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FLINDERS UNIVERSITY—Researchers have gleaned new insights into the great human migration, revealing how environmental conditions in northern Eurasia and the Americas shaped the journey of ancestors who left Africa tens of thousands of years ago.

The Out of Africa theory suggests that more than 70,000 years ago, some groups left Africa to spread across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. However, it remains unclear how much the environment they encountered beyond Africa facilitated or hindered their journey.

Researchers combined climate models, genetic data, and archaeological evidence to examine how regional environmental conditions influenced migration and to re-establish our long-lasting connection to nature. 

The multidisciplinary analysis*, led by Flinders University ecologist Dr Frédérik Saltré and recently published in Nature Communications, demonstrates that while the relative importance of environmental factors varies across regions, our ancestors travelled primarily through warm and humid areas containing a mix of forest and grasslands near rivers.  

“The first human migrants favored routes that provided essential resources and facilitated travel, as well as regions with a mix of forests and open areas for shelter and food, while allowing them to expand into new territories,” Dr Saltré, whose study was supported by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), said.

In Europe, humans likely first spread from the Fertile Crescent through the Caucasus Mountains into Scandinavia approximately 48,300 years ago and Western Europe around 44,100 years ago, following warmer and wetter conditions. 

In northern Asia, migration routes followed major rivers to cope with harsher climates before reaching Beringia, a currently submerged land bridge between Siberia and Alaska, approximately 34,700 years ago. 

In North America, humans initially migrated along the Pacific coast around 16,000 years ago, and then approximately 3000 years later, moved inland through the ice-free corridor by the Mackenzie River. 

In South America, migration followed wetter grasslands bordering the Amazon, leveraging connectivity provided by major rivers by 14,800 years ago.

Professor Tom Higham of the University of Vienna said the power of these new modeling approaches in understanding the deep human past is exciting for archaeological science.

“For too long we have been working rather separately in our different approaches. Incorporating new modeling methods with the latest climatic, archaeological, and environmental data allows really exciting insights into understanding how ancient humans moved and adapted across vast continents tens of thousands of years ago.” 

Professor Corey Bradshaw, also from Flinders University and a Chief Investigator at CABAH, said modeling provides a powerful framework for exploring and understanding the complexities of deep history, offering insights into how past events and conditions have shaped the present.

“Knowing where people first trekked beyond the cradle of human evolution gives us a flavor of how adaptable our early ancestors were, what environmental challenges they faced, and how they overcame them and survived. We can also infer the technological innovations that were at play during those times—such as watercraft, clothing, and other tools—that allowed people to exploit the most hostile environments.”

Associate Professor Bastien Llamas from The University of Adelaide and a Deputy Director in CABAH said merging genetic data with historical climate information and archaeological discoveries is a powerful method for inferring past human migration patterns.

“Studying genetic differences between groups of people helps us understand ancient migration patterns. Typically, this results in a basic map showing general movements from one area to another without detailed routes. However, by combining genetic data with information about past climates, environments, and archaeological findings, we can create much more detailed and accurate maps of how people moved over time and across different regions.” 

Dr Saltré said the study’s results help us appreciate the importance of biodiversity in how our ancestors adapted to and overcame environmental challenges. 

“It underscores how climate and ecology shaped human prehistory, highlighting biodiversity’s role in human survival and mobility, demonstrating that rich ecosystems enabled humans to thrive in new environments for thousands of years. The biodiversity crisis that we are experiencing now compromises our ability to thrive. Despite the advanced technology we have today, I genuinely wonder if we will last long without maintaining the bulk of current biodiversity.”

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The infographic shows the routes most likely favored by the first human migrants across Eurasia and the Americas. These routes are estimated using a statistical combination of archaeological and genetic data. Colored areas indicate the type of ecosystems encountered, based on climate and vegetation models. The inset image illustrates the ideal migration conditions: warm and humid areas containing a mix of forest and grasslands near rivers. Flinders University

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Article Source: FLINDERS UNIVERSITY news release.

FRONTIERS—From ancient texts we know that – for their times – the ancient Egyptians were exceptionally skilled at medicine. For example, they could identify, describe, and treat diseases and traumatic injuries, build protheses, and put in dental fillings. Other conditions, like cancer, they couldn’t treat – but they might have tried.

Examining the limits of traumatological and oncological treatments in ancient Egypt, an international team of researchers has now studied* two human skulls, each thousands of years old.

“We see that although ancient Egyptians were able to deal with complex cranial fractures, cancer was still a medical knowledge frontier,” said Tatiana Tondini, a researcher at the University of Tübingen and first author of the study published in Frontiers in Medicine.

“This finding is unique evidence of how ancient Egyptian medicine would have tried to deal with or explore cancer more than 4,000 years ago,” added the study’s lead author, Prof Edgard Camarós, a paleopathologist at the University of Santiago de Compostela. “This is an extraordinary new perspective in our understanding of the history of medicine.”

Cutting away cancer

“We wanted to learn about the role of cancer in the past, how prevalent this disease was in antiquity, and how ancient societies interacted with this pathology,” explained Tondini. To do so, the researchers examined two skulls held at the University of Cambridge’s Duckworth Collection. Skull and mandible 236, dating from between 2687 and 2345 BCE, belonged to a male individual aged 30 to 35. Skull E270, dating from between 663 and 343 BCE, belonged to a female individual who was older than 50 years.

On skull 236, microscopic observation showed a big-sized lesion consistent with excessive tissue destruction, a condition known as neoplasm. In addition, there are 30 or so small and round metastasized lesions scattered across the skull.

What stunned the researchers was the discovery of cutmarks around these lesions, which probably were made with a sharp object such as a metal instrument. “When we first observed the cutmarks under the microscope, we could not believe what was in front of us,” said Tondini.

“It seems ancient Egyptians performed some kind of surgical intervention related to the presence of cancerous cells, proving that ancient Egyptian medicine was also conducting experimental treatments or medical explorations in relation to cancer,” explained co-author Prof Albert Isidro, a surgical oncologist at the University Hospital Sagrat Cor, who specializes in Egyptology.

Cancer in antiquity

Skull E270, too, shows a big lesion consistent with a cancerous tumor that led to bone destruction. This may indicate that although today’s lifestyle, people getting older, and cancer-causing substances in the environment increase cancer risk, cancer was also a common pathology in the past.

On skull E270, there are also two healed lesions from traumatic injuries. One of them seems to have originated from a close-range violent event using a sharp weapon. These healed lesions could mean that the individual potentially received some kind of treatment, and as a result, survived.

Seeing such a wound on a female individual, however, is uncommon, and most violence-related injuries are found on males. “Was this female individual involved in any kind of warfare activities?” asked Tondini. “If so, we must rethink the role of women in the past and how they took active part in conflicts during antiquity.”

The researchers, however, also said that studying skeletal remains comes with certain challenges that make definitive statements difficult, especially since remains often are incomplete and there is no known clinical history. “In archaeology we work with a fragmented portion of the past, complicating an accurate approach,” Isidro pointed out.

“This study contributes to a changing of perspective and sets an encouraging base for future research on the field of paleo-oncology, but more studies will be needed to untangle how ancient societies dealt with cancer,” concluded Camarós.

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Skull and mandible 236, dating from between 2687 and 2345 BCE, belonged to a male individual aged 30 to 35. Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024. Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

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Skull E270, dating from between 663 and 343 BCE, belonged to a female individual who was older than 50 years. Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024. Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

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Cutmarks found on skull 236, probably made with a sharp object. Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024. Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

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The skulls were examined using microscopic analysis and CT scanning. Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024. Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

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Article Source: Frontiers news release.

UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM—A 3,500-year-old suit of Mycenaean armour may have been used in battle – and not just for ceremonial purposes as previously thought – new research* reveals.

Researchers worked with a group of Greek military volunteers who wore a replica of the Dendra armour during extended simulations of the rigours of battle.

One of the best and most complete examples of Mycenaean-era full-body armour, the bronze panoply was discovered in a tomb in the Greek village of Dendra, by Greek and Swedish archaeologists in the 1960s. But since its discovery, the question has remained as to whether the armour was purely for ceremonial purposes, or for use in battle.

This question has limited historians’ and academics’ understanding of ancient warfare and its consequences, which underpinned the social transformation of the prehistoric world.

But now, new research from an international team of researchers, published in PLOS ONE, has found that the armour was suitable for active warfare, providing new insights into war in the Late Bronze Age.

The research team conducted human experiments with a metal replica of the armour, which was created in the 1980s by staff and students at the former Bournville College of Art in Birmingham, UK at the invitation of the late Diana Wardle. A group of Greek special armed forces personnel wearing the replica armour completed an 11-hour simulation of Late Bronze Age combat protocols based on details from Homer’s Iliad.

Professor Andreas Flouris, from the University of Thessaly, who led the research said: “The armour that our volunteers wore was the same dimensions and similar weight to the Bronze Age original. We also monitored calorie intake based on a ‘Homeric diet’ (about 4,443 calories) derived from relevant descriptions found in the Iliad, and calorie expenditure together with the stresses placed on the volunteers’ bodies under temperatures typical for a Greek summer of 30-36 degrees Celsius. When the 11-hour battle protocol began we measured heart rate, oxygen consumption, core temperature, fluid loss, and muscular function.

“We found that the armour allowed full flexibility of movement and did not exert excessive physiological stress on the body. This means that despite earlier views which classified it as only a ceremonial outfit, the armour could be worn for extended periods by fit individuals in battle. Sixty years on from the discovery of the Dendra armour we now understand, despite its cumbersome appearance at first sight, that it is not only flexible enough to permit almost every movement of a warrior on foot but also resilient enough to protect the wearer from most blows.”

The findings add much-needed detail to contemporary historical records of armour found in Greece and Egypt – records such as numerous sketches of armour on Linear B tablets (syllabic script used for writing Mycenaean Greek) found at Knossos in Crete, as well as illustrations of Mycenaean warriors on Egyptian papyrus.

The researchers argue that findings from these experiments show that the Mycenaeans had such a powerful impact in the Eastern Mediterranean in part because of their armour technology.

Dr Ken Wardle, Senior Lecturer in Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of Birmingham who collaborated on the study, explained: “Hittite records of military interactions with the Ahhiyawa, another name for the Mycenaeans, show that they had a substantial presence in western Asia Minor in the second half of the 2nd Millennium BC. Given that the Hittite kingdom dominated most of Anatolia and, at times, the northern parts of Syria and Mesopotamia we must understand that only a significant military force could oppose them or gain such respect as recorded in the Hittite archives.

“Descriptions of bronze armour used in the Iliad were thought to be later interpolations or poetic license, but this research suggests otherwise. Viewing the armour in light of these historical records, knowing that it is possible it was used in battle, helps to shed much-needed light on one of history’s most momentous turning points: the collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age civilisations towards the end of the 2nd Millennium BC; a time of destruction and upheaval that marked the beginning of the Age of Iron.”

