In a report co-authored by Michael Walker and colleagues of Spain’s Murcia University, scientists suggest that early humans who lived in the Cueva Negra (Black Cave) rock-shelter of southeastern Spain about 800,000 years ago used fire, and that they exhibited behaviors that indicated a cognitively sophisticated late early Pleistocene use of resources and tools in their environment. The detailed report is published in the upcoming Volume 15 of Popular Archaeology Magazine.
The rock-shelter, located in the face of a cliff overlooking the Quipar river and the small village of La Encarnación, became the subject of initial exploration by archaeologists in 1981. But full systematic excavations didn’t begin until 1990, when an archaeological team led by Walker and colleagues with the Murcia University Experimental Sciences Research Group undertook detailed investigation that continued for another 25 field seasons. What they uncovered were 5 meters of sediment containing late Pleistocene (somewhat before 780,000 years ago) finds, including hominin (early human, possiblyH. heidelbergensis) teeth, a rich artifact assemblage, and an array of ancient flora and fauna remains that bespoke an ancient climate of warm, moist environmental conditions. Their analysis and interpretation of the finds may have, they maintain, important implications for early human behavior.
“The most important findings at Cueva Negra concern human activity,” write Walker and colleagues in their report. “Undoubted evidence of fire has been uncovered.”* They point to the evidence of sediment combustion, thermally altered chert and burnt animal bone found in a layer measured at 4.5 meters in depth.
But they qualify their interpretation.
“A fire-place is not a hearth,” the authors continue. “The Cueva Negra could have brought glowing brands left by a forest fire into the cave to establish and tend a fire where rain and wind would not put it out. They may well have been less afraid of fire outside than other animals they saw fleeing from it (which could have led them to play with fire in order to drive animals towards natural death traps, such as swamps, enabling dismemberment and roasting). This does not mean they could reproduce or control fire: there is a dearth of archaeological evidence for hearths or fire-pits before 0.5 Ma.”
Cueva Negra is not the only site that has evidenced early use of fire by early humans. For example, the site of Bnot Ya’akov Bridge in Israel has been claimed to show human control of fire some time between 790,000 and 690,000 years ago, and evidence has emerged at Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa for the use of fire by around 1 million years ago. There are also other sites showing this possibility in Africa and China. But Cueva Negra could be the earliest, if not one of the earliest, sites in Europe demonstrating this development.
Other findings suggested a clear mastery of material resources for survival. The assemblage of stone tool artifacts recovered (classified by the authors as “Acheulo-Levalloiso-Mousteroid”) showed evidence of the use of three different core reduction methodologies or sequences, and that natural stone resources were exploited as much as 40 km downstream from the site and 30 km upstream.
Concludes Walker, et al., “Research at Cueva Negra throws new light, including fire-light, on the cognitive versatility, manual dexterity, and technical aptitude of early humans ca. 0.8 Ma in S.E. Spain. They exploited their surroundings in a competent fashion that implies precise knowledge and accurate awareness of what was available for survival.”*
*Walker, Michael, et al., The Early Humans of Cueva Negra, Popular Archaeology, Vol. 15, June, 2014.
Cover Photo, Top Left: Excavations in progress at Cueva Negra. Courtesy Michael Walker and Murcia University
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It was in July 1984 when rescue excavations conducted by Dr. Elena Korka, now Director of the Ephorate of Private Archaeological Collections and Antiquity Shops, turned up an ancient sarcophagus of the Greek early archaic period near the town of Chiliomodi in Greece. The sarcophagus contained a female skeleton along with offerings. The interior of the sarcophagus slab was adorned with a composition consisting of two lions of monumental character. It was a remarkable find.
But this was not altogether surprising, as archaeologists and historians believed that somewhere in the area the central structural remains of the city of Tenea likely existed. Established, according to written sources, not far from the ancient cities of Corinth and Mycenae shortly after the Trojan War, its first inhabitants were said to be Trojan prisoners of war settled there by Agamemnon. Tenea was considered to be the main settlement of the valley, situated strategically to control the way from Argos to ancient Corinth, and the historian Strabo wrote that Tenea was the location where the Corinthian king Polybius nursed Oedipus.
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Historically, other hints of Tenea’s real existence have emerged, such as the discovery of the Kouros statue in 1846, now housed in the Glyptothek Museum in Munich, and more recently two other archaic kouroi were found and seized by the police in 2010. Because of the importance of the finds, archaeologists conducted surveys in the area around the sarcophagus discovery and its surrounding region.
But the first full, systematic investigation in the area did not begin until 2013 under the direction Korka. With the help of Greek and foreign scholars, archaeologists, geologists, and students, Korka soon uncovered an archaic cemetery consisting of burial sites with archaic period enclosures. Korka believes the cemetery may be associated with the ancient city of Tenea itself.
“Only sporadic remains of the city have been discovered in the region…….such as the Munich kouros, the sarcophagus, and two archaic kouroi,” write Korka and colleagues. “It is thus most likely that substantial archaeological remains of this important ancient city are expected to come to light very soon.”*
Korka and her team hope to uncover much more in coming excavation seasons. They intend to return to the area in September of 2014 to continue where they left off in 2013.
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BOSTON, MA — May 20, 2014 — By evaluating the bacteria and fungi found in fossilized feces, microbiologists are providing evidence to help support archeologists’ hypotheses regarding cultures living in the Caribbean over 1,500 years ago. They report their findings today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
“Although fossilized feces (coprolites) have frequently been studied, they had never been used as tools to determine ethnicity and distinguish between two extinct cultures. By examining the DNA preserved in coprolites from two ancient indigenous cultures, our group was able to determine the bacterial and fungal populations present in each culture as well as their possible diets,” says Jessica Rivera-Perez of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, who presented the study.
Various indigenous cultures inhabited the Greater Antilles thousands of years ago. The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico have thousands of pre-Columbian indigenous settlements belonging to extinct cultures that migrated to the Caribbean at some point in history.
Archaeological excavations in Vieques, Puerto Rico unearthed hand-made tools and crafts as well as fossilized feces dating from 200 to 400 A.D. The presence of two distinct styles of craftsmanship, as well as other clues obtained from the dig sites, suggested these artifacts belonged to two distinct cultures.
“One culture excelled in the art of pottery; in fact, their signature use of red and white paint helped identify them as descendants from the Saladoids, originating in Saladero, Venezuela. In contrast, the second culture had exquisite art for crafting semiprecious stones into ornaments, some of which represented the Andean condor. This helped archaeologists identify the Bolivian Andes as possible origins of this Huecoid culture,” says Rivera-Perez.
To help confirm these archeological hypotheses, Rivera-Perez and her colleagues examined the DNA preserved in coprolites from both Saladoid and Huecoid settlements and compared the bacterial and fungal populations found in each. Major differences were detected between the fecal communities of these cultures, providing additional support that they may have had different origins. Additionally, they found fungal and corn DNA in the Huecoid coprolite that suggests the consumption of an Andean fermented corn beverage, further confirming the theory that the Huecoids originated in the Bolivian Andes.
“The study of the paleomicrobiome of coprolites supports the hypothesis of multiple ancestries and can provide important evidence regarding migration by ancestral cultures and populations of the Caribbean,” says Rivera-Perez.
Source: Press Release of the American Society for Microbiology:This study was conducted by collaborators from the University of Puerto Rico and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The study was co-authored by Jessica Rivera-Perez of the University of Puerto Rico and Raul Cano of California Polytechnic State University,San Luis Obispo. It was partially funded by the NIH Grant to the University of Puerto Rico (Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement Program).
The research was presented as part of the 2014 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology held May 17-20, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Initially discovered in 2007 by a team of underwater archaeologists, her nearly complete skeleton was found within a submerged chamber (which site investigators called “Hoyo Negro”, or “black hole”) in the Sac Actun cave system on Mexico’s Eastern Yucatán Peninsula. Named “Naia” by the dive team, she was a slightly-built teenage girl at death, measuring only 4 feet 10 inches in height. Anthropologists who examined the skeleton determined that she was between 15 and 16 years old, and had likely fallen to her death into the chamber (a dry pit during the time of the fall) before the cave had subsequently filled with water due to climate change and rising sea levels.
The find was unprecedented for two reasons. The first reason had to do with the age. Scientists dated the skeleton to between 12,000 and 13,000 years ago based on radiocarbon dating of tooth enamel and Uranium/Thorium dating analyses of mineral deposits on her bones. Also, starting about 10,000 years ago, it is known that global glaciers melted, filling the caves with water as sea levels rose. The analysis indicated that the skeleton had to have been deposited before the cave system filled with water. Finally, in addition to the near-complete human skeleton, the researchers found the remains of 26 large mammals, including extinct taxa such as sabertooths and gomphotheres (extinct relatives of mastodons), another indicator of the age of the find. This made Naia one of the six oldest humans found in America.
