Archaeological discoveries, breakthroughs and theories

[ringo]

Europe’s Largest Hoard of Copper Age Axes, Ax Hammers Discovered in Northeast Bulgaria



A hoard of 6,500-year-old Copper Age axes and ax hammers – Europe’s largest such find so far – has been discovered by accident near the town of Polkovnik Taslakovo, Dulovo Municipality, Silistra District, in Northeast Bulgaria.

The discovery of the hoard of prehistoric axes and ax hammers from the Chacolithic (Aeneolithic, Copper Age) has just been announced for the first time by archaeologist Dimitar Chernakov based in the Danube city of Ruse in Northeast Bulgaria, the Ruse Regional Museum of History informs.
...
The prehistoric tool hoard contains a total of 22 tools, including 18 flat axes and 4 ax hammers, with a combined weight of 11.629 kilograms.

The Chalcolithic axes and ax hammers from Bulgaria’s Polkovnik Talaskovo are made of alloy with a high content of copper which was cast into molds.

The tools are dated to the Late Chalcolithic (Late Copper Age), more specifically, 4,500 – 4,200 BC.

http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/20...Rfsd8CW9LAz8GRn0eRaFGP6rwxgNkx0noZcIK7sMC8hh4

 

[justin credible]

Evidence of a highly accomplished female artist working on illustrated manuscripts
The Woman With Lapis Lazuli in Her Teeth - The Atlantic

 

[ringo]

Evidence of a highly accomplished female artist working on illustrated manuscripts
The Woman With Lapis Lazuli in Her Teeth - The Atlantic

That's brilliant, beautiful art. And a great bit of detective work to reveal a great story. I had no idea nuns also iluustrated manuscripts, seems that they were at the top of the game

I've just read Eric Newby's A Short Walk In The Hindu Kush about the region the mineral was exported from. That lapis lazuli was traded from such an incredibly remote spot and ended up there (and in European royal clothing) is amazing.

 

[Gerry1time]

I've just read Eric Newby's A Short Walk In The Hindu Kush about the region the mineral was exported from. That lapis lazuli was traded from such an incredibly remote spot and ended up there (and in European royal clothing) is amazing.

I get the sentiment, but I honestly don't belive it is. From an evolutionary point of view, people a few thousand years ago, and especially people only one thousand years ago, were essentially exactly the same as us. Same mental abilities, same desires, potentially very similar social habits too. They were basically just us as we are now, but without the 'benefit' of the knowledge advancements that have been made in the intervening years. The images we were presented at school of people in earlier times being 'stone age people' who looked a bit like monkeys and wore crudely processed furs are very far from the mark. Just look at the bronze age Must Farm, and the fact they found finely woven linen and so many other sophisticated things - UK's best bronze age site dig ends but analysis will continue for years

I suspect a lot of our opinion of them has been coloured by the fact that so much of the knowledge of how they lived and worked has been lost over time, and we're only now re-discovering it. You look at things like anglo saxon high status jewelry. Technically made in the 'dark ages', but of phenomenal quality, just as good as much being made these days. How the romans cut such tiny yet intricate intaglios (and coin portraits) is still relatively poorly understood, and there's an element of their glass production where we still don't understand how they achieved the technical excellence they did. Add to that the idea that populations weren't necessarily small either. I once heard Ronald Hutton claim that the UK population at a stage of the bronze age was likely the same as during a stage of the UK in Victorian times.

On top of that, they seemed to understand much better how to live in harmony with the planet, and potentially had better solutions to problems too. The Romans invaded the UK in the first century AD, but in many parts of the UK, the usage of coinage (beyond high status coinage) didn't really take off until the early fourth century. What were people doing in the intervening time? Hoarding everything and living solitary lives, or finding a perfectly acceptable way of running societies without the need for money?

In many areas, it may well be us that are backward, not them.

 

[ringo]

Interesting points Gerry1time .

