Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Seafaring Canadians 16,000 Years Ago?
As incredible as it may seem, and as harmful to the tenures of Clovis theory profs as it may actually be, here is an article on the 16,000 ybp Canadians whose homes are now (of course) under the sea.....16,000 Year )ld Canadians
Monday, August 27, 2007
Prehistoric Waterworks
Prehistoric Greek Water Works Found
(AP) -- Archaeologists excavating a sprawling prehistoric fortress in southern Greece have discovered a secret underground passage thought to have supplied the site with water in times of danger.
Dating to the mid-13th century B.C., the stone passage passed under the massive walls of the Mycenaean citadel of Midea and probably led to a nearby water source, authorities said Friday.
The passage would allow the people of Midea, about 93 miles south of Athens, safe access to drinkable water even in times of enemy attack.
"It is a very important discovery, which gave us great joy," excavation director Katie Demakopoulou said.
Only three such networks - major engineering feats requiring intensive labor - from Mycenaean times have been found so far.
Excavations in late June and July at Midea revealed cut rock steps leading to the triangular passage, whose entrance was covered with a large stone lintel. At the entrance to the 5-foot-high passage, archaeologists found quantities of broken clay water jars and cups.
The 6-acre site was girdled with a wall of huge stone blocks, built around 1250 B.C. Excavations have also uncovered several buildings - some decorated with painted plaster walls - pottery, a clay figure of a goddess, seal-stones and an amethyst vase shaped like a triton shell.
Controlling a strategic road in the northeastern Peloponnese, Midea was first occupied in the later Neolithic period, in the 5th millennium B.C. It flourished during Mycenaean times and was destroyed by earthquake and fire at the end of the 13th century B.C. - after which the site diminished in size and significance. Traces of habitation have also been located from the Archaic (7th and 6th centuries B.C.), Roman and Byzantine periods.
Greek state archaeologists and archaeologists from the Swedish Institute at Athens, a private foundation financed by the Swedish government, have systematically excavated Midea since 1983.
© 2006 The Associated Press.
http://www.physorg.com/news107249748.html
--
(AP) -- Archaeologists excavating a sprawling prehistoric fortress in southern Greece have discovered a secret underground passage thought to have supplied the site with water in times of danger.
Dating to the mid-13th century B.C., the stone passage passed under the massive walls of the Mycenaean citadel of Midea and probably led to a nearby water source, authorities said Friday.
The passage would allow the people of Midea, about 93 miles south of Athens, safe access to drinkable water even in times of enemy attack.
"It is a very important discovery, which gave us great joy," excavation director Katie Demakopoulou said.
Only three such networks - major engineering feats requiring intensive labor - from Mycenaean times have been found so far.
Excavations in late June and July at Midea revealed cut rock steps leading to the triangular passage, whose entrance was covered with a large stone lintel. At the entrance to the 5-foot-high passage, archaeologists found quantities of broken clay water jars and cups.
The 6-acre site was girdled with a wall of huge stone blocks, built around 1250 B.C. Excavations have also uncovered several buildings - some decorated with painted plaster walls - pottery, a clay figure of a goddess, seal-stones and an amethyst vase shaped like a triton shell.
Controlling a strategic road in the northeastern Peloponnese, Midea was first occupied in the later Neolithic period, in the 5th millennium B.C. It flourished during Mycenaean times and was destroyed by earthquake and fire at the end of the 13th century B.C. - after which the site diminished in size and significance. Traces of habitation have also been located from the Archaic (7th and 6th centuries B.C.), Roman and Byzantine periods.
Greek state archaeologists and archaeologists from the Swedish Institute at Athens, a private foundation financed by the Swedish government, have systematically excavated Midea since 1983.
© 2006 The Associated Press.
http://www.physorg.com/news107249748.html
--
Those Dad-Burned Egyptian Curses
Berlin
August 26, 2007
LEGEND has it that the royal tombs of ancient
Egypt were sealed with monstrous curses
against all who trespassed into the domain of
the afterlife.
In the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun,
hieroglyphs were said to have spelled out a
dreadful end for all who entered. Howard
Carter, the archaeologist who opened the tomb
in 1923, wrote that "all sane people should
dismiss such inventions with contempt".
But a German man has decided the curse of the
mummies is definitely not a myth — and has
returned a plundered ancient carving he says
has fatally cursed his family. The relic was
stolen three years ago from the Valley of
Kings, home to the tombs of dozens of
pharaohs and nobles who were buried 3000
years ago.
The unnamed man decided to take it home to
Germany with him as a souvenir of his trip.
Trouble began on his return, according to an
anonymous note that accompanied the carving
when it was recently returned to the Egyptian
embassy in Berlin.
The thief was struck down with inexplicable
fatigue and fever, paralysis, and ultimately
death. The stolen piece was returned by his
stepson, who believed the curse would not end
with his relative's death.
Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities said
that by returning the carving, the stepson
hoped his relative's soul could rest in
peace. The apparent curse is the latest in a
long series of bedevilments to have struck
explorers and plunderers. King Tut's "curse"
is the most famous of those attached to the
pharaohs. The team that excavated his tomb is
said to have suffered a series of unexplained
deaths.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
August 26, 2007
LEGEND has it that the royal tombs of ancient
Egypt were sealed with monstrous curses
against all who trespassed into the domain of
the afterlife.
In the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun,
hieroglyphs were said to have spelled out a
dreadful end for all who entered. Howard
Carter, the archaeologist who opened the tomb
in 1923, wrote that "all sane people should
dismiss such inventions with contempt".
But a German man has decided the curse of the
mummies is definitely not a myth — and has
returned a plundered ancient carving he says
has fatally cursed his family. The relic was
stolen three years ago from the Valley of
Kings, home to the tombs of dozens of
pharaohs and nobles who were buried 3000
years ago.
The unnamed man decided to take it home to
Germany with him as a souvenir of his trip.
Trouble began on his return, according to an
anonymous note that accompanied the carving
when it was recently returned to the Egyptian
embassy in Berlin.
The thief was struck down with inexplicable
fatigue and fever, paralysis, and ultimately
death. The stolen piece was returned by his
stepson, who believed the curse would not end
with his relative's death.
Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities said
that by returning the carving, the stepson
hoped his relative's soul could rest in
peace. The apparent curse is the latest in a
long series of bedevilments to have struck
explorers and plunderers. King Tut's "curse"
is the most famous of those attached to the
pharaohs. The team that excavated his tomb is
said to have suffered a series of unexplained
deaths.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Lost City Found Near Stonehinge
Lost city found at Stonehenge
By Chris Hooper
Could Stonehenge be the site of the lost city of Apollo? DB2685
A RENOWNED archaeologist, who shot to national prominence last year
with his amazing discovery of Stonehenge's lost alter stone by a
roadside in Berwick St James, now claims to have found the famed lost
city of Apollo in the land around Stonehenge.
Dennis Price, who is an expert on the history of Stonehenge and who
used to work with Wessex Archaeology, believes the lost city of Apollo
is located at King's Barrow Ridge, overlooking Stonehenge.
The lost city is believed by many to be mythical but, after working
with language experts at Exeter University, Mr Price is convinced the
city exists and that it is right here on the outskirts of Salisbury.
The team painstakingly deciphered the works of an ancient Greek
mariner named Pytheas of Massilia.
Mr Price explained that Pytheas was known to have visited Britain in
around 325 BC and in his chronicles he wrote of the lost city of
Apollo and a site similar to Stonehenge.
He said: "There is a passage that apparently refers to Stonehenge
which has long fascinated people, but there is also a repeated
reference made to a city sacred to Apollo which has gone completely
unremarked upon."
It was this which first intrigued Mr Price and led him to look a
little harder at Pytheas' text. And this deeper investigation allowed
him to find the exact location of the city.
He said: "Just a mile or so to the east of Stonehenge is a gigantic
prehistoric earthwork called Vespasian's Camp, named in later years by
William Camden, after the same Vespasian who subjugated the south west
of England during the Roman invasion of Britain in 43AD.
"It is invariably described as an Iron Age hill fort, yet excavations
there have shown the existence of far earlier Neolithic pits, while
there still exist the remains of early Bronze Age funeral barrows,
showing the site was in use while nearby Stonehenge was being
constructed.
