Archaeological discoveries, breakthroughs and theories

[Idris2002]

An important stone at Stonehenge came from Scotland, apparently:

A Scottish provenance for the Altar Stone of Stonehenge - Nature

Mineral ages and chemical analysis of fragments of the Altar Stone from the Neolithic stone circle at Stonehenge suggest that it was transported from northeast Scotland, more than 750 km away, probably by sea.

www.nature.com

Important because it indicates a greater level of social complexity than we might otherwise have supposed.

 

[JimW]

An important stone at Stonehenge came from Scotland, apparently:

A Scottish provenance for the Altar Stone of Stonehenge - Nature

Mineral ages and chemical analysis of fragments of the Altar Stone from the Neolithic stone circle at Stonehenge suggest that it was transported from northeast Scotland, more than 750 km away, probably by sea.

www.nature.com

Important because it indicates a greater level of social complexity than we might otherwise have supposed.

The book I bought in the shop when I visited Skara Brae seem to suggest the ritual complex on the islands became a centre that linked up right across Britain, as if they were spreading their religious or whatever ideas. Only dimly recall the theory and not got book to hand, but was first thing that occurred to be when they mentioned the Orcadian geology.

 

[Idris2002]

And it's not just the Pritani who were united in a large scale network. If the research in this link is valid, then the hunter-gatherers of today's central africa were also part, long ago, of a continent-spanning set of social relations:

Scientists Uncover Ancient Origin of Cultural and Linguistic Networks of Central African Hunter-Gatherers

Extensive social networks among different hunter-gatherer groups in the Congo Basin existed long before the advent of agriculture in the region. This continent-wide exchange helped preserve a rich cultural diversity that evolved over thousands of years, as demonstrated by researchers from the Univer

scitechdaily.com

 

[Artaxerxes]

And it's not just the Pritani who were united in a large scale network. If the research in this link is valid, then the hunter-gatherers of today's central africa were also part, long ago, of a continent-spanning set of social relations:

Scientists Uncover Ancient Origin of Cultural and Linguistic Networks of Central African Hunter-Gatherers

Extensive social networks among different hunter-gatherer groups in the Congo Basin existed long before the advent of agriculture in the region. This continent-wide exchange helped preserve a rich cultural diversity that evolved over thousands of years, as demonstrated by researchers from the Univer

scitechdaily.com

N and S America as well.

 

[scalyboy]

This isn't a breakthrough as I understand it's been known for some time, but - during a recent visit to Ireland, my gourd was blown when I learned (in the prehistoric section of Dundalk's County Museum) that the earliest humans arrived in Ireland c.10,000 years ago. This is extraordinarily recent when compared with remains of Homo heidelbergensis found in England and dated c.500,000 years ago.

I assumed the difference was on account of Doggerland linking England, Scotland and Wales to continental Europe.

However, this National Geographic map of prehistoric Europe indicates the land beneath the Irish Sea being above sea level 18,000 years ago (i.e. 16.000BC). So why was Ireland so (comparatively) recently populated by Mesolithic humans? Did the Emerald Isle's notorious rainfall deter people from settling there?

Or, more seriously, is there any significance in the 16,000BC-era ice sheets (on the National Geographic map), covering much of Scotland, and another ice sheet encompassing much of Fermanagh, Tyrone, Armagh, Monaghan, Cavan and Leitrim? Do these suggest that the surrounding areas were bleedin cold and most inhospitable, only becoming liveable with rising temperatures c.8,000BC, by which time there was still a land bridge from Donegal / Derry to western Scotland, appears to be roughly Argyll & Bute?

 

[scalyboy]

A couple of other things that twisted my melon while visiting Dundalk County Museum's prehistoric section (more than a section, in fact it's an entire floor ) was that despite Co.Louth being one of the smallest (or the smallest) of Ireland's counties in terms of its geographical surface area (square miles or rather kilometres), it's one of the richest in terms of the number and quality of its prehistoric finds, and of still-extant monoliths, dolmens, passage graves etc. We only stayed in Dundalk itself for a couple of days (the rest of our week was further south on the coast at Annagassan) but during that time I saw two or three top quality sites: this one is Proleek portal tomb (the name apparently derived from proilíg, meaning 'obscure' ) ...

 

[scalyboy]

...and this is Clontygora court tomb - astonishing views from here, looking down to Carlingford Lough, and over towards the Mourne mountains... (actually I've just realised this was just over the border in the North, Co.Armagh)

It seems there was a lot of prehistoric trade and exchange between Scotland (and possibly the Isle of Man) and this part of Ireland, hence the richness and variety of finds turned up in farmers' fields.
I was familiar with the idea of a Neolithic culture that began in Iberia and which had gradually moved along the coast up to France, Ireland, and the northwest of England - the distinctive spiral markings (third pic) and other decorative marks often found on their stones are (as I understand it) distinct to these areas and less likely be found on SE England's Neolithic stones.
e.g. the Calderstones in Liverpool feature these markings (and also a more recent engraving of 'J.L.', allegedly carved by a young Lennon who'd lived in the area ) are similar to those of Spain, Portugal, France, Ireland.
BUT... a brief caption in the Dundalk museum suggested that this decorative style may have originated in Ireland and worked its way down to Iberia?! Surely carbon dating of organic material found at these sites would be able to prove / disprove this? I love the idea though - 'how the Irish saved civilisation' not once but twice

 

[trabuquera]

Never seen this little chap before. X-spat now kicking off over his true age and whether there are in fact older human depictions from the UK but anyway. There he (?) is.

 

[Humberto]

Not exactly the Sphinx is it?

 

[danny la rouge]

Not exactly the Sphinx is it?

It’s better. That cat sure is a clinker, daddio.

 

[Humberto]

Sorry I don't keep up with all this youth speak

 

[JimW]

Analysis of arrowheads at the Bronze Age battle site in Tollense suggest it may have been the earliest known European inter-regional conflict: Warriors from the south? Arrowheads from the Tollense Valley and Central Europe | Antiquity | Cambridge Core

The arrowhead data hint at the presence of foreign fighters in the Tollense Valley, probably deriving from southern Central Europe. This leads to questions about governance, warfare and mobility at the dawn of the Urnfield period in the thirteenth century BC; for the first time not only trade and cultural exchange, but also warfare on a supra-regional scale, can be documented in Central Europe.

 

[danny la rouge]

Can't Get Enough Carbs? That Craving Might Have Started More Than 800,000 Years Ago

New research traces the genetic underpinnings of the enzyme amylase, which helps humans digest starches and sugars

www.smithsonianmag.com

“Scientists have traced the genetic underpinnings of our ability to digest carbs to more than 800,000 years ago, long before the advent of agriculture— and much earlier than previously thought.


This finding raises new questions around our hunter-gatherer ancestors' diet and lifestyle. It also challenges the long-held belief that a protein-rich diet was responsible for the increase in human brain size, scientists suggest.


Perhaps carbs, not meat, gave humans the energy needed for developing bigger brains.“

 

[quimcunx]

Blatant propaganda from the macaroni pie marketing board.

 

[danny la rouge]

Blatant propaganda from the macaroni pie marketing board.

 

[Idaho]

What's clear from the sheer range of human diets, past and present, is that we can thrive as long as there's stuff we can shovel down our throats.

 

[JimW]

Interesting suggestion that my beloved Çatalhöyük may have been abandoned not because of climate change or war but because it was so densely inhabited it made disease transmission easy: Socially distanced layout of the world's oldest cities helped early civilization evade diseases

 

[Serge Forward]

Interesting suggestion that my beloved Çatalhöyük may have been abandoned not because of climate change or war but because it was so densely inhabited it made disease transmission easy: https://phys.org/news/2024-10-socially-distanced-layout-world-oldest.htm

Dead link

 

[yield]

Dead link

Socially distanced layout of the world's oldest cities helped early civilization evade diseases

In my research focused on early farmers of Europe, I have often wondered about a curious pattern through time: Farmers lived in large dense villages, then dispersed for centuries, then later formed cities again, only to abandon those as well. Why?

phys.org

 

[JimW]

Dead link

Fixed, but yield has also sorted where I cocked up on the C&P

 

[yield]

Interesting suggestion that my beloved Çatalhöyük may have been abandoned not because of climate change or war but because it was so densely inhabited it made disease transmission easy: Socially distanced layout of the world's oldest cities helped early civilization evade diseases

Against the Grain by James C. Scott talks about this.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1bvnfk9

 

[bcuster]

Britain's most valuable treasure, and it's not even stolen!

Hoard of silver coins dating from Norman Conquest is Britain’s most valuable treasure find ever ever​

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/22/science/norman-coins-most-valuable-find-britain-intl-scli/index.html

 

[danny la rouge]

Britain's most valuable treasure, and it's not even stolen!

Well, all treasure is stolen. But I know what you mean.

 

[JimW]

Sites of two massive cities at altitude in Uzbekistan rediscovered, seem to have thrived due to Silk Road trade: Archaeologists Map Two Forgotten Medieval Cities That Flourished Along the Silk Road in the Mountains of Central Asia
Mapped using lidar-equipped drones:

The drone-lidar scans provided remarkably detailed views of the plazas, fortifications, roads, and habitations that shaped the lives and economies of highland communities, traders, and travelers from the sixth through 11th centuries in Central Asia. The two cities are located in rugged terrain 2,000 to 2,200 meters above sea level (roughly comparable to Machu Picchu in Peru), making them unusual examples of thriving mountain urbanism.

The smaller city, today called Tashbulak, covered about 12 hectares, while the larger city of Tugunbulak reached 120 hectares, “making it one of the largest regional cities of its time,” Frachetti said.

High-res lidar exposes large, high-elevation cities along Asia’s Silk Roads

A team of researchers led by Michael Frachetti, professor of archaeology, and Farhod Maksudov, director of the National Center of Archaeology in Uzbekistan, used drone-based lidar to map the archaeological scale and layout of two recently discovered high-elevation sites in Uzbekistan. The...

artsci.washu.edu

 

[brogdale]

Really nice story of one man's commitment to finding neolithic monuments on Dartmoor:

Two newly discovered stone circles on Dartmoor boost ‘sacred arc’ theory

Archaeologist Alan Endacott says area may have been site of henge monument similar to ‘earlier phase of Stonehenge’

www.theguardian.com

Somewhat typically the Guardian Graphic map seems to contain no key or legend, so I'm assuming the blue dots represent the neolithic monuments: