By Dan McLerran   Mon, Dec 05, 2011

There are archaeology field schools and research activities being conducted all over the world. Many excavations are conducted during the summer months; however, some are ongoing throughout the year, and some are being conducted even during the winter months in parts of the world where the climate is favorable. Here are the best listings online with links to detailed information about archaeological digs and field school opportunities for 2011.  Click on each listing to link to the website:

1.  Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin

2.  Archaeology Digs 2011 (About.com)

3.  Past Horizons

4.  Earthwatch Expeditions

5.  Biblical Archaeology Society

6.  Archaeologyfieldwork.com

7.  Passport in Time

8.  ShovelBums

By   Wed, Nov 30, 2011

New discoveries by an international team of archaeologists and geologists in the Dhofar Mountains of southern Oman are shedding new light on when and how archaic modern humans first migrated out of their African homeland to occupy Eurasia. 

Led by Dr. Jeffrey Rose of the University of Birmingham, the team found over 100 new sites that featured "Nubian Middle Stone Age (MSA)" tools, an ancient industry known to have existed in the Nile Valley of Egypt, but never outside of Africa. According to these researchers, this provides further evidence that early humans migrated across the Red Sea region on their journey out of Africa. Says Rose, "After a decade of searching in southern Arabia for some clue that might help us understand early human expansion, at long last we've found the smoking gun of their exit from Africa. What makes this so exciting is that the answer is a scenario almost never considered."

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Nubian Type 1 core from Oman, the first time this particular stone tool technology has been found outside of Africa. Credit: Yamandu Hilbert  Rose JI, Usik VI, Marks AE, Hilbert YH, Galletti CS, et al. (2011) The Nubian Complex of Dhofar, Oman: An African Middle Stone Age Industry in Southern Arabia. PLoS ONE 6(11): e28239. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028239

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The findings challenge long-held theories about human migration and dispersal out of Africa. By using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) techniques, they were able to date one of the sites to 106,000 years ago, a time that significantly predates the 70,000 to 40,000 BP time range when geneticists have estimated that early modern humans made their exodus. 

Moreover, the sites were located inland, far from the coast, inconsistent with currently accepted theories that suggest that early humans made their exit by hugging the coast of southern Arabia. Says team member and co-author Professor Emeritus Anthony Marks of Southern Methodist University, "Here we have an example of the disconnect between theoretical models versus real evidence on the ground. The coastal expansion hypothesis looks reasonable on paper, but there is simply no archaeological evidence to back it up. Genetics predict an expansion out of Africa after 70,000 thousand years ago, yet we've seen three separate discoveries published this year with evidence for humans in Arabia thousands, if not tens of thousands of years prior to this date."

Why would these human groups move inland to occupy the unforgiving desert landscape of present-day Oman?  According to scientists, the answer lies in fluctuating cycles of climatic history. These lands, 106,000 years ago, were expansive grasslands - not the dry desolation we see today. Says Rose, "For a while, South Arabia became a verdant paradise rich in resources – large game, plentiful freshwater, and high-quality flint with which to make stone tools." These early modern humans may have been primarily hunters, following game and freshwater through river networks as opposed to being fishers who progressed along the coastal areas.

How long they occupied these areas through the cycles of changing climate remains to be determined through future research.  

The detailed research article is published as The Nubian Complex of Dhofar, Oman: An African Middle Stone Age Industry in Southern Arabia by Rose JI, Usik VI, Marks AE, Hilbert YH, Galletti CS, et al. (2011) in the open-access journal PLoS ONE.

By   Mon, Nov 28, 2011

The Sicevo Gorge is a rugged, picturesque river canyon cut into the Kunivica plateau in southeastern Serbia. Containing a nature park, it draws visitors for its beautiful landscape, the result of the occurrence and interaction of geological, geomorphological and hydrological phenomena. But it also contains a series of caves, at least one of which has yielded evidence of human presence during the shifting glacial times of the Ice Age of present-day Europe. The Gorge was placed on the map of popular attention when, in 2008, anthropologists uncovered a partial human mandible (lower jaw), complete with three teeth, while excavating in a small cave. 

"We were looking for Neanderthals," said Dr. Mirjana Roksandic, a participating paleoanthropologist with the University of Winnepeg and a leading research team member. "But this is much better."

What they discovered was a fossil specimen, definitely a human that, at least in terms of morphology, predated the Neanderthal and may have had more in common, physically, with Homo erectus, thought by many scientists to be the precursor to Neanderthals and Homo sapiens (modern humans). Initial dating indicated that the fragment was between 130,000 and 250,000 years old, but a recent series of tests conducted by Dr. Norbert Mercier at the University of Bordeaux produced a date of "older than" 113,000 years BP, significantly younger by comparison.

Still, the dating places the specimen into a time period that far precedes the advent of modern humans into present-day Europe.

But it also raises new questions about the picture of early human movement and subsistence within a geographic area that researchers suggest was a southern haven for early humans during the shifting glaciation of the Ice Age. 

Says Roksandic: "The absence of Neandertal traits in a specimen of this age is counter to the common assumption that Neandertals were the only hominin group in Europe during this time period, though the fragmentary nature of the mandible precludes any definite assignment to a particular species. Given that the date is a "terminus ante quem" the mandible could be substantially older. Any new finds are bound to be extremely relevant as there is such a dearth of information on this critical area for human and animal movement into and out of Europe". 

The Balkans, which includes the Sicevo Gorge, is thought to be one of three Southern refuges for humans and other animals during the advancing and oscillating glaciations of Europe in the Pleistocene era Ice Age. The Sicevo Gorge area is unique, however, in that it was the only one which never experienced geographic isolation, and thus offers immense potential as a setting for important research on the biogeography of both early human and megafauna (animal) populations during the Pleistocene, or Paleolithic period. This includes research on the migratory routes that early humans took when emerging from their African homeland.

"When megafauna moved from Africa into Europe in the Early Pleistocene," states Roksandic, "this was the most likely corridor for their movement. The megafauna was followed by the “megafauna-chasing-hominins” – hunters or scavengers who must have used the same route in their early advancement into Europe".

The research team plans to return again to explore the caves of Sicevo in 2012, and will be running a field school through the University of Winnipeg during the summer. More information about the school can be found at http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/anthro-field-school-index. 

A full article about the topic by Dr. Mirjana Roksandic will be published in the upcoming December issue of Popular Archaeology Magazine.

The detailed research paper about the mandible can be found at the Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 61, Issue 2, August 2011, Pages 186-196.

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Cover Photo, Top Left and Bottom: Cave excavations in Sicevo Gorge.  Courtesy Vasa Lukich.

Photo, Second from Top, Right: Cave excavations in Sicevo Gorge.  Courtesy Mirjana Roksandic. 

By Joanie Meharry   Mon, Aug 22, 2011

Nearly ten years to the day since the Taliban destroyed the National Museum of Afghanistan’s pre-Islamic statues, the exhibition, Mes Aynak: Recent excavations along the Silk Road, opened at the museum. The event held on March 15, 2011 in Kabul was jointly commemorated by the Afghan Minister of Information and Culture, Makhdoom Raheen, the Minister of Mines, Waheedullah Shahrani, and the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl W. Eikenberry, demonstrating the elaborate effort that made the exhibition possible.

The collection showcases the latest finds from the ancient Buddhist monastery of Mes Aynak (“little copper well”), located in Logar province’s rugged terrain, 25 miles southeast of Kabul. Since 2009, archaeologists from the National Institute of Archaeology and the Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan (DAFA) have been rapidly excavating the site. The efforts are urgent because, in less than three years, China Metallurgical Group Corp, a Chinese mining company, is scheduled to develop the overlapping copper mine – the second largest unexploited copper mine in the world. The deal will secure more than $3 billion for Afghanistan’s struggling economy. Thus, the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Ministry of Mines, and international delegations are making a concerted effort to promote both the country’s rich natural resources and cultural heritage.

The exhibition, Mes Aynak: Recent excavations along the Silk Road, is one such initiative and is noteworthy for the speed at which it was curated by the museum staff. Housed in two rooms on the second floor of the museum, the brightly-lit displays are accentuated by the space’s dim lighting and deep red walls. The collection contains some 70 pieces of ancient ceramics, coins, and sculptures. Among these include the Dipankara Jakata statue, which on the back features a unique painting depicting a previous life of the Buddha, dating to the 3^rd-5^th Century, and a wooden seated Buddha statue, dating to the 5^th Century. Indeed, archaeologists are already hailing the discoveries from Mes Aynak as some of the most significant to be unearthed in Afghanistan. The exhibition is also complemented by a well-illustrated booklet, published in English, Dari, and Pashtu.

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The exhibit entrance to Mes Aynak: Recent excavations along the Silk Road.  Photo by Jake Simkin.

