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Describing previously unknown aspects of Copper Age ceremonial clothing

University of Seville—Researchers from the University of Seville have led a study* that analyzed the perforated beads discovered in the Tholos de Montelirio, part of the Copper Age mega-site of Valencina de la Concepción-Castilleja de Guzmán (Seville). The conclusions of their work, published in the journal Science Advances, highlight the importance of the ceremonial clothing and its symbolism.

The garments worn by the women buried in the Montelirio tholos were made using perforated beads and probably linen fibre to bind them together. They were ceremonial garments which, in at least two cases, were full-length tunics. These robes were also ornamented with ivory and amber pendants representing acorns, birds and other, unidentifiable, items. The radiocarbon dating study reveals that these robes were manufactured at the same time as the Montelirio burials were made, between 2800 and 2700 BC.

The materials found at Montelirio constitute the largest collection of perforated beads ever documented in a single tomb. A quantification of the collection, which is currently conserved at the Archaeological Museum of Seville, has found that some 270,000 of these beads have been found to date. This makes Montelirio the largest collection of such objects discovered anywhere in the world.

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These beads, with an average diameter of between 2 and 5 millimeters, were mostly made from the shells of marine molluscs of the Pectinidae and Cardidiae families. Of these, the popular ‘scallop’ shells stand out; they are known today as the symbol of the apostle St. James and the famous pilgrimage route associated with him, but which in antiquity were the symbol of the goddess Venus/Aphrodite. The results of the experimental study show that, in total, more than 800 kilogrammes of these shells were used, which had to be collected from the coasts and beaches that 5000 years ago stretched along what is now the lower Guadalquivir Valley and its marshes.

The garments had a strongly symbolic meaning, given the marine nature of the raw material used and their intense white colour. Dressed in them, and probably ornamented (perhaps painted) with red cinnabar pigment, which is found in abundance in the same tomb, these women performed tasks of religious and probably political leadership in their time, managing a famous sanctuary around which important congregations of great social significance took place.

An extensive study carried out over the last five years – including meticulous quantification of the collection, characterisation of raw materials, radiocarbon dating and statistical chronometric modeling, morphometric analysis, phytolith analysis, experimental work and contextual analysis – has revealed several new features of these remarkable creations. The role of the garments as sumptuary attributes loaded with symbolism, used by a selected group of women of high social position, underlines the extraordinary role that the mega-site of Valencina played 5,000 years ago as a central social, political and religious place, a reference for a wide range of communities distributed throughout the Guadalquivir Valley and, more generally, the south of the Iberian Peninsula.

The work, led by researchers from the University of Seville’s Atlas Group features eighteen specialists from various national and international scientific institutions, including the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC), the universities of La Laguna, Huelva, Granada and Basque Country (Spain), Southampton and Durham (UK) and Northwestern (USA), as well as the Municipal Museum of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville).

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Tholos de Montelirio – human remains with remains of a dress made from amber and shell beads. Murillo-Barroso M, Peñalver E, Bueno P, Barroso R, de Balbín R, Martinón-Torres M; CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Article Source: University of Seville news release.

The inner ear of Neanderthals reveals clues about their enigmatic origin

Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont—Neanderthals emerged around 250.000 years ago from European   populations—referred to as “pre-Neanderthals”—which inhabited the Eurasian continent between 500.000 and 250.000 years ago. It was long believed that no significant changes occurred throughout the evolution of Neanderthals, yet recent paleogenetic research based on DNA samples extracted from fossils revealed the existence of a drastic genetic diversity loss event between early Neanderthals (or ancient Neanderthals) and later ones (also referred to as “classic” Neanderthals). Technically known as a “bottleneck”, this genetic loss is frequently the consequence of a reduction in the number of individuals of a population. Paleogenetic data indicate that the decline in genetic variation took place approximately 110,000 years ago.

The presence of an earlier bottleneck event related to the origin of the Neanderthal lineage was also a widespread assumption among the scientific community. As such, all hypotheses formulated thus far were based on the idea that the earliest Neanderthals exhibited lower genetic diversity than their pre-Neanderthal ancestors, as consequence of a bottleneck event. However, the existence of a bottleneck at the origin of the Neanderthals has not been confirmed yet through paleogenetic data, mainly due to the lack of genetic sequences old enough to record the event and needed for ancient DNA studies.

In a study* led by Alessandro Urciuoli (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) and Mercedes Conde-Valverde (Cátedra de Otoacústica Evolutiva de HM Hospitales y la Universidad de Alcalá), researchers measured the morphological diversity in the structure of the inner ear responsible for our sense of balance: the semicircular canals. It is widely accepted that results obtained from studying the morphological diversity of the semicircular canals are comparable to those obtained through DNA comparisons.

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The study focused on two exceptional collections of fossil humans: one from the Sima de los Huesos site of Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain), dated to 430,000 years old, which constitutes the largest sample of pre-Neanderthals available in the fossil record; and another from the Croatian site of Krapina, this representing the most complete collection of early Neanderthals and dated to approximately 130.000-120.000 years ago. The researchers calculated the amount of morphological diversity (i.e., disparity) of the semicircular canals of both samples, comparing them with each other and with a sample of classic Neanderthals of different ages and geographical origins.

The study’s findings reveal that the morphological diversity of the semicircular canals of classic Neanderthals is clearly lower than that of pre-Neanderthals and early Neanderthals, which aligns with previous paleogenetic results. Mercedes Conde-Valverde, co-author of the study, emphasized the importance of the analyzed sample: “By including fossils from a wide geographical and temporal range, we were able to capture a comprehensive picture of Neanderthal evolution. The reduction in diversity observed between the Krapina sample and classic Neanderthals is especially striking and clear, providing strong evidence of a bottleneck event.”

On the other hand, the results challenge the previously accepted idea that the origin of Neanderthals was associated with a significant loss of genetic diversity, prompting the need to propose new explanations for their origin. “We were surprised to find that the pre-Neanderthals from the Sima de los Huesos exhibited a level of morphological diversity similar to that of the early Neanderthals from Krapina,” commented Alessandro Urciuoli, lead author of the study. “This challenges the common assumption of a bottleneck event at the origin of the Neanderthal lineage,” the researcher stated.

Alessandro Urciuoli is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Zurich (previously employed at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona as a Margarita Salas postdoctoral fellow) and associated researcher at the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont; Mercedes Conde-Valverde is lecturer at the Universidad de Alcalá and director of the Cátedra de Otoacústica Evolutiva de HM Hospitales and the Universidad de Alcalá.

Are we still primitive? How ancient survival instincts shape modern power struggles

Taylor & Francis Group—The evolutionary roots of human dominance and aggression remain central to social and political behavior, and without conscious intervention these primal survival drives will continue to fuel inequality and division.

These are the arguments of a medical professor who, as global conflicts rise and democracies face growing challenges, says understanding how dominance and tribal instincts fuel division is more critical than ever.

In A New Approach to Human Social Evolution, Professor Jorge A. Colombo MD, PhD explores neuroscience, anthropology, and behavioral science to provide a new perspective on human social evolution.*

He argues that fundamental behavioral drives – such as dominance, survival instincts, and competition – are hardwired into our species and continue to shape global politics, economic inequality, and social structures today. Without a conscious effort to counteract these instincts, we risk perpetuating the cycles of power struggles, inequality, and environmental destruction that define much of human history.

“In an era marked by rising authoritarianism, economic inequality, environmental crises, and nationalism, understanding how ancient survival mechanisms continue to shape human behavior is crucial,” he explains. “With increasing polarization in politics, conflicts over resources, and the struggle for social justice, I contend that only through education and universal values can humanity transcend these instincts to foster a more sustainable and equitable society.”

Professor Colombo, who is a former Full Professor at the University of South Florida (USA) and Principal Investigator at the National Research Council (CONICET, Argentina), explains how current human behaviour evolved based on an ancient heritage of animal drives which has been progressively built and placed into practice— grounded on survival, social gain, and profit— and is compressed to our basic neural systems and basic survival behavioral construction.

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When humans shifted from prey to universal predator, it affected the organization of the human brain, he argues. However, the human species also had to contend with the notion of mortality, and so in our core neural circuits (mainly in the basal brain) survive our basal drives (reproductive, territorial, survival, feeding), basic responses (fight, flight), and the thresholds for their behavioural expression.

Over time, he explains, thanks to the brain’s plasticity, it has added a neurobiological scaffolding on top of our animal drives, allowing for the emergence of traits such as creativeness, cognitive expansion, artistic expression, progressive toolmaking, and rich verbal communication.

Nevertheless, he argues, these traits did not deactivate or suppress those ancient drives and only succeeded in diverting (camouflaging) their expression or repressing them temporarily.

He argues that humans are bound to their ancestral demands imprinted as a set of basic drives (territorialism, reproduction, survival, secure feeding sources, dominance, and cumulative behaviour), which exist in friction with our cultural drives.

“Ancient animal survival drives persist in humans, masked under various behavioural paradigms. Fight and flight remain basic behavioural principles. Even subdued under religious or mystic beliefs, aggressive and defensive behaviours emerge to defend or fight for even the most sophisticated peaceful beliefs, and events throughout humankind’s history support this evidence,” he explains.

He points to examples of dominance in politics (military oppression, propaganda, or financial repression), religion (punishing gods, esoteric menaces), and education (forms of punishment and thought process conditioning).

However, dominance exerted through political, economic, social class, or military power adds privileged structures to social construction, Colombo argues.

As a dominant species with evolved cultural and technological strategies, it has resulted in the over-exploitation of natural resources, the development of arms of massive destruction, strategies to foster massive consumerism, and political means to manipulate public opinion, which also, in turn, create poverty, deprivation, marginalization, and oppression.

He argues that without education and the promotion of universal values involving individual opportunities to evolve and protect the environment, more communities will become undernourished, impoverished, and without access to primary healthcare or adequate education for the continuous changes in the modern world.

He points to AI as an example of a growing, uneven educational gap that would reinforce socioeconomic disparity and social inequality. He argues that people should proactively create policies to work towards a viable, multicultural, equitable humanity and an ecologically sustainable planet.

“The aggressiveness, cruelties, social inequities, and unrelenting individual and socioeconomic class ambitions are the best evidence that humans must first recognize and assume their fundamental nature to change their ancestral drive,” he suggests. “Profound cultural changes are only possible and enduring if humans come to grips with their actual primary condition.”

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Article Source: Taylor & Francis Group news release

Image, Top Left: Hansuan_Fabrigas, Pixabay

How We Distribute Power Will Influence Our Future

Professor of anthropology (emerita) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carole Crumley is a founding scientist of the research strategy termed historical ecology. Her key concept of heterarchy is now applied to studies of societal and environmental change. She is the director of the Integrated History and Future of People on Earth (IHOPE) initiative, a global network of researchers based at Sweden’s Uppsala University that unites the biophysical and social sciences and community voices to build a livable future.

Power in human societies is often viewed as hierarchical, meaning that it’s tiered and ranked. This view doesn’t fully capture the complexity of how power is managed in different cultures. Some societies are not strictly hierarchical but heterarchical, where power is distributed among various groups or individuals who work together without a clear ranking. There is ample evidence for the existence of heterarchy for a variety of forms of social and political power, including in the archaeological record.1

Historically, the idea that more complex societies are superior to simpler ones has justified racism, colonialism, and domination. However, research conducted since the end of the 20th century increasingly shows that all human societies are fluid and interconnected, with power often shared among different groups.

Understanding these power dynamics helps us see how societies change over time. For example, when an elite group loses control of trade, new power structures may emerge, such as guilds or associations. These changes affect the entire society and can lead to more distributed power and democratic institutions.

The combined study of heterarchy and hierarchy allows us to trace how societies adapt and respond to challenges. It shows that power can shift and evolve into new forms of social organizations that help societies survive and thrive, even if they may face new tensions or conflicts later.

A Closer Look At Authority Structures

Heterarchies are self-organizing systems in which elements engage and affect one another. In the context of social systems, the relative power of groups can change based on the situation, which often depends on the degree of communication and collaboration among entities with different sources of power. When power is consolidated in a society by merging distinct entities (for example, religious, political, or economic) into a single, tightly controlled system (hyper-hierarchy or hypercoherence), there is less flexibility in dealing with surprise.2

The term polity is preferred to include the gamut of political organizations. Keep in mind that no polities are entirely hierarchical or heterarchical but instead are diverse and have changing packages of governance. For example, some organizations (armies, police, and firefighters) are necessarily quite hierarchical to clarify chains of command but can serve a polity in which all citizens have free access to health care.

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Hierarchical Polities

Administrators in strong hierarchies (authoritarian states, oligarchies, and hyper-hierarchies) have several advantages. Due to a clear decision-making chain, they respond well to fast-developing crises (such as a military attack or insurrection). Because the rules and responsibilities are familiar, political interactions among decision-makers are fewer and more formalized, and political maintenance of the system is low. Administrative hierarchies are equipped with powerful security forces that can successfully defend the state perimeter and suppress internal dissent.