"Vespasian's Camp lies at the bottom of a slope occupied further up by
what is known as the King's Barrow Ridge, overlooking Stonehenge,
while this is further divided into the New King Barrow and Old King
Barrow.
"Vespasian's Camp cannot be seen from Stonehenge, but it lies to the
east of the ruins, in the direction of the rising sun. As Apollo had
largely become thought of as a Sun god by the time Pytheas was
writing, it is an obvious connection.
"Given the huge scale of the earthworks at Vespasian's Camp, it is not
unthinkable that Pytheas may have thought of Troy, another city sacred
to or beloved of Apollo, as some later versions of the stories of this
place speak of Apollo building the walls there along with Poseidon.
"We cannot know precisely how Pytheas came to equate the sanctuary,
the temple and the city with Apollo, but it is not unthinkable that
some future excavation at Stonehenge might provide evidence of this."
For more on this discovery see www.eternalidol.com.
By Chris Hooper
Could Stonehenge be the site of the lost city of Apollo? DB2685
A RENOWNED archaeologist, who shot to national prominence last year
with his amazing discovery of Stonehenge's lost alter stone by a
roadside in Berwick St James, now claims to have found the famed lost
city of Apollo in the land around Stonehenge.
Dennis Price, who is an expert on the history of Stonehenge and who
used to work with Wessex Archaeology, believes the lost city of Apollo
is located at King's Barrow Ridge, overlooking Stonehenge.
The lost city is believed by many to be mythical but, after working
with language experts at Exeter University, Mr Price is convinced the
city exists and that it is right here on the outskirts of Salisbury.
The team painstakingly deciphered the works of an ancient Greek
mariner named Pytheas of Massilia.
Mr Price explained that Pytheas was known to have visited Britain in
around 325 BC and in his chronicles he wrote of the lost city of
Apollo and a site similar to Stonehenge.
He said: "There is a passage that apparently refers to Stonehenge
which has long fascinated people, but there is also a repeated
reference made to a city sacred to Apollo which has gone completely
unremarked upon."
It was this which first intrigued Mr Price and led him to look a
little harder at Pytheas' text. And this deeper investigation allowed
him to find the exact location of the city.
He said: "Just a mile or so to the east of Stonehenge is a gigantic
prehistoric earthwork called Vespasian's Camp, named in later years by
William Camden, after the same Vespasian who subjugated the south west
of England during the Roman invasion of Britain in 43AD.
"It is invariably described as an Iron Age hill fort, yet excavations
there have shown the existence of far earlier Neolithic pits, while
there still exist the remains of early Bronze Age funeral barrows,
showing the site was in use while nearby Stonehenge was being
constructed.
"Vespasian's Camp lies at the bottom of a slope occupied further up by
what is known as the King's Barrow Ridge, overlooking Stonehenge,
while this is further divided into the New King Barrow and Old King
Barrow.
"Vespasian's Camp cannot be seen from Stonehenge, but it lies to the
east of the ruins, in the direction of the rising sun. As Apollo had
largely become thought of as a Sun god by the time Pytheas was
writing, it is an obvious connection.
"Given the huge scale of the earthworks at Vespasian's Camp, it is not
unthinkable that Pytheas may have thought of Troy, another city sacred
to or beloved of Apollo, as some later versions of the stories of this
place speak of Apollo building the walls there along with Poseidon.
"We cannot know precisely how Pytheas came to equate the sanctuary,
the temple and the city with Apollo, but it is not unthinkable that
some future excavation at Stonehenge might provide evidence of this."
For more on this discovery see www.eternalidol.com.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
5000 Year Old Chewing Gum
Student discovers 5000-year-old chewing gum
From correspondents in London
From a local rag:
A BRITISH student archaeologist has
discovered a 5000-year-old piece of chewing
gum.
Sarah Pickin, 23, found the lump of birch
bark tar - complete with Neolithic tooth
prints - on a dig in Finland.
Ms Pickin's tutor at the University of Derby,
Professor Trevor Brown, said birch bark tar
contained phenols, which are antiseptic
compounds.