The second reason was related to the pristine preservation of the bones. “The preservation of all the bones in this deep water-filled cave is amazing — the bones are beautifully laid out,” said Patricia A. Beddows of Northwestern University, a cave-diving member of the international team. “The girl’s skeleton is exceptionally complete because of the environment in which she died — she ended up in the right water and in a quiet place without any soil.” James Chatters of Applied Paleoscience, the lead author of the newly-published research report, elaborated further: “Paleoamerican skeletons are rare for several reasons. The people themselves were few; they were highly nomadic and seem to have buried or cremated the dead where they fell, making the locations of graves unpredictable; also, geologic processes have destroyed or deeply buried their graves.” Moreover, most unearthed ancient Native American skeletal remains are only found in a few fragments, and most of those have been estimated to be younger than 10,000 years old. The most widely accepted theory of Native American origins suggests that people reached the North American continent before that time.
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Divers Susan Bird and Alberto Nava search the walls of Hoyo Negro, an underwater cave on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula where the remains of “Naia,” a 12,000- to 13,000-year-old teenage girl, were found. Image courtesy of Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
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Divers Alberto Nava and Susan Bird transport the Hoyo Negro skull to an underwater turntable so that it can be photographed in order to create a 3-D model. Image courtesy of Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
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The skull of Naia on the floor of Hoyo Negro, as it appeared in December 2011, having rolled into a near-upright position. Photo by Roberto Chavez Arce
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Deciphering the ancestry of the first people to populate the Americas has been a challenge. On the basis of genetics, modern Native Americans are thought to descend from Siberians who moved into eastern Beringia (the landmass connecting Asia and North America) between 26,000 and 18,000 years ago. These people, considered the earliest Americans, are suggested to have then spread southward and populated the rest of the continent. But despite widespread support for this idea, the ancestry of the earliest Americans is still debated because the facial features of the oldest American skeletons don’t look much like those of modern Native Americans. The famous Kennewick Man is a prime example.
“Modern Native Americans closely resemble people of China, Korea, and Japan,” Chatters said, “but the oldest American skeletons do not.” Scientists who have examined the fossils of the oldest skeletons have determined that their bodies were structured slightly differently than that of today’s Native American, such as longer, narrower crania and smaller, shorter faces. “This has led to speculation that perhaps the first Americans and Native Americans came from different homelands,” Chatters continued, “or migrated from Asia at different stages in their evolution.”
The biggest finding came, however, when the team analyzed the skeleton’s genetic makeup, with important implications about Native American origins.
“We tried a DNA extraction on the outside chance some fragments might remain,” Chatters said. “I was shocked when we actually got intact DNA.”
The study team analyzed the girl’s mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), a useful tool for examining the relatedness of populations. Their analysis revealed a haplotype common to modern Native Americans, subhaplogroup D1. This genetic signature occurs only in the Americas. The report authors suggest that this genetic signature likely developed in Beringia after populations there split from other Asians, and indicates that individuals of this population traveled at least far and wide enough through the Americas to have reached Mexico by 12,000 – 13,000 BP. They further suggest that the differences in craniofacial form are probably best explained as evolutionary changes that happened after the divergence of Beringians from their Siberian ancestors. Thus the Americas, they theorize, were not colonized by separate migration events from different parts of Eurasia. Rather, the earliest Americans represent an early population expansion out of Beringia. This aligns with the hypothesis that both Paleoamericans and Native Americans derive from a single source population, hunter-gatherers who moved onto the Bering Land Bridge from northeast Asia (Beringia) between 26,000 and 18,000 years ago, spreading southward into North America sometime after 17,000 years ago.
Says Chatters: “This project is exciting on so many fronts: the beautiful cave, the incredibly well-preserved animal skeletons, the completeness of the human skeleton, the success of our innovative dating approach. But for me,” he said, “what is most exciting is that we finally have an answer, after 20 years, to a question that has plagued me since my first look at Kennewick Man: ‘Who were the first Americans?'”
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The upper right third molar of Naia, which was used for both radiocarbon dating and DNA extraction. The tooth is held by ancient genetics expert Brian Kemp of Washington State University, who led the genetic research on the skeleton. Photo by James Chatters
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The complete report has been published in the May 15th online edition of the journal Science.
Participating and supporting institutions in the research included the National Geographic Society, the Archaeological Institute of America, the Waitt Institute, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, NSF (Y.A., V.P., and D.K.), Pennsylvania State University, the University of New Mexico, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and DirectAMS.
Source: Adapted and edited from press releases of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Geographic Society, and Northwestern University.
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KINSTON, N.C. — While much of the remnants of the ironclad CSS Neuse can be seen on display in downtown Kinston, parts of it still remains submerged in the Neuse River. Archaeologists from the N.C. Underwater Archaeology Branch will use the latest modern technology May 13 to recover remnants of the vessel that was destroyed in March 1865.
The CSS Neuse was constructed in Whitehall, now known as Seven Springs, and completed in Kinston in 1863. She was launched in 1864 with the intention of steaming to New Bern, which had been occupied by Union troops since 1862. The ship ran aground on a sandbar and eventually was floated back to Kinston until March 1865 when she was blown up by her crew to prevent capture by the Union. Early in the 1960s recovery efforts began, and in 1964 most of the ship was salvaged and brought to the site of the Governor Richard Caswell Memorial. In June 2012 the vessel was moved to the CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center on the corner of Queen and Caswell Streets in Kinston.
“It’s very significant because this is the only commissioned Confederate ironclad left from the Civil War,” Site Manager Matthew Young explained. “We know there are sections of the ship still in the river; we don’t know how significant they are to our understanding of its construction or operations. There may be pieces of iron plate, a propeller, or even an anchor still in the river.”
A 10 a.m. pre-launch briefing at the boat ramp off Highway 70 will start the work between the King Street and Queen Street bridges. This will be the third attempt at recovery.
“The Neuse River is in great condition for this project right now,” said Deputy State Archaeologist John “Billy Ray” Morris. “The river is at the right depth for this research and the weather is excellent.”
The river survey is a cooperative project of the Office of State Archaeology and the Division of State Historic Sites within the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. High waters and heavy rains prevented two earlier attempts. Archaeologists will use the 23 foot boat, R/V Snap Dragon to patrol the river for several hours. “This will be the first detailed survey of this part of the river using modern side sonar, a magnetometer, and ad differential Global Positioning System,” Morris continued.
“We are hoping this survey will tell us what, if anything, is salvageable,” said Historic Sites Division Director Keith Hardison. “We need to gather information so we can explore the possibility of recovering additional pieces of the ship to add to the CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center in downtown Kinston.”
Donations to support this effort are encouraged. The CSS Neuse Interpretive Center is located at 100 N. Queen St. in downtown Kinston. Hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Governor Caswell Center is at 2612 W. Vernon Ave., Kinston. Hours are Tuesday-Friday,10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For information, please contact Site Manager Matthew Young at (252) 526-9600 or email [email protected]. Visit the site on Facebook at “CSS Neuse” or “Gov. Richard Caswell Memorial State Historic Site” pages. The CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center and the Gov. Richard Caswell Memorial are within the Division of State Historic Sites of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.
Source: Edited from a press release of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.
Cover Photo, Top Left: Recovery efforts at the CSS Neuse in the 1960s. Courtesy North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.
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As Founder and Editor of Popular Archaeology Magazine, Dan is a freelance writer and journalist specializing in archaeology. He studied anthropology and archaeology in undergraduate and graduate school and has been an active participant on archaeological excavations in the U.S. and abroad. He is the creator and administrator of Archaeological Digs, a popular weblog about archaeological excavation and field school opportunities. Â
Tom Penders is an archaeologist who wears a number of hats. He is the cultural resources manager for the 45th Space Wing, USAF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station; he heads a small CRM (Cultural Resources Management) firm called Thomas Penders and Associates; he runs volunteer archaeological research projects on weekends from January to April as part of the Indian River Anthropological Society, a local chapter of the Florida Anthropological Society; and he volunteers as an archaeological consultant for the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program.
One might say that he has more than enough responsibilities to keep him busy. But he would be the first to say that his most important responsibility really lies outside the immediate realm of anthropology and archaeology. He is the father of a 15-year-old teenager named Becky. She is autistic. She is also many other things.