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Several months after the exhibition opened, I spoke with Omara Khan Massoudi (pictured below right), the Director of the National Museum, about his thoughts on the Mes Aynak exhibition and archaeological site and their significance for Afghanistan. What follows is the narrative of that interview:

JM: Tell me about when and why you first planned this exhibition.

OKM: It was from 2009 that the Institute of Archaeology of Afghanistan started the excavation at the Mes Aynak site. Some artifacts, when they got them, they sent them to us. In 2010, they also excavated some artifacts which were possible to transfer to the National Museum of Afghanistan. For this purpose, we organized the Mes Aynak exhibition at the museum.

Mes Aynak is a huge Buddhist site in Logar province. The archaeologists are working very hard. They try their best to finish, as soon as possible, this excavation. I think this site is really important for me, for our museum staff also.

JM: Why is the Mes Aynak exhibition also important?

OKM: They found many different kinds of artifacts. For example, this is the first time they excavated a wooden seated statue of Buddha (see cover photo above, left). And, also, they got one artifact, the Dipankara Buddha, where in the back there is a painting. This is very important. We don’t have these kinds of artifacts at the National Museum from different ancient sites.

For this purpose, we organized the exhibition with the support of the US Embassy. We had the opening ceremony on the 15^th March, 2011. That time was a special time. We invited many people specially: the cultural attaché and also the ambassador of different embassies in Afghanistan.

At the same time, it was very important for us. The Minister of Information and Culture announced during that gathering that the ministry wants to have a new building for the museum, that we got the land from the Defense Ministry by the order of His Excellency, our president. It was a suitable moment that he announced this.

Also, after this gathering, when the speech was over, we had the opening ceremony of the Mes Aynak exhibition. I think it was very interesting for all of these people they invited.  I think when everyone visits the exhibition they appreciate it and also they enjoy the visit.

Seated Buddha. Wood. The figure is seated in meditation on a lotus and is the only complete example known to have survived. Dates to the 5th-7th Century. Photo by Jake Simkin.

Front of Dipankara Buddha. Schist stone painted and gilded. On the back is a unique painting representing part of the story of the previous life of Buddha. Dates to the 3rd-5th Century. Photo by Jake Simkin.

JM: So, thus far it seems the exhibition has been well received by the public?

OKM: Yes! There was many media we invited on that day for the ceremony. Also, after that, now the school children and also students of different universities they are coming. They enjoy the visit of this exhibition.

JM: There have been a lot of important finds coming out of Aynak, like you mentioned. How did you select which artifacts would go on display?

OKM: Actually, this is a very huge site. We cannot accept all the artifacts from the site to the National Museum. We don’t have enough space. If you see the site, there are many stuppas they excavated. We don’t have enough space at the National Museum.

The Ministry of Information and Culture has this plan to have a site museum, which is very close to the Mes Aynak area. In this case, the government of Logar province mentioned land around 60,000 square meters. In future, our ministry has plans to transfer all of these big artifacts, including small and big stuppas, to the site museum. This is because bringing all of these artifacts to the National Museum of Afghanistan, which is around 30km away, is too difficult. Our ministry prefers to have a site museum in the Logar district. It is possible to transfer these in a safe way to the site museum.

JM: The US Embassy also announced it is planning to do a conservation and storage facility. Is this where the remaining artifacts will go next?

OKM: Yes! The US Embassy’s ambassador has announced $5 million for building a new National Museum. At the same time they had a trip to the Mes Aynak site. They promised to the Ministry of Information and Culture to bring some facilities for cleaning and conservation of the artifacts. They promised they will support this project for the site museum to make a lab over there and also storage.

JM: Given the uncertain security situation, do you think now is a good time to carry out excavations, like at Mes Aynak?

OKM: I think security on the site – nothing has happened these two or three years back. The Ministry of Interior checked the security of the site. I think there are more than 1,500 police involved for the security of the site. Nothing has happened up to yet. I hope that the people help for security, because this is to the benefit of the people of Logar province. This is also good for our people in Afghanistan. I think the security is better now.

They have to continue this excavation at the Mes Aynak site. The ministry is trying their best as soon as possible to finish this excavation over there because the Chinese company (China Metallurgical Group Corp) wants to finish this archaeological excavation. Then they will start to get the copper from the site.  We have to finish the excavation over there.

JM: Mining is a very big topic in Afghanistan right now…

OKM: This is very important for our people. We appreciate these projects in our country, but we have to protect our cultural heritage. We have to, as soon as possible, finish this excavation.

Editor's Note: In its most recent release of the Heritage at Risk report, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) has listed Mes Aynak among the most endangered monuments and sites around the world. 

A panoramic view of the Mes Aynak exhibit at the National Museum of Afghanistan. Photo by Jake Simkin.

Cover photo, top left: Seated Buddha. Wood. The figure is seated in meditation on a lotus and is the only complete example known to have survived. Dates to the 5th-7th Century. Photo by Jake Simkin.

Photo, second from top, right: Omara Khan Massoudi, Director of the National Museum of Afghanistan, in his office. Photo by Jake Simkin.

Photo, fifth from top, left: Omara Khan Massoudi in the restoration department. Photo by Jake Simkin.

By   Thu, Aug 25, 2011

The names "Donald Johanson" and "Lucy" are now household names in the world of human evolution.  Dr. Johanson's discovery of the fossilized, 3.2 million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis skeleton (nick-named "Lucy") in 1974 at Hadar in the Afar region of Ethiopia shook the field of paleoanthropology and human origins research and established a new standard, a benchmark species against which new-found species are still measured. He is perhaps the most sought-after and quoted scientist in the field, despite the fact that major new discoveries and theories have arguably eclipsed the impact and sensation of the Lucy discovery and the evolutionary paradigm that it represented.  In this video lecture, Dr. Johanson relates the journey of human evolution both in terms of the finds and what they mean and the historic path that the quest for human origins has taken. [Note: The first 6.5 minutes consists of opening introductory remarks before Dr. Johanson even reaches the podium. Viewers who have no interest in introductory remarks may skip directly to Dr. Johanson's lecture].   

By Briana Pobiner and Kris Kovarovic   Mon, Aug 22, 2011

Early in the morning in the Kenyan bush, the human and other mammalian residents and visitors of Ol Pejeta Conservancy (or “OPC”) are getting watered, fed and ready for a new day. There are numerous conservancy staff members and a handful of researchers: PhD students preparing for careers in animal behaviour and conservation, teams of Earthwatch volunteers and their leaders and other visiting scientists, all of whom are contributing to our knowledge about and welfare of the many mammal species who call this equatorial landscape home. And there we are thrown into the mix: Dr. Briana Pobiner (Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History) and Dr. Kris “Fire” Kovarovic (Durham University, UK). We aren't conservationists and we aren't often focused on the present. We can be variously described as archaeologists, paleoanthropologists, paleontologists, and paleoecologists; broadly speaking we are interested in human evolutionary history and how we evolved in the context of past environments.

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Map showing Ol Pejeta Conservancy within the context of Laikipia District and Kenya. Mark Nash, GNU Free Documentation License, Wikimedia Commons.

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We aren't at OPC to study wildlife in the flesh; instead, we are interested in their bones that accumulate naturally on the ground after death. The objects of our study are often curiously regarded by the other researchers, if not considered somewhat inelegant by those who, rightly so, are awe-inspired and deeply committed to the living objects of their own study. We are not infrequently asked: “What are two people who study human prehistory doing looking at bones of dead animals?” That’s a good question, and the answer rests upon the connection drawn between modern bones on the ground and their fossil counterparts that are collected at palaeontological sites. If we can understand the processes that cause modern bones to deteriorate, accumulate and be buried in certain characteristic ways, or the taphonomy of these remains, we can interpret the same processes and their resultant patterns in assemblages of fossil bones. In 2007 we began our long-term project at OPC, BONES: Bones of Ol Pejeta: Neotaphonomic and Ecological Survey. Our aim is to understand the myriad ways in which a number of ecological characteristics condition bone accumulations.