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A man wearing the replica armour for the study and holding a sword. Andreas Flouris and Marija Marković.

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Man wearing replica armour and hitting a sheild with a spear/staff. Andreas Flouris and Marija Marković.

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Article Source: UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM news release

*Analysis of Greek prehistoric combat in full body armour based on physiological principles: A series of studies using thematic analysis, human experiments, and numerical simulations, PLoS ONE, 22-May-2024. 10.1371/journal.pone.0301494 

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The ancient Aegean Bronze Age Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations are most popularly known for their 2nd Millennium B.C. period monumental palaces and their magnificent, stylish wall painting frescoes (particularly those of the Minoans), as well as numerous clay tablets and other artifacts bearing the Linear A and Linear B scripts. Equally important, however, are the markings the Aegean people created on small seals and sealings which have come to light over the years through excavations and private collections.

In the 4th episode of Dr. Ester Salgarella’s ongoing podcast series, Aegean Connections, Dr. Sarah Finlayson, Research Fellow in the Department of Aegean and Textile Archaeology, University of Warsaw, enlightens listeners about how these otherwise small objects of antiquity carry big value in terms of furthering our understanding of the ancient Aegean civilizations. In this production, Dr. Finlayson makes the point that much can be revealed in small things forgotten.

Learn more about this by listening to the podcast episode, Are we hitting the ‘mark’? Exploring marking practices in the Bronze Age Aegean. 

Cover Photo, Top Left: Minoan Seal, 1700 BC, Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe – Special Exhibition 2001. Andree Stephan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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CARDIFF UNIVERSITY—Horses crossed the Baltic Sea in ships during the Late Viking Age and were sacrificed for funeral rituals, according to research from Cardiff University.

Published in the journal Science Advances*, studies on the remains of horses found at ancient burial sites in Russia and Lithuania show that they were brought overseas from Scandinavia utilizing expansive trade networks connecting the Viking world with the Byzantine and Arab Empires.

Up to now, researchers had believed sacrificial horses were always locally-sourced stallions. But these results reveal horses from modern Sweden or Finland travelled up to 1,500 km across the Baltic Sea. The findings also show that the sex of the horse was not necessarily a factor in them being chosen for sacrifice, with genetic analysis showing one in three were mares.

A scientific technique called strontium isotope analysis was used on horse teeth from 74 animals to identify where they had originated. Soil, water and plants have a chemical make-up reflecting their underlying geology. The chemical signature is absorbed by animals on consumption and remains locked in the hard enamel of their teeth, allowing archaeologists to trace their life journeys hundreds of years later.

Horse sacrifices were highly visible and symbolic public rites across pagan prehistoric Europe, persisting the latest among the Baltic tribes, up to the 14^th century AD. Offering pits might include multiple horses, single complete horses, or partial animals. In many Baltic cemeteries horses were buried separately from humans, but there are numerous examples of horses with overlain human cremations.

Lead author Dr Katherine French, formerly of Cardiff University’s School of History, Archaeology and Religion, now based at Washington State University, said: “This research dismantles previous theories that locally-procured stallions were exclusively selected for sacrifice. Given the unexpected prevalence of mares, we believe the prestige of the animal, coming from afar, was a more important factor in why they were chosen for this rite.

“Viking Age trade routes stretched from modern Iceland, Britain, and Ireland in the West all the way to the Byzantine and Arab Empires in the East. The presence of a trader’s weight in one horse grave points to the key role of horses in these vibrant trade networks.”

Co-author Dr Richard Madgwick, also based at Cardiff University’s School of History, Archaeology and Religion, said: “Pagan Baltic tribes were clearly sourcing horses overseas from their Christian neighbors while simultaneously resisting converting to their religion. This revised understanding of horse sacrifice highlights the dynamic, complex relationship between Pagan and Christian communities at that time.”

This project received funding from the EU Horizon 2020 scheme, Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, National Geographic Society, Society for Medieval Archaeology, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and Cardiff University.

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Reconstruction of a sacrificial horse deposit at Paprotki Kolonia, modern Poland. Mirosław Kuzma.

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Dr Katherine French investigates a horse mandible to select a dental sample at the University of Białystok. Cardiff University.

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Reconstruction of the ritual sacrifice of a horse at Paprotki Kolonia, modern Poland. Mirosław Kuzma.

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Article Source: CARDIFF UNIVERSITY news release.

*Biomolecular evidence reveals mares and long-distance imported horses sacrificed by the last pagans in temperate Europe, Science Advances, 17-May-2024. 

SCIENTIFIC REPORTS—31 pyramids in Egypt, including the Giza pyramid complex, may originally have been built along a 64-km-long branch of the river Nile which has long since been buried beneath farmland and desert. The findings, reported in a paper* in Communications Earth & Environment, could explain why these pyramids are concentrated in what is now a narrow, inhospitable desert strip.

The Egyptian pyramid fields between Giza and Lisht, built over a nearly 1,000-year period starting approximately 4,700 years ago, now sit on the edge of the inhospitable Western Desert, part of the Sahara. Sedimentary evidence suggests that the Nile used to have a much higher discharge, with the river splitting into several branches in places. Researchers have previously speculated that one of these branches may have flown by the pyramid fields, but this has not been confirmed.

Eman Ghoneim and colleagues studied satellite imagery to find the possible location of a former river branch running along the foothills of the Western Desert Plateau, very near to the pyramid fields. They then used geophysical surveys and sediment cores to confirm the presence of river sediments and former channels beneath the modern land surface, indicating the presence of a former branch, which they propose naming ‘Ahramat’ (meaning ‘pyramids’ in Arabic). The authors suggest that an increased build-up of windblown sand, linked to a major drought which began approximately 4,200 years ago, could be one of the reasons for the branch’s migration east and eventual silting up.

The discovery may explain why these pyramid fields were concentrated along this particular strip of desert near the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, as they would have been easily accessible via the river branch at the time they were built. Additionally, the authors found that many of the pyramids had causeways which ended at the proposed riverbanks of the Ahramat branch, which they suggest is evidence the river was used for transporting construction materials.

The findings reiterate the importance of the Nile as a highway and cultural artery for ancient Egyptians, and also highlight how human society has historically been affected by environmental change, according to the authors. Future research to find more extinct Nile branches could help prioritize archaeological excavations along their banks and protect Egyptian cultural heritage, they add.

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The water course of the ancient Ahramat Branch borders a large number of pyramids dating from the Old Kingdom to the Second Intermediate Period, spanning between the Third Dynasty and the Thirteenth Dynasty. Eman Ghoneim

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Article Source: Scientific Reports news release

Carved on stone stelae, lintels and painted on ceramics of the Maya Classic period (250-950 AD)*, one sees spouses of lords and other women who were ranking officials in social, political, and spiritual contexts. The history of the Red Queen of Lakamha’ is inseparable from the life of her adopted society in a challenging seventh-century environment riven by conflicts. Lakamha’ in Maya-Ch’ol means “big waters” for the fifty-six streams and small rivers flowing down the slopes of the Chiapas mountain range over natural stair-steps and pools. The city is today known by its Spanish name Palenque, in the Mexican state of Chiapas.

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Central Palenque 650-750AD/CE.  @ artstation.com

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Ph.02 – Temple of the Inscriptions-L  &  Temple.XIII-R.  @georgefery.com

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Contributions by women are historically understated in the archaeological record, but have been addressed over recent years, bringing a sharper focus on Maya ancient societies. In the seventh century, the time of our story, hostility led to frequent armed conflicts that were major disruptors in people’s daily lives. Beside securing and raising children, among other important duties, the woman of the family often had to attend to elderly parents or help neighbors in needs. Her husband was either away at the crack of dawn, working in the corn fields (milpas), he may have been ordered to join the army or, between planting and harvesting seasons, summoned by the city leaders to work on major construction projects.

The historical record for the Red Queen’s early life is scarce. However, we know that the society in which she lived was not dissimilar to that of other communities in the region at the time. A brief review of Palenque’s tumultuous history and that of its leading figures will help to set the context leading to her position of great power….

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In the mid-seventh century, Palenque leaders and those from other communities in the region had to contend with fast drivers of change, among which was a growing population that brought challenges to producing more maize and other edible products. The ensuing need to expand farming areas brought people closer together and forced them to compete for arable land and water. Recurrent severe climate events such as El Niño and La Niña were also major factors in farmers’ migrations, worsening clashes and conflicts. Important socio-economic and political disruptions, among other factors, led heads of large cities and small chiefdoms to search for allies to face up to encroaching powerful rivals. The trade of salt, cocoa beans, cotton, and jade, among other products was carried overland through natural choke points such as rivers and mountain passes guarded by local lords who charged arbitrary taxes. Additionally, the aggressiveness of the powerful Kaan or “kingdom of the snake” of Calakmul to control these choke points and attendant political dominance, was unrelenting. Calakmul was then one of the largest and most powerful kingdoms, located in the greater Petén Basin region, in today’s Mexican state of Campeche.

Young Tz’ak-b’u, the future Red Queen, was playing with her friends when lords and ladies from the great city of Lakamha’ arrived in 599 at Ux te Kuh’, the town of her birth, located mid-way between today’s Palenque and Tortuguero. She could not have imagined then that one of the slender young boys in the refugee party, Janaab’ Pakal, would be her consort for most of her life. How could she?

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Read the rest of this premium article story at https://popular-archaeology.com/article/the-red-queen-of-palenque/

Image courtesy author Georges Fery

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – SAN DIEGO—Around 6,200 BCE, the climate changed. Global temperatures dropped, sea levels rose and the southern Levant, including modern-day Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, southern Syria and the Sinai desert, entered a period of drought. 

Previously, archaeologists believed that this abrupt shift in global climate, called the 8.2 ka event, may have led to the widespread abandonment of coastal settlements in the southern Levant. In a recent study* published with the journal Antiquity, researchers at UC San Diego, the University of Haifa and Bar-Ilan University share new evidence suggesting at least one village formerly thought abandoned not only remained occupied, but thrived throughout this period. 

“This [study] helped fill a gap in our understanding of the early settlement of the Eastern Mediterranean coastline,” said Thomas Levy, a co-author on the paper, co-director of the Center for Cyber-Archaeology and Sustainability (CCAS) at the UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute (QI), inaugural holder of the Norma Kershaw Chair in the Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Neighboring Lands in the Department of Anthropology, and a distinguished professor in the university’s Graduate Division. “It deals with human resilience.” 

Signs of Life

The village of Habonim North was discovered off Israel’s Carmel Coast in the mid-2010s and later surveyed by a team led by the University of Haifa’s Ehud Arkin Shalev. 

Prior to its excavation and analysis, there was scant evidence for human habitation along the southern Levantine coast during the 8.2 ka event. The dig, which took place during the COVID-19 lockdown and involved a weeks-long, 24/7 coordinated effort between partners at UC San Diego and the University of Haifa, was the first formal excavation of the submerged site. 