Polities that are strongly hierarchical are at a disadvantage, however, because data-gathering techniques, tied to the pyramidal decision-making framework, slow or stop the arrival of important information (especially subversive activity) at the apex of the pyramid. This necessitates the formalization and elaboration of internal security forces. Decisions are not necessarily popular; dissatisfaction is high and there must be considerable investment in coercion or propaganda. This also leads to high security costs. An example of this can be seen in most military dictatorships. In Chile under Augusto Pinochet, for example, the regime held onto power through the systematic suppression of opposition parties and the persecution of dissidents.

Heterarchical Polities

Administrators in polities with a strong heterarchical organization receive good quality information from many sources within and outside the decision-making lattice. In general, decisions are fair and reflect popular consensus. Decision-makers hear of a variety of solutions to problems. Because heterarchies are more likely to value the contributions of disparate segments of the community (ethnic groups and women, for example), their society is better integrated and the workforce is proud and energized.

Heterarchical polities are at a disadvantage because consensus is slow to achieve. Decision-makers must engage with constituents, requiring considerable time, energy, and constant maintenance. The cacophonous voices and choices a decision-maker hears complicate the search for workable solutions. The greater the groups’ involvement and trust in the system, the greater the possibility of consensus, but the response time is slower, and long-range planning is more difficult.

Trade-offs

Heterarchies value spontaneity, flexibility, and a definition of state power that involves balancing diverse elements. Individuals gain status through merit (rather than through inheritance or loyalty). State power should be used to improve citizens’ safety and well-being. Hierarchies, by contrast, value rule-based authority, rigid class lines linked to ascribed as well as achieved status and rank, a control definition of state power, and once achieved, the status quo. State democracies exhibit characteristics of both, which explains in part why they are more stable than authoritarian states.

Key Issues for Future Research

In all societies, the power of various individuals and factions fluctuates relative to changing circumstances. Today, as resources worldwide are being depleted and environmental conditions deteriorate, new ways to stabilize societies and reduce conflict must be found. One of the most important conditions for reducing conflict is to ensure inclusive and equitable conditions for everyone, particularly as regards food and water security, personal and group safety, and a satisfying quality of life.

In human societies, heterarchy is a corrective to power theories that conflate hierarchy with (civil) order, thereby creating a conundrum: will you submit and be safe or resist at your peril? To reenvision an equitable future for humankind, there must be a means to conceptualize and evaluate shifts between exclusive and inclusive power relations in diverse spatial and temporal scales and contexts. There must also be a way to assess the implications of each type of relationship in terms of how beneficial it is to society and how suitable it is for the future.

Created in the process of building nation-states around the globe, analytic tools that measure efficiency illuminate only hierarchical political, economic, and social forms and ignore the stabilizing power of heterarchical forms; in this way, hyper-hierarchical and other inherently unstable forms of wealth distribution and political power accumulate. The controlling model of hierarchy-as-order, ubiquitous and all but invisible, exacerbates growing tensions.

Bioarchaeology as a Window to Political Relationships

Public policies, systems of exchange, subsistence strategies, and social roles structure how people obtain resources and how they experience the result of toil and violence. Bioarchaeology (the scientific study of biological remains from archaeological sites) and genomics have become invaluable to the study of early political relationships.

It is now possible to reconstruct many aspects of an individual’s life by extracting DNA and evaluating trauma in human remains. In addition to much more reliable identification of sex and age at death, we can now know the region where a person was born, if they traveled widely or emigrated to another region, and we can find clues to what they ate, the kind of work they did, and how they were treated. Together these pieces of information can form a picture of life as lived, marking stressful and tranquil periods that the person and/or the group survived.

These new tools produce reliable determinations of historic risk and vulnerability across various scales, from the individual level to large populations. While community-wide governance in smaller-sized groups is no surprise, this was also seen in cooperative states, regions, and urban agglomerations (Callejón de Huaylas/Requay, central Thailand, Mimbres, Tiawanaku, and Marroquíes) and even empires (Xianbei and Genghis Khan’s Mongols) that were collaboratively organized.3

Future Thinking

This is important information for the human future: the old paradigm that asserted competition and conflict to be the primary motors of civilization can now be reconsidered. In the course of human history, societies engaged in cooperative activities that advanced their well-being, and they also fell into conflict or under the rule of tyrants. If we begin with the premise that the tension between competition and cooperation exists in all human societies, it then behooves us to explore the ways rules and norms permit or deny each other, and how both interact with history and changing conditions to forge institutions.4

The political climates of the past demonstrate that human accomplishment is not on a rising staircase culminating in the state; instead, we find a long history of diverse experiments and their results, to which we now have access. In the contemporary world, we face an important question: How can the equity and effectiveness of coalitions, federations, leagues, unions, and communities in societies of all sizes help us construct and strengthen societies of the future?

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1 Angelbeck, Bill and Grier, Colin. (2012). “Anarchism and the Archaeology of Anarchic Societies.” Current Anthropology 53(5): 547-587.

Chapman, Robert. (2003). Archaeologies of Complexity. London, Routledge.

Ehrenreich, Robert M.; Crumley, C.L.; and Levy, Janet E. (eds.) (1995). “Heterarchy and the Analysis of Complex Societies.” Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association no. 6. Washington, D.C.: American Anthropological Association.

Kohring, Sheila, Wynne-Jones, Stephanie (2007). Socialising Complexity: Approaches to Power and Interaction in the Archaeological Record. Oxford: Oxbow Books.

Souvatzi, Stella G. (2008). A Social Archaeology of Households in Neolithic Greece: An Anthropological Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

2 Piketty, Thomas. (2014). Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.

3 Becker, Sara K. and Juengst, Sara L. (eds.) (2020). “Cooperative Bodies: Bioarchaeologists Address Nonranked Societies.” Vital Topics Forum, American Anthropologist 122 (4).

Thurston, T.L., and Fernández-Götz, Manuel (eds.) (2021). Power from Below in Premodern Societies: The Dynamics of Political Complexity in the Archaeological Record. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

4 Chapman, Robert (2003). Archaeologies of Complexity. London: Routledge

Cover Image, Top Left: MetsikGarden, Pixabay

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This article was produced by Human Bridges.

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A Hunter’s Hypothesis: Ancient Mammoth-Bone Circles Were Smokehouses

It was a remarkable discovery. In March of 2020, the journal Antiquity published a research paper detailing the analysis by a team from the University of Exeter, University of Cambridge, Kostenki State Museum Preserve, University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Southampton, of what has been referred to as a mammoth-bone circle located at the village of Kostenki, 500 km south of Moscow in the Russian Plains. Dated to 20,000 BP, it is now considered the oldest known circular structure of mostly mammoth bones like this built by humans in present-day Ukraine and the west Russian Plain. So far, 70 such structures have been discovered in the region. While most of the bones at the Kostenki site consisted of a total of 51 mammoth lower jaws and 64 mammoth skulls used to construct the 30ft by 30ft wall structure, with other mammoth bones scattered within its interior, site investigators also found bones of reindeer, horse, bear, wolf, red fox and arctic fox. They also recovered more than 300 stone and flint chips—debris created from knapping stone nodules into sharp tools that could be used for tasks like butchering animals and scraping hides. 

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The Kostenki mammoth-bone circle remains as can be seen within the museum. Владислав Тищенко, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Mammoth bones at Kostenki (detail). evatutin, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Why were these structures built?

Archaeologists have advanced several possible explanations, ranging from habitation to places used for community activity and ritual/religious practices. None of them offer a slam-dunk interpretation of their purpose.

Enter here John Gleissner, a retired attorney, writer, history buff, and deer/meat hunter for 40 years, who undertook an extensive study of the available evidence for mammoth hunting by prehistoric humans. His conclusory hypothesis:

The mammoth-bone circles were actually smokehouses.

Hunting experience and meat processing of wild game allowed me to see the practical aspects missed by a large number of archaeologists,” says Gleissner. “Many archaeologists failed to recognize the practical aspects of meat science, carcass transportation, and the accumulation of so much bone and so many tusks in these isolated locations”. Gleissner continues, “The hunters only had two basic options to bring the raw meat directly to a form for immediate consumption or, at their discretion, stored for future consumption. One of those options was dried, tough, stringy fully dried meat strips, and the other was to smoke larger pieces and retain some moisture.”

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According to his suggestion, which he calls the Smokehouse Hypothesis, the Paleolithic hunters killed mammoths in the beds of the rivers, floated the carcasses down to a location near their settlements located on promontories above the rivers, butchered the mammoths, and then took the meat to smokehouses they constructed on promontories above the rivers to smoke, cure and store. Each mammoth could produce two to three metric tons of raw meat, which had to be processed at one time.

“River transport of the carcasses is the only way that many skulls, tusks, bones, and meat could be brought to a single location,” Gleissner maintains.

Moreover, if Gleissner’s hypothesis can be supported through further study, the Paleolithic hunters may have used what could be one of the earliest forms of cold-smoking—the food preservation technique that involves exposing food to smoke at a low temperature without cooking it. 

Archaeologist Dr. Ran Barkai of Tel Aviv University encouraged and supported, with literature, Mr. Gleissner’s research. “Archaeologists found many artifacts consistent with smokehouses in the smokehouse floors,” continued Gleissner, “and we are indebted to them for all their research.”

“Smokehouses included mammoth-bone circles, large oval smokehouses, and long smokehouses,” he added. “The most telling clues are nine (9) hearths arranged in a line around a structure matching that arrangement, with the line along a precise NW/SE axis. Back in Dolni-Vestonice (an Upper Paleolithic archaeological site near the village of Dolní Věstonice in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic), [for example] some of the floors of the smokehouses had 80 to 100 cm of ash forming the floors”.

Gleissner emphasizes the importance of terrain, hunting site advantages, and that all the mammoth-bone circle settlements were directly above navigable rivers. In a more detailed research manuscript, he details the bulk work efficient “production line” from first observing mammoths to consumption of smoked meat. He has submitted the manuscript to a number of  peer-reviewed academic journals. He anticipates publication this year.

Meanwhile, new discoveries and research will likely continue to produce new questions and answers revolving around the mysterious mammoth-bone circles of Ice Age hunters marking the landscape of present-day eastern Europe and Russia. One unanswered question is: where did the hunters spend the winters? Gleissner doubts they spent it on the tops of ridges and hills exposed to the winds of the Russian Plain.

Cover Image, Top Left: Mammoth, AI-generated. JuliusH, Pixabay  https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/

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The Archaeological Wonders of Madhya Pradesh

Editor’s Note: Following is a documented interview of Ramesh Yadav, Archaeological Officer at the Directorate of Archaeology, Archives, and Museums, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, by Popular Archaeology Magazine. Yadav relates the activities and significance of work that will reveal a remarkable past yet to be fully realized by the world’s public. 

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1. What would you consider to be the ‘hot spots’ or ‘hot sites’ for archaeological investigation and/or excavation in Madhya Pradesh, and why?

Since 1995, the Directorate of Archaeology, Archives, and Museums has been systematically conducting village-to-village surveys to identify and document archaeological heritage sites across Madhya Pradesh. As part of this initiative, teams of archaeologists visit various locations to assess and record the presence of ancient remains, often leading to the discovery of remnants of early settlements.

The selection of excavation sites is based on the findings from these surveys, including surface collections and recovered artifacts. Extensive surveys have been carried out throughout the state, with a notable concentration of significant excavation sites along the banks of the Narmada River. To date, at least 30 such sites have been excavated, offering valuable insights into the region’s historical and cultural evolution.


2. What is it about this region that stands out for archaeological investigation and archaeological visitation/ tourism in India, and/or, as compared to anywhere else?

Madhya Pradesh holds a prominent place in India’s archaeological landscape, with remains spanning from the prehistoric period to the 19th century. The region is home to significant rock paintings, some dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period, with Bhimbetka—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—being among the most renowned. Beyond Bhimbetka, extensive rock art sites are found in the Mandsaur and Neemuch districts, the Gwalior and Rewa regions, and the Satpura range.

For the Chalcolithic period, the state features several key excavation sites that provide valuable insights into early human settlements. In terms of built heritage, Madhya Pradesh is home to some of India’s most iconic historical sites, including Sanchi, Mandu, Gwalior, and Khajuraho. Additionally, sites like Sahastradhara and remains from the Mauryan period in Ujjain further enrich the region’s archaeological significance.

With its diverse and extensive archaeological wealth, Madhya Pradesh continues to be a focal point for researchers, historians, and heritage enthusiasts, offering a deep and immersive experience into India’s historical and cultural evolution.

3. Where (in terms of a site) has the most significant or most promising archaeological investigation or excavation work taken place?

Several regions in Madhya Pradesh have emerged as promising areas for archaeological investigation. The Chambal-Gwalior belt is of particular interest, with multiple sites reported to have significant excavation potential. Additionally, the corridor between Ujjain and Mandsaur, especially in the Ratlam and Ujjain districts, has been identified as an area rich in archaeological heritage, warranting further exploration. These regions continue to offer valuable insights into the historical and cultural evolution of the state.

