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Popular Archaeology Releases New Ebook

Posted on December 20, 2014 by No Author -

Popular Archaeology Magazine has released its latest ebook issue for a worldwide readership.

Arguably the finest issue of Popular Archaeology Magazine to date, this issue tells the story of recent scientific discoveries and new theories that are revolutionizing what we know about human evolution; the discovery of an ancient paleo-indian skeleton in an underwater cave in Mexico that has given new clues about Native American ancestry and the original peopling of the Americas; the discovery and investigation of the largest Mycenaean archaeological site to date; the discovery of new archaeological sites of ancient Mesopotamia in Iraqi’s war-torn Kurdistan; newly discovered hidden paintings on the temple walls of ancient Angkor Wat; the miracles of conservation that are restoring ancient Egyptian mummies and other artifacts of ancient Egypt; and the modern-day resurrection of the great throne room of an Egyptian pharaoh.

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From the ebook feature story, The Girl in the Cave: A broad view of Hoyo Negro, the underwater cave in Mexico where an ancient paleo-indian skeleton was found, a find that sheds additional light on the origins of the first Americans. Photo credit: Roberto Chavez Arce

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Interested readers may see the new ebook at amazon.com.

The Real Indy

Posted on December 20, 2014 by No Author -

And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones……….1 Kings 10:1,2

Western Yemen, 1951—Approaching the village in their big Dodge Power Wagon, it didn’t take long before Wendell Phillips and his small party of explorers became surrounded by a mob of rifle-armed tribesmen and soldiers. Dressed in blue robes and faces painted in indigo, the mob stood transfixed, staring at them in silence. Clearly outnumbered, Phillips knew that one knee-jerk move among his crew could spark gunfire. These locals had never seen Europeans or motor vehicles. Phillips and his group were traveling in what for Westerners was unexplored land—the forbidden regions of Yemen.

But Phillips had the blessings of Imam Ahmed, the King of Yemen, and it wasn’t long before Arabian friends with some clout and familiarity showed up to save them from what could have been a disastrous end to this expedition. Phillips, a paleontologist and geologist by education and an explorer by chosen occupation, was leading this expeditionary group to an ancient site he had long dreamed of excavating—a site that, until now, had been off limits for decades to anyone from the West. It was the location of Marib, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Sheba, thought to be the seat of the famous tenth century B.C. biblical queen of Sheba and a center made rich in the centuries BC by the lucrative revenues and trade of the Incense Road. Soon a much larger team of specialists would follow with a convoy of trucks bearing equipment, supplies, and an eclectic crew of archaeologists, photographers, epigraphers, physicians, and others. William F. Albright, by this time already world-famous for his archaeological discoveries and scholarship related to the lands and cities of the Bible, would be his chief archaeologist for the dig.

Arguably considered today as a real-life model for the famous fictional character of Indiana Jones, Phillips had already cut his teeth in a significant way in the late 1940’s as leader of a major U.C. Berkeley expedition in Africa, taking him from Cairo to Capetown with an entourage of experts in a variety of scientific fields. “In the course of the expedition, more than fifty scholars, scientists, and technicians, utilizing 25 trucks, an airplane, and a motor-boat, had covered the entire continent, working on research problems in tropical medicine, paleontology, geology, anthropology, archaeology, and other fields,” wrote Phillips of his African expedition in his 1955 book, Sheba’s Buried City.* It was also in Africa where he received his inspiration to explore southern Arabia.

“Many things conspired to bring South Arabia into my mind during the African expedition,” he wrote. Significant among his inspirers was the Aga Khan, who “suggested South Arabia as one of the most essential remaining areas for archaeological work.”*

Phillips wasted no time moving forward to Arabia. Following his African expedition, he embarked on a two-week aerial reconnaissance survey expedition of southern Arabia in 1949.

It hooked him.

“I saw beneath the shifting sand dunes, the parched wadis, and tumbled rocks, a long highway stretching 700 miles across the broad base of the country, then turning northwards and winding for more than 1,000 miles to the shores of the Mediterranean and the homes of our civilization’s ancestors. I looked back over my shoulder 3,000 years and saw long trains of camels burdened with frankincense and myrrh and sometimes with gold, pearls, ivory, cinnamon, silks, tortoiseshell, and lapis lazuli.”*

Phillips was writing of course about the great Arabian Incense Road of antiquity, the road that presumably, at least in part, made rulers like the Queen of Sheba, and ostensibly by extension her royal friend and ally King Solomon to the north, wealthy beyond imagination. The Road was the maker of a number of southern Arabian kingdoms, most notably the five kingdoms of Qataban, Ma’in, Saba (Sheba), Himyar, and Hadhramaut. Of these kingdoms, Saba, as it was the kingdom of the queen of Sheba, fed Phillips’ ambitions the most. But in the 1940’s, the ancient capital of Saba, whose remains were located at the site of Marib in southwestern Yemen, was in the forbidden zone. It could not be safely accessed by Westerners because of tribal hostilities.

Marib would have to wait. Phillips turned to the other possibilities, consulting with familiar sources for advice. “In Cairo I had lunch with St. John Philby [the British Arabist, explorer, writer, and colonial office intelligence officer ], who………encouraged me and agreed that I should consider the Wadi Beihan, site of the capital of the old Qatabian kingdom.”* Charles Inge, friend and then Director of Antiquities for Britain’s Crown Colony of Aden, recommended it “as the most promising site in all southern Arabia, with the exception of the Queen of Sheba’s ancient capital, Marib and the ruins of Sirwah located in forbiddn Yemen.”*

It was thus on to the site of Timna, the ancient capital of Qataban in the Wadi Beihan, for what Phillips called his First Arabian Expedition under the auspices of his newly founded American Foundation for the Study of Man (AFSM), the organizational framework he knew he would need as the umbrella instrument of his efforts. Getting things off the ground was no easy task, but painstaking preparations saw him at the head of a convoy of trucks, equipment and a hand-picked mix of specialists and experts that reflected shades of his previous African expedition.

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The expedition convoy makes its way through the desert landscape of Yemen. Courtesy American Foundation for the Study of Man (AFSM)

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The Wonders of Timna

Within a small gallery in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Asian Art stands a large glass-enclosed case. It contains what Phillips and his colleagues considered one of the First Arabian Expedition’s greatest finds—the twin bronze Lions of Timna. Initially discovered by a Yemeni dig team member and dated to 75 BCE – 50 CE, the large bronze statues of lions with riders were found within the context of the ‘House Yafash’, an ancient residence of a wealthy Qataban located near the South Gate of the city. Incredible finds by their workmanship and aesthetic value alone, they also proved to play an essential role in establishing the chronology of the Qataban civilization. They are two among more than 70 artifacts on display in the Sackler Gallery exhibit, Unearthing Arabia: The Archeological Adventures of Wendell Phillips, an exhibit that, courtesy of the AFSM, also showcases field notebooks, tools of his excavation, photos and videos of Phillips’ expedition to the Wadi Beihan, where he and his team uncovered key finds at Timna and nearby Hajar bin Humeid (see slideshow below). It was at these sites where Phillips recovered a motherlode that made him famous as a pioneer in southern Arabian archaeology.

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The “Lions of Timna”. Courtesy AFSM

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Detailed view of one of the twin “Lions of Timna”. Courtesy Sackler Gallery and AFSM

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Hajar bin Humeid

To be sure, the southern Arabian expedition was much about adventure, but, like the great African expedition that preceded, it was first and foremost about systematic, scientific inquiry and investigation. Under the leadership of Professor and Chief Archaeologist William F. Albright, one of the expedition’s first tasks was to establish a base relative chronology from which to work for placing the hoped-for upcoming finds into context. That opportunity came with Hajar bin Humeid, where a large oval-shaped mound featured an eroded cross-section on its western side, affording the team an ideal starting point for determining stratigraphy and recovering pottery and layers of human occupation. “A rectangular cut about 60 feet square was made from the top downward,” recounts Phillips.* Excavations at Hajar continued for two seasons, from 1950 through 1951, exposing a stratigraphy that gave them a dating sequence based on eighteen strata, going back to the end of the 11th century BCE. “Hajar bin Humreid was full of surprises for Professor Albright and Dr. Albert Jamme, our Belgian epigrapher from Louvain, who expected to find broken pottery but instead encountered at the outset extensive stone walls of houses and a possible temple,” wrote Phillips*. But an abundance of pottery sherds and other artifacts, key to determining the dating sequence, invariably followed, and in great numbers. The artifacts, combined with the site’s ancient location, suggested that Hajar bin Humeid was located along one of the caravan routes that stretched all the way to the Mediterranean. It represented the remains of a modest-sized city that likely thrived primarily on customs collected from the caravans that traveled through the Wadi Beihan area.

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View of cross-section excavation of the mound at Hajar bin Humeid. Pottery finds helped to date the stratigraphy of the site back to at least 1,000 BCE. Courtesy AFSM

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Panoramic view of the ancient site of Timna. Courtesy AFSM

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The South Gate

Chief among Phiilips’ goals was to uncover the remains of what was identified as Timna’s buried South Gate, entrance to the city itself. It was here that the monumental character of Timna really began to take shape. As at Hajar bin Humeid, a large team of workmen was employed to remove what seemed to be tons of sand, and after three weeks of excavation its features finally took shape:

The gateway itself was flanked by two massive towers constructed of rough blocks, some as large as 8 by 2 ft. The masonry work was good but not smoothly finished, indicating that the gate was built before the flowering of Qatabian civilization, when more polished work was done. Certainly it was made not later than the fifth century BC. Many inscriptions were found on the big blocks of the towers, and there was also evidence of two vertical grooves for gateposts and another for a heavy crossbeam. Charred wood still remained in parts of these grooves [evidence of a fiery conflagration].

Now we had our first glimpse, infinitesimal but still a glimpse, of ancient Timna. It was not too difficult to approach the massive South Gate and imagine ourselves part of a camel caravan loaded with frankincense, on our way from the lands of the East to the Mediterranean.*

— p. 85, Sheba’s Buried City

In addition to the structure itself, the team recovered artifacts interpreted as objects for religious ceremony and inscriptions with references to Qataban rulers. Their findings at the South Gate, like the findings at the Hajar bin Humeid cut, were instrumental in developing a chronology of Timna and its people, a chronology they found went back at least as far as the 8th century BCE.

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Excavations at the South Gate. Courtesy AFSM

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Dr. Jamme, the expedition epigrapher, creating latex squeezes of inscriptions found on the walls of the South Gate. Courtesy AFSM

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The Epigrapher’s Dream: The House Yafash and the Graffito Valley

As the excavators continued to progress beyond the gate into the city, they eventually came upon evidence of a structure. Designating it Building B, it featured inscriptions that identified it as the “House Yafash”. It was in the context of this ancient house that the expedition uncovered the twin bronze lions, arguably their most important find. Under the direction of Albright, the team found that three of the rooms within the structure were still intact. They also uncovered a number of utilitarian objects, including a burned comb, several containers, and a stone die, shedding light on ancient Qataban domestic life. But it was the subject, style, make, and inscriptions deciphered on the bronze statues that paved the way to understanding the timeline and culture of this southern Arabian kingdom. The lions and their riders were critical not only in establishing the chronology, but also in determining its greatest florescence in the first century CE.

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One of the “Lions of Timna” still ‘in situ’, as found in place immediately after excavation. Note the inscription at its base. Courtesy AFSM

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Like literally hiking back through time, however, it was the result of a foray by a team colleague into a narrow canyon known as the Wadi al-Fara about three miles north of the Hajar bin Humeid that captured Phillip’s imagination in equal measure. Clued in and led by a local Beihani tribesman, team member Dr. Richard Bowen discovered what was surely to become one of the great discoveries of his life:

The Beihani tribesman led Bowen up a steep slope and then directed him to what turned out to be an ancient Qataban inscription carved into the rock face. But there was much more. Phillips recounts in his book:

Dick knew that the inscription might be interesting, but he was far more excited about other things he saw on the walls of the canyon—great numbers of graffiti, or shallow carvings in the rock surface. These graffiti contained short inscriptions with personal names: the equivalent of our ‘Kilroy was here’ scrawls on walls or carvings on trees. This is the plain, simple stuff of which real archaeological treasure often consists.*

With the able decipherment and interpretation from Jamme and Albright, what they had discovered was to this point the “earliest phase of Arabian inscription…..dating back probably to the 9th or 10th century BC,” containing three names found in the Bible—the father of Jeroboam, the first king of Israel, Eli, the name of a high priest mentioned in First Samuel, and Yagur, a place name in ancient Judah. “While our excavation work had slowly carried us backwards in time—to the destruction of Timna, and on to the first, second, third, and even fourth centuries BC,” wrote Phillips, “Graffito Valley whirled us past five or six more centuries and brought us close to the ancient days of the Bible, close to the time of the Queen of Sheba, who lived in Marib, just 40 miles away.”*

The House Yafash and Graffito Valley experiences were certainly not the only cases where inscription finds opened up a window on the world of the Qataban people to the team. Throughout the entire duration of the excavations, they encountered them. The inscription finds could arguably be considered the greatest takeaway from Phillips’ Arabian Expedition.

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Dr. Jamme making a squeeze of one of the many inscription finds. Courtesy AFSM

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The Cemetery

It showed up first as a small white ring emerging from the sand and soil as a workman dug. It was part of a waxen human ear. Realizing the potential significance of this find, he called for Dr. Alexander Honeyman, an archaeologist and epigrapher and Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages at the University of St. Andrews. He was directing the excavations of the Timna Cemetery, an important part of the overall excavations at Timna. Few of the finds from the Cemetery excavations, however, caught Honeyman’s interest more than this one. After Honeyman’s careful excavation to reveal more of the find, it turned out to be a beautifully sculpted alabaster head of a woman with large eyes inlaid with a blue material, swept-back hair made of plaster, pierced ears that likely once held earings, and holes in the sides of the neck that likely were meant to secure a necklace. It could be held in one’s hands. Nicknamed “Miriam” by the Arab workmen, it was dated to the 1st century BCE and the first half of the 1st century CE. Although there were no inscriptions to help identify the woman’s actual identity, Honeyman and his colleagues concluded that, given the workmanship, material and other features, this was probably a woman of means and importance.

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Dr. Honeyman holding “Miriam”, his prize find. Courtesy AFSM

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Detailed view of the head of a woman, or “Miriam”. Courtesy Sackler Gallery and AFSM

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This was clearly a sign of more things to come, for it was only a day later that they recovered an exquisitely crafted gold necklace, pendant and chain combination, with a legend in Qataban letters identifying the owner of the piece, a woman named Far’iat. Excavations at the Timna Cemetery proved to be one of the great achievements of the expedition, resulting in the discovery of mortuary buildings, steles and funerary portraits, along with a variety of miniature objects intended for the afterlife, in addition to Honeyman’s finding that a series of partitioned rectangular chambers within the mausoleum complex were actually ossuaries where bones of the deceased were re-interred. Today it is considered among the largest and most elaborate ancient necropolises in southern Arabia, a testament to the importance that the ancient Qatabans accorded their deceased.

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The gold necklace, pendant and chain combination discovered in the Cemetery excavations. Courtesy Sackler Gallery and AFSM

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Above and below: Excavations in the Cemetery yielded numerous small funerary finds. Courtesy AFSM

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The Temple Complex

In terms of sheer magnitude, nothing more monumental was unearthed at the Timna site than the imposing structure of what Phillips’ team identified as a temple complex:

We had not worked long at the temple site that second season before confirming our view that here lay the largest building of ancient Timna. It was certainly the first really monumental building to be excavated in all South Arabia, for we dug in an area 160 ft. long by 135 ft wide without yet reaching the end of what was a complex of buildings and courts making up the Temple of Athtar, the Arabian equivalent of our Venus…….The Temple must have been a beautiful and imposing structure [in its day], for we found a central nave and foundations for four or five rows of gigantic pillars, with five pillars to a row. What an awe-inspiring spectacle this great Temple of Venus must have been to the weary traveler from Shabwa or farther east as he gazed upward through its forty to fifty columns!*

Built of massive blocks of stone, the complex consisted of the temple structure, an open court, rooms on its western side, and what they identified as a water tank. Excavations revealed that it had undergone four phases or periods of construction ranging from the 8th or 7th century BCE to the 1st century CE. It apparently stood until the final destruction of Timna, for the excavators encountered large blocks of stone that had been fused together—something that could happen only in a state of intense heat. Here was evidence of a fiery conflagration that likely caused the demise of a city that had existed for centuries.

Another major discovery came in 1951, when Albright observed ancient masons’ marks on marble paving stones in the Temple courtyard while guiding a visitor through the site. He could see that the stones had been tagged or marked using the sequence of letters or symbols of the South Arabian alphabet. For the expedition team, it was like looking at the Rosetta Stone for understanding the order of the ancient South Arabian alphabet. “This was a discovery of the first importance,” wrote Phillips. “The ancient Qatabians who had paved this court inscribed their alphabet around it. We had never known before the proper order of the ancient South Semitic alphabet, but now it had been discovered.”* This finding proved to be among the expedition’s greatest discoveries.

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Above and below: Excavation at the Temple in Timna. Courtesy AFSM

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The City of Sheba

No other ancient site in Yemen excited Phillips more than the prospect of excavating at Ma’rib, the capital of the ancient Sabaeans and thought by many biblical scholars as the likely residence of the famed 10th century Queen of Sheba. It was among his plans from the beginning to explore the possibility of obtaining permission to excavate at the site, but the area was regarded as forbidden to Westerners because of tribal unrest. Approval and support from Imam Ahmed, the King of Yemen, however, could make all the difference, and this is exactly what Phillips attempted to obtain. An audience with the King was finally realized, resulting in approval for Phillips and his team to push forward to Marib for this, the first excavation by a Western expedition to Ma’rib in over 60 years.

Getting to Ma’rib required an uneasy journey northward across the dunes through what for Westerners was largely unexplored land. But once there, Phillips was overwhelmed by the site:

We were standing where no American or Englishman had ever stood and where no non-Moslem has been, to our knowledge, since 1889. We looked at the buried ruins of what had once been the largest and richest of the ancient cities of South Arabia, the centre of a great culture almost 3,000 years ago………Columns, walls and pillars extended everywhere as far as our eyes could see, in an endless crescent.*

Phillips knew that local Yemenis had already dug about 70 feet down at one point at the site to recover stone blocks for a fortress and houses, encountering cultural layers as they went. Compared to the 51-foot escarpment Phillips and his team created at Hajar bin Humeid, this suggested that “Ma’rib was considerably older than the Qatabian cities in Beihan.”* This, Phillips hoped, would be the prize dig of the expedition. But he knew that excavating the entire city would be far too much to tackle at this point, so the team focused their efforts on what was clearly the most prominently visible feature of the city—the Mahram Bilqis, or Temple of Awam, otherwise known by the ancients as the Temple of Almaqah, dedicated to the moon god who was the principal deity of Ma’rib.

Only the tops of eight massive pillars and the upper part of an oval-shaped wall could be seen jutting above the windblown sand at first, but as they dug, painstakingly removing tons of sand and soil with a workforce of scores of workmen, they eventually uncovered a large hall with monumental pillars, and stairways, inscriptions, and bronze and alabaster sculptures. In some places the wall of the temple itself, 13.5 feet thick and constructed of fitted ashlar masonry, still stood to a height of more than 27 feet above the temple’s excavated entrance hall. Adjacent to the temple they uncovered evidence of a mausoleum and tombs similar to what they had unearthed at Timna.

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Excavations beginning at the Awam Temple in Ma’rib in 1951. Courtesy AFSM

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Above: Unearthed by Yemeni locals (long before the excavations) as they dug for building stones, these ancient alabaster sculptures (600 in all) were stored inside the old fortress at Ma’rib. They were shown to the expedition team on a guided tour before excavations began. Courtesy AFSM

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These discoveries were already magnificent by any measure, and there was potentially much more to unearth. But developing tribal tensions spelled danger for the team long before they could achieve their objectives, and they were forced to leave the site, never to return as an expedition under Phillips’ direction again. Their sudden, hasty exit meant leaving their equipment and archaeological discoveries behind, though their written records were later published in scholarly reports. Phillips died in 1975, never having realized his hopes of returning to Ma’rib to finish the work.

Return to Ma’rib

It wasn’t until 1998, more than two decades later, when renewed excavations began at Ma’rib. Invited by the government of Yemen to resume excavations where her brother left off in 1952, Merilyn Phillips Hodgson, by then President of the AFSM, took the ball and ran with it. With more than fifty workmen and an international team that included archaeologists, epigraphists, architects, and other specialists involved in what turned out to be a multi-year expedition lasting nine seasons, their discoveries were no less sensational than those made decades earlier. Focusing on the Awam Temple, hundreds of new inscriptions were recovered, and for the first time, the interior of the oval precinct walls of the complex was uncovered to a depth of sixteen feet. Features of its main Peristyle Hall and Annex areas were uncovered and defined, and more insight to the construction and occupational chronology or sequence for the Temple was acquired.

“The earliest material cultural remains excavated in the Awam complex date to the eighth century BC,” wrote archaeologists Zaydoon Zaid and Mohammed Maraqten in a report of their findings from the Temple complex. “Inscriptions mark the beginning of the history of occupation of the site.” Added to this, “a recently discovered but as yet unpublished inscribed block that served as the base of a statue mentions a dedication by the Shab of Saba and is dated according to the Himyaritic era (i.e. 115 or 110 BC) to the late fourth century AD. It confirms the continuity of the main function of the temple as a sacred place……..The architectural sequence for the Awam temple would therefore seem to span a period from the first millennium BC to the late fourth century AD.”**

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Above: View of the impressive excavated staircase in ‘Area A’ of the Awam Temple. Excavations have revealed that the Temple Complex includes several major architectural components: The Oval Wall, enclosing most of an open-air Oval Precinct; The Peristyle Hall with thirty-two pillars surrounding a large courtyard; The Annex Area along the north-east side of the Peristyle Hall and parallel to the eight monumental pillars; A large courtyard area, Area A, building 1, paved passage and staircases; A mausoleum adjacent to the south-east exterior of the Oval Wall; and a cemetery to the south-west of the Oval Wall. Courtesy Zaydoon Zaid and the AFSM

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View of the excavated Peristyle Hall and Annex area. Courtesy Zaydoon Zaid and the AFSM

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The Temple pillars as seen from inside the Oval Wall. Courtesy Zaydoon Zaid and the AFSM

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The monumental wall that surrounds the Oval Precinct of the temple complex. Note the inscriptions on the upper rows of blocks. Courtesy Zaydoon Zaid and the AFSM

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The results of the renewed excavations further confirmed what Phillips had, decades before, concluded about the significance of the site. In terms of the construction date chronology, continuity of use, opulence and monumental scale, the Awam Temple was, according to Zaid, clearly “one of the most important monuments of the Sabaean period, which doubtless composed the religious center of the city of Ma’rib and of ancient South Arabia as a whole”.** It bespoke a civilization that, in its time, rivaled the great civilizations to its north, west and east, for it was in Ma’rib that the Sabaean kings made their capital, building massive irrigation works such as the Ma’rib dams, (the ruins of which are still visible) and other monumental buildings, made possible by the wealth brought in through the incense trade routes and extensive maritime connections as a seafaring people. It was a flourishing culture for more than a thousand years.

Was it here, at the Awam Temple, that the biblical Queen of Sheba worshipped? As far as scholars know, the temple construction chronology post-dates the time period in which many biblical scholars suggest she lived, the 10th century BCE. Was there an earlier temple on this spot? Further excavation may shed additional light on the question. “One of our main objectives is to continue excavating inside the Oval areal, where we think we will find a lot of answers that will help to establish and complete the occupational history of the site,” says Zaid.