"It is generally believed that Neolithic
people found that by chewing this stuff if
they had gum infections it helped to treat
the condition. It's particularly significant
because well-defined tooth imprints were
found on the gum which Sarah discovered," he
said.
Ms Pickin was on a volunteer program at the
Kierikki Centre on the west coast of Finland
when she made the find.
More articles here:
Stone Age Chewing Gum Stories
From correspondents in London
From a local rag:
A BRITISH student archaeologist has
discovered a 5000-year-old piece of chewing
gum.
Sarah Pickin, 23, found the lump of birch
bark tar - complete with Neolithic tooth
prints - on a dig in Finland.
Ms Pickin's tutor at the University of Derby,
Professor Trevor Brown, said birch bark tar
contained phenols, which are antiseptic
compounds.
"It is generally believed that Neolithic
people found that by chewing this stuff if
they had gum infections it helped to treat
the condition. It's particularly significant
because well-defined tooth imprints were
found on the gum which Sarah discovered," he
said.
Ms Pickin was on a volunteer program at the
Kierikki Centre on the west coast of Finland
when she made the find.
More articles here:
Stone Age Chewing Gum Stories
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Recreating the Sea Voyages of Homo Erectus
This is an excellent article for my latest short story about ancient Indonesia, as my characters take a very similar boat journey.
Robert G. Bednarik leads sea voyages just like homo erectus would have had to make 800,000 years ago on rafts made by hand-axe technology;
Erectus Ahoy
Robert G. Bednarik leads sea voyages just like homo erectus would have had to make 800,000 years ago on rafts made by hand-axe technology;
Erectus Ahoy
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Venus Figurines
These all date from 20,000 to 30,000 years ago. Common thought is that they were fertility idols, but no one really knows, and theories abound. At any rate, they were very popular and were widespread throughout Europe and the Middle East. There has even been a sort of Venus Figurine Factory excavated in france, where Paleolithic people produced Venus figurines all day long, and not much else. What do YOU think they are?
The "Out of Asia" Theory by National geographic
See
Did Early Humans First Arise in Asia, Not Africa?
Nicholas Bakalar
National Geographic News, December 27, 2005
Two archaeologists are challenging what many
experts consider to be the basic assumption of
human migration-that humankind arose in Africa
and spread over the globe from there.
Robin Dennell, of the University of Sheffield in
England, and Wil Roebroeks, of Leiden University in
the Netherlands, describe their ideas in the
December 22 issue of Nature.
They believe that early-human fossil discoveries over
the past ten years suggest very different
conclusions about where humans, or humanlike
beings, first walked the Earth.
Here's the Link:
National Geographic
Did Early Humans First Arise in Asia, Not Africa?
Nicholas Bakalar
National Geographic News, December 27, 2005
Two archaeologists are challenging what many
experts consider to be the basic assumption of
human migration-that humankind arose in Africa
and spread over the globe from there.
Robin Dennell, of the University of Sheffield in
England, and Wil Roebroeks, of Leiden University in
the Netherlands, describe their ideas in the
December 22 issue of Nature.
They believe that early-human fossil discoveries over
the past ten years suggest very different
conclusions about where humans, or humanlike
beings, first walked the Earth.
Here's the Link:
National Geographic
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Homo Erectus Like Skull From 1800s
Here is a very interesting article about an aborigine skull from a tribe member who died in the 1800s. It is remarkably like that of Homo Erectus Soloensis, who lived in Java over 28,000 years ago.Modern Homo Erectus Hybrid in Australia?
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Take That Mainstream! Another Neandertal Hybrid Found!
Early Modern Human Skull Includes Surprising Neanderthal Feature
Science Daily - In 1942, a human braincase was found in Romania during phosphate mining. The skull's geological age has remained uncertain. Now, new radiocarbon analysis appearing in the August issue of Current Anthropology directly dates the skull to approximately 33,000 years ago, placing it in the Upper Paleolithic.
Though this braincase is in many ways similar to other known specimens from the period, the fossil also presents a distinctly Neanderthal feature, ubiquitous among Neanderthals, extremely rare among archaic humans, and unknown among prior modern humans.
"The mosaic is most parsimoniously explained as the result of a modest level of admixture with [Neanderthals] as modern humans dispersed across Europe," write Andrei Soficaru (Institutul de Anthropologie, Romania), Catalin Petrea (Institutul de Speologie, Romania), Adiran Dobos (Institutl de Arheologie, Romania), and Erik Trinkaus (Washington University, St. Louis). "Given the reproductive compatibility of many closely related species and the culturally mediated nature of mate choice in humans, such admixture should neither be rare nor unexpected."
Known as the Cioclovina 1 neurocranium, the skull is one of a very small number of European early modern humans securely dated prior to ca. 28,000 before present. It is unusual in its preservation, showing little signs of external abrasion and no carnivore damage to the bone. The person's age-at-death was probably somewhere in the 40's, "best considered mature, but not geriatric," the authors write.
The skull has been described from the outset as that of an early modern human, due to ear anatomy, details of the neck muscle attachments, and the presence of a high, rounded braincase. The lateral bones resemble those of recent human males. However, the area above the neck muscles contains a distinctly Neanderthal feature, a suprainiac fossa - a groove above the inion, or, the place on the bone at the lower back of a human skull that juts out the farthest.
"This feature implies some level of Neanderthal ancestry in this otherwise modern human fossil," the authors explain. "It joins other early modern European fossils, from the sites of Oase and Muierii in Romania, Mlasdec in the Czech Republic, and Les Rois in France in indicating some degree of Neanderthal admixture occurred when modern humans spread across Europe starting around 40,000 years ago."
Reference: Andrei Soficaru, Catalin Petrea, Adiran Dobos, and Erik Trinkaus. "The Human Cranium from the Pestera Cioclovina Uscata, Romania." Current Anthropology 48:4.
Source: University of Chicago Press Journals
--
Read The Article Here
Science Daily - In 1942, a human braincase was found in Romania during phosphate mining. The skull's geological age has remained uncertain. Now, new radiocarbon analysis appearing in the August issue of Current Anthropology directly dates the skull to approximately 33,000 years ago, placing it in the Upper Paleolithic.
Though this braincase is in many ways similar to other known specimens from the period, the fossil also presents a distinctly Neanderthal feature, ubiquitous among Neanderthals, extremely rare among archaic humans, and unknown among prior modern humans.
"The mosaic is most parsimoniously explained as the result of a modest level of admixture with [Neanderthals] as modern humans dispersed across Europe," write Andrei Soficaru (Institutul de Anthropologie, Romania), Catalin Petrea (Institutul de Speologie, Romania), Adiran Dobos (Institutl de Arheologie, Romania), and Erik Trinkaus (Washington University, St. Louis). "Given the reproductive compatibility of many closely related species and the culturally mediated nature of mate choice in humans, such admixture should neither be rare nor unexpected."
Known as the Cioclovina 1 neurocranium, the skull is one of a very small number of European early modern humans securely dated prior to ca. 28,000 before present. It is unusual in its preservation, showing little signs of external abrasion and no carnivore damage to the bone. The person's age-at-death was probably somewhere in the 40's, "best considered mature, but not geriatric," the authors write.
The skull has been described from the outset as that of an early modern human, due to ear anatomy, details of the neck muscle attachments, and the presence of a high, rounded braincase. The lateral bones resemble those of recent human males. However, the area above the neck muscles contains a distinctly Neanderthal feature, a suprainiac fossa - a groove above the inion, or, the place on the bone at the lower back of a human skull that juts out the farthest.
"This feature implies some level of Neanderthal ancestry in this otherwise modern human fossil," the authors explain. "It joins other early modern European fossils, from the sites of Oase and Muierii in Romania, Mlasdec in the Czech Republic, and Les Rois in France in indicating some degree of Neanderthal admixture occurred when modern humans spread across Europe starting around 40,000 years ago."
Reference: Andrei Soficaru, Catalin Petrea, Adiran Dobos, and Erik Trinkaus. "The Human Cranium from the Pestera Cioclovina Uscata, Romania." Current Anthropology 48:4.
Source: University of Chicago Press Journals
--
Read The Article Here
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