Led by Assaf Yasur-Landau, head of the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies at the University of Haifa, and Roey Nickelsberg, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Haifa, the international team excavated the site using a combination of sediment dredging and sampling, as well as photogrammetry and 3D modeling. Team members uncovered pottery shards or “sherds”; stone tools, including ceremonial weapons and fishing-net weights; animal and plant remains; and architecture. 

Using radiocarbon dating, the researchers tested the recovered bones of wild and domesticated animals; the charred seeds of wild plants; crops like wheat and lentils; and weeds that tend to accompany these crops. Their results traced these organic materials back to the Early Pottery Neolithic (EPN), which coincided with both the invention of pottery and the 8.2 ka event.

Habonim North’s pottery sherds, stone tools and architecture likewise dated activity at the site to the EPN and, surprisingly, to the Late Pottery Neolithic, when the village was thought to have been abandoned.

As for how the village likely weathered the worst of the climate instability, the researchers point to signs of an economy that diversified from farming to include maritime culture and trade within a distinct cultural identity. Evidence includes fishing-net weights; tools made of basalt, a stone that does not naturally occur along this part of the eastern Mediterranean coast; and a ceremonial mace head.

“[Our study] showed that the Early Pottery Neolithic society [at Habonim North] displayed multi-layered resilience that enabled it to withstand the 8.2 ka crisis,” said Assaf Yasur-Landau, senior author on the paper. “I was happily surprised by the richness of the finds, from pottery to organic remains.” 

Through 3D “digital twin” technology and the Haifa – UC San Diego QI collaboration, the researchers studying Habonim North have been able to recreate their excavation, virtually, and 3D-print artifacts, opening the path to further study. The team previously received an Innovations in Networking Award for Research Applications from the non-profit organization CENIC for “exemplary” work leveraging high-bandwidth networking during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Shifting the Focus to Resilience

Although scientists debate the cause of the 8.2 ka event, some speculate that it began with the final collapse of the Laurentide ice sheet, which shaped much of the North American landscape in its retreat from modern-day Canada and the Northern United States. 

As it melted, the ice sheet would have changed the flow of ocean currents, affecting heat transport and leading to the observed drop in global temperatures. 

For the authors behind the study, the discovery of lasting and evolving social activity at Habonim North through this period of climate instability indicates a level of resilience in early Neolithic societies. Many of the activities uncovered at the village, including the creation of culturally distinct pottery and trade, formed the basis for later urban societies. 

“To me, what’s important is to change how we look at things,” said Nickelsberg. “Many archaeologists like to look at the collapse of civilizations. Maybe it’s time to start looking at the development of human culture, rather than its destruction and abandonment.”

Article Source: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – SAN DIEGO news release

MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR EVOLUTIONARY ANTHROPOLOGY—Conducted by an international team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig, Germany), Géoscience et Environnement Toulouse (Toulouse, France), and the Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine (Rabat, Morocco), a study* examines the diet of individuals associated with the Iberomaurusian culture discovered in the cave of Taforalt, Morocco. Using a comprehensive multi-isotopic approach, including zinc and strontium isotope analysis in dental enamel, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur analysis in collagen, as well as amino acid analysis of human and faunal remains, the researchers uncovered surprising insights into ancient dietary practices.

The study’s major conclusions clearly show that the diet of these hunter-gatherers included a significant proportion of plants belonging to Mediterranean species, predating the advent of agriculture in the region by several millennia. Archaeobotanical remains found at the site, such as acorns, pine nuts, and wild pulses, further support this notion. Moreover, the study suggests that plant foods were also introduced into infant diets and may have served as weaning products for this human population. This finding has significant implications, as it suggests the potential for earlier weaning practices in pre-agricultural communities compared to previously thought norms for hunter-gatherer societies.

Complex dietary practices of pre-agricultural societies

This challenges the prevailing notion of a diet heavily based on animal protein among pre-agricultural human groups and raises questions about the lack of agricultural development in North Africa at the beginning of the Holocene. Zineb Moubtahij, first author of the study, explains: “Our findings not only provide insights into the dietary practices of pre-agricultural human groups but also highlight the complexity of human subsistence strategies in different regions. Understanding these patterns is crucial to unraveling the broader story of human evolution.”   

Furthermore, this study is the first to use zinc isotopes preserved in enamel to determine the diet of ancient populations in Africa. North Africa is a key region for the study of human evolution and modern human dispersal. Having a tool that allows us to further explore human diet deep in time in this region will provide valuable insights into human dietary patterns and adaptability in different environments.

Moving forward, the research team hopes to explore additional Paleolithic sites in North Africa and use innovative techniques to gain a deeper understanding of ancient dietary practices and their implications for human evolution.

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Human tooth from the Taforalt Cave in Morocco, showing severe wear and caries. © Heiko Temming

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Article Source: MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR EVOLUTIONARY ANTHROPOLOGY news release.

*Isotopic evidence of high reliance on plant food among Later Stone Age hunter-gatherers at Taforalt, Morocco, Nature Ecology & Evolution, 29-Apr-2024. 10.1038/s41559-024-02382-z 

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Our species devotes a singular amount of time to an utterly unserious aspect of life: play. This begs the question: what is the adaptive value of horsing around? What possible evolutionary benefit could an activity that sees no specific return possibly have that we devote so much time to it?

Play holds a particularly special position in the study of both human and non-human behavior; it is accepted as a near-universal part of many animals’ lives, but a definition for ‘play’ that covers species from birds to bats is elusive. What holds together the mock-fighting of puppies and the rhyming chants of our own children, however, is a definition of play that says it is not for any specific purpose; it’s a set of actions that don’t quite achieve anything that an animal repeats during certain phases of their life when they are relaxed and not under threat. Three separate types of play are usually distinguished: play with objects, with locomotor skills, and with friends. The critical thing that separates these types of activities from others, whether undertaken by a cow or a crow, is that they are fun.

It does not, in a strictly Darwinian sense, make any sense for animals to play unless play itself has some adaptive value. Time spent in play is not spent acquiring food or sleeping, for instance, and bouncing around unnecessarily in play burns calories that could be used for growth or survival. And yet, a huge number of animal species have been observed ‘playing’: monitor lizards like the giant Komodo dragon will chew and fetch objects like a dog, fish will chase balls, and octopuses will explore Lego. Play is most at home, however, in mammals, and nowhere is it more obvious than in our own species.

There has been a great deal of argument in evolutionary biology and evolutionary psychology about what that adaptive value might be. Hypotheses include play in animals as physical training, allowing immature individuals to ‘practice’ pounces or perches that they will need as adults. The theory dating back to Victorian times that play is in fact a serious business that serves to train adult minds is still quite prominent, as can be seen by the vast array of ‘educational’ toys available. What these approaches have in common is that they see play as purposeful, as a kind of training mechanism. In this framing, juvenile play serves to make a fully competent adult, of whatever species.

It is clear that play does help train some animals to survive and thrive. A study of bear cubs found the cubs that played more had better survival rates; cheetah cubs that spent more time pretending to stalk their family also did more stalking of prey. There is a vast body of research on the way that play prepares human children for their lives as adults, and in fact our species spends a proportionately longer amount of time on the most playful period of our lives, childhood, than any other. So, while we know that humans engage in locomotor, object, and social play, what we need to understand is why it is adaptive for our species to spend so much time doing it.

One of the ways to do this is to look at how play works in closely related animals. Play does not behave like some sort of directly inherited Mendelian trait; play is deployed very differently even among relatively closely related species. Compare two of the great apes that, to the untrained eye, seem very similar: bonobos and chimpanzees. Both are great ape species of similar size and morphology, but they last shared an ancestor 1 to 2 million years ago and today are separated by the Congo River. Their social systems are very different, with male-dominated hierarchies in the chimpanzees and more fluid and female-led social groups in bonobos. They also occupy different environmental niches, with more reliance on seasonal fruit by bonobos and more access to year-round foods, including plants and insects, by chimpanzees. These may relate to differences in the skills they need to eat: chimpanzees make and use tools such as termite ‘fishing rods’ while bonobos have never been seen to do so.

One difference is in the amount and time the species spend in play. Bonobos are inveterate players throughout their lifetimes, whereas chimpanzees tend to limit play to infancy and childhood. The type of play chimpanzees and bonobos enjoy is also different. Young chimpanzees, who will grow up to become tool users, do more ‘object’ based play than young bonobos. Young bonobos however, who rely more on cooperation to organize their adult societies, will spend more time in ‘social’ play. Play also results in different outcomes for the two species: juvenile chimp play fights often escalate into real fights, while this almost never happens in bonobos.

Perhaps one of the most critical differences in the way these two species play is that in bonobos, play carries on throughout the animals’ lives. Chimpanzees, as they get older, have less and less tolerance for these kinds of interactions, while bonobos retain a kind of childlike tolerance for some kinds of play throughout their lives. That not all species give up on play as adults suggests that there is more to play than just training—adults, after all, are supposed to be fully trained. This is something that we can recognize in our own species: human adults are also champions at playing; whether it is sports, video games, dramas, or any other sort of activity that meets the not-quite-functional-but-fun definition of play.

Adult play tends to be social and to happen in species where social relationships are complicated and require a lot of finesse to manage. Playful interactions, particularly play fighting, help less-dominant adults test the boundaries of their relationships with more dominant ones, reinforce social bonds, and generally maintain the social organization of the group. This kind of adult play encourages cooperation and tolerance, and may even support collective decision-making.

We can look at the evolutionary commitment to play that our species has made in two parts, then. Our long childhoods give us a great deal of opportunity to ‘train’ through play—to gain competence in locomotor, object manipulation, and social skills. We are certainly not the only species to do this, nor are we very unique among our closest relatives: we like to play with tools, just like chimpanzees, because we are also a tool-using species, and we engage in all sorts of social play like bonobos. For us humans, our long childhoods give us a chance to play longer—but perhaps what most stands out is our ability to carry on this childlike willingness to take things a bit less seriously into adulthood. Our dedication to play throughout our lives, then, may be precisely the mechanism that allowed us to evolve to survive with less rigid social hierarchies and more cooperative social groups.

This article was produced by Human Bridges.

Cover Image, Top Left: Chimps in the wild. Pixabay image

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Few cities and regions of the world can match the significance and draw of Jerusalem with the public and scholars alike. In this ancient city, some of the world’s most defining historical events and figures have played out their stories, influencing generations through the ensuing centuries, especially concerning religious beliefs and practices. It therefore goes without saying that historical and archaeological research and publication related to the salient events and figures of historical Jerusalem and its regional context have taken on intense popular interest, as well as some intense scholarly and ecclesiastical debate. The cultural, emotional and ‘spiritual’ roots run deep.

Dr. James Tabor, one of the world’s foremost academic authorities on the Late Second Temple period (aka the Herodian period) Judaism and early Christianity, has offered a new video series he entitles “Jesus Archaeology”. Free to the public, the series focuses on how ancient texts, historical and archaeological sites, and ancient artifacts shed light on the rise of Christianity and the context in which it occurred. It also explores the period extending from at least 100 years before the time of Jesus through the century in which his crucifixion occurred. Of particular note here is video no. 1, entitled Ten Jerusalem Tombs from the Time of Jesus (See complete video below). Here, Tabor reviews and summarizes, with photographic images and illustrations, ten extraordinary burial cave tomb discoveries in the Old City area that relate to the context and events around the time of the Late Second Temple, the time period where Jesus enters the flow of time as it is now documented in historical and biblical records.

The Ossuary of Caiaphas

As is known to many who have a knowledge of the events as accounted in the Canonical gospels of the New Testament, Joseph, son of Caiaphas, presided as High Priest over the trial of Jesus before his crucifixion. A number of scholars suggest that an ornate ossuary (stone box that carries bones of the deceased), discovered with 11 other ossuaries in a tomb accidentally revealed through construction work south of Jerusalem in 1990, contained the skeletal remains of Joseph. Although the identification of the find has been subject to scholarly dispute, the discovery is one of the most important material objects relating to the times in which Jesus lived. Decorated with very ornate etchings — a practice usually reserved for a high status individual — the ossuary contained collectively the remains of two infants, two teenage boys, an adult woman and a man around 60 years old. Scholars suggest that the remains of the 60-year-old man was probably Joseph, son of Caiaphas, as the ossuary exterior was inscribed “Yehosef bar Qayafa” on the long side and “Yehosef bar Qafa” on the narrow side. 

The tomb and the ossuary of Caiaphas that it contained is one example among 9 other tomb discoveries Tabor discusses in the first installment of his video series. Each discovery excites the imagination in equal measure, providing a fascinating window on the lives and times of First Century Jerusalem, a critical and tumultuous period in religious history.

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The Ossuary of Caiaphas, the High Priest. Note the name inscription on one side. BRBurton, CCO 1.0 Universal, Wikimedia Commons

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Detail view of the Caiaphas ossuary inscription. BRBurton, CCO 1.0 Universal, Wikimedia Commons

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Following is a summary of the tomb discoveries Tabor discusses:

1. The Ossuary of Yehonatan ben Yeshua (Jonathan son of Yeshua) — This is an ornately inscribed but unprovenanced bone box that came into the possession of Tabor and which awaits publication and return to the collection under management of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
2. The Ossuary of Caiaphas (summarized above).
3. The Tomb of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives — A tomb with a circular rolling blocking stone at its entrance. The tomb features early Christian ‘graffiti’ on an internal wall surface. It is suggested by Tabor as a likely candidate for the first (temporary) tomb in which Jesus was laid directly after his crucifixion (not to be confused with the second, more permanent tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea as mentioned in the Gospel account).
4. The Tomb of the Shroud in Hinnom Valley — Located just south of Jerusalem, this tomb was looted when first encountered by Tabor and archaeologist colleague Shimon Gibson. Here, skeletal remains and an intact burial shroud was found within the tomb, a very rare discovery. Also a first, the skeletal remains revealed the deceased suffered from advanced leprosy. The shroud was carbon dated to the 1st century AD.
5. The Talpiot “Jesus Family” Tomb — First discovered during clearing of the area of Talpiot south of Jerusalem for construction of condominiums in 1980, this tomb contained 10 ossuaries. Six of the ossuaries were inscribed with names identifiable with names known to be associated with Jesus and his family, including the name of Jesus himself.
6. The Talpiot “Resurrection Tomb” — Discovered just steps away from the “Jesus Family Tomb” and now situated beneath a condominium, this tomb was initially investigated but subsequently re-explored 25 years after its discovery by a team using a robotic arm and camera device. The tomb contained ossuaries with inscribed images and inscriptions relating (by interpretation) to the raising of the dead, or resurrection.
7. The James Ossuary — This famous ossuary, and the story behind it, featured the inscription, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus”.  It was brought to light in 2002 from an antiquities dealer and from the beginning became the center of a debate firestorm. Recent geochemical studies have shown that the ossuary likely originally came from the “Jesus Family Tomb” described above.
8. The Ossuary of Simon and son Alexandros — One of a number of ossuaries discovered through excavation in 1941 of a tomb by archaeologists in the Kidron Valley near Jerusalem. It featured inscriptions of the names of Simon the Cyrenian (suggested to be the Simon of Cyrenia of the New Testament biblical account), and his son Alexandros.
9. The Abba Tomb — This tomb was found just north of Jerusalem in 1970. It is where Abba, son of Eliza the Priest, and Mattathia son of Judah were buried. Tabor suggests that this Mattathia (Matthew) was in fact the last Maccabean (Hasmonean) king, Antigonus (aka Mattathia or Mathew). The ossuary associated with Antigonus contained nails used for crucifixion, along with skeletal remains.
10. The Tomb of Yehochanan — This tomb was found north of Jerusalem not far from the Abba tomb in 1968. It contained the remains of a man who, based on the evidence found in the tomb, was crucified. The evidence uncovered provided new insights on how individuals were crucified during the Late Second Temple period in Jerusalem.
11. Cave 2001 at Masada — In the 1960’s archaeologists found 25 skeletons of men, women and children who were once living in a cave at the southern tip of the summit of Masada near the Dead Sea during the time of the famous siege of Masada. Suggested to have been among the defenders of Masada during the siege, Tabor theorizes that they were the remains of what was left of the Hasmonean priestly royal family based on DNA analysis.