Really, I think it is amazing. That area of Afghanistan is ridiculously remote and very insular. It is still a monumental task to bring provisions or trade through some of those mountian passes. It would have been exactly that difficult then. I marvel at it then and I marvel at it now. I think with the level of communication and knowledge at their disposal it is incredible that this mineral was identified for a use in early illustration or writing in the region, and in fine garments, and that their fame spread to the courts of Europe. This might be the single traded good that forged those particular trade routes, or at least to that extent.

I have absolutely no difficulty understanding that they were of precisely the same intelligence as us, in all respects. They focussed that intelligence on the technology and artistic expertise they had access to, so their greatest specialists were focussing on those techniques that we rightly praise today. Imagine if all the physicists, engineers, mathematicians and other academics in the world today were putting all of their knowledge and time into metallurgy, jewelry making, astronomy, boat building, ceramics and textiles. The breakthroughs would be phenomenal. And I think that's why we can't match them today. As a species we're not putting as much effort into those traditions. We've "moved on" to higher technology.

The notions of living in harmony with the planet and being content without currency are more debatable I think. There is a big risk here of imposing our beliefs and experiences onto past societies. There is of course strong evidence of some cultures having beliefs which demonstrate that for many people there was a synergy and bond with the natural world we seem to have lost. Some of the great cultures swept aside by "modern" populations such as the indigenous people of America, Australia and New Zealand have evidence of that in abundance.

But there is a whiff of romance about that notion. It could be thought of as harking back to a golden age which in truth never existed. There is a duality to human existence which is always in conflict. The need to preserve and be at one with the world and the need to expand, progress, use and ultimately destroy that world with our need for wealth, power and to succeed as the dominant species.

History and archaeology is littered with the remains of lost kingdoms and cultures who fell victim to this conflict.

I think in the first century AD in Britain there woud have been a mixture of ideas that exactly replicates what we can still observe in modern populations. There were people who wanted to cling onto old, traditional ideas. Lots of people don't like change, we know that. But at the same time there would have been "progressive" people looking to the future, trying to improve their lives. We know that one of the reasons the Roman Empire grew so large was not just that they had huge, well organised armies to conquer the "barbarians". The act of Romanisation was as much a cultural movement. The adaptation of local religious places and Gods to those of Rome. The introduction of roads, currency, ceramics, literature, philosophy, wine, plumbing, concrete, metallurgy and other technologies - "What have the Romans ever done for us?", as Monty Python put it.

I'd say we're not backward compared to them. I think you were right at the beginning of your post. We are them.

 

[justin credible]

On top of that, they seemed to understand much better how to live in harmony with the planet, and potentially had better solutions to problems too. The Romans invaded the UK in the first century AD, but in many parts of the UK, the usage of coinage (beyond high status coinage) didn't really take off until the early fourth century. What were people doing in the intervening time? Hoarding everything and living solitary lives, or finding a perfectly acceptable way of running societies without the need for money?

In many areas, it may well be us that are backward, not them.

I agree with you that we can look back on ancient humans / humanoids in a way that doesn't appreciate their skills and intelligence and that often overlooks their achievements.

I do not believe that people back then understood how to live in better "harmony with the planet". Some ancient peoples probably did understand something about not depleting resources but some depleted resources to the point where they failed to sustain their communities.

I dislike this romantic idea of ancient humans possessing "ancient wisdom" as it it the opposing side of the coin of the idea that ancient humans were "savages".

I watched a documentary recently about the evolution of ancient humanoids and one of the experts said something that I found interesting. They said that if you wanted to imagine what life as an ancient human was like that the best comparison was with the TV series The Walking Dead. Basically you would have various groups of humans struggling together while all the time fighting for resources against other groups of humans and also facing being eaten by dangerous predators.

 

[justin credible]

I'd say we're not backward compared to them. I think you were right at the beginning of your post. We are them.

this

 

[ringo]

Basically you would have various groups of humans struggling together while all the time fighting for resources against other groups of humans and also facing being eaten by dangerous predators.

I don't know about 'best' comparison, but there's a logic to that.