Zaid hopes to one day return to finish where the last set of seasons left off nine years ago, but the political situation and unrest mitigates the possibilities.

He tempers some sadness with wishful anticipation. “Yemen is a unique land, something like an open museum,” he says. “When you travel in Yemen, talk to the kind Yemeni people, visit the old cities and the amazing bazaars—you would think that time has stopped. Things are still much the same as they were hundreds of years ago. We hope that the situation in Yemen will develop in a positive way, so that the people of Yemen will have their peace and go back to normal life and, of course, allow us to go back to continue our work at the temple.”

Phillips, no doubt, if he were alive, would be in the front of the pack.

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Merilyn Phillips Hodgson, current President of the American Foundation for the Study of Man and sister of Wendell Phillips. Courtesy the AFSM

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* Phillips, Wendell, Sheba’s Buried City, 1958 Pan Books Ltd.

** Zaid, Zaydoon and Maraqten, Mohammed, The Peristyle Hall: remarks on the history of construction based on recent archaeological and epigraphic evidence of the AFSM expedition to the Awam temple in Marib, Yemen, Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, Vol. 38, 2001.

Indonesian Cave Art Among Science’s Top 10 Breakthroughs of 2014

Posted on December 18, 2014 by No Author -

The journal Science has announced its top 10 scientific breakthroughs of the year. Not surprisingly, the headline-making news of the Rosetta deep space probe’s approach to the comet known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and the subsequent landing of its companion lander Philae on the comet’s surface ranked number 1 on the list. But also among the top 10 breakthroughs was the realization, made public in October, 2014, by scientists that cave paintings discovered in 7 cave sites in the Maros karsts on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia were actually between 35,000 and 40,000 years old. The breakthrough was significant in that it was the first time that prehistoric human cave painting art found in Indonesia, or East Asia, for that matter, was found to date during time periods usually associated with the “first cave painter” works long known to exist in Europe.

In the potential landmark study, the researchers used uranium-series dating of speleothem samples directly associated with 12 human hand stencils and two figurative animal paintings. “The earliest dated image from Maros,” write the study authors in their report, “with a minimum age of 39.9 kyr, is now the oldest known hand stencil in the world. In addition, a painting of a babirusa (“pig-deer”) made at least 35.4 kyr ago is among the earliest dated figurative depictions worldwide, if not the earliest one”*

The study findings dispel the notion that such early cave painting is unique to Europe or that the first prehistoric artists were European by location. Moreover, it suggests the possibility of an even more ancient common or shared ancestral population of human cave painters, perhaps pointing to an original population, or populations, first emerging out of Africa before about 40,000 BCE. Alternatively, it could suggest that these cognitive abilities evolved independently around the same time period among humans in locations thousands of miles apart.

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Animal depiction and hand stencil paintings found in one of the caves at Sulawesi. This is a video still shot from video shown below from Nature.com

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In addition to the Rosetta/Philae comet landing and the Indonesian cave painting findings, the annual list of groundbreaking scientific achievements, selected by Science and its international nonprofit publisher, AAAS, also includes groundbreaking advances in medicine, robotics, synthetic biology, and paleontology, among other disciplines.

Regarding the top breakthrough on the list, Rosetta and its lander module, known as Philae, made major headlines in November when Philae touched down on the surface of the speeding comet. Even though the landing was rougher than expected—Philae bounced off the unforgiving surface of 67P and came to rest on its side, quite a distance from its target—it was nonetheless the first-ever soft landing on a comet. And the data from these two space probes are already shedding new light on the formation and evolution of such comets.

“Philae’s landing was an amazing feat and got the world’s attention,” said Tim Appenzeller, news editor of the journal Science. “But the whole Rosetta mission is the Breakthrough. It’s giving scientists a ringside seat as a comet warms up, breathes, and evolves.”

Launched in March, 2004, by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Rosetta spacecraft is now orbiting 67P, sometimes getting as close as 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) to the comet’s surface. Its on-board camera can discriminate between objects on the comet that are just centimeters apart while an array of spectrometers, known as the Rosetta Orbiter Sensor for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA), can sample gases from 67P’s coma, or the thin halo of an atmosphere that surrounds the comet.

ROSINA has already detected water, methane, and hydrogen as well as some rarer compounds, including formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide, in 67P’s coma. Such findings might help researchers figure out whether certain comets could have helped to jump-start life on the early Earth by delivering water and organic molecules. In December, a report published by the ROSINA team revealed an exceptionally high ratio of heavy hydrogen (deuterium) to regular hydrogen, suggesting that comets like 67P, which hail from the Kuiper belt—a region beyond Neptune—could not have made such water deliveries.

“Breakthroughs should do one of two things: either solve a problem that people have been wrestling with for a long time or open the door to a lot of new research,” said Robert Coontz, deputy news editor at Science. “In this case, most of the really good science lies ahead.”

By keeping their eyes on the jets of gas and dust trailing behind 67P, researchers may eventually learn how comets evolve as they approach the sun. Then, by working backwards, researchers could turn back the clock and perhaps glean how various comets formed some 4.5 billion years ago.

The currently-dead batteries on Philae might recharge as the comet gets closer to the sun, but even if they don’t ESA mission managers have suggested that 80% of all the science will come from the mother ship, Rosetta, anyway. Peak activity on the spacecraft should occur in August, 2015, they say, when 67P is halfway between the orbits of Earth and Mars—and as close to the sun as it gets.

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Artist’s view of the ESA’s Rosetta cometary probe. Credit ESA – J. Huart

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Rosetta’s lander Philae is shown safely on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. One of the lander’s three feet can be seen in the foreground. Credit European Space Agency

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In addition to the nine runners-up for this year’s Breakthrough of the Year, the staff of Science also describes areas to watch—Arctic sea ice and combined immunotherapy, for example—as well as the year’s major breakdown—the response to West Africa’s Ebola outbreak—and the results of a readers’ choice poll in which the public voted on its own breakthroughs.

After the comet landing, the journal’s list of nine other major scientific achievements of 2014 appears below (in no particular order).

The Dinosaur-Bird Transition: This year, a series of papers that compared the fossils of early birds and dinosaurs to modern birds revealed how certain dinosaur lineages developed small, lightweight body plans, allowing them to evolve into many types of birds and survive the Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction about 66 million years ago.

Young Blood Fixes Old: Researchers demonstrated that blood from a young mouse—or even just a factor known as GDF11 from young mouse blood—can rejuvenate the muscles and brains of older mice. The findings have led to a clinical trial in which Alzheimer’s patients are receiving plasma from young donors.

Getting Robots to Cooperate: New software and interactive robots that, for example, instruct swarms of termite-inspired bots to build a simple structure or prompt a thousand quarter-sized machines to form squares, letters, and other two-dimensional shapes are proving that robots can work together without any human supervision after all.

Neuromorphic Chips: Mimicking the architecture of a human brain, computer engineers at IBM and elsewhere rolled out the first large-scale “neuromorphic” chips this year, which are designed to process information in ways that are more akin to living brains.

Beta Cells: Two groups pioneered two different methods for growing cells that closely resemble beta cells—the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas—in the laboratory this year, giving researchers an unprecedented opportunity to study diabetes.

Indonesian Cave Art: Researchers realized that hand stencils and animal paintings in a cave in Indonesia, once thought to be 10,000 years old, were actually between 35,000 and 40,000 years old. The discoveries suggest that humans in Asia were producing symbolic art as early as the first European cave painters.

Manipulating Memory: Using optogenetics—a technique that manipulates neuronal activity with beams of light—researchers showed that they could manipulate specific memories in mice. Deleting existing memories and implanting false ones, they went so far as to switch the emotional content of a mouse memory from good to bad, and vice versa.

CubeSats: Although they’ve been blasted into space for more than a decade now, cheap satellites with sides that are just 10 centimeters squared, called CubeSats, really took off in 2014. Once considered educational tools for college students, these miniature satellites have started to do some real science, according to researchers.

Expanding the Genetic Alphabet: Researchers have engineered E. coli that harbors two additional nucleic acids—X and Y—in addition to the normal G, T, C, and A that make up the standard building blocks of DNA. Such synthetic bacteria can’t reproduce outside the laboratory, but they may be used to create designer proteins with “unnatural” amino acids.

The top-10 list for 2014 appears in the 19 December issue of the journal along with a related news feature and multimedia component.

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Source: Adapted and edited from a press release of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

*M. Aubert, A. Brumm, M. Ramli, T. Sutikna, E. W. Saptomo, B. Hakim, M. J. Morwood, G. D. van den Bergh, L. Kinsley, A. Dosseto, Pleistocene cave art from Sulawesi, Indonesia, Nature 514, 223–227 (09 October 2014) doi:10.1038/nature13422.

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Popular Archaeology’s annual Discovery Edition eBook 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.

Drought and Ancient Maya Practices Spelled Collapse of Tikal, Says Study

Posted on December 15, 2014 by No Author -

An international team of researchers argue that the reason for the collapse of the great ancient Maya city of Tikal during the 9^th century CE was likely due to a lethal combination of persistent recurring episodes of drought and some of the very practices the Maya employed to create a successful and, for a time, sustainable system for supporting its massive and growing urban population.

Through forest surveys, satellite imagery, excavations, coring, and examinations of wood, plant, and soil samples collected from the Tikal zone inhabited during the Maya Late Classic period (LCP, 600 – 850 CE), David L. Lentz of the University of Cincinnati and colleagues from other institutions studied the agro-forestry and agricultural land use practices of the Maya, as well as the evidence for environmental change, to build what they consider to be a likely scenario for the famous collapse of the great Tikal polity.

Located in the Petén Basin of present-day northern Guatemala, Tikal was the political center of one of the most powerful Maya kingdoms. With monumental construction dating back to the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its zenith during the Classic Period, ca. 200 to 900 AD. Following the end of the Late Classic period, archaeological investigation shows evidence that major monumental construction stopped, and that elite structures were burned. This coincided with significant population decline, culminating in the site’s abandonment. But Tikal was not the only Maya center that experienced such decline at this time, and one of the great mysteries of the ancient Maya revolves around the scholarly debate regarding the reasons for the great collapse of so much of the ancient Maya world at the end of their greatest florescence during the Classic period. Drought, unsustainable agricultural practices, warfare, and overpopulation, among other factors, have all been cited as possible causes.

Above and below: Ruins of the Maya city, Tikal. Courtesy David L. Lentz.

This latest study focused on examining evidence related to the agricultural and environmental factors. Their data and analysis showed that Tikal’s inhabitants practiced intensive forms of agriculture, including irrigation, terracing, and slash-and-burn cultivation, coupled with carefully controlled agro-forestry and water conservation techniques. “Empirical evidence is presented to demonstrate that this assiduously managed anthropogenic system of the Classic period Maya was a landscape that was optimized in a way that provided sustenance to a relatively large population in a pre-industrial, low-density urban community,” wrote Lentz and colleagues in the report published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). “This landscape productivity optimization, however, came with a heavy cost of reduced environmental resiliency and a complete reliance on consistent annual rainfall.”* The report authors supported this with findings from their collection and analysis of mineral deposits from regional caves, which indicated episodes of persistent and unusually low rainfall during the mid-9th century, coinciding with the archaeological evidence of Tikal’s abandonment during that time period. Moreover, argue the researchers, the drought was likely enhanced by the inhabitants of Tikal itself, “as there is a growing body of evidence that indicates forest clearance, even partial forest clearance, will negatively impact the hydrologic cycle.”*

“In short,” concluded the study authors, “the construction of extensive pavements combined with forest clearance likely exacerbated the effect of the drying trend, so by the mid-9th century there were inadequate supplies of water and food with little resilience left in the system to adapt to new conditions.”* As a result, according to Lentz, et al., the social structure of Tikal eventually collapsed and the core of the city was abandoned, “leaving only a tiny relict population huddled around the few water holes that did not dry up”*

The researchers suggest that similar scenarios played out throughout the Central Maya Lowlands during this time period, possibly explaining the great “Maya collapse” at the end of the Classic period.

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Information Sources: Press rlease of the PNAS, Drought and sustainability at ancient Maya city; and PNAS Article #14-08631 (see below).

* Article #14-08631: “Forests, fields, and the edge of sustainability at the ancient Maya city of Tikal,” by David L. Lentz et al. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1408631111

Cover Photo: Ruins of the Maya city, Tikal. Courtesy David L. Lentz

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A Field Report: Preclassic Xnoha

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Alexander Parmington -

Dr. Alexander Parmington is an Archaeologist at the Wurundjeri Tribe and Land Council and a Research Associate (Hon.) in the Archaeology Program at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. He has worked extensively in south-eastern Australia, in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras and has contributed articles to several journals and organizations, including Mexicon, the Minesterio de Cultura y Deportes de Guatemala, the Instituto de Antropología e Historia de Guatemala, and the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies. Alex has also recently authored a book entitled Space and Sculpture in the Classic Maya City (2011), published by Cambridge University Press.

This report presents the results of excavations undertaken in the patio area of ‘Building Group 78’ at Xno’ha by the Maya Research Program (MRP) in 2014. The site of Xno’ha is situated in northwestern Belize between the Bajo Alacranes and the Dumbbell Bajo (Guderjan 2007: 15) (see Figure 1). Characterised as a medium-sized Maya centre, comprising a large central plaza surrounded by an abundance of residential building groups, “the name [Xno’ha] was given to the site in reference to Xno’ha Creek which enters the Rio Azul/Hondo from Mexico just north of the site” (Guderjan 2013: 11).

Analysis of ceramics recovered from all excavated contexts suggests that the entire patio platform, fronting structures designated ’79’ and ’80’, was constructed during the Late Preclassic period (300 BC – 250 AD). In 2013 a Late Preclassic ceramic cache (comprising 9 Sierra Red vessels) was found while excavating the Group 78 patio. Follow-up excavations undertaken in 2014 identified a second component to Cache 13-03 configured in a cruciform pattern. The discovery of additional vessels in the vicinity of Cache 13-03 increased the minimum number of associated Preclassic vessels to 25. In addition to this finding, immediately south of Burial 13-01 (a tomb that was excavated the previous year) a second burial was discovered that contained a variety of ornamental grave goods including a Late Preclassic bird-effigy incensario. Representing what was probably the earliest period of the building group’s construction, a fragmented Late Preclassic incensario was also found close to bedrock, sealed below the thick plaster floor, in association with a remnant wall.

Figure 1: Location of Xno’ha (upper center of picture) and Related Sites. Courtesy Mark Wolf (after Guderjan 2013).

Xno’ha Group 78 – General Description

Group 78 is described here as a patio group as defined by Guderjan, Lichtenstein and Hanratty (2003: 35). Patio groups usually comprise L-shaped configurations that generally face eastward and are positioned on a levelled hill where peripheral masonry structures define a central open space. Consistent with this description, Xno’ha Group 78 comprises an elevated and level open space that is bounded on its northern and western limits by remnant rectilinear range-type structures. Maya range structures are described as large, vaulted and multi-roomed and ordered so as to surround small plazas or patios (Kowalski 2003: 204).

Figure 2: Building Group 78 Panorama Showing Structures 79 and 80 and Patio in the Foreground

A View of Excavated Remains of Patio Group 78.

Located approximately 200 metres due east of Structure 1, and the sites central plaza, Xno’ha Group 78 is oriented approximately 8° east of magnetic north and measures about 25 metres x 25 metres. Structure 79 is positioned to mark the western limits of the building group and Structure 80 defines its northern boundary. While the more precise dimensions (and orientation) of the buildings will only be ascertained following more extensive excavation, preliminary estimations of the mounds and structural features indicate that buildings measure between 15-17 metres in length (as gauged along the midline of the mounds) to the point where they intersect in the northwest corner of the group. The patio extends approximately 14 metres east-west and 19 metres north-south, as measured from the baseline of the building mounds to where the ground begins to slope away at the eastern and southern limits of the group. One datum point was recorded for Group 78 (with a handheld GPS) during the 2013 excavations – Alex 1: 1984915.49N, 0288124E-not corrected.

On the east side of the building group is a shallow rectangular depression in the patio platform, which measures 4 metres north-south and 5.4 metres east-west. It has yet to be determined what this surface depression is; whether it represents slumping of the building group’s patio or, alternatively, a remnant architectural feature. Initial clearing of vegetation in 2013 undertaken on the inclined ground on the eastern side of the group suggests that it may have once formed part of a terraced approach, functioning as the formal entrance to the group. However, this has yet to be verified archaeologically.

While no known archaeological excavations have occurred within Group 78 prior to 2013, some ground disturbance is evident on the eastern boundary of Structure 79. Oriented north-south, this disturbance measures approximately 2 metres by 3 metres and is visible in the form of backfilled area of ground. The presence of this disturbance suggests that some archaeological testing of the group may have occurred but may have not been previously reported. It is possible that it was undertaken as part of excavations carried out between 2002 and 2004 when many of the Xno’ha buildings were test excavated to determine their age and phases of construction.

Xno’ha – Summary of Previous Archaeological Investigations

The long-term goal of the archaeological inquiry at Xno’ha Group 78 is to build on previous work first undertaken by Jason Gonzales between 2002 and 2004 (Gonzales 2005a and 2005b); to construct a ‘domestic structure database’ through the excavation of elite household groups and compounds within the settlement zone. A key question driving the inquiry at Xno’ha is how did Maya elites create, develop and maintain their power structures (see Guderjan 2013: 1-15)? It has been long argued that “gradations within archaeological remains suggest that the distinction between the elites and the non-elite is more of a continuum than a well-defined division” (Sharer 1994: 490). Remnants of “monumental earthen constructions, elaborate human burials, diverse arrays of luxury goods, and other remains… [exist] as evidence… [of the] sociopolitical complexity [among the ancient Maya]” (Sharer 1989: 166). Importantly, Xno’ha’s location mid-way between Blue Creek and Nojol Nah permits MRP to examine the dynamics of ancient Maya elite interaction at the intra-site and regional level. The establishment of such a database would also provide a basis for a comparative study of behaviour between royal elites and between royal elites and non-royal elites and commoners.

Xno’ha Excavations 2002-2004

Xno’ha was first identified in 1990 and was subsequently surveyed, mapped, and partially excavated between 2002 and 2004. The primary goal of the 2002 survey and archaeological evaluations was to determine whether Xno’ha was an autonomous centre or a subsidiary of La Milpa (Gonzalez 2003; Knippe and Gonzalez 2003). La Milpa is the largest Maya centre in close proximity to Xno’ha and was likely to be the dominant regional power during the period of its political florescence through the Late Preclassic period (300BC – 250 AD) (Guderjan 2007: 16). In 2003, Jason Gonzalez undertook test excavations in the site’s main plaza and within the limits of a proposed ballcourt (see LaLonde 2003, Gonzalez and Knippe 2004, Gonzales 2005a and 2005b). Additionally, extensive test excavations were undertaken in and around the many residential buildings located at the site (see Gonzalez 2005).

While dating has yet to establish the precise period or periods of occupation within Group 78, preliminary assessment of excavated ceramics suggest that it functioned as an elite residential complex during the Late Preclassic and Classic periods. Excavations undertaken at the site between 2002 and 2004 suggest that the site of Xno’ha was occupied from the Late Preclassic to the Terminal Classic period (300BC – 925AD). According to Gonzales (2005a: 147), analysis of ceramics obtained from construction fill contexts during the 2002, 2003 and 2004 investigations indicated that the first buildings were erected within the site core area during the Late Preclassic, with some lesser construction occurring during Late Preclassic period. Civic expansion at Xno’ha during the Early Classic period is suggested by the construction of the larger public building in the site’s core as well as some increased building in residential areas of the site; as well as landscape modifications both in the centre and the periphery of the site. Following an apparent drop in construction during the Middle to Late Classic period, there was a substantial increase in construction in the interior and on the margin of the site during the Late Terminal Classic period. All this construction, however, was restricted to the residential areas and in the form of general modifications to the landscape; no large public architecture was built during the Terminal Late Classic period (Gonzales 2005a: 147).

The relationship that Xno’ha had with regional centres such as Rio Azul and La Milpa has yet to be established; including the impact such centres had on the cultural and occupational history of the site. Gonzales proposes that an objective of future research at the site should be to determine why there was a reduction in construction at Xno’ha during the Early and late Classic periods and why there was a substantial increase in building during the Terminal Classic period. Beyond this, it remains important to establish the reasons for the site’s abandonment at the end of the Terminal Classic Period, and how this movement fits within the greater regional history of north-western Belize (Gonzales 2005a: 147).

Xno’ha Excavations 2012

In 2012, excavations continued at Xno’ha, which focused on Structure 1; a gallery style building positioned on the eastern edge of Plaza A. Structure 1 measures approximately 62 meters north-south and 23 meters east-west and is oriented 18° east off magnetic north. The building stands 4.5 metres tall and has a large central staircase leading up from Plaza A at the front of the building; there is also a staircase leading up from Plaza B at the rear. During the 2012 excavations, the areas south of the structure’s centreline were targeted, allowing a general picture of this very large building to be ascertained within the limited time available (Guderjan and Preston 2012: 24).

Excavations in 2012 resulted in the removal of overburden along the midline of Structure 1 and the exposure of the southwest corner of the building. The gallery located at the top of the basal platform measures approximately four metres wide with walls 80cm thick. The interior of the structure consists of a single room that has seven doorways on the west side of the building; three of which were unearthed during the 2012 excavations. Digging on the eastern side of the gallery also revealed multiple doorways. Very few artefacts were recovered during these stripping operations (Guderjan and Preston 2012: 25)

During the 2012 field season, a two-metre wide trench was also placed along the midline of an alleged ballcourt; at the level of the proposed playing field. The purpose of the excavation was to obtain information regarding the period of its construction and to determine how long it may have been used. The investigations undertaken during the 2013 field season were insufficient to determine the function of this building group.

Xno’ha Excavations 2013

The Purported Ball Court at Xno’ha

In 2013, MRP undertook an archaeological assessment of Pitz Nah (i.e. MRP Operation 13:01), a building complex located within the larger Maya site of Xno’ha. The building group comprises a small plazuela bounded by two parallel buildings, in addition to a peripheralstructure positioned immediately west of Structure 16 (i.e. Structure 16A). The earliest archaeological assessment (undertaken in 2002) documented this group as a ballcourt (see Lalonde 2002, Gonzales 2003, Lohse et al 2004, and Guderjan 2013). The presence of Aguila Orange ceramics identified during excavations suggested that the group was constructed during the Early Classic period. Excavations undertaken in 2012 revealed a lower platform within the plazuela, pushing the date of the earliest phase of construction back to the Preclassic period (Guderjan and Preston, 2012).

In 2013, MRP expanded the previous year’s operations at this group in order to provide a more complete understanding of the function and temporal nature of the group. Archaeological assessment revealed substantially disturbed soils as well as discrepancies in architectural features reported by Lalonde (2002).

Clarification of the 2002 findings warranted a more thorough examination into the function of the group as well as a refinement of the temporal sequencing for Structures 15 and 16 and Platform 17. The findings from the 2013 excavation revealed that the structures displayed markedly different construction phases as well as substantial differences between the two main structures represented. More specifically, the structures did not display any continuity of design or architectonic symmetry, common among ball courts in Central America (Mead, Mastropietro and LeMasters 2013: 51-52).

Excavations of a Terminal Classic Courtyard Structure at Xno’ha

In 2013, a small Courtyard Group, designated Group 63, was also excavated. The group comprises five small structures that surround a small plaza, located south of Structure 1 and in close proximity to the Xno’ha site core. The objective of the investigation was to generate a sample of residential architecture to compare with other sites in the region, namely Nojol Nah, Tulix Mul and Blue Creek.

