Ancient Digger Archaeology

Neanderthals and the Human Spark

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:13:00 +0000

Neanderthals were very successful in adapting to things that were presented to them. They lived in Europe much longer than us and their adaptions to their environment changed very little over the course of their lives. Even after they came to Europe they maintained a certain lifestyle and they even used the same type of tool kit they utilized while in Africa. The Neandertal’s tool tradition consisted of the multi- part spear thrower, stone-flakes, and task-specific hand axes, referred to as the Mousterian stone tool tradition, which dates to about 300,000 years ago. Neanderthals are also associated with the Châtelperronian, Aurignacian, and Gravitation tool cultures.

The research on Neanderthal DNA at the Max Planck Institute tells us that the Neanderthals and our ancestors had contact with one another but never mated. Also, the genetic differences observed while studying the Neanderthal genome were very minute. Further research on the Neanderthal genome has yielded other interesting details about the biology and lifeway's of this early hominin. The Max Planck Institute has been studying stable isotope values from ten different Neanderthals over a 100,000-year span. The analysis of the teeth shows us that the diet of all ten Neanderthals studied consisted mainly of animal protein. There was no evidence to suggest a significant amount of plant food in the diet. There is also no evidence of fish in the diet, which is odd considering that many Neanderthals lived by a water source.

Scientists have also been using the world’s largest x-ray machine to examine the upper jaw of a Neanderthal child brought from Belgium. The teeth literally have a built in calendar. The teeth lay down a new layer of enamel everyday they are growing, therefore the amount of days a Neanderthal lived can be counted by looking at the number of layers. Effectively, the total time you are growing your teeth gives you the proximal time of your childhood. Moreover, the growth lines in the Neanderthal child’s teeth shows us that it was around six or seven when it died, meaning it developed quite quickly after birth. Humans experience a longer childhood than any other animal. Our brains our immature, as a result, the brain growth happens after birth and in the brain case. In contrast, we see more growth in the face and jaw of some of our early ancestors. Humans experience more maturation, allowing us to absorb language and the world around us. Neanderthal children have less time to mature, learn, and experience the world around them. They are essentially thrown into adulthood without having the necessary skills for long-term survival.

I previously mentioned the examination of teeth for dietary patterns, but teeth were extracted and used as ornaments as well. Human molars were pierced and sewn onto clothing or used as jewelry. These beads are evolutionarily important because not only were they not found at any Neanderthal sites, but they started showing up over 100,000 years ago, prior to them being found in Europe. This could mean that symbolism did not exist in Neanderthal culture, but it did in the human cultures that stayed behind in Africa.

Also, it means that there is a network in place. These beads represent an extension of the social network and social organization, in that they represent not only a community of peoples, but also a group of people unknown, united under one symbolic tradition and an adaptive strategy used only by humans. The significance of the artifacts being discovered at Olorgesailie by Alison Brooks is that fact that new technology did not just appear and the human spark was not necessarily instant. Allison Brooks explains that the complexity of the mind most likely evolved in Africa because there is no evidence for the origin of ‘the spark’ anywhere else. There is also no beginning and no end in the archaeological record. There are steps in the middle and things are changing slowly over time as far as social complexity and technology. This slow genesis can be seen at the archaeological sites, from the 150,000-year-old spear point discovered that is quite small and sharp to the 320,000-year-old site, which yielded stone flakes made out of exotic materials. The evidence suggests that our early ancestors were putting thought into the materials that they used and they were also establishing trade networks to obtain exotic resources. This behavior is pushing the human spark back even before the anatomically modern humans appeared. Essentially, we were behaving like modern humans even before we looked like them.

The article “Diatomaceous sediments and environmental change in the Pleistocene Olorgesailie Formation, southern Kenya Rift Valley” discusses the sediment layers of the Olorgesailie Basin, which show changes in hominin behavior and the distribution of artifacts, which were directly affected by environmental variability over time¹. Moreover, the “variability selection hypothesis” discussed in the article explains how the replacement of habitat specific adaptations by evolutionary trends increased hominin intelligence and social complexity, thus allowing for flexible responses to complex and shifting environments ¹. This assessment supports the idea that modern humans at Olorgesailie were now fully capable of adapting to extreme change by using complex analysis.

The Neanderthals and our ancestors had the spark, but only humans took this new found information and evolved into something truly distinct from other hominins. Modern humans had developed a modern mind. According to Svante Paabo at the Max Planck Institute, modern humans were very unique. We spread out across the world colonizing different locations, and we fundamentally started dominating and controlling the ecosystem, instead of the environment controlling us.

As far as “the spark’ in concerned, I believe it is a firing of information or a neurological wiring, which essentially sparked an instant idea in modern humans. We were seeking out new information and we were thinking abstractly. We also experienced a longer maturation, thus allowing us to develop cognitive processes based on environment, culture, and observation. As far as tools, the Neanderthals had a generalized technology that worked in any kind of weather. On the other hand, modern humans found ways to invent new technology for every obstacle encountered. Ultimately there was a social and technological change in modern humans and information flow between groups. According to Ian Tattersall, these true diagnostics of humanness appeared about 50 to 100,000 years ago.

Although we have some artifacts left behind that might suggest the use of language and symbolism in Neanderthal culture, we still do not have the proof. They did use advanced tools but those tools never changed. Also, Neanderthals had a human gene that allowed for advanced language, suggesting the species had the capacity for speech, but it is still debatable as to whether they actually had a complex system of linguistic exchange.

Additionally, hominins like Homo erectus did not have the software or hardware to produce language. The voice box of Homo erectus was not developed, the neural circuits were not equipped to control tongue movements, the cervical vertebrae was not shaped correctly, and also Homo erectus did not have the lung control. Additionally, the innovative tool technology used by the Homo erectus was most likely shared via a communication system based on symbols or body language instead of linguistics. I believe linguistic communication evolved when we see the presence of advanced tools and complex behavior. Although the first tools did not appear until about 2.6 million years ago, the ability to communicate did not occur until these tools were improved upon. Once the technology started to become more diverse, and materials were being traded to produce these tools, there had to be an exchange of language in order to negotiate terms.

Source

Owen, RB, Potts R, Behrensmeyerd AK, Peter D. 2008. Diatomaceous sediments and environmental change in the Pleistocene Olorgesailie Formation, southern Kenya Rift Valley. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 469: 17-37.

Also check out:

Phylogenies And Evolutionary Biology in Anthropology
Anthropologists Debate: Neanderthal and Human Brains No Longer Similar

Human Origins: Morphology of the Orrorin tugenensis Femur

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:51:00 +0000

This is a general synopsis of the findings examined in the article "External and Internal Morphology of the BAR 1002'00 Orrorin tugenensis Femur".

The article “External and Internal Morphology of the BAR 1002'00 Orrorin tugenensis Femur” was written by K. Galik; associated with the Orthopedic Biomechanics Laboratory, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA. B. Senut who is associated with the Département Histoire de la Terre, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. M. Pickford, the Chaire de Paléoanthropologie et de Préhistoire, Collège de France. D. Gommery who is associated with UPR 2147 CNRS. J. Treil from the Service du Radiologie, UMR 8555 du CNRS et Service de Radiologie, Clinique Pasteur. Lastly, A. J. Kuperavage and R. B. Eckhardt from the Laboratory of Comparative Morphology and Mechanics, Department of Kinesiology, Pennsylvania State University. The article was written September 3, 2004 and it focuses on three proximal femurs, primarily BAR 1002'00 of Orrorin tugenensis, which has a thinner cortex superiorly than inferiorly. The three femurs examined were originally found at the Lukeino Formation in Kenya's Tugen Hills in the Baringo District, Kenya in 2001. The purpose of this article, albeit it is somewhat controversial, is to support the idea that Orrorin tugenensis practiced bipedalism. The authors are essentially convinced, according to the femurs discovered, that Orrorin tugenensis was a biped considering the head of the femur had a spherical orientation and was rotated anteriorly. The article essentially explains Brigitte Senut and Martin Pickford’s discovery of Late Miocene fossils from the Lukeino Formation in Kenya's Tugen Hills. Although there were 20 fossils discovered to date, the three proximal femurs are of main focus in this article. The primary fossil investigated was of BAR 1002′00, a femur comparable in size to Pan troglodytes. The issue and primary focus was that the cortex is markedly thinner superiorly than inferiorly compared to the equal cortical thicknesses observed in extant African apes, approaching the condition in later hominids, and indicating that Orrorin tugenensis was bipedal².

The point that Eckhardt, Galik, Gommery, Kuperavage, Pickford, Senut and Treil are trying to make is that the anatomical correlates in the BAR 1002′00 femur would support its bipedal status. Several attributes were observed that are characteristic of the Plio-Pleistocene through later hominids and distinguishing them from the African Apes: a shallow trochanteris fossa, an obturator exterius groove, and long femoral neck. Furthermore, there is no evidence of deep penetration of the trochanteris fossa into the shaft, in contrast with the usual morphology observed in Pan ². Consequently, the length of the femoral neck in the BAR 1002′00 sample indicates a reorientation of the anterior gluteal muscles, which is strongly indicative of habitual hominid locomotion. “In BAR 1002′00, the femoral neck length exceeds that of Miocene hominoid fossils attributed to Afropithecus, Dryopithecus, Kenyapithecus, Nacholapithecus, Oreopithecus, and Ugandapithecus. Among Plio-Pleistocene hominids, a long femoral neck recently has been reconstructed for the partial MAK-VP-1/1 femur”². The CT scans did indicate that the cortex was decidedly thinner superiorly than inferiorly, differing from the approximately equal cortical thicknesses observed in extant African apes. However, it is important to take note that bipedalism places structural integrity where gravity would most affect a bipedal organism, at the superior end of the femur. This is a decisive trait of later hominids. The dimensions of bone in the superior margin of femoral neck actually exceed those of the inferior margin often associated with Pan troglodytes.

There is a problem, however. According to a questions submitted to Science Magazine about Orrorin tugenensis by James Ohman, Owen Lovejoy, and Tim White, with answers by Robert B. Eckhardt, Karol Galik, Adam J. Kuperavage, the femoral neck of sample BAR 1002′00 was actually broken and glued back together “at the exact location most needed for an accurate analysis”. Therefore measurements of actual cortical thickness should have been made prior to the bone being glued back together. Although computerized tomography scans of the neck-shaft junction of BAR 1002′00, and the cortical bone, support the idea that Orrorin tugenensis walked with an up-right posture and habitual bipedal locomotion, there still seems to be an issue with the reconstruction of the sample. “We concur that the femur's external morphology suggests some form of bipedalism. However, the original scans appear to show a distinct superior cortex distinctive from Australopithecus and humans, with the cortex distribution being more primitive than that seen in any other hominid” ³. This means that the BAR 1002′00 femur has such derived characteristics as to exclude Australopithecus from direct human ancestry.

Critical adaptive signatures such a longer femoral neck and cortical thickness supports our lineage, as well as provides a map of the internal distribution of cortical bone in the most ancient femora pertinent to reconstructing hominid origins². Furthermore, the internal distribution of cortical bone in its femoral neck constitutes direct evidence for frequent bipedal posture and locomotion in this Late Miocene ancestor. “BAR1002′00 exhibits a total morphological pattern distinct from African apes, diagnostic of bipedal locomotion, and appropriate for a population standing at the dawn of the human lineage” ². This means then, according to my understanding of the article, that Orrorin tugenensis would mark the earliest evidence for habitual locomotion in the human fossil record and would shed light on the evolutionary causes of the shift to bipedalism.