 

[yield]

Add to that the idea that populations weren't necessarily small either. I once heard Ronald Hutton claim that the UK population at a stage of the bronze age was likely the same as during a stage of the UK in Victorian times.

Where can I read more about that? Had a quick search but nothing sticks out.

 

[two sheds]

Not really a discovery but I enjoyed this:

https://resources.metmuseum.org/res...f/Greek_Art_From_Prehistoric_to_Classical.pdf

Discusses early Greek pottery and sculpture and gives an excellent description of the symbolism in the pieces (some lovely ones in there). It's made me look more closely at images and helped me to know what to look for.

 

[DotCommunist]

Not really a discovery but I enjoyed this:

https://resources.metmuseum.org/res...f/Greek_Art_From_Prehistoric_to_Classical.pdf

Discusses early Greek pottery and sculpture and gives an excellent description of the symbolism in the pieces (some lovely ones in there). It's made me look more closely at images and helped me to know what to look for.

just having a read:
'Contests included ....... the pankration (no-holds-barred combination of wrestling and boxing)'
ancient greece had UFC

 

[two sheds]

Much lower down it gives a list of Greek words and their translation. I've saved them and will have a run through to think of English words they're used in.

Then it gives a timeline of Greek history including the following gem:

"508-507 Kleisthenes’ reforms transform Athens into a full democracy. Government is by all freeborn men, rather than only by landed aristocrats."

 

[DotCommunist]

Athens into a full democracy.

Lol. no slaves, no madmen, no women, and only those who could prove they were city born and had city born parents.

 

[two sheds]

Lol. no slaves, no madmen, no women, and only those who could prove they were city born and had city born parents.

Well quite: full democracy

 

[TruXta]

just having a read:
'Contests included ....... the pankration (no-holds-barred combination of wrestling and boxing)'
ancient greece had UFC

Naked, no less.

 

[two sheds]

Lol. no slaves, no madmen, no women, and only those who could prove they were city born and had city born parents.

I always liked the Hitchhiker's Guide quote: “Many men of course became extremely rich, but this was perfectly natural and nothing to be ashamed of because no one was really poor – at least no one worth speaking of.”

 

[two sheds]

For example:



"Looking carefully at the Diadoumenos, one discovers that the
figure’s rib cage and pelvis tilt in opposite directions, setting up
a rhythmic contrast in the torso (called “chiastic” because of its
resemblance to the Greek letter x , or chi) that creates an impres-
sion of organic vitality.The position of his feet—poised between
standing and walking—gives a sense of potential movement.This
rigorously calculated pose, which is found in almost all works
attributed to Polykleitos, became a standard formula in Greco-
Roman and later Western European art."

Roman copy (A.D. 69-96) of a Greek bronze statue of 430 BC

(I also hadn't realized how widely the Romans copied Greek statues)

 

[zahir]

Not a discovery but history based on recent archaeology rather than just the usual literary sources. Podcast with Angelos Chaniotis talking the Hellenistic world from Alexander to Hadrian.

Angelos Chaniotis, “Age of Conquests: The Greek World from Alexander to Hadrian” (Harvard UP, 2018)

 

[wayward bob]

yesterday i first heard about gobekli tepe how the fuck did i miss that for so long?

 

[trabuquera]

^ Massively important - indeed the site inspiring some to argue that it's getting together for religious rites that sparked agriculture rather than the other way round. Great bit of writing about it here, including a huge hidden-in-plain-sight HINT about the value of perceived common beliefs...

Turkey’s Ancient Sanctuary

 

[ringo]

^ Massively important - indeed the site inspiring some to argue that it's getting together for religious rites that sparked agriculture rather than the other way round. Great bit of writing about it here, including a huge hidden-in-plain-sight HINT about the value of perceived common beliefs...

Turkey’s Ancient Sanctuary

Very interesting site, still a lot to find out about it.

Always interesting to read about archaeology written by a non-archaeologist. Bit of a hodge-podge of old and new theories but enjoyed her musings on the origin of monogamy, the patriarchy, class etc.