Focus of the investigation was directed at Structure 67, which was completely excavated over a four-week period. The structure measures approximately eight meters long and comprises four rooms, three of which were oriented east to west. The fourth Room, oriented north-south, was assessed as being the earliest of the four rooms. All ceramic material recovered during the excavation dated to the Terminal Classic Period and all but one was built in a single construction phase. It was noted during the excavations that the entire structure was built directly onto the bedrock. This style of architecture seems prevalent at Xno’ha, while presently unknown at both Nojol Nah and Tulix Mul (Hannah Plumer 2014: 83-85)

Excavations at Group 78

The excavations were undertaken at Group 78 over a four-week period in July 2013. The purpose of the excavations was to commence exposing Structures 79 and 80 before subsequent excavations reveal the broader construction history of the group in later field seasons. The approach undertaken was to first locate the patio surface and baseline of two superstructures before broader stripping of the associated architecture. In addition to the general objectives of the fieldwork being achieved, a Late Preclassic ceramic cache (comprising 9 Sierra Red vessels) was recovered during excavations as well as an Early Classic tomb.

The Late Preclassic Ceramic Cache in Situ (as found)

Figure 4: Reconstruction of Preclassic Ceramic Cache 13-03, Vessels 2-7, East View

Preclassic Ceramic Cache

During 2013 a sub-patio ceramic deposit was uncovered during the stripping operations connected with Structure 78. Designated Xno’ha Cache 13-03, the cache consisted of 9 fragmented Sierra Red vessels dating typologically to the Late Preclassic period (300 BC-250 AD).

Found in the southeast quadrant of Sub-operation A, against the east wall of the trench, the most intact portion of the cache (Vessels 2 to 7) were found at a depth of 110 cm. Highly fragmented Vessels 1, 8 and 9, were located directly above this deposit. The cache measured 125 cm north-south and 50 cm east-west in its horizontal extent and 45 cm vertically. Two vessels remained in the east wall of Sub-operation A at the end of the 2013 field season.

The most ordered component of the cache was represented by 6 pots numbered 2 -7. Four of the vessels (Vessels 1, 2, 3 and 4) were staked in a lip-to-lip configuration with one vessel positioned immediately north and south of the stack. Pollen and phytolith analysis of the sediments contained within the vessels determined the following:

This sample is characterized by high frequencies of leaves from shrubs and trees, as well as herbaceous monocots, similar to the assemblage from the burial at Chum Balam Na. A trace of hat-shaped phytoliths (0.4 percent) indicates that palm fruits may have been part of the offering. A low frequency of spinulose spheres > 10µ (2.2 percent) indicate that oil extracted from A. cohune and/or R. regia may have been poured into the lower vessel. Two sponge spicules were found while scanning. Their rarity indicates that the spicules may have leaked into the vessel from the surrounding matrix. As in the Chum Balam Na sample, this isolate required oxidation (in concentrated hydrogen peroxide) to remove large amounts of microscopic plant material that were probably the result of large amounts of leaves having been placed in the cache (Bozarth 2013: 12-13).

Figure 5: Configuration of Multiple Vessel Lip-to-Lip Cache, Lot 7, Vessels 2-7, East View

Xno’ha Burial 13-01

During the excavation of Xno’ha Sub-operation B, two closely positioned capstones were revealed overlying a human burial at the western end of the excavation. The poor condition of the burial chamber suggested that the tomb may have succumbed to compression from the surrounding construction fill. Excavation revealed a burial cavity measuring 110 cm by 65 cm containing the individual interred in a flexed position facing eastward with the head oriented to the south. Some of the more distinguishable skeletal remains were a partial cranium and several long bones, which included an ulna, radius, humerus and femur. A highly fragmented pelvis was also identifiable; in addition there were bone fragments and several teeth that were recovered during sieving of the burial deposits. As formal analysis of the remains has yet to be undertaken, it is unclear whether it will be possible to determine the age and gender of the individual, due primarily to the poor condition of the remains.

One highly degraded and non-diagnostic fragment of pottery, probably associated with the surrounding construction fill, was recovered while excavating Lot 6. Additionally, two marine shells and a jade cylinder bead were also found. The mottled whitish-green jade bead (measuring 60 mm long and 25 mm thick) was found positioned between the ulna/radius and the cranium of the individual. The bore drilled through the length of the bead measured 6 mm. The marine shells were recovered whilst sieving the burial deposits. It is clear that the floor, below which the burial had been placed, corresponded to an earlier construction phase of the patio group.

Xno’ha Excavations 2014

Building Group 78 – Excavation Method and Stratigraphy

The excavations at Group 78 were undertaken over an eight-week period commencing in early June and finishing at the end of July 2014. Due to time constraints, the excavations were undertaken by two teams of volunteers led by MRP Staff and interns. Ian Lemasters and Holly Lincoln led one team that focused on the continued stripping operation of Structures 79 and 80, which began the previous year (see Lemasters and Lincoln, this volume). The excavation in the patio area was supervised by Alexander Parmington whose qualifications include a Doctorate in Maya Archaeology from La Trobe University, Australia.

Excavations were undertaken at Xno’ha Group 78 Patio from the 1^st of July to the 29^th of July utilizing teams of volunteers, numbering 6-8, over two consecutive 2 week sessions (i.e. Sessions 3 and 4); participants included local workers from San Felipe as well as volunteers from the United States. The Session 3 volunteers were Fidel Cruz, Kevin Austin, Megan Weldy, Jack Magee, Emily Prichard, Julia Mahr, Shelby Betz, and Beth Eraul; the Session 4 volunteer participants were Katie Wahler, Mariela Mendoza, Douglas Reithmuller, Romano Derosa, and Chabli Bravo. What follows is a description of the excavations, which were undertaken in accordance with the research objectives and ‘Specific Planned Activity’ items 1 and 4 as out lined in the 2014 research proposal:

Specific Planned Activity items 1 and 4

1. Excavations of elite residential groups. As part of our ongoing concern with the events and processes of abandonment, we propose to continue stripping excavations of several elite residences at Xno’ha, Nojol Nah and Tulix Mul Blue Creek. The major effort will be at Xno’ha, where we will continue investigating elite residences associated with the main plaza.” (see Guderjan 2014: 2).

4. Continuation of excavations at Xno’ha. A major part of our long-term planning is to enhance our understanding of regional processes of interaction and abandonment. Earlier research at Xno’ha focused on similar questions but did not address acquisition of data from the Central Precinct. We undertook first excavations in 2012 and in 2013 found that the buildings believed to be a ballcourt was not. We will continue these excavations in 2014.”(see Guderjan 2014: 3).

Eight sub-operations were excavated in the Building Group 78 Patio area during the 2014 field season (i.e. A, B, M, N, O, P, T and U) [Note: in this report, Lots Q 62 and Q 67 have been redesignated P 62 and P 67]. In the following discussion, profile drawings, figures and plans will be presented for the sub-operations and lots; lots being the smallest provenance designations recorded. Figure 6 provides a key for the locations of the sub-operations and their positions relative to the structures they were assigned to investigate. All of the sub-operations excavated measured 2 metres by 4 metres, with exception of Sub-operation P and U, which were excavated to chase out (i.e. determine the extent) of cultural deposits (see Figure 6).

Each sub-operation was placed so that its long axis ran parallel to the sub-operations excavated in 2013. Due to the prospective depths of the excavations and concerns regarding access and stability of the excavations, the 2 metre by 4 metre sub-operations were each separated by a 50 cm balk. During excavations, four primary stratigraphic layers were identified; overlayed by a humus of amassed soils. Each related to different phases of the patio’s construction. The humic layer within all sub-operations generally consisted of a moist brownish-grey silty loam with abundant tree roots and gravels throughout. The underlying rubble generally consisted of poorly sorted limestone cobble mixed with limestone and silty soils. All boundaries between gravels and soils were relatively diffuse with moderate to abundant root disturbance apparent throughout the upper fill.

All lots were excavated stratigraphically; each is discussed numerically under the relevant sub-operation header (see below). Due to the disturbed nature of the upper deposits, all excavation of the upper structural fill was undertaken with a mattock, hand pick, and shovel. Additionally, while all associated ceramic and lithic artefacts were collected and assigned relevant Lot numbers, only every fourth bucket of excavated humus was dry-screened. Every second bucket of soils collected below humic level was screened, while 100% screening of subsoils was limited to those lots with in-situ deposits.

All architectural features and special deposits were excavated by trowel, hand-pick, brush and pan; they were also progressively documented and digitally photographed. The X, Y and Z coordinates for all in-situ cultural material was recorded with tape and compass. Vertical control was achieved and maintained with a transit. Excavation of the structures were undertaken systematically; for example, when an architectural feature or special deposit was identified, the archaeological investigation determined the horizontal extent of the deposit, or find, before proceeding downward through the underlying strata. Where applicable, soil samples were collected for pollen and phosphate testing as was the case with the Sub-operation P and the Sub-operation U (see relevant sections below). Human remains were excavated with dental tools, small plastic spatulas and brushes to minimise damage to the bone during excavation. Where possible, lots were dated by the associated ceramics (analyses provided by Colleen Hanratty).

Figure 6: Plan of Excavations, Xno’ha Group 78 – Patio Area. Courtesy MRP

Xno’ha Operation 13-02, Sub-operation M – Lots 51, 54, 60, 66, 68 and 88

Oriented east-west, Xno’ha Sub-operation M comprised a 4 metre by 2 metre trench located south of sub-operation B and Structure 80 (see Figure 6). The objective of Xno’ha Sub-operation M was to investigate the external patio area of Building Group 78. This included verifying the presence of a suspected floor that was detected during the excavation of Suboperation B in 2013. Located immediately north of Sub-operation M, associated with this floor, was a large ceramic deposit that was located in the east of the sub-operation.

The excavation of Sub-operation M was undertaken to a maximum depth of 120 cm below surface level and began with the removal of the overburden resulting from the accumulation of soils and plant decomposition. This was followed by the excavation of the underlying construction fill revealing two floor surfaces. Two capstones covering what turned out to be a Late Preclassic tomb (see Sub-operation U, Lot 96) were also found during the excavation of Sub-operation M as well as the remains of a large Late Preclassic vessel (see Lots 51, 54, 60, 66, 68 88 and Figures 8 and 9).

Lot 51 – Removal of Humus

Occasional chipped stone (i.e. lithics) and ceramic fragments were unearthed, collected and bagged during the excavation of Lot 51. The excavation of Lot 51 extended to a depth of 45 cm. The compaction of the soil was found to be loose, comprising moist dark-brown silty loam (5YR 3/1) with frequent course limestone pebbles and cobbles. Cortical cert and abundant roots were found throughout the deposit. The relative percentage of the pebbles/cobbles to soil matrix was estimated to be 30% and 70% respectively. Removal of the humic layer exposed increasing cobble composed primarily of limestone. No formal surface to the patio was identified during the excavation of Sub-operation M, Lot 51. The lot was closed following the detection of a substantial increase of cobble material.

Lot 54 – Patio Construction Fill and Preclassic Pot

Lot 54 comprised loose dark greyish-brown soils (10YR 4/2) with limestone and chert cobble, the relative percentages of cobble and soil was 70% and 30% respectively. Artefactual material comprised infrequent chipped stone artefacts and ceramic sherds. The remains of a Late Preclassic pot measuring approximately 25 cm in diameter, was detected in the east profile of the sub-operation; located at the interface between the primary humic layer and the underlying cobble fill. Even though the vessel was highly fragmented, its vertical (upright) orientation could be discerned during excavation. Only a portion of the vessel was recovered during the excavation of Lot 54. Recovering any remaining vessel fragments will require extending Sub-operation M eastward. Lot 54 was excavated to a maximum depth of 65 cm and ceased when an increase in the size of underlying ballast was identified. Lot 54 was closed when large rubble was detected representing the primary construction fill for the latest phase of the patio’s construction.

Lot 51, East Profile, Late Preclassic Jar Offering

Lot 60 – Patio Construction Fill and Capstones

Large boulders of chert and limestone were identified during the excavation of Lot 60. The matrix in between the boulders comprised moist dark grey brown silty loam (10YR 4/2) loam with infrequent poorly sorted cobbles and pebbles. Percentages of soils verses ballast material was 20% and 80% respectively.

Occasional chipped stone (i.e. lithics) and ceramic fragments were unearthed, collected, and bagged during the excavation of Lot 60. Lot 60 extended to a maximum depth of 85cm and terminated following an apparent reduction in the size and frequency of ballast material, the discovery of several pieces of fragmented bone, and the identification of two capstones located in the south-west quadrant of the sub-operation. The bone fragments were found in association with what was initially thought to be a disturbed burial on the east side of the sub-operation. Oriented north-east, the burial was suggested by two rows of stones that appeared to be set in a parallel configuration. It was originally believed that the stones may have once been positioned to support capstones and contain human remains; however, further inquiry could not verify this proposal nor discount the possibility that the stones were simply residual cobble material suspended in the surrounding soil matrix.

Lot 66 – Exposure of Remnant Floor

Occasional chipped stone (i.e. lithics) and ceramic fragments were unearthed, collected, and bagged during the excavation of Lot 66. Lot 66 comprised a greyish-brown fine grained silty loam (7.5YR 5/1) with inclusions of limestone ranging in size from 5-30cm in their maximum dimension. Excavation of Lot 60 exposed a grey silty relatively free of rock suggesting the excavation was on or approaching a remnant floor surface. Several fragments of bone as well as a medial obsidian blade were found while dry sieving the deposits. During excavation, the fragments of bone and obsidian blade were viewed as potential floor deposits. The excavation of Lot 66 ceased following the identification of the suspected floor deposit, which corresponded to the elevation of the remnant floor surface identified during the excavation of Sub-operation B Lot 4 in 2013, which approximated 89.85 metres above sea level. Lot 66 reached a maximum depth of 110 cm.

Lot 68 – Excavation of Floor

The objective of Lot 68 was to excavate the floor identified during the previous lot. Occasional chipped stone and ceramic fragments were collected and bagged during the excavation of Lot 68. The remnant floor comprised a compact greyish-brown fine grained silty loam (7.5YR 5/1) with infrequent inclusions of limestone and suspended ballast material ranging in size from 5-40cm. The floor surface was poorly preserved and extended westward as far as two capstones that were exposed during the excavation of Lot 66. The termination of the floor on the eastern side of the capstones indicated that it did not extend across the entire sub-operation and that the burial (verified during the excavation of Sub-operation U), penetrated through the floor surface into the supporting construction fill. The intrusive nature of the burial was also evidenced by a concentration of cobble material, at the floor level, visible in the western profile of the sub-operation. Lot 68 reached a maximum depth of approximating 120 cm. As previously stated, the depth of the remnant floor was consistent with the level of the floor identified in the northern and neighbouring Sub-operation B, which was excavated in 2013. The excavation of Lot 68 ceased when a darkening of soil was detected as well as the reappearance of supporting cobble construction fill.

Lot 88 – Sub-floor Construction Fill

The objective of the Sub-operation 88 was to break through the remnant sub-floor construction fill to the underlying bedrock, which was identified during the excavation of Sub-operation T (see relevant sections). Lot 88 comprised a relatively thin layer of limestone and chert cobble fill suspended a matrix of dark grey-brown silty loam with increasing clay content (munsel 2.5YR 4/1); the relative percentages of cobble and soil were 80% and 20% respectively. Occasional chipped stone artefacts and ceramic fragments were collected and bagged during the excavation of Lot 88. The suspected burial, located in the east of Sub-operation M (see Lot 60), was further investigated and subsequently dismissed as a possibility, during the excavation of Lot 88. Limited time prevented the completion of the Lot 88, which will continue in 2015. Sub-operation M reached a maximum depth of 130 cm from surface level.

Xno’ha Operation 13-02, Sub-operation N – Lot 52

Oriented east-west, Xno’ha Sub-operation N was to be a 4 metre by 2 metre trench located east of sub-operation M. The objective of Xno’ha Sub-operation N was to investigate a shallow surface depression and an area of inclined ground located on the eastern side of the group (see Figure 6). The surface depression measures 4 metres north-south and 5.4 metres east-west. As previously stated, it is unclear what this surface depression is; whether it represents slumping of the building group’s patio or, alternatively, a remnant architectural feature. Initial clearing of vegetation in 2013 suggested that it may have once formed part of a terraced approach, functioning as the formal entrance to the group. Unfortunately, time constraints prevented the excavation of Suboperation N beyond general clearing of surface vegetation. It is projected the excavation of Sub-operation N will continue in 2015.

Xno’ha Operation 13-02, Sub-operation O – Lots 55, 59, 70, 72 and 105

Oriented east-west, Xno’ha Sub-operation O comprised a 4 metre by 2 metre trench located immediately west of sub-operation B and south of Structure 80 (see Figure 6). The objectives of Xno’ha Sub-operation O were generally consistent with Sub-operation M: to investigate the external patio fronting Building Group 78. This included verifying the presence and extent of a floor that was detected during the excavation of Suboperation B in 2013 as well identify any associated architectural features if present. Additionally, it was decided that further excavation of the patio fronting Structure 80 may uncover cache deposits associated with the dedication of Structure 80 and/or any earlier construction phases of the building group.

The excavation of Sub-operation O and was undertaken to a maximum depth of 140cm below surface level and began with the removal of the overburden resulting from the accumulation of soils and plant decomposition. This was followed by the excavation of successive spits of platform construction fill. The excavation of Sub-operation exposed what is currently believed to be a small bench or platform (see Lots 55, 59, 70, 72 and 105).

Lots 55 and 59 – Removal of Humus

Infrequent chipped stone and fragmented ceramics were unearthed, collected and bagged during the excavation of Lots 55 and 59. The excavation of Lots 55 and 59 was undertaken in arbitrary spits of 30-40 cm and extended to a maximum depth of 70 cm. The compaction of the soil was consistent with Sub-operation M and was found to be loose comprising moist dark brown silty loam (5YR 3/1) with frequent roots and occasional course limestone pebbles and cobbles. Small cortical chert cobbles were also found throughout Lots 55 and 59. The relative percentage of the pebbles/cobbles to soil matrix was estimated to be 20% and 80% respectively. Removal of the humic layer exposed increasing cobble composed primarily of limestone. No formal surface to the patio was identified during the excavation of Lots 55 and 59. There was gradual lightening of the soils as Sub-operation progressed deeper. Lot 59 was closed following the removal of the primary root zone as well as the detection of an apparent increase in the frequency of pebble and cobble material.

Lot 70 – Exposure of Plastered Surface

Lot 70 comprised loose mid Greyish-brown loam (7.5YR 5/1) mixed with a concentration of moderately sorted pebble and cobble material. Infrequent lithics and ceramic fragments were unearthed, collected and bagged during the excavation of Lot 70. Excavation of Lot 70 ceased at a maximum depth of 100 cm from surface level; following the detection of the compact plaster surface at the centre of the sub-operation. This plaster surface was initially thought to be a floor but is now believed to be a potential bench following the excavation of subsequent lots (see Lots 72 and 105). Lot 70 was closed and a new lot assigned, following the identification of the compact plastered surface. This was done to separate any potential cultural deposits associated with the surface of this feature (see Lot 72).

Lot 72 – Cut in Plaster Surface and Remnant Wall

The excavation of Lot 72 revealed a plaster surface in the central area of Sub-operation O. The plaster feature measures approximately 2 m east-west (the northern and southern extent of the feature has yet to be determined) and is bounded on the east by a line of stones suggesting the presence of a rudimentary wall. The plaster feature is delineated on the west by a north-south oriented cut. During excavation, an additional thin covering of plaster was found extending from the cut. The western profile of the sub-operation suggested that it may have been capping something below. The Lot was closed following the identification of the cut, the additional plaster surface, and the remnant wall located on the east side of the sub-operation.

Lot 105 – Exposure of Bench Feature

The objective of Lot 105 was to investigate a cut found adjacent to a plaster feature, which was identified during the exaction of Lot 72. The Excavation of Lot 105 revealed a 40 cm high bench-like feature, located in the central area of Sub-operation O. A remnant plaster floor was also found lipping up to the bench on its western side. An examination of the cut revealed no overlying cultural deposits other than construction fill. Excavation around the feature reaffirmed the presence of the rudimentary wall abutting the eastern side of the bench; the western side of the bench was constructed from a single course of cut stone. A break in the plaster render, on the top surface of the bench, indicated that the bench is constructed primarily of cobble fill.

The excavation of Lot 105, on the eastern and western sided of the bench, extended to a maximum depth of 140 cm from the surface level. The compaction of the soil was loose comprising loose mid greyish-brown silty loam (7.5YR 5/1) mixed with frequent chert and limestone pebbles and cobbles. The relative percentage of the soil matrix to pebble/cobble material was estimated to be 20% and 80% respectively. Infrequent chipped stone and fragmented ceramics were unearthed, collected and bagged during the excavation of Lot 105. The northern and southern extent of the bench has yet to be ascertained.

Xno’ha Operation 13-02, Sub-operation P Lots 56, 57, 58, 61, 62, 67, 71, 86

The objective of Sub-operation P was to recover the remainder of Cache 13-03, which was partially excavated in 2013. During the 2013 excavations, a sub-patio cache of vessels was exposed during the stripping operations associated with Structure 78. Subsequent excavations revealed that the cache comprised at least 9 fragmented Sierra Red vessels dating typologically to the Late Preclassic period (300BC-250AD). At the end of the 2013 field season, two fragmented vessels, ordered in a lip-to-lip configuration, remained visible in the east wall of Sub-operation A at the northern end of the cache deposit. Sub-operation P was positioned immediately east of Sub-operation A (refer Figure 6). On completion, Sub-operation P measured 2.3 metres north-south and 1.4 metres east-west and reached a maximum depth of around 120 cm below surface level.

Sub-operation P began with the removal of overburden resulting from the accumulation of soils and plant decomposition. This was followed by the excavation of the underlying construction fill and the recovery of 6 complete and 10 partial vessels. All vessels were found broken and suspended in the construction fill of the patio. The highly fragmented condition of the vessels was the result of compression by the surrounding construction fill and presence of a large tree found growing directly above and down through the cache deposit (see Lots 56, 57, 58, 61, 62, 67, 71, 86).

While it remains unclear whether vessels recovered during the 2014 excavations are a component of Xno’ha Cache 13-03, it is possible that the vessels recovered during the excavation of Sub-operation P were an unrelated deposit. This is evidenced by differences in the size and configuration of the vessels recovered during the 2013 and 2014 field seasons as well as differences in the elevations of both ceramic deposits. Following the excavation of Sub-operation P, and subsequent lab analysis of the vessels recovered, the minimum number of individual vessels that recovered in the vicinity of Cache 13-03, increased from 9 (as documented in 2013) to 25.

Lot 56 – Removal of Humus and Tree Roots

Occasional chipped stone artefacts and ceramic sherds were unearthed, collected and bagged during the excavation of Lot 56. The excavation of Lot 56 extended to a depth of 50 cm. The compaction of the soil was found to be loose comprising moist fine dark-brown silty loam (5YR 3/1) with frequent medium sized course limestone pebbles and cobbles and abundant tree roots throughout. The relative percentage of the pebbles/cobbles to soil matrix was estimated to be 30% and 70% respectively. Removal of the humic layer exposed cobble composed primarily of limestone. The lot was closed following penetration through the primary root zone.

A choice was made during the excavation of Lot 56 not to remove the entire tree located in the vicinity of Cache 13-03; but rather, to excavate around it. This was due to concerns regarding the stability of the ground and the fragility of any remaining cached vessels: The removal of the tree would have resulted in substantial ground disturbance in the vicinity of the cache.