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A scatter of bones found by Drs. Pobiner and Kovarovic during the summer of 2011 at OPC. Photo credit: Dr. Briana Pobiner

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How we relate mammal bones to environments is, however, another question we are often asked. It's an important question and one that bears upon a major line of inquiry in the study of human evolution, which is aimed at determining how our hominin ancestors responded to climate change (e.g. Potts 1996; Bobe et al. 2002) in terms of both behavioral and morphological adaptations. We can only understand this if we can accurately reconstruct the environments at sites where hominin, or early human, fossils are found in the first place. Basic ecological theory can help us understand one major way in which mammals are important in this regard: the characteristics of a habitat determine which animals can live there successfully. Therefore, if we know what animals once lived in a particular place, we can glean some idea of what their habitat was like. Any habitat is characterised by both abiotic and biotic factors, such as the soil type, drainage patterns, features of the terrain (abiotic) and the vegetation and animal life present (biotic). These factors combine to provide two broad niches for each species to exploit. The spatial niche is quite literally the space in which a species lives, sleeps and moves around; the trophic niche is essentially the dietary preference of a species. For example, a moist forest habitat will support a number of arboreal species that live and feed on fruits and leaves in the trees. In contrast, a grassland habitat will have fewer of these species because trees are not well represented in the vegetation -- but open country, terrestrial, grass-grazing species will be abundant. From the perspective of the fossil record, bones and teeth are clearly relevant for an interpretation of the ecological niches exploited by fossil mammalian communities. The bones of arms and legs will provide information about how and where a species moved or locomoted, or the spatial niche, since limbs that are adapted for swinging about in the trees will look quite different from those adapted to running around on the ground. The teeth and jaws will tell us something about what the species ate, or what trophic niche(s) they exploited, as again those adapted for a diet of meat will look very different from those best adapted to eating plants. Fossils of non-hominin animals are abundant and often well-preserved at Plio-Pleistocene (5 – 1.8 million years ago) sites in Africa, providing ample opportunity to explore past environmental conditions through a study of their remains.

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A Grevy’s zebra with a warthog in the background, both in their “typical” habitat: open grasslands. Photo credit: Dr. Nick Walton.

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We bring unique areas of scientific expertise to bear on the BONES project. One of us (Kovarovic) is an expert in understanding how the different species in a community exploit available niches, especially through the study of adaptive morphologies that can be linked specifically to the efficient exploitation of particular habitats, particularly in the mammalian family Bovidae (hooved, horned ungulates like gazelle, buffalo and related taxa). Evaluating such ecomorphologies is a routine method used in the reconstruction of paleoenvironments at hominin fossil sites (e.g. Kappelman 1991, Kappelman et al. 1997, Kovarovic & Andrews 2007). It has the advantage of not requiring identification of fossil mammal remains to the species or even genus level – what is important is not so much who the animals were, but for what they were adapted. Any fossil that retains ecomorphological information in an assemblage can be studied, so sample sizes tend to be large and therefore the statistical analyses more robust. The other of us (Pobiner) is a taphonomist, with a dual interest in how predator-prey relationships can be understood through an evaluation of the damage that carnivores do to the bones of their prey when they consume them as well as how bones naturally weather on the land surface. Tell-tale signs of carnivore activity, such as tooth punctures, pits and scores, as well as signs of gnawing, are used to determine overall predator pressure and in the fossil record contribute to our understanding of how and when hominins began competing with other carnivores for access to animal resources.

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Drs. Kovarovic and Pobiner collecting data on a bone occurrence. Photo credit: Dr. Nick Walton.

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OPC is an excellent place to situate our BONES project for several reasons. It is a research-friendly environment, hosting a number of projects including a well-established Earthwatch project documenting the ecology of black rhinos. This team collects annual abundance data on the entire living mammal community as well as details of the regional vegetation associations and habitat distributions. Earthwatch Project Director, Dr. Geoffrey Wahungu (Moi University, Kenya) and OPC's Ecological Monitoring Manager, Nathan Gichohi share detailed GIS habitat maps with us, which allow us to confidently associate bone accumulations to specific habitat types. They also share long-term (decade-scale) data on mammalian abundances, critical information that allows us to correlate the proportions of live animals with information derived from bone accumulations, such as predation patterns that can be reconstructed from studies of carnivore damage. In turn, we share our data and analyses, which facilitate OPC and Earthwatch's work in monitoring living communities. Finally, the conservancy has presented us with a unique situation: a fence that previously divided a smaller wildlife reserve (formerly Sweetwaters Game Reserve) from a large cattle ranch (formerly Ol Pejeta Ranch) was taken down in 2007, and the whole area became one large conservancy.  The wild animals living on both sides of the fence have been able to migrate to new areas and, as we're not only interested in reconstructing environmental conditions at one time and place, but in tracing changes in such conditions, this provides us with an opportunity to see how quickly the “bone community” reflects known changes in the living animal community.

Each day in the field we follow an established protocol of walking along 1km transects looking for bones and documenting every one that we encounter (Behrensmeyer et al. 1979). We conduct these walking transects in each of the habitat types at OPC, collecting a variety of different types of data, including things like: (a) exact GPS location of every bone and bone scatter; (b) genus, species and body size of each bone occurrence, where possible; (c) weathering stage, which indicates how long the bone has been on the land surface (Behrensmeyer 1978), allowing us to establish a short term chronology of bone accumulation; (d) habitat information, including broad habitat type and local microenvironment; (e) indicators of carnivore damage which identify the predator species responsible for the kill (Haynes 1980, Pobiner & Blumenschine 2003, Pobiner 2007) and (f) ecomorphological data when the skeletal element is from a bovid (Kovarovic & Andrews 2007, Kovarovic unpublished). In the past, we’ve used old-fashioned paper and pencil to record our data, but this year our research colleague Dr. Nick Walton developed a fantastic digital data collection system tailored for our specific data types and research questions. Using iPaqs and bluetooth GPS units, we can now input all of our data directly into an electronic database while we are in the field, saving the time of later having to transcribe handwritten datasheets onto our computers. Each bone encounter that we record is automatically tagged with a date and time stamp and GPS location, so not only will mapping and spatial analyses be easier to conduct, but we can easily pull up details of the data we have collected each year, in each habitat or on each species.

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Drs. Kovarovic and Pobiner walking a bone transect with their armed guard. Photo credit: Dr. Nick Walton.

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Dr. Nick Walton teaching Dr. Briana Pobiner how to use the new digital data collection system. Photo credit: Dr. Kris “Fire” Kovarovic.

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The data we collect will be used in numerous ecological analyses. The first of these is a “live-dead” analysis in which we test the hypothesis that the bone accumulations can accurately reconstruct the proportions of living species in the community. The habitat data also allows us to see if animals are dying in the habitats they’re adapted for and living in, and we’ll apply ecomorphological models to all bovid bone occurrences to predict the proportion of available habitat types and ecological niches in OPC. These results will be compared to the actual known habitat types to determine if ecomorphology provides a faithful environmental reconstruction or if it is biased against certain habitats.

A determination of the body size and predator involvement of each bone occurrence will then be used to investigate the correlations between these two potential biases and where they are responsible for similar patterns observed in the fossil record. If we find correlations between the proportion of undamaged bones and prey size or predator species, we will have identified a systematic pattern of bias that will result in an under- or over-representation of particular habitats in a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Ecomorphological analyses of carnivore damaged fossil assemblages thus would be similarly biased. Large carnivores are known to cause damage to or destroy skeletal elements of prey of varying sizes while feeding on them, so it is likely that some degree of bias exists, but we are unclear to what extent it affects our analyses (e.g. Haynes 1980, Pobiner 2007). If we wish to contextualize hominin evolution at a finer temporal scale, an understanding of - and possible corrections for - this bias is critical to an accurate interpretation of environmental change in the past.

Our project is intended to be a longitudinal study, and it takes many years of fieldwork to acquire the sample sizes required for analysis. Each year that we collect data we record information from bones deposited at different times in the past; fortunately, these data can be stratified according to the time of deposition on the landscape by applying weathering stage models. Time is an important variable, especially where the fossil record is concerned, so it is important for us to determine if the bone accumulations correlate to known increases or decreases in the abundances of both predator and prey species over the past 10+ years (e.g. Miller & Behrensmeyer 2005, Faith & Behrensmeyer 2006, Western & Behrensmeyer 2009), as well as in ecomorphological representations of the available habitats. OPC welcomes this study as it will offer data on changes in carnivore- and habitat-specific predation pressure over time, which may in turn help to understand temporal and spatial shifts in the living mammal biodiversity. The unique and fruitful collaborations occurring under the auspices of BONES have shown that the linkages between past and present mammalian communities are relevant to our understanding of the modern world, while simultaneously aiding the development of models used in interpreting the fossil record and our evolutionary past.

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Literature Cited

Behrensmeyer, A.K. (1978). Taphonomic and ecologic information from bone weathering. Paleobiology 4, 150-162.

Behrensmeyer, A.K., Western, D. & Dechant Boaz, D.E. (1979). New persepectives in vertebrate paleoecology from a recent bone assemblage. Paleobiology 5, 12-21.

Bobe, R., Behrensmeyer, A.K. & Chapman, R.E. (2002). Faunal change, environmental variability and late Pliocene hominin evolution. Journal of Human Evolution 42, 475-497.

Faith, J.T. & Behrensmeyer, A.K. (2006). Changing patterns of carnivore modification in a landscape bone assemblage, Amboseli Park, Kenya. Journal of Archaeological Science 33, 1718-1733.

Haynes, G. (1980). Prey bones and predators: potential ecologic information from analysis of bone sites. Ossa 7, 75-97.

Kappelman, J. (1991). The paleoenvironment of Kenyapithecus at Fort Ternan. Journal of Human Evolution 20, 95-129.