“She was born with a condition called Bilateral Anophthalmia (born without eyes and optic nerves),” he says. “At 5 she was diagnosed with autism and at 10 years she developed epilepsy. We also suspect she has PANDAS [Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections], but has not been formally diagnosed. The major issue is the autism. After 10 years since the diagnosis we are still struggling with understanding autism. It is a long hard road to try and get her the services so she can do just basic everyday living skills. We struggle with the lack of communication. We also struggle finding things for her to do. The non-verbal part is the worst because Becky cannot tell us when she is sick, what is wrong when she is sick, what she wants, etc. Most people, including our family, don’t have any idea what autism is or understand the meltdowns.”
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Tom Penders with daughter Becky. Courtesy Tom Penders
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Becky gets around with trusted service dog and friend Thule, who alerts to epileptic seizures, and she has ongoing support from her parents and those who are familiar with her conditions. But unlike work responsibilities, which come and go, for the Penders, this will be a lifelong commitment. In his efforts to find solutions and play his part to bring Becky into life’s mainstream as much as possible, Penders began to search for options.
“Becky plays Challenger League baseball, does surfing and Special Olympics swimming and I wanted to do my part for these kids,” he says. “I just could not sit on the sidelines anymore.”
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Becky with trusted service dog and friend Thule. Courtesy Tom Penders
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So, in partnership with the Scott Center for Autism, the Florida Public Archaeology Network, and the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program, he came up with a unique plan that in essence combined two loves — archaeology and his daughter — to create a vehicle that he hopes will make some difference in the quality of the lives of children and families who struggle with autism. Called ‘Archaeologists for Autism’ (AFA), he hopes to bring children with autism and their families together in one place, where they can experience archaeology and paleontology in a fun, low stress environment.
Penders feels the venue is perfect. It combines two things he knows something about — archaeology and autism — at a historic place called Sams House on Pine Island, Merritt Island, Florida — an area where he had spent years in his official capacity doing archaeology. There, for example, he has documented 2 historic houses, a burial mound, a prehistoric and historic archaeological site, and a Pleistocene mega fauna site (fossil beds). Fortunately, there also seems to be a connection between archaeology and paleontology and people on the autism spectrum. “I have been told by several parents that children at the high end of the [autism] spectrum and with Asperger’s tend to be drawn to archaeology, history and paleontology,” says Penders. “And it is hard to find events that target children on the spectrum.”
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The Sams House site. Courtesy Tom Penders
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In addition to activities related to archaeology and paleontology, he plans to include a catered lunch, live music, face-painting, bounce houses, and more, all at no cost to the participants. Says Penders: “I want to create a day where children on the spectrum and their parents can forget about autism for a day (if that is possible) and just have fun. Everything will be done at the children’s pace. Their siblings will also participate. Every parent of a child on the spectrum that I have talked to about this concept has been excited we are doing this. My bottom line is that the children have a fun-filled day and their parents are happy.”
But there is an underlying purpose to the fun. According to Penders, one goal is to help unlock the potential of people with developmental disabilities. “It is a very special day where children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can interact with typical peers and wow families with their capabilities,” he adds. In the big picture, the organizers ultimately hope that the event will do its small part to support advocacy for autism issues, promote scientific research, and help eliminate the stigma associated with the condition through public awareness and education, as well as to promote or inspire more community volunteerism.
Although the first event is only one day in November*, Penders envisions the AFA eventually going nationwide, with local and state autism groups working with archaeologists to sponsor and organize events across the country. “With the rate of autism in children ever on the increase,” he says, “there is a need for events like this.”
Individuals and organizations interested in playing a role or assisting the AFA may contact them at [email protected] and they will provide a sponsorship form. More detailed information about the program may also be obtained at their website. Registration for the event will open on July 7th, 2014.
* Saturday, November 22, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Sams House at Pine Island, Merritt Island, Florida
Cover Photo, Top Left: Tom Penders examines an artifact while working with UCF students at an archaeology project site. Courtesy Tom Penders
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A recent study of an archaeological mound complex with astronomical orientations and geoglyph lines in southern Peru suggests that the site features a ceremonial or ritualistic center for religous and social interaction in an ancient culture that existed between 800 and 100 BCE.
Known as the Paracas culture, these ancient people constituted an Andean society known for extensive knowledge of irrigation and water management. The Chincha Valley, about 200 km south of Lima, contains early settlements of the Paracas culture. Previous surveys have indicated at least 30 major Paracas period sites or centers in the valley.
Recenty, a study team co-led by Charles Stanish of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology and Department of Anthropology, University of California, surveyed and test-excavated among five previously identified mound clusters in the lower Chincha mid-valley area. Dating them based on excavated pottery to the Late Paracas period (400 – 100 BCE), they found that the mounds featured a total of 71 geoglyph lines that radiated outward from the mounds, forming what they called “ray centers”. Two of the mounds, built in a u-shape configuration, were oriented toward the location of the sun at the June solstice. Stanish and colleagues suggest that it all represents construction for specific group or societal purposes, the details of which are thus far lost to time. But the signs appear to be unmistakeable. Write Stanish, et al:
In Chincha, linear geoglyphs, platform mounds, and walls on those ceremonial mounds mark the June solstice. If it were only lines, then one could argue that the few solstice alignments were due to chance. However, the combination of platform mounds built in orientation with the June solstice, similarly positioned wall alignments, and comparative evidence from other regions in the Andes that documents solstice marking at sites contemporary with the Paracas period, makes purposeful construction the most parsimonious explanation. Based on these data, there is little doubt that marking the June solstice is an Andean tradition that was part of the logic of ceremonial mound construction and the creation of linear geoglyphs in pre-Hispanic Chincha during Paracas times.*
Ancient geoglyphs in Peru are most commonly associated with the famous Nazca Lines located in the Nazca Desert of southern Peru. Thought to have been created by the Nazca culture between 400 and 650 AD, scholars have developed a number of theories explaining their existence, with the greatest consensus revolving around religious practices or beliefs. But with recent discoveries related to the earlier Paracas culture, the picture is becoming a bit clearer, with the construction tradition appearing to be more ancient and more widespread.
“The ritualized landscape publically attested to particular platform mound sites as focal points for social gatherings, but it was also a product of these gatherings,” write Stanish, et al. “The act of creating geoglyphs within the broader ritualized landscape—the physical piling and clearing of rocks and soil—may be a key component of individual participation in such events. The specific nature of these social events remains obscure and will be the focus of our future research.”*
*Article #14-06501: “A 2,300-year-old architectural and astronomical complex in the Chincha Valley, Peru,” by Charles Stanish, Henry Tantaleán, Benjamin T. Nigra, and Laura E. Griffin.
Cover Photo, Top Left: Mantle — Peru, Paracas — 200 BCE – 200 CE, Wikimedia Commons
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A traditional notion advanced about Neanderthals is that they were less cognitively capable and more disadvantaged than their early modern human counterparts some 40,000 or more years ago in Eurasia, explaining why they were driven to extinction while the modern humans flourished.
Neanderthals lived in Eurasia between about 350,000 and 40,000 years ago, but, according to the fossil record, seem to have disappeared after our ancestors, the anatomically modern humans (AMH), entered Eurasia from Africa some time between 125,000 and 60,000 years ago. Many researchers have theorized that the Neanderthal extinction was due to competition with the AMH newcomers, who had advantages like superior tools, weaponry, communication ability, and a broader diet, to name a few.
But not so fast, say two researchers.
Through an extensive review of recent Neanderthal research, CU-Boulder researcher Paola Villa and co-author Wil Roebroeks, an archaeologist at Leiden University in the Netherlands, make the case that the available archaeological evidence does not support the widely-held concept that Neanderthals were less advanced than anatomically modern humans.
“The evidence for cognitive inferiority is simply not there,” said Villa, a curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. “What we are saying is that the conventional view of Neanderthals is not true.”
Villa and Roebroeks examined the most common scientific explanations or theories for Neanderthal extinction, such as technologically more primitive tools and weapons, lack of symbolic communication, a narrower diet, and less complex or less effective social organization. They did this by conducting a comparative study of the accumulated archaeological record of Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans, who lived in Africa and Southwest Asia between 200,000 and 40,000 years ago. They found the accepted theories did not stand up to much of the data.
For example, evidence from multiple archaeological sites in Europe suggests that Neanderthals hunted as a group, using the landscape to aid them. Research shows that Neanderthals likely herded hundreds of bison to their death by steering them into a sinkhole in southwestern France, for example. At another site used by Neanderthals, this one in the Channel Islands, fossilized remains of 18 mammoths and five woolly rhinoceroses were discovered at the base of a deep ravine. These findings imply that Neanderthals could plan ahead, communicate as a group and make efficient use of their surroundings, the authors said.