Lot 57 – Fill above Cache 13-03

The interface between Lot 56 and 57 was diffuse, occurring over a vertical distance of approximately 15 cm. Occasional chipped stone and ceramic fragments were unearthed, collected, and bagged during the excavation of Lot 57. Large cobbles of chert and limestone, measuring 10-60 cm, were identified during the excavation of Lot 57. The matrix in between the cobble comprised a moist grey-brown silty loam (10YR 4/2) with frequent poorly sorted pebbles and cobble. Percentages of soils verses pebble/cobble was 30% and 70% respectively. Lot 57 was excavated to a depth of 60 cm and ceased on the identification of an area of grey loam (10YR 4/2) that was free of rubble measuring approximately 120 cm north-south and 70 cm east-west.

Lot 58 – Exposure of Capstones

The objective of Lot 58 was to determine the nature of the cobble-free deposit located east of the Cache deposit identified in 2013 (see MRP 2013 field report). Excavation of Lot 58 revealed two capstones, aligned north-south, at a depth of 70 cm. On discovery of the capstones, the excavation of Lot 58 continued for the purpose of removing associate soils and exposing any underlying features. The deposit consisted of moist grey-brown silty loam (10YR 4/2), surrounding what was initially thought to be a tomb. This suggestion was later dismissed following the discovery of fragmented vessels in subsequent lots that were set in a lip to lip configuration below the capstones. Excavation of Lot 58 ceased at a depth of 100 cm, once the capstones and the surrounding ballast were fully exposed. One broken and incised dolomite bead, measuring 55 mm in maximum dimension, was recovered during the excavation of the deposit overlying the capstones.

Lot 61 – Ceramic Deposit: Cache Outer, Northwest

The purpose of Lot 61 was the recovery of two fragmented lip-to-lip vessels identified in the south profile of Sub-operation A in 2013 (see MRP field report 2013). The deposit was designated ‘Ceramic Deposit, Northwest Corner’ following the identification of additional vessels underlying a northern most capstone, which was found during the excavation of Lot 58; it was determined that the vessels beneath the capstone comprised the central portion of a larger ceramic deposit (see Lots 62 and 67). During the excavation of Lot 61, all pottery was removed with associated soils for the purpose of sampling. The supporting material comprised relatively small well sorted limestone cobble. No unusual residues were identified during excavation of the vessels. Following lab analysis, one Sierra Red bichrome bowl measuring 19 cm in diameter was reconstructed showing punctuations on the exterior, dating to the Late Preclassic period.

Lot 62 Ceramic Deposit: Cache Inner

The purpose of Lot 62 was to determine the nature of the deposit underlying two capstones that were found during the excavation of Lot 58. First suspected to be a burial, the lot was subsequently designated ‘Ceramic Deposit, Cache Inner’ when several vessels were found beneath the northern capstone, which comprised the central portion of a larger ceramic deposit (see Lots 61 and 67): On removal of the capstones, and adjacent cobble, a total of six fragmented Sierra Red vessels dating to the Late Preclassic period were recovered at a depth of approximately 80 cm from the surface level; two of which were configured in a lip-to-lip configuration and positioned directly beneath the northern most capstone. While the ordering of the remaining ‘Cache Inner’ vessels could not be ascertained (due to their high fragmentation), there was a clear concentration of vessels just north of those underling the capstones. The poor condition of the vessels suggested that the cache may have succumbed to compression from the surrounding construction fill. During the excavation of Lot 67, all pottery was removed with associated soils for the purpose of sampling. No unusual residues were identified during excavation of the vessels. The surrounding material comprised small well sorted limestone a cobble that was apparently utilised as packing to support the cached vessels. Following lab analysis, six vessels were reconstructed which ranged from 19-25cm in diameter. On recovery of the vessels beneath the capstones, it was found that the cache deposit extended eastward into the root zone of an overlying tree (see Lot 67 Ceramic Cache East Outer).

Lot 67 – Ceramic Cache: East Outer

The objective of Lot 67 was to determine the eastern extent of a ceramic deposit that was exposed during the recovery central portion of deposit underlying two capstones, which were found during the excavation of Lot 58. Lot 67 was designated ‘Ceramic Deposit, Cache East-Outer’, which comprised the eastern portion of a larger ceramic deposit (see Lots 61 and 62). A concentration of ten partial Sierra Red vessels, dating to the Late Preclassic period, was recovered during excavation of Lot 67. While the precise configuration of the eastern segment of the cache could not be ascertained (again, due to their high fragmentation), at least two vessels appeared to be in a lip-to-lip configuration. The poor preservation of the eastern component of the cache could be attributed to a large amount of disturbance due to the presence of a tree roots growing directly above and through the deposit. No unusual residues were identified during excavation of the vessels. The surrounding soil comprised a loose mid greyish-brown loam (7.5YR 5/1) mixed with moderately sorted pebble and cobble material. Following lab analysis, the partial vessels were reconstructed where possible. Estimates of vessel size ranged from 20 to 25 cm in diameter. The depth of the east-outer component of the cache was consistent with Lot 62: The vessels were recovered from a depth of approximately 80 cm from the surface level.

The Lot 67 was closed once all noticeable ceramics were recovered. Given the partial nature of all vessels recovered from the east-outer component of the cache, there remains some potential for further associated ceramic to found following the removal of the tree and when Sub-operation P is extended eastward in 2015.

Lot 71 – Cobble Below Cache Overlying Floor

Below Lots 61, 62 and 67 was a layer of cobble overlying remnant plastered floor, designated Lot 71. The deposit comprised a mid greyish-brown silty loam with large cobble ballast mixed throughout. The relative percentage of the cobbles to soil matrix (7.5YR 5/1) was estimated to be 70% and 30% respectively. During the excavation of Lot 71, a compact plaster floor was found extending across the entire sub-operation. The objective of Sub-operation 71 was to expose the plaster floor taking special note of any cultural deposits that may have been present on close to floor level. Two broken jade beads (split longitudinally) were recovered during the excavation of Sub-operation P. Measuring 16 mm and 11mm in their maximum dimension, the smaller of the two beads was found while sieving the deposits and the other was found in situ while scraping back the floor in the vicinity of the Cache 13-01. The presence of these broken beads suggests that they once comprised a component of the Cache 13-01. Lot 71 extended to a maximum depth of 120 cm-130 cm from surface level and was close once the floor was fully exposed. During the excavation of Lot 71, some degraded bone was also identified in the east wall of Sub-operation P.

Lot 86 – Bone Deposit On Floor Below Cache 13-03 East Outer

On clearing of the deposits underlying Ceramic Cache 13-03 East Outer (i.e. Lot 71), a deposit of highly degraded bone was found in the east profile of Sub-operation P at a depth of 120 cm from the surface level. The purpose of Lot 86 was to determine the nature of this bone deposit. The small area of localised bone was surrounded by a grey-brown silty loam (7.5YR 5/1) that was relatively free of any stone or cobble material. Measuring 15-20 cm east-west, the bone was highly friable; held together only by the surrounding soil matrix. It could not be determined during excavation whether the bone was human; on its removal it completely disintegrated. During the excavation of Lot 86, associated soils were bagged for the purpose of sampling.

Location: Xno’ha Operation 13-02, Sub-operation A – Lot 73

Oriented north-south, Xno’ha Sub-operation A comprised a 4-metre by 2-metre trench located on the western side of Sub-operation P (see Figure 6). Beginning in 2013, the purpose of Xno’ha Sub-operation A was to define the baseline (east side) of Structure 79. This required identifying the most recent phase of the plaza’s construction before extending northward towards the building with subsequent sub-operations. A deposit of nine Late Preclassic vessels was recovered during the excavations in the patio area of Sub-operation A. The excavations ceased at a depth of 110 cm in 2013, following removal of the cached vessels.

Excavation of Suboperation A continued in 2014 (i.e. Lot 73) to verify the presence of a floor identified during the exaction neighbouring Sub-operation P (see Lot 71). This required removal of a layer of cobble ballast approximately 20 cm thick. The excavation of Lot 73 confirmed that the floor, identified during the excavation Lot 71, did extend across Sub-operation A.

During the excavation of Lot 73, a small concentration of ceramic sherds (collectively comprising one near complete Sierra Red vessel) was recovered from the patio construction fill in the northeast quadrant of Sub-operation A. Located near the northwest boundary of Sub-operation P, the size and form of the vessel (once reconstructed) was consistent with those recovered from Lots 61, 62 and 67, indicating that it may have been a component of the Cache 13-03. However, given its positioning away from the larger Cache I3-03 deposit, this vessel may have no direct association.

Xno’ha Operation 13-02, Sub-operation T – Lots 76 & 80

Sub-operation T was undertaken to investigate the floor identified during the excavation of Sub-operations A and P (see Lots 71 and 73). To abridge the inquiry, a decision was made to consolidate Sub-operations A and P into one sub-operation. Sub-operation T comprised two lots (Lots 76 and 80), which, on excavation, revealed a heavy plaster flooring (believed to be earliest construction phase of the patio) adhered to a thin underlying layer of construction fill. This was followed by the exposure of a layer of clayey soil (see Lot 80) covering undulating bedrock. During the excavation of Lot 80 a cut was identified in the underlying bedrock in the southeast of the sub-operation; in addition to a remnant wall and fragmented Late Preclassic incensario in the north of the sub-operation. The excavation of Sub-operation T was undertaken to a maximum depth of 210 cm below surface level (see Lots 76 and 80).

Lot 76 – Penetration of Plaster

The object Lot 76 was to penetrate a plaster floor that was identified during the excavation of Lots 71 and 73 and expose any underlying construction fill. Excavation of Lot 76 revealed a floor measuring 20-30 cm thick that was adhered to a thin layer of cobble fill. The weight of the floor, combined with its close proximity to bedrock (see Lot 80), suggested that it relates to the earliest construction phase of the patio. The expanse of this early floor was suggested by the presence of a remnant floor found at a corresponding depth (see Lots 66, 71 and 73) during the excavation of Sub-operation M. It has yet to be established what relationship this early floor has with the Structures 79 and 80; although, it is certain that it corresponds to earlier phase construction. Infrequent chipped stone and fragmented ceramics were unearthed, collected and bagged during the excavation of Lot 76. The excavation of Lot 76 extended to a maximum depth of 150 cm below surface level and cease following the identification of a layer clayey soils overlying bedrock.

Lot 80 – Clay over Bedrock and Remnant Architectural Feature

The objective of the Sub-operation 80 was to excavate the soil deposit identified during the excavation of Lot 76, which comprised a dark grey-brown loam with high clay content (munsel 2.5YR 4/1). Found to be reasonably free of cobble, the relative percentages of soil and cobble/stone material were 95% and 5% respectively. Occasional chipped stone artefacts and ceramic fragments were collected and bagged during the excavation of Lot 80.

The excavation of Lot 80 revealed what appeared to be a 100 cm x 60 cm cut in the bedrock in the southeast quadrant of Sub-operation T as well as a small deposit of highly degraded bone located immediately west of this cut. In addition to these finds, a suspected remnant wall was identified immediately below the thick plaster floor at a depth of 160 cm in the north of the sub-operation. The wall comprised two single parallel courses of cut stone (chert) that were oriented in east-west. A highly fragmented Late Preclassic vessel was found in association with this architectural feature. A possible termination deposit, the form and likely function of this vessel have yet to be ascertained; however, the presence of protuberances or spikes over the vessel exterior (on occasion referred to as hobnails and thought to be symbolic of the Ceiba tree) is not an uncommon feature of Maya incensarios. The excavation of Lot 80 ceased at a maximum depth of 210 cm from surface level, once bedrock was reached. Some further excavation of Lot 80 will be required in 2015 to recover any additional pieces of the incensario that may have been missed during the excavation of Lot 80.

Following discovery of two capstones in the southwest of Sub-operation M (see Lot 60), suggesting the presence of a burial, a decision was made to extend the trench westward under a new sub-operation. Designated Sub-operation U, its purpose was to fully expose the outside of the suspected burial before lifting the capstones and excavating its interior. The excavation of the burial and the overlying deposits under a new sub-operation provided tighter control over the provenance of materials recovered during excavation. The excavation of Sub-operation U verified the presence of a burial (Tomb 14-01) containing an interred individual with an array of burial goods comprising macro botanicals, an intact Late Preclassic bird effigy incensario, and various items of body ornamentation.

Approximating 140 cm x 150 cm, the excavation of Sub-operation U was undertaken to a maximum depth of 140 cm below surface level. It began with the removal of aggraded soils resulting from plant decomposition. This was followed by the excavation of the underlying construction fill. Following this, the three capstones were subsequently removed and the interior of the burial excavated (see Lots 92, 93, and 96).

Lot 92 – Removal of Humus

Consistent with Sub-operation M, Lot 51, occasional chipped stone artefacts and ceramic fragments were unearthed, collected and bagged during the excavation of Lot 92. The excavation of Lot 92 extended to a depth of 45 cm. The compaction of the soil was found to be loose comprising moist dark fine brown silty loam (5YR 3/1) with frequent course limestone pebbles and cobbles. Cortical cert and abundant roots were found throughout the deposit. The relative percentage of the pebbles/cobbles to soil matrix was estimated to be 30% and 70% respectively. Removal of the humic layer exposed increasing cobble composed primarily of limestone. No formal surface to the patio was identified during the excavation of Sub-operation U, Lot 92. The lot was closed following the detection of a substantial increase in underlying cobble material.

Lot 93 – Construction Fill Over Burial

Lot 93 comprised loose dark greyish brown soils (10YR 4/2) with limestone and chert cobble, the relative percentages of cobble and soil was 70% and 30% respectively. Artefactual material comprised infrequent chipped stone artefacts and ceramic sherds, which were collected and bagged during the excavation. Lot 93 was excavated to a maximum depth of 85 cm and ceased when all capstones were exposed. A third capstone was identified during the excavation of Lot 93 positioned just south of the two identified during the excavation of Suboperation M Lot 60.

Lot 96 – Tomb 14-01 Interior

The objective of Lot 96 was the excavation of Tomb 14-01 interior. Removal of the three capstones revealed a thin layer of gravels over loose greyish-brown silty loam (2.5YR 4/1) free of construction fill. On excavating down into the burial cavity, which measured 120 cm north-south and 50 cm east-west and was lined with cut limestone, highly degraded human skeletal remains were identified. The first appearance of the skeletal remains occurred at a depth 0f 100 cm and ended at a depth of 140 cm from surface level. Excavation of these remains revealed a human individual interred in a flexed position facing eastward with the head oriented to the North. Some of the more distinguishable skeletal vestiges included a partial cranium and several long bones; they also included a partial radius and humerus as well as a partial femur and tibia. In addition to long bones and bone fragments, several teeth were found while sieving of the surrounding deposits. As formal analysis of the remains has yet to be undertaken, it is unclear whether it will be possible to determine the age, health and gender of the individual; this is due primarily to their poor condition of the remains. Soils samples were collected from the burial for pollen and phytolith, results of which are pending.

Grave goods found with the burial included twenty-three plant seeds from three different plant varieties. Formal identification these macro-botanicals have yet to be undertaken. The seeds were found within the soil overlying the burial; their presence suggested that related plant material was deposited with burial. This finding is generally consistent with those associated with Xno’ha Burial 13-01,which was excavated the previous year (see MRP 2013 field report). Analysis of the soil sample taken from Burial 13-01 determined the following:

The high frequency of unknown phytoliths is the result of poor preservation. No hat-shaped palm phytoliths were found. However, the frequency of spinulose spheres > 10µ (4.8 percent) indicates that oil extracted from A. cohune and/or R. regia may have been poured into the vessel. Moreover, a low frequency of sponge spicules (1.2 percent) indicates that sponges were part of the offering (Bozarth 2013: 13).

In addition to the macro botanicals, a conch shell ornament carved into a flower shape (measuring 27 mm across) was found over the midsection of the individual; together with a red coral cruciform insert. The shell ornament and coral insert were found separated from one another; it was on their recovery that it was revealed that the pieces fitted together. A large jade cylinder bead, measuring 50 mm x 10 mm, was also recovered just south of the other ornamental pieces, as well as seventeen lithic flakes weighing 112 grams and one chert uni-face weighing 632 grams. Several marine shell fragments and a redware turkey effigy incensario were also found during the excavation of the Burial 14-01.

Measuring approximately 16 cm across and 14 cm in height, a Late Preclassic bird-effigy-incensario was found during the excavation of Burial 14-01. Preliminarily assessment suggests that the vessel was designed to resemble a turkey. This is implied by the comb on the head as well as general form and posture of the creature. Oriented westward in the burial, the head of the bird is clearly visible on one side of the vessel as it projects downward over the breast of the animal. Three phalanges located around the midsection of the incensario signify the wings and tail of the bird. Both the top and base of the vessel have comparable proportions and are dish shaped. A hole, measuring approximately 70 mm across, penetrates right through the centre of the incensario.

Xno’ha Operation 13-02, Sub-operation B – Lots 77, 84, 91 and 97

The excavation of Sub-operation B continued in 2014. The primary objective was the investigation of the sub-floor deposits east of Burial 13-01. Sub-operation B comprised four lots (i.e. Lots 77, 84, 91 and 97) and was excavated to a maximum depth of 175 cm from surface level. Cleaning and close examination of the profiles, immediately adjacent to Burial 13-01, suggest that the burial was intrusive, penetrating the floor in the east of the sub-operation. The excavation of Sub-operation B also revealed a second remnant floor, which occurred at comparable depth as the first-phase-patio-floor found in Sub-operations A and P (see relevant sections).

Lot 77 – Excavation of Remnant Floor

The objective of Lot 77 was to investigate the floor identified during the excavation Lot 3 in 2013 (see MRP Field Report 2013). Occasional chipped stone and ceramic fragments were collected and bagged during the excavation of Lot 77. The remnant floor comprised a compact greyish-brown fine grained silty loam (7.5YR 5/1) with infrequent inclusions of limestone and suspended ballast material ranging in size from 5-40 cm. The floor surface was poorly preserved and extended as far as the eastern edge of the burial cavity located in the west of the sub-operation. The termination of the floor, on the eastern side of the Burial 13-01, indicated that it did not extend across the entire sub-operation and that the burial (like Burial 14-01 in Sub-operation U), penetrated through the remnant floor surface into the supporting construction fill. The intrusive nature of the burial was also evidenced by a concentration of cobble material visible in the southern profile of the sub-operation. Lot 77 reached a maximum depth approximating 105 cm. The depth of the remnant floor was consistent with the level of the floor identified in neighbouring Sub-operation M. The excavation of Lot 77 ceased when a darkening of soil was detected as well as the reappearance of supporting cobble construction fill.

Lot 84 – Sub-floor Construction Fill

The objective of the Sub-operation 84 was to excavate down through the layer of construction fill found underlying a remnant floor on the eastern side of Sub-operation B. Lot 84 comprised a relatively thin layer of limestone and chert ballast suspended a matrix of dark grey-brown silty loam with increasing clay content (munsel 7.5YR 5/1); the relative percentages of cobble and soil were 80% and 20% respectively. Occasional chipped stone artefacts and ceramic fragments were collected and bagged during the excavation of Lot 84. The excavation of Lot 84 reached a maximum depth of 120 cm from surface level and ceased on the identification of a second remnant floor found at a corresponding depth to the first-phase-patio-surface found in Sub-operations A and P (see relevant sections).

Lot 91- Sub-floor Construction Fill and First Phase Patio

The object Lot 91 was to penetrate the remnant floor that was identified during the excavation of Lots 76 and expose the underlying construction fill. Excavation of Lot 91 revealed a layer of cobble 20-30 cm thick. The absence of large amounts of cobble was the resulted of the floor’s close proximity to bedrock. Infrequent chipped stone and fragmented ceramics were unearthed, collected and bagged during the excavation of Lot 91. The excavation of Lot 91 extended to a maximum depth of 150 cm below surface level and cease following the identification of a layer clayey soils overlying bedrock.

Lot 97 – Clay over Bedrock

The objective of the Sub-operation 97 was to excavate the soil deposit identified during the excavation of Lot 97, which comprised a dark grey-brown loam with high clay content (munsel 2.5YR 4/1). Found to be reasonably free of cobble, the relative percentages of soil and cobble/stone material were 95% and 5% respectively. Occasional chipped stone artefacts and ceramic fragments were collected and bagged during the excavation of Lot 97. The excavation of Lot 97 ceased at a maximum depth of 175 cm from surface level, once bedrock was reached.

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All images courtesy Maya Research Program, unless otherwise noted.

Acknowledgements:

I would like to thank Tom Guderjan and Colleen Hanratty and all the team for the invaluable support they provided during my stay over MRP field Sessions 3 and 4 2014. This work would also not have been possible without the efforts of the workers from San Felipe as well as volunteers Fidel Cruz, Kevin Austin, Megan Weldy, Jack Magee, Emily Prichard, Julia Mahr, Shelby Betz, Beth Eraul, Katie Wahler, Mariela Mendoza, Douglas Reithmuller, Romano Derosa, and Chabli Bravo.

References

Bozarth, S. R. 2013. Blue Creek 2013 Biosilicate Report: Analysis of Biosilicates and Charred Phytoliths at Chum Balam Na, Nojol Nah, and Xno’ha North western Belize. Department of Geography University of Kansas.

Chase, A. F. and D. Z. Chase. 1992a. Mesoamerican Elites: Assumptions, Definitions, and Models. In Mesoamerican Elites, An Archaeological Assessment, edited by D. Z. Chase and A. F. Chase: 3–17. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press.

González, J. J. 2003. Cultural Landscapes, Cultural Identity: Settlement at Ixno’Ha, Belize. pages 39-43 Blue Creek Regional Political Ecology Project: 2001 And 2002 Research Summaries, edited by Jon C. Lohse. Maya Research Program, Fort Worth, Texas.

González, J. J, and H Knippe. 2004. Ixno’ha Excavation Report, 2003. Pages 33-52. Blue Creek Regional Political Ecology Project 2003 Seasonedited by Jon C. Lohse. Maya Research Program, Fort Worth, Texas.

González, Jason J. 2005 2004 Ixno’ha Excavation Report , pages 108-158. In 2004 Season Summaries of the Blue Creek Regional Political Ecology Project, edited by Jon C. Lohse and Kerry L. Sagabiel. Maya Research Program, Fort Worth, Texas.

Guderjan, T and Hanratty. C . 2014. The 22nd annual report of the Blue Creek Archaeological Project. Maya Research Program, University of Texas at Tyler.

Guderjan, T.H., R. J. Lichtenstein, et al. 2003. Elite Residences at Blue Creek, Belize. In Maya Palaces and Elite Residences: An Interdisciplinary Approach, edited by J. Joyce Christie: 13–45. Austin, University of Texas Press.

Guderjan, T. H. 2007. The Nature of a Maya City: Resources, Interaction and Power at Blue Creek, Belize. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.

Guderjan T. H. 2013. Archaeological Research Proposal for Blue Creek Nojol Nah, and Xno’ha.

Kanippe, H. and J. J, González. 2003 Small Sites Versus Large Sites: Questioning Maya Political and Economic Settlement Relationships pages 44-49 Blue Creek Regional Political Ecology Project: 2001 And 2002 Research Summaries, edited by Jon C. Lohse. Maya Research Program, Fort Worth, Texas.

Kowalski, J. K. 2003. Evidence for the Functions and Meanings of some Northern Maya Palaces. In Maya Palaces and Elite Residences: An Interdisciplinary Approach, edited by J. Joyce Christie: 204–253. Austin, University of Texas Press.

