December 2011, Daily News

Archaeology News for the Week of October 9th, 2011

Thu, Oct 13, 2011

October 15th, 2011

Porunthal excavations prove existence of Indian scripts in 5th century BC: expert

New results from the analysis of paddy grains found in the Porunthal graveyard archaeological site prove that writing systems in India were in existence in the 5th Century BC, predating the arrival of Asoka, according to history professor at the Pondicherry University and director of the excavation project at Porunthal K. Rajan. (The Hindu)

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October 14th, 2011

Tombs with rays of stones discovered on Pamir Plateau

Chinese archaeologists have discovered an unidentified cluster of tombs on the Pamir Plateau, the mountain range formed by the junction or knot of the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hindu Kush ranges (Central Asia). (Stone Pages)

Artifacts found during QAR dive

The raising of a cannon is planned as part of a fall dive expedition now under way at the Queen Anne’s Revenge shipwreck site off the Carteret County coast, but recent excitement has been over an artifact much, much smaller.

Now in its second week of the four-week dive, the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources archaeologists closed out the first week with an artifact recovered Friday of a small lid that appears to go to the set of seven bronze nesting weight cups recovered from the shipwreck in 2007. (jdnews.com)

West Cumbrian Dig Uncovers Roman Building

The first week of a 12-day excavation on land below Papcastle has uncovered remains of a Roman building which could have been used as a Roman bath house or a high status building. (Times and Star)

100,000-Year-Old Art Workshop Discovered in South Africa

Discovery reveals new clues about human cognition very early in the development of symbolic expression, a function unique to being human. (Popular Archaeology)

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October 12th, 2011

2,000-Year-Old Ritual Bath Unearthed in Israel

A plaster covered structure, likely a ritual bath (or miqve in Hebrew), dated to the Second Temple period (first century BCE-first century CE) was unearthed during an archaeological excavation near Kibbutz Zor'a in Israel. (Popular Archaeology)

Dogs may have been man’s best friend for tens of thousands of years

The oldest scientific evidences for dog domestication comes about 31,000 years ago at paleolitihic sites in Belgium, with the discovery of dogs with a shorter and broader snout, a characteristic that differentiates dogs from wolves. (Houston Chronicle)

Viking winter base confirmed at Linn Duachaill

Carbon testing has placed the archaeological site at Annagassan, 50 miles north of Dublin, in the ninth century. Scholars now believe that Linn Duachaill was a winter base for Vikings, who brought their ships there to be repaired, and from where they conducted inland raids. (About.com)

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October 11th, 2011

Dead Sea Scrolls Now Revealed in Detail for Everyone to See

The world's most famous ancient documents, now released to the public in digital detail, have drawn attention far beyond expectations, say museum curators. (Popular Archaeology)

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October 10th, 2011

Most Ancient Temples May Have Been Just Homes 

Until now, the archaeological site at Göbekli Tepe, in Turkey, was thought to have revealed the most ancient temples ever discovered. However, in a new study, a team of experts casts doubt on the nature of the constructions, suggesting that they were not in fact homes for the gods. (Softpedia.com)

Alaskan archaeology project raises prehistoric questions

While the ocean is about 1600 metres away from the site today, 3000 years ago Womens Bay (Alaska, USA) extended farther inland. The Amak site would have been overlooking a beach area at the head of the bay, and what Alutiiq Museum curator Patrick Saltonstall and a team of volunteers unearthed there this year offers a glimpse into an aspect of the seasonal life of the people who lived on Kodiak Island thousands of years ago that has not been well understood or documented. (Stone Pages)

One of the oldest handles in the history of archaeology

A team from IPHES (the Catalan 'Institute of Human Palaeo-ecology and Social Evolution', in northeast Spain) found the imprint of the oldest wooden handle on record in the history of archaeology. The artefact was found in the Abric Romani site, in Capellades (Barcelona). It is the only object with this shape discovered during more than one hundred years of archaeological studies on this site. (Stone Pages)

A Bone for the Wolf Dog

A poignant moment in the history of dog domestication

The dog lived between 25,000 and 24,000 BC in Předmostí, in what today is the Czech Republic. (Psychology Today)

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October 9th, 2011

Ancient Greek farmers found buried with livestock: Report

Archaeologists in northern Greece have found a rare group of ancient graves where farmers were interred with their livestock, a Greek daily reported on Friday. (St. Breaking News)

Chinese government pulls mummy from Philadelphia exhibit

For months, the museum in Philadelphia has been building buzz about their upcoming exhibit, “Secrets of the Silk Road,” and the crowning jewel of its display: an amazingly intact mummy from western China, nearly 4,000 years old.

But a sudden call from the Chinese government pulled the mummy from the exhibit, as well as other archeological objects sent to the museum from the deserts of China’s Tarim Basin. (The Washington Post)

Taj Mahal is safe, claim experts

Archaeologists overseeing the upkeep of the Taj Mahal denied a press report that said the iconic structure could collapse in as little as two years because of its weakened foundations. (Mid-Day)

Pavlopetri: A window on to Bronze Age suburban life 

Semi-detached houses with gardens, clothes drying in the courtyards, walls and well-made streets - Pavlopetri epitomises the suburban way of life. Except that it's a Bronze Age port, submerged for millennia off the south-east coast of Greece. (BBC News)