Kappelman, J., Plummer, T., Bishop, L., Duncan, A., & Appleton, S. (1997). Bovids as indicators of Plio-Pleistocene paleoenvironments in East Africa. Journal of Human Evolution 32, 229-256.

Kovarovic, K. & Andrews, P. (2007). Bovid psotcranial ecomorphological survey of the Laetoli palaeoenvironment. Journal of Human Evolution 52, 663-680.

Miller, J.H. & Behrensmeyer, A.K. (2005). Skeletal distributions across time: A multivariate approach to the changing taphonomy of Amboseli Park, Kenya. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25, 92A.

Pobiner, B. (2007). Hominin-Carnivore Interactions: Evidence from Modern Carnivore Bone Modification and Early Pleistocene Archaeofaunas (Koobi Fora, Kenya: Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania). PhD dissertation, Rutgers University.

Pobiner, B. & Blumenschine, R. (2003). A taphonomic perspective on the Oldowan hominid encroachment on the carnivoran palaeoguild. Journal of Taphonomy 1, 115-141.

Potts, R. (1996). Evolution and climate variability. Science 273, 922-923.

Western, D. & Behrensmeyer, A.K. (2009). Bone assemblages track animal community structure over 40 years in an African savanna ecosystem. Science 324, 1061-1064.

By   Sun, May 13, 2012

May 16th, 2012

Archaeologists Discover Possible Site of a Sixth Century Miracle in Jerusalem

The recent discovery of a Jerusalem quarry by archaeologists have led some archaeologists to suggest that it may be the site of the miracle described by historian Procopius of Caesarea in his work,The Buildings of Justinian, where God provided a miraculous supply of stone for the construction of the Nea Ekklesia of the Theotokos Church. During construction work in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Rehavia, a large 20 ft (6 m) tall and 30 in (80 cm) wide red stone, chiseled into the shape of a column, was found. Upon notification of the discovery, the Israeli Antiquities Authority ordered a halt to the construction work and systematic archaeological investigation was initiated. (Popular Archaeology)

A MUMMY SWITCHEROO?

Min, the ancient Egyptian god of phallus and fertility, might have brought some worldy advantages to his male worshippers, but offered little protection when it came to spiritual life. Researchers at the Mummy Project-Fatebenefratelli hospital in Milan, Italy, established that one of Min's priests at Akhmim, Ankhpakhered, was not resting peacefully in his finely painted sarcophagus. "We discovered that the sarcophagus does not contain the mummy of the priest, but the remains of another man dating between 400 and 100 BC," Egyptologist Sabina Malgora said. (Discovery News)

Archaeology team following clues to 1662 chapel

A team of archaeologists and volunteers has come tantalizingly close to locating the 1662 chapel at Newtowne Neck in St. Mary’s County. Scott Lawrence of Grave Concerns and James Gibb of Gibb Archaeology Consulting were hired by St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Compton and the Knights of Columbus to try to find the original chapel. The two already have completed an archaeological survey of the church’s original cemetery. (Southern Maryland Newspaper)

Thieves hunting ancient pharaonic treasures

Taking advantage of Egypt's political upheaval, thieves have gone on a treasure hunt with a spree of illegal digging, preying on the country's ancient pharaonic heritage. Illegal digs near ancient temples and in isolated desert sites have swelled a staggering 100-fold over the past 16 months since a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak's 29-year regime and security fell apart in many areas as police simply stopped doing their jobs. (IOL Scitech)

WWII fighter plane hailed the 'aviation equivalent of Tutankhamun's Tomb' found preserved in the Sahara

A Second World War aeroplane that crash landed in the Sahara Desert before the British pilot walked to his death has been found almost perfectly preserved 70 years later. (The Telegraph)

6,000-year-old settlement poses tsunami mystery

Archeologists have uncovered evidence of pre-farming people living in the Burren more than 6,000 years ago — one of the oldest habitations ever unearthed in Ireland. Radiocarbon dating of a shellfish midden on Fanore Beach in north Clare have revealed it to be at least 6,000 years old — hundreds of years older than the nearby Poulnabrone dolmen. The midden — a cooking area where nomad hunter-gatherers boiled or roasted shellfish — contained Stone Age implements, including two axes and a number of smaller stone tools. (www.irishexaminer.com)

May 14th, 2012

Ecuador seeks answer to riddle of Inca emperor's tomb

The mystery surrounding the tomb of the last Inca emperor - and its reputed treasure - might be closer to being solved. If Ecuadorean historian Tamara Estupinan is right, Emperor Atahualpa's mummified body was kept in the lush, hilly lowlands, a six-hour drive south-west of Ecuador's capital city, Quito. While it is still too early to confirm Ms Estupinan's theory, this discovery could shed light on a tumultuous historical period that marked the beginning of the Spanish colonial era in the Americas. At its height, in the early 1500s, the Inca empire covered most of the Andes, from southern Colombia to central Chile as well as some parts of Argentina. (BBC News)

Mass Grave Begins Revealing Soldiers' Secrets

It was one of the bloodiest battles of the Thirty Years' War, but until recently there was no trace of those who died there. Now a mass grave is shedding light on the mysteries of the Battle of Lützen. Were those who fought hungry young men or well-fed veterans? And where did they come from? (Spiegel Online)

How stone age man invented the art of raving

They were the stone-age equivalent of Glastonbury festival. People gathered in their hundreds to drink, eat and party every summer at revelries lasting several days and nights. Young men met women from nearby communities and married them. Herds of cattle were slaughtered to provide food. These neolithic carousals even had special sites. They were held on causewayed enclosures, large hilltop earthworks built by our forebears after they brought farming to Britain from the continent 6,000 years ago. (The Guardian)

Pitkin County archaeology discovery includes prehistoric tools and weapons

More than two dozen prehistoric tools and weapons found on an undeveloped plot in Pitkin County could provide archaeologists information about hunter-gatherer toolmaking in the West. The find, on private property in the Emma area, on Bear Ridge Road, was reported last week to the Pitkin County commissioners. The owners of the site, David Brown and Jody Anthes, have building rights on the property. They asked the local government last week to place it, instead, on the county’s historical register and grant them two transferable development rights. (Aspen Daily News Online)

Did ancient Germans steal the pharaoh's chair design?

Roughly 3,500 years ago, folding chairs remarkably similar to ones found in Egypt suddenly became must-have items in parts of northern Europe. The simple design consists of two movable wooden frames connected to each other with pins, and with an animal hide stretched between. Such chairs were already being used in Egypt more than 4,000 years ago. The oldest depictions are found on 4,500-year-old Mesopotamian seals. (Stone Pages)

Ancient Swedish stone structure spurs debate

Ancient Scandinavians dragged 59 boulders to a seaside cliff near what is now the Swedish fishing village of Kaseberga. They carefully arranged the massive stones - each weighing up to 1,800 kilograms - in the outline of a 67-meter-long ship overlooking the Baltic Sea. (Stone Pages)

May 13th, 2012

Archaeologists Excavate a Lost Kingdom Buried Beneath Volcanic Ash

In 1980, people began to take notice when workers from a commercial logging company began dredging up pottery fragments and bones in an area near the little village of Pancasila on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Other locals began finding coins, brassware and charred timber in the same region, all buried beneath a thick layer of volcanic deposits. The finds were not far from the foot of the Tambora volcano, a volcano that, in April of 1815, produced the largest eruption in recorded history. In fact, so intense was the eruption, it's atmospheric effects influenced weather patterns across faraway Europe and North America. And in one evening alone, it destroyed at least one entire village kingdom near its feet. (Popular Archaeology)

NM teens find possible 900-year-old artifact

group of New Mexico seventh-graders have found what's being called 1 of the most significant, archaeological discoveries in a while. KOAT-TV reports (http://bit.ly/J7g8Ld) that a group of Sandia Prep seventh-graders recently discovered a 14-by-14 inch pot, possibly 900-years-old, while on a field trip in Cibola County. (KCBD)

Bronze Age boat replica fails to float

The band was ready, the champagne was on hand, Time Team's Tony Robinson was there to record the historic event, and the crowds gathered to watch as a half-size replica of Dover's Bronze Age boat prepared to take to the water. The only problem was, it started to sink. A team of craftsmen and archaeologists had been working for several months to build the replica boat, using the same tools and the same methods as their ancestors would have used when the original boat was built more than 3,500 years earlier. (East Kent Mercury)

Dead Sea Scrolls come to life in Philly exhibit

Inside a climate-controlled storage room with a guard posted at the door, Tania Treiger unzips a purposely nondescript case and lifts out one of the world's oldest and most significant archaeological artifacts. The Israel Antiquities Authority conservator is one of only four people in the world allowed to handle the Dead Sea Scrolls, the centerpiece of a new exhibition at The Franklin Institute, where a painstaking examination of the ancient treasures was conducted before they are placed on public view. (York Dispatch)

By   Thu, Nov 24, 2011

Scientists now know that archaic humans were crossing open water as long ago as 50,000 years ago.  Evidence discovered in Australia attests to it.  But less is known about their other capabilities as they related to the oceans, or deep, open bodies of water.

