22nd 2012, 11:09 Cotton (Gossypium sp.) belongs to the Malvaceae  family and is one of the most important and earliest domesticated plants in the world. It was domesticated independently both in the Old World and in the New World. The word "cotton" originated from the Arabic term al qutn, which became in Spanish algodón and cotton in English. Among the different domesticated species, the most widespread are G. arboreum L. and G. herbaceum L. domesticated in the Old World; and G.hirsutum and G. barbadense domesticated in the New World. Old World Cotton Cotton was first domesticated in the Old World about 7,000 years ago. The two main species, G. arboreum and G. herbaceum, are genetically very different and probably diverged well before domestication. Cultivation of G. arboreum began in the Indus Valley of India and Pakistan, and then spread over Africa and Asia, whereas G. herbaceum was first cultivated in Arabia and Syria. Specialists agree that the wild progenitor of G. herbaceum was an African species, whereas the ancestor of G. arboreum is still unknown. Regions of possible origin of the G. arboreum wild progenitor vary from Madagascar and the Indus Valley, where the most ancient evidence of cultivated cotton was found. G.herbaceum This type of cotton traditionally grew in African open forests and grasslands. Characteristics of its wild species are higher plant, compared to the domesticated shrubs, smaller fruit and thicker seed coats. Unfortunately, no clear domesticated remains of G. herbaceum have been recovered from archaeological contexts. However, the distribution of its closest wild progenitor suggests a northward distribution toward North Africa, and the Near East. G. arboreum Abundant archaeological evidence exists for the domestication and use of G. arboreum. Mehrgarh, the earliest agricultural village of the Indus Valley, presents evidence of cotton seeds and fibers dating to ca 6000 B.C. At Mohenjo-Daro, the famous archaeological site on the Indus river, fragments of cloth and cotton textiles have been dated to the fourth millennium B.C., and archaeologists agree that most of the trade that made the city grow was based on cotton exportation. In the second millennium B.C. from India, cotton reached the Babylonian kingdoms, Egypt and, later on, Europe. Among the different domesticated species, the most widespread are G. arboreum L. and G. herbaceum L. domesticated in the Old World; and G.hirsutum and G. barbadense domesticated in the New World. Among the American species, G. hirsutum was apparently cultivated first in Mexico, and G. barbadense in Peru. Some archaeologists believe, alternatively, that the earliest type of cotton was introduced into Mesoamerica as an already domesticated form of G. barbadense from coastal Ecuador and Peru. However, most believe that G. hirsutum was independently domesticated in Mesoamerica. New World Cotton Among the American species, G. hirsutum was apparently cultivated first in Mexico, and G. barbadense in Peru. Some archaeologists believe, alternatively, that the earliest type of cotton was introduced into Mesoamerica as an already domesticated form of G. barbadense from coastal Ecuador and Peru. However, most believe that G. hirsutum was independently domesticated in Mesoamerica. G. hirsutum The oldest evidence of Gossypium hirsutum in Mesoamerica comes from the Tehuacan valley and has been dated between 3400 and 2300 BC. In different caves of the area, archaeologists affiliated to the project of Richard MacNeish found remains of fully domesticated examples of this cotton. Recent studies have allowed the comparison of bolls and cotton seeds from excavation in Guila Naquitz Cave, Oaxaca, with living examples of wild and cultivated G. hirsutum punctatum, showing that they might come from the same species, originally domesticated in the Yucatan Peninsula. In different eras and among different Mesoamerican cultures, cotton was a highly demanded good and a precious exchange item. Maya and Aztec merchants traded cotton with other luxury items, and nobles adorned themselves with preciously woven and colored mantles. Aztec kings often offered cotton products to noble visitors as gifts and to army leaders as payment. G. barbadense The first clear evidence of domestication of this type of cotton comes from Ancon, a site on the Peruvian coast where archaeologists found remains of cotton bolls dating to 4200 BC. By 1000 BC Peruvian cotton bolls were indistinguishable from modern cultivars of G. barbadense. Archaeological examples of this type of cotton has been found in different sites of Peru and Ecuador, especially Ancón, in the central coast of Peru. Learn more about Cotton Domestication in Ancient Peru Sources This glossary entry is a part of the guide to the Domestication of Plants, and the Dictionary of Archaeology. Hancock, James, F., 2004, Plant Evolution and the Origin of Crop Species. Second Edition. CABI Publishing, Cambridge, MA Mannion A.M., 1999, Domestication and the origins of Agriculture: an appraisal, in Progress in Physical Geography 23, 1, pp. 37â€"56. Murphy, Denis J., 2007, People, Plants, and Genes. The Story of Crops and Humanity, Oxford University Press. Pearsall Deborah M., 2008, Plant Domestication and the Shift to Agriculture in the Andes, in The Handbook of South America Archaeology, edited by Helaine Silverman and William Isbell, Springer, pp.105-120. Stephens, S.G., and M. Edward Moseley, 1974, Early Domesticated Cottons from Archaeological Sites in Central Coastal Peru, American Antiquity, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 109-122. Wendel, Jonathan F., Curt L. Brubaker, and Tosak Seelanan, 2010, The Origin and Evolution of Gossypium, in  Physiology of Cotton, edited by James McD. Stewart, Derrick M. Oosterhuis, James J. Heitholt and Jackson R. Mauney, Springer, pp. 1-18