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4. What new developments in the process of archaeological research and investigation have taken place in relation to the site(s) mentioned above?

Archaeological research in Madhya Pradesh has seen significant advancements in recent years. One of the key initiatives involves extensive explorations and village-to-village surveys to systematically identify and document archaeological sites. In addition to this, a major focus has been placed on the identification and restoration of ancient temples that date back over a thousand years. These temples, originally constructed during the reigns of the Kachchhapaghata, Pratihara, Chandela, Kalachuri, and Paramara dynasties, saw extensive development between the 9th and 13th centuries but suffered damage over time due to invasions and natural calamities.

The Directorate of Archaeology is actively engaged in the scientific excavation of these sites, with a strong emphasis on temple restoration. If a site yields over 90% of a temple’s structural remains, efforts are made to restore it to its original architectural form, making this a priority project. Additionally, the department is conducting targeted excavations at historically significant sites, where findings have the potential to reshape our understanding of the region’s history and cultural heritage. These developments mark an important step forward in preserving and uncovering Madhya Pradesh’s rich archaeological legacy.

5. What are the plans and objectives going forward in relation to the above?

One of the key objectives moving forward is to enhance public awareness and engagement with the state’s rich archaeological heritage. To achieve this, the Directorate of Archaeology is actively working on publishing books focusing on district-level archaeology. These publications aim to make archaeological knowledge more accessible to a wider audience, allowing people to discover and appreciate the historical significance of their own villages and districts.

In addition to these educational initiatives, there are plans to expand excavation projects at identified sites with significant historical potential. The department is also prioritizing the restoration and conservation of ancient structures, particularly temples and monuments that have been damaged over time. Efforts are being made to implement modern conservation techniques while maintaining the authenticity of these heritage sites.

Furthermore, the Directorate aims to leverage digital technology by digitizing archival records and excavation findings. This will facilitate research, enable remote access to historical data, and encourage academic collaborations at national and international levels.

Through these initiatives, the overarching goal is to preserve, document, and promote Madhya Pradesh’s archaeological treasures, ensuring that future generations continue to connect with and appreciate the state’s remarkable historical legacy.

6. What specific historic /cultural/ archaeological questions are you trying to answer in relation to the above research and exploration?

One of the key research objectives is to uncover and reinterpret the historical narratives of Madhya Pradesh’s ancient civilizations. A notable example is the excavation conducted near the town of Maihar, at a site known as Manora Hill. The findings from this site have provided significant insights into the history of the Vindhya region, reshaping our understanding of its past.

Through careful analysis of the unearthed remains, we have been able to establish that Manora Hill was once the capital of the Vakataka dynasty. This discovery is particularly important as it offers new evidence about the political and cultural landscape of the region during that era. Our research continues to focus on understanding the extent of Vakataka rule, their architectural advancements, and their influence on trade, administration, and society.

Additionally, ongoing studies aim to explore connections between Madhya Pradesh’s archaeological sites and other ancient civilizations, helping to answer broader questions about the historical evolution of settlements, trade networks, and artistic influences in Central India. These investigations not only add depth to academic research but also contribute to the conservation and promotion of the state’s cultural heritage for future generations.

7. What is the potential for archaeological tourism for this region?

Madhya Pradesh offers immense potential for archaeological tourism, given its rich historical and cultural heritage. The state is home to a diverse range of archaeological sites, spanning from prehistoric rock art to grand medieval temples and forts, making it an ideal destination for history enthusiasts and scholars alike.

Recognizing this potential, the Madhya Pradesh government has taken significant steps to promote and develop archaeological tourism. Visitors have the opportunity to explore these ancient sites first-hand, immersing themselves in the region’s storied past while gaining insights into India’s historical evolution.

To further enhance this experience, the state has established 44 museums dedicated to preserving and showcasing archaeological artefacts. These museums serve as vital repositories for scattered sculptures, inscriptions, and excavated relics, ensuring that valuable heritage is both protected and accessible to the public.

With ongoing conservation efforts, improved infrastructure, and increasing public awareness, Madhya Pradesh continues to position itself as a key hub for archaeological tourism, offering travellers an unparalleled glimpse into the past.

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Aparajta. 11th Cent.A.D., Hinglajgarh, Mandsaur

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Ravnanugraha, 11th Cent. A.D., Hinglajgarh, Mandsaur

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Shakti-Ganesh, 11th Cent. A.D., Mandsaur

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State Museum

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Gohad Fort Exterior

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Gohad Fort Interiors

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Dr. Ramesh Yadav -Archaeological Officer

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Evidence of cannibalism 18,000 years ago

University of Göttingen—An international research team including the University of Göttingen has gained new insights into the burial rituals of Late Ice Age societies in Central Europe. Signs of human remains from the Maszycka Cave in southern Poland being manipulated indicate systematic dissection of the deceased, as well as cannibalism. The research was published in Scientific Reports*.

The Maszycka Cave in Poland is a significant excavation site for the late Upper Palaeolithic times. More than 100 years ago, researchers discovered human bones there among stone and bone tools alongside the remains of hunted Ice Age animals. These discoveries were associated with a late Ice Age society in France, known as the Magdalenian, that existed between 20,000 and 14,500 years ago. Excavations in the 1960s yielded more human remains, so that a total of 63 bones from ten individuals dating back 18,000 years were available for examination. This is one of the most important collections of human remains from the late Upper Palaeolithic.

Using modern methods, the team identified 36 bone fragments, which showed signs that the individuals were dissected immediately after death. Cut marks on skull fragments indicate that the muscle attachments and scalp were removed before the long bones were smashed to get to the bone marrow. First author Francesc Marginedas from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution explains: “The position and frequency of the cut marks, as well as the targeted smashing of bones, leave no doubt that their intention was to extract nutritious components from the dead.”

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But how and why did cannibalism happen here? The Magdalenian are known for their impressive art – such as the famous cave paintings at Lascaux. “The wide range of artistic evidence points to favourable living conditions during this period. It therefore seems unlikely that cannibalism was practiced out of necessity,” says Professor Thomas Terberger from the Department of Prehistory and Early History at the University of Göttingen. Marginedas adds: “It is possible that this was an example of violent cannibalism. After the last Ice Age, there was population growth, and that may have led to conflicts over resources and territories. And there is evidence of isolated incidences of cannibalism in connection with violent conflict. Furthermore, human remains were found mixed with settlement debris in the Maszycka Cave, which indicates that the dead were not treated with respect.” The results help to improve our understanding of the cultural development and group-dynamics in the Late Ice Age society.

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The entrance to the Maszycka Cave in southern Poland. Darek Bobak

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Cut and impact marks indicating cannibalism on various human parts of the skeleton from the Maszycka Cave. Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo IAM (CSIC-Junta de Extremadura)

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The 18,000-year-old discoveries from the Maszycka Cave include decorated hunting tools made of bone and antler. Darek Bobak

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Article Source: University of Göttingen news release

*Francesc Marginedas et al. New insights of cultural cannibalism amongst Magdalenian groups at Maszycka Cave, Poland, Scientific Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-86093-w

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The Taung Child, Revisited

Looking in awe at the tiny skull, set in still silence behind the glass of a centrally placed and carefully guarded and maintained case within the Fossil Primate and Hominid Vault at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Evolutionary Studies Institute, I felt like I was, in a sense, standing in a sacred space. Here, within this vault, scientists have stored and protected some of the world’s most pivotal and significant original fossils bearing on human origins, fossils dated back millions of years into the deep human past.  

I was in this vault as part of a small privileged group of human evolution educators and enthusiasts who were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view, in person, hominin fossils that made history in the story of the human quest to understand our collective, deep prehistoric ancestral human origins.

The skull of what has been penned in the popular literature as the “Taung Child” holds a special significance, even in this iconic vault, among its nearby fossil neighbors….

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The original Taung Child skull as displayed and protected within the vault.

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The Taung Child is actually a fossil skull of a young Australopithecus africanus, an extinct species of human relative that lived between about 3.3 and 2.1 million years ago in the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of South Africa. It was initially discovered in 1924 by quarrymen working for the Northern Lime Company in TaungSouth AfricaRaymond Dart , an Australian anatomist and anthropologist who lived between 1893 and 1988, described it as a new extinct human species in a published piece in the journal Nature in 1925.

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The Story

In the early 20th century, the workers at limestone quarries in Southern Africa routinely uncovered animal fossils from tufa formations through which they were mining by the use of explosives. These fossils, many of which represented extinct fauna, were saved by some of the miners. It was in 1924 when workers at the Buxton Limeworks, near Taung, showed a fossilized primate skull that had been recovered from these operations to Edwin Gilbert Izod, the visiting director of the Northern Lime Company. The director in turn gave it to his son, Pat Izod, who displayed it on the mantle over the fireplace. When Josephine Salmons, a friend of the Izod family, visited to Pat’s home, she noticed the primate skull and identified it as that of an extinct monkey. Realizing its potential significance and showed it to her mentor, Raymond Dart. Salmons was the first female student of Dart. 

Dart was very excited about the find and asked the Company to send more similarly curious fossil skulls they might find. A consulting geologist for the Company, Robert Young, sent some selected skulls back to Dart in a crate. Anxious to see the finds in the crate, he examined the contents and found a fossil endocast of a skull showing the impression of a complex brain. Upon further search of the crate’s contents, he was able to match the endocast to a fossil skull of a juvenile primate, which exhibited a shallow face and small teeth. 

For Dart, this was a remarkable realization. Forty days later, he completed the paper, published in the 7 February 1925 issue of Nature, announcing the discovery of a new species he designated as Australopithecus africanus, meaning “southern ape from Africa”. He described it as “an extinct race of apes intermediate between living anthropoids and man”. For him, this was a pivotal moment in the search for human origins.

The fossil was nicknamed in the popular press as the Taung Child.

Dart’s claim was initially greeted with skepticism and debate for a variety of reasons by the scholarly world, but later discoveries, analysis and developments supported his contention. Most salient were the efforts of two scientists, Robert Broom and Wilfrid Le Gros Clark. Broom, a paleontologist, visited Dart in Johannesburg to see the fossil. He also undertook excavations, and discovered more Australopithecus africanus specimens, corroborating the human-like morphology and classification of the Taung child. In 1946, Broom and colleague Gerrit Schepers published in a volume titled The South African Fossil Men: The Australopithecinae. Clark, a prominent and highly respected British anthropologist, visited Johannesburg in 1946 to study Dart’s Taung skull and Broom’s excavated adult fossils, intending to prove that they were only apes. However, after two weeks of studies and visiting the caves in which Broom had recovered his fossils, Clark became convinced that the Taung Child, and the other fossils discovered by Broom, were in fact those of hominids.

In a much later development in 2006, Lee Berger, a world-renowned South African paleoanthropologist, suggested that the Taung Child was likely killed by a large predatory bird, such as an eagle, citing clear similarities between markings on the skull and eye sockets of the Taung Child to those seen in modern primates known to have been killed by eagles. 

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Above and below: cast in three parts: endocranium, face and mandible, of a 2.1 million year old Australopithecus africanus specimen so-called Taung child, discovered in South Africa.
Collection of the University of the Witwatersrand (Evolutionary Studies Institute), Johannesburg, South Africa. Sterkfontein cave, hominid fossil. Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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The Centenary of the Taung Child Discovery

On February 7, 2025, the South African Journal of Science published a special issue commemorating the discovery and significance of this iconic fossil. This special issue, ‘The Taung Child then and now: Commemorating its centenary in a postcolonial age’, brings together a group of African researchers and international collaborators who offer their perspectives on the science, history, and legacy of palaeoanthropology in South Africa and beyond. They explore how the history of the discovery of early hominins in South Africa, as it played out in a colonial context, impacted the scientific field of palaeoanthropology, asking: Did it promote or limit scientific enquiry? What were its cultural effects, and how do they play out in our current context a century later? How might we work to decolonize palaeoanthropology and its narratives?

The goal of this special issue is to celebrate the remarkable science that the discovery of A. africanus enabled, but also to probe disciplinary legacies viewed through a critical lens that challenges us to do science better. As we enter the next century of palaeoanthropological research and discovery, the contributors call on researchers to take on board socially responsive practice, and for institutions to hold researchers to higher standards of practice.

Read the special online issue now. 

Article Information Source: South African Journal of Science news release

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Missing link in Indo-European languages’ history found

University of ViennaWhere lies the origin of the Indo-European language family? Ron Pinhasi and his team in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna contribute a new piece to this puzzle in collaboration with David Reich’s ancient DNA laboratory at Harvard University. They analyzed ancient DNA from 435 individuals from archaeological sites across Eurasia between 6.400–2.000 BCE. They found out that a newly recognized Caucasus-Lower Volga population can be connected to all Indo-European-speaking populations. The new study is published in Nature.