Lalonde, D. 2002. Ixno’Ha 2002 Season Excavation Summary pages 50-52. Blue Creek Regional Political Ecology Project: 2001 And 2002 Research Summaries, edited by Jon C. Lohse. Maya Research Program, Fort Worth, Texas.

Marcus, J. 1992b. Royal Families, Royal Texts: Examples from the Zapotec and Maya. In Mesoamerican Elites, An Archaeological Assessment, edited by D. Z. Chase and A. F. Chase: 221–241. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press.

Mead, K., G. Mastropietro and I. LeMasters. 2014. Pitz Nah Or Ma’ Pitz Nah, That Is The Question – 2013 Excavations at a Purported Ball Court at Xnoha. In The 22^nd annual report of the Blue Creek Archaeological Project. Maya Research Program, University of Texas at Tyler.

Parmington, A. 2013. Excavations Undertaken at Xnoha Building Group 78. In The 22nd annual report of the Blue Creek Archaeological Project. Maya Research Program, University of Texas at Tyler

Plumer, H. 2014. Excavations of a Terminal Classic Courtyard at Xnoha. In The 22^nd annual report of the Blue Creek Archaeological Project. Maya Research Program, University of Texas at Tyler.

Preston, T and T Guderjan. 2013. 2012 Excavations at Xno’ha. The 21st annual report of the Blue Creek Archaeological Project. Edited by Thomas H. Guderjan and C. Colleen Hanratty. Maya Research Program, University of Texas at Tyler.

Sanders, W. T. 1992. Ranking and Stratification in Prehispanic Mesoamerica. In Mesoamerican Elites, An Archaeological Assessment, edited by D. Z. Chase and A. F. Chase: 278– 291. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press. Sharer, R. J. 1994. The Ancient Maya [Fifth Edition]. Stanford, California, Stanford University Press.

Schele, L. and P. Mathews. 1998. The Code of Kings: The Language of Seven Sacred Temples and Tombs. New York, Scribner.

Sharer, R. J. 1994. The Ancient Maya [Fifth Edition]. Stanford, California, Stanford University Press

Uncovering the Secrets of Cosma

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Dan McLerran -

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.

Cáceres District, Nepeña Valley, Peru—Nestled within a basin and surrounded on three sides by ridges of the Cordillera Negra Mountains of north-central Peru, the tiny village of Cosma stands out with rows of pastel colored, closely-packed buildings—teal, yellow, white, lime-green, red—an assortment of colors that many in the U.S. might associate with a beach town. It closely connects to another small settlement known as Collique. Separated only by a five-minute walk on a dirt road, together these villages total only about 80 people; and much like many other small rural communities in this part of Peru, the people here are mostly farmers and pastoralists—their richly cultivated lots and fields can be seen nearby. But recently they have been playing host to a small team of archaeologists, students and volunteers who are excavating evidence of a civilization that left its mark here perhaps more than 3,000 years ago.

It began almost by accident.

A Fortuitous Discovery

“I was revisiting prehistoric sites in the upper Nepeña Valley originally surveyed by Richard Daggett and Donald Proulx in the 1970s,” says Kimberly Munro, an Andean archaeologist and PhD student in Geography and Anthropology at Louisiana State University. Munro has been excavating and conducting research in Peru, primarily in the highland areas. “These sites were mostly ridge-top occupations, and based on Daggett’s report, showed evidence of highland-coastal interaction; a topic of interest for me for my own dissertation research.” A local school principal from the town of Salitre clued her in to a “large Inca site and a hilltop fortress known as Iglesia Hirca” near Cosma. She decided to explore the tip.

“There is no public transport up the mountain to the town of Cosma, so we had to hitch a ride with the delivery truck that goes up once a week with the community’s supplies,” said Munro. “We were riding up on the top of the truck and when it took that last bend in the road before Cosma, I caught a glimpse of Karecoto [the local name of a large mound] for the first time—and honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I knew it wasn’t natural, or Inca, and its massive size and composition was reminiscent of [ancient Peruvian] highland centers. Even though we were in the upper reaches of the coastal valley, we were still in a coastal valley, and this was something different from what we had seen throughout the rest of Nepeña.”

What Munro saw was actually one of several ancient sites that, together, bespoke a possible associated complex of structures with beginnings at least as long ago as ancient Peru’s “Early Horizon” period (900 – 1 BCE). She knew this after her inspection of the mounds and survey of surface ceramics and other finds at the sites during the summer of 2013: “From the density and styles of the ceramics, and the different archaeological components, I believe Cosma has been continuously occupied since at least the Early Horizon.”

The largest of the three mounds in the complex, Karecoto, measures about 250 meters long and 70 meters wide, and features an underground gallery and truncated top. The top is flat, and Munro describes its location as including walls and domestic structures surrounded by what appear to be prehistoric canals. About 600 meters south of the large mound and across a ravine is a smaller mound, known as Ashipucoto, which features signs of exposed architecture at its top due to looting. Above Ashipucoto to the south is a ridgeline that supports what is interpreted as the domestic area of the site and, following the ridgeline about 1,000 meters up is an Inca occupation known as Caja Rumi, which features large boulders, more ancient terraces, and more domestic walls and architecture. Finally, perched atop an opposite ridge overlooking Karecoto and the village of Cosma is the third mound known as Kunka, and Iglesia Hirca, a hilltop fortress-like structure. The three mounds, excluding the Inca occupations, are tentatively dated by Munro to the Early Horizon Period.

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The town of Cosma, with the Cordillera Negra mountains in the background. The town has early 18th century Spanish colonial origins. It is listed by the district municipality as being “the oldest town in the department of Ancash.” Photo credit Kimberly Munro.

The Nepeña river, Nepeña valley, and the Cosma location (right of center) in this image, with map inset showing Cosma location within the Cáceres District, Department of Ancash, north-central Peru. Image credit Kimberly Munro.

Map of the basin with all major site elements, including the villages of Cosma and Collique. Courtesy Kimberly Munro and the Cosma Archaeological Project

View of the Karecoto and Ashipucoto mounds relative to each other within the research area. Photo credit Kimberly Munro.

Interior view of the Karecoto mound gallery. Photo credit Kimbery Munro.

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Excavation

The Cosma complex holds great interest for Munro, not only because of its buried structures and artifacts, but because of what it could mean for a better understanding of ancient Peruvian lifestyles and sociocultural dynamics.

“Cosma is located in an ecological region which has largely been ignored by researchers,” Munro says. “When people have looked at highland-coastal interactions, they typically have focused on either end of the spectrum, either by studying coastal sites or sites located within high altitude basins.” The Cosma sites, because of their location in the upper reaches of the coastal river valley, could offer a glimpse into ancient inter-regional interactions that many other sites could not afford.

Teaming up with Lic. Jeisen Navarro, a professional Peruvian archaeologist and co-director of the new project, and Dr. David Chicoine of Louisiana State University, Munro began the first excavation season in earnest during the summer of 2014.

It was not easy.

“Cosma is just physically hard to get to,” said Munro. “There is no public transportation, so organizing the logistics of field work and arranging to get supplies and the crew up to the site was a challenge.” Initial access and then going from one location to another within the area of investigation meant negotiating steep mountainous terrain. The excavation sites were overgrown with cacti and bushes, which, at first, would not be an unusual condition for an archaeological site. But this team was small. They needed help from the local community. The villagers warmly obliged, and it cut the initial clearing operation time from perhaps several weeks to only one.

Once they had the clearing behind them, the team began cleaning off architecture that had been previously exposed at the Karecoto and Ashipucoto mounds by looters’ pits. This gave clues about each of the mounds’ architectural elements and where the excavators could set their first test pits and excavation units. Three test pits and five full excavation units were opened up at Karecoto. Later, they were also able to open up one excavation unit at Ashipucoto.

“The main purpose of the first season was to establish a site chronology,” Munro continued. “We wanted to see the dates of the ceremonial mounds and whether they were utilized or built contemporaneously, or if they were each built and occupied during different time periods. We also wanted to get a good understanding of the spatial and architectural elements of the mounds in order to better understand the complexity of the site. We spent a good deal of time mapping with a total station, and hiking around the area/hillsides to GPS the architecture and tombs which we couldn’t reach with a total station.”

As excavation progressed, the picture of the mounds began to emerge, along with a few surprises. They found that the underground gallery at Karecoto, the big mound, features stairs leading down into the gallery opening. The top-most portion or phase of the mound was apparently constructed as a circular platform and wall. Within the mound was evidence of another, smaller, circular wall. As test pit results showed, it appeared that the circular platform and the built-up general platform upon which it was constructed were both contemporaneous, having been built and utilized during the same time period. The overall structure of Karecoto ws beginning to come into focus. As co-director Navarro-Vega described it: “Think of Karecoto like a cake resting on a table, and there are three different levels total. The first is the long built-up platform, which measures 250 meters in length but only a few meters high. That could be compared to the “table” the cake is resting on. Then there is the built-up mound proper, which at its peak is 18 meters in height. This is a two-tiered cake. The bottom level is wider, and fatter, and could serve more people. The top level is the small circular platform we recorded and where the underground gallery is located.”

But perhaps the biggest developments came at Ashipucoto. Here, the team uncovered a large circular room with a diameter of about 6 meters. “The architecture was spectacular, with smoothed/worked stones comprising a wall that was over 7ft high,” said Munro. “We also discovered intrusive tombs from the Late Intermediate Period (1100- 1470 CE) dug into the mound construction—which was originally constructed much earlier—during at least the Early Horizon (900-200 BCE).” The excavators found that the room appeared to have been purposely filled with small rocks and then covered with a hard compact clay fill. “Not a single artifact was found in our excavations of the room fill, so it’s possible this was an area which was ritually cleaned before the room was sealed off,” continued Munro. “The intrusive burials on Ashipucoto are also intriguing since they illustrate the continuous occupation at the site over millennia.” Associated with the burials were fineware vessels like Chimú pottery and face-neck vessel jars, objects thought to originate from coastal areas. The Chimú culture arose around 900 CE and influenced Nepeña from about 1100 to 1470 CE (the Late Intermediate Period). More broadly, the Chimu Empire conquered the central and north coast of Peru between the Pacific and the western slopes of the Andes. Said Munro, “this is different from Karecoto, where it appears that at least on the mound proper, activity and use stopped by the Early Horizon” as much as a millennium before.

Another major find: The three mounds, Karecoto, Ashipucoto, and Kunka, appear to be aligned in a north-south direction. Although they already suspected this based on satellite imagery and images from the 2013 survey, on-the-ground mapping during the first full excavation season confirmed it. “The line is just 3 degrees west of a N-S axis,” Munro stated. What was the significance of this alignment to the ancient Cosmenos, the people of Cosma who lived here so long ago? The question will no doubt anchor further research.

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Profile view of the main mound of Karecoto. Photo credit Kimberly Munro.

Field crew excavating on Karecoto. Note vegetation overgrown on Kareocoto platform. Photo credit Kimberly Munro.

Exposed section of wall and archaeologists Jeisen Navarro and Craig Dengel excavating on top of Karecoto mound. Photo credit Kimberly Munro.

The interior wall/room excavated on Karecoto. Photo credit Kimberly Munro.

Above and below: Stairway leading into gallery within Karecoto. Photo credit Kimberly Munro.

Prepared floors in the profile of a test pit. Courtesy Cosma Archaeological Project.

3D imaging of Karecoto made from total station points collected during the 2014 season. Courtesy Kimberly Munro and the Cosma Archaeological Project.

Ashipucoto (foreground with soccer field) and Karecoto on the landscape. Photo credit Kimberly Munro.

Wall of the circular room within Ashipucoto revealed. Photo credit Kimberly Munro.

Detailed view of circular room wall at Ashipucoto. Photo credit Kimberly Munro.

Archaeologist and project co-director Jeisen Navarro mapping the interior circular room in Ashipucoto. Photo credit Kimberly Munro.

The mounds align on a nearly north-south axis. Courtesy Kimberly Munro and the Cosma Archaeological Project.

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Looking Ahead

The end of the 2014 season barely made a dent in what the Cosma team still had before them—a complex of ceremonial mounds, domestic structures, burials, and other features that altogether likely span a period of over 3,000 years, most of which still remains hidden beneath overgrowth and soil. But it was an auspicious start.

“Plans for next year are to expand our excavations at Karecoto,” says Munro. “I’d like to put in a larger trench to see if we can locate the stairway up the mound summit, and the end of the underground gallery. Our 2014 findings have shown us that Karecoto was mainly utilized during the Initial Period (1800/1500 BCE – 900 BCE) and Early Horizon, and the final capping episode on the mound summit happened during the Early Horizon. We located two separate floor levels, but due to the soil composition, which is very compact, very hard clay, we were only able to get down 9 feet within Karecoto. The mound was mapped at 18 meters high. So our understanding of the complexity of this structure is still very minimal.“

At Ashipucoto, Munro and colleagues want to continue excavating the circular room to identify internal elements and features and recover artifacts. Because this room was found on the west side of the mound, the team also has plans to excavate another large unit on the other side of the mound to determine if there are any other rooms or structures.

For the third mound, Kunka, time simply ran out. It remains relatively unexplored. But in 2015, they plan to dig a test pit there to establish the chronology. “Surface artifacts and architecture initially made us believe this mound is of later construction (Early Intermediate Period), but we won’t know for sure till we are able to peel back the layers of the mound,” says Munro.

Ultimately the researchers want to expand on the work here to develop an understanding of the nature and complexity of inter-regional interactions in the upper Nepeña valley, the overall geographic context of the Cosma sites. Cosma will be a key to developing this understanding, not the least of which is the alluring mystery of its location: “The site is located in an isolated area that is hard to reach. Why was a major monumental center constructed in that area instead of along one of the major prehistoric trade routes of the valley?” asks Munro. The key might rest within the bigger picture of what was happening here in terms of the sociocultural dynamics. “I’d really like to help shed light on intermediary zones and their importance within larger scale politics and interaction networks.”

Stone points found during excavations at Karecoto. Courtesy Kimberly Munro and the Cosma Archaeological Project.

Ceramic effigy fragment recovered from Ashipucoto. Courtesy Kimberly Munro and the Cosma Archaeological Project.

Ceramic panpipe fragment recovered from Karecoto. Courtesy Kimberly Munro and the Cosma Archaeological Project.

Chimú face-neck vessel shown to team by local community member, originally recovered from Ashipucoto. Courtesy Kimberly Munro and the Cosma Archaeological Project.

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Readers who are interested in learning more about the Cosma Archaeological Project or who desire to participate in the excavations are encouraged to go to the project website.

The Cosma Archaeological Project has also partnered with the local community leaders in Cosma to provide medicines, school supplies, dental care products, and funding for community development projects, such as repairing buildings, creating irrigation canals, and installing bathrooms and showers. Go to this website for more information and to donate.

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The Cosma Archaeological Project Field Team

Project Co-Director Kimberly Munro

Kimberly Munro is a PhD student at Louisiana State University. She has seven years of Cultural Resources Management (CRM) experience working for the United States Forest Service and the National Park Service. She also has spent five field seasons in the Andes, primarily on the north coast of Peru and the Peruvian central highlands. She has worked as an instructor both in the field and in the classroom, and plans to continue long-term investigations of the complexity of inter-regional interactions in the upper Nepeña River Valley.

Project Co-Director Jeisen Navarro Veiga

Jeisen Navarro has 20 years of experience working in northern Peru and is a member of the Registro Nacional de Arqueológos del Perú (RNA). He has co-directed dozens of projects and was most recently co-director of the Samanco archaeological project in the Coastal Nepeña Valley.

Project Advisor Dr. David Chicoine

Dr. David Chicoine is an Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University. He earned his PhD from the University of East Anglia in 2007. Chicoine has over 10 years of experience working on the Peruvian north coast and has a long term research project at the site of Caylán, in the lower Nepeña Valley. His research has focused on the design and use of architectural spaces, modes of social interactions, foodways, funerary practices, visual arts, religious symbolism, and marine exploitation. Dr. Chicoine will be advising on the project, and all university credits for the field school will be offered and overseen by him.

The 2014 Field Team

Above images courtesy Cosma Archaeological Project

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Digging Vampires

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Michael Gordon -

It must have been a thrill when the discoverers first realized that what they had uncovered in a barn in northwestern Pennsylvania in the 1980’s was the long-lost 541-page original manuscript of Bram Stoker’s famous classic novel, Dracula. Purchased later by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen, the manuscript now rests in his personal library. Years later, another thinner, unmarked book was finally recognized for what it was on a shelf in Stoker’s grandson’s home—it was Stoker’s private journal, where he entered some of his first thoughts while imagining his legendary story of his Count Dracula character.

There is something of a popular draw to Stoker’s creation, and numbers tell it: Most recently, a first edition copy of Stoker’s Dracula, signed with the words “…. with Uncle Bram’s love 15 July 1897”, sold for $46,000 on January 31, 2013 at auction in the U.K. It was inscribed to the novelist and playwright Lucy Clifford, who was an acquaintance of Stoker and known for her circle of famous literary friends. Sold at a 190% increase over the estimated selling price, a similar edition sold just two years earlier at Christie’s for $27,258, marking a noticeable leap in value. In addition, the Rosenbach Museum in Philadelphia boasts a collection of Stoker’s original hand-written working notes (see sample left), grist that eventually found its way into his signature work. The museum now offers “hands-on” tours to an eager general public for an up-close and personal view of the documents.

Some scholarship and historicity hovers beneath the resurging popularity of Dracula and the macabre, exotic fictional vampiric population to which he belongs. Stoker based much of his creation on seven years of research in Europe, where he established contacts and collected information about folklore and stories related to vampires, a significant mythic element of central and eastern European, especially Slavic, cultures. Historical players and events certainly played a major role in this—the 15^th century Prince of Wallachia, Vlad (the “Impaler”) III of the House of Drăculești , for example, is known to have been the inspiration behind the character of Stoker’s Count Dracula.

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Portrait painting of Vlad the Impaler. Wikimedia Commons

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The remains of the castle of Vlad (the ‘Impaler’) Tepes in Romania. Wikimedia Commons

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But more fascinating still has been the evidence that archaeologists have uncovered in recent years, shedding light on the culture of vampire belief within the context of old European mythology and religious practice and Christian cultural notions of how communities and individuals addressed the presence, or potential presence, of ‘evil’ or ‘dark’ forces in their midst.

‘Vampire’ Archaeology

Archaeologists and other scientists who have exhumed the medieval and post-medieval skeletal remains of individuals in cemeteries across Europe in the course of their research have long known about burials of individuals who were thought to be potential ‘vampires’, or the ‘undead’. They know this by the peculiar features associated with the skeletal remains within the graves, objects such as sickles placed across the bodies, large stones placed over the neck or under the chins, iron bars or ‘stakes’ inserted through the chest area, or bricks or stones inserted within the cavity between the mandible and the cranium (the mouth). These have been considered indicators of apotropaic burial practices, or bodily treatments to the deceased within their coffins or graves designed to prevent them from returning to life and rising out of their graves to haunt, kill or eat the living. Only a minority of burials across Europe have exhibited these characteristics, but they have been observed in locations ranging from the British Isles in the north to Greece and Italy in the south.

Most recently, beginning in 2008, excavations carried out by an international team at the ‘Drawsko 1’ post-medieval cemetery site in northwestern Poland revealed six unusual graves, with skeletal remains dated to the 17th – 18th century showing sickles across the bodies or large rocks under the chins of select individuals, scattered among hundreds of normal burials. The researchers at the site have interpreted these to be apotropaic burials. “In Polish folklore……the soul and the body are distinct entities that separate upon a person’s death,” write Lesley A. Gregoricka of the University of South Alabama and colleagues in the report. “Souls, the majority of which are harmless, leave the body and continue to inhabit the earth for 40 days after death. However, a small minority of these souls were seen as a direct threat to the living and at risk of becoming a vampire, particularly those who were marginalized in life for having an unusual physical appearance, practicing witchcraft, perishing first during an epidemic, committing suicide, being unbaptized or born out of wedlock, or being an outsider to the community.”*

So what was it about these particular remains that could give clues about why they were treated this way? Determining ‘outsider’ status, one of the factors influencing the historical community perceptions related to potential vampirism, could be scientifically tested, and to this end, Gregoricka and her colleagues analyzed the remains of 60 of the total of 285 buried skeletal remains unearthed in the excavations, including those of five of the six “special” or deviant, apotropaic, burials. They did this by using radiometric strontium isotope analysis of dental enamel samples. This research methodology is useful because strontium isotopes are absorbed by the flora and fauna of local ecosystems (which include humans) through the weathering or breakdown of bedrock into the soils and groundwater. “Because strontium is structurally similar to calcium, as humans consume these plants and animals, small amounts of strontium absorbed by the intestines substitute for calcium in the formation of enamel and bone hydroxyapatite,” wrote Gregoricka, et al. in the report. “Strontium uptake into the human skeleton is primarily determined by these consumed foods, and because the 87Sr/86Sr ratios within these products are a direct reflection of the distinct isotopic composition of a particular region’s underlying geology, biogeochemical signatures in human dental enamel (which form only during childhood) offer a useful means of evaluating childhood geographic residence and mobility in the past.”* Powder samples of the tooth enamel were carefully removed using a fine Dremel tool for drilling, then painstakingly and methodically prepared and analyzed using time-tested methodologies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory.

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Individual 49/2012 (30-39 year old female) from the Drawsko 1 cemetery is shown with a sickle placed across the neck. Courtesy Amy Scott

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Individual 60/2010 (60+ year old female) from the Drawsko 1 cemetery is shown with a stone placed directly on top of the throat. Courtesy Gregoricka et al.