Tabor hopes to realize future DNA analysis of embedded residues within ossuaries such as those described here to develop family profiles for further study.

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The James ossuary. Paradiso, Wikimedia Commons

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Inscription detail, James ossuary. Paradiso, Wikimedia Commons

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Aerial view of Masada. Samirsmier, Pixabay

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Cover Photo, Top Left: The Ossuary of Caiaphas, the High Priest. BRBurton, CCO 1.0 Universal, Wikimedia Commons

For more details about the “Jesus Family Tomb” and the “Resurrection Tomb”, see the article, In Search of the Historical Jesus, previously published in Popular Archaeology Magazine.

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Recently, scholars have focused on changes and transitions among ancient civilizations and population centers of western Anatolia and the eastern Aegean with increasing interest, particularly during the transitional periods from the Late Bronze Age to the Classical period. Place names such as Wilusa (Troy), Millawanda (Miletus), Hattusa (of the Hittites), Apasa (Ephesus), Sardis, and population groups like the Luwians, Lydians, Lycians, Carians, and the Mycenaeans, all played prominent roles in events and activities of Bronze Age and Iron Age western and coastal Anatolia, and its interface with the rest of the Aegean world during those time periods. 

Archaeologist and scholar Dr Jana Mokrisova, research associate at the University of  Cambridge, working with the Migration and the Making of the Ancient Greek World project under the direction of Prof. Naoíse Mac Sweeney (University of Vienna), is helping to shed light on various aspects of ancient mobility in the eastern Mediterranean and more specifically, western Anatolia and the eastern Aegean, from the Late Bronze Age to the Classical period.

In a recently published podcast, Mokrisova addresses important questions about this comparatively less known subject and its significance in understanding the ancient history and development of this part of the eastern Mediterranean world.  

Ester Salgarella, of the podcast series Aegean Connections, interviews Mokrisova on the subject. The podcast interview is available for free at this website.

Cover Image, Top Left: Map of the cities and regions of Bronze Age Anatolia. Al-qamar, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Of all the extinct hominins that came before us, we know most about the Neanderthals. The archaeological and fossil evidence has simply been more prolific for them—that is, outside of Homo sapiens, our own species.

Most significantly, the past decade has seen a surge in new information, affording clues about who the Neanderthals really were, based on insights and discoveries made through archaeological excavation and investigation, new fossil discoveries, improved methods in dating, and new developments in the study of ancient proteins and ancient DNA. We now know more about the Neanderthal brain and cognition; social and family structure; growth and development; sexuality; disease, inbreeding and introgression; blood groups; symbolic behavior; the use of resources and subsistence; and death and caring. The new research is beginning to paint a portrait of the Neanderthal as a being more like us than scientists have previously thought. Of particular note are the strides that have been made in understanding Neanderthals in the areas of the brain and cognition, symbolic behavior, social structure, and use of resources and subsistence as salient factors that contributed to their enduring persistence for over 500,000 years, and in some ways also their subsequent demise around the time of Home sapiens’ entrance on the scene of prehistory.

The Neanderthal Brain and Cognition

Recent studies have provided clues that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens were both comparatively different yet similar in cognitive ability. Earlier morphological studies have shown that Neanderthal brains were at least as large, if not a bit larger, than those of Homo sapiens. However, new research has indicated some important differences in brain structure and anatomy. For example, a study by Kochiyama et al. (2018) that produced a 3D reconstruction of the Neanderthal brain indicated that Neanderthals had smaller cerebellar hemispheres than Homo sapiens. This suggested that Neanderthals were less sophisticated with language communication, were less flexible in their thinking, and possessed a more limited memory capacity. In another study by Pinson and colleagues published in 2022, they found that Homo sapiens produced more neurons and greater neuron connectivity than Neanderthals. On the other hand, research has suggested that Neanderthals and Home sapiens had similar auditory capacities.

The jury is still very much out when it comes to drawing definite overall conclusions about the similarities and differences between Neanderthal and Homo sapiens cognition, but work goes on and their is little doubt that much more will be learned as further study progresses.

Symbolic Behavior

Historically, scholars have attributed symbolic thinking exclusively to Homo sapiens, the ‘last hominin standing’ on the prehistoric hominin timeline. It goes without saying that the evidence supporting this has been prolific. But scientists have now uncovered new clues to a Neanderthal capacity to express themselves abstractly, or symbolically. Cave painting attributed to Neanderthals, such as hand stencils, lines and dots, have been found in a small number of Spanish caves, including La Pasiega, Maltravieso and Ardales. Digital (finger) tracings in soft sediment dated to 57,000 years ago found in the La Roche-Cotard cave in France are suggested to have been made by Neanderthals, given the time period. A 51,000-year-old engraved giant deer phalanx was found at a site (Einhornhohle) in Germany. Cross-hatching on the interior of Gorham’s Cave in Spain has ben suggested to be the work of the Neanderthal occupants. What appear to be purposefully and systematically collected large herbivore crania (especially those with horns) were found at the Cueve Des-Cubierta cave site in Spain. All of these are remarkable and curious finds, though not without intense scholarly debate.

More about these discoveries, including their use of resources and subsistence; family structure and social groups; their DNA legacy; and death and caring, can be found in the full story published in the spring 2024 issue of Popular Archaeology.

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See the incredible archaeology, architecture, and art of northern Spain. A unique tour with special expert guides and lecturers through the collaboration of Popular Archaeology Magazine and Stone & Compass Tours. Not to be missed. Read More About It: https://popular-archaeology.com/article/northern-spains-triple-a-archaeology-architecture-and-art/.

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