Indo-European languages (IE), which number over 400 and include major groups such as Germanic, Romance, Slavic, Indo-Iranian, and Celtic, are spoken by nearly half the world’s population today. Originating from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language, historians and linguists since the 19th century have been investigating its origins and spread as there is still a knowledge gap. 

The new study* published in Nature, also involving Tom Higham and Olivia Cheronet from the University of Vienna, analyzes ancient DNA from 435 individuals from archaeological sites across Eurasia between 6400–2000 BCE. Earlier genetic studies had shown that the Yamnaya culture (3.300-2.600 BCE) of the Pontic-Caspian steppes north of the Black and Caspian Seas expanded into both Europe and Central Asia beginning about 3.100 BCE, accounting for the appearance of “steppe ancestry” in human populations across Eurasia 3.100-1.500 BCE. These migrations out of the steppes had the largest effect on European human genomes of any demographic event in the last 5.000 years and are widely regarded as the probable vector for the spread of Indo-European languages. 

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The only branch of Indo-European language (IE) that had not exhibited any steppe ancestry previously was Anatolian, including Hittite, probably the oldest branch to split away, uniquely preserving linguistic archaisms that were lost in all other IE branches. Previous studies had not found steppe ancestry among the Hittites because, the new paper argues, the Anatolian languages were descended from a language spoken by a group that had not been adequately described before, an Eneolithic population dated 4.500-3.500 BCE in the steppes between the North Caucasus Mountains and the lower Volga. When the genetics of this newly recognized Caucasus-Lower Volga (CLV) population are used as a source, at least five individuals in Anatolia dated before or during the Hittite era show CLV ancestry.

Newly recognized population with broad influence

The new study shows the Yamnaya population to have derived about 80% of its ancestry from the CLV group, which also provided at least one-tenth of the ancestry of Bronze Age central Anatolians, speakers of Hittite. “The CLV group therefore can be connected to all IE-speaking populations and is the best candidate for the population that spoke Indo-Anatolian, the ancestor of both Hittite and all later IE languages,” explains Ron Pinhasi. The results further suggest that the integration of the proto-Indo-Anatolian language, shared by both Anatolian and Indo-European peoples, reached its zenith among the CLV communities between 4.400 BC and 4.000 BC.

“The discovery of the CLV population as the missing link in the Indo-European story marks a turning point in the 200-years-old quest to reconstruct the origins of the Indo-Europeans and the routes by which these people spread across Europe and parts of Asia”, concludes Ron Pinhasi.

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Photo of Remontnoye (3766-3637 calBCE), with a spiral temple ring. Natalia Shishlina (co-author of “The Genetic Origin of the Indo-Europeans”)

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A Yamnaya grave at Tsatsa, North Caspian steppes (I6919), 2847-2499 calBCE. Natalia Shishlina

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Article Source: University of Vienna news release

*The genetic origin of Indo-Europeans, Nature, 5-Feb-2025. 10.1038/s41586-024-08531-5 

Ancient engravings shed light on early human symbolic thought and complexity in the levantine middle palaeolithic

The Hebrew University of JerusalemNew study demonstrates that certain incised stone artefacts from the Levantine Middle Palaeolithic, specifically from Manot, Qafzeh, and Quneitra caves, were deliberately engraved with geometric patterns, indicating advanced cognitive and symbolic behaviour among early humans. In contrast, artefacts from Amud Cave, with shallow and unpatterned incisions, are consistent with functional use. This research highlights the intentionality behind the engravings, providing key insights into the development of abstract thinking and the cultural complexity of Middle Palaeolithic societies.

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A new study led by Dr. Mae Goder-Goldberger (Hebrew University and Ben Gurion University) and Dr. João Marreiros (Monrepos Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, LEIZA, and ICArEHB, University of Algarve), in collaboration with Prof. Erella Hovers (Hebrew University) and Dr. Eduardo Paixão (ICArEHB, University of Algarve), has shed new light on the behavioral complexity of Palaeolithic hominins. Published in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, the research* explores the intentionality behind incised stone artifacts, providing compelling evidence of abstract thinking and symbolic behavior during the Middle Palaeolithic period.

Until now, the intentionality of Middle Palaeolithic incised stone artifacts was broadly accepted, although not well-supported by empirical testing. Many archaeologists viewed these marks as functional, created through tool use or natural wear. There was skepticism about the existence of abstract or symbolic thought in early hominins, with the understanding that symbolic behavior, such as art or abstract expression, emerged much later in human evolution and is specifically associated with modern humans. This study challenges that view, offering evidence of deliberate, symbolic engravings prior to global colonization by modern humans.

The study focuses on artifacts from key Levantine sites, including Manot Cave, Amud Cave, Qafzeh Cave, and the open-air site of Quneitra. Using advanced 3D surface analysis, the researchers examined the geometry and patterns of incisions to distinguish intentional engravings from functional marks. The findings reveal striking differences:

Artifacts from Manot, Qafzeh, and Quneitra feature deliberate engravings with geometric patterns that align with the surface topography, underscoring their aesthetic and symbolic intent. In contrast, incisions on artifacts from Amud Cave are shallow, unpatterned, and consistent with functional use as abraders.

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Dr. Mae Goder-Goldberger explains, “Abstract thinking is a cornerstone of human cognitive evolution. The deliberate engravings found on these artifacts highlight the capacity for symbolic expression and suggest a society with advanced conceptual abilities.”

Dr. João Marreiros added, “The methodology we employed not only highlights the intentional nature of these engravings but also provides for the first time a comparative framework for studying similar artifacts, enriching our understanding of Middle Palaeolithic societies.”

While the engraved artifacts from Qafzeh, Quneitra, and Manot are isolated initiatives within their chronological and geographic contexts, the shared traits of the incisions themselves and the similarities in pattern structuring suggest intentional, predetermined actions. These findings deepen our understanding of symbolic behavior and offer crucial insights into the cognitive and cultural development of early hominins.

This research marks a significant step toward understanding the scope of symbolic behavior of our ancestors, bridging the gap between functional tool use and abstract expression.

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Lead contamination in ancient Greece points to societal change

Heidelberg University—Studies of sediment cores from the sea floor and the coastal regions surrounding the Aegean Sea show that humans contaminated the environment with lead early on in antiquity. A research team led by geoscientists from Heidelberg University conducted the analyses, which revealed that human activity in the region resulted in lead contamination of the environment approximately 5,200 years ago – much earlier than previously known. Combined with the results of pollen analyses from the sediment cores, this contamination also offers insights into socioeconomic change in the Aegean, even reflecting historical events such as the conquest of Greece by the Romans.

The Aegean region gave rise to some of the earliest cultures of ancient Europe. The research team investigated when and to what extent early human activities in the region affected ecosystems both on land and in the marine environment. To this end, the team analyzed 14 sediment cores from the floor of the Aegean Sea and the surrounding coastline. One core from a peat bog offered up the earliest known evidence of environmental contamination with lead. The researchers dated this lead signal to approximately 5,200 years ago, about 1,200 years before the previously earliest known evidence of environmental contamination with the heavy metal that is traceable to human activity.

“Because lead was released during the production of silver, among other things, proof of increasing lead concentrations in the environment is, at the same time, an important indicator of socioeconomic change,” states Dr Andreas Koutsodendris, a member of the Palynology & Paleoenvironmental Dynamics research group of Prof. Dr Jörg Pross at Heidelberg University’s Institute of Earth Sciences. The sediment cores the Heidelberg scientists analyzed contained lead as well as pollen, which allowed them to reconstruct vegetation development in the Aegean region. The pollen content pointed to how the land was used. “The combined data on lead contamination and vegetation development show when the transition from agricultural to monetary societies took place and how that impacted the environment,” stresses Jörg Pross.

 

Lead concentration rose significantly about 2,150 years ago, accompanied by intense deforestation and increasing agricultural use, as indicated by the composition of the pollen spectra. Starting then, lead contamination is also evident in sediment from the floor of the Aegean Sea – the earliest record worldwide of human-caused lead pollution in the ocean, emphasizes Andreas Koutsodendris. “The changes coincide with the conquest of Hellenistic Greece by the Romans, who subsequently claimed for themselves the region’s wealth of resources,” adds Heidelberg archeologist Prof. Dr Joseph Maran. The Roman conquerors thus pushed the mining of gold, silver, and other metals, with ore extraction and smelting also requiring wood.

The sediment cores from the Aegean Sea were collected during expeditions of the METEOR and AEGAEO research vessels between 2001 and 2021. The German Research Foundation (DFG) and the European Union financed the research expeditions, with the DFG also funding the most recent research work. Along with researchers from Heidelberg University, scientists from Berlin, Frankfurt (Main), Hamburg, Hohenheim, Tübingen and Greece also participated in the studies. The results were published in the journal “Communications Earth & Environment”.

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Collected during expeditions with the research vessel METEOR: sediment cores from the Aegean Sea, which as natural environmental archives provide insights into the effects of early human activity on ecosystems. Andreas Koutsodendris

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Article Source: Heidelberg University news release

*Societal changes in Ancient Greece impacted terrestrial and marine environments, Communications Earth & Environment, 30-Jan-2025. 10.1038/s43247-024-01921-7 

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Ancient DNA analyses bring to life the 11,000-year intertwined genomic history of sheep and humans

Trinity College Dublin—Sheep have been intertwined with human livelihoods for over 11,000 years. As well as meat, their domestication led to humans being nourished by their protein-rich milk and clothed by warm, water-resistant fabrics made from their wool. 

Now, an international and interdisciplinary team of researchers led by geneticists from Trinity College Dublin and zooarchaeologists from LMU Munich and the Bavarian State Collections of Natural History (SNSB) has deciphered the prehistoric cultural trajectory of this species by analyzing 118 genomes recovered from archaeological bones dating across 12 millennia and stretching from Mongolia to Ireland. 

The earliest sheep-herding village in the sample, Aşıklı Höyük in central Türkiye, has genomes that seem ancestral to later populations in the wider region, confirming an origin in captures of wild mouflon over 11,000 years ago in the western part of the northern Fertile Crescent.

By 8,000 years ago, in the earliest European sheep populations, the team found evidence that farmers were deliberately selecting their flocks – in particular for the genes coding for coat color.  Along with a similar signal in goats, this is the earliest evidence for human moulding of another animal’s biology and shows that early herders, like today’s farmers, were interested in the beautiful and unusual in their animals.

Specifically, the main gene the team found evidence of selection near was one known as “KIT”, which is associated with white coat color in a range of livestock.

Also by that time, the earliest domestic sheep genomes from Europe and further east in Iran and Central Asia had diverged from each other. However, this separation did not last as people translocated sheep from eastern populations to the west.  

First, in parallel with human cultural influences spreading out from the early cities of Mesopotamia we see sheep genomes moving west within the Fertile Crescent around 7,000 years ago.

Second, the rise of pastoralist peoples in the Eurasian steppes and their westward spread some 5,000 years ago profoundly transformed ancestral European human populations and their culture. This process changed the makeup of human populations, for example, altering the ancestry of British peoples by around 90%, and introduced the Indo-European language ancestor of the tongues spoken across the continent today.

From the dataset used in this study it now seems that this massive migration was fueled by sheep herding and exploitation of lifetime products, including milk and probably cheese, as it is around the same time that sheep ancestries are also changed. Consequently, by the Bronze Age, herds had about half their ancestry from a source in the Eurasian steppe.

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Dr Kevin Daly, Ad Astra Assistant Professor at UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Trinity’s School of Genetics and Microbiology, is the first author on the research article that has just been published in leading international journal Science. He said: “One of our most striking discoveries was a major prehistoric sheep migration from the Eurasian steppes into Europe during the Bronze Age. This parallels what we know about human migrations during the same period, suggesting that when people moved, they brought their flocks with them.”

Dan Bradley, leader of the research and Professor of Population Genetics in Trinity’s School of Genetics and Microbiology, said: “This research demonstrates how the relationship between humans and sheep has evolved over millennia. From the early days of domestication through to the development of wool as a crucial textile resource, sheep have played a vital role in human cultural and economic development.”

Joris Peters, co-corresponding author, Professor of Paleoanatomy, Domestication Research and the History of Veterinary Medicine at LMU Munich and Director of the State Collection for Paleoanatomy Munich (SNSB-SPM), said: “Our study, while convincingly reconciling morphological and genomic evidence of the geographic origin of domestic sheep, clearly illustrates that further transdisciplinary research is needed to clarify the patterns of dispersal and selection of the many landraces occurring today in Eurasia and Africa.”

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Today’s descendants of the first domestic sheep of Central Anatolia. N. Pollath, SNSB.

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Vessel supported by two rams, 2600 to 2500 BCE, object number 1989.281.3, Gift of Norbert Shcimmel Trust, 1989, open access Met Museum. Gift of Norbert Shcimmel Trust, 1989, open access Met Museum.

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Article Source: Trinity College Dublin news release

*Kevin G. Daly, et al., Ancient genomics and the origin, dispersal, and development of domestic sheep, Science, 30-Jan 2025. 10.1126/science.adn2094 

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Discovery of a unique drainage and irrigation system that gave way to the “Neolithic Revolution” in the Amazon

Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona—A pre-Columbian society in the Amazon developed a sophisticated agricultural engineering system that allowed them to produce maize throughout the year, according to a recent discovery by a team of researchers from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB) and the Department of Prehistory at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, (Spain); the Universities of Exeter, Nottingham, Oxford, Reading and Southampton (UK); the University of São Paulo (Brazil) and Bolivian collaborators. This finding contradicts previous theories that dismissed the possibility of intensive monoculture agriculture in the region.

The study*, published today in the journal Nature, describes how the pre-Hispanic Casarabe society of the Llanos de Moxos in Bolivia designed and implemented an innovative landscape engineering system, including the construction of extensive drainage canals and farm ponds. This advancement allowed the transformation of flooded tropical savannahs into highly productive fields, thereby driving the development of the “Neolithic Revolution” in the Amazon, understood as the process towards an economy based on grain production.

This region, inhabited by the Casarabe people between 500 and 1400 A.D., is a tropical lowland savannah marked by intense rainy seasons and flooding, as well as very dry seasons. The discovery, led by Umberto Lombardo, an environmental archaeologist at the UAB, has identified a unique agricultural infrastructure previously undocumented anywhere else in the world.. This system enabled them to drain excess water from flooded fields during the rainy season, facilitating agricultural productivity. In addition to the drainage canals, the Casarabe people constructed clusters of farm ponds that served as water reservoirs. These ponds enabled pot-irrigation, allowing maize cultivation to continue throughout the dry season.

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This dual water management system enabled at least two harvests of maize per year, ensuring a stable food supply year-round, which was essential for sustaining a relatively large population. “This intensive agricultural strategy indicates that maize was not only cultivated but was likely the staple crop of the Casarabe culture,” explains Lombardo.

This agricultural model did not rely on traditional slash-and-burn techniques used to create fertile fields. Instead, the Casarabe people preserved nearby forests for other purposes, such as obtaining firewood and medicinal plants, while implementing practices that maximized the efficient use of water and soil in the seasonally flooded savannas.

These conclusions were made possible through meticulous fieldwork combining techniques such as microbotanical analysis, remote sensing, and environmental archaeology. The analysis of 178 phytolith (plant microfossils) and pollen samples from a farm pond confirmed the presence of maize in the fields and the crucial role of maize monoculture in the diet of this pre-Columbian society. “The data shows the absence of other types of crops,” Lombardo adds.

“We can document that this is the first grain-based agrarian economy in the Amazon, where until now it was believed that agriculture was based on agroforestry polyculture and not on large-scale monocultures. Now we know that this was not the case in Llanos de Moxos”, says Lombardo, who asserts that this innovative piece of engineering allowed for the transformation of a challenging environment into a productive system that ensured food stability and supported the development of a growing population.

The research not only sheds light on the technological capabilities of pre-Columbian civilizations but also offers valuable lessons for modern agricultural sustainability. This discovery is a testament to the ingenuity and adaptability of the Casarabe people, who thrived due to their ability to design long-term sustainable agricultural solutions in an adverse environment.

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Photo of ponds from airplane. Author Umberto Lombardo

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Article Source: Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona news release

*Maize monoculture supported pre-Columbian urbanism in southwestern Amazonia, Nature, 29-Jan-2025. 10.1038/s41586-024-08473-y 

Forgery and fiscal fraud: a new papyrus from Israel reveals a spectacular criminal case from the Roman empire

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem—Scholars from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the University of Vienna and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem unveil a unique papyrus from the collections held by the Israel Antiquities Authority, offering rare insights into Roman legal proceedings and life in the Roman Near East. In a new publication* in the international scholarly journal Tyche, the research team reveals how the Roman imperial state dealt with financial crimes – specifically, tax fraud involving slaves – in the Roman provinces of Iudaea and Arabia. The new papyrus furnishes a strikingly direct view of Roman jurisdiction and legal practice, as well as important new information about a turbulent era shaken by two massive Jewish revolts against Roman rule. 

The longest Greek papyrus ever found in the Judaean Desert, comprising over 133 lines of text, has now been published for the first time. Initially misclassified as Nabataean, the papyrus remained unnoticed for decades until its rediscovery in 2014 by Prof. Hannah Cotton Paltiel, emerita of the Hebrew University. “I volunteered to organize documentary papyri in the Israel Antiquities Authority’s scrolls laboratory, and when I saw it, marked ‘Nabataean,’ I exclaimed, ‘It’s Greek to me!’” recalls Prof. Cotton Paltiel. In recognition of her discovery, the papyrus has been named P. Cotton, in line with papyrological conventions.

Recognizing the document’s extraordinary length, complex style, and potential ties to Roman legal proceedings, Prof. Cotton Paltiel assembled an international team to decipher it. The team, including Dr. Anna Dolganov of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Fritz Mitthof of the University of Vienna and Dr. Avner Ecker of Hebrew University, determined the document to be prosecutors’ notes for a trial before Roman officials on the eve of the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE), including a rapidly drafted transcript of the judicial hearing itself. The language is vibrant and direct, with one prosecutor advising another on the strength of various pieces of evidence and strategizing to anticipate objections. “This papyrus is extraordinary because it provides direct insight into trial preparations in this part of the Roman Empire,” says Dr. Dolganov. Dr. Ecker adds, “This is the best-documented Roman court case from Iudaea apart from the trial of Jesus.”

The papyrus details a gripping case involving forgery, tax evasion, and the fraudulent sale and manumission of slaves in the Roman provinces of Iudaea and Arabia, roughly corresponding to modern Israel and Jordan. The main defendants, Gadalias and Saulos, stand accused of corrupt dealings. Gadalias, the son of a notary and possibly a Roman citizen, had a criminal history involving violence, extortion, counterfeiting, and inciting rebellion. Saulos, his collaborator, orchestrated the fictitious sale and manumission of slaves without paying the requisite Roman taxes. To conceal their activities, the defendants forged documents. “Forgery and tax fraud carried severe penalties under Roman law, including hard labor or even capital punishment,” explains Dr. Dolganov.

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This criminal case unfolded between two major Jewish uprisings against Roman rule: the Jewish Diaspora revolt (115–117 CE) and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE). Notably, the text implicates Gadalias and Saulos in rebellious activities during Emperor Hadrian’s visit to the region (129/130 CE) and names Tineius Rufus, the governor of Iudaea when the Bar Kokhba revolt began. In the wake of prior unrest, Roman authorities likely viewed the defendants with suspicion, connecting their crimes to broader conspiracies against the empire. “Whether they were indeed involved in rebellion remains an open question, but the insinuation speaks to the charged atmosphere of the time,” notes Dr. Dolganov. As Dr. Ecker points out, the nature of the crime raises questions, as “freeing slaves does not appear to be a profitable business model.” The enslaved individuals’ origins remain unclear, but the case may have involved illicit human trafficking or the Jewish biblical duty to redeem enslaved Jews.

The papyrus offers new insights into Roman law in the Greek-speaking eastern empire, referencing the governor of Iudaea’s assize tour and compulsory jury service. “This document shows that core Roman institutions documented in Egypt were also implemented throughout the empire,” notes Prof. Mitthof. The papyrus also showcases the Roman state’s ability to regulate private transactions even in remote regions. Likely originating from a hideout cave in the Judaean Desert during the Bar Kokhba revolt, its careful preservation remains a mystery, and the trial’s outcome may have been interrupted by the rebellion.

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Papyrus Cotton. (© Israel Antiquities Authority)

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Detail of the infrared image of the Papyrus Cotton. (© Israel Antiquities Authority)

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Article Source: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem news release.

*Forgery and Fiscal Fraud in Iudaea and Arabia on the Eve of the Bar Kokhba Revolt: Memorandum and Minutes of a Trial before a Roman Official (P.Cotton), Tyche, 20-Jan-2025. 10.25365/tyche-2023-38-5 
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The Venetian Republic Offers Powerful Lessons to an American One in Need of Repair

John P. Ruehl is an Australian-American journalist living in Washington, D.C., and a world affairs correspondent for the Independent Media Institute. He is a contributor to several foreign affairs publications, and his book, Budget Superpower: How Russia Challenges the West With an Economy Smaller Than Texas’, was published in December 2022.

Over more than a thousand years, Venice transformed from a modest refuge into a dominant Mediterranean power. Despite various crises and encircling empires, the Venetian Republic avoided foreign rule, revolution, and collapse.

It developed an adaptable and efficient political system, building on its semi-independence from the 5th century until Napoleon’s conquest in 1797. In an international system dominated by self-proclaimed democratic republics, the longevity and eventual downfall of Venice’s oligarchic republican model provides insights for tailoring governance to contemporary challenges. Its unique political structure inspired founding fathers of the United States, like Alexander Hamilton and John Adams, who looked to Venice’s early system when shaping the republic. By blending Roman legal principles, Byzantine refinements like the Justinian Code (a compilation of Roman laws shaped by Greek traditions that codified and systematized legal practices), and its original innovations, Venice became a symbol of stability, endurance, and independence.

The Origins of Venice and Its Push for Independence

Venetian society was deeply paternalistic, governed by a hereditary elite with limited public participation, and yet it contained many elements of distribution of powers and checks on authority that are ubiquitous today. Geopolitically savvy and culturally diverse, Venice was open to new and foreign influence while preserving its traditions. Venetian diplomat Gasparo Contarini’s 16th-century account, shaped by his family’s central role in Venetian politics, alongside other sources, highlights Venice’s self-proclamation as the Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia—the Most Serene Republic of Venice.

Venice’s origins, according to tradition, trace back to 421 AD, when Roman refugees fleeing invasions in northern Italy established self-governed settlements in the Venetian Lagoon. The Rialto, which became synonymous with Venice, only emerged as the city’s center 400 years later. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 left northern Italy contested, with instability driving more settlers to the lagoon.

During the 5th and 6th centuries, trade networks and influential families began to shape the region. They reflected a mix of loyalties: pro-Byzantine landowners tied to the mainland coexisted with a rising merchant class seeking autonomy, along with the Frankish factions loyal to Rome. These groups dominated the informal councils, assemblies, and tribune leadership roles that governed early Venetian society.

By the 7th century, Venetian settlers recognized Byzantine authority in exchange for protection and securing vital trade access. Historian John Julius Norwich emphasized the Byzantine’s role in shaping Venice’s identity, alongside its Roman heritage.

In 697 AD, the lagoon’s settlers elected their first doge (duke), marking the beginning of Venice’s independence. Initially, the doge’s authority required approval from Constantinople, but Byzantine authority in the region was never strong and gradually faded. Seeking stronger local governance to navigate the delicate political landscape, Venetians resisted certain Byzantine decrees and a revolt in 726 saw them elect their own doge without outside interference. In the early 9th century, Venice successfully secured greater autonomy from the Byzantine Empire while keeping the Frankish Empire at bay by playing a crucial role in mediating peace between them, a settlement later known as Pax Nicephori.

Over the following centuries, Venetian autonomy increased as it forged ties with Rome to enhance its influence in Europe. Venice’s role in the 1204 sack of Constantinople, led by Latin forces, solidified its independence as a sovereign republic, coinciding with the rise of powerful republican city-states across Italy. Its push for independence was vital in shaping a political system aligned with Venice’s unique needs, values, and aspirations as a sovereign state.

Constraining Doge Power and Creating a Republic

Like the Roman Republic, Venice lacked a formal written constitution or judicially enforced laws. Instead, its political system relied on unwritten customs, allowing flexibility in responding to new challenges, and also demonstrating that the republican culture depends on habits of the heart and mind more than documents that record statements of principle.

Though dominated by a hereditary elite, Venice’s republican system prioritized power decentralization, an unusual approach at the time that encouraged a balance of authority and political stability. Early doges ruled autocratically for life, often attempting to establish dynasties, leading to rivalries, assassinations, and exiles. By 1032, Venetian patricians chose to abolish de facto hereditary dogeship, and though the doge retained a lifetime title, they could be deposed or pressured to resign.

Secrecy was essential to shielding political affairs from outside influence. With few grand political rallies or public speeches, rivalries were mostly confined to private councils. This restraint also helped prevent stirring up public sentiment, avoiding sensationalism, and maintaining a sense of calm and order in the city.

Venetians were willing to adapt when necessary, but once a solution proved effective, they stuck with it. The threat of factionalism over the doge’s position, led by the Tiepolo and Dandolo families in the 1200s, prompted patricians to introduce a unique voting process for the doge in 1268. Combining lotteries and voting, this system would remain largely unchanged for the next 500 years.

Council members gathered and drew from an urn containing hundreds of balls (ballotta)—30 gold and the rest silver; those drawing gold advanced, while those who picked silver exited. The ballottino, a young attendant, managed the urns. The 30 who picked gold then repeated the lottery, reducing their number to nine. These nine members then deliberated and agreed on 40 candidates, each requiring a minimum of seven votes from the group of nine to be considered. The process continued: the 40 were reduced to 12, who nominated 25; the 25 to nine, who nominated 45, and finally, the 45 to 11, who selected 41 electors. The final electors deliberated and voted on the doge, who required a minimum of 25 votes to win.

The process combined the impartiality of lotteries with the selectivity of voting, minimizing the chance for corruption while ensuring the legitimacy of decisions through broad consensus. The often weeks-long change broke the families’ duopoly, and ensuing elections often took weeks.

Contarini observed that doges were neither glorified nor vilified. Their terms were subject to posthumous review, with poor leadership censured or erased from public memory, while the contributions of effective rulers were recognized. This helped to ensure that leadership was viewed as a collective effort rather than the achievement of any single individual.

Fear of the doge’s authority also led patricians to steadily decentralize power into hereditary committees, integrating government expertise within the oligarchy. This ensured balanced decision-making and reduced the risk of autocratic rule. In 1142, the Minor Council was established as a small executive body to assist and monitor the doge. This was followed by the Great Council in 1172, which became the foundation of Venetian governance and the principal legislative body, severely limiting the doge’s power. Membership in the Great Council was a lifetime privilege for patrician males.

From 1179, judicial authority was invested in the Quarantia Criminale (criminal law), followed later by two other Councils of Forty (highest appeal court). By the early 13th century, the Senate emerged from the Great Council, focusing on trade and foreign policy, and was composed of serving and former officials.

Meanwhile, in response to the failed 1310 revolt by Bajamonte Tiepolo, the Council of Ten was created to track down conspirators, later evolving to handle crises, conduct investigations, and oversee internal security. Despite rising governmental complexity, Venice’s bureaucracy remained efficient and avoided runaway growth.

Political offices outside the dogeship also faced constraints. Terms were typically limited to one year to prevent consolidation of power and reelections often required formal approval. Close relatives were prohibited from holding the same office, running in the same election, or voting in elections involving each other to prevent familial monopolies.

Contarini noted that accountability was shared among the elite. Nobles who supported candidates were held financially liable if those candidates were later convicted of embezzlement and unable to repay the amount. Corruption resulted in punishments such as property confiscation and exile, with the competitive noble families keeping each other in check.

As the doge’s role became largely symbolic, real power shifted to the Council of Ten, the Great Council, and the Senate. These bodies dominated Venetian politics during its Golden Age, Renaissance, and eventual collapse, adapting to changing needs while maintaining cohesion and expertise through overlapping membership.

The Arengo or Concio, a general assembly of Venetian general citizens, initially played a strong political role alongside the doge. However, Venice’s noble families were similarly distrustful of commoner influence through democracy. Public participation in governance declined sharply after the Serrata of 1297 or the closing of the Great Council, which solidified hereditary governance and saw the Arengo lose its political authority before it was formally abolished in 1423. These decisions effectively ended democracy in Venice and ensured political power remained concentrated among the nobles. Given the rarity of democracy at the time, this approach nonetheless permitted greater political stability by minimizing potential disruptions from populist movements.

Social Hierarchy and Economic Opportunities in Venice

The late 13th and early 14th centuries “marked the formal separation of the nobles from the rest of the population,” entrenching Venice’s oligarchy and placing the non-patrician majority—approximately 95 percent of the city’s population—under elite control. The disconnect between the elites and commoners could be stark—Contarini praised Venice’s commitment to protecting commoners during crises like the plague, but later accounts paint a less charitable picture.

Despite limited political representation and rigid social classes, Venice’s nobles managed to maintain enough support for the political system to survive. A tiered hierarchy emerged under them, with the cittadini—a privileged class of merchants, skilled artisans, notaries, and administrators—forming approximately eight percent of the population, while the majority were commoners (popolani).

Social hierarchy in Venice was strictly enforced, with laws dictating what each class could wear. Intermarriage between patricians and cittadini was rare, though the latter class experienced regular turnover. Richer cittadini often surpassed certain aristocratic families in wealth, while patricians invested in merchant enterprises, creating economic interdependence.

The cittadini also controlled the civil service, led by the Grand Chancellor of Venice—the highest-ranking non-noble official. Through the Order of Secretaries, the cittadini served as notaries, clerks, tax collectors, and judicial officers. The wealthiest of their families with long-standing Venetian roots (cittadini originari) were included in the Book of Silver and granted additional opportunities in committees. Granting the cittadini some political influence prevented the patricians from completely dominating government affairs and ensured efficiency through their administrative expertise.

Despite the large and relatively powerless commoner class, Venice avoided the social upheavals common in other Italian city-states. According to Dennis Romano, professor emeritus of history at Syracuse University, 14th-century Venice remained stable because patricians and commoners were less rigidly separated, and tradition coexisted with flexibility. Social networks could overlap and legal and moral boundaries occasionally blurred during this period. Social rules were relaxed during holidays and festivals, elevating a sense of civic community, while commoners could participate in religious roles, including as members of the clergy.

Symbols of unity, such as the Venetian mask, the lion of Saint Mark, and the figure of the doge, reinforced civic identity. Legal protections through the Avogaria de Comun (public prosecutors), established in the late 12th century, ensured justice for commoners and legal representation for the poor. The state also supported infrastructure projects, welfare institutions, and charities, and wealthy nobles were expected to engage in philanthropy without fanfare and provide financial aid to the state during crises.

Venice’s economic allure and social mobility opportunities were, however, arguably the most crucial factors in maintaining stability. Venetian contract law ensured trust and stability in trade. The republic’s vast commerce and trade networks and position as a vital connector between the East and the West offered opportunities to commoners rarely found elsewhere.

While they suffered more during conflicts, famines, and plagues, the diverse composition of the popolani made it difficult for them to unite around common grievances. Additionally, Venice’s stable governance and potential for social mobility left them better off than those in neighboring city-states and empires. As a result, though commoners were excluded from major political decisions, they accepted their limited role, trusting in the fairness and accountability of Venice’s governing class, institutions, and rule of law.

Within the city, a thriving retail sector and diverse economic opportunities complemented a strong manufacturing base. Venice became a leader in shipbuilding, wool and silk cloth production, and glassmaking, attracting talent and investment. Commoners could also join merchant guilds and trade associations along with cittadini, gaining modest political representation and participation in collective decision-making. In later centuries, Venice evolved into a hub of printing and intellectual life, eventually becoming a center for culture and leisure, renowned for its prestige as a museum city. Venice’s economic adaptability, driven by both patricians and the merchant class, was key to Venice’s sustained prosperity, driving innovation and supporting the city’s ability to respond to shifting trade and political dynamics.

Military Strength, Foreign Holdings, and Diplomacy

But Venice’s survival and success also came from its military strength. Surrounded by larger states, its central hub in the Venetian Lagoon provided a defensible core for its navy. The state-owned Arsenal, a pioneering shipyard, and private enterprises enabled the mass production of ships, blending commerce and defense. Merchant ships were often fitted for combat, doubling as warships to protect trade routes, while military expeditions were self-sustaining through trade conducted en route. Boasting the strongest navy in Europe, Venice compensated for its limited land power by employing professional mercenaries and condottieri (or military commanders).

The republic avoided overextension, focusing on maintaining positive relations with its limited territories. Mainland cities enjoyed considerable autonomy, with several independent city-states voluntarily joining the republic. During the War of Cambrai (1508 to 1516), Venice contemplated ceding mainland territories, but revolts in occupied cities in support of Venice helped drive out invaders.

At its height in the 16th century, Venice’s dogado around the lagoon housed approximately 150,000 inhabitants, with its wider territories encompassing 2.3 million people. The Domini da Tera administered mainland Italy, while the Domini da Mar governed overseas colonies. Venetian military officials, like their political counterparts, were rotated regularly to avoid power accumulation and provide numerous nobles with administrative and military experience.

Revolts in Crete against Venetian rule exposed governance flaws in its territories, but efforts to promote greater equality between Venetian settlers and local populations eventually brought peace and showcased Venice’s adaptability in managing overseas territories.

Venice also maintained its independence through skilled diplomacy and a calculated focus on the balance of power. Supported by an expansive network of spies, diplomats, and agents, the small republic successfully navigated challenges from larger, powerful rivals, including Byzantium, the Carolingians, the Holy Roman Empire, the Ottomans, France, and Spain. An early strategic alliance with Byzantium secured access to key ports, while ties with Rome and trade posts as far as China reinforced its position as a reliable trading partner and intermediary. Ties with entities like the Hanseatic League (a trading network) further expanded Venice’s global reach.

Even during its economic decline, Venice played a powerful diplomatic role. Several Venetian popes were elected from the 1400s to 1700s, and Venetian diplomat Alvise Contarini played a crucial role in mediating the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, ending the Thirty Years’ War.

Steady Decline

The seeds of Venice’s decline were nonetheless sown early into its foreign expansion. The Fourth Crusade in 1204 enriched Venice and expanded its territories but strained its relations with Eastern Orthodoxy. The smaller, weakened Byzantine Empire, restored after the crusade, could not withstand the rising Ottoman Empire, whose conquest of Constantinople in 1453 disrupted Venice’s critical eastern trading routes. Venice maintained a strong presence in the Mediterranean, but logistical challenges, heavier taxation, and growing Ottoman competition gradually pushed it into a defensive retreat.

In 1492, Spain’s accidental arrival in the Americas marked a shift in global trade and the need for larger, ocean-bound ships. Venice’s lack of access to the Atlantic, which would fuel later European empires, was soon compounded by the Portuguese voyage to India via Africa in 1498, further undercutting its trade with the East. Venetians later established footholds in cities like Paris, London, and the Low Countries to collaborate with the rapidly growing Atlantic powers, but they struggled to keep pace.

The city’s preference for autonomy left it isolated in a rapidly changing European geopolitical landscape. While Venice’s early history of isolationism gave way to expansion, the city reverted to a more defensive and conservative isolationism in a world dominated by global powers. Repeated outbreaks of plague, particularly in 1575 to 1577 and 1630 to 1631, devastated Venice’s population and weakened its economic and military foundation.

By the 17th century, Venice’s once-adaptative nobles and political system had come to resist reform. Venice’s oligarchic social and political structure, as noted by historian John Norwich, had become rigid and highly corrupt. The nobility, formerly active merchants, had become passive investors, landowners, or city administrators. Destitute aristocrats could no longer sustain their privileges, weakening both their status and the socio-political hierarchy. Political activists, inspired by French Jacobin ideals and Italian nationalism, became increasingly vocal.

Venice’s system had also arguably become too outdated by the 18th century. Nation-states and the modern concept of nationalism simply overwhelmed merchant republics in demographics, territory, and wealth. Napoleon’s revolutionary changes in both warfare and social systems allowed the French military to take Venice without a fight. The Great Council then voted itself out of existence, and France transferred the region to Austria, which shifted the center of the regional government to Milan and prioritized nearby Triest as a port instead. Venice was later incorporated into Italy in 1866, which it has remained part of ever since.

Venice’s Strengths and Other Former Republics

Other Italian city-state republics also achieved prominence. Florence flourished with its banking sector, textile industry, and legal protections afforded to its citizens. Lucca maintained independence longer than Venice, while Pisa and Siena enjoyed periods of prominence. Genoa emerged as a significant maritime power, rivaling Venice for centuries.

However, Florence shifted to hereditary and dynastic rule under the Medici family in the 16th century and conquered Pisa and Siena. Lucca lacked Venice’s scale and influence, while Genoa, despite its strengths, struggled with internal tensions. Merchants and aristocrats were often at odds, as were rival noble clans who reverted to warring among themselves during peacetime. This instability often required foreign mediation, gradually eroding Genoa’s autonomy, while its later alliance with Spain further subordinated Genoa’s independence.

In contrast, Venice managed to avoid conquest, retaining its republican system, political autonomy, and global significance long after many of its counterparts had faded or been absorbed. Even centuries after its fall, no other Italian republic holds the same mystique of Venice. The city’s cultural impact alone was immense, producing creative figures like Tintoretto, Antonio Vivaldi, and Giovanni Bellini, and attracting Andrea Palladio and Titian. Its architectural beauty, set against the lagoon and emulating Roman styles, remains an international draw. Venice’s maintenance and adaptation of Greek and Roman political influences created a system that lasted centuries, which though weakened by the time of French conquest, may have had the potential to rebound.

Venice’s independence movement, which has accelerated since 2014, is unlikely to achieve secession due to significant barriers, including the constraints of Italy’s constitution, lack of international recognition, and disputes over the territorial feasibility of such a split.

The city’s modern economy is driven by tourism, with more than 5.7 million visitors in 2023. Other Italian city-states survive in their own ways: Genoa revived as a key port city in the 1800s and remains so today. The Grimaldi family, originally from Genoa, meanwhile, seized control of Monaco in 1297 and has ruled the country ever since. San Marino, a city-state republic with a claim to a 1700-year-old history, successfully diplomatically negotiated its independence in 301 AD.