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The team’s conclusion: The ‘vampires’ were local. They did not immigrate into the community from the outside, often cited historically by residents of communities during the 17th and 18th centuries as a reason for the introduction of evil elements into the social structure. The data thus indicated that they had to be perceived with suspicion in some other way. The study authors suggest one alternate explanation could be related to the cholera epidemics in Eastern Europe during the 17th century. “People of the post-medieval period did not understand how disease was spread, and rather than a scientific explanation for these epidemics, cholera and the deaths that resulted from it were explained by the supernatural – in this case, vampires,” said Dr. Gregoricka. “Historic records describe multiple cholera epidemics that swept through Poland throughout the 17th century as a result of contaminated water……. the unusual characteristics of the Drawsko 1 cemetery – including the absence of a church (from excavations to date), the seemingly random placement of multiple overlapping graves, and poorly-fitted coffins (perhaps from rushed interment) – have hinted that the site may represent an epidemic burial ground resulting from a cholera outbreak.”*

There have been other apotropaic burial cases explained within plague-related contexts. In one instance reported in 2009, for example, Italian anthropologist Matteo Borrini of the University of Florence unearthed a curious skeleton at a mass grave site on the Venetian island of Lazarretto Nuovo. Discovered among the corpses of victims of the 1576 Venetian plague, it was that of an adult female with a brick that had been forcefully jammed into her mouth after death, likely by gravediggers during burial. Borrini explained this as evidence of the folk tradition of placing a brick or stone between the jaws of a deceased person suspected of becoming a vampire to prevent the ‘undead’ person from feeding on living individuals, thought during medieval times to be the cause of the spread of plagues like the Black Death. The plagues of Europe between the 14^th and 18^th centuries in part catalyzed a belief in vampires, primarily because gravediggers reopening the mass graves would periodically encounter decomposing bodies bloated by gas, hair still growing, and blood around their mouths. In addition, the shrouds that covered their faces were often more decayed in the mouth area because of bacteria, exposing the corpse’s teeth and creating the illusion of ‘shroud-eating’ vampires. These ‘undead’, according to medieval religious and medical texts, were thought to spread disease such as the Black Plague by sucking the blood from corpses to acquire the energy needed to go on living. “To kill the vampire you had to remove the shroud from its mouth, which was its food like the milk of a child, and put something uneatable in there,” Borrini told Daily Mail in 2012.**

But the Drawsko 1 cemetery researchers note other factors that could cast some doubt on the cholera epidemic suggestion, not the least of which revolves around the nature of the disease. “Because cholera kills quickly and does not leave behind visible markers on the skeleton,” write Gregoricka, et al., “it is unclear if this is the case at Drawsko.”*

As fascinating as these unusual burials may be, the statement mentioned above by Gregoricka and others serves to remind us of the uncertainty surrounding archaeological encounters like the Drawsko and Lazarretto Nuovo cases. David Barrowclough, Fellow and Director of Studies in Archaeology at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, suggests the need for caution by scholars when interpreting their finds related to unusual, or ‘deviant’ burials. “Whilst it is found that there was a widespread belief in vampires across Europe, it is argued that it is difficult to make absolute claims for ‘vampire’ burials on archaeological grounds as in most cases there are alternate and equally compelling interpretations of the data,” he argues in a recent paper.*** Barrowclough cites a number of examples where alternate explanations, such as punishments for criminal acts, could be equally applicable. “In 2008, for example, archaeologists found a 4,000-year-old grave in Mikulovice in the Czech Republic where the skeleton had been weighed down at the head and the chest by two large stones. Had this skeleton been only four- or five-hundred years old it would no doubt have been claimed as ‘vampiric’……We need to beware presuming that all such unconventional, ‘deviant’, burials result from a fear of vampires. The unusual mortuary practices…..including staking, decapitation and covering with stones are noteworthy, but quite often they may be better explained as punishments for criminals, suicides, plague carriers or even witches rather than suspected vampires.”***

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Above and below: One of two 14th century deviant burial skeletons exhumed near the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Sozopol. This one, according to archaeologist Dimitar Nedev, had a ploughshare-like object driven through the left side of the rib cage. The other had a metal object driven into the solar plexis. Nedev interpreted the skeletons as those of individuals who had been staked after death to prevent them from returning out of the grave as the ‘undead’. These are said to be examples of about one hundred such burials uncovered throughout Bulgaria. Bin im Garten, Wikimedia Commons

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Vampires and witches aside, however, studies like that undertaken by Gregoricka and her colleagues have and will continue to make a valuable contribution to the ongoing research on interpreting and understanding deviant burials and what they say about their historical and cultural contexts. They also serve to add to or confirm the utility of the tools used for investigating such burials, and burials in general.

“Strontium isotope data from the individuals interred at the cemetery at Drawsko provide new bioarchaeological perspectives into deviant burials and the motivations behind these unusual inhumation techniques,” wrote Gregoricka, et al. in the concluding remarks of their report. “Moreover, this biogeochemical analysis highlights the complexities of examining social identity in the past, and how the construction of identity may be intertwined with biological processes contributing to the makeup of skeletal tissues.”*

Stay tuned, hint Gregoricka and her colleagues. There is much more to come.

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*Gregoricka LA, Betsinger TK, Scott AB, Polcyn M (2014) Apotropaic Practices and the Undead: A Biogeochemical Assessment of Deviant Burials in Post-Medieval Poland. PLoS ONE 9(11): e113564. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0113564

**Vampires of Venice: Bricks and bones show how scared the Medieval world was of the undead, be Eddie Wrenn for MailOnline, June 1, 2012.

***Barrowclaough, D., Time to Slay Vampire Burials? The Archaeological and Historical Evidence of Vampires in Europe. First published: 19.10.2014. Cambridge: Red Dagger Press

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The special new premium quality print edition of Popular Archaeology Magazine. A beautiful volume for the coffee table.

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Unearthing the City of King Midas

Posted on December 13, 2014 by James Wright -

James Wright is a Senior Archaeologist at the Museum of London Archaeology. He has researched the palace at Kings Clipstone for over twelve years and has recently published a book entitled A Palace For Our Kings on the subject via Triskele Publishing – www.triskelepublishing.com.

When Alexander the Great entered the city of Gordion in 333 BCE, the city was already ancient, only a vestige of its former glory. By this time it was governed within a satrapy of King Darius III’s Persian Empire, a hegemony that Alexander was determined to dismantle the best way he knew how—by military force. Gordion was a staging point and a place to rest his troops. From here he would muster his forces to march into Cilicia to battle the Persians, but not before he accomplished one important thing — untying the legendary knot that fastened the pole to the legendary oxcart that still stood within the old palace of the ancient Phrygian kings. According to prophecy, anyone who could untie the knot would go on to rule all of Asia.

Ancient writers have told the story in different ways, but arguably the most popular version has it that Alexander, frustrated with his failed attempts to untie the knot with his hands, took his sword and simply cut the knot. The event proved to be a metaphor for Alexander’s way of creating a new Hellenistic empire, and he went on to defeat the armies of Darius at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BCE, leading to the collapse of the Persian Empire.

Gordion, the ancient capital of the Phrygians, is popularly known by another story. It was in Phrygia that the legendary King Midas lived, known in ancient Greek mythology as the king whose touch turned everything to gold, an ability that was granted to him through a wish to the satyr Silenus. What was initially thought to be a great gift turned out to be a curse, however, as he soon found that even the food he needed for sustenance turned to gold at his touch.

Other than recorded myth and literature, there is little direct, indisputable evidence of the existence of the King Midas of Greek mythology. But historical sources tell of three different kings of Phrygia by the name of Midas, with one who ruled Phrygia in the late 8th century BCE well known from Greek and Assyrian sources. Of the reality of the Phrygian kingdom itself, there is plentiful physical and archaeological evidence, and much of it can be found at the ancient archaeological site of Gordion, otherwise known as Gordium. Located in present-day west central Turkey near modern Yassıhüyük about 70 – 80 km southwest of Ankara, its ruins stand as a testament to Phrygian monumental architecture, an urban presence spanning across two kilometers, dominated by massive buildings and fortifications and over 100 burial mounds, lying strategically as it were where an ancient well-traveled road crossed the Sakarya river between Lydia and Assyria/Babylonia. It was the capital and largest city of an Anatolian kingdom, whose power peaked during the late 8th century BCE under the historical king Midas, when it dominated western and central Anatolia and rivaled Assyria and Urartu to its east for the eastern regions of Anatolia. More anciently, during the Bronze Age, it allied itself with the Trojans, according to Homer’s The Iliad, to battle the Achaeans.

King Midas with his daughter, turned to gold with death at his touch, from A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Painting by Walter Crane (1845-1915).

Today, Gordion’s population is history. It’s inhabitants now consist mostly of a seasonal influx of archaeologists, conservators, excavators, and a mix of other experts and specialists whose tasks revolve around systematically uncovering what remains of the city, restoring and preserving what can be pieced back together again, and showcasing its finds in an onsite museum.

But this work goes back decades. Historically, it has been the focus of on-and-off excavations since it was discovered in 1893 by Alfred Körte, who initiated exploratory excavations at the site in 1900. The best known excavations were conducted under the directorship of Rodney Young of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum) beginning in the 1950’s. His excavations over 17 seasons uncovered major sections of the Phrygian period Citadel Mound, including overlying Hellenistic towns, and a mudbrick fortress and defensive walls of a Lower Town near the Citadel. Young also uncovered no less than 30 burial tumuli, which included the sensational royal ‘Tumulus MM‘ (the “Midas Mound”) and a nearby tomb of a wealthy Phrygian child (‘Tumulus P’).

Now, under the directorship of Brian Rose of the University of Pennsylvania, teams have, since 2007, uncovered additional finds. In the last two seasons, beginning in 2013 with renewed excavations at the south side of the Citadel Mound, solid new evidence has emerged for additional defensive works, including massive defensive walls, part of a road, and industrial work spaces dated back to some of the earliest periods of the site, all adding to the historical and chronological sequence of the site.

“Gordion’s historical significance derives from its very long and complex sequence of occupation, with seven successive settlements spanning a period of nearly 4500 years,” says Rose. “What we discovered was a large glacis or stepped terrace wall over 2.5 m in height, dating to the Early Phrygian period, that supported a substantial fortification wall nearly 3 m. wide. This has proven that the western side of the mound was fortified, and that those fortifications had already been established in the Early Phrygian period (9th c. B.C.), neither of which had been known previously.”*

Other massive fortifications, particularly on the eastern side of the Citadel Mound, had already been uncovered through previous expeditions. But the new features now expanded the emerging picture of the Gordion defensive fabric. Rose’s excavations revealed fortifications spanning the entire time period of Phrygian rule in the region. “We were fortunate this year in uncovering new fortifications dating to three different periods: Early Phrygian (9th c. BC), Middle Phrygian (8th c. BC) and Late Phrygian (6th c. BC)…….it is already clear that the scale of the citadel fortifications throughout the entire Phrygian period was much more ambitious than formerly suspected,” wrote Rose in a recent report of the latest, 2014 season.*

Aerial view of the newly excavated Early, Middle, and Late Phrygian fortifications on the southern side of the Citadel Mound. Photo by Lucas Stephens. (Picture credit: Penn Museum Gordion Archive, 2014-Area 1 Aerial 5)

View of the Early and Middle Phrygian fortifications on the southern side of the Citadel Mound, looking east. Tumulus MM (Midas Mound) is visible at upper right. Photo by Brian Rose. (Picture credit: Penn Museum Gordion Archive, 2014-7483)

View of collapsed colored stones newly discovered behind the Middle Phrygian fortification wall on the southern side of the Citadel Mound, looking north. Photo by Gebhard Bieg. (Picture credit: Penn Museum Gordion Archive, 2014-1579)

Additionally, Rose’s team excavated a sondage trench through what has been designated the Terrace Building, a structure discovered during previous excavations and thought to be a building where industrial activities occurred. They uncovered a large industrial kiln surrounded by ceramic remains that helped to date the feature to the Early Iron Age, or the 11th century BCE. Above and east of the kiln they excavated an Early Iron Age house structure, which contained objects related to textile manufacture, such as spindle whorls and loom weights, and a bell-shaped pit that contained fragments of Early Iron Age handmade wares and animal bones. “The evidence yielded by the sondage demonstrates that there was considerable industrial activity in this area before the Terrace Building was constructed, beginning in the 11th c. B.C.,” wrote Rose in a recent newsletter report.*

Excavators Olivia Hayden and Jane Gordion digging beneath the rubble fill in the Terrace Building sondage. Photo by Brian Rose. Picture credit: Penn Museum Gordion Archive, 2014-4142)

Excavators Kate Morgan, Olivia Hayden, and Jane Gordion uncovering the Early Iron Age house below the rubble fill under the Terrace Building, looking east. The upper part of a kiln is visible at the bottom. Photo by Gebhard Bieg. (Picture credit: Penn Museum Gordion Archive, 2014-6666)

Aerial view of the Citadel Mound of Gordion in 2014. Photo by Lucas Stephens. (Picture credit: Penn Museum Gordion Archive, 2014-CM Aerial 1)

The Outer Town

The Citadel Mound tells only part of the story of urban Gordion. Beyond and below the imposing defensive bastion thrived a city of people who left vestiges of other monumental public buildings and domestic structures, a Gordion far more robust and expansive than a single citadel. During Young’s excavations decades before at a small mound (called ‘Küçük Höyük’) near the Citadel, archaeologists revealed a mudbrick fortress set atop a mudbrick bastion, interpreted as a probable ancient Lydian construction dated to the late 7^th or early 6^th century BCE. They found that its associated walls, including connected ditch-work, actually enclosed a settlement area they designated as the Lower Town, an area consisting of evidence of residential, or domestic, structures. Remote sensing has since successfully defined the fortification walls, streets and buildings of this settlement area.

Most recently, a team under the direction of Stefan Giese and Christian Huebner of GGH in Freiburg, Germany, conducted a geophysical survey that yielded traces of yet another associated settlement area, an ‘Outer Town’, using magnetometry and electric resistivity techniques. The Outer Town is a second residential area with detected remains just west of the Lower Town. What they found was no less revelatory than the new Citadel Mound discoveries. They detected signs that this Outer Town was “bordered by a ditch with a defensive wall on its interior”*, which the team believes surrounded the entire Outer Town. And this was not all—the findings included other features that suggested a monumental fort. “At the western end of the Outer Town,” write Rose, et al., “nearly 1 km to the west of the citadel mound, we discovered the presence of what we interpret as a monumental fort, approximately the same size as the fort of Küçük Höyük (the “minor mound”) in the Lower Town.” The new findings seemed to match the pattern found previously with the Lower Town, though they appeared to have been planned as separate residential areas demarcated by a fortification wall between them.

Did these findings suggest or imply something about ancient Godion’s social structure? The investigators have no answers, yet. But further surveys and excavation may shed some light.

The fortifications of Gordion detected through remote sensing. The new results in the Outer Town appear at left. Plan by GGH. (Picture credit: Penn Museum Gordion Archive, GGH 2014 Map 4)

The Conservation Task

The combined forces of time, weather, exposure and other elements take their inevitable toll on archaeological sites. Gordion has been no exception. Perhaps most dramatic were the effects caused by a major earthquake in 1999, which left a significant bulge in the masonry of the Early Phrygian Gate. Because of its monumentality and importance as the best-preserved citadel gate of Iron Age Asia Minor, it has arguably become one of the most urgent tasks for conservators at the site. “We realized that strategic intervention was necessary if a collapse was to be averted, now and in the future,” wrote Rose, et al.* With the help of a number of organizations, individuals, and consulting firms, solid steps have been taken to shore up the structure, which included erection of a new scaffolding system, removing displaced stones, repairing deteriorated or damaged stones, and inserting steel support straps, among other measures.

Erection of the new scaffolding at the Early Phrygian Citadel Gate prior to the beginning of conservation. Photo by Brian Rose. (Picture credit: Penn Museum Gordion Archive, 2014-4535)

Other damage was caused by more ancient events, such as an 800 BCE conflagration that damaged the masonry foundations of the Early Phrygian Terrace Building, which anciently was an 8-room industrial complex. Since 2009, conservators and other expert workers have been busy repairing and rebuilding the foundations and walls of the various rooms within the structure.

Like that of other major archaeological sites, the artwork of Gordion has drawn special attention from conservators. In 1956, Young excavated a remarkable late 9^th century BCE pebble mosaic near the Terrace Building, a piece that, according to archaeologists, featured “a series of polychromatic geometric designs that most likely echo the kinds of textiles that would have been produced in the adjacent Terrace Building.”* This effort has involved application of the latest restoration techniques by experts specially trained in the art of repair and restoration.

Sema Küreckçi and Meredith Keller cleaning the pebble mosaic from Megaron 2 (an Early Phrygian period structure). Photo by Gebhard Bieg. (Picture credit: Penn Museum Gordion Archive, 2014-4408)

For Rose and colleagues, there is much more work to do. Countless features and artifacts are left to be uncovered, work that will occupy researchers for many years ahead. But in the short time span of Rose’s research at the site thus far, much has already been accomplished. Popular Archaeology asked Rose what he thought were some of the most important discoveries made since renewed excavations began in 2007.

“We discovered four inscriptions in Tumulus MM, the tomb that probably held the body of Midas’ father [Gordias, the founder of Gordion],” Rose replied. “These may be the signatures of the officials who oversaw the burial. We’ve also been able to determine that the Phrygians used a special pigment to color their clothing, which gave them a golden sheen. This may tie in to the legend of Midas’s Golden Touch.” More recent investigations in the area of the ancient site have uncovered another major tumulus. About 17 meters in height, and like Tumulus MM, this one also features a wooden burial chamber within. Initially found as a result of illegal looting excavations by treasure hunters, Rose now hopes to conduct controlled archaeological salvage excavations at the mound to determine more about its nature and the possible remains of its human occupant. Although detailed information about it is still forthcoming, Rose suggests, based on data thus far acquired, that the new tumulus dates to the 8th century B.C. and may contain the remains of a Phrygian king.

But perhaps the most far-reaching discovery revolves around the newly found immensity of the ancient city itself. “We have been able to determine that the city was twice as large as we previously thought, because we’ve identified the outer fortifications of the city through remote sensing.” With this in mind, one of Rose’s more immediate goals relates to developing a city plan of Gordion based on the available and emerging data. “We have not yet determined the city plan of the settlement,” says Rose, “but by combining excavation with remote sensing (radar, magnetic prospection), we should be able to do it.”

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More information about Gordion and the Gordion Archaeological Project can be found at the project website. For individuals interested in making a donation to the project, see the Friends of Gordion page. Friends of Gordion receive an annual newsletter about the most recent results of research and excavation and may also receive special guided tours of the site.

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* Rose, C. Brian and Gürsan-Salzman, Ayse, Friends of Gordion Newsletter, September 2014

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A R T I C L E S U P P L E M E N T

The Funeral of Tumulus MM

One of the most spectacular discoveries at the Gordion archaeological site came when Rodney Young of the University of Pennsylvania opened an imposing tumulus mound in 1957 known as Tumulus MM, today interpreted to have been the probable tomb of Gordias, founder of the city of Gordion and father of the legendary King Midas. Within a wooden chamber of the tumulus tomb, Young and his colleagues found the remains of a man determined to have died when he was between 60 and 65 years old. His remains had been placed on a pile of dyed textiles inside a wooden coffin. The coffin was accompanied by 14 remarkably well-preserved items of wood furniture, thought to have been dining and serving tables used at a funerary banquet before the interment. Also found were 3 large cauldrons on iron tripod stands, 19 large two-handled bowls, 100 bronze drinking bowls, round-bottomed buckets, 19 juglets, 2 jugs, a ram-headed situla, and a lion-headed situla. Further analysis indicated that vessels had contained a beverage made from a mixture of honey mead, grape wine, and barley beer. Eighteen ceramic jars showed evidence of a spicy funerary feast of lentils and barbecued sheep or goat stew. It was, according to the archaeologists, evidence of an elaborate banquet fit for a king.

Section of Tumulus MM from the north, showing the open trench and tunnel cut during the excavation of 1957. Drawing by Richard Liebhart, after Young 1981: fig. 51. (Picture credit: Penn Museum Gordion Archive 102811, and Richard Liebhart)

Tumulus MM: Center cross-section construction of the tomb chamber complex (looking north). Drawing by Richard Liebhart. (Picture credit: Gordion Archaeological Project, Richard Liebhart)

Above and below: Tumulus MM, 1957: Inlaid table as found, with bronze vessels. Middle Phrygian period, c. 740 B.C.E. (Penn Museum Gordion Archive)

Above: Inlaid table, Tumulus MM, reconstruction drawing by Elizabeth Simpson, 1985. Copyright E. Simpson.

Above: Inlaid table from Tumulus MM reconstructed for display, 1989. Courtesy Gordion Furniture Project.

Above: Tumulus MM, 1957: Remains of a plain table, with bronze bowls, as found. Middle Phrygian period, c. 740 B.C.E. (Penn Museum Gordion Archive, G-2376)

Tumulus MM, 1957: Southern end of the tomb chamber, with bronze cauldrons against the wall, the remains of plain Tables in front, and bowls and jugs scattered across the floor. Middle Phrygian period, c. 740 B.C.E. (Penn Museum Gordion Archive, G-2385)

Tumulus MM, 1957: Bronze-studded leather belts with decorative bronze disc attachments, and bronze trefoil- mouthed jugs, on the floor where they had fallen in antiquity. Middle Phrygian period, c. 740 B.C.E. (Penn Museum Gordion Archive, G-2404)

Tumulus MM, 1957: Wooden serving stands in place: stand A at right and stand B at left. Middle Phrygian period, c. 740 B.C.E. (Penn Museum Gordion Archive, G-2343)

Tumulus MM, 1957: Bronze ram’s-head situla, after cleaning by the British Museum. Middle Phrygian period, c. 740 B.C.E. (Penn Museum Gordion Archive, G-3008)

Decades later, in 2007, Richard Liebhart, Rose and colleagues discovered four Phrygian inscriptions incised on several timbers while investigating the northwest corner of the outer tomb chamber. “The names [NANA, MYKSOS, SI↑IDOS, and KYRYNIS] had clearly been scratched into the beams before they were set in place around 740 BCE,” wrote the researchers about the find. “The hand of the inscriber was steady and sure, and all the words appear to have been inscribed by the same man, at approximately the same size, with SI↑IDOS written slightly larger than the other words. The SI↑IDOS beam was also probably the first one to have been placed on the tomb after the funeral ended.” Rose and colleagues suggest that SI↑IDOS was likely a prominent man in the community of Gordion.

“One can think of this as an early prototype of the Memorial Name Books that are still used in funerals today,” wrote Rose and colleagues.**

Above and below: The names inscribed on the roof beam in Tumulus MM. Photos by Richard Liebhart (Picture credit: Gordion Archaeological Project, Richard Liebhart)

The Royal Funeral Ceremony Banquet. Reconstruction of the funeral ceremony held before the Tumulus MM burial. Painting by Greg Harlin based on drawings by Elizabeth Simpson, 2001. Copyright G. Harlin and E. Simpson.

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** http://sites.museum.upenn.edu/gordion/articles/history-archaeology/69-the-funeral-in-tumulus-mm

Image, top: Tumulus MM, 1957: Note the long excavation trench running into the mound, and the horse and wagon in front for scale. (Picture credit: Penn Museum Gordion)

The Real Indy

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Dan McLerran -

Phillips wasted no time moving forward to Arabia. Following his African expedition, he embarked on a two-week aerial reconnaissance survey expedition of southern Arabia in 1949.

It hooked him.

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The expedition convoy makes its way through the desert landscape of Yemen. Courtesy American Foundation for the Study of Man (AFSM)

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The Wonders of Timna

At the end of a long, L-shaped gallery in the Smithsonian Institution’s Sackler Gallery of Art once stood a large glass-enclosed case. It contained what Phillips and his colleagues considered one of the First Arabian Expedition’s greatest finds—the twin bronze Lions of Timna. Initially discovered by a Yemeni dig team member and dated to 75 BCE – 50 CE, the large bronze statues of lions with riders were found within the context of the ‘House Yafash’, an ancient residence of a wealthy Qataban located near the South Gate of the city. Incredible finds by their workmanship and aesthetic value alone, they also proved to play an essential role in establishing the chronology of the Qataban civilization. They were two among more than 70 artifacts on display in the Sackler Gallery exhibit, Unearthing Arabia: The Archeological Adventures of Wendell Phillips, an exhibit that, courtesy of the AFSM, also showcased field notebooks, tools of his excavation, photos and videos of Phillips’ expedition to the Wadi Beihan, where he and his team uncovered key finds at Timna and nearby Hajar bin Humeid (see slideshow below). It was at these sites where Phillips recovered a motherlode that made him famous as a pioneer in southern Arabian archaeology.

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The “Lions of Timna”. Courtesy AFSM

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Detailed view of one of the twin “Lions of Timna”. Courtesy Sackler Gallery and AFSM

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Hajar bin Humeid

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View of cross-section excavation of the mound at Hajar bin Humeid. Pottery finds helped to date the stratigraphy of the site back to at least 1,000 BCE. Courtesy AFSM

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Panoramic view of the ancient site of Timna. Courtesy AFSM

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The South Gate

The gateway itself was flanked by two massive towers constructed of rough blocks, some as large as 8 by 2 ft. The masonry work was good but not smoothly finished, indicating that the gate was built before the flowering of Qatabian civilization, when more polished work was done. Certainly it was made not later than the fifth century BC. Many inscriptions were found on the big blocks of the towers, and there was also evidence of two vertical grooves for gateposts and another for a heavy crossbeam. Charred wood still remained in parts of these grooves [evidence of a fiery conflagration].