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Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Wall of Skulls (Tzompantli)

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Wall of Skulls (Tzompantli) Feb 21st 2012, 11:08 The Wall of Skulls is called the Tzompantli, which is actually an Aztec name for this kind of structure, because the first one seen by the horrified Spanish was at the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan. The Tzompantli structure at Chichén Itzá is a Toltec structure, where the heads of sacrificial victims were placed; although it was one of three platforms in the Great Plaza, it was according to Bishop Landa, the only one for this purpose--the others were for farces and comedies, showing the Itzá's were all about fun. The platform walls of the Tzompantli have carved reliefs of four different subjects. The primary subject is the skull rack itself; others show a scene with a human sacrifice; eagles eating human hearts; and skeletonized warriors with shields and arrows. Party on!

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Archaeology: Early Houses in the Azraq Basin of Jordan

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Early Houses in the Azraq Basin of Jordan Feb 20th 2012, 08:46 Ongoing excavations at Kharaneh IV, an Early Epipaleolithic site in the Azraq Basin of Jordan, have revealed the remains of some early hut structures within deposits dated between 20,000-16,000 years ago. Two Early Epipalaeolithic structures at Kharaneh IV, showing close-ups of features associated with the structures, including (A) a cache of burned gazelle and aurochsen horn cores at the edge of Structure 2, (B) a large stone associated with three caches of red ochre and pierced marine shells, and (C) articulated Bos primigenius lumbar vertebrae and ground stone fragments in the hut foundations. Photo courtesy Lisa Maher 2012 The Epipaleolithic, that period in Levantine prehistory between the Upper Paleolithic and the Natufian, is when hunter-gatherers began to settle down and form communities. Kharaneh IV is similar in age to the site of Ayn Qassiya in Jordan, Abu Hureyra in Syria, and Kebara Cave and Ohalo II in Israel. The houses at Kharaneh IV are represented by prepared clay basins, with what appears to be the burned remnants of a super structure. Several hearths and cache features have also been recorded at the site, including the remains of a pouch made from a fox pelt. While not the earliest person-made structure in the world--similar hut structures are known from Upper Paleolithic sites such as Kostenki, at least 10,000 years earlier, the Kharaneh IV houses and the adjacent caches represent information about complex hunter-gatherer adaptation to different environments. Close-up photographs of A-B) four articulated fox paws surrounding a worked flint bladelet core (B), probably representing the remains and contents of a fox pelt pouch and C) burnt gazelle horn cores still attached to skull at base, standing upright, adjacent to Structure 2. Photo courtesy Lisa Maher 2012 Read the summary of recent research about Kharaneh IV The article describing the most recent discovery is an open access article (free download) published in PLoS ONE last week. Maher LA, Richter T, Macdonald D, Jones MD, Martin L, and Stock JT. 2012. Twenty Thousand-Year-Old Huts at a Hunter-Gatherer Settlement in Eastern Jordan. PLoS ONE 7(2):e31447.

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