In “Late Miocene hominids from the Middle Awash, Ethiopia” Selasse explains that the primitive dental anatomy and postcranial characteristics indicates that Ardipithecus was phylogenetically close to the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans ⁴. These new findings raise additional questions about the claimed hominid status of Orrorin tugenensis. Why exactly? I mentioned before that the examination of the femoral neck led to the assumption that Orrorin tugenensis was a habitual biped. Selasse on the other hand contends that the “locomotor anatomy of Orrorin remains uncertain at this time because its description lacked comment on characters directly diagnostic of bipedalism, such as the presence of an obturator externus groove or an asymmetrical distribution of cortex in the femoral neck” ⁴. I don’t fully agree with this statement as the distribution of cortical bone and the obturator externus groove were both mentioned in the article “External and Internal Morphology of the BAR 1002'00 Orrorin tugenensis Femur”. The authors explain that the obturator externus groove, present in BAR 1002’00, resulted from bone remodeling to accommodate the direct contact of the obturator externus tendon with the dorsal surface of the femoral neck at full extension of the femur ² Furthermore, a sample of 155 African hominoids, contrary to BAR 1002’00, did not include a single example of an obturator externus groove. This doesn’t discount Orrorin from representing the last common ancestor; it might just mean “it represents a previously unknown African hominoid with no living descendants, or an exclusive precursor of chimpanzees, gorillas or humans” ⁴.

In “A New Hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa” the authors explain that the discoveries of Ardipithicus ramidus, Ardipithicus kadabba and Orrorin tugenensis have extended the human lineage well back into the Miocene, however, the discovery of Australopithecus bahrelghazali in Chad, demonstrated a considerably wider geographic range for early hominids than conventionally expected ¹. In “External and Internal Morphology of the BAR 1002'00 Orrorin tugenensis Femur”, the authors were not speaking primarily of geographical boundaries of Orrorin, but the actual morphological traits observed in the samples discovered. Also, dental measurements are looked at in depth by Burnet ¹, which compare and contrast the upper and lower dentition of lineages, including Orrorin tugenensis. Consequently, “A New Hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa” looks at the primitive and derived characters evident in Sahelanthropus, which indicates its phylogenetic position as a hominid close to the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees, similar to Orrorin tugenensis ¹.

Based upon the paleoanthropological research and articles I have read so far, I am convinced that when paleoanthropologists attempt to reconstruct the lifeway's of early bipedal species, it is not always based upon the actual fossil evidence. Inferences about the missing pieces, and thinning of the cortical bone, as we saw in the BAR 1002'00 Orrorin tugenensis femur sample, are reconstructed based upon assumptions and cross comparisons. We also see these assumptions used in the Australopithecus garhi forearm sample BOU-12/1, where the top and bottom of the radius and ulna were essentially filled in, based on what, we don’t know. Although there is a degree of changeability in the species data due to new discoveries and estimations based on comparable samples, we cannot discount the significance of the fossil samples we do have from the early hominines. They provide us a glimpse into the human lineage and also create phylogenic possibilities. These possibilities help to explain the anagenesis within a lineage and the cladogenesis, which results in the splitting of a lineage. Consequently, the organization of these traits, based almost entirely on morphology, allows us to better understand evolutionary history.

Literature Cited

Brunet, M., Franck, G., Pilbeam, D., Hassane, T.K., Likius, A, Ahounta, D., Beauvilain, A.,Blondel, C., Bocherens, H., Boisserie, J.R., De Bonis, L., Coppens, Y., Dejax, J., Denys, C., Duringer, P., Eisenmann, V., Fanone, G., Fronty, P., Geraads, d., Lehmann, T., Lihoreau, F., Louchart, A., Mahamat, A., Merceron, G., Mouchelin, G., Otero, O., Campomanes, P.P., Ponce De Leon, M., Rage, J.C., Sapanet, M., Schuster, M., Sudre, J., Tassy, P., Valentin, X., Vignaud, P., Viriot, L., Zazzo, A., & Christoph Zollikofer. A New Hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa. 2002. Nature 418:145-151.
Eckhardt, R. B., Galik, K., Gommery, D., Kuperavage, A. J., Pickford, M., Senut, B., & Treil, J. 2004. External and Internal Morphology of the BAR 1002'00 Orrorin tugenensis Femur. American Association for the Advancement of Science 305:1450-1453.
Ohman, James C., Owen Lovejoy C., White, Tim D., Eckhardt, Robert B., Galik, Karol & Adam J. Kuperavage. 2005. Questions about Orrorin Femur. American Association for the Advancement of Science 305: 845.
Selassie, Yohannes Haile. Late Miocene hominids from the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. 2001. Nature 412: 178-181.

Pompeii: Erotic Art and Roman Sexuality

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Mon, 21 May 2012 11:13:00 +0000

If you missed the documentary on eros and erotic art in Pompeii make sure you take a look prior to reading this in depth study into Pompeii's sexual past.

Pompeii is an archaeological site, which was destroyed around AD 79 by Mount Vesuvius. It was a town full of aristocrats and artisans. Artisans who were previously slaves, who gained freedom in Pompeii and became wealthy merchants. Pompeii was a place for the super-rich! The Palm Beach of the Roman world. It was a place known for sexual indiscretions. One could choose his or her desires from a list of murals, pointing in the direction of their sexual perseverance. You would hang your belongings on a peg, a peg conveniently located near an erotic scene, a reminder of where you left your things. Then you would proceed with your indiscretions in secret rooms or bathhouses.

Sex was a completely normal and fulfilling experiencing in Pompeii, and most of what we know about the eroticism that took place there was left on the walls. For 1700 years, this Greco Roman town lay buried in a blanket of ash and pumice, until archaeologists unearthed a town home to 20000 people. Beginning excavations were haphazard and damaging, yet while methods of archaeology were more refined, more artifacts more discovered. Some of the most recognizable and erotic art and archaeological finds in Pompeii were statues, large pools, and several murals of Priapus.

It is important to remember that all of the artwork in Pompeii discovered thus far has a much deeper meaning for the people that lived there. The Pompeians were enamored with eros and this obsession drove them to experiment with love, take risks with questionably clean prostitutes, and often drove men to partake in lewd acts with anything with a pulse. Is this the reason for the amount of sex that took place at Pompeii? Possibly. Sex and pornography in Pompeii were looked at as a completely normal aspect of human nature, and yet many modern cultures were ethnocentric in their own ideals and portrayals of what was sexually accepted out in the open. So what did the people of Pompeii think about the power of eros, sex, and pornography, what did modern cultures think, and why were sexually explicit items created?

Eros is the son of Aphrodite who essentially meddles in the affairs of gods and mortals, causing bonds of love to form, often illicitly. In early Greek art, Eros is depicted as a adult male with sexual prowess, but later becomes cupid, the blindfolded and childlike boy who flies around, shooting his arrows at unsuspecting individuals destined for love, with a little push of course. Eros draws one thing to another by attraction or even gravity. Hesiod, one of the earliest poets, writes a book called Theogony. He explains that Eros existed long before the goddess of love, Aphrodite. According to many philosophers, Eros was an awe-inspiring universal force. Eros (Love), is the fairest among the deathless gods, who unnerves the limbs and overcomes the mind, and counsels of all gods and all men within them. Pre-Socratic philosophers believed Eros was a natural force responsible for creation. It was not just good or bad, but destructive. Eros was vital because it operated as a social concept, yet it had moral implications. It was hard to control because in many cases, individuals would become slaves to it. This may have been the case in Pompeii.

Sex was less inhibited in Pompeii than it is today in most countries. There were few prohibitions and sex was just one aspect, albeit a very significant one, of human nature. The motto in Pompeii, which could be found on the erotic art and walls, drinking vessels, as well as plaques, read "enjoy life while you can for tomorrow is uncertain". Sex ranked as a great way to enjoy oneself and others, and while the stereotypical Roman orgies were most likely not part of daily life, certainly sex was acceptable, practiced, and celebrated.

Sarah Robinson writes:

There may have been a wide variety of sexual images on display in Pompeii, but it was incredibly unlikely that they were used to sexually excite spectators. Sexually explicit art was found among landscapes and other mythological art in rooms off kitchens, slave quarters, and other common areas. From the Roman point of view, the sex may have been noticeable, but it was not noteworthy and it did not set these pictures apart from landscapes and ordinary mythological depictions. The Romans seemed proud of their paintings, displaying them in full view of the public because of this pride. Sometimes the pictures were meant to give a sense of life’s pleasures¹.

Loth notes that, “Among the ancients, sex was unashamedly joyous, in reading as in practice. The subjects carried no more taboos than food or sports, family quarrels or international wars.” These taboos were much more than modern cultures like the Victorians could endure, with their prudish ways and undeniable attitude of perfection. The Victorians believed the art at Pompeii was “obscene” by their own standards. There were depictions of sexual acts in almost every home and bathhouse, as well as many public spaces. There were other scenes on display in Pompeii depicting homosexuality, oral sex, and variety of sexual positions. The sexually explicit pictures found all over Pompeii were, “Proper pictures to have around your house. If you have a proper picture collection, you must have some really good pictures of people doing it, and if you don’t well you just don’t have any taste and don’t understand the proper values of your society”⁷.

One such sculpture dating to the 1st century AD caused quite a stir in the Victorian community. The Pompeian sculpture of Pan having sexual intercourse with a goat touched very deeply on the topic of bestiality. The intention of the Romans and Roman sexuality was to create an amusing sculpture that was admirable for its wit and skill, and it was most likely displayed in full public view. The irony behind the attitudes of the Victorians towards this particular piece of art is the fact that undeniably racy subjects engulfed in a heat of passion were just an example of how unlikely it was that this act could have happened. The fact of the matter is that modern individuals, or more specifically modern American cultures, believe that all thoughts pertaining to sex or sexual acts are inappropriate. Nudity is taboo and it is taught very early on that one’s body should only be used in a biological context and not for display, especially in sexually explicit images. These images go even further when the subject of those images is children and nudity. Showing a child in this form is considered as terribly offensive but the pictures make an impact. American culture does not like to admit to the impact of sexual imagery, but every time a conversation is started about pornography, it sparks an intense reaction, which continues to prove the power of sexuality.

The 1864 edition of Webster's dictionary defined pornography as "licentious painting employed to decorate the walls of rooms sacred to bacchanalian orgies, examples of which exist in Pompeii”⁴. These ideas of pornography were not so much the reflection of everyday Roman life but a way to show how sex was acceptable. No matter the amount of people who engaged in the activity or the object of those pleasures, sex was always conveyed as both a pleasurable and humorous act. This is certainly the reason why we see so many phalluses in Pompeii. Not only was the phallus a symbol of fertility, but also it was used in the form of an icon, its main purpose being to ward off evil. Today, the image of a phallus is completely taboo. The erect or semi-erect penis continues to be considered utterly unacceptable in any form of media other than pornography while female nudity in various forms is rapidly becoming acceptable even in media⁶ . The people of Pompeii displayed and revered the phallus and were not ashamed of its meaning, because the meaning was never to be perceived as only a sexual object. In the age of “size does matter”, many often prefer a larger penis. Was this the case for Pompeians? Hardly. In Pompeii, a smaller penis was considered more attractive. A larger penis, like the one we see on Priapus, was usually found on an individual with characteristics unusual to the Roman ideal, which was amusing and worthy of a good laugh. It was never meant to cause distaste, but it demonstrates how the Pompeians were able to laugh at themselves and not take things, such as the size of ones manhood, too seriously.