Now, researchers have uncovered evidence that suggests that at least some of these early sailors were adept deep-sea fishers. Excavating in the Jerimalai rock shelter on the east end of the island of Timor, Sue O'Connor and her colleagues have encountered the remains of large fish in association with fishing implements, including fish hooks fashioned out of bone. Approximately 50% of the fish remains were identified as pelagic, large fish like tuna that commonly dwell in the open oceans.  The remains date to about 42,000 years ago, definitively earlier, according to the researchers, than other similar tools found. Implements used for open-ocean fishing are said to be rare before about 12,000 years ago. 

While fishing itself is not necessarily thought to be a skill set that archaic humans acquired late in their evolutionary development, the practice of open-ocean or deep-sea fishing is known to require skills involving a higher level of planning and more complex fishing technology, capabilities that the researchers now suggest were acquired by humans earlier than previously thought.

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Many caves and rockshelters, such as Jerimalai shelter, are located in the uplifted Pleistocene reefal terraces at the east end of the island of Timor. [Image courtesy of Susan O'Connor]

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Jerimalai shelter during excavation. [Image courtesy of Susan O'Connor]

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Incomplete fish hook from Jerimalai shelter dated to ~11,000 cal BP [Image courtesy of Susan O'Connor]

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A complete shell fish hook from the Pleistocene levels of a cave site at the east end of Timor. This hook is made of Trochus shell and is dated to ~11,000 cal years BP [Image courtesy of Susan O'Connor]

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The detailed research report can be found in the November 25, 2011 issue of Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a nonprofit science society. 

By   Mon, Nov 21, 2011

Analysis of an archaic human cranium dated to the Middle Pleistocene period and found in China shows evidence that violent human interaction and trauma occurred there about 126,000 years ago. 

The cranium, known as the "Maba" cranium, was discovered along with remains of other mammals in 1958 while farmers were removing sediments for fertilizer from a cave at Lion Rock in Guangdong province. 

It was analysed by researchers using stereomicroscopy and a high-resolution CT scanner, enabling them to examine the cranium's inner bone structure. This verified that healing had occurred in the ancient wound, confirming that whatever incident had occurred to produce the damage did not lead to immediate death. 

Says Prof. Lynne Schepartz from the School of Anatomical Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, one of the co-authors of the study report, "This wound is very similar to what is observed today when someone is struck forcibly with a heavy blunt object. As such it joins a small sample of Ice Age humans with probable evidence of humanly induced trauma, and could possibly be the oldest example of interhuman aggression and human induced trauma documented. Its remodelled, healed condition also indicates the survival of a serious brain injury, a circumstance that is increasingly documented for archaic and modern Homo through the Pleistocene."

Schepartz indicated that it was not possible from this study to determine with certainty if the wound was the result of interhuman aggression or an accidental incident, although it does shed more light on "the abilities of Pleistocene humans to survive serious injury and post-traumatic disabilities. Maba would have needed social support and help in terms of care and feeding to recover from this wound."

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This is the reconstructed Maba 1 cranium (A) Right lateral view (B) anterior view (C) left lateral view (D) posterior view (E) superior view (F) basal view.  Credit: University of the Witwatersrand

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This is the right superolateral view of the Maba cranium showing the position (A) and detail (B) of the depressed lesion. Credit: University of the Witwatersrand

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These are CT reconstructions depicting the lesion on the Maba cranium. Credit: University of the Witwatersrand

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The detailed report is published in the November 21, 2011, edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Co-authors of the report are Xiu-Jie Wu and Wu Liu of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China and Erik Trinkaus from the Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis.

By   Wed, Nov 09, 2011

One might think that the archaeological treasures of ancient Egypt have been pretty much picked over by now.  Of all the civilizations that have graced the pages of archaeological romance, ancient Egypt stands arguably on top.  For thousands of years, tomb robbers have looted it, and since the 18th century, archaeologists have systematically pored over the remains. Thus it could be said that this field has already seen its heyday.

But for Professor Donald Redford and Dr. Susan Redford of Pennsylvania State University, like other scholars in their field, it offers a seemingly inexhaustible supply of new finds and surprises that continue to excite the imagination of would-be Egyptologists and archaeologists.

For the past two decades, they have directed expeditions to two separate ancient locations in Egypt, one near the west bank of the Nile in the Valley of the Nobles, part of the Theban necropolis opposite Luxor, and the other much farther to the north in the Nile Delta region.  Both locations have yielded discoveries that have made archaeology news headlines and have created new questions and avenues of investigation. 

Tomb 188

Work in the Valley of the Nobles began for Susan Redford in 1988, when she was granted a concession by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities to clear, record and publish three tombs.  All three tombs were considered historically important, but one tomb has stood out from the others and has commanded most of her time and efforts -- tomb no. 188, that of Parennefer, the royal butler of the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten.  Located in an area adjacent to Queen Hatshepsut’s temple complex at Deir el-Bahri, Redford spent eight field seasons documenting the decorated walls of Parennefer’s tomb chapel by photographing and producing facsimile drawings of the scenes, including conservation and stabilization of the paintings and structure itself.  In the process, her team also cleared five shafts and associated burial crypts discovered within the area of the tomb.  Before too long, the project had expanded westward, well beyond the limits of the original Theban Tomb 188 investigation.  The newly revealed shafts in Parennefer’s tomb eventually led to the discovery of four other previously unknown monuments.  "As anyone who works in the Theban necropolis can tell you," says Redford,  "one single tomb concession can quite suddenly and unexpectedly broaden. The necropolis is a virtual rabbits warren of tomb shafts and ancient robbers’ tunnels that intersect with each other and communicate with unknown interments and often undiscovered tombs buried under slope debris."

If the recent past is any measure, there is much more to come.

Says Redford:  "Despite the systematic plundering of the Theban necropolis which continued up to modern times, there is still a tremendous quantity of artifacts from these ancient burials left to be retrieved, as well as human remains........Among the types of items collected from our last field season (2010), in which we initiated the clearance of the slope to the immediate west of Parennefer’s tomb, were canopic jars (which once held the organs of the deceased), fragments of painted coffins, pieces of stringed beaded nets and collars, numerous funerary cones inscribed with the names of the deceased, shawabtis (small Osiride figurines of the deceased), amulets, statue fragments and decorated blocks removed from the walls of nearby tomb chapels. Two of the most exciting finds that were recovered were the remains of a cedar coffin with a finely-carved facial mask, and a beautiful, limestone relief showing the head and elaborate hairstyle of Parennefer’s wife, which had been removed by robbers from the reveal of his tomb’s entrance passage."

Redford and her team hope to continue the clearance operation during the upcoming 2012 summer expedition, exposing the ancient courtyards of the tombs and revealing and exploring more hidden tombs that she believes will likely be found.

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Entrance and courtyard of one of the newly-discovered tombs of the Assasif concession (the region that includes Parennefer's tomb).  Courtesy Susan Redford, The Theban Tomb Survey. 

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The Mendes Expedition

Farther north in the eastern Nile Delta region, anciently a part of "Lower Egypt", noted scholar Professor Donald Redford leads an investigation of an ancient Egyptian capital.  Situated midway between Cairo and the Mediterranean coast, the city boasts a history of nearly 5,000 years, elements of which continue to exist in the modern villages near the ruin mound.  Ancient Mendes, or modern-day Tel el-Rub'a, was the capital of ancient Egypt during the fourth century B.C.E., the time of the 29th Dynasty. One of the largest cities of the Ancient Near East, it was a major trade center, in contact with ancient Rome, Greece, and cities of the eastern Mediterranean.  Here, Professor Redford and his team have uncovered evidence of human occupation since c. 4000 B.C., including the period of state creation, the advent of complex society and the invention of hieroglyphic script in about 3100 B.C.  Indeed, his team has recovered very early texts illustrating the evolution of writing in Egypt.  Evidence of Old Kingdom presence has been found through recovery of flora and faunal remains that reveal the types of plant cover, land use and animal population over the time period.  But excavated remains also show that the city witnessed an abrupt, temporary cessation of occupation shortly after 2200 B.C. (confirmed by Carbon-14 dating), when the inhabitants were massacred and fire destroyed their temple.  Rebuilt during the second millennium B.C., the city featured a large, processional temple fronted by two pylons and a long approach flanked by subsidiary temples.  Excavations have also uncovered evidence of several harbors, along with storehouses filled with pottery that indicated trade in perfumes and wine.  Mendes was recognized throughout the classical world for its perfumes.

Not the least of the discoveries, the Mendes expedition is also noted for uncovering an important royal tomb.  "The tomb of the founder of this (29^th) Dynasty, Neferites I (399-393 B.C.), was discovered by our expedition in 1993," says Redford.  "Sadly it was not intact. Neferites had been a freedom-fighter, instrumental in liberating Egypt from the yoke of the Persian empire; and when, in 343 B.C. the Persians succeeded in reconquering Egypt, they made a point of destroying his tomb."

Much more needs to be done.  In the upcoming summer season of 2012, Redford plans to clear and partially restore a temple built by Amasis, who ruled from 569 to 526 B.C.  He also plans to excavate houses dated to the period 2300-2200 B.C.  

Says Redford, "Mendes is a cross section of Egyptian history.  With no villages built over the ruins, it is completely open to our exploration.  A fascinating agenda of investigation remains to be acted upon: urbanism in a Lower Egyptian setting, town planning, the distribution of economies, house lay-out........all these themes beckon enticingly!"

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The Mendesian temple of the Ram-god (a major deity identified with Mendes) as it looks today. Courtesy Donald Redford, The Mendes Expedition.

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A full article describing the discoveries and opportunities at these two ancient sites will be published soon in the upcoming December edition of Popular Archaeology Magazine.

For students who wish to participate in these expeditions, they are invited to read the details and apply online at www.outreach.psu.edu/summerabroad/study-egypt.  The Theban Tomb Survey runs from May 26 to June 23, 2012, and the Mendes Expedition runs from June 22 to July 23, 2012. The application deadline is December 20, 2011.  

By Kimberly Munro   Sun, Aug 28, 2011

The first part of the Ancient Peru series focused on the Pre-Ceramic Period, a time period in Peru that set the foundation for the great cultures to follow. The Pre-Ceramic gave rise to the earliest signs of agriculture, more sedentary societies, the construction of monumental public architecture and the New World’s earliest cities. Part II of this Series will focus on the Initial Period of Peru. Starting at the end of the Pre-Ceramic Period, the Initial Period includes major architectural and agricultural developments, as well as the introduction of ceramic technologies.

The Initial Period in Peru dates from 1800 - 800 BC and is defined by the introduction of ceramic technology and a shift towards permanent settlement structures dependent on plant and animal domestication. Though there was some level of agriculture in the late Pre-Ceramic (mainly cotton and gourd floodplain agriculture), the Initial Period is defined by full scale irrigation agriculture. The crops domesticated during the Initial Period were expanded to include peanuts, beans, avocados, potato, quinoa, squash, and other fruits and vegetables.  The monumental architecture which was introduced during the Pre-Ceramic continues to evolve, with two distinct architectural themes emerging.

The earliest ceramics appear in coastal sites initially established during the Pre-Ceramic and which continued to be utilized through the Initial Period, such as El Paraiso. Later Initial Period constructions are located inland roughly 15-20 km from the coast. Agricultural improvements such as irrigation canals allowed coastal peoples to depend less on marine resources and slowly move farther from the coast into valleys that could now be farmed more effectively.  Construction techniques also changed dramatically during the Initial Period. Monuments were no longer constructed by small stones carried in shicra or fiber bags. During this period, adobe mud brick construction commonly decorated with plaster and colorful clay friezes starts to appear.

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Late Initial Period Ceramic vessel, stirrup spout from the Northern Coast, courtesy of author, taken at The Museo Nacional de Arqueología Antropología e Historia del Perú

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The monumental architecture defining the Initial Period is found on the northern coast of Peru from the Lambayeque valley south to the Lurin valley on the central coast, although the architecture found on the central coast differs from the northern coast constructions. Monuments on the central coast are arranged in a U-shape, including a large temple mound in the center and long linear mounds on either side of the temple mound. The opening to the U-shaped plaza faces the headwaters of the valley. Northern coast constructions however include large rectangular terraced mounds, sunken plazas and sunken circular courts, which are similar to those from the Pre-Ceramic period.

The Initial Period – Central Coast

The earliest of the U-Shaped Inital Period monuments is known as Huaca La Florida, located in the Rimac Valley south of the Pre-ceramic site El Paraiso, which was discussed in part I of the series. El Paraiso was utilized well into the Initial Period and is believed to be the prototype for U-Shaped constructions. Some differences exist between the early U-shaped monuments found in the Pre-Ceramic and those found later at Initial Period sites.  The size of the central platform mounds increases and is fully conjoined with at least one of the lateral mounds (Burger, 1992).

Some of the earliest ceramics of the Initial Period were found at La Florida. Huaca La Florida dates to approximately 1600 BC and like other U-Shaped structures consists of massive terraced platform mounds flanking the sides of a large rectangular plaza (Burger, 1992). Huaca La Florida was built and utilized for a relatively short period, approximately 400 years, and archaeologists have found evidence of habitation at the base of the central mound.

Garagay is another U-shaped monumental construction built in the Rimac valley. Garagay can be found within the modern capitol city of Lima, approximately 8km inland from the Pacific and the remnants of the site that are still intact cover 16 hectares. The U-shaped construction also includes a small circular court, and the plaza area itself covers 9 hectares.  The large central mound was a flat topped pyramid 23 meters high, with the right and left lateral mounds 6 and 9 meters in height respectively. Excavations revealed the stairway leading up to the central mound was plastered in white clay and the central pyramid was covered with decorated clay friezes.  Supernatural beings were represented on these clay friezes, as well as spiders and possibly felines.  The motifs at Garagay include beings with large fangs and eccentric shaped eyes with large pupils. This motif in particular is a prototype that becomes prominent in the later Chavin culture. It is important to note that the motifs found on friezes and decorations within Garagay’s public architecture are also found on the domestic pottery utilized at nearby fishing villages. The repetition of these symbols in the domestic sphere suggests their importance not only in sacred space but also in daily life.  Garagay has been radio-carbon dated from 1643 - 897 BC and it has been suggested that it was constructed shortly after the abandonment of the nearby Huaca La Florida.

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Frieze at Garagay with an example of an anthropomorphic figure, Wikimedia Commons.

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Located in the southernmost extent of U-shaped centers, in the Lurin valley, Cardal can be found approximately 35km south of Garagay and 15km from the Pacific. A contemporary of Garagay, the occupation at Cardal has been dated to 1300 - 900 BC. Cardal’s architectural features include a ceremonial road approaching from the northeast, rectangular enclosures, 8 sunken circular courts and a sunken central plaza. Over 30 stairs lead to the summit of the main pyramid and, like Garagay, these stairs are decorated with white clay. An atrium was also found at Cardal, but unlike Garagay’s atrium it was not decorated with colorful friezes. Earlier constructions at Cardal however did reveal friezes and more anthropomorphic figures with large canine teeth. Excavations revealed at least 5 stages of construction and “ritual entombment” of the site. In one of the sunken circular courts offerings were found including a human skull and a ceramic bottle featuring interlocking snakes. To date, Cardal appears to be one of the latest U-shaped centers in the Initial Period.

Archaeologists believe this change of construction with the opening of the U-shaped plaza facing the mountains and headwaters of the valley illustrate the change in reliance from marine resources to agricultural resources. It is at this point in time that researchers believe prehistoric people started worshipping mountain peaks, or Apus, a practice which is still practiced by certain Andean groups. “The veneration of mountain peaks may date back as far as the Initial Period. According to Carlos Williams, it seems that early coastal U-shaped centers turned their backs on the sea and faced up river towards the important source of irrigation water (Moseley 2001; Williams 1985).”

The construction of the U-shape reflects basic cosmological principals and beliefs underlying the religious worship at these centers (Burger 1992). In addition, researchers believe these centers were also used for fertility rituals related to agriculture. The presence of spiders/arachnid motifs at Garagay and Cardal is evidence of fertility rituals, as spiders were used in late pre-Hispanic times to predict the onset of rainfall and other agricultural matters. In some parts of the highlands spiders are still used today in similar rituals.

Archaeologist William Isbell has speculated that the meaning behind the U-shaped design expresses the opposing and complementary forces with the cosmos and society. Isbell also believes the central mound represents the synthesis of these two forces. This belief in duality and opposing forces can still be found today among tropical forest groups and was present in the buildings by the Inca. (Burger, 1992).

The Initial Period on the Northern Coast

On the northern coast Initial Period architecture is constructed differently. Only rarely are the U-shaped monuments found north of the Chancay drainage.  Instead, the northern coast monuments include several sunken circular courts and sunken rectangular plazas that are commonly associated with a large flat topped terraced pyramid. Though central coast sites occasionally contain sunken circular plazas, they are often later constructions and built off to the side of the main pyramid temple. On the northern coast, circular sunken plazas are usually associated directly with the large rectangular pyramids. These differences in construction suggest that the north coast was an independent field of social and religious interaction (Burger, 1992).

Cerro Sechin is located in the Casma valley near the juncture of the Sechin and Moxeke rivers and approximately 14 km from the Pacific coast. A three-tiered platform mound measuring 53 meters high and flanked by two smaller buildings on each side was the main construction at Cerro Sechin. A circular depression was originally observed by archaeologist Julio Tello and believed to be a possible sunken circular court. The outer retaining wall which surrounds the pyramid measures over four meters high and was decorated with over 400 stone sculptures. These sculptures are believed to represent either a mythical or historical scene, and are arranged along the platform wall in two columns approaching each other from opposing sides. The sculptures depict warriors, most of them defeated, bound, naked and often bleeding or shown in distress or anguish. Bodies are wounded and represented as bleeding with their entrails and intestines spilling out. The larger of the sculptures depict victorious warriors with arms raised holding decapitated heads. The sculptures are carved out of granite from a quarry behind the site, without the benefit of metal tools.  Excavations at Cerro Sechin have revealed four total construction phases, with the earliest constructions having been built out of adobe mud bricks, and only in the later stages of construction are the granite slabs added. Cerro Sechin was abandoned by 800 BC at the end of the Initial Period.

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   Cerro Sechin head carvings, Wikimedia Commons 

Cerro Sechin sculpture illustrating a captivey cut in half, blood and intestines spilling out. Courtesy of author, The Museo Nacional de Arqueología Antropología e Historia del Perú

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Sechin Alto is another Initial Period monument on the northern coast, located only 2km from Cerro Sechin.  Comprised of a large rectangular pyramid mound, five plazas, and three sunken circular courts, it has been radio-carbon dated to 1720 BC and is believed to have been occupied for 1000 years. Sechin Alto has the largest pyramid of the Casma valley measuring 250 x 300 meters at the base and 44 meters high. Its main mound rose to the same height as a nine-story building and is one of the largest architectural complexes in the New World. The earliest constructions at Sechin Alto were built with mud bricks, and later faced with granite blocks. Anthropomorphic figures and trophy heads have also been discovered at the nearby site of Moxeke, also in the Casma valley. These figures and sculptures discovered at Moxeke include large decapitated heads baring their teeth, anthropomorphic figures wearing tunics and carrying snakes and carvings of human hands. Like the central coast, feline iconography with long curved teeth have also been found on the northern coast, laying the ground work for the later Chavin culture.

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Sechin Alto decapitated head, Wikimedia Commons

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Defining the Initial Period

As mentioned in Part I of the series, Ritual Entombment continued on throughout the Initial Period. Both the northern and central coast cultures practiced ritual entombment, and though they both had different construction themes, there was some overlap. Circular sunken plazas which made their appearance in the Pre-Ceramic Period continue to be a major feature of public architecture for sites on the northern coast. Occasionally, central coast sites such as Cardal utilize sunken circular courts, though these make an appearance later on during the Initial Period and are not primary structures. Both the central and northern coasts experience complex agriculture and utilize canal constructions as an irrigation technique. During this time plant foods increase dramatically throughout coastal sites, and coca leaves make their appearance at coastal sites. Though ceramics start out in the Initial Period as basic simplistic forms, they quickly become more complicated and include stirrup spot vessels and intricate patterns and polishes. Initial Period sites utilize plaster in their constructions, clay friezes, and stone sculpture works. Anthropomorphic figures with large fangs also make an appearance, an important iconography continuing into the Early Horizon and laying the ground work for the Great Mother Culture which would follow, the Chavin (Part III of this series).

By   Mon, Aug 15, 2011

The Great Sphinx is one of the world's largest and oldest statues.  It has marked the landscape surrounding Cairo, along with great pyramids, as the defining symbol of ancient Egypt. But basic facts about it, including who built it, when it was built, and particularly how it was built, remained mysteries for centuries.  This video documents recent efforts by scientists and scholars to find the answers, exploring the historical context, structure, and ancient technology and methodology that may have made it possible to create such an edifice. As the viewer will find, its story turns out to be far more complex, and therefore far more fascinating, than had been previously thought.  

By   Wed, Aug 10, 2011

A photograph of Þjóðveldisbærinn in Iceland, a reconstruction of the Viking Longhouse Stöng. The building would have been the center of the farm of a Viking chief in the middle ages and would have been used to store food. This replica adheres as closely as possible to the original way of building these longhouses, with a basic wood frame, stone base and turf walls/roof. Courtesy Thomas Ormston, Wikimedia Commons.

By   Thu, Aug 04, 2011

A scale model reconstruction of the ancient port. Wikimedia Commons.

By   Wed, Aug 03, 2011

by Lorna Phillips

Many changes occurred in the Old and Middle Kingdoms in Egypt, especially in relation to the attitude of the people towards the king. The trends in royal statuary during this time reflect these fluctuations in society, both physically and in their purpose. One of the main physical changes in royal statues was the development of portraiture. The sculptors had to try and accomplish a sense of naturalism yet still show the magnificence of the king.

Throughout Egyptian history, the statuary of royals has had a firm funerary grounding. This is definitely true for the Old Kingdom, as it was still strongly believed that the statue could hold divine power[1] and was a place for the king’s ka (spirit) whilst he was in the afterlife.[2] As they were sacred items, most were hidden away, often in a serdab[3], and were the focus for the cults of the dead kings as a link between the living and the dead[4]. Although they could not see the statue, it gave them something solid upon which to focus their worship. According to Cyril Aldred, the statues were purely practical, not aiming to be emotional for the viewer, as the viewer was not for whom the statue was made.[5] The statuary of this time was focussed only on the deceased and their needs.

Even though the statues continued to be associated with the king after his death, during the Middle Kingdom they also began to represent the king while he was still alive. The kings of the Middle Kingdom had not emerged from the unrest of the First Intermediate Period with full support.[6] Statues were therefore placed in temples around Egypt as monuments, aiming to remind the people of the king’s dominance.[7] Through this worship, the bonds between the king and the local communities strengthened[8].

There are many physical features that remain the same throughout the Old and the Middle Kingdom royal statuary. One of these is the cubic nature of the statues. From the start of the Old Kingdom the sculptors strive to show the king as god-like and free from the emotions that plague the common people. The royal statues are therefore motionless and aloof in their “hieratic, semi-abstracted pose”. This set the template for future royal statuary.[9]  An example of this cubic nature of Old Kingdom statues is the life-size statue of King Djoser. This style was used much during the Middle Kingdom. Aldred believes that this is due to the Egyptians losing confidence after the First Intermediate Period.[10]  It seems more likely, however, that the kings wanted to be perceived once again as gods and untouchable, and the best way to do this through statuary would be to be portrayed as motionless and powerfully built, released “from all irrelevancies”[11]. Another part of this image was the size of the statues. At the start of the Old Kingdom the statues, such as the granite head of Userkaf from his mortuary temple[12], were enormous. Khafre’s sphinx on the Giza Plateau is another example of this desire for size. This diminished over the course of the Old Kingdom. However, with the need to re-assert their power after the First Intermediate Period, the royal statues of the Middle Kingdom were often large, even colossal.[13]

Another physical feature that remained the same in royal statues throughout the Old and Middle Kingdoms was the hands. If not flat, they were clenched around either a staff or what appears to be a handkerchief. It is not certain whether this was because of a limit of technique or whether it always served a symbolic purpose. In the standing dyad of Menkaure and his wife, Menkaure is clutching the ends of poles in both of his hands. In the right hand of Senwosret III, in one of his seated statues, he is holding a piece of cloth that looks like a modern day handkerchief.

Part of what makes studying Old and Middle Kingdom royal statuary so interesting are the developments and trends that occur as different features change fashion with the kings and their sculptors. One of these developments is that of the nemes-headdress. It has become one of the most famous images that people associate with Egypt, and its origins can be seen as early on as Djoser’s serdab statue, with its shaped piece of cloth over the wig.[14]  The motif of portraying foreigners with facial hair saw the use of moustaches and natural beards on royal statues fade. In the Old Kingdom statue of Rahotep and Neferet, Rahotep has a moustache. In the Middle Kingdom, however, royal statues do not have moustaches.[15] As religious focuses changed in the Middle Kingdom, an increasing number of royal statues had an amulet around their neck. This amulet can be seen on the statues of Senwosret III from the funerary temple of Mentuhotep II at Deir el Bahri.[16] After the unrest of the First Intermediate Period, the kings seemed determined not to show themselves as too mortal. This included showing their body or even the shape of their body. In the Old Kingdom this did not worry the royals and they refrain from clothing their statues in anything that would conceal their figure.[17] This is shown in the dyad of Menkaure and his wife, where she is wearing a tight fitting dress and he wears a small quilt. The Middle Kingdom however uses the cubic style and presents the human body as a block[18]: For example, the crouched statue of Si-Hathor, with his cloak wrapped around him.[19]

One of the major developments in royal statues over the Old and Middle Kingdoms was the move to statuary in the round. The chairs in royal statues of the Old Kingdom look like they have backs to them, however, they do not, or if they do they are very small. This is in fact the back board of the statue. According to Aldred this is for aesthetic reasons,[20] although it could also be because they were using soft stones, such as limestone, and did not know how it would react. Even standing statues of this time, like the six statues of Sneferu in his bent pyramid, are still attached to the wall behind them.[21] The Middle Kingdom sees the introduction of some free-standing statues from as early as Mentuhotep II.[22] Although this particular statue was made of sandstone, the increase in free-standing statues may have been influenced by the increased use of harder stones such as “granite, quartzite, basalt and diorite”[23]. With stronger stone, sculptors could produce the large statues wanted by the king and have them free-standing without the visual interference of a back board.

Over the course of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, the overall image of the king as a god waned and with this, came the advancement of portraiture.[24] Although portraiture in the Old Kingdom was not exact, as it did not need to be, the idea was there and a new expression emerged. Instead of the “impassive stare of the god looking into eternity”, the expression became more like the self-satisfied gaze of a lord looking down on his subjects.[25] With this development, the king became less like a god and more like a “mere feudal overlord”[26]. This look is apparent in the statues of Menkaure, especially in the dyad of him and his wife, where he looks almost like a normal human.[27] The increase in portraiture also occurs in the Middle Kingdom, as each royal becomes recognisable not just from their inscriptions, but from their face. The shapes of the faces of the kings are largely the same, with big eyes, straight eyebrows and thick lips,[28] but each king has at least one facial characteristic that sets them apart from the others. Once a king’s face had been chosen, it did not age or change for the rest of his life, even if the body of his statue did. A good example of this is the portraiture of Senwosret III and his son Amenemhat III. They are very similar, both having big, “low-set” ears and a strong mouth. Senwosret III however can be immediately recognised by his lips, which turn down at very sharp angles. Amenemhat III had the same image as his father’s until he developed his own, with lips that did not turn down and eyes that were “more shallowly set”.[29]

In the Old Kingdom, the statues were mainly for funerary purposes. For the house of the royal ka, the sculptor had to accomplish a strong bodied representation of the king. They also had to make statues that looked powerful, as focal points for worship.[30] In these aims, the sculptors of the Old Kingdom were largely successful. The Middle Kingdom sculptors also had to accomplish the same powerful figures. At the same time they were trying, on behalf of the king, to improve the power of the monarchs after the drop in their authority in the First Intermediate Period. To achieve this they created colossal representations of the king. They also developed more life-like portraiture. This did not have the desired effect of increasing the king’s image as a god however, but diminished it, making them look more like men.

Changes in attitude toward the king during the Old and Middle Kingdoms can be traced through the trend in royal statuary. As the portrayal of foreigners as well as focuses in religion changed, so too did the physical features and purpose of royal statues. As the king’s image as a god weakened, statues tended to increase in size to remind the people of the king’s dominance. The statues also became more widespread, being placed in local temples while the king was still alive, to strengthen the bonds between the king and his people. The decline in the king’s divine image saw an increase in royal portraiture as he was shown individualised and thus mortal.

About the Author

Lorna Phillips is a student at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She is studying for a conjoint Bachelor of Arts and Science degree, majoring in Ancient History, Classical Studies and Anthropological Science (focusing on Archaeology). 

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Bibliography:

Abbate, F. (ed.), Egyptian Art, transl. H.A. Fields, London, Octopus Books Limited, 1972.

Aldred, C., Middle Kingdom Art in Ancient Egypt: 2300-1590 BC, London, Alec Tiranti Ltd., 1950.

Aldred, C., Old Kingdom Art in Ancient Egypt, London, Alec Tiranti Ltd., 1949.

Callender, G., “The Middle Kingdom Renaissance (c. 2055 – 1650 BC)”, the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, ed. Ian Shaw, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2003, pp. 161-162.

Robins, G., The Art of Ancient Egypt, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 2000.

Schäfer, H., Principles of Egyptian Art, ed. Emma Brunner-Traut, transl. J. Baines, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1974.

Stevenson Smith, W., The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt, Meddlesex, Penguin Books, 1965.

By   Sun, Jul 31, 2011

By Jeff Leach

On a morning in July, in the quiet semi-darkness that precedes the break of dawn, I looked out over the stone walls of the Middle Bronze Age palace complex at Tel Kabri in northwestern Israel and began one of the more interesting vacation activities I’ve ever engaged in--participating in an archaeological dig. A contracts attorney by trade and a lover of antiquity by temperament, I had volunteered to leave my air-conditioned office in Northern Virginia to spend a week digging in the dirt with an international team led by Dr. Eric Cline of George Washington University and Dr. Assaf Yasur-Landau of the University of Haifa.  I had come to Tel Kabri with spade in hand, an introduction to archaeology and Hebrew under my belt, and a desire to be part of this adventure into the past.

I first met Eric (who, incidentally, has just won the Biblical Archaeology Society’s “Best Popular Book on Archaeology Award” for the third time, this time for his book Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction) at a Smithsonian Associates lecture some years earlier, just after he had re-opened the excavation at Tel Kabri and was speaking on it.  One of the most fascinating aspects of Tel Kabri for me and for others are the fragments of painted frescoes that have been discovered at the site, which appear to connect Tel Kabri with Minoan sites like Akrotiri in Santorini and with Knossos in Crete, where I lived when I was a boy.  To dig at a site in the land of the Bible that appeared to have Minoan links of some kind was, for me, the best possible way to fulfill a lifelong desire to participate in some way in digging up the ancient past.

Tel Kabri, a mound with a history of human occupation stretching back through a dozen cultures to at least the Neolithic, sits today among the trees of an avocado grove on an Israeli kibbutz not far from both the Mediterranean Sea and the border with Lebanon, yielding its secrets slowly over decades of painstaking excavation.  Of the three main areas being excavated, I joined the team of students assigned to D-West, under the supervision of a charming and humorous graduate student named Nurith Goshen, a woman who is well-versed in Bronze Age material culture and who knows her way around a pottery sherd.

Our work began each day at 5 a.m. to beat the Mediterranean summer heat.  We loosened the soil with pick-axes, removed it from the digging area, and slowly exposed walls and steps, pathways and plaster, and the detritus of people long gone.  As we came across interesting finds--pottery sherds, bone fragments, loom weights, Neolithic stone implements--we saved them for later cleaning and study.  In the afternoons, we washed our finds (largely pottery) and relaxed, and in the evenings we gathered for interesting lectures on relevant archaeological subjects by Eric and Assaf.

It takes some imagination to scan the wall outlines at Tel Kabri and try to visualize what it must have looked like in its heyday.  Most of the site is still covered over by centuries of accumulated dirt.  All non-durable materials, such as wood, cloth, and foodstuffs, have long since been removed or rotted away.  Many of the walls were built of mud brick atop stone bases, and the mud brick gave way long ago, collapsing multiple stories together. 

From patient excavation of the structures, however, an understanding emerges--a small house built at one stage is later sacrificed to a larger building from another.  From small finds we can construct the picture in the puzzle piece by piece--a loom and a tradition of weaving from a loom weight, the consumption of fish and pigs from fish bones and a pig jaw, a tradition of collecting, processing, storing and distributing food items--perhaps olive oil--in caches of shattered pottery.  And in the mud bricks themselves, made from local clays, countless small Neolithic blades remind us that Tel Kabri was a thriving hub of human settlement long before the palace builders of the Bronze Age erected their first wall.

Walking among the stones at a site such as Tel Kabri is like going back in time 3,600 years to a period when small city-states dominated the Levant, when ancient Israel was still in the future, and when Akkadian was the international lingua franca.  To dig in a site like Tel Kabri is to fire the imagination.  Who were these people?  What were they like?  What sort of culture and economy did they have?  What connection was there between this site and the palace complexes of the Aegean?  Was the artist who painted the frescoes here a student of the artist who painted the walls of Akrotiri in Santorini?  Was there a stone throne buried somewhere, like the one at the palace complex of Knossos?  How did it all end before it was covered over and forgotten?  What lessons does it hold for us in our own culture?

Fascinated as I am with language and historical documents, I kept hoping as we dug to find the archives--maybe a stone chest with baked clay tablets in Akkadian cuneiform that would give us insight into this place--who they were, what they traded, who their allies and enemies were, even something so basic as what they called this place.

As Assaf pointed out to me one day, however, all histories are slanted by the humans who write them.  The material remains, however, speak with no agendas, although we must listen more closely and patiently to what they have to tell us.  An excellent point--but I’m still hoping for that archive.

In any event, my experience at Tel Kabri was a rich and rewarding one, providing me with valuable insights into the practices and methods of archaeology, the chance to meet some wonderful people, and a glimpse into the lives of an ancient Mediterranean culture that probably in some small and indirect but real way helped to make us who we are.  I recommend it for anyone with a love for the past and hankering for adventure.

For more information on Tel Kabri, including how you can help support this important excavation, please visit http://digkabri2011.wordpress.com/.  

By   Sat, Jul 23, 2011

Photo courtesy Docman, Wikimedia Commons.