Other archaeological evidence suggests that Neanderthals did in fact have a diverse diet. Microfossils found in Neanderthal teeth and food remains left behind at cooking sites indicate that they may have eaten wild peas, acorns, pistachios, grass seeds, wild olives, pine nuts and date palms, depending on what was locally available.
Additionally, researchers have found ochre, a kind of earth pigment, at sites inhabited by Neanderthals, which may have been used for body painting. Ornaments have also been collected at Neanderthal sites. Taken together, these findings suggest that Neanderthals had cultural rituals and symbolic communication.
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A view of Gorham’s Cave in Gibraltar, theorized to have been inhabited by some of the last Neanderthals to exist in the area of present-day Europe. Gibmetal77, Wikimedia Commons
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Villa and Roebroeks say that the past misrepresentation of Neanderthals’ cognitive ability may be linked to the tendency of researchers to compare Neanderthals, who lived in the Middle Paleolithic period (300,000 to 40,000 years ago), to modern humans living during the more recent Upper Paleolithic period (between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago), when new and more sophisticated technologies were evidenced.
“Researchers were comparing Neanderthals not to their contemporaries on other continents but to their successors,” Villa said. “It would be like comparing the performance of Model T Fords, widely used in America and Europe in the early part of the last century, to the performance of a modern-day Ferrari and conclude that Henry Ford was cognitively inferior to Enzo Ferrari.”
But if Neanderthals were not technologically and cognitively disadvantaged, why didn’t they survive?
The researchers argue that the real reason for Neanderthal extinction is likely complex, and that some clues may be found in recent analyses of the Neanderthal genome over the last several years. These genomic studies suggest that AMH and Neanderthals likely interbred and that the resulting male children may have had reduced fertility. Recent genomic studies also suggest that Neanderthals lived in small groups. All of these factors could have contributed to the decline of the Neanderthals, who were eventually swamped and assimilated by the increasing numbers of modern immigrants.
Thus, “the results of our study,” conclude Villa and Roebroeks, “imply that single-factor explanations for the disappearance of the Neandertals are not warranted any more, and that their demise was clearly more complex than many archaeology-based scenarios of ‘‘cognitive inferiority’’ reviewed here seem to suggest.”*
The detailed study report was published April 30, 2014, in the open access journal PLOS ONE.
* Villa P, Roebroeks W (2014) Neandertal Demise: An Archaeological Analysis of the Modern Human Superiority Complex. PLoS ONE 9(4): e96424. doi:10. 1371/journal.pone.0096424
Source: Adapted and edited from a CU-Boulder press release, Neanderthals were not inferior to modern humans, says CU-Boulder study.
Cover Photo, Top Left: Neandertha/modern human skull comparison, Harrymuseummatt, Wikimedia Commons
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An international team of researchers examining the earliest known pre-ceramic Neolithic mound site in Turkey, called Aşıklı Höyük, suggests that humans shifted from hunting wild ungulates and small animals to managing sheep and goats at the site over a period of a few hundred years beginning on or before 8200 BCE.
The mound, located in south-central Turkey about 25 km southeast of Aksaray, Turkey, has been the subject of a number of studies and excavations in recent years, beginning with Professor Ian A. Todd in 1964. Subsequent investigations included salvage excavations by Professor Ufuk Esin (University of Istanbul) beginning in 1989, followed by those of Nur Balkan-Ath, also of Istanbul University, and more recent excavations in 2010.
Site finds have been stratified into 5 different levels, with the oldest (or earliest) being 5. The most significant findings for these study purposes were discovered in level 4, which contained evidence of human habitation dated to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Period (a time period generally defined as lasting from 8500-5500 BCE), which is thought by many scholars to mark the transition from a hunter-gatherer way of life to a more settled way of life, including the beginnings of animal domestication.
Above and below: Multiple excavations at Aşıklı Höyük have revealed the telling stratigraphic sequencing of the site. Above credit Kvaestad, Wikimedia Commons, below credit Sarah Murray, Wikimedia Commons.
“This site preserves a surprisingly detailed record of human–animal interactions in a formative settlement,” write study authors Mary C. Stiner, et al., in their recently released report. It is in part reflected in the gradual change in the human diet at the location:
A faunal trend through Levels 4–2 reveals a strategic trade-off in the meat diet, from a broad-spectrum strategy that emphasized diverse wild small animals and ungulates to a concerted exploitation of caprines [sheep and goats] in particular. Caprines constitute less than half of the total number of identified skeletal specimens (NISP) in upper Level 4, but caprines increase gradually to 85– 90% by the end of the time series in upper Level 2. The caprines were mainly sheep, which outnumbered goats by a factor of three or more in all periods.*
In addition, the study authors suggested that age-sex distributions of the caprines in upper Level 4 indicate selective manipulation [breeding] by humans by or before 8200 BCE, and that evidence of animal dung accumulation between structures demonstrates that the animals were held captive inside the settlement at that time.
“Taken together,” the researchers conclude, “the zooarchaeological and geoarchaeological evidence demonstrate an emergent process of caprine management that was highly experimental in nature and oriented to quick returns. Stabling was one of the early mechanisms of caprine population isolation, a precondition to domestication.”*
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According to the results of an underwater archaeological investigation conducted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, rock structures located on a ridge beneath Lake Huron indicate probable evidence of organized seasonal caribou hunting more than 9,000 years ago.
Known as the submerged Alpena-Amberley Ridge (AAR), it provided a dry land bridge between Michigan and Ontario 9,000 years ago. Using sonar surveys, investigation by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), and scuba-equipped underwater archaeologists, team leader John O’Shea of the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology, University of Michigan, and colleagues identified ancient human-made structures on the ridge, structures that they suggest were likely used for caribou hunting.
One such site, called the Drop 45 Drive Lane, consists of two parallel rock-lined paths, suggested by the researchers to have been used to funnel caribou into an 8-meter-wide lane. They also identified what they call V-shaped hunting blinds set above the lane on a hill. Scuba-trained archaeologists recovered eleven flakes of chert, typical byproducts of stone tool repair or maintenance.
Scientists have long theorized that paleoindian and archaic indian hunters pursued and entrapped their prey by using cooperative, organized techniques, requiring a sophisticated level of social interaction and planning. Write O’Shea and colleagues in their report:
Humans and caribou have a long history of interaction, dating back to at least the Middle Paleolithic. Over time, caribou hunters and herders became aware of the tendency of caribou, like many ungulates, to follow linear features. As such, the construction of linear features of stone or brush provides an effective means of channeling the movement of animals into predetermined kill zones. Numerous historical and ethnographic examples of these hunting structures and associated features are known in the Arctic. In more temperate regions of the globe, traces of such structures rarely survive intact.*
More than the Drop 45 Drive Lane itself, the findings show an interrelated complex of drive lanes, multiple blinds and auxiliary structures that served together as an integrated system for controlling the prey into a kill zone. The findings, say the researchers, have implications for understanding the social and economic organization of the ancient hunters that used the AAR, as it required large groups of cooperating hunters and smaller groups of families to operate the system.
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A plan of the Drop 45 Drive Lane site (A) alongside a sonar image of the site (B). The black circular area is the scanning unit, and the red circles denote increasing radii of 15 meters. Credit: Image courtesy of John O’Shea/ UMMAA.
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A V-shaped hunting blind beneath Lake Huron. Credit: Image courtesy of John O’Shea/ UMMAA.
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What is most significant about the discovery, according to the study authors, is that it offers a unique window into the organization of prehistoric hunting for a time period that is very poorly known from terrestrial sites in the Great Lakes region. It further demonstrates that archaeological sites of great antiquity are preserved underwater and that they have the potential to fill important gaps in our understanding of the deep human past.
*Article #14-04404: “A 9,000-year-old caribou hunting structure beneath Lake Huron,” by John M. O’Shea, Ashley K. Lemke, Elizabeth P. Sonnenburg, Robert G. Reynolds, and Brian D. Abbott.
Extensively adapted, supplemented, and edited from a press release.
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Near the small village of Krastevich in central Bulgaria, a team of archaeologists, students and volunteers have been busy excavating the remains of two ancient Greek sites that bustled with activity more than 2,500 years ago. One has been identified as a cult or temple complex and the other as an emporium, a place of trade and commerce conducted by Greek colonists during the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. The settlements are thought to have thrived in an area known to have been populated by the ancient Thracians.
Under the direction of Associate Professor Dr. Mitko Madzharov of the archaeological museum of Hissarya, the team has been excavating the sites since 2005. The excavations have revealed the remains of two very different kinds of settlement sites, although both ancient Greek, in close proximity to each other. One, identified as a cult complex, consists of a “sanctuary and a temple” that was set atop a hill.