Now we had our first glimpse, infinitesimal but still a glimpse, of ancient Timna. It was not too difficult to approach the massive South Gate and imagine ourselves part of a camel caravan loaded with frankincense, on our way from the lands of the East to the Mediterranean.*

— p. 85, Sheba’s Buried City

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Excavations at the South Gate. Courtesy AFSM

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Dr. Jamme, the expedition epigrapher, creating latex squeezes of inscriptions found on the walls of the South Gate. Courtesy AFSM

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The Epigrapher’s Dream: The House Yafash and the Graffito Valley

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One of the “Lions of Timna” still ‘in situ’, as found in place immediately after excavation. Note the inscription at its base. Courtesy AFSM

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Dick knew that the inscription might be interesting, but he was far more excited about other things he saw on the walls of the canyon—great numbers of graffiti, or shallow carvings in the rock surface. These graffiti contained short inscriptions with personal names: the equivalent of our ‘Kilroy was here’ scrawls on walls or carvings on trees. This is the plain, simple stuff of which real archaeological treasure often consists.*

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Dr. Jamme making a squeeze of one of the many inscription finds. Courtesy AFSM

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The Cemetery

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Dr. Honeyman holding “Miriam”, his prize find. Courtesy AFSM

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Detailed view of the head of a woman, or “Miriam”. Courtesy Sackler Gallery and AFSM

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The gold necklace, pendant and chain combination discovered in the Cemetery excavations. Courtesy Sackler Gallery and AFSM

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Above and below: Excavations in the Cemetery yielded numerous small funerary finds. Courtesy AFSM

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The Temple Complex

In terms of sheer magnitude, nothing more monumental was unearthed at the Timna site than the imposing structure of what Phillips’ team identified as a temple complex:

We had not worked long at the temple site that second season before confirming our view that here lay the largest building of ancient Timna. It was certainly the first really monumental building to be excavated in all South Arabia, for we dug in an area 160 ft. long by 135 ft wide without yet reaching the end of what was a complex of buildings and courts making up the Temple of Athtar, the Arabian equivalent of our Venus…….The Temple must have been a beautiful and imposing structure [in its day], for we found a central nave and foundations for four or five rows of gigantic pillars, with five pillars to a row. What an awe-inspiring spectacle this great Temple of Venus must have been to the weary traveler from Shabwa or farther east as he gazed upward through its forty to fifty columns!*

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Above and below: Excavation at the Temple in Timna. Courtesy AFSM

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The City of Sheba

No other ancient site in Yemen excited Phillips more than the prospect of excavating at Marib, the capital of the ancient Sabaeans and thought by many biblical scholars as the likely residence of the famed 10th century Queen of Sheba. It was among his plans from the beginning to explore the possibility of obtaining permission to excavate at the site, but the area was regarded as forbidden to Westerners because of tribal unrest. Approval and support from Imam Ahmed, the King of Yemen, however, could make all the difference, and this is exactly what Phillips attempted to obtain. An audience with the King was finally realized, resulting in approval for Phillips and his team to push forward to Marib for this, the first excavation by a Western expedition to Marib in over 60 years.

Getting to Marib required an uneasy journey northward across the dunes through what for Westerners was largely unexplored land. But once there, Phillips was overwhelmed by the site:

We were standing where no American or Englishman had ever stood and where no non-Moslem has been, to our knowledge, since 1889. We looked at the buried ruins of what had once been the largest and richest of the ancient cities of South Arabia, the centre of a great culture almost 3,000 years ago………Columns, walls and pillars extended everywhere as far as our eyes could see, in an endless crescent.*

Phillips knew that local Yemenis had already dug about 70 feet down at one point at the site to recover stone blocks for a fortress and houses, encountering cultural layers as they went. Compared to the 51-foot escarpment Phillips and his team created at Hajar bin Humeid, this suggested that “Marib was considerably older than the Qatabian cities in Beihan.”* This, Phillips hoped, would be the prize dig of the expedition. But he knew that excavating the entire city would be far too much to tackle at this point, so the team focused their efforts on what was clearly the most prominently visible feature of the city—the Mahram Bilqis, or Temple of Awam, otherwise known by the ancients as the Temple of Almaqah, dedicated to the moon god who was the principal deity of Marib.

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Excavations beginning at the Awam Temple in Marib in 1951. Courtesy AFSM

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Above: Unearthed by Yemeni locals (long before the excavations) as they dug for building stones, these ancient alabaster sculptures (600 in all) were stored inside the old fortress at Marib. They were shown to the expedition team on a guided tour before excavations began. Courtesy AFSM

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Return to Marib

It wasn’t until 1998, more than two decades later, when renewed excavations began at Marib. Invited by the government of Yemen to resume excavations where her brother left off in 1952, Merilyn Phillips Hodgson, by then President of the AFSM, took the ball and ran with it. With more than fifty workmen and an international team that included archaeologists, epigraphists, architects, and other specialists involved in what turned out to be a multi-year expedition lasting nine seasons, their discoveries were no less sensational than those made decades earlier. Focusing on the Awam Temple, hundreds of new inscriptions were recovered, and for the first time, the interior of the oval precinct walls of the complex was uncovered to a depth of sixteen feet. Features of its main Peristyle Hall and Annex areas were uncovered and defined, and more insight to the construction and occupational chronology or sequence for the Temple was acquired.

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View of the excavated Peristyle Hall and Annex area. Courtesy Zaydoon Zaid and the AFSM

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The Temple pillars as seen from inside the Oval Wall. Courtesy Zaydoon Zaid and the AFSM

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The monumental wall that surrounds the Oval Precinct of the temple complex. Note the inscriptions on the upper rows of blocks. Courtesy Zaydoon Zaid and the AFSM

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The results of the renewed excavations further confirmed what Phillips had, decades before, concluded about the significance of the site. In terms of the construction date chronology, continuity of use, opulence and monumental scale, the Awam Temple was, according to Zaid, clearly “one of the most important monuments of the Sabaean period, which doubtless composed the religious center of the city of Marib and of ancient South Arabia as a whole”.** It bespoke a civilization that, in its time, rivaled the great civilizations to its north, west and east, for it was in Marib that the Sabaean kings made their capital, building massive irrigation works such as the Ma’rib dams, (the ruins of which are still visible) and other monumental buildings, made possible by the wealth brought in through the incense trade routes and extensive maritime connections as a seafaring people. It was a flourishing culture for more than a thousand years.

Zaid hopes to one day return to finish where the last set of seasons left off nine years ago, but the political situation and unrest mitigates the possibilities.

Phillips, no doubt, if he were alive, would be in the front of the pack.

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Merilyn Phillips Hodgson, current President of the American Foundation for the Study of Man and sister of Wendell Phillips. Courtesy the AFSM

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* Phillips, Wendell, Sheba’s Buried City, 1958 Pan Books Ltd.

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This richly illustrated issue includes the following stories: Recent findings shedding new light on the whereabouts of the remains of Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great; how an archaeologist-sculptor is bringing bones of the dead back to life; archaeologists uncovering town life at the dawn of civilization; an exclusive interview with internationally acclaimed archaeologist James M. Adovasio about what makes the Meadowcroft Rockshelter prominent in the ongoing search for the first Americans; what archaeologists are finding at the site of the ancient city of Gath, the home town of the biblical Philistine giant, Goliath; and how scientists are redrawing the picture of human evolution in Europe. Find it on Amazon.com.

Winter 2015 Issue of Popular Archaeology Released

Posted on December 13, 2014 by No Author -

Popular Archaeology Magazine is pleased to announce the release of its latest issue, the Winter 2015 Issue, to begin the upcoming new year. Here is a listing of the new major feature articles, some of which are designated as premium articles for paying subscribers, for a worldwide readership. Two of the premium articles have been published FREE to the public. This latest issue includes the following titles:

1. The Real Indy (FREE Premium Article)

A book and a special exhibit tell the story of a forgotten explorer and his intrepid journey to discover great ancient Arabian cities of the Incense Road.

2. Unearthing the City of King Midas (Premium Article)

Archaeologists are making new discoveries at Gordion, the legendary capital of the ancient Phrygian kingdom.

3. Digging Vampires (Premium Article)

Have archaeologists uncovered ‘vampires’ among the dead?

4. Uncovering the Secrets of Cosma (FREE Premium Article)

Part 1 of a series: In a remote valley in north-central Peru, archaeologists are beginning to peel back the layers of monumental structures that may tell a forgotten story of an ancient people.

5. A Field Report: Preclassic Xnoha (for regular (free) subscribers)

Excavations in 2014 by the Maya Research Program at the ancient Maya site of Xno’ha uncovered Late Preclassic period finds.

6. Digging a Battlefield of American History (for regular (free) subscribers)

The reflections of a volunteer on an archaeological dig.

7. Syrian Heritage in Crisis (for regular (free) subscribers)

The Syrian Heritage Initiative, the US State Department, and UNESCO work together to save world heritage sites under attack by the Islamic State.

8. Countering the Illicit Antiquities Trade (for regular (free) subscribers)

Fighting the illicit trade of antiquities can mean fighting terrorism, and much more.

Premium subscribers may access all premium articles online in back issues extending back to the beginning of 2011.

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*Cover photo courtesy American Foundation for the Study of Man and the Arthur M. Sackler, Smithsonian Institution, from the feature article, The Real Indy.

Affluence Explains Rise of Moralizing Religions, Suggests Study

Posted on December 11, 2014 by No Author -

The ascetic and moralizing movements that spawned the world’s major religious traditions–Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Christianity—all arose around the same time in three different regions, and researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on December 11 have now devised a statistical model based on history and human psychology that helps to explain why. The emergence of world religions, they say, was triggered by the rising standards of living in the great civilizations of Eurasia.

“One implication is that world religions and secular spiritualities probably share more than we think,” says Nicolas Baumard of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. “Beyond very different doctrines, they probably all tap into the same reward systems [in the human brain].”

It seems almost self-evident today that religion is on the side of spiritual and moral concerns, but that was not always so, Baumard explains. In hunter-gatherer societies and early chiefdoms, for instance, religious tradition focused on rituals, sacrificial offerings, and taboos designed to ward off misfortune and evil.

That changed between 500 BCE and 300 BCE—a time known as the “Axial Age”–when new doctrines appeared in three places in Eurasia. “These doctrines all emphasized the value of ‘personal transcendence,'” the researchers write, “the notion that human existence has a purpose, distinct from material success, that lies in a moral existence and the control of one’s own material desires, through moderation (in food, sex, ambition, etc.), asceticism (fasting, abstinence, detachment), and compassion (helping, suffering with others).”

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People at worship services. Wikimedia Commons

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While many scholars have argued that large-scale societies are possible and function better because of moralizing religion, Baumard and his colleagues weren’t so sure. After all, he says, some of “the most successful ancient empires all had strikingly non-moral high gods.” Think of Egypt, the Roman Empire, the Aztecs, the Incas, and the Mayans.

In the new study, the researchers tested various theories to explain the history in a new way by combining statistical modeling on very long-term quantitative series with psychological theories based on experimental approaches. They found that affluence–which they refer to as “energy capture”–best explains what is known of the religious history, not political complexity or population size. Their Energy Capture model shows a sharp transition toward moralizing religions when individuals were provided with 20,000 kcal/day, a level of affluence suggesting that people were generally safe, with roofs over their heads and plenty of food to eat, both in the present time and into the foreseeable future.

“This seems very basic to us today, but this peace of mind was totally new at the time,” Baumard says. “Humans living in tribal societies or even archaic empires often experience famine and diseases, and they live in very rudimentary houses. By contrast, the high increase in population and urbanization rate in the Axial Age suggests that, for certain people, things started to get much better.”

The researchers say that this transition is consistent with a shift from “fast” life strategies, focused on the immediate problems of the day, to those focused on long-term investments. They say that it will now be interesting to test whether other familiar characteristics of modern human society, such as high parental investment and long-term monogamy, might stem from the same historical change.

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Source: Cell Press News Release

Study: Current Biology, Baumard et al.: “Increased Affluence Explains the Emergence of Ascetic Wisdoms and Moralizing Religions”

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Archaeologists Excavate Ancient Wari Temple in Peru

Posted on December 10, 2014 by No Author -

An international team of archaeologists under the joint directorship of Dr. Maria Lozada of the University of Chicago, Dr. Hans Barnard of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology of UCLA, and Lic. Augusto Cardona Rosas of the Centro de Investigaciones Arqueológicas Arequipa, Peru, have uncovered what they identified as an ancient Wari temple with a configuration in the shape of a ‘D’ in the Lower Vitor Valley of southern Peru.

“We have identified extensive Wari influence and possible presence at Vitor, including a D-shaped temple and significant quantities of Wari-influenced ceramics,” write Lozada and colleagues about the site discoveries. They have also uncovered a “strong and substantial presence of local populations”, indicating a mix of local and Wari-influenced culture at the site.*

Digging at a location approximately 40 kilometers west of the modern city of Arequipa, Peru, the team has unearthed a variety of ceramic and textile remains at the site, including skeletal remains found within a local Ramada culture cemetery. Focusing on evidence uncovered for the Early Intermediate (ca. 200 BCE – 800 CE) and Middle Horizon (ca. 500 – 1000 CE) occupation periods of the valley, the scientists hope to be able to answer questions related to the degree to which the local Ramada culture was incorporated into the Wari Empire as well as the role and influence of Wari culture in this area of the Andes.

Above and below: Skeletal and textile remains unearthed at the cemetery site.

Above: Specialists examining the remains in the lab.

The Wari, or Huari, was a civilization that flourished in the south-central Andes and coastal areas of what is modern-day Peru from about AD 500 to 1000 (Middle Horizon period). It expanded to cover much of the highlands and coast of Peru, establishing administrative centers, developing a terraced agricultural technology and a vast network of roads, at least some of which provided a foundation for the same for the later Inca civilization.

In 2015, the team plans to continue excavations at the D-shaped temple under the direction of Lic. Augusto Cardona, as well as continue with surveys under the direction of Dr. Hans Barnard. In addition, they plan to conduct analyses of the materials excavated from the temple and materials they previously excavated from the Ramada cemetery during 2012 and 2014. The analyses will include an examination of skeletal remains, ceramics, and textiles uncovered during the field seasons.

The research is being conducted through the support and auspices of the National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration, Dumbarton Oaks, the community of Vitor, and the Ministerio de Cultura del Perú.

The Institute for Field Research is coordinating field work at the Vitor site. More information about the excavations and how one can participate can be found at the Vitor Archaeological Project website. See the video below.

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* http://ifrglobal.org/programs/south-america/peru-vitor?utm_source=IFR+Newsletter&utm_campaign=5aee8dbfad-Peru_Vitor_Video_Announcement11_26_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5da3ddc8ef-5aee8dbfad-326738257

All images are Vitor Archaeological Project YouTube video stillshots.

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Penn Museum Exhibits Spectacular Finds from Ancient Panama

Posted on December 9, 2014 by No Author -

PHILADELPHIA, PA—For more than a thousand years, a cemetery on the banks of the Rio Grande Coclé in Panama lay undisturbed, escaping the attention of gold seekers and looters. The river flooded in 1927, scattering beads of gold along its banks. In 1940, a Penn Museum team led by archaeologist J. Alden Mason excavated at the cemetery, unearthing spectacular finds—large golden plaques and pendants with animal-human motifs, precious and semi-precious stone, ivory, and animal bone ornaments, and literally tons of detail-rich painted ceramics. It was extraordinary evidence of a sophisticated Precolumbian people, the Coclé, who lived, died, and painstakingly buried their dead long ago.

Beneath the Surface: Life, Death, and Gold in Ancient Panama, a new exhibition opening February 7, 2015 at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, invites visitors to dig deeper, exploring the history, archaeological evidence, and new research perspectives, in search of a greater understanding of the Coclé people who lived from about 700 to 900 CE. Video footage from the original Sitio Conte excavation, video kiosks with opportunities to “meet” and hear from a range of experts, a centerpiece “burial” with interactive touchscreens—and more than 200 objects from the famous excavation—provide an immersive experience. The exhibition runs through November 1, 2015.

One massive burial, named “Burial 11” by the excavators, yielded the most extraordinary materials from the excavation. Believed to be that of a Paramount Chief, it contained 23 individuals in three distinct layers, accompanied by a vast array of grave objects. A to-scale installation of the burial serves as the exhibition’s centerpiece, drawing visitors beneath the surface of the site. The re-creation features many artifacts displayed in the actual positions they were found, as well as digital interactive stations for further exploration.

About the Site

The site of Sitio Conte is situated about 100 miles southwest of Panama City. When golden grave goods were exposed on the banks of the Rio Grande de Coclé, the Conte family, owners of the land, invited scientific excavation. The Peabody Museum of Harvard University carried out the first investigations in the 1930s. In the spring of 1940, J. Alden Mason, then curator in Penn Museum’s American Section, led a Penn Museum team to carry out three months of excavations.

Diary entries, drawings, photographs, and color film from the excavations set the story of the research in time and place. New excavations in Panama, most recently at nearby El Caño, conservation work and laboratory analyses, and ongoing research on Coclé and neighboring Precolumbian cultures, adds to a growing body of knowledge, told through short interviews with Penn Museum and outside experts.

Coclé Culture and Society

Long overshadowed by research on other indigenous Central and South American peoples, the Coclé remain mysterious, but archaeologists, physical anthropologists, art historians, and other specialists are drawing on the materials they have excavated to tell more. The rich iconography, sophisticated gold working technologies and craftsmanship, exacting placement of bodies and materials in the burials: all offer clues about the world view, artistic style, and social hierarchy of the Coclé.

The art and artifacts uncovered from Burial 11 and throughout the Sitio Conte cemetery were rich in cultural meaning and utilitarian value, and Beneath the Surface uses them to begin to create a portrait of the Coclé people. Central to Exhibition Curator Clark Erickson’s vision of “peopling the past” is a contemporary rendering of the central burial’s Paramount Chief; he stands replete with some of the golden pendants, arm cuffs, and plaques, exquisitely crafted and worthy of a great warrior, which he wore to his grave.

Though not identified as direct descendants of the Coclé, many indigenous groups continue to live in Panama and in the region of Sitio Conte today. A small section of the exhibition provides visitors with an opportunity to see contemporary Kuna clothing that echoes some of the design forms and styles of ancient Coclé pottery, pendants, and gold.

Throughout, visitors can explore the evidence and encounter new perspectives on who these people were and how they lived.

Archival Photograph, Excavations at Sitio Conte, Panama, led by J. Alden Mason of Penn Museum, March 1940. Photograph by R. Merrill.

Archival Photograph, Ceramics in Situ, Excavations at Sitio Conte, Panama, led by J. Alden Mason of the Penn Museum, March 1940. Photograph by R. Merrill.

Ceramic Polychrome Plate (Turtle), Sitio Conte, Panama, ca. 700-900 CE. Photo: Penn Museum.

Ceramic Shaman Figure, Sitio Conte, Panama, ca 700-900 CE. Photo: Penn Museum.

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Gold Plaque, Sitio Conte, Panama, ca. 700-900 CE. Photo: Penn Museum

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Dr. Clark Erickson, Curator-in-Charge, American Section, is the exhibition’s Lead Curator, working with Co-curator Dr. Lucy Fowler Williams, Associate Curator and Sabloff Keeper, American Section; William Wierzbowski, American Section Keeper; and a team of undergraduate Student Assistant Curators, Monica Fenton, Sarah Parkinson, and Ashley Terry of the University of Pennsylvania, and Samantha Seyler of New College, Florida, who provided additional collections and research support. Kate Quinn, Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs, leads the exhibition interpretation and design, working with Christine Locket and Associates (interpretive planning), Alusive Design (exhibition design), and Bludecadet (multimedia design). The exhibition fabrication is provided by Art Guild, Berry and Homer Printing, and the Penn Muiseum Preparation Department, led by Ben Neiditz, Chief Preparator.

Beneath the Surface: Life, Death, and Gold in Ancient Panama is made possible with generous support from the Selz Foundation, Lead Underwriter, the Manning Family Exhibitions Fund, the Susan Drossman Sokoloff and Adam D. Sokoloff Exhibitions Fund, and A. Bruce and Margaret Mainwaring. Global Arena is Language Services Partner.

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About the Penn Museum

The Penn Museum (the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) is dedicated to the study and understanding of human history and diversity. Founded in 1887, the Museum has sent more than 300 archaeological and anthropological expeditions to all the inhabited continents of the world. With an active exhibition schedule and educational programming for children and adults, the Museum offers the public an opportunity to share in the ongoing discovery of humankind’s collective heritage.

The Penn Museum is located at 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (on Penn’s campus, across from Franklin Field). Public transportation to the Museum is available via SEPTA’s Regional Rail Line at University City Station; the Market-Frankford Subway Line at 34th Street Station; trolley routes 11, 13, 34, and 36; and bus routes 21, 30, 40, and 42. Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and first Wednesdays of each month until 8:00 pm. Open select holiday Mondays. Museum admission donation is $15 for adults; $13 for senior citizens (65 and above); free for U.S. Military; $10 for children and full-time students with ID; free to Penn Museum Members, PennCard holders, and children 5 and younger.

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Source: News Release of the Penn Museum

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Looting, Antiquities Trafficking Supporting ISIS, Say Officials

Posted on December 7, 2014 by No Author -

Antiquities looting, trafficking and destruction of cultural property is no longer a concern only for archaeologists, preservationists, and other concerned citizens, according to UN officials and other experts. It is a matter of worldwide security.

So stated Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, when he addressed an international conference on threats to cultural heritage and diversity, organized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in Paris on December 3. “The protection of cultural heritage is a security imperative,” he remarked at the UNESCO Paris headquarters.

Given recent developments in Syria and Iraq, his remarks would not be an understatement. “Armed gangs of looters have exploited the vacuum of government control, threatened residents, and hired hundreds of people to carry out illegal excavations,” said Zoe Leung, Program Fellow at the U.S. National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (US/ICOMOS), an advisory body to UNESCO on the preservation of heritage sites. “By selling newly found artifacts to middlemen and smugglers on the spot, looters profit instantly. Looting operations constitute a significant source of income for ISIS; and trade in illicit antiquities is driving conflict as lootings fund weapons that are fueling violence.”

U.S. officials at the highest levels of government have become increasingly concerned about the problem, a situation that appears to be growing worse as the chaos and violence in Syria and ISIS actions in Iraq drag on. “Ancient treasures in Iraq and in Syria have now become the casualties of continuing warfare and looting,” stated U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in a recent speech at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. “And no one group has done more to put our shared cultural heritage in the gun sights than ISIS….it is tearing at the fabric of whole civilizations….it has no respect for culture, which for millions is actually the foundation of life.” Kerry also alludes here to the economic significance cultural resources have in countries where tourism and its related industries are the bread-and-butter of many people’s lives.

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Damage to the Great Mosque in Aleppo due to conflict has been an iconic symbol of the ongoing destruction and looting. Wikimedia Commons

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The developing crisis has precipitated a number of high-level calls for action. Said Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, “there can be no purely military solution to this crisis. To fight fanaticism, we also need to reinforce education, a defense against hatred, and protect heritage, which helps forge collective identity.” The remarks were supported by Staffan de Mistura, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, and Nikolay Mladenov, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative to Iraq. Both stressed the imperative to include education and culture in the developing emergency measures to protect vulnerable civilians in the conflict zones and to safeguard human rights.