Have we always been like this is it learned or enforced behaviour? Its a subject that wasn't addressed at undergraduate level at all when I was a student, I wonder if it is now. Might have to see what books have been written on the subject.

 

[wayward bob]

my afternoon's reading

The Tepe Telegrams

 

[ringo]

2,000-Year-Old Tattoo Tool Identified in USA

An object in storage at Washington State University has been identified as a 2,000-year-old tool used by ancestral Pueblo people living in what is now southeastern Utah to create tattoos. The nearly four-inch-long pen was made from two prickly pear cactus spines tied to a handle of skunkbush sumac with yucca-leaf strips. Andrew Gillreath-Brown of Washington State University analyzed its sharp, pointed ends with a scanning electron microscope and found that the black stains contain carbon, which is often used as pigment. He also attempted to create tattoos with a replica pen on fresh pig skin. The tool pushes back evidence for the practice of tattooing in western North America by more than 1,000 years, Gillreath-Brown said. Similar implements have been found in Arizona and New Mexico, but the oldest has been dated to between A.D. 1100 and 1280.
2,000-Year-Old Tattoo Tool Identified - Archaeology Magazine

 

[Ponyutd]

I bet that hurt like hell!

 

[ringo]

I bet that hurt like hell!

I know a few people, and I think it got discussed on the Show Us Your Tattooes thread, who reckon some of the traditional bamboo/Maori etc methods are less painful than the modern metal needle guns.

 

[JimW]

Liquid found in a Western Han tomb that seems consistent with Taoist formulae for the elixir of life: "Elixir of immortality" found in central China's ancient tomb - Xinhua | English.news.cn

 

[Ponyutd]

The bloke who made the concoction is dead is he?

 

[two sheds]

It's a two-component elixir, they've just not found the other half yet.

 

[Ponyutd]

The Swedish Mary Rose.

In 1628, the Swedish warship Vasa set off on its maiden voyage from Stockholm harbor towards Poland, where a war was raging in the Baltic. Built by 400 craftsmen at the royal shipyard at Stockholm, the ship was richly decorated as a symbol of the king's ambitions for Sweden and himself. It was 69 meters long and was fitted with 64 cannons, and upon completion, it was of the most powerfully armed vessels in the world of that time. Unfortunately, Vasa was too top heavy and dangerously unstable. Despite the lack of stability, the king was eager to see her in battle and pushed her to sea. On the day of departure, a swelling crowd gathered at the harbor to watch the ship leave. Over a hundred crewmen along with women and children were on board as the crew was permitted to take family and guests along for the first part of the passage. After sailing just 1,300 meters, at the first strong breeze, the ship foundered, leaned over and sank. Around 30 people lost their lives.
Gorgeous Decay: The Second Death of the Swedish Warship Vasa

 

[ringo]

Cave Full of Untouched Maya Artifacts Found at Chichén Itzá
Read more: Cave Full of Untouched Maya Artifacts Found at Chichén Itzá | Smart News | Smithsonian

Experts have long been studying and exploring Chichén Itzá, a major set of Maya ruins on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico that includes the impressive pyramid El Castillo. But, as The Associated Press reports, it took a tip—or, more accurately, two tips—from local residents to point them toward an unexplored cave at the site, which contains dozens of artifacts, bones and burnt offerings to the gods.


The cave, about 1.7 miles east of El Castillo was first discovered by locals about 50 years ago. At the time, they alerted archaeologist Víctor Segovia Pinto to the find. He ordered the cavern sealed and issued a brief report, which was soon forgotten. Last year, locals once again pointed out the location to archaeologists, who began investigating anew.

Out of respect for local customs, the team—led by archaeologist Guillermo de Anda—performed a six-hour purification ritual before entering the cave system, known as Balamkú or the Jaguar God, Agence France-Presse reports. Once inside, they belly crawled to reach the seven chambers where the Maya would go to leave offerings, mainly to the central Mexican god of rain, Tlaloc.

To date, researchers have uncovered 155 ceramic incense burners as well as clay boxes and other vessels in the site. They plan to leave the artifacts in situ.