Robinson described the Pompeian’s ideas about the size and meaning behind the phallic symbol:

Laughter was one way to dispel the anguish of the evil eye. Humorous, erotic art displayed around town and in your household was one way to employ the protection of laughter, and was probably the reason behind its prevalence in Pompeii. Protection against the evil eye could also be found in the many images of the phallus commonly depicted in Roman art. These phallic images range from unobtrusive stone reliefs carved into paved walkways to winged and belled hanging phalluses. Power, status, and good fortune were expressed in terms of the phallus. Hence the presence of phallic imagery in almost unimaginable varieties all around the town . . . . There are phalluses greeting you in doorways, phalluses above bread ovens, phalluses carved into the surface of the street and plenty more phalluses with bells on-and wings⁶ .

There are several examples around every turn in Pompeii displaying the phallus, the most notable depiction, considered to be the most obscene, is located on a life-sized fresco in a doorway into the House of the Vettii. The god Priapus holds a set of scales that weighs his phallus while he looks outward, brazenly meeting the eyes of all who pass by. If you dare walk past him or even catch a glimpse at the relative size of his not insignificant maleness, you cannot help but be impressed. This portrayal would often spark laughter to the Romans, and mere shock to the Victorians, but the meaning is so much more significant. Priapus was thought to bring luck and plentiful harvests in the garden and the bedroom. He was also a protector of the flocks and the bees and he protected people from harm and evil. As with any phallic culture, anxieties were probably created as men tried to keep up with the strength society expected of them. Mary Beard explores how these sexual anxieties manifested themselves in homophobia, “In fact, many of the insults that scholars have sometimes taken as signs of Roman disapproval of homosexuality as such are directed only at those who played the passive part”¹.

One’s first impression of Pompeii upon arrival is mostly likely embarrassment. Perhaps your heart starts racing or the images of well-endowed males throws you into doubt about your own manhood. The streets of Pompeii are a clear detour from the 20th century ideas of standards and moralities, and for the most part, the erotic art and images of Pompeii have, since its rediscovery, caused both outrage and appreciation. It is important to remember, however, that the Pompeian artifacts are valuable since they provide a source of information, and the knowledge from that information requires dissemination. These artifacts might just hold a key to understanding not only the Pompeian citizens, but also ourselves. Therefore the archaeological artifacts need to be interpreted by someone besides an archaeologist or historian in order for their true importance to be realized. Even before the world stood still in Pompeii in AD 79, the inhabitants were using these objects routinely. There was not a person alive that did not have access to them, yet when the first obscene artifacts were finally unearthed, people recognized a collision of worlds. In order to truly understand these ancient relics, one had to dive into the world of Roman sexuality to understand why they were preserved.

It is easy to imagine a Victorian digger discarding an object considered obscene in their circle. However, thankfully they realized that these items could never be destroyed. Had they been of recent manufacture, this would have been the obvious expedient; but any relic of the ancient world possessed, merely thanks to its survival, a value that superseded the nature of the relic itself. The relics of Pompeii had no rivals, no copies, and their likeness could not be found in any surrounding areas. This added value accrued principally to two classes of relics, the trivial and the obscene. Though both kinds had presumably been distributed throughout the Roman Empire, trivial things had mostly vanished in centuries of neglect, while obscene ones had succumbed to the zealous progress of Christianity. When it came to obscene objects, the more obscene an object was, the more likely it would have been destroyed anywhere but at Pompeii. Thus Pompeian preservation became a necessary evil⁴.

Depending on their inclinations, early critics condemned the one as immoral or the other as prudish, but all agreed that the ancient system of organizing Pompeii’s images would never do in modern times. A new taxonomic classification system was born out of Pompeii's priceless obscenities. They were to be systematically named and placed, and the final name chosen for them was "pornography," and they were housed in the Secret Museum. No one was ever allowed access to the Secret Museums’ indelicate collection, except for the archaeologists, who created one of the first pornographic experiences, in which sexually explicit portrayals of Roman sexuality were separated from all social contexts. The Secret Museum, or the “secret chamber”, as many refer to it, is located in the Naples National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy, and contains some of the most erotic and unadulterated archaeological finds from Pompeii, too explicit and unsuitable for the general public. Most of what the public is allowed to see today was locked up in the beginning of the 19th century because it did not fit into the taxonomic classification of erotic. In stead, these pornographic materials were essentially locked behind a brick wall. The museum was temporally opened in the 60’s when free love laid a foundation for acceptable promiscuity, and then it was closed until 2000. Today it is open to the public. When you buy your ticket to the museum you have to ask about the secret chamber. You will then be assigned a visitation time, which is usually only 45 minutes. All tours are free and guided by someone who speaks your language but who is not necessarily knowledgeable about the artifacts.

The artifacts that are housed in the Secret Museum derived their characteristics from ritual and human nature, found to be open subjects in Pompeii. One such scene may have evolved from a location owned by Emperor Nero’s second wife, Poppaea Sabina. Poppaea owned a villa there, in which a large pool was constructed, and while her husband was away she indulged in orgies with females and males of all ages. The villa was discovered during excavations carried out by Francesco La Vega in the eighteenth century, however the swimming pool, which measures 60 by 15 meter, can only be imagined by the existence of some foundational walls, unearthed during the 1970s. This meeting place brought about a party that represented the many Bacchanalian Scenes displayed in the Secret Museum.

The abundant libations drunk in honor of the gods and the frenzy of the rituals freed the participants from moral restraint, and the ceremonies took on a licentious character². These ceremonies of lust grew even more uncontrolled and lewd, but at the time of the Imperial period, and during the time of Christ and the early Christians, this behavior was seen as acceptable. Grant explores the modern views of sexual orgies and what exactly changed as far as acceptance of ritual, “Christian views on sex would definitely not support such iconography (and define it as the “worst” kind of evil), but Christians who chronologically lived closer to Christ did, and these were the Christians who emanated into the Catholic Church. So, something “changed.”²If we think about this logically it is clear that Church leaders today would never admit than Christ allowed sexual orgies, but they would admit that the Early Church in Rome, and especially in Pompeii, did. When Christ began to teach his word and promote a life of servitude and morality instead of debauchery, supposedly he spoke against sexual orgies. Regardless of what initially changed in the church to dissolve these immortal ideas of what was acceptable in the bedroom or out in the open, we still have relics in the Secret Museum to prove that at one time sex was celebrated.

Not every relic in the Secret Museum is grounded in sexual indiscretions. At some point the artifacts started to reflect different ideas about gender. A ritual basin housed in the museum is a prime example of this notion. The basin is made of multiple layers of metal (bronze, copper, or sometimes tin). Archaeologists described this large ritual basin, or lebes, from Pompeii, as a representation of "Satyr and Nymph". The nymph has evident, even if a small, male genitalia, therefore the most likely sex of this individual is a hermaphrodite or more probably an adolescent male. This was hardly a sexually explicit piece; rather it was a representation of changing attitudes towards gender. Any artifacts depicting mixed sexual orientation, however, were always placed behind closed doors when they were first discovered. This was not a subject that modern individuals were ready to face, but nonetheless, in keeping with the tradition of preserving distinctive sexual relics, the basin found its home in the Secret Museum.

Several more fascinating statues were discovered at Pompeii, many in great number, most notable is the Drillopota. The Drillopota was a vessel, or obscene vase, used by the ancients to drink libations. Most undoubtedly they were used in honor of Venus, or perhaps Bacchus. Many of the vases depict men of little stature with a shaved head, shaved in fact to make them appear more ridiculous. The arms would sometimes hold tablets, which the children used at school. Some of these Drillopota are shown wearing a golden bulla around their necks, which distinguished the sons of the nobles and senators. The origin of this distinction dates from Tarquin the Elder, who awarded this mark of honor to his son for having conquered his opponent in single combat. The bulla could be opened at pleasure and was used to keep talismans in³.

Another artifact housed in the Secret Museum is a Tripod with Ithyphallic Young Pans holding up a lebes, or basin, and it is made entirety out of bronze and stands 90 centimeters high. The tripod is a pristine example of Hellenistic art. The overt pornographic nature of these young pans with their phalluses in plain view was the main reason this object was never displayed to the public. The tripod is significant because it does represent a triad of three youths. In Roman history, we see the use of a triad with Caligula’s sisters on a silver sestertius representing Agrippina as Securitas, Drusilla as Concordia, and Julia as Fortuna ⁸. This trinity of deities is not only associated with the number three, but it is common knowledge throughout folklore; the number three has a long history of mythical associations. Therefore the classification of the Tripod with Ithyphallic Young Pans is more so ritually based than sexual in nature.

In closing, there are several more explicitly sexualized examples of Pompeian life in the Secret Museum including but not limited to erotic art and bas reliefs. Many of the bas-reliefs and paintings contained within the walls of the Secret Chamber offer no explanation as to their representations. The limits of pornographic explanation allow visitors to garner their own opinions about the nature of the art. One’s perception of sexual imagery is dependent on how that individual was socialized to perceive Roman sexuality. In today’s modern culture, sex and gender are not subjects perceived to be outside the realm of a person’s innate sexual nature. Roman sexuality was on display in the public realm and domestic spaces as well as a prominent part of Roman art, folk culture, superstitions, and humor. While the eruption of Mount Vesuvius may have destroyed this sophisticated Greco Roman town, it did not destroy the history. Pompeii not only provides us an eye opening and revolutionizing approach to gender studies in the ancient world, but also it tells us about our own human nature.

Also check out:

The Bulgarian Pompeii
Pompeii: Back From the Dead
Eroticism, Eros, and Sex in Pompeii (Documentary)

Works Cited

Beard, Mary. Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town. London: Profile Books, 2008.
Grant, Michael. Eros in Pompeii-The Secret Rooms of the National Museum of Naples. New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc, 1975.
Hare, John B. Sacred Texts, "Drillopota." Accessed February 11, 2012. http://www.sacred-texts.com/sex/rmn/rmn12.htm.
Kendrick, Walter. The Secret Museum: Pornography in Modern Culture. London: University of California Press, Ltd, 1987.
Loth, David. The Erotic in Literature: a historical survey of pornography as delightful as it is indiscreet. New York: Dorset Press, 1994.
Robinson, Sarah L. "Defining Pornography." Social Sciences Journal. 10. no. 1 : 1-8.
Rodley, Chris, Milgrom, Marilyn, Williams, Linda, and Camille Paglia. "Pornography – The Secret History of Civilisation." Koch Vision. 2000. DVD.
Wood, Susan E. "Diva Drusilla Panthea and the Sisters of Caligula." American Journal of Archaeology. 99. no. 3 (1995).