To add substance to the call, Bokova and her colleagues are promoting wide-sweeping measures to stem the tide of loss and destruction. One of them focuses on establishing “protected cultural zones” around important cultural sites, requiring a cooperative/collaborativ:-)e effort by all local parties involved in the conflicts, as well as international elements, including governments, to regard such sites as ‘off limits’ in the arena of armed activities. She suggested a start could be made in places like the city of Aleppo, where the great Omayad Mosqfue has already sustained significant damage.

Other proposed measures have included an international ban on the illicit trafficking or sale of antiquities from Syria, now a major problem and source of financial support for groups like ISIS, and the creaion of a global registry of antiquities that are being placed on the market. “Creating an exhaustive registry of all antiquities of Iraqi and Syrian origins currently held in collections will enable the government to target artifacts that do not have clear legitimate titles and excavation history,” says Leung. “The registry will force buyers to prove legitimacy, sending a strong message that artifacts with questionable origins will be subject to severe scrutiny and ethical conduct investigation. The registry will bring down the market value of these artifacts and makes them less attractive to loot.”

Leung admits that creating and sustaining such a registry would not be an easy task, but would be well worth the effort, if successful. “Striving for a foolproof registry presents both challenges and opportunities,” she stated. “The endeavor is likely to strain administrative resources, yet the registry will be able to shift the burden of proof of origin and legitimacy from sellers to art dealers and antiquities buyers. Holding art dealers and private collectors accountable is vital to deter buyers from obtaining artifacts with questionable origins and from justifying such artifacts as “chance finds.”

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More about the crisis in cultural property damage and loss in Syria and Iraq will be covered in two feature articles to be published soon in Popular Archaeology Magazine.

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Archaeologists Discover First Evidence of Frankincense in British Roman Burials

Posted on December 4, 2014 by No Author -

The first scientific evidence of frankincense being used in Roman burial rites in Britain has been uncovered by a team of archaeological scientists led by the University of Bradford. The findings – published today in the Journal of Archaeological Science – prove that, even while the Roman Empire was in decline, these precious substances were being transported to its furthest northern outpost.

The discovery was made by carrying out molecular analysis of materials previously thought to be of little interest – debris inside burial containers and residues on skeletal remains and plaster body casings. Until now, evidence for the use of resins in ancient funerary rites has rarely come to light outside of Egypt.

The samples came from burial sites across Britain, in Dorset, Wiltshire, London and York, dating from the third to the fourth century AD. Of the forty-nine burials analysed, four showed traces of frankincense – originating from southern Arabia or eastern Africa – and ten others contained evidence of resins imported from the Mediterranean region and northern Europe.

Classical texts mention these aromatic, antimicrobial substances as being used as a practical measure to mask the smell of decay or slow decomposition during the often lengthy funeral rites of the Roman elite. But it was their ritual importance which justified their transportation from one end of the empire to the other. Seen both as gifts from the gods and to the gods, these resins were thought to purify the dead and help them negotiate the final rite of passage to the afterlife.

Rhea Brettell from the University of Bradford, whose research is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, was the first to realise that these grave deposits were an untapped reservoir of information which could provide the missing evidence:

“Archaeologists have relied on finding visible resin fragments to substantiate the descriptions of burial rites in classical texts, but these rarely survive,” she says. “Our alternative approach of analysing grave deposits to find the molecular signatures of the resins – which fortunately are very distinctive – has enabled us to carry out the first systematic study across a whole province.”

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An example of Frankincense bought on the market in Somalia. This is not an example of evidence actually found in Roman Britain burials.

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These resins were only recovered from burials of higher status individuals, identified from the type of container used, the clothing they were wearing and items buried with them. This is consistent with the known value of frankincense in antiquity and the fact it had to be brought to Britain via what, at the time, was a vast and complex trade route.

University of Bradford Professor of Archaeological Sciences, Carl Heron, who led the research, adds: “It is remarkable that the first evidence for the use of frankincense in Britain should come from such seemingly unpromising samples yet our analysis demonstrates that traces of these exotic resins can survive for over 1700 years in what others would reject as dirt.”

The project was a collaboration between the University of Bradford and specialists at the Anglo-Saxon Laboratory in York, the Museum of London and the Universities of Bamburg and Bordeaux.

Dr Rebecca Redfern, research osteologist in the Centre for Human Bioarchaeology at the Museum of London, said: “This eye opening study has provided us with new and amazing insights into the funerary rituals of late Roman Britain. The University of Bradford’s significant research has also rewarded us with further understanding of a rich young Roman lady, used in the study, whose 4th century skeleton and sarcophagus was discovered near Spitalfields Market in the City of London in 1999, making her burial even more unique in Britain.”

The materials from which the samples were collected are held by Dorset County Museum, Museum of London, Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, Wessex Archaeology, Winchester Museums and York Museums Trust.

The resins found in the study were from three different plant families:

Pistacia spp. (mastic/terebinth) from the Mediterranean or the Levant
Pinaceae (probably Pinus spp.) from Northern Europe
Boswellia spp. (frankincense/olibanum) from southern Arabia and eastern Africa

This study published in Journal of Archaeological Science covers inhumation burials. The University of Bradford researchers have subsequently also identified resins in a cremation burial from the Mersea Island barrow, where the resins were added to the ashes in the urn prior to burial. These findings are due to be published in the New Year.

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Source: University of Bradford press release.

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King Richard III Case Closed After 529 Years

Posted on December 2, 2014 by No Author -

The international research team led by Dr Turi King from the University of Leicester Department of Genetics has now provided overwhelming evidence that the skeleton discovered under a car park in Leicester indeed represents the remains of King Richard III, thereby closing what is probably the oldest forensic case solved to date.

The team of researchers, including Professor of English Local History, Kevin Schürer, who is also Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Leicester and led the genealogical research for the project, has published the findings online today (Tuesday 2 December) in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications.

The researchers collected DNA and analysed several genetic markers, including the complete mitochondrial genomes, inherited through the maternal line, and Y-chromosomal markers, inherited through the paternal line, from both the skeletal remains and living relatives. The study is also the first to carry out a statistical analysis of all the evidence together, to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Skeleton 1 from the Greyfriars site in Leicester is indeed the remains of King Richard III.

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The excavated remains of Richard III, discovered at Greyfriars. Courtesy University of Leicester

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Their results: While the Y-chromosomal markers differ, the mitochondrial genome shows a genetic match between the skeleton and the maternal line relatives. The former result is not unsurprising as the chances for a false-paternity event is fairly high after so many generations. They have also shown beyond reasonable doubt that Skeleton 1 from the Greyfriars site in Leicester is indeed the remains of King Richard III. Genetic markers related to the King’s hair and eye colour indicated that he probably had blond hair and blue eyes, appearing most similar to his depiction in one of the earliest portraits of him that survived, the one curated by the Society of Antiquaries in London.

“The combination of evidence confirms the remains as those of Richard III,” said Shürer. “Especially important is the triangulation of the maternal line descendants.”

Says King of the report: “Our paper covers all the genetic and genealogical analysis involved in the identification of the remains of Skeleton 1 from the Greyfriars site in Leicester and is the first to draw together all the strands of evidence to come to a conclusion about the identity of those remains. Even with our highly conservative analysis, the evidence is overwhelming that these are indeed the remains of King Richard III, thereby closing an over 500 year old missing person’s case.”

Simon Chaplin, Director of Culture & Society at the Wellcome Trust, added: “It is exciting to have access to genetic data from any known historical individual, let alone a king of England lost for more than 500 years, so we are thrilled to be able to support this fascinating project through our Research Resources grant scheme. Adding this information to a wealth of existing material about Richard III further highlights the ways in which studying human remains can inform our understanding of the past, and we look forward to learning more about Richard for many years to come.”

The research team now plans to sequence the complete genome of RIII to learn more about the last English king to die in battle.

See the videos detailing the research and findings below.

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The University of Leicester was the principal funder of the research. Dr King’s post is part-funded by The Wellcome Trust and the Leverhulme Trust.

Source: Adapted and edited from a University of Leicester press release.

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Mastodons Disappeared From Ancient Beringia Before Humans Arrived

Posted on December 1, 2014 by No Author -

It seems the mastodons had already left the scene by the time early Americans arrived on the ancient Beringia landmass about 13,000 – 14,000 years ago. A re-dating of mastodon bones reveals that the extinct mammals, related to the modern day elephant, disappeared from the area during a glacial period more than 50,000 years earlier than previously thought.

Existing age estimates of American mastodon fossils indicate that these extinct relatives of elephants lived in the Arctic and Subarctic when the area was covered by ice caps—a chronology that is at odds with what scientists know about the massive animals’ preferred habitat: forests and wetlands abundant with leafy food. In a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international team of researchers is revising fossil age estimates based on new radiocarbon dates and suggesting that the Arctic and Subarctic were only temporary homes to mastodons when the climate was warm. The new findings also indicate that mastodons suffered local extinction several tens of millennia before either human colonization–the earliest estimate of which is between 13,000 and 14,000 years ago–or the onset of climate changes at the end of the ice age about 10,000 years ago, when they were among 70 species of mammals to disappear in North America.

“Scientists have been trying to piece together information on these extinctions for decades,” said Ross MacPhee, a curator in the Department of Mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History and a co-author of the paper. “Was it the result of over-hunting by early people in North America? Was it the rapid global warming at the end of the ice age? Did all of these big mammals go out in one dramatic die-off, or were they paced over time and due to a complex set of factors?”

Over the course of the late Pleistocene, between about 10,000 and 125,000 years ago, the American mastodon (Mammut americanum) became widespread and occupied many parts of continental North America as well as peripheral locations like the tropics of Honduras and the Arctic coast of Alaska. Mastodons were browsing specialists that relied on woody plants and lived in coniferous or mixed woodlands with lowland swamps.

“Mastodon teeth were effective at stripping and crushing twigs, leaves, and stems from shrubs and trees. So it would seem unlikely that they were able to survive in the ice-covered regions of Alaska and Yukon during the last full-glacial period, as previous fossil dating has suggested,” said Grant Zazula, a paleontologist in the Yukon Palaeontology Program and lead author of the new work.

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An American mastodon. Bottom: An American mastodon (left) and a woolly mammoth for comparison (right). Image courtesy George Teichmann.

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Megafaunal mammals including the American mastodon (rear center), Jefferson’s ground sloth (front center and right), the flat-headed peccary (front left), and the western camel (rear left) extended their habitat into northern latitudes during the last interglacial period, around 125,000 years ago. Image courtesy of George Teichmann.

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The research team used two different types of precise radiocarbon dating on a collection of 36 fossil teeth and bones of American mastodons from Alaska and Yukon, the region known as eastern Beringia. The dating methods, performed at Oxford University and the University of California, Irvine, are designed to only target material from bone collagen, avoiding the accompanying “slop,” including preparation varnish and glues that were used many years ago to strengthen the specimens.

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Grant Zazula, a paleontologist in the Yukon Palaeontology Program and lead author of the new work, cuts samples of American mastodon bones for radiocarbon dating. Credit: © G. Zazula

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A mastodon molar. Courtesy G. Zazula

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All of the fossils were found to be older than previously thought, with most surpassing 50,000 years, the effective limit of radiocarbon dating. When taking mastodon habitat preferences and other ecological and geological information into account, the results indicate that mastodons probably only lived in the Arctic and Subarctic for a limited time around 125,000 years ago, when forests and wetlands were established and the temperatures were as warm as they are today.

The residency of mastodons in the north did not last long,” Zazula said. “The return to cold, dry glacial conditions along with the advance of continental glaciers around 75,000 years ago effectively wiped out their habitats. Mastodons disappeared from Beringia, and their populations became displaced to areas much farther to the south, where they ultimately suffered complete extinction about 10,000 years ago.”

The work has several implications. Researchers know that giant ground sloths, American camels, and giant beavers made the migration as well, but they are still investigating what other groups of animals might have followed this course. The new report also suggests that humans could not have been involved in the local extinction of mastodons in the north 75,000 years ago as they had not yet crossed the Bering Isthmus from Asia.

“We’re not saying that humans were uninvolved in the megafauna’s last stand 10,000 years ago. But by that time, whatever the mastodon population was down to, their range had shrunken mostly to the Great Lakes region,” MacPhee said. “That’s a very different scenario from saying the human depredations caused universal loss of mastodons across their entire range within the space of a few hundred years, which is the conventional view.”

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Source: Edited and adapted from an American Museum of Natural History press release and a press release of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Other authors of the paper include Jessica Metcalfe, University of British Columbia; Alberto Reyes, University of Alberta; Fiona Brock and Shweta Nalawade-Chavan, Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit; Patrick Drukenmiller, University of Alaska Museum and University of Alaska Fairbanks; Pamela Groves, Daniel Mann, and Michael Kunz, University of Alaska Fairbanks; C. Richard Harington, Canadian Museum of Nature; Gregory Hodgins, University of Arizona, Tucson; Fred Longstaffe, University of Western Ontario, London; H. Gregory McDonald, U.S. National Parks Service; and John Southon, University of California, Irvine.

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Researchers Investigate ‘Vampire’ Remains in Polish Cemetery

Posted on November 26, 2014 by No Author -

Potential ‘vampires’ buried in Poland with sickles and rocks placed across their corpses were likely local people known by their community before death, say researchers in a study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Lesley Gregoricka from University of South Alabama and colleagues.

Archaeologists and other scientists who have exhumed the medieval and post-medieval skeletal remains of individuals in cemeteries across Europe in the course of their research have long known about burials of individuals who were thought to be potential ‘vampires’, or the ‘undead’. They know this by the peculiar features associated with the skeletal remains within the graves, objects such as sickles placed across the bodies, large stones placed over the neck or under the chins, iron bars or ‘stakes’ inserted through the chest area, or bricks or stones inserted within the cavity between the madible and the cranium (the mouth). They are considered indicators of apotropaic burial practices, or bodily treatments to the deceased within their coffins or graves designed to prevent them from returning to life and rising out of their graves to haunt, kill or eat the living. Only a minority of burials across Europe have exhibited these characteristics, but the practice is a reflection of a variety of cultural or religious beliefs that have inspired or spawned the more modern, popular conceptions in literature and the media about Dracula and vampires within the horror genre—a fascination and source of entertainment for generations.

Beginning in 2008, excavations carried out by an international team at the ‘Drawsko 1’ post-medieval cemetery site in northwestern Poland revealed six unusual graves, with skeletal remains dated to the 17th – 18th century showing sickles across the bodies or large rocks under the chins of select individuals. Though unusual, these burials were among hundreds of other normal burials. The researchers at the site have interpreted them to be apotropaic burials.

“In Polish folklore……the soul and the body are distinct entities that separate upon a person’s death,” write Lesley A. Gregoricka of the University of South Alabama and colleagues in the report. “Souls, the majority of which are harmless, leave the body and continue to inhabit the earth for 40 days after death. However, a small minority of these souls were seen as a direct threat to the living and at risk of becoming a vampire, particularly those who were marginalized in life for having an unusual physical appearance, practicing witchcraft, perishing first during an epidemic, committing suicide, being unbaptized or born out of wedlock, or being an outsider to the community.”*

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Individual 49/2012 (30-39 year old female) is shown with a sickle placed across the neck. Courtesy Amy Scott

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Individual 60/2010 (60+ year old female) is shown with a stone placed directly on top of the throat. Courtesy Gregoricka et al.

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In the study, Gregoricka and her colleagues analyzed the remains of 60 of the total of 285 buried skeletal remains unearthed in the excavations, including those of five of the six “special” or deviant, apotropaic, burials, by using radiometric strontium isotope analysis of dental enamel samples. The study was designed to determine whether the bodies selected for apotropaic burial rites were local or immigrants, one factor that can be scientifically tested. The research methodology used is important because strontium isotopes are absorbed by the flora and fauna of local ecosystems, which include humans, by the weathering or breakdown of bedrock into the soils and groundwater. “Because strontium is structurally similar to calcium, as humans consume these plants and animals, small amounts of strontium absorbed by the intestines substitute for calcium in the formation of enamel and bone hydroxyapatite,” wrote Gregoricka, et al. in the report. “Strontium uptake into the human skeleton is primarily determined by these consumed foods, and because the 87Sr/86Sr ratios within these products are a direct reflection of the distinct isotopic composition of a particular region’s underlying geology, biogeochemical signatures in human dental enamel (which form only during childhood) offer a useful means of evaluating childhood geographic residence and mobility in the past.”*

The team’s conclusion: The ‘vampires’ were local. They did not immigrate into the community from the outside, often cited historically by residents of communities during the 17th and 18th centuries as a reason for the introduction of evil elements into the social structure. The data thus indicated that they had to be perceived with suspicion in some other way. The study authors suggest one alternate explanation could be related to the cholera epidemics in Eastern Europe during the 17th century. “People of the post-medieval period did not understand how disease was spread, and rather than a scientific explanation for these epidemics, cholera and the deaths that resulted from it were explained by the supernatural – in this case, vampires,” said Dr. Gregoricka. “However,” cautioned Gregoricka in the report,”because cholera kills quickly and does not leave behind visible markers on the skeleton, it is unclear if this is the case at Drawsko.”*

The research study was published November 26, 2014 in the open access journal, PLOS ONE.

A more extensive feature article about the archaeology of ‘vampires’ will be published in the Winter 2015 issue of Popular Archaeology Magazine.

______________________________________

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Prehistoric Farming on the Tibetan Plateau

Posted on November 20, 2014 by No Author -

Animal teeth, bones and plant remains have helped researchers from Cambridge, China and America to pinpoint a date for what could be the earliest sustained human habitation at high altitude.

Archaeological discoveries from the ‘roof of the world’ on the Tibetan Plateau indicate that from 3,600 years ago, crop growing and the raising of livestock was taking place year-round at hitherto unprecedented altitudes.

The findings, published today in Science, demonstrate that across 53 archaeological sites spanning 800 miles, there is evidence of sustained farming and human habitation between 2,500 metres above sea level (8,200ft) and 3,400 metres (11,154ft).

Evidence of an intermittent human presence on the Tibetan Plateau has been dated to at least 20,000 years ago, with the first semi-permanent villages established only 5,200 years ago. The presence of crops and livestock at the altitudes discovered by researchers indicates a more sustained human presence than is needed to merely hunt game at such heights.

Professor Martin Jones, from Cambridge’s Department of Archaeology, and one of the lead researchers on the project, said: “Until now, when and how humans started to live and farm at such extraordinary heights has remained an open question. Our understanding of sustained habitation above 2-3,000m on the Tibetan Plateau has to date been hampered by the scarcity of archaeological data available.

“But our findings show that not only did these farmer-herders conquer unheard of heights in terms of raising livestock and growing crops like barley and millet, but that human expansion into the higher, colder altitudes took place as the continental temperatures were becoming colder.

“Year-round survival at these altitudes must have led to some very challenging conditions indeed – and this poses further, interesting questions for researchers about the adaptation of humans, livestock and crops to life at such dizzying heights.”

Professor Jones hopes more work will now be undertaken to look at genetic resistance in humans to altitude sickness, and genetic response in crop plants in relation to attributes such as grain vernalisation, flowering time response and ultraviolet radiation tolerance – as well as research into the genetic and ethnic identity of the human communities themselves.

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Modern-day barley harvest in Qinghai, farmed at a height of 3,000 meters above sea level. Credit Professor Martin Jones, University of Cambridge

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Research on the Tibetan Plateau has also raised interesting questions about the timing and introduction of Western crops such as barley and wheat – staples of the so-called ‘Fertile Crescent’. From 4,000-3,600 years ago, this meeting of east and west led to the joining or displacement of traditional North Chinese crops of broomcorn and foxtail millet. The importation of Western cereals enabled human communities to adapt to the harsher conditions of higher altitudes in the Plateau.

In order to ascertain during what period and at what altitude sustained food produced first enabled an enduring human presence, the research group collected artefacts, animal bones and plant remains from 53 sites across the late Yangshao, Majiayao, Qiija, Xindian, Kayue and Nuomuhong cultures.

Cereal grains (foxtail millet, broomcorn millet, barley and wheat) were identified at all 53 sites and animal bones and teeth (from sheep, cattle and pig) were discovered at ten sites. Of the 53 sites, an earlier group (dating from 5,200-3,600 years ago) reached a maximum elevation of 2,527m while a later group of 29 sites (dating from 3,600-2,300 years ago) approached 3,400m in altitude.

Professor Jones believes the Tibetan Plateau research could have wider and further-reaching implications for today’s world in terms of global food security and the possibilities of rebalancing the ‘global diet’; at present heavily, and perhaps unsustainably, swayed in favour of the big three crops of rice, wheat and maize.

He said: “Our current knowledge of agricultural foods emphasises a relatively small number of crops growing in the intensively managed lowlands. The more we learn about the rich ecology of past and present societies, and the wider range of crops they raised in the world’s more challenging environments, the more options we will have for thinking through food security issues in the future.”

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Source: University of Cambridge press release

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Archaeologists Excavate Imperial Roman Structure

Posted on November 19, 2014 by No Author -

Ostia Antica, the famous Roman port that served the city of Rome from the days of the Republic through Imperial times, is noted for its remarkably preserved ancient buildings, frescoes and mosaics. Located near Rome, its ruins lie near the modern suburb of Ostia, a popular destination for tourists and teams of excavating archaeologists for years. During its heyday it skirted the banks of the Tiber river, but silting over centuries of time has placed the site 3 kilometres (2 miles) from the sea. Many of its ancient structures, however, remain extraordinarily intact, almost as if to imply that nothing has changed.

In 2015, a team of archaeologists and students will once again return to the site under the direction of Dr. Darius Arya and Dr. Michele Raddi of the American Institute of Roman Culture. They will be focusing their efforts on two areas in the Parco dei Ravennati, a public park area near the main archaeological site of Ostia and the famous Medieval borgo Renaissance castle built by Pope Julius II. The first area, designated ‘Area A’, contains an Imperial Roman structure built using the opus mixtum construction technique and redecorated in Late Antiquity with frescoes and an opus sectile floor in one room, which was later divided into a series of smaller rooms during the Medieval period. Next to this is a 15th century vaulted structure that was partially investigated in the late 1960s, thought to be associated with the construction of the borgo castle. The second area, designated ‘Area B’, features part of a Roman road next to a circular Late Republican period mausoleum, excavated in previous years. Arya, et al., believe this part of the road was “likely the last major phase of the Via Ostiensis dating to the early Middle Ages”.*

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Ostia Antica, for obvious reasons as depicted above, is among the most visited archaeological sites in Italy, with visual reminders of places like Pompeii. Wikimedia Commons

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The upcoming excavations come on the heals of some remarkable finds by the team in recent years. “We’ve had amazing finds over the past two years at Parco dei Ravennati,” Arya told ANSA, the Italian news wire service, in an interview last July. “This year, we’ve uncovered more than a dozen early Christian-era tombs arranged close to a central tomb. Our working hypothesis is that the set up of the surrounding tombs suggests the person buried here was of great importance, such as Saint Monica or Saint Aurea, whose church is nearby.” Excavators also uncovered a number of fragmentary funerary inscriptions and a possible tabella defixionum, a lead tablet inscribed with a curse to protect the dead from tomb raiders. In 2013, the team uncovered an opus sectile (an inlaid, colored marble pavement). The 2014 excavations continued the work on the pavement, revealing a detailed geometric motif.

Darya and colleagues are currently calling for individuals who would be interested in participating in the excavations during the 2015 summer season. For more information about the Ostia Antica excavations and how to participate, see the website for details.

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*http://romanculture.org/programs/current-field-school-excavation/

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Prehistoric Farming on the Tibetan Plateau

Archaeologists Excavate Imperial Roman Structure

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