Other republics outside Italy emerged during Venice’s time but struggled to endure. The Novgorod Republic established in 1136 in modern Russia, thrived on trade and featured a large assembly, term limits, and checks on elite power. However, its lack of a strong military left it vulnerable, and Moscow captured it in 1478.

The Dutch Republic, established in 1588, decentralized government between provinces and the States General for shared decision-making. It prioritized legal protections, religious tolerance, trade, literacy, and social mobility, though the Dutch East and West India companies undermined republican ideals through colonization and slavery. In 1795, the Dutch Republic fell to France and was replaced by the centralized Batavian Republic, which struggled with regionalism and reliance and dominance by France. By 1810, it became a French-controlled monarchy, until Dutch independence in 1813 reintroduced a monarchy that persists today.

Modern Republican Rule

Modern republics remain young and show a range of adaptations. Parliamentary republics rely on coalition-building, but this risks marginalizing even the most popular parties. Votes of confidence can swiftly remove leaders, but shorter political terms can lead to prioritizing short-term visions. Presidential systems can, meanwhile, run the risk of autocracy, particularly with longer-term limits and incumbency advantage. Other challenges include promoting democratic participation without runaway populism, balancing decentralization and centralization, creating effective political bodies without needless bureaucracy, and striving for peace while remaining prepared for conflict.

Switzerland stands out for its sustained stability, avoiding revolution, occupation, or imperialism since its unification in 1848. It combines regional and international autonomy, open trade, and its role as a global financial and diplomatic hub. Seasonal canton voting embodies direct democracy and encourages citizen participation. However, universal suffrage faces resistance tied to immigration, with referendums on non-citizen voting rights from 1992 to 2016 struggling in areas with higher foreign populations, reflecting concerns over integration and “over-foreignization” in the country.

Singapore, an independent city-state republic since 1965, has thrived and maintained its autonomy by emerging as a trade hub, balancing Cold War powers and rising U.S.-China tensions over the last 20 years. Despite its nominally democratic and republican system, governance has remained centralized under the People’s Action Party, dominated by Lee Kuan Yew’s family and close allies.

The Need for Greater Corporate Accountability

The discussion of decentralized leadership should extend beyond nations to the private sector. Early corporations like the British East India Company, as well as modern constitutional republics, were modeled on medieval chartered towns that were given powers to legislate, imprison, and wage conflicts.

Modern multinational corporations operate globally, influencing markets, negotiating with governments, and increasingly having access to armed forces. Their growing autonomy has led to efforts to link corporate governance with civic responsibility, including proposals to replace the hijacked democratic “one share, one vote” system that has allowed major shareholders to consolidate power and exploit corporate governance in recent decades.

The likelihood of self-imposed corporate accountability is low. However, introducing more layered governance with checks and balances could improve oversight, as private governing entities continue to evolve. Increasing experimentation with private cities globally signals a resurgence of corporate governance, seen more than a century ago in the U.S. with company towns. Similarly, Próspera, a private charter city on Roatán Island in Honduras, is run by a U.S. corporation with a proclaimed commitment to libertarian ideals.

It’s important to view the workers and communities these corporations interact with as similar to state subjects. The growth of corporate power challenges the classical liberal idea that contracts between companies and workers should be free of authority. Republican-style corporate leadership in such projects could address concerns about civic participation, autocracy, and the rule of law.

Venice’s Lessons for Modern Democracies

Many factors contributed to Venice’s success: expansive trade networks, social mobility, technological innovation, geographic advantages, military power, and diplomatic prowess. These elements were mutually reinforcing, underpinned by political stability achieved through distributing authority across collaborative bodies. While Venice’s oligarchy compromised the non-hereditary ideal of republicanism, it effectively prevented dynasties and upheld the principle of power distribution. The public largely trusted the nobles, though the exclusive nature of the noble class contributed to their decline in later centuries.

Venice’s political evolution and trajectory are a priceless repository of history for modern democracies to study. The presence of a non-hereditary figure like the doge provided a unifying focal point for governance, helping to anchor symbolic authority and reduce factionalism. A commitment to checks and balances allowed for a balanced distribution of power. Economic opportunities were cultivated by elites and merchant classes and embraced by the commoners, driving Venice’s prosperity and social mobility. Its ability to continuously adapt its political and economic systems was similarly a major reason for its long-term survival.

Today, frequent power and public opinion shifts, coupled with the influence of wealth and corporations, are fueling instability and gridlock, undermining the long-term effectiveness of democratic institutions. History shows that democratic societies have voted to unintentionally dismantle their own democratic and republican systems, and contemporary voters have often turned to populism and autocracy in the 21st century out of frustration.

But how much power should rest with individuals? Governance could be strengthened by withholding our tendency to center authority in people and instead placing it into political bodies. Venice’s system, for all its strengths, failed to create a fully open, meritocratic system, but its emphasis on collaborative bodies within a professional political class is something modern democracies may need to reconsider. Had Venice’s republican system continued to adapt rather than become increasingly rigid, it may have endured to this day.

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This article was produced by Human Bridges.

Cover Image, Top Left: Painting of historic Venice by Canaletto. Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

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Major hoard of Roman-British coins found near Utrecht (the Netherlands)

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden—In the autumn of 2023, 404 silver and gold coins dating back to the start of the Common Era were found in the Dutch municipality of Bunnik, not far from Utrecht. The find contains a unique combination of Roman and British coins, buried in the northern border region of the Roman Empire (the Lower German Limes). At the time, this frontier ran right through what is now the Netherlands. A Roman-British coin hoard of this kind has never been discovered in mainland Europe before. The most recent of the Roman coins were struck in the years 46-47, during the reign of the Emperor Claudius. It was during this period that Roman troops crossed the North Sea to conquer the land they called ‘Britannia’. Forty-four of the gold coins come from what we now call Britain and bear the inscription of the British king Cunobelin. The coins were probably brought to Bunnik after the initial conquests by Roman soldiers returning from Britannia: the Roman coins were their pay, while the British coins were the spoils of war. The coins have been acquired by the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities) and now form part of its permanent exhibition The Netherlands in Roman Times.

Historical context and interpretations

The discovery of these coins highlights the importance of the Lower German Limes for the Roman invasions of Britannia. Not only was this frontier the site for preparations for the first crossing in the year 43 CE, but it also transpires that Roman troops returned to the mainland via the limes, bringing all kinds of possessions back with them, including British coins.

Roman and British coins

This collection of coins is the largest such find from the Roman period ever made in the Province of Utrecht. In addition, it is the first in mainland Europe to contain a mix of Roman and British coins. Only in Britain has a similar hoard been discovered.

The Utrecht find was discovered in the region of the Roman frontier, but outside the major known Roman sites such as the fort Traiectum (Utrecht) and Ulpia Noviomagus (Nijmegen). They were probably buried in or shortly after 47 CE. The reason remains unknown. They may have been hidden with the idea of digging them up at a later date. Then again, they might have been an offering, perhaps to thank the gods for a safe return from battle.

Gold coins from Britain are called staters. They are not made of pure gold, but of an alloy of gold, silver and copper. They were struck between about 5 and 43 CE, during and shortly after the reign of the British king Cunobelin, and up to the first Roman conquests. Cunobelin’s name appears in Latin on the coins: CVNO[BELINVS].

The Roman coins bear portraits of Roman rulers and emperors. The most recent of these, both silver and gold, bear the portrait of the Emperor Claudius. They were struck in 46-47 CE, around the end of the first Roman conquests in Britain.

A total of 72 gold Roman coins known as aurei (singular: aureus) were found, dating from the period 19 BCE to 47 CE. Two of the gold coins were struck using the same stamp and appear to be unused: they show no signs of wear. The owner apparently received them from a stock of newly minted coins.

Most of the Roman specimens, 288 of them, are silver. These denarii (singular: denarius) were struck between 200 BCE and 47 BC. They include special finds, such as coins from the time of Julius Caesar and one coin featuring Juba, the king of Numidia in northwest Africa (present-day Algeria).

From report to exhibition

The coins were discovered by detectorists Gert-Jan Messelaar and Reinier Koelink. After the find was formally reported to Landscape Heritage Utrecht’s Archaeology Hotline, archaeologist Anton Cruysheer examined the coins. They were then entered into the Portable Antiquities of the Netherlands (PAN) database and professionally cleaned by Restaura, a Heerlen-based restoration firm.

To gain a fuller understanding of the area around the find site and why the coins were buried there, the National Cultural Heritage Agency conducted an excavation, in collaboration with the two finders. Their find, 381 of what turned out to be a hoard of 404 coins, has since been acquired by the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden/National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden. With this the coins became part of the Netherlands’ National Archaeology Collection and available for research. They can now be viewed in the museum’s permanent exhibition The Netherlands in Roman Times. The purchase was co-funded by lottery company VriendenLoterij.

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Part of the complete Roman coin find from Bunnik. Photo and collection © National Museum of Antiquities

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Aureus with Emperor Claudius – obverse | Struck during the reign of Emperor Claudius, from 44 AD.
Photo and collection © National Museum of Antiquities

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Coin of King Juba the First – obverse | Ruler of Numidia (North Africa, present-day Algeria) from 60 to 46 BC. So it is not an official Roman coin. Photo and collection © National Museum of Antiquities

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Stater of King Cunobelinus – obverse | Gold, silver and copper alloy, minted in Britannia around 43 AD. 
Photo and collection © National Museum of Antiquities

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Roman aureus , before and after cleaning | Roman aureus (gold), minted during the time of Emperor Claudius, from 44 AD. before and after cleaning by Restaura. Photo and collection © Restoration studio Restaura

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Field research RCE | Tessa de Groot (middle) and the finders of the Bunnik coin hoard, Reinier Koelink (left) and Gert-Jan Messelaar (right), during the RCE excavation near the find location. Photo and collection © Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands

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Article Source: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden news release

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New evidence suggests early human ancestor presence in Eurasia by at least 2 million years ago

Evidence from a site in Romania suggests a hominin presence nearly 2 million years ago. The analysis and dating of multiple cut-marked fossil bones discovered at the site of Grăunceanu in Romania by a team of scientists indicates they were produced by stone tools used by hominins more than 1.95 million years ago. The team used biostratigraphic and high-resolution U-Pb dating to determine the age of the activity. Given the finding within the context of sites showing other deep-time ephemeral traces of hominin activity over a widespread geographic area of Eurasia, the “results, presented along multiple other lines of evidence, point to a widespread, though perhaps intermittent, presence of hominins across Eurasia by at least 2.0 Ma,” writes the co-authors of the recently published study.*

The oldest known actual hominin fossils in Eurasia were discovered at the the site of Dmanisi, Georgia,beginning in 1991.

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Sites shown in blue text are suggested to be > 2 Ma. Inset in the lower left corner shows locations of fossil sites discussed in this study. Citations for fossil localities are provided in Supplementary Data 4. Blank world map data with country borders was drawn from Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA 3.0). Map inset images are drawn from satellite imagery available via Google Earth (GoogleLandsat / CopernicusData SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GEBCOGeoBasis-DE/BKG ©2009 and GoogleAirbusMaxar TechnologiesCNES / Airbus). CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, from Curran, S.C., Drăgușin, V., Pobiner, B. et al. Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago. Nat Commun 16, 836 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56154-9

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Selected images of high-confidence cut-marked specimens from the Olteţ River Valley assemblage. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, from Curran, S.C., Drăgușin, V., Pobiner, B. et al. Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago. Nat Commun 16, 836 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56154-9

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*Curran, S.C., Drăgușin, V., Pobiner, B. et al. Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago. Nat Commun 16, 836 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56154-9

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A new chapter in Roman administration: Insights from a late Roman inscription

The Hebrew University of JerusalemArchaeologists have uncovered a rare Tetrarchic boundary stone at the site of Abel Beth Maacah in northern Israel. Originally marking land borders under Roman Emperor Diocletian’s tax reforms, the stone provides insight into ancient land ownership, local settlement patterns, and imperial administrative practices. The discovery* also introduces two previously unknown place names, expanding our understanding of the region’s historical geography and socio-economic landscape.

Archaeologists Prof. Naama Yahalom-Mack and Dr. Nava Panitz-Cohen from the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University, and Prof. Robert Mullins from Azusa Pacific University have uncovered a significant relic of ancient administrative practices during their excavation of the biblical site of Abel Beth Maacah near Metula in northern Israel. The find, which was deciphered by Dr. Avner Ecker and Prof. Uzi Leibner from the Hebrew University is a boundary stone, originally inscribed to delineate agrarian borders between villages during the reign of the Roman Tetrarchy (a short-lived system instituted by the emperor Diocletian in 293 CE to govern the Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the augusti, and their junior colleagues and designated successors, the caesares) and was found in secondary use in a Mamluk-period installation. This basalt slab, etched with a detailed Greek inscription, has provided a wealth of historical insights.

The inscription revealed two previously unknown village names, Tirthas and Golgol, which may correspond to ancient sites identified in the 19th-century Survey of Western Palestine. The slab also mentions an imperial surveyor, or “censitor,” whose name is attested here for the first time. These markers reflect the sweeping tax reforms initiated by Diocletian in the late third century CE, emphasizing the role of land ownership and settlement structures in the economic landscape of the Roman Near East.

“This discovery is a testament to the meticulous administrative re-organization of the Roman Empire during the Tetrarchy,” said Prof. Uzi Leibner. “Finding a boundary stone like this not only sheds light on ancient land ownership and taxation but also provides a tangible connection to the lives of individuals who navigated these complex systems nearly two millennia ago.”

Dr. Avner Ecker added, “What makes this find particularly exciting is the mention of two previously unknown place names and a new imperial surveyor. It underscores how even seemingly small discoveries can dramatically enhance our understanding of the socio-economic and geographic history of the region.”

This discovery adds to a unique corpus of over 20 boundary stones concentrated in the northern Hula Valley and surrounding areas. The stones mark a period of heightened administrative control aimed at standardizing taxation and clarifying land ownership. Remarkably, this specific find highlights the interconnectedness of historical geography, economic policies, and local settlement patterns. Scholars believe the abundance of boundary stones in this region underscores the high concentration of small landholders who operated independently of major urban centers. Interestingly, a contemporaneous rabbinic tradition mentions a burden imposed by the emperor Diocletian on this specific area, and apparently also reflects the hardships the tax reform drew on the local population.  

The find enriches our understanding of the socio-economic dynamics during the Tetrarchy, particularly the implications of Diocletian’s reforms on rural communities. Prof. Leibner and Dr. Ecker emphasize that such discoveries provide a unique glimpse into the lives of ancient inhabitants, the pressures they faced under imperial rule, and the enduring traces of their communities in the archaeological record. This exceptional artifact now joins the broader narrative of Roman imperial administration in the Levant.

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An Iron Age citadel and Mamluk-period installation in which the inscription was incorporated in secondary use (courtesy of the Tel Abel Beth Maacah excavations. Photo: Robert Mullins). (courtesy of the Tel Abel Beth Maacah excavations. Photo: Robert Mullins).

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Aerial view of Abel Bet Maacah looking south-east (courtesy of the Tel Abel Beth Maacah excavations. Photo: Robert Mullins). (courtesy of the Tel Abel Beth Maacah excavations. Photo: Robert Mullins).

How Archaeologists Can Solve the Earth’s ‘Wicked Problems’

John Schofield is a professor of archaeology at the University of York, United Kingdom, and the author of the new book Wicked Problems for Archaeologists: Heritage as Transformative Practice (Oxford University Press, 2024).

We used to have “balloon” debates in school: The hot-air balloon is losing height and, to avoid disaster, people must be jettisoned. To avoid this fate, everybody must justify why they should remain on board and their classmates then vote them “on” or “off.”

In reality, the result was determined entirely by one’s popularity. But perhaps this is always the case. In seeking to avoid funding cuts, for example, museums or cultural services are often considered easy targets, since archaeologists and heritage professionals are far less useful than doctors, engineers, or mathematicians. Beyond archaeology itself, cultural heritage has few friends, one might argue.

But I present the argument that far from being the irrelevant or outdated subject some politicians, career advisers, and university leaders might consider it to be, archaeology is essential to the future of humanity and planetary health. This is for three main reasons. First, archaeologists have the capacity to think about and to understand humanity of the past, and to project that insight into the future. Second, archaeologists are uniquely placed to comprehend the many and complex ways in which humans, over time, have related to their environment and environmental and other processes, such as the changing climate, migration, or pandemics. And third, archaeology provides opportunities for everyone to benefit, whether in terms of physical (by undertaking surveys or excavations) or mental health (through social interaction or artifact handling, to address loneliness or anxiety, for example).

York Archaeology’s Archaeology on Prescription project is one example of this: The program enables adults facing various conditions to gain a detailed understanding of life in a specific area of York, and in the process to improve their health and well-being, on top of volunteerism’s generally positive health effects, as demonstrated by a 2024 article.

In my new book, Wicked Problems for Archaeologists, I examine a few creative ways that we can use archaeology to help directly address some of the global challenges that threaten both human and planetary health. The book’s main argument is that as archaeologists we need to stop thinking only about the past and also think about the future. We also need to engage more with policymakers to help them address their challenges and opportunities.

Wicked Problems

Wicked problems emerged from research in the late 1960s to devise ways of using outcomes from the United States’ NASA-funded space program to help resolve urban problems such as crime and poverty. The definition of wicked problems as those that are “complex, intractable, open-ended, and unpredictable” captures both the scale of these problems and the difficulties they entail. We also now have “super-wicked problems” that introduce the additional dimension of time (or the lack of time to be precise). Super-wicked problems are in addition to the original 10 characteristics of wicked problems, defined by Horst W.J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber:

  1. Time is running out;
  2. There is no central authority, or only a weak authority, to manage the problem; and
  3. The same actors causing the problem are required to help solve it.

Both climate change and environmental pollution are examples of super-wicked problems in which archaeologists have recently become involved, including my own work in the Galápagos and the wider South Pacific region. Social injustice, crime, and conflict are widely used as examples of wicked problems.

Small Wins

I suggest that the only realistic way to achieve success with wicked and super-wicked problems, and ultimately to make a difference, is by adopting a small-wins framework. These small wins (also referred to as small gains or nudges) align well with what universities in the UK refer to as impact, which, for the purposes of the UK’s Research Excellence Framework is defined as, “an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia.” Small wins have been defined by theorist Karl Weick as, “a series of concrete, complete outcomes of moderate importance [that] builds a pattern that attracts allies and deters opponents.” The strategy of small wins incorporates sound psychology and is sensitive to the pragmatics of policymaking. Examples of small wins include the plastic pollution work in the Galápagos and neighboring coastal South America, and the Archaeology on Prescription project, referred to previously.

But even with small wins, we need to be careful. Wicked problems are deeply entangled with one another, meaning that any solution to one problem may exacerbate other problems elsewhere. Climate change and social injustice are a well-known example of this entanglement.

Promoting Success

Once small wins have been achieved, as archaeologists, we need to tell influential people about the outcomes so that our museums and galleries, local services, and archaeology departments are not threatened with closure by people who fail to understand the significance (or the potential) of the work we do.

For this conversation to happen, we need spokespeople who are good at communicating and have access to data and projects that deserve to be talked about. Archaeology needs influencers, or policy entrepreneurs as they are sometimes referred to. As archaeologists, we have not always been very good at this. It is probably why climate scientists on the IPCC don’t take much notice of us.

Preparing Archaeologists for a Wicked Future

We also need to think about how we manage people, resources, and priorities within our profession and how we prepare students for wicked futures. Management leadership scholar Keith Grint has explained how, across disciplines, academics need to be collaborative and passionate leaders inspiring an even more collaborative and passionate next generation. These, he thinks, are essential qualities for creating structures conducive to successfully addressing wicked problems.

We should also be looking to create (and teach our students to prepare for) some entirely new business models that provide the foundations for success: for example, new board structures that provide opportunities for younger people. Often advisory boards and boards of trustees are composed of older people with more experience. Younger idealists are often not welcome because they lack real-world experience. But for a world of wicked problems, we need to be much more creative. The old ways have not worked, so we need to try some new ones.

The Council for British Archaeology’s Youth Advisory Board is an excellent example of what can be done easily and immediately. And as archaeologists, we must continue to teach students how to find, research, interpret, and conserve the places and the materials from which we create an understanding of the past and its relevance in the present. These skills are fundamental to archaeology. But we need to go further.

To ensure that the relevance of archaeology is widely felt, students also need to learn how to communicate with non-specialists. To engage with wicked problems they must also learn about global challenges, and activism, and think more about the future. We need to produce what Paul Handstedt calls “wicked students.”

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This article was produced by Human Bridges.

Cover Image, Top Left: NickyPe, Pixabay

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Three million years ago, our ancestors were vegetarian

University of the Witwatersrand—Human ancestors like Australopithecus – which lived around 3.5 million years ago in southern Africa – ate very little to no meat, according to new research* published in the scientific journal Science. This conclusion comes from an analysis of nitrogen isotope isotopes in the fossilized tooth enamel of seven Australopithecus individuals. The data revealed that these early hominins primarily relied on plant-based diets, with little to no evidence of meat consumption.

The consumption of animal resources, especially meat, is considered a crucial turning point in human evolution. This protein-rich food has been linked to the increase in brain volume and the ability to develop tools. However, direct evidence of when meat emerged among our early ancestors, and of how its consumption developed though time, has been elusive. A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Germany and the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa (Wits University) now provide evidence that human ancestors of the genus Australopithecus that lived in southern Africa between 3.7 and 3.3 million years ago subsisted mostly on plants. 

The research team analyzed stable isotope data from tooth enamel of Australopithecus individuals found in the Sterkfontein cave near Johannesburg, part of South Africa’s “Cradle of Humankind”, an area known for its rich collection of early hominin fossilsThey compared the isotopic data of Australopithecus with that from tooth samples of coexisting animals, including monkeys, antelopes, and large predators such as hyenas, jackals, and big cats.

Tooth enamel preserved dietary signatures

“Tooth enamel is the hardest tissue of the mammalian body and can preserve the isotopic fingerprint of an animal’s diet for millions of years,” says geochemist Tina Lüdecke, lead author of the study. Lüdecke has led the “Emmy-Noether Junior Research Group for Hominin Meat Consumption” at the Mainz-based Max Planck Institute for Chemistry since 2021 and is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Evolutionary Studies Institute of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. She regularly travels to Africa to sample fossilized teeth for her analysis. Wits University owns the Sterkfontein Caves and is the custodian of the Australopithecus fossils.

When animals digest food, biochemical reactions favor the “light” isotope of nitrogen (14N). Consequently, the degradation products that are produced in their body contain high proportions of 14N. The excretion of these “light” nitrogen compounds in urine, feces, or sweat increases the ratio of “heavy” nitrogen (15N) to this “light” nitrogen the body in comparison to the food it eats. This means that herbivores have a higher nitrogen isotope ratio than the plants they consume, while carnivores in turn have a higher nitrogen isotope ratio than their prey. Therefore, the higher the 15N to 14N ratio in a tissue sample, the higher is the trophic position of the organism in the food web.

Nitrogen isotope ratios have long been used to study the diets of modern animals and humans in hair, claws, bones and many other organic materials. However, in fossil material, these measurements have previously been limited to samples that are only a few tens of thousands of years old due to the degradation of organic material over time. In this study, Tina Lüdecke used a novel technique developed in Alfredo Martínez-García’s laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, to measure nitrogen isotopes ratios in fossilized tooth enamel that is millions of years old. 

Evidence of mostly plant-based food

The team of researchers found that the nitrogen isotope ratios in the tooth enamel of Australopithecus varied, but were consistently low, similar to those of herbivores, and much lower than those of contemporary carnivores. They conclude that the diet of these hominins was variable but consisted largely or exclusively of plant-based food. Therefore, Australopithecus did not regularly hunt large mammals like, for example, the Neanderthals did a few million years later. While the researchers cannot completely rule out the possibility of occasional consumption of animal protein sources like eggs or termites, the evidence indicates a diet that was predominantly vegetarian.

Further research on fossilized tooth enamel

Lüdecke’s team plans to expand their research, collecting more data from different hominin species and time periods. They aim to examine fossils from other key sites in eastern and southern Africa as well as southeast Asia to explore when meat consumption began, how it evolved, and whether it provided an evolutionary advantage for our ancestors.

“This method opens up exciting possibilities for understanding human evolution, and it has the potential to answer crucial questions, for example, when did our ancestors begin to incorporate meat in their diet? And was the onset of meat consumption linked to an increase in brain volume?” says Alfredo Martínez-García, from the Max Planck institute for Chemistry.

“This work represents a huge step in extending our ability to better understand diets and trophic level of all animals back into the scale of millions of years. The research provides clear evidence that its diet did not contain significant amounts of meat. We are honored that the pioneering application of this new method was spearheaded at Sterkfontein, a site that continues to make fundamental contributions to science even 89 years after the first hominin fossils were discovered there by Robert Broom,” says Professor Dominic Stratford, Director of Research at the Sterkfontein Caves and co-author of the paper. 

The study was funded by the Max Planck Society. Tina Lüdecke’s research group is supported by the Emmy Noether program of the German Research Foundation (DFG). 

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Hand-drawn illustration of two of the seven sampled molars from Australopithecus. Dom Jack, MPIC

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The Sterkfontein excavation site, which exposes the ancient deposits that once formed underground and contain Australopithecus fossils. The fossil-bearing red sediments clearly contrast with the grey dolomite of the cave walls and remnant roof of the chamber. Dominic Stratford

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Tina Lüdecke stands beside “Little Foot,” a remarkably well-preserved skeleton of Australopithecus discovered in the Sterkfontein Cave, celebrated as the most complete pre-human skeleton ever found. In her research, however, Lüdecke and her team primarily work with isolated fossilized tooth fragments. Bernhard Zipfel/Wits University

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Article Source: University of the Witwatersrand news release