Photos

Mary Harrsch
Wikipedia
The Golden Rule
The Naples Archaeological Museum
scruff monkey (flickr.com/photos/cathalm/)

Egyptologist Gustave Jéquier

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:53:00 +0000

For many of us Egyptology enthusiasts we are often intrigued by the normalcies of architecture and pharaohs, and by normal I mean the most widely talked about subjects which make us love everything about ancient Egypt. However, there is life outside of Howard Carter and Zahi Hawass, even though we all have so much respect for both of these gentlemen. My knowledge of Egypt was very watered down prior to my Life and Death in Ancient Egypt class this past semester. I certainly have gained a mush greater respect for those men we rarely speak of, Gustave Jéquier being one of them.

Gustave Jéquier was born in 1868 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Jéquier began his career as an Egyptologist under the direction of Gaston Maspero and Jacques de Morgan. His primary focus was on the Predynastic Period, which runs from the earliest human occupation of Egypt to the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt, starting with King Menes. Egyptian and temple architecture captivated Jéquier, therefore he focused his attention on the Old and Middle Kingdom pyramids. He later published several books on temple architecture.

Gustave Jéquier participated in major excavations sponsored by the Supreme Council of Antiquities including southern cemeteries of Saqqara, Aba, Dahshur, Lisht, and Mazghuna. In 1901, he joined Jacques de Morgan's Susa expedition, which led to the discovery of the famous Code of Hammurabi. Hammurabi was the sixth king of Babylonia and he created 282 laws to regulate people’s actions and relationships including work, marriage, crime, land ownership, and sex. One of his most recognizable scaled punishments was "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth", which of course depended upon social status. In 1928, consequently, he discovered the Mastabat Faraoun of Shepseskaf.

Gustave Jéquier worked on the Pyramid Texts, which are dated to the Old Kingdom and believed to be the oldest evidence of religious works in the world. His work with the Texts provided scholars with a better understanding of religion at that time. Gustave Jéquier was also the first Egyptologist to excavate the pyramid complex of Pepi II between 1926 and 1936. Pepi II was pharaoh of the Sixth dynasty in Egypt's Old Kingdom. Jéquier was also the first excavator who found remains from the tomb reliefs, and the first to publish a thorough excavation report on the complex.

Additionally, Jéquier found several food cases within the enclosure wall of Queen Oudjebten’s pyramid complex at South Saqqara, which he dated to the last third reign of Pepi II. This means the food cases were dated to the last year they were used.

Gustave Jéquier died in 1946, but not without leaving an incurable legacy of discoveries.

Photo

© Une mission en Perse, Paris 1997 p. 128.

Eroticism, Eros, and Sex in Pompeii

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:14:00 +0000

Imagine, my first video making experience in IMovie is centered around erotic art in Pompeii. I created the project for a Sex and Antiquity class and my goal was to share a side to Pompeii that many people mention in passing, but very few like to talk about the details openly.

This mini documentary is a culmination of sexual artifacts kept in the secret room in the Naples National Archaeological Museum, as well as an explanation of eros and ancient sexual practices.

Warning: This movie contains explicit sexual materials and artifacts.

Credits

Music

Mary Gunderson

Photos

Mary Harrsch
Wikipedia
The Golden Rule
The Naples Archaeological Museum
scruff monkey (flickr.com/photos/cathalm/)

Documentation

Sacred Texts
Colonel Fanin. The Secret Erotic Paintings: Pictures and Descriptions of Classical Erotic

Archaeology News: May 16, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:49:00 +0000

New photographs reveal what lies beneath the surface of Easter Island, one of the most remote places in the world -- the carved bodies of the island's 887 famous guardians.

A massive block of limestone in France contains what scientists believe are the earliest known engravings of wall art dating back some 37,000 years, according to a study published Monday. The 1.5-metric-ton ceiling piece was first discovered in 2007 at Abri Castanet, a well known archaeological site in southwestern France that holds some of the earliest forms of artwork, beads and pierced shells.

Like a real life Indiana Jones, William Breece, the archaeology instructor at Orange Coast College, spends his time excavating prehistoric artifacts and teaching anthropology and archaeology. “Indiana Jones is no comparison to me,” Breece said. “But he has made archaeology popular.”

Archaeology and Museums Director Dr Shah Nazar Khan talked about the excavation and preservation work at various sites in the province, including Jinnah Wali Dheri, Hunad, Jamal Garhi, Aziz Dheri, Takht Bhai and Jehanabad Buddha statue and Amluk Darra stupa in Swat.

The Lost City Museum will host a free Kids Archaeology Day from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 19. Budding archeologists are invited to learn the process of archaeology by participating in a mock excavation and learning to analyze the artifacts they find. Students will learn about phases of an archaeological investigation from a professional archaeologist in a hands-on way, from the excavation to the analysis phase. Space is limited to 16 children ages 7 to 13, so early sign-up is suggested. For more information or to sign up, please call the museum at (702) 397-2193.

A few years ago scientists reported large quantities of sulphur and iron compounds in the salvaged 17th century warship Vasa, resulting in the development of sulphuric acid and acidic salt precipitates on the surface of the hull and loose wooden objects.

On the cliffs of Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains, Nancy Beavan of the University of Otago is investigating the burials of an unnamed culture. The burials consist of log coffins and jars of human bones dating to between 1395 and 1650 A.D. that were left on dangerous ledges. She thinks the bones were placed on the ledges using systems of ropes and bamboo baskets after the bodies had been exposed and the bones de-fleshed.

Book Review: The Lost Worlds of Ancient America

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:18:00 +0000

This is not another metaphysically inspired adventure saga, based on The Lost Worlds of Ancient America. This book is meant to challenge your prior knowledge of the past; especially where academia based in faith is concerned. The author Frank Joseph urges readers to use their scientific mind to evaluate the information objectively, as this approach, as Joseph describes, is missing from Orthodox scholarship.

When I read books I always look for an angle, and needless to say, one always exists. This book is different. There’s a lesson to be learned, not just from the ancient artifacts that have turned up in the most unforeseen places, but in the presentation. It was Joseph’s intention and his hope that The Lost Worlds of the Ancient America would be…….

“a catalyst for a new kind of research, free from the narrow-mindedness an academic mind-set that have so far hobbled the healthy growth of archaeology in our country.”

I’m not going to give you longwinded synopsis on the examinations of these ancient worlds, but I will wet your appetite a bit and tell you that you will be surprised. As many of you already know, I will be making my way to Tennessee this summer to teach. Imagine my surprise and delight to hear that the history we associate most with Tennessee, that being the Civil Rights movement is missing a few links. Imagine this movement being tied to a 1st century AD stone discovered in 1889. The Bat Creek Stone was discovered in an undisturbed grave mound and it was initially believed to contain Phoenician characters instead of Paleo-Indian. It gets even better. It is now believed that the characters carved in the stone were written in Hebrew.

At this point I was scratching my head. How did a 1st century stone, written in Hebrew, makes its way into the Americas, and who did it really belong to? Who wrote it and why? Archaeologists Mainfort and Kwas, who initially contested the Hebrew inscription, later conceded that is was Hebrew but the Freemasons carved the characters. For those of you Freemason and Knight’s Templar enthusiasts like myself you’ll agree that both “secret orders”, if you want to call them that, had a connection financially to the Jews. Mainfort and Kwas' judgment is not without merit in my opinion. This is but one story from The Lost Worlds of the Ancient America and it certainly challenged everything I knew, and studied, about American Jews and when they arrived here.

No matter if you’re reading about a Minoan Pendant discovered in Ohio to Anasazi Chocolate, this book will present some of the most surprising and compelling evidence of ancient cultures and advanced technologies that rival even days most complicated of machinery. When I mention evidence I do not mean that the author is trying to sway your opinion in an entirely new direction. Frank Joseph is attempting to give you the tools to have a new perspective, as opposed to basing everything you know, and seem to believe, about a particular subject on the censored history books you’ve previously read in school.

The Lost Worlds of the Ancient America is an easy read, it’s descriptive, simple in its scientific terminology, and there is just the right amount of visuals to spark your interest. It was a pleasure learning something entirely new, and trust me, with my head buried in archaeology and anthropology books for the past couple of years, it's a pleasant surprise to read about a subject, which has been presented in an entirely new light.

This book was presented to me by New Page Books, a division of The Career Press. I did not receive monetary compensation for my review. All opinions are mine.

Societies and Prehistoric Archaeological Sites in the US

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Sun, 06 May 2012 09:00:00 +0000

The cultures and structures that existed in Peru and Guatemala are well documented, but the present-day archaeological sites in the United States are often neglected. The prehistoric Americans constructed cultures from the freezing Alaskan tundra to the Pacific Northwest. The Natives established societies that braved the aridity of the South and made the best of the fertile valleys of the Southeast. Archaeological findings show how the Native Americans acclimated to the diverse conditions of the United States and settled, forming some of the most resourceful complex societies in the world.

One of the most advanced cultures in United States prehistory is a migrated group, The Hohokam, located in the Arizona region. The Hohokam built extensive irrigation systems to man the aridity of the desert, thus converting it into farmable land. Archaeologists have found signs of well construction, ponds and dams as a means of collecting rainwater. Traces of canals and ditches have also been discovered, highlighting how the Hohokam people were well ahead of their time.

The Haidas, also known as the Tlingits, existed along the Pacific Northwest, a region favoring a more primordial lifestyle with its thick forests, wildlife and the fertile sea life. Given its abundant supply of easily obtainable food, the people of this region had more time to themselves, something that afforded them the liberty to develop amazing art forms as well as complicated architectural forms. There is archaeological evidence of large plank-houses, emblems on totem poles, utensils, elaborately carved masks and massive canoes.

Archaeologists have been able to reconstruct the daily lives of prehistoric societies using trade patterns and evidence of agricultural processes. Trading towns dating back to nearly 1400 B.C. have been discovered in the Mississippi region, close to the river. Similar settlements dating back to 700 B.C. have also been discovered in the Ohio region, highlighting the variation in lifestyle that people embraced at such a time.

An interesting discovery in the archaeological record is that of a culture called the Mississippians, which was situated in the Gulf Coast. The people of this culture made great advances in agriculture and productivity. Such innovations and advances laid the foundations of some larger cities in the prehistoric United States. One of the largest Mississippian cities was called ‘Cahokia’ – it had a population of around 20,000. According to the official Cahokia site, Cahokia was larger than London was in AD 1250. Archaeologists have recently spoken of a 'big bang' emanating from Cahokia around 1050 AD, a population and cultural explosion. Physical evidence from the outlying upland settlements some 6 to12 miles east of Cahokia appear to indicate a sudden cultural change toward the rapid adoption of some Mississippian characteristics.

United States prehistory offers up a distinct perspective on complex societies and a diversity of traditions. Civilizations existed in all parts of the region, and adapted miraculously in all kinds of conditions. The cultures found in US prehistory, while overshadowed by many Old and New World cultures, certainly deserve more attention and research.

