Author: Amy.Smith

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800-year-old 'massive' Viking skeletons found in Sicily

Credit: Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall, born 1876, interprets the Vikings[/caption]

‘Massive’ skeletons

An examination of the burials determined that three of the graves belonged to women, and another two to children. The remaining skeletons are still in the process of being identified. As no grave goods were found, the researchers were not initially sure of their heritage; but an anthropologist was able to inform the team that they were likely from Western Europe – meaning that they were probably Normans from northern France. Moździoch, who comes from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, says: “According to the local anthropologist, the tallness and massive build of skeletons of people buried here indicate this origin.”

Why were Vikings in Sicily?

So what were the Normans doing in Sicily? During the second half of the 11th Century, the island was recaptured by a Norman nobleman, Roger de Hauteville, after having been occupied by the Arabs. It was quite usual for the Normans to send out expeditions to southern Italy, Sicily, and of course, England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Vikings about to invade England (4)

Western European architecture

The cemetery where the bodies were found was associated with a church hospital mentioned in a 12th Century document; but no medical equipment was found on the site. They did, however, find coins that were minted in Champagne and Lucca, indicating that the builders and users of the church would have from the north of the Apennine peninsula. At the time of the church’s construction, nearby Palermo was held by Arabs. Moździoch says that the church was fortified and built on a hill so as to provide a strategic position for battle. The architecture of the church backs up the theory that these bodies were those of Viking descendants. “The Western European form of the church… [indicates] that its builders and users could have come from Normandy,” Moździoch says. “Our research has changed the previous theories concerning the church structure. It indicates that its form referred more to the western European churches of the 11th and 12th centuries than to the buildings of this type erected in Sicily during that period. To put it simply, the concept of construction was directly transferred from the north by the craftsmen brought from there,” he concluded.]]>

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Editorial

Meet Ching Shih: the prostitute-turned-pirate who banned rape in her 50,000-man fleet

Obscure beginnings Like so many politically influential women before (and after) her, Ching Shih went undocumented by history for a shockingly long time. In fact, her legacy was only first explored in depth in 1987, when Dian Murray published Pirates of the South China Coast, 1790-1810 – 143 years after the pirate lord died. Records call her Ching Shih, Madam Ching or Zheng Shi, all meaning ‘widow of Zheng Yi’; though she was born Shil Gang Xu, a girl from the Guangdong (Canton) province of south east China. At one point, it seems she worked as a prostitute on a floating brothel; though there is scant documentation of her life before 1801.  

A pirate’s life for Shih

At this point, she had a chance encounter with Zheng Yi, pirate commandeer of the Red Flag Fleet. Legend would have us believe that he pillaged the floating brothel and captured her; other stories suggest that he proposed, but that she refused unless he would sign over half his fleet. If this is true, it was the first significant negotiation of what turned out to be an astute strategic mind. Either way, they married; and Zheng Yi did indeed gift her an equal partnership in leadership of his 200 ships.  

The Red Flag Fleet grows

Zheng Yi hailed from a long lineage of pirates. His name commanded a great deal of respect; and the ever-strategic Ching Shih advised him to unite the various pirate fleets of the South China Sea under the banner of the Red Flag Fleet. In 1804, just three years after their marriage, accounts tell us that the fleet had grown to either 300 or 600 ships of 50-100 pirates each. At the very least, that would mean 15,000 pirates were answering to the couple. At the most, it would have been 60,000. At the height of its power, some records provide estimates of 1,800 ships. Later that year, the fleet issued a blockade of a Portuguese trading port in Macau. The Portuguese squadron quickly fell to the power of the Red Flag and even the British Royal Navy stepped back from the conflict.  

Navigating a power vacuum

Six years into her marriage, Ching Shih was widowed. As is typical for their story, there are multiple accounts of Zheng Yi’s cause of death: he is alleged to have died in the Tay Son Rebellion in Vietnam in 1807, but also to have died in a typhoon or simply fallen overboard. As his heir, some even point fingers at Ching Shih. However he might have died, Ching Shih had to act fast – lest her empire crumble. She formed an alliance with her adoptive son, Cheung Po Tsai. Together, their secured the loyalty of a selection of Zheng Yi’s relatives, all of whom were leaders in the fleet. The wife of Cheung Po Tsai’s lieutenant, Cai Qian Ma, was a Western weaponry expert who spoke fluent English. Within the fleet, she was notorious for her viciousness in battle, addiction to opiates, and sexual exploits. But as well as this, Cai Qian Ma was an expert negotiator. She was able to provide Ching Shih and Cheung Po Tsai with strong connections to Western weapon dealers – thereby supplying the fleet with British guns. [caption id="attachment_8849" align="aligncenter" width="450"] The merciless pirate lord, Ching Shih. Credit: thefemalesoldier.com[/caption]

Seeing red: the merciless Madam Ching

As Ching Shih secured her position, her code of conduct tightened. If a town sent a makeshift army out to fight the fleet, the Red Flag would sink the army and go ashore to kill all adult males they found. Often, resisters had their feet nailed to the decks before a beating. However, towns that did not resist and instead paid a tribute were rewarded with protection. Any pirate who tried to loot a town that had previously paid tribute to the Red Flag was beheaded and buried at sea. A violent death also befell any pirate who disobeyed an order, went ashore without permission, stole treasure or raped a female captive. Even if the sex was consensual, he’d be beheaded. However, pirates were permitted to marry attractive female captives, which would elevate the women to normal members of the fleet with rights and duties. Their husbands were bound to be faithful to their wives (upon pain of death, obviously). Ugly women, it is said, were released with no harm done. Interestingly, deserters weren’t killed. They’d simply have their ears cut off.  

Ching Shih’s financial policy

Any money seized in a raid would be accounted for and registered before it was distributed. Ching Shih worked out a system whereby the ship responsible for the capture would receive 20% of the loot. The remainder went into a large collective fund to be spread among the entire fleet. Failure to comply with her policy would result in severe public whippings or beheading.  

Why didn’t the Qing government stop Ching Shih sooner?

There had never been a great naval tradition in the Chinese empire. A small selection of the Qing fleet were copies of captured pirate ships, but most of its fleet was made up of converted merchant vessels. Even then, they were greatly outnumbered by the technologically superior Red Flag ships. After a vicious exchange that saw the death of notable pirates including Cai Qian Ma, as well as government officials, the Qing government and the Red Flag fleet engaged in a pitched naval battle in 1808. The pirates enjoyed a glorious victory, causing the Qing government to reach out to Portugal and Britain again. Despite concessions offered to the two external powers, they were unable to help.  

The tide turns against Ching Shih

In 1809, the tide turned. The imperial government continued to pour resources into their destruction and it became a question of attrition. The following year, the government issued amnesty for all pirates willing to lay down their arms. Cheung Po Tsai entered into a negotiation with the Qing forces, but was unable to make any headway. Ching Shih took the reins and walked, unarmed, into the governor’s office in Guangdong.  

Shih who dares, wins

Due to her conversational prowess, all but 400 of her pirates would be able to walk free without ceding any of their wealth – on the condition that they all kneel before the governor and pay homage. Ching Shih refused. She expertly steered the conversation to a resolution, whereby she and Cheung Po Tsai would kneel – but only if their legal relationship as mother and son could be dissolved and they were allowed to be married. The two were wed with the governor as witness, and as per tradition, they knelt to thank him. Ching Shih had negotiated freedom for all but 400 of her fleet, kept all of their riches, not had to pay homage outside of usual marriage ritual, was able to marry the man she loved – and both became members of the Chinese aristocracy ‘by Imperial decree’. [caption id="attachment_8850" align="aligncenter" width="440"] Ching Shih is immortalised in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as ‘Mistress Ching’.[/caption]

Ching Shih: the family woman

Cheung Po Tsai died at sea 9 years later, and his widow would go on to marry another former underling. They returned to the Guangdong province, where she opened a gambling house and brothel. Ching Shih lived to see her son and grandchildren grow up, and died in her bed, surrounded by her family, in 1844.]]>

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14,400-year-old flatbread proves baking predates agriculture by 4,000 years

14,000 year old food practices The excavation at Shubayqa 1 has unearthed 254 examples of food remains. Charred evidence of a flatbread baked 14,400 years ago has caused researchers to confirm that baking predates the advent of agriculture by at least 4,000 years. The findings indicate that bread production encouraged gatherer-hunters to cultivate cereals – therefore contributing to the agricultural revolution in the Neolithic period. The research team was comprised of academics from the University of Copenhagen, University College London and the University of Cambridge. [caption id="attachment_8845" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Dr. Amaia Arranz-Otaegui and Ali Shakaiteer sampling cereals in the Shubayqa area. Credit: Joe Roe[/caption]

From calories to culture: the evolution of eating

Nutritionally speaking, the process of making bread is entirely uneconomic. After harvesting wild cereals, the people of Shubayqa 1 had to separate the seeds, grind them down, make the dough, flatten the dough and cook it. They would have suffered a net loss of calories during the process – which suggests that the bread was not made for survival purposes. That leads us to the idea that this discovery represents a pivot in the history of human eating practices. No longer were people seeking pure nutrition from their food. For the people of Shubayqa 1, eating was now imbued with cultural, social and perhaps ideological significance. To strengthen this theory, the date and location of the flatbread places it close to the erection of the world’s oldest monumental buildings. Inside, ceremonies and rituals took place; perhaps with the first instances of socio-ideological feasting. [caption id="attachment_8846" align="aligncenter" width="500"] One of the stone structures of the Shubayqa 1 site. The fireplace, where the bread was found, is in the middle. Credit: Alexis Pantos[/caption]

Sedentary lifestyles lead to diet changes

The Danish Council for Independent Research has recently approved further funding for research into food production during the transition to the Neolithic period. University of Copenhagen archaeologist Tobias Richter, who led the excavations at Shubayqa 1 in Jordan, comments: “Natufian hunter-gatherers are of particular interest to us because they lived through a transitional period when people became more sedentary and their diet began to change.”

What came first: the chicken or the bread?

Professor Dorian Fuller from the UCL Institute of Archaeology says: “That it was produced before farming methods suggests it was seen as special, and the desire to make more of this special food probably contributed to the decision to begin to cultivate cereals.” Richter continues: “The flat bread found at Shubayqa 1 is the earliest evidence of bread making recovered so far, and it shows that baking was invented before we had plant cultivation. “So this evidence confirms some of our ideas. Indeed, it may be that the early and extremely time-consuming production of bread based on wild cereals may have been one of the key driving forces behind the later agricultural revolution where wild cereals were cultivated to provide more convenient sources of food.” The discovery comes shortly after new research revealed that barley spread across the world via multiple routes – suggesting human choices were made based on nutritional and perhaps cultural needs. Read more here.]]>

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How barley spread across the world & helped culture formation

Different routes – an indicator of different cultures? Due to the fact that there were a number of different eastward routes for the spread of the barley population, the study suggests humans were choosing routes based on particular attributes of acting according to environmental adaptation. Choice and environment, therefore, are crucial factors for the spread of staple foods in prehistory. These different routes include ones to the north and south of the Iranian Plateau; through the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor in Central Asia, possibly connecting up to the Chinese section of the Silk Road; a high altitude spread on the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau; a high latitude spread through the northern steppe; two distinct spreads into Japan; and a maritime route from South Asia. As previous research has provided radiocarbon dates, we know when the routes were followed. [caption id="attachment_8836" align="aligncenter" width="728"] Map showing proposed routes of spread of six different ancestral populations of barley landraces. Direct radiocarbon dates from archaeological barley grain have enabled the timing of these different routes to be elucidated. Credit: D. Lister[/caption]

Impacting rice-growing in East Asia

Lead author Dr Diane Lister, a researcher at the McDonald Institute for Archological Research at the University of Cambridge, says: “One barley population is widespread, particularly around the coastlines. This population may have travelled eastwards via a maritime route from South Asia, via Southeast Asia. This particular population is made up of winter-sown varieties of barley, which are thought to be important in rice-growing areas of East Asia, where a crop of rice is commonly grown in the summer months, and barley adapted to winter-sowing regimes can be planted after the rice harvest. The development of multi-cropping practices during prehistory is thought to have greatly increased productivity and stability, enabling more complex societies to develop.” [caption id="attachment_8837" align="aligncenter" width="257"] Diane Lister at work in the Glyn Daniel laboratory for archaeogenetics at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge Credit: A. Clarke[/caption]

Moulding Tibetan culture

“Another barley population predominates on the high Tibetan Plateau. This barley has a naked grain, making it a particularly attractive staple, as it doesn’t require the pearling process that hulled barley requires for human consumption. Along with the herding of yak, this naked type of barley is an essential for the Tibetan way of life, and their importance are clearly seen in the offerings of naked barley grains and yak butter in Tibetan Buddhist temples around the region. The staple carbohydrate eaten by the Tibetans is tsampa, made from roasted naked barley flour and mixed with salty Tibetan butter tea.” [caption id="attachment_8835" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Ethnically Tibetan women winnowing naked barley on a road on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, near Xiahe, Gansu Province, China.
Photo credits Diane Lister[/caption]

New findings contribute to conversation around climate change

So what does this mean for today? Lister concludes: “Barley is an extremely hardy crop, able to grow in regions where other crops are unable to grow, and is an important staple in such environments. Understanding the spread of its cultivation during prehistory, and the various factors that affected its establishment in different regions of Eurasia, will contribute towards our understanding of climate change and its current and future effects on agriculture.” The paper has been published as a part of the Food Globalization in Prehistory project, funded by the European Research Council and awarded to Prof. Martin Jones. Additional funding was provided by a Royal Society International Joint Project grant.]]>

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How intense Ice Age fishing led to the invention of pottery as we know it

Jōmon pottery from the Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Credit: Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties.[/caption] Examined over a course of three years by researchers from Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden and the University of York’s BioArCh, the findings indicate that ceramics were used by our gatherer-hunter ancestors to initially store and process fish. As fishing techniques evolved and intensified, the range extended to include shellfish, freshwater and marine fish and even mammals. Until recently, ceramic vessels were associated with the arrival of farming. This study, however, debunks that theory. We now know that pottery was a much earlier gatherer-hunter innovation, and was used for the consumption of fish. Professor Oliver Craig, from the Department of Archaeology and Director of the BioArCh research centre at York, who led the study, said: “Our results demonstrate that pottery had a strong association with the processing of fish, irrespective of the ecological setting.” Some of the pottery dates from the end of the Late Pleistocene period: a time when our ancestors were navigating glacial conditions. Other ceramics included in the study are from the post-glacial period, when the climate reached a level close to our current temperature, allowing pottery to be produced in a much greater quantity. Craig continues: “Contrary to expectations, this association remained stable even after the onset of warming, including in more southerly areas, where expanding forests provided new opportunities for hunting and gathering. “The results indicate that a broad array of fish was processed in the pottery after the end of the last Ice Age, corresponding to a period when hunter-gatherers began to settle in one place for longer periods and develop more intensive fishing strategies. [caption id="attachment_8832" align="aligncenter" width="634"] A reconstructed early pottery vessel from Torihama, Japan, dating to the end of the Late Pleistocene (ca 12,000 years old). Chemical analysis revealed that such vessels were used to process fish during the late Glacial period. Credit: Wakasa History and Folklore Museum, Fukui, Japan[/caption] “We suggest this marks a significant change in the role of pottery of hunter-gatherers, corresponding massively increased volume of production, greater variation in forms and sizes and the onset of shellfish exploitation.” Researchers used advanced technologies to recover diagnostic lipids from the charred surface deposits of the vessels. Most of the compounds derive from the processing of freshwater or marine organisms. Because of findings like this, we now know that ceramics played a key role in the ways pre-historic gatherer-hunters consumed fish. Lead author, Dr Alex Lucquin, from BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, said: “Thanks to the exceptional preservation of traces of animal fat, we now know that pottery changed from a rare and special object to an every-day tool for preparing fish. “I think that our study not only reveals the subsistence of the ancient Jomon people of Japan but also its resilience to a dramatic change in climate.” Dr Simon Kaner, from the University of East Anglia, who was also involved in the study, added: “The research highlights the benefits of this kind of international collaboration for unlocking some of the big questions about the human past, and the potential of engaging with established research networks as created by the Sainsbury Institute over the years.”]]>

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Editorial

Melanesian cargo cults and the unquenchable thirst of consumerism

Credit: https://godshotspot.wordpress.com/2016/05/02/the-cargo-cult-belief/[/caption]

Outsiders come to the islands

During the Second World War, the US Army’s ‘island hopping’ strategy saw its troops occupy small, relatively unguarded but well-located islands in the South Pacific. From there, they could embark upon their path to invade Japan. In avoiding major islands and focusing on island hopping, American soldiers came into contact with people who had, until then, had little or no contact with the outside world. The G.I.s came with aeroplanes, manufactured goods, modern medicine, canned food and guns: all of which were new concepts to the islanders.

Perceiving new technologies

Having been colonised by the British Empire, the people of Tanna, a small island in what is now Vanuatu, had already encountered Westerners. Mass-produced goods, however, were new to them. Sci Fi writer Arthur C. Clarke’s assertion that ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic’ was proven true: it wasn’t long before cults worshipping the American goods appeared in islands around the Pacific. Most notably, they cropped up in the islands of Vanuatu, Fiji and New Guinea.

The John Frum cargo cult

These foreigners and their apparently miraculous supplies caused the people of Tanna to mix their existing beliefs (which included an anti-colonialist cult as well as Keraperamun, a volcano god) with their new experiences. The result came to be known as the John Frum cargo cult. To this day, the members of the cult worship a god named John Frum, who is usually depicted as an American solider in full uniform. A neighbouring cult from the same island also worships a god called Tom Navy. These were not considered to be ‘new’ gods, but instead extensions of their existing deities.

Absence leads to fetishism

As the war came to an end, the Americans went back home. The islanders, however, continued to worship their newly evolved deities in an effort to convince the gods to return and bring with them an abundance of cargo. To the people of Tanna, John Frum, Tom Navy and the other deities became messianic figures who would one day return in ships and aeroplanes laden with fascinating goods. A kind of fetishism emerged, as members of the John Frum cargo cult started to build symbolic runways out of bamboo. Adding to this, they erected wooden air control towers and designed life-size replicas of aeroplanes out of the wood and straw from the island. [caption id="attachment_8823" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Members of the John Frum cult with a replica of an aeroplane. Credit: http://purgingtalon.com/diabologue/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/cargocult1.jpg[/caption] In 1957, this fetishism progressed further as the newly formed ‘Tanna Army’ emerged. It is a non-violent organisation that emulates the public parades and military mannerisms of the American army. Its ‘soldiers’ dress in red, white and blue; and to this day, a parade occurs on the 15th of February every year.

So what are the Melanesian cargo cults?

The definition of ‘cargo cults’ has thrown up a multitude of problems. In 1948, anthropologist Lucy Mair wrote ‘the motive force of cargo cult is a feeling of hopeless envy of the European with his immensely higher material standards’. This is by no means an accepted analysis of the movements; but it presents an interesting juxtaposition of the cults with modern consumerism. Loosely, we can now say that they are organised social movements of people in pursuit of ‘cargo’ by means of ritual action. Whether the cults were nativistic, and thus concerned with reviving waning traditions, or iconoclastic, and thus focused on replacing local culture with Western substitutes, continues to be subject to debate. We can say with absolute certainty, though, that over the past 7 decades, these movements have played a pivotal role in developing the communities and cultures currently in play on the islands of Vanuatu. Where there are leaders and prophets of these cults, they are concerned with social harmony and order. They