“At this stage of the studies we have established two periods of its [the temple’s] construction,” Madzharov reports. “Initially a stone foundation (stylobate) was laid, which defined the area in an almost square form. Above it was likely a wooden construction, covered with tiles. The main archaeological finds found in that area are fragments of tiles of various form and decoration. On some of them were painted spirals, on others – Gorgon Medusa [a monster, a Gorgon, having the face of a human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair].”*
“The archaeological structures found till now in the area of Sekiz Harman by the village of Krastevieh allow scientists to assume that the cult complex situated at that place was closely connected with the commercial place in the area Pamuk Tepe,” Madzharov adds. “The archaeological finds document its existence in the time from the end of the 5th century B.C. to the 3rd century B.C.”*
The other associated site, which archaeologists interpret as a Greek emporium, was located 500 meters southeast of the village and is said to encompass an area of about 10,000 square meters. Here, they have uncovered architectural and artifact remains that evidence a “significant commercial complex” with intensive trade ties with other Greek settlements in or near the Aegean from the 5th to the 4th centuries BCE.
“According to the ancient Greek historian Thucydides,” write Madzharov and colleagues at the project website, “the process of creation of emporia by the Greeks begins back at the end of the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. Such emporia are known in Asia Minor, Sicily and Macedonia. And again Thucydides informs that during 464 B.C. on the river valley of the river Strimon (river Struma) and in Thrace settled 10,000 Athenian colonizers. One Greek inscription informs of the existence of emporia (market-places) in Thrace, which realized regulated commercial relations with Maroneia, the island of Thassos and the other town-colonies from the Northern Aegean coast.” These emporia were commonly established at strategic cross-roads in areas rich in minerals, ores and other resources, writes Madzharov and colleagus. Not far from the emporium remains they found natural gold deposits and evidence of an ancient road which led to deposits of non-ferrous metals.
He also clarifies the connection between the nearby cult complex and the emporium. “They did not have a status of a town and in them were always built sanctuaries because according to the beliefs of that time Gods were called on as guarantees for the order and respectability of commercial deals.”*
Madzharov plans to return to the sites with teams in 2014 to further investigate the finds. Individuals interested in additional information about the sites and how to participate may visit the project website.
Cover Photo, Top Left: Excavated remains at the emporium and temple complexes. Credit RSF Archaeological Trust and the archaeological museum of Hissarya.
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An international team led by researchers at Uppsala University and Stockholm University reports a breakthrough on understanding the demographic history of Stone-Age humans. A genomic analysis of eleven Stone-Age human remains from Scandinavia revealed that expanding Stone-age farmers assimilated local hunter-gatherers and that the hunter-gatherers were historically in lower numbers than the farmers. The study is published, ahead of print, in the journal Science.
The transition between a hunting-gathering lifestyle and a farming lifestyle has been debated for a century. As scientists learned to work with DNA from ancient human material, a complete new way to learn about the people in that period opened up. But even so, prehistoric population structure associated with the transition to an agricultural lifestyle in Europe remains poorly understood.
“For many of the most interesting questions, DNA-information from people today just doesn’t cut it, the best way to learn about ancient history is to analyze direct data—despite the challenges”, says Dr. Pontus Skoglund of Uppsala University, now at Harvard University, and one of the lead authors of the study.
“We have generated genomic data from the largest number of ancient individuals” says Dr. Helena Malmström of Uppsala University and one of the lead authors. “The eleven Stone-Age human remains were between 5,000 and 7,000 years old and associated with hunter-gatherer or farmer life-styles” says Helena Malmström.
Anders Götherström, who led the Stockholm University team, is satisfied with the amount of DNA that they could retrieve.
“Not only were we able to generate DNA from several individuals, but we did get a lot of it. In some cases we got the equivalent of draft genomes. A population genomic study on this level with a material of this age has never been done before as far as I know.”
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Osteologists excavating and examining the skeleton of a young woman dated to 2700 BC. Credit: Göran Burenhult
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The material used in the study is from mainland Scandinavia as well as from the Baltic island Gotland, and it comprises of hunter-gatherers from various time periods as well as early farmers.
Professor Mattias Jakobsson, who led the Uppsala University team, is intrigued by the results.
“Stone-Age hunter-gatherers had much lower genetic diversity than farmers. This suggests that Stone-Age foraging groups were in low numbers compared to farmers”, says Mattias Jakobsson.
Jan Storå at Stockholm University shares Mattias’ fascination.
“The low variation in the hunter gatherers may be related to oscillating living conditions likely affecting the population sizes of hunter-gatherers. One of the additional exciting results is the association of the Mesolithic individual to both the roughly contemporaneous individual from Spain but also the association to the Neolithic hunter-gatherers.”
The study confirms that Stone-Age hunter-gatherers and farmers were genetically distinct and that migration spread farming practices across Europe, but the team was able to go even further by demonstrating that the Neolithic farmers had substantial admixture from hunter-gatherers. Surprisingly, the hunter-gatherers from the Baltic Sea displayed no evidence of introgression from farmers.
“We see clear evidence that people from hunter-gatherer groups were incorporated into farming groups as they expanded across Europe”, says Pontus Skoglund. “This might be clues towards something that happened also when agriculture spread in other parts of the world.”
“The asymmetric gene-flow shows that the farming groups assimilated hunter-gatherer groups, at least partly”, says Mattias Jakobsson. “When we compare Scandinavian to central European farming groups that lived at about the same time, we see greater levels of hunter-gatherer gene-flow into the Scandinavian farming groups.”
This study is part of the recently initiated “Atlas project” – a large-scale genomic investigation of ancient human remains in Scandinavia led by Stockholm and Uppsala Universities and funded by the Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences and the Swedish Research Council. The present study brings the first results from the project.
“We have only begun to scratch the surface of the knowledge that this project may bring us in the future” says Anders Götherström.
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Central-east Mexico gave birth to the domesticated chili pepper — now the world’s most widely grown spice crop — reports an international team of researchers, led by a plant scientist at the University of California, Davis.
Results from the four-pronged investigation — based on linguistic and ecological evidence as well as the more traditional archaeological and genetic data — suggest a regional, rather than a geographically specific, birthplace for the domesticated chili pepper. That region, extending from southern Puebla and northern Oaxaca to southeastern Veracruz, is further south than was previously thought, the researchers found.
The region also is different from areas of origin that have been suggested for common bean and corn, which were presumably domesticated in Western Mexico.
The study findings are published online on April 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, as part of a series of research papers on plant and animal domestication.
Crop domestication, the process of selectively breeding a wild plant or animal species, is of increasing interest to scientists.
“Identifying the origin of the chili pepper is not just an academic exercise,” said UC Davis plant scientist Paul Gepts, the study’s senior author. “By tracing back the ancestry of any domesticated plant, we can better understand the genetic evolution of that species and the origin of agriculture — a major step in human evolution in different regions of the world,” he said.
“This information, in turn, better equips us to develop sound genetic conservation programs and increases the efficiency of breeding programs, which will be critically important as we work to deal with climate change and provide food for a rapidly increasing global population,” Gepts added.
Study co-author Gary P. Nabhan, an ethnobiologist and agroecologist at the University of Arizona’s Southwest Center noted: “This is the first research ever to integrate multiple lines of evidence in attempts to pinpoint where, when, under what ecological conditions, and by whom a major global spice plant was domesticated.
“In fact, this may be the only crop-origins research to have ever predicted the probable first cultivators of one of the world’s most important food crops,” Nabhan said.
To determine crop origins, scientists have traditionally studied the plants’ genetic makeup in geographic areas where they have observed high diversity among the crop’s wild ancestors. More recently, they have also examined archaeological remains of plants, including pollen, starch grains and even mineralized plant secretions.
For this chili pepper study, the researchers used these two traditional approaches but also considered historical languages, looking for the earliest linguistic evidence that a cultivated chili pepper existed.
They also developed a model for the distribution of related plant species, to predict the areas most environmentally suitable for the chili pepper and its wild ancestors.
The genetic evidence seemed to point more to northeastern Mexico as the chili pepper’s area of domestication; however there was collectively more evidence from all four lines of study supporting the central-east region as the area of origin.
Source: Edited from a University of California Press Release, Contact Keith Sterling at [email protected]
Cover Photo, Top Left: Dried Chili Peppers RameshNG, Wikimedia Commons
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An international team of scientists conducting an analysis of the genetic diversity and cranial measurements of 10 African and Asian human populations conclude that anatomically modern humans may have dispersed out of Africa earlier than previously thought, and in more than one stage: initially into Asia by taking a southern route through Arabia as much as 130,000 years ago; and later into Northern Eurasia on a more northerly route 50,000 years ago.
The timing and nature of early modern human dispersal out of Africa has long been disputed among scholars, with competing theories or models about how and when it all occurred. The research team analyzed their data within the framework of the competing models, and came up with the model that best fits the results. “We tested for the first time to our knowledge the spatiotemporal dimensions of competing out-of-Africa dispersal models,” write Hugo Reyes-Centeno and colleagues in their report, “analyzing in parallel genomic and craniometric data. Our results support an initial dispersal into Asia by a southern route beginning as early as ∼130 ka and a later dispersal into northern Eurasia by ∼50 ka.”* Reyes-Centeno is a paleoanthropologist with the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany. Other researchers included Katerina Harvati, also of Eberhard Karls University; Silvia Ghirotto and Guido Barbujani of the University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; and Florent Détroit and Dominique Grimaud-Herve of the National Museum of Natural History, Paris, France.
“This is consistent with archaeological evidence for modern human occupation in the southern Arabian Peninsula at ∼125 ka,” write the authors. “This date [130,000 ka] is in intriguingly closer correspondence with the genetic divergence estimates for our sampled populations, with a calendar date of divergence between Melanesians and South Africans at ∼116 ka, for example. No modern human fossils have been discovered in the southern Arabian Peninsula, but lithic artifacts show affinities with African assemblages, including those discovered alongside the fossil remains at Herto, Ethiopia, dated between ∼154–160 ka.”*
Genetic studies and fossil evidence show that the first common ancestral population of modern humans resided in Africa between ∼100–200 ka, and that members of one branch left Africa by between 125,000 and 60,000 years ago. A prominent theory suggests that over time these humans replaced earlier human populations such as Neanderthals and Homo erectus. Many scholars posit that the date of the earliest successful “out of Africa” migration took place about 60,000 years ago, according to genetic evidence, although recent archaeological finds on the Arabian Peninsula have suggested the possibility of a much earlier migration.
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Researchers may have found answers to some questions surrounding stone tool artifacts previously unearthed at the site of Fengshudao, located in the Bose Basin in the Guanxi province of southern China. The site is well known for yielding a lithic assemblage rich in Paleolithic bifacially worked stone artifacts, technically known as Acheulean handaxes, a stone tool most commonly associated with an early hominin (human ancestor) classified as Homo erectus.
After initial discovery and analysis, these ‘Bose Basin handaxes’ came to the attention of the international scientific community because they were dated to about 803 ka (thousands of years), placing them in the Early to Middle Pleistocene period; and because their presence tested the validity of the Movius Line, a theoretical line drawn across northern India, first proposed by the AmericanarchaeologistHallam L. Movius in 1948 to demonstrate a technological difference between the early prehistoric tool technologies of the east and west of the Old World. However, questions were almost immediately raised because the age was based on the supposed association of the artifacts with tektites that may or may not have been redeposited at the site. Moreover, at the time of the initial publications, all of the Bose Basin handaxes were surface collected. Thus, whether the Bose bifaces could validly be associated with the tektites and whether the tektites themselves were redeposited became arguing points for the finding’s critics.
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Map of the area where the hand axe cultures (Acheulean) extend during the Middle Pleistocene. Wikimedia Commons
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Now, however, new excavations at the site and subsequent analysis led by Wei Wang of the Guangxi Museum of Nationalities and Christopher Bae of the University of Hawaii are reporting new findings from more recent excavations at the site. Based on ‘in situ’ excavation of tektites, which the excavators maintain do not indicate any evidence of redeposition, along with their association with bifaces within the same stratigraphic level, they are now suggesting with greater confidence that the age of the stone tools should indeed be close to 803 ka. In addition, they report that the Fengshudao hominins were utilizing locally-available quartz, quartzite, and sandstone river cobbles, and that the Fengshudao handaxe morphology differs from the western Acheulean type in a number of ways. They add further that the handaxes are comparatively larger and thicker than those of other regions of eastern Asia (e.g., Luonan Basin, China; Imjin/Hantan River Basins, Korea).
“Although Fengshudao may be a case of western Acheulean hominins dispersing into the Bose Basin from nearby South Asia,” concludes Wang, et. al, “it is quite possible that the Fengshudao bifaces can be considered an example of convergent evolution.”*
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Source: Edited and adapted from the abstract of Middel Pleistocene bifaces from Fengshudao (Bose Basin, Guangxi, China), by Wei Wang, et. al, Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 69, April 2014, pp. 110 – 122.
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Located in south central Bulgaria, the city of Plovdiv, known to many as the “Eternal City of Bulgaria”, is among the oldest cities in Europe, with evidence of human settlement going back 6,000 years. Established first as the Thracian settlement of Eumolpia, today its ancient remains near the city center are most often identified with the name Philippopolis by archaeologists. That was the name given to the city after it was Hellenized within the Macedonian Empire under Philip II during the 4th century, B.C.E. But its most visible ancient remains took shape when the city was absorbed into the orbit of ancient Rome during the 1st century B.C.E. – 1st century C.E., the time period of Augustus. It was during this time when the great monumental structures, such as the Theater, Stadium, Treasury, Thermae, Odeon, and other associated structures of its central Forum, were built.
A team of archaeologists under the auspices of the RSF Archaeological Trust and the Plovdiv archaeological museum are now exploring an unexcavated area of the Forum, hoping to shed additional light on the character and uses of the complex, its phases of construction, and what may have stood there before its construction.
“The task during the next year,” says Project Director and Associate Professor Dr. Elena Kesyakova of the Plovdiv archaeological museum, “will be to discover the Western Propylaea in order to investigate more thoroughly the site……[The Western Proylaea] is actually the most important part of the complex. Currently we are in the ‘ambulatio’. This is the passage between the ancient shops. It is in the area of the open part of the central square, which in ancient times was under the open sky. This passage is about 10 meters wide. Here we have discovered three ancient shops which are located north of the Western Propylaea.”
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View of the old city of Plovdiv. Klearchos Kapoutsis, Wikimedia Commons
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A view of the Roman Theater of Philippopolis. QuartierLatin1968, Wikimedia Commons
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The ancient Stadium of Philippopolis. Note the seated persons for scale. Zulbish, Wikimedia Commons
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One of Kesyakova’s objectives revolves around answering questions about the initial construction of the Forum complex. According to Kesyakova, the original construction of the Forum occurred in the first century B.C. – 1st century C.E., the time of Augustus and his vassal Thracian ruler Remetalk. “This is the period when the street network of the town was built and, of course, the central square (or Forum). Whether this theory will be confirmed or not we will see after completing the excavations.”
The question is significant because, according to Kesyakov, there is an older and competing theory that suggests that an earlier, Hellenistic agora already stood within the same footprint as the Forum. However, this theory was advanced before archaeological investigations were conducted at the site. “The information we have from the Eastern and Southern part, where the terrain is fully studied, gives no data confirming the existence of a Hellenistic square,” she maintains. (The Eastern and Southern sections of the Forum have already been thoroughly excavated, and today visitors may view the impressive ancient remains, such as the Theater and the Stadium, in this part of the Forum).
But much more work must be done, and written history already tells of a Hellenistic presence in this ancient city, which has been occupied for at least 6,000 years.
More information about the Philippopolis excavation project, and how one can participate, can be obtained at the project website.
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Known as Vada Volaterrana, it has been identified as a key port system located in present-day Tuscany, Italy, used anciently by the Romans of the city of Volaterrae (today’s Volterra) for the import and export of trade goods throughout the Mediterranean. The main harbor was located north of the mouth of the Cecina river, at S. Gaetano di Vada. Here, the University of Pisa has been excavating, since the 1980s, a significant commercial quarter that has yielded major structures and numerous artifacts that have testified to a facility built during the Augustan age but lasting through to the sixth-seventh centuries, C.E. (Popular Archaeology)
The scenes are haunting. A video camera strapped to the nose of a drone aircraft first shows only a spinning, sunlit horizon in the barrens of southern Jordan. Then the camera swoops, low and slow, over a hilltop whose surface recalls photographs of the lunar battlefields of World War I Europe. Crater after crater gouge the hill’s stony surface. It looks like the aftermath of a murderous artillery barrage. (National Geographic)
A small scrap of brown papyrus paper, about the size of a business card, has ignited a red-hot argument that spans all of Christendom. The papyrus document, known as the “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife,” was unveiled in 2012 and instantly set off a debate over its authenticity. Perhaps its most controversial elements are lines that suggest Jesus had a wife. (Scientific American)
Archaeologists will return to an ancient Native American site in eastern Oklahoma next month to resume excavation, after they discovered a prehistoric building there last October. Few artifacts have been discovered near the formation — which measures just about 12 feet across — at Spiro Mounds making it difficult for researchers to determine the time period of the building, said Scott Hammerstedt, a researcher at the Oklahoma Archaeological Survey. (TribTown)
As a specialist in prehistoric underwater archaeology, Dr Jonathan Benjamin looks at rising sea levels differently from most people and his fascination with this global phenomenon began when as a PhD candidate at Edinburgh University he came across the work of the Danish archaeologists Anders Fischer and Søren H Anderson. (PastHorizons)
A 4,500-year-old log boat is among 12 early Bronze Age, Iron Age and medieval craft that have been located in Lough Corrib, along with several Viking-style battle axes and other weapons.The vessels were discovered by marine surveyor Capt Trevor Northage while mapping the western lake to update British admiralty charts. (IrishTimes.com)
Tests will be carried out on a 4,000-year-old skeleton that was found on farmland in West Sussex 25 years ago. Experts believe the skeleton, which was found with an ornate dagger, could be from the Copper Age or Early Bronze Age – about 2,200-2,100 BC. Archaeologist James Kenny, who led the dig near Chichester in the 1980s, said there were then no funds for tests but a £10,000 project would now begin. (BBC News)
Known as Vada Volaterrana, it has been identified as a key port system located in present-day Tuscany, Italy, used anciently by the Romans of the city of Volaterrae (today’s Volterra) for the import and export of trade goods throughout the Mediterranean. The main harbor was located north of the mouth of the Cecina river, at S. Gaetano di Vada. Here, the University of Pisa has been excavating, since the 1980s, a significant commercial quarter that has yielded major structures and numerous artifacts that have testified to a facility built during the Augustan age but lasting through to the sixth-seventh centuries, C.E.
Currently led by Simonetta Menchelli of the Laboratory of Ancient Topography of the University of Pisa and Stephano Genovesi of the Archaeological Superintendences of Tuscany, Liguria and Sardinia, the team has uncovered two thermal baths, a large warehouse (horreum) with about 36 cells, a large water tank, a monumental fountain, and a building with three large apses, decorated with remarkable wall paintings and surrounding an open squared courtyard.
“The findings of amphorae, pottery, coins, glass vessels and marbles testify to the intensive trade activities; every kind of goods arrived from the entire Mediterranean Sea basin, to be redistributed from the port to the countryside and the city of Volaterrae, and here local products were shipped out,” report the excavation directors. “[The] production of wine was especially developed; [we found] many workshops where amphorae were made. The main trade route of Volterra’s wine led to the South of France and, further north, to the river Rhine, where the wine was consumed mainly by Roman legionaries stationed in the camps guarding the borders of the Empire.”*
The ancient city of Volterra, or Volaterrae, which was served by the Vada Volaterrana port system, was first settled by the Etruscans in the 8th century B.C.E. During the succeeding centuries the village had developed into a major city with power over a vast territory, rich in mineral resources and salines. Tombs excavated in the area revealed the existence of a wealthy Etruscan aristocracy, with the means to acquire bronze and ceramic objects from the cities of Southern Etruria, and from Greece. During the 3rd century, B.C.E, the city was absorbed under the rule of Rome. Eventually, some of the members of the Volterran aristocracy became Roman senators, injecting influence into the affairs of an expanding Roman Empire. The city features an ancient Roman theater and thermal baths and houses, which have been the subject of previous archaeological investigations.
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View of the Roman theater at Volterra. Jean-Christophe Benoist, Wikimedia Commons
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The most recent excavations of the port system commercial facilities in 2013 revealed the remains of a rectangular structure with thick (90 cm) walls. Three rooms have thus far been identified, with a northern-most room exhibiting a semi-circular apse-like feature, tentatively interpreted as a possible small shrine. Within the same excavation area archaeologists have unearthed some remains of a Late Antiquity (fifth-sixth century C.E.) necropolis, where they found two burials featuring bodies that were interred using large re-used amphorae. Not uncommon, it is a burial type called enchytrismós. “A few bones allowed us to identify one of them as the burial of a 4 – 5-year-old child,” reported the directors.**
In 2014, archaeologists hope to continue their excavations at the newly discovered structure to develop a better understanding of the stratigraphic sequence and construction phases of the building; further explore the tombs containing amphorae burials; conduct GPR surveys to identify workshop structures; and survey other areas with an eye toward extending investigations around the settlement.
For more information about the project and how one can participate and otherwise support the work at the site, go to the website for more information.
On the go? Purchase the mobile version of the current issue of Popular Archaeology Magazine here for only $2.99.
And, Popular Archaeology’s annual Discovery edition is a selection of the best stories published in Popular Archaeology Magazine in past issues, with an emphasis on some of the most significant, groundbreaking, or fascinating discoveries in the fields of archaeology and paleoanthropology and related fields. At least some of the articles have been updated or revised specifically for the Discovery edition. We can confidently say that there is no other single issue of an archaeology-related magazine, paper print or online, that contains as much major feature article content as this one. The latest issue, volume 2, has just been released. Go to the Discovery edition page for more information.
Subscription Price: A very affordable $5.75 for those who are not already premium subscribers of Popular Archaeology Magazine (It is FREE for premium subscribers to Popular Archaeology). Premium subscribers should email [email protected] and request the special coupon code. Or, for the e-Book version, it can be purchased for only $3.99 at Amazon.com.
Because the structure of human bones can inform us about the lifestyles of the individuals they belong to, they can provide valuable clues for biological anthropologists looking at past cultures. Research by Alison Macintosh, a PhD candidate in Cambridge University’s Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, shows that after the emergence of agriculture in Central Europe from around 5300 BC, the bones of those living in the fertile soils of the Danube river valley became progressively less strong, pointing to a decline in mobility and loading.
Macintosh presents some of her results at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in Calgary, Alberta on April 8-12, 2014. Her research shows that mobility and lower limb loading in male agriculturalists declined progressively and consistently through time and were more significantly affected by culture change in Central Europe than they were in females.
Work published by Cambridge University’s biological anthropologist Dr. Colin Shaw has enabled Macintosh to interpret this male decline in relation to Cambridge University students. Using Shaw’s study of bone rigidity among modern Cambridge University undergraduates, Macintosh suggests that male mobility among the earliest farmers (around 7,300 years ago) was, on average, at a level near that of today’s student cross-country runners. However, within just over 3,000 years, average mobility had dropped to the level of those students rated as sedentary, after which the decline slowed.
“Long-term biomechanical analyses of bones following the transition to farming in Central Europe haven’t been carried out. But elsewhere in the world they show regional variability in trends. Sometimes mobility increases, sometimes it declines, depending on culture and environmental context. After the transition to farming, cultural change was prolonged and its pace was rapid. My research in Central Europe explores whether – and how – this long term pressure continued to drive adaptation in bones,” said Macintosh.
Archaeological evidence has shown that the gradual intensification of agriculture was accompanied by rising production and complexity of metal goods, technological innovation and the extension of trade and exchange networks. “These developments are likely to have brought about changes in divisions of labour by sex and socioeconomic organisation as men and women began to specialise in certain tasks and activities – such as metalworking, pottery, crop production, tending and rearing livestock,” said Macintosh.
“I’m interested in how the skeleton adapted to people’s specific behaviours during life, and how this adaptation can be used to reconstruct long-term changes in behaviour and mobility patterns with cultural diversification, technological innovation, and increasingly more complex and stratified societies since the advent of farming.”
As a means of tracking changes in the structure of bones over time, Macintosh laser-scanned skeletons found in cemeteries across Central Europe, concentrating in particular on an analysis of engineering-based cross-sectional geometric properties as measures of the loading imposed on the lower limb bones during life. Her research took her to Germany, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic and Serbia. The earliest skeletons she examined date from around 5300 BC and the most recent from around 850 AD – a time span of 6,150 years.
Using a portable desktop 3D laser surface scanner to scan femora and tibiae, she found that male tibiae became less rigid and that bones in both males and females became less strengthened to loads in one direction more than another, such as front-to-back in walking. These findings all indicate a drop in mobility. In other words, it is likely that the people to whom the skeletons belonged became, over generations, less intensely active and probably covered less distance, or carried out less physically demanding tasks, than those who had lived before them.
“Both sexes exhibited a decline in anteroposterior, or front-to-back, strengthening of the femur and tibia through time, while the ability of male tibiae to resist bending, twisting, and compression declined as well,” said Macintosh.
This supports previous findings that human bones are remarkably plastic and respond surprisingly quickly to change. For example, when placed under stress through physical exertion – such as long-distance walking or running – they gain in strength as the fibres are added or redistributed according to where strains are highest. The ability of bone to adapt to loading is shown by analysis of the skeletons of modern athletes, whose bones show remarkably rapid adaptation to both the intensity and direction of strains.
“My results suggest that, following the transition to agriculture in Central Europe, males were more affected than females by cultural and technological changes that reduced the need for long-distance travel or heavy physical work. This also means that, as people began to specialise in tasks other than just farming and food production, such as metalworking, fewer people were regularly doing tasks that were very strenuous on their legs.”
Although there was some evidence for declining mobility in females as well, trends were inconsistent through time in most properties. Macintosh believes that this variation may indicate that women in these early farming cultures were performing a great variety of tasks – multi-tasking, in fact – or at least undertaking fewer tasks necessitating significant lower limb loading. There is evidence from two of the earliest cemeteries studied that females were using their teeth in processing activities to carry out tasks unlikely to have loaded their lower limbs much.
Interesting comparisons can be made between the archaeological evidence from Central European skeletons dating from around 7,300-1,150 years ago and data from modern farming populations elsewhere in the world. For example, a study by Panter-Brick in 1996 found that relative workload (as exhibited by time allocation and energy expenditure) between males and females in modern farming populations is much more variable than in foraging groups. As in early Central European farming communities, higher physical activity is recorded among males than females in Indian and Nepalese farming communities, but females have a higher relative workload than males in farming communities in the Upper Volta and the Gambia.
“This variability in the sexual division of labour in living agro-pastoralist groups shows the importance of context, ecology, and various cultural factors on sex differences in physical activity. So it is important when studying long-term trends in behavioural change between the sexes that the geographic region is kept small, to help control for some of this variability,” said Macintosh.
Female skeletons showed a major change in femoral bending and torsional rigidity from the Bronze Age into the Iron Age – between about 1450 BC and 850 BC in the samples studied– when women had the strongest femora of all the females examined in the study. This could be because the Iron Age sample included skeletons of Hungarian Scythians, a group for whom large animal husbandry, horsemanship and archery were particularly important. Scythian females are thought to have performed heavy physical work and were known to participate in combat.
“However, if this high Iron Age female bone strength in the femur was due to high mobility, it would also probably be visible in the tibia as well, which it was not. In that case, it could be something other than mobility that is driving this Iron Age female bone strength, possibly a difference in body size or genetics,” said Macintosh.
The Big Picture Conclusion
Because the skeleton holds a record of the loading it experiences during life, it can provide important clues about the behaviour of past people through prolonged cultural change. Overall, in the first 6,150 years of farming in Central Europe, the prosperity generated by intensive agriculture drove socioeconomic change and allowed for people to specialise in tasks other than food production.
Macintosh said: “In Central Europe, adaptations in human leg bones spanning this time frame show that it was initially men who were performing the majority of high-mobility tasks, probably associated with tending crops and livestock. But with task specialisation, as more and more people began doing a wider variety of crafts and behaviours, fewer people needed to be highly mobile, and with technological innovation, physically strenuous tasks were likely made easier. The overall result is a reduction in mobility of the population as a whole, accompanied by a reduction in the strength of the lower limb bones.”
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Source: Edited from a University of Cambridge press release.
Cover Photo, Top Left: Bones inside the Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic. Jan Kamenicek, Wikimedia Commons
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Is it just pseudoscience, or something that will stand the test of additional research?
According to one researcher’s analysis, there was an astronomically-based purpose to the curious yet incredibly precise way the massive stones of the 600-year-old Sacsayhuamán terrace walls were constructed high above and overlooking the ancient Inca capital of Cusco in Peru.
The massive adjoining blocks of stone that constitute the Sacsayhuamán walls were placed so precisely and tightly together that, in many places, an individual cannot negotiate a piece of paper between them. But equally fascinating are the angles of their adjoining ends or sides. These angles defy, through an apparent randomness, the usual sense of regularity that comes from 90-degree angle ends or corners, characteristic of the vast majority of hewn stones that form the building blocks of ancient and modern structures world-wide. The curious angles formed by these stones, suggests Dr. Derek Cunningham, a published author and researcher, might possibly reflect, or illustrate, the ancient Inca knowledge of astronomical alignments of the moon, sun and the earth, as well as knowledge of lunar and solar eclipses.
Cunningham is not an archaeologist—-he stumbled into this research by accident. In his capacity as a clan historian for Clan Cunningham, he first noted a series of unusual ground patterns located close to some Scottish sites. His curiosity drove him on to look at other sites.
Speaking of the significance of the Sacsayhuamán stone angles, Cunningham continues: “Each astronomical value (there are 9 standard values in total) was chosen by ancient astronomers to aid the prediction of eclipses. These astronomical terms are a mixture of values astronomers use to measure time (the 27.32-day sidereal month) and values to determine when the moon, earth and sun align at nodes. This includes the use of the 18.6-year nodal cycle of the moon, the 6.511 draconic months period between eclipse seasons, and also the 5.1-degree angle of inclination of the moon’s orbit. The remaining values typically are either half-values of various lunar terms, or values connected to the 11-day difference between the lunar and solar years.”
As one example, Cunningham illustrates this idea with three drawings taken from various images, showing striking similarity in the angular values:
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Above: One Sacsayhuamán wall example. Drawing courtesy Derek Cunningham
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Second Sacsayhuamán wall example. Drawing courtesy Derek Cunningham
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Above: View of a portion of the Sacsayhuamán complex.Wikimedia Commons
Above : Overhead drawing view of the Sacsayhuamán complex showing angular values. Drawing courtesy Derek Cunningham
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Cunningham suggests that his analysis of the Sacsayhuamán Temple is just one case of Stone Age astronomical ‘writing’, a form of writing that he maintains has been found on a large number of other much older artifacts distributed across several continents. His hypothesis revolves around the thought that our ancient ancestors developed ‘writing’ at least 30,000 years ago from a geometrical form of text that is based on the motion of the moon and the sun. He asserts that such ancient astronomical text, identical to that seen at Sacsayhuamán, is also found in both Lascauxand Chauvet caves in Europe, the African carved Ishango tally bone, and a circa 30,000-year-old carved stone found at the Shuidonggou Paleolithic Site in China.
“Now, substantial evidence has also been discovered that this archaic writing was used, perhaps almost continuously, until 500 years ago,” states Cunningham. “Recently the analysis of the Muisca Tunjo figurines from Columbia uncovered evidence that they were constructed to the exact same astronomical design as Bronze Age figurines uncovered in Cyprus. This discovery of such possible “recent” use of a Stone Age text thus prompted me to take a new look at circa 15th to 16th century Inca architecture, which is famous for its fabulous over-complex interlocking walls. The question I asked was could the massive polygonal walls of Sacsayhuamán align to the exact same astronomical values used in the Columbian Muiscan figurines, and the Atacama Giantof Chile? The surprising result is yes.”
“What is powerful about this new theory is that it is very simple and easy to test,” adds Cunningham. “Further work is of course required. Satellite images cannot clearly take the place of direct field work, and photographs placed online may have become distorted, but so far the data obtained appears highly consistent.”
But is Cunningham reading things into all of these archaeological finds and structures that are really not there? One can imagine most scholars shaking their heads with a smirk of doubt. But Cunningham seems to be undaunted, and he makes clear that he is not trying to prove anything as gospel truth.
“I honestly do not care whether I am right or wrong about this,” he concludes. “All I have found so far is that the data is what it is. The potential of the idea to explain some things about so many sites from the pyramids of Egypt to the Atacama Giant in Chile is obviously very controversial, and it should be. But if correct, it could rewrite some aspects of our understanding of not only the Stone Age but also world history. If, on the other hand, scholars prove this specific astronomical theory wrong, then we can move on, knowing that it has been sufficiently tested. What is most intriguing is that a complete new window may have been opened into the past.”
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The incredible Sacsayhuamán walls. Hakan Svensson, Wikimedia Commons
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Subscription Price: A very affordable $5.75 for those who are not already premium subscribers of Popular Archaeology Magazine (It is FREE for premium subscribers to Popular Archaeology). Premium subscribers should email [email protected] and request the special coupon code. Or, for the e-Book version, it can be purchased for only $3.99 at Amazon.com.
Compelling stories dramatize and humanize major events and characters in the history of Ephesus, the ruins of which are a popular destination for tourists in present-day Turkey.Historium Press, 2023.Available from Amazon and other online booksellers.
WHO WERE THE AEGEANS? The exciting new podcast series exploring the mysteries of the ancient Aegeans, the Bronze Age people who inspired Homer's epic stories of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
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