Biography
Adam Canady owns apushistorynotes.org, a site which offers AP US history notes, timelines and study guides. To contact the site, visit www.apushistorynotes.org

Picture Source
© Greg Harlin. Sources: Bill Iseminger and Mark Esarey, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site; John Kelly, Washington University in St. Louis

Lascaux Cave: Deciphering the Chinese Horse

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:53:00 +0000

The species of animal that captured my attention in the Lascaux cave was the Third Chinese Horse. Judging from the anatomical positioning of the limbs and the contours of the mane and thigh region, I am positive that the animal can be contributed to the equine family. However, I do not believe this animal in an ordinary horse, but possibly a wild hybrid or zebra. The problem is that zebras evolved in Africa and they are typically not the type of species roaming around France. Furthermore, the website designates this species as a Chinese Horse. I grew up with horses and my extensive knowledge of the species leads me to believe that this creature did not evolve in China. The Chinese Horse is more of a myth associated with the Samurai than an actual breed. There are Chinese horses like the Mongolian ponies, which have a likeness to the Third Chinese Horse painting at Lascaux cave, but the evolutionary time frame is completely inaccurate.

The Third Chinese Horse is located in the Axial Gallery on the right wall and is included with the Panel of Chinese Horses. The panel is located to the right of the Panel of the Falling Cow and The Red Panel. There are three Chinese Horses in total, one red cow facing left with the First Chinese Horse posterior to its rump, and another red cow appears to be upside down, located overhead the Third and Second Chinese Horses. Oddly, the Black Stag, which appears to be a reindeer, seems out of place with its curling antlers and coloration. There are also eleven dots below the finished stag, which are clearly some type of ideogram. There are twelve months in a year, but on the eleventh month, some type of ceremony or hunt must have taken place.

The Axial Gallery is inaccessible to individuals unless they know exactly where particular panels are located. The people who created the panel on the right wall must have realized this, which indicates that the scene was meant to represent a religious ceremony or a type of hunting magic. The horse is nestled behind another prehistoric equine and they are both facing the right direction. A red cow is facing left and appears to be in stride, as well as the Black Stag, that appears to be trotting. All the animals depicted in this panel have several characteristics in common. They are all quadrupeds, mammals with hooves, vegetarian, and they all require a certain amount of speed to escape predators, with the exception of the cow. The red cow is an interesting addition to this panel. Indians considered the red cow to be sacred and historically used its excrements for ritual purification. This is similar to the Hebrew Bible, which describes the ashes of a “red heifer” being used for purification (Hebrew Bible Num. 19:2). This animal may have been used in the same context during the Paleolithic.

The Third Chinese Horse does exhibit some remarkable contours as far as coloration and muscle exposure. There are thick yellow and black stripes, which reach from the back to the withers. There is also a dark coloration from the loins to the stifle and some spotting on the thighs, rump, and gaskin. This is not typical of the breed standard rumored to exist over 17,000 years ago, however DNA evidence is now suggesting otherwise. Several professors from the University of York have analyzed horse remains from several species originating in Europe and Asia. The gene that codes for the spotted horse was present over 35,000 years ago. Furthermore, the colors we see in Lascaux including the black and bay colors are clearly representative of the prehistoric species that existed during the completion of these paintings (Swift, 2011). The Third Chinese Horse is a realistic portrayal of the spotted equine during the Paleolithic period but there are some proportions on the spotted equine that are represented abstractly, or rather inaccurately, including the barrel. The barrel of a spotted horse tapers off near the elbow of the horse, and in the Lascaux cave depiction the barrel is tapered near the stifle. Every spotted horse is different of course, but anatomically this is how spotted horses appear today, and most likely appeared during the Paleolithic.

Moreover, the tail is decoratively braided high on the croup and there appears to be a tail bandage located posterior to the mid-thigh, leading me to believe this may have been an Arabian or Stallion. These horse breeds typically have tails, which reach higher on the croup, thus allowing for more flexibility in hairstyles and decorations, so the bandage makes sense in that aspect. The Romans, Greeks, and Native Americans applied tail bandages on long trips and during cavalry wars to prevent the tail from snagging on weapons. It also allowed the horse to stay cool on long marches during the hotter months.

The Third Chinese Horse is facing in the right direction. Its ears are pointed in one direction and its tail is down. This is extremely significant behavior. Horse’s ears always point in the direction in which they are paying attention to. It is not unusual for a horse to have one ear facing back and one facing forwards because their eyes allow them to look in two different locals. The Third Chinese Horse in looking forward and appears to be escaping an attack. There are two feathered arrows painted on the wall, only a few inches away from plunging into the animal. Consequently, it could represent a horse being used to trample another animal during a hunting party. We see this with Native Americans during Buffalo hunts, yet the horses do have riders, and they are more so used to coral the buffalo. The Chinese Horse is clearly a representation of power over another species using agility and intelligence.

The Upper Paleolithic peoples who painted in the Lascaux cave had a common ideology about hunting magic or religion. The culture was engrossed in ritual symbolism, and by creating some of these symbolic images, they believed that what they drew on the walls was the result of their endeavors, and not what they hoped would happen. It was a prediction in a sense, made true by writing it down and drawing it out. At Altamira in Spain, the bulls are strategically painted on the contours of the wall, making it seem like the bulls are alive. We see these parallels in artistic expression in The Great Hall of Bulls at Lascaux. The idea behind this, and the reason why only some Upper Paleolithic peoples painted on cave walls, is because there was a shared culture between them. This act of expression may not have permeated to other cultures, and if it did, their shared knowledge allowed them to produce artwork using different materials. This artwork may or may not have survived, which explains why we do not have archaeological evidence to prove geographical diffusion of particular styles of art.

It is clear to me, after viewing the cave art in Lascaux that people during the Upper Paleolithic moved about and spread out over the geographical landscape in caves, outside shelters, as well as open-air camps. The environment was exploited in various ways during the Upper Paleolithic because the amount of resources available to some cultures was vast. We find many examples of cave paintings in both France and Spain because the Upper Paleolithic people who made them chose to go underground, possibly to make them inaccessible to others. In China, Europe, and Africa, the paintings may have just disappeared, especially if they were susceptible to earth’s elements. Moreover, other cultures may have been invested more time in portable art, which has yet to be discovered.

Take a virtual tour of Lascaux cave

A Child’s Visit to Stonehenge Inspired a Quest for Knowledge About Man and God

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:09:00 +0000

As a young girl I visited Stonehenge with my family and I remember asking my uncle with great excitement did god build all this just for us to play on? My uncle (who was an academic at Southhampton University) barked back at me ‘don’t be silly girl this is a product of man’s inquiring mind’. I remember just standing there in bewilderment as I couldn’t begin to fathom that man and not god had built this incredible playground as I saw it back then. The visit was in 1974 a few years before the general public’s direct access was understandably restricted to stop erosion and vandalism but luckily for me I was able to run around this huge and imposing cromlech freely touching and hugging and climbing all over it. That precious experience had a profound influence on me as it ignited a curiosity about history and archaeology and also about religion and the question of 'is there a god' that has never left me and it all started with that innocent question about whether god built Stonehenge.

I soon learnt the true history and purpose of Stonehenge. These ruins (which themselves are awe inspiring) are the remains of a circle of upright stones that was constructed anywhere from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The stones were aligned almost perfectly with the sunrise on the summer solstice and it is almost certain that Stonehenge was built as a sacred place of worship. It is thought that the Neolithic people of Britain began this massive undertaking by using deer antlers as picks to dig a circular ditch. The diameter of the circle is 320 feet (97.5 meters) and the ditch itself is 20 feet (6m) wide and 7 feet (2.1m) deep. Even though Stonehenge has been the focus of archaeological investigations since the 17th century still more is being discovered about it even today. In 2011 using the latest geophysical imaging techniques two previously undiscovered pits were found which suggest that the site was already being used as an ancient place of ritual before Stonehenge was constructed which is more than 5,000 years ago.

For me Stonehenge symbolises so much about the human journey to find knowledge and self-understanding. A journey of championing ignorance and superstition through discovering the workings of our world and mastering our intellect. We have travelled so far and yet we are so fortunate to have such a rich archeological history to allow us to stay connected to our origins and the marvel of the natural world. I still remember driving away from Stonehenge and not taking my eyes off it until I could no longer see it. I remember that feeling of absolute awe and enchantment and even though as an adult I have a first principle understanding of what is god places like Stonehenge will always inspire that primal awe and wonder in children and adults alike - thank god!

Author Bio: Fran splits her time between work, travel and giving back to the internet through numerous article pages. She enjoys discovering our world and the ceaseless journey of ideas. Fran finds herself increasingly reading biologist Jeremy Griffith's ideas presented at World Transformation which contains rational, biological explanations to the deeper questions.

Archaeology Sites in Australia

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:55:00 +0000

Australia is known for its varied geography and landscapes. With beautiful vast coastline, sandy beaches, tropical rain forests, wide mountain ranges, dry desert basins, and the world's largest coral reef—Australia has the climate and scenery to impress anyone. Any country or region on this has some amount of archeological insight to offer us that can help bring a stronger understanding of our own cultural and evolutionary history—Australia is no different. Believed to have been first inhabited just under 50,000 years ago, there are several archeological sites being explored and examined today in Australia that demonstrate aspects of early indigenous life on the continent. These three archaeological sites are some of the most historically and culturally significant on the island continent.

Devil's Lair

This single-chamber cave located in Western Australia is one of earliest sites of human occupation on the continent. This site is a large limestone cave first excavated by Charles Dortch in the 1970s. While there have been only a few artifacts actually recovered from the layers, the site has been an unusually rich source of information on prehistoric cultural and natural history in Western Australia. It is this site that has given archaeologists some of the biggest insights into the timing and character of the first human colonizers of Australia. Some artifacts uncovered from the site include three ground bone beads and a perforated stone object believed to be a pendant. These two items indicate early signs of human ornamentation. They are significant in demonstrating some of the earliest evidence of symbolic behavior in Australia and communicating the symbolic capacities of humans in general. © Kaartdigin Noongar

Lake Mungo Remains

The Lake Mungo remains consist of three separate sets of fossils found in the Willandra Lakes Region of New South Wales, Australia. These remains are referred to as Lake Mungo 1 (Mungo Lady), Lake Mungo 2 (LM2), and Lake Mungo 3 (Mungo Man). Discovered in 1969 by Jim Bowler, the Mungo Lady remains are not well preserved, but do hold special significance to the archaeological world. These early human inhabitant remains are some of the oldest anatomically modern human remains to be found in Australia and are the oldest evidence of ceremonial burial and cremation in ancient human societies in the world. The Mungo Lake remains are found in a vast, dry lake region, providing numerous sources of archaeological evidence for early human habitation. Excavating stone tools and objects dating back before the last ice age, this region is one of the most significant archaeological sites in the entire Australian continent.

Sunbury Earth Rings

Located on hills near Sunbury, Victoria, the Sunbury Earth Rings are prehistoric aboriginal sites first investigated in the early 1970s. The site consists of five separate "rings" created by scraping off grass and topsoil and then piling it in a circular ridge around the outside of the rings. The rings very somewhat in size (from 10 to 25 meters diameter) and are all placed on gently sloping hills. The rings were first excavated in the early 1970s by archaeologist Dr. David Frankel. He excavated one of the rings to try to determine its origin, revealing the remains of two stone cairns and several sharp stone knives. Archaeologists believe that these rings represent aboriginal ceremonial sites where ritual scarification or circumcision ceremonies took place. Some evidence suggests that these sites are over 1000 years old. While the rings hold archaeological and historical significance to the early aboriginal inhabitants of Australia, modern development has encroached on the sites significantly.

Author Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online colleges, online degrees etc. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Archaeology News: April 4, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:05:00 +0000

Good Morning Ancient Diggers. There are so many interesting archaeology headlines today so grab a cup of tea or coffee and take some time to enjoy the discoveries.

Scientists studying 1,600-year-old cotton from the banks of the Nile have found what they believe is the first evidence that punctuated evolution has occurred in a major crop group within the relatively short history of plant domestication.

An international team led by the University of Toronto and Hebrew University has identified the earliest known evidence of the use of fire by human ancestors. Microscopic traces of wood ash, alongside animal bones and stone tools, were found in a layer dated to one million years ago at the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa.

An ancient Greek statue confiscated last month from suspected smugglers and described as «priceless» is actually a fake, a culture ministry source said on Tuesday.

Two decorated covers of coffins that once contained mummies have been seized by Israeli authorities, authenticated and dated to thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt.

The fighting in northern Mali could damage the World Heritage Site of Timbuktu, the UN's cultural agency Unesco has warned.

Further scientific investigation is needed to determine the age of a Neolithic skeleton recently found on Liang Island located some 200 miles west of Taiwan, according to the Council for Cultural Affairs April 2.

Tens of thousands of the indigenous Aboriginal rock art, which are scattered over the mineral-laden region, will be researched and catalogued under a six-year agreement between the University of Western Australia and miner Rio Tinto.

Road Trip to the Ancient Pueblos In Flagstaff, Arizona

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:29:00 +0000

Some of the most interesting archaeological sites I studied in Archaeology Theory and Method last semester was that of the Pueblos. The Pueblos constructed some of the most fascinating and complex building structures in history in my opinion.

The buildings were typically constructed out of stone walls and clay mortar with wooden support beams. Many pueblos were multi-level, forcing the residents to use ladders to reach the roofs where they could then enter the rooms through the ceilings.

Allison Bard from Traveling Bard is lucky enough to have direct access to this ancient world of multilevel homes and outbuildings. She recently took a self guided tour within Wupatki National Monument - roughly 30 miles outside of the city – which allows you to visit five prehistoric pueblos that are some of the finest preserved in the world.

Enjoy Ride the Road to Ruins from our friend Allison Carlton

Barbary Wars – when the US tangled with Libyan pirates

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:13:00 +0000

Libya has loomed in American minds for a generation. Colonel Qaddafi's erratic flirting with terror organizations left him a marked man by the US government, long before the Libyan people finally meted out their own justice. But that tangling-together of US interests, with a Libya eagerly testing its power, goes back much further than the 'mad dog' and 'line of death' insults first hurled back in 1986. In fact, names of Tripoli and Derna are etched deep into the military history of the United States during the Barbary Wars. Both the US Navy and the US Marines owe their genesis to the Libyan pirates who called the Libyan coast home some two hundred years ago.

Back in the 18th century, the Barbary pirates were the scourge of the seas off the coast of Africa and the Mediterranean. But this was no 'Pirates of the Caribbean' privateering. It was piracy as an instrument of state, The countries of Berber North African – the fiefdoms of Morocco, Tunisia, Algiers and Tripoli – were using their fleets to siphon money into the coffers of their rulers. And there was a long and profitable history from the kidnapping of merchant ship crews, and extracting ransom – a practice that various European powers had long acquiesced to. But the young United States nation was not about to play ball.

In the years immediately after the War of Independence, the nascent US state was weak. Trade was important to help rebuild the war-worn economy. But Americans ships, plying their trade across the Atlantic, quickly fell foul to the Barbary pirates. With no navy to speak of, the United States was forced to pay crippling tributes – sometimes amounting to more than a million US dollars. It was that humiliating drain on the American nation that spurred the setting up of the US Navy in 1794.

And in 1801, with Thomas Jefferson at the helm as newly-elected President, the US government decided it had had enough. It flatly refused the demands of the Pasha of Tripoli, Yusuf Karamanli, for a tribute of $225,000. Instead a fleet of 6 modern warships was dispatched to deal with the Barbary problem during the Barbary Wars. The Libyan pirates were to be blockaded. So the first gunpowder smoke wafted across the waves near Tripoli on August 1 1801, as the USS Enterprise confronted the Tripoli, a Tripolitan corsair: the First Barbary War had begun.

This first skirmish during the Barbary Wars proved a good omen for the US Navy, which was involved in its first-ever engagement. The 12 guns of the USS Enterprise were handled far more adeptly than the Tripoli's 14 guns, and the Barbary vessel eventually holed, and defeated decisively. While this was only a small engagement, the dramatic victory-in-arms galvanized the American public, and its Navy. The Libyan corsair fleet, by contrast, had its morale knocked sideways. But this was only the start of the naval skirmishing, which was to last several years. Final victory would only come when US Marines stepped ashore – again for their first-ever action.

In 1805, concerned at the way the naval blockade was dragging on during the Barbary Wars, the US hatched a deal with Hamet Karamanli, the legitimate ruler of Tripoli who had been displaced by the current Pasha – his younger brother Yussif Karamanli. Hamet would be re-installed on the Tripolitan throne, the US said, if he gave his blessing to an attack on Libya from Egypt. A mixed bag of Berbers, Arabs and mercenaries from Greece was then put together for the assault, which was to be led by the US Marines.

In April 1805, the US-led force cut through Libya from Egypt, to the city of Derna. While the US Navy pounded Derna's defenses, a three-pronged assault probed, and then took the city. In another dramatic first, the US Marines had taken part in their first land battle outside of the US – and a Marine legend was born. Countless generations of Marines-to-come were now destined to holler out ′to the shores of Tripoli' in the now-fabled Marines' Hymn.

But while the US Navy and US Marines were bathed in glory, double-dealings were at hand. The threat of a US march to Tripoli bought a change of outlook from the Pasha – and a betrayal of erstwhile allies by the American State Department. A peace treaty was signed with Yassif Karamanli, and his brother unceremoniously dumped. The mercenaries were never paid.

This wasn't the end of the rumbling conflict with the Barbary states – the war was to flare up again after renewed attacks on merchant vessels, this time by Algerians. But the first round of this Libyan-US discourse was to prove to be the forging of the American military, and of its ability to project its power around the world.

A superpower was stirring.

This is a guest post provided by Chee Seng, a blogger who writes about freeware reviews at Bestfreeonline.net/

Power and Political Institutions in Ancient Rome

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:48:00 +0000

You could find a clear concept of executive authority in Ancient Rome, embodied in their word imperium, "the right to command." Invested with imperium, the chief magistrates of the Roman state exercised a supreme power that was restricted only by extraneous means-officials held office for a limited term could be tried for offenses committed in office once their term ended. While political institutions changed, the concept of imperium did not, and it is the one factor that gives Roman constitutional history continuity and community.

The chief executive officers of the Roman Republic were the consuls and praetors. The Centuriate Assembly chose two consuls annually, and the age of these consuls was typically forty-four. The consuls had the power of command, administered government proceedings, and also had the power to declare war and peace. As consul you would most likely have to fight a war, thus allowing you to collect tribute money. In 366 B.C., a new office, that of the praetor, was created. Praetors were thirty-nine years of age when they took this office. The praetor possessed imperium and could govern Ancient Rome when the consuls were away from the city and could also lead armies. These military forces were called consular armies. By law, the praetor could command four legions of citizens plus four auxiliary legions. As a praetor you own all of the wealth you capture during war, thus allowing you to pay off your debts. The praetor was the most influential office in terms of length in the Roman state. At the beginning of year, the chief coming in posted publicly the procedures of his court, since the praetor was in charge of judicial procedures. Therefore, he was in charge of the civil law as it applied to Roman citizens.

In 242 B.C., additional praetors were established to govern the newly conquered provinces, but as the number of provinces continued to grow, the Romans devised a new system in which ex-consuls and ex-praetors who had served their one-year terms were given the title of proconsul and pro-praetor, respectively, and sent out as provincial governors. This meant that they were government officials, most often they were Publicani (private individuals and companies), but they did have the ability to enforce new taxes on territories, while making sure everything ran smoothly in the province. They were typically invited into senate and would try to outbid one another like contractors. Whoever bids the most or makes the most, goes to the province and collects the money. If you vowed to collect a certain amount, and you did not, you would have to pay the difference. At the end of your year, the Roman senate would send you off to govern territory. This could have been the province of Sicily, Corsica, or Sardinia. In the event that consul resigned or in the face of conflict, a dictator with unlimited power would be chosen to run the state. This office was supposed to last only for the duration of the emergency, the usual limit being six months.

The Roman state also had administrative officials with specialized duties. The office of the quaestor was a new office made under the Valero-Horatian Laws. The quaestor assisted consuls and praetors in the administration of financial affairs. He does not have imperium as the Tribal Assembly elects him. In that aspect he is the lowest of the state officers. However, during war he serves as a logistics officer. If the general dies in war, he takes full control of the army. The Tribal Assembly elected aediles annually. Their responsibilities included management of the infrastructure of the city including roads and sewers, public entertainment, chariot races, circus, theater, gladiators, thermae, and more importantly, they watched over the grain supply of the city.

The powerful position of censors was typically filled every five years and was responsible for making an assessment of the population on the basis of age and property for purposes of taxes, military service, and office holding. Essentially, consuls insured that money kept coming in. There were several conditions to the censorship including: you had to be sixty years of age, an ex-consul, be elected by the Centuriate Assembly, take a census, access taxes, and collect, serve for eighteen months, and then go back to being a normal citizen.

The Roman senate came to hold an especially important position in the Republic. The senate or council of elders was a select group of about three hundred men who served for life. The senate consisted of the wealthy and powerful, therefore they were in charge of state finances and foreign policy. The senate, however, was not a legislative body and could only advise the magistrates. They could not make law, but by the third century, they had virtually the force of law. The senate met continuously, while the chief magistrates changed annually and the popular assemblies operated slowly and met only periodically. There were a number of popular assemblies in the Roman Republic. The Curiate Assembly was the principal legislative assembly. It was divided into three tribes with ten units. Its primary purpose was to elect new kings, and it also possessed rudimentary legislative powers. The Curiate Assembly was involved with matters of religion and had imperium or the power to command an army. When the king wanted to go to war he summoned the army. The army breaks up into units. The king goes to the senate and allows them to decide on the war. The approval for war is reached and then the Curiate Assembly gives final consent. They ask whether they should go to war by opening an animal and examining the liver.

Shortly after the founding of the Roman Republic, the principal legislative authority shifted to two new assemblies, the Plebeian Tribal Assembly and the Centuriate Assembly. The Centuriate Assembly was by far the most important, which ruled over the Roman army. The Centuriate Assembly was organized by social class, and it was structured in such a way that the wealthiest citizens always had a majority . The Centuriate Assembly was here to create law, however, in addition to this they had the power to declare war and peace. They elected generals because they had power of command. It was odd, however, because the assembly was picking their own general each year. Equestrians would vote first, then the seniors of the 1st, then juniors, meaning the voting protects the interest of the wealthy. It rarely falls to the 2nd group or lower. The Centuriate Assembly elected the chief magistrates and passed laws. It is important to remember, however, that the Romans passed few statutory laws and simply left much governance to magisterial authority.

As a result of the struggle between the orders, another assembly, the council of the plebs, came into being in 471 B.C.. It was considered more of a shadow government and served as a quasi assembly. After the war, the Plebs had the leverage to have their assembly recognized legally. It was reorganized on the basis of the tribes; thus, it became a Plebeian Tribal Assembly. The Tribal Assembly was not entirely based upon property. Senators owned property in countryside where they had control over their clients. They made up thirty-one of the rural tribes. The urban tribes consisted of the people that lived in Rome. Voting was dominated by the wealthy. Power was legislative, but with the multitude of assemblies, who made the laws? The assembly that passed the last law made the law.

The Roman Republic consisted of three major elements. Two consuls and later, other elected officials served as magistrates and ran the state. An assembly of adult males (the Centuriate Assembly), controlled by the wealthiest citizens, elected these officials, while the senate, a small group of large landowners, advised them. Thus, the Roman state was an aristocratic republic controlled by a relatively small group of privileged people .

You may also like:

Sources

Dandrow, Dr. Edward. Ancient Rome Class Notes, 2012.
Spielvogel, Jackson J, Western Civilization. 7th Edition, (Belmonst: Thomson Higher Education, 2009), 117.

Citation

Axelrod, Lauren A. Ancient Digger, "Power and Political Institutions in Ancient Rome ." Last modified 15 March 2012. http://www.ancientdigger.com/2012/03/power-and-political-institutions-in.html.

Studying Cultural Anthropology Online

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:07:00 +0000

For those of you looking for an alternative to face to face anthropology learning, here's one such option to consider provided by C.K. Adams.

The world of archaeology presents some interesting career options for those who already love anthropology and enjoy studying different cultures. Cultural anthropology doesn’t necessarily focus on ancient civilizations like Ancient Egypt but rather local cultures, economic processes, and political societies. For example, some studies focus on Mississippian culture and how these people developed their culture in the Mississippi River Valley.

Working in the field and the ability to travel certainly helps cultural anthropology students, however students can opt for a less traditional cultural anthropology degree program that offers more flexibility and actually allows a hobbyist to utilize what he or she already knows. Online colleges for cultural studies usually include some interdisciplinary training in your anthropology degree program, which means that you study art, classics, history, architecture as well as topics in different cultures, especially if you have a specialization that you want to focus on.

Students who want to study in the field must receive the proper training. You may already have knowledge on the techniques and theories that go along with observation, but a degree program can give you new ideas and more insight. An Anthropology degree provides in depth information, going into detailed historical accounts, material culture, folklore, vernacular architecture and archaeological concepts that are so important to understanding today’s different human races, cultures and societies. While undergraduate degrees won’t typically provide a lot of specialization, you can still use electives to create a focus and expand upon those in graduate school. If you already understand most of the concepts, then you can finish a degree in less time and even move on to a higher degree level (with greater specialization) which will open even more doors once you graduate.

The best careers in archaeology require a master’s degree, and you can find plenty of accredited universities that provide online programs for graduate degrees as well. While museums and local national parks don’t necessarily require a higher degree, it is important if you want to work as a professor and teach college students or if you want a career working with the federal government, such as in environmental policy or protection of national parks. If you do want to earn a graduate degree, there are two levels that students typically choose within archaeological training.

You can receive either a Master of Arts or Master of Science, which takes up to two years.
There are also Ph.D. programs which offer access to higher level careers after you graduate, such as working with state and federal governments in national parks, engineering fields, and historical preservation. Environmental protection is another huge industry that hires archaeology majors. If you want to become a professor and work for a university, you will need a PhD.

For most anthropology enthusiasts, the biggest issue with transitioning into a new career is that: You have a career already and possibly even a family and a mortgage. You can’t simply give these up to pursue your passion. The reality is that online education can be a tremendous advantage. Without a set class schedule, you are able to fit education into your life as opposed to trying to squeeze your life around your education.

If you already have a bachelors degree in another field (or even a Masters) there is no reason to start back at the beginning. If you’re reading Ancient Digger, there is a good chance that you have a deep love for archaeology. If time and logistics are the only things keeping you from getting into the field you want, modern education is flexible enough to fit around your life. You only have one life, why not spend it following your passions?

Author Bio

C.K. Adams has worked in the newspaper and publishing field since 2003. Specializing in education, her published work focuses on career advice, counseling and college help. She frequently contributes to University of Florida's newspaper "The Alligator" with in depth tips to help graduates transition after college. Adams also publishes on a variety of career advice and college road map blogs.

Anthropology and Education

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 21:36:00 +0000

Hello Ancient Diggers. I would never write a post saying I have not posted in a while because that would be too cliche. I would just like to give you a quick update of some the things happening in my life as an anthropology student, as well as some things I've recognized when it comes to anthropology and education.

As I previously mentioned, I've applied to Teach for America and I'll find out if I have the position on March 6th. I'll also find out where I'll be moving to, so needless to say, this is a very exciting time. This is also my last semester at UCF and I'll be graduating in May. Yippie!

My main reason for applying to Teach For America was because I started to recognize how important anthropology is to education. Understanding people on a global level and assessing their academic abilities based on their backgrounds, gender, and economic status, has become a fascinating and challenging subject for me.

I've realized in my own schooling that professors use tests to verify learning as opposed to accessing for it. I believe that this the main reason there is a such divide in the education system all over the world. Individuals with access to education and highly skilled teachers are already ahead of the curve. However, those of us who are forced to take standardized tests, which measure a lifetime's worth of education in a few hours, is hardly representative of the students we really are and what we are capable of achieving.

Many of you are anthropology students, and in fact, if your focus is archaeology, you can not have context without understanding the inner workings of anthropology. Many of us are driven to dig in the dirt, allowing you to use educated guesses about how people lived, but what about how people live today? There are hundreds of cultures around the world which are dying because no one is documenting their lives, languages, and traditions.

I believe my experiences over the past few months have really opened up my eyes to some serious issues occurring on a global level. I plan on taking the education that I received, as well as the advice that many of you have, to implement changes in the educational systems, as it pertains to dying cultures.

If you any of you are working with some of these cultures on a direct level, I would live to hear about the challenges you are facing.

Archaeology News: February 21, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:23:00 +0000

MSU undergrads look for clues about Nubian society in old skeletons. The Nubian society stretched from parts of modern-day Egypt into parts of modern-day Sudan. "We don't know much about Nubia," said Carolyn Hurst, a doctoral student who runs the lab with Todd Fenton, an associate professor in the MSU Department of Anthropology. "So much of the focus is on Egypt. We don't have internal texts from Nubia telling us about their society, so these bones are our chance to study it and learn about it."

Slogans are powerful tools of control, which were used in the colonial days and appear to be coming up in not so subtle ways. They are relative to the time, place, and the environment in which they are used and they are indicative of power relations. Those with capacity to coin slogans to be negatively applied to others are powerful. It happened in the early colonial days when colonialists made distinctions between two studies, "anthropology" and "sociology".The study of European behaviour and ways of life was "sociology" and aimed at self-understanding of the "socio". The study of the Africans, however, was anthropology, which had a virtual licence to popularise the application of such slogans as natives and tribes to various Africans as the "anthros".

Dirks, an anthropology professor and former department chair, discussed the formation of the Office of Strategic Services in the 1940s, which organized spy missions for the United States Armed Forces, and how a number of professors played influential roles in providing an understanding of other cultures.

The remains of 20,000-year-old huts lived in by hunter-gatherers have been unearthed in eastern Jordan. “It may not look very impressive to the untrained eye, but it is one of the densest and largest Palaeolithic open-air sites in the region,” said Lisa Maher of the University of California, Berkeley. These long-term residences were in use 10,000 years before the practice of agriculture began.

Scientists have analyzed a grisly collection of mummies created by Italian anatomist Giovan Battista Rini in the early nineteenth-century. “They have a wooden consistency,” said forensic anthropologist Dario Piombino-Mascali of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano.

Archaeologists at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia plantation, are excavating in the area known as Mulberry Row, a road lined with buildings in the slave quarters. “We’re getting the information here that we would need if we were able to reconstruct Mulberry Row,” said research manager Sara Bon-Harper.

The second conservation phase of the Khufu solar boat project, which is being conducted by the Egyptian government and a team from Japan’s Wasida University, is set to begin. The two 4,500-year-old boats were discovered in 1954 in a pit next to the Great Pyramid.

Ancient Egypt 101: Amenhotep III and Hieroglyphics

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:30:00 +0000

This semester I'm taking an Ancient Egyptian class and wanted to share some of the incites from a documentary I just watched entitled Egypt’s Golden Empire Part II: Pharaohs of the Sun.

If you're not familiar with hieroglyphics, this is an educational video, which explains the use of hieroglyphics in politics, especially the use of hieroglyphics by Amenhotep III, and how they compare to diplomatic affairs today.

Here's a general synopsis of Amenhotep III use of hieroglyphics in politics

Amenhotep interchange of political discourse with his rivals was written on small clay tablets, otherwise known as the Amarna letters discovered in 1887. Egypt’s messengers carried these tablets back and forth between rulers. The tablets described Egypt’s status as a superpower. As a sign of loyalty, ambassadors flocked to the Pharaoh's court with gifts and tributes. The eastern kings were envious of Egypt’s riches and the messages expressed their desperation. “They were prepared to beg for it”. The rulers expressed the overabundance of Egypt’s gold in the tablets, and if Amenhotep intended to grow his power, he would essentially have to share it with neighboring countries. He gave them gold, but just enough to keep them wanting more. “The kings of the near east were trading gifts, not blows.”

Amenhotep III uses his hieroglyphic messages to promote his own power and popularity with the people of Egypt

Only Amenhotep’s triumphs were carved into amulets shaped like scarabs. These portable scarabs were inscribed with Amenhotep’s latest achievements and they were distributed to the peoples of Egypt. These items of propaganda were the “first newspapers in history”. Consequently, the amulets were used to send news of Amenhotep’s marriage to a commoner, thus sending word that the almighty king was not only powerful, but also loyal and understanding to the common people. Consequently, the temples erected in Amenhotep’s and Queen Tiye’s honor at Soleb had hieroglyphics at the base of the columns displaying captive Nubians. This was a graphic representation of Amenhotep’s power for the entire world to see.

Amenhotep III’s use of hieroglyphic messages is historically significant

Amenhotep III’s use of hieroglyphic messages provide us a glimpse of Egyptian relations with Babylonia, Assyria, the Mitanni, the Hittites, Syria, Canaan, and Cyprus. They are important for establishing a record and chronology of the period, and consequently, the history of diplomacy. Interestingly enough, at Soleb, references to the Israelite God Yahweh appear in several hieroglyphics, leading many biblical scholars to believe that Amenhotep III, or at least his scribes, must have at least heard about the Hebrew God Yahweh in 1400 BC. Subsequently, this graphic display would lend credence to the Exodus and the Israelite’s journey through the desert led by Moses (Aling et al. March 8, 2010).

Source

Aling, Dr. Charles, and Dr. Clyde Billington. Associates for Biblical Research, "The Name Yahweh in Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts." Last modified March 8, 2010. Accessed February 6, 2012. http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2010/03/08/The-Name-Yahweh-in-Egyptian-Hieroglyphic-Texts.aspx.
Amenhotep III Photos. Brooklyn Museum

Teach For America: Last Deadline February 10th

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:19:00 +0000

As many of you already know, I'm going through the process to be a Teach For America Corp's member. As an anthropology student, I believe my outlook is inherently global. I look at other cultures and ask why and why not. Yet sometimes, the issues of the why not are closer to home than many of you think. Teach for America is looking to break the mold by placing the most inspirational people in one of the best professions in the world.

Education is an asset in this country. Furthermore, it should be made available to everyone regardless of their skin color, financial background, their zip code, and gender. Teach For America places the best mentors right where they need to be in the school system. Teaching children that are willing to learn, but need just a little push in the right direction, and a lot of guidance.

If you're still unsure about why you should apply to Teach For America, let me give a few reasons why you should.

Poverty limits access to a good education and Teach for America is trying to change that.
"Although 16 million American children face the extra challenges of poverty, an increasing body of evidence shows they can achieve at the highest levels."
You can use all of the skills you've obtained to promote excellence.
You can change a child's life.
You can make a difference in our educational system in this country.
It's an empowering experience.
The children need YOU!

My Story

A week after I was contacted by email to be a corp's member for Teach For America, I received a nomination to join the The National Honor Society of Leadership and Success. I am already a member of the Tau Sigma National Honor Society. I considered this to be an enormous coincidence, and a sign. As an anthropology student concerned with global awareness and the cultural signs within certain communities, I realized that my path and my future as a leader had been determined.

It's my hope to influence a child's life, who may have never known what excellence feels like. I want the children and kids that I teach to understand that their brilliance should never be overshadowed by where they grew up, or if their parents attended school before them. I want to use my personal experiences, education, and knowledge of anthropology, to guide them in the world of academics. I want my students to recognize the benefits of coming to class, because those with rich minds filled with ideas and imagination will have the greatest weapon on earth, knowledge!

When To Apply. NOW!!!

The FINAL deadline is due by Friday at midnight. This is your FINAL chance to apply and make a difference in the lives of kids who need you the most. I encourage you to apply to the program by this FRIDAY! Full salary and benefits. All majors welcome to apply.

Apply Now!

Significance of Darwin Fossils Recently Discovered

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:43:00 +0000

Dr. Howard Falcon Lang from the Royal Holloway, University of London, has stumbled upon 314 slides belonging to Charles Darwin and several other member of Darwin’s inner circle, including John Hooker. Several of the slides were from Darwin’s expedition aboard the HMS Beagle. These missing slides hold the clues to a range of species scientists, and the public, never knew existed. Evidently, the slides were lost due to the lack of curatorial care, and the fact the Hooker never numbered and organized them into a registry.

On Tuesday, January 24, the slides were made available to the public for viewing via an online museum exhibit. The significance of this discovery is the fact that we now have specimen samples collected by Darwin during his expedition on the HMS Beagle.

"To find a treasure trove of lost Darwin specimens from the Beagle voyage is just extraordinary," Falcon-Lang added. "We can see there's more to learn. There are a lot of very, very significant fossils in there that we didn't know existed."

We do have samples from Darwin’s expedition, but these specific slides ultimately changed the way that Darwin looked at evolutionary processes. They were a platform for Darwin’s future work on human history. Furthermore, the specimens on the slides date to a time in which we know little about. J.D. Hooker’s specimen was found mixed in with the Darwin slides and was dated to 400 million years ago. What surprised me about this slide, or the reaction to it, was the fact that it was described as “bizarre”. Darwin’s slides were more so described as evolutionary.

The change I see here, considering Darwin was not a household name in the early 19th century, is the fact that he is still widely associated with the creation of this process, even now during the 21st century. His friends, however, have taken a somewhat backseat. Suffice it to say, Hooker’s specimen doesn’t receive the attention it deserves in this article.

Falcon Lang stated that, "There are some real gems in this collection that are going to contribute to ongoing science." Furthermore, now that the slides will be available to the general public for reviewing and research, anyone interested in fossil hunting, geology, paleontology, or earth sciences and biology, can use the new material in many different areas of daily life. Perhaps discussion about evolution and creation will have a new twist due to some of the specimen finds. Students and teachers can also implement the findings into their lectures, in the classroom, or in a more public venue.

Click on the Picture to see the original discovery!

Archaeology News: January 23, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Governor Rick Scott caused quite a stir when he questioned the value of an anthropology major. His point was, with rising college costs and weak employment, students might be better off with a major that could land them a job. Not to mention that our tax dollars would be better spent in public education that's relevant to the times.

James Marquez, a White Mountain Apache and board director for MACT — a nonprofit providing services to Indians in Mariposa, Amador, Calaveras and Tuolomne counties — says his organization has both a building and a “pretty spectacular collection” of 250 Indian-made baskets and other cultural artifacts. Recognizing the enormous challenges and myriad details involved in developing, operating and curating a full-blown museum, however, he and his fellow board members are “trying to figure out whether to take the next step” into serious fundraising.

A recently discovered mysterious "winged" structure in England, which in the Roman period may have been used as a temple, presents a puzzle for archaeologists, who say the building has no known parallels.

A silver-gilt Roman cavalry helmet of international importance has been pieced together at the British Museum, from thousands of fragments of corroded metal lifted in a block of mud from a Leicestershire hillside more than 10 years ago.

The Harappan Civilization was spread over large parts of western region of the Indian Subcontinent. Its earliest roots can be found from 7000 BC in Mehrgarh but its peak urban period is around 2500 to 1900 BC.

Mexican archaeologists have discovered in the southern part of the country a kiln used by the ancient Zapotecs to make ceramics more than 1,300 years ago, the National Anthropology and History Institute, or INAH, said.

Any doubts about the existence of mass graves at the Treblinka death camp in Poland are being laid to rest by the first survey of the site using tools that see below the ground, writes forensic archaeologist Caroline Sturdy Colls.

The remains of the first HMS Victory are to be raised from the sea bed nearly 300 years after it sank, it was reported today. The vessel, predecessor of Nelson's famous flagship, went down in a storm off the Channel Islands in 1744, taking more than 1,000 soldiers to their deaths.

In the dark depths of an underwater cave in eastern Mexico, archaeologists uncovered the ancient remains of four prehistoric bears in the Yucatan Peninsula. Officials believe they could date back to the ice age.

The Mithras temple is being dismantled by a team from the Museum of London and will be rebuilt on its original site 90 metres away. One Saturday afternoon in September 1954, a handsome, faintly smiling god looked up from the London mud. His name was Mithras, and the rediscovered Roman temple to his cult became a sensation in a gloomy postwar capital pitted with bombsites and still recovering from rationing.

A group of amateur archaeologists working under the guidance of professional archaeologists discovered eight 6th century gold coins in a potato field near Biesenbrow in Uckermark, northeast Germany, last November.

Theresa McDonald, Managing Director of the Achill Archaeological Field School, voiced her objections over the Achill-Henge structure which was built at Pollagh (Achill Island, County Mayo, Ireland) in November by Joe McNamara. The archaeologist believes that a prehistoric site could be less than half a kilometer from where Achill-Henge is now standing.

‘Seeing beneath Stonehenge’ has been developed as part of the Stonehenge Riverside Project, using data gather by the combined team from the Universities of Sheffield, Manchester, Bristol, Southampton and London.

The horrors of tunnel warfare are key to Sebastian Faulks's first world war novel, Birdsong. Much of the action is set beneath no man's land in a terrifying world where soldiers dug, listened for the enemy and laid explosives in the hope of helping their compatriots above ground.

UNC Coastal Institute Explores U-701

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:58:00 +0000

You may recall my article on U-boat Museums and exhibits. Most of the U-boats from WWII were used for scrap metal. Some found themselves in the many Uboat museums around the world, and others found their home at the bottom of the ocean.

The U701 was sunk by aerial depth charges dropped from an A-29 Bomber on July 7, 1942. The remains of the vessel are located almost 30 miles offshore, in 120 feet of water near Diamond Shoals in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

This dive video was created by the UNC Coastal Institute formed in 2003, which offers educational opportunities, provides community outreach programs, and enhances communication among those concerned with the unique history, culture and environment of the maritime counties of North Carolina.

U-701 from UNC-CSI on Vimeo.

According to the UNC-CSI , the U-701 sites is well known for challenging conditions and potentially strong currents, often making it a difficult dive. It was well worth it in my opinion, as this video provides us a glimpse into the unique history of submarine warfare.

Picture

© UNC Coastal Institute

Breaking News: The Senator Burns to the Ground

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:16:00 +0000

What a shame! In August of last year I wrote an article on The Senator. The Senator at Big Tree Park is one of the largest Cypress trees in America. The Senator was used as a landmark by the Seminole Indians, as well as the other Native American tribes in the area. During the Hurricane of 1925, the top of the Senator was destroyed, lopping off 47 feet of the original 165 feet.

Today, the Senator fell to the ground in a blaze, just minutes from my home. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that "they are awaiting a complete explanation for why investigators ruled out arson. If the fire wasn't set, how did it start? It's important to get answers because another massive cypress tree, Lady Liberty, is still standing at Big Tree Park. Though smaller and less elderly (2,000 years old instead of 3,500), it needs to be preserved and protected if security at the park is lacking."

Lats year I shot footage of my trip to the Senator, accompanied by music by Mary Gunderson. You can see it here in all its grandeur. What a sad day for Florida, as part of our history is lost

Archaeology News: January 16, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Axelrod) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:51:00 +0000

Department of Archaeology and Heritage in Umm Al Qaiwain has announced new discoveries at al-Dur archaeological site, north eastern of the emirate.

Archaeologists will carry out a three-week excavation at Birley Fields in Hulme before a new university campus is built on the land.One aim of the project is to find remains of a farm that could date back to the late Medieval period – thought to be the first time people lived in the area.

Archaeologists from Egypt and Switzerland have unearthed the 1,100-year-old tomb of a female singer in the Valley of the Kings.

It is the only tomb of a woman not related to the ancient royal families ever found in the valley, said Mansour Boraiq, the senior official at the Antiquities Ministry in Luxor.

The Field Museum plans a rare display of mummies from its own collection, many of which haven't been seen by the public since the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893.

The complete H.L. Hunley was unveiled in South Carolina after a decade of conservation work that has kept most of it hidden from view. In 1864, the Confederate submarine torpedoed the Union warship Housatonic, but then sank, killing its crew of eight. “The submarine was a perfect time capsule of everything inside,” said archaeologist Ben Rennison.

Archaeologists are investigating the site of a future Irish Cultural Museum, which will be built in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

The Northern Tutchone people did not become dependent upon Fort Selkirk, a fur trading post in the Yukon, according to research conducted by Victoria Castillo of Yukon College and the University of Alberta. She found few First Nation artifacts at the fort, indicating that not much trade took place.

The contents of a bathroom dating to the late 1850s have been removed from Dunleith Plantation in Natchez, Mississippi, and will be reassembled in a Greek Revival mansion in Natchez National Historical Park. Jeff Mansell of the National Park Service says that there are fewer than 20 such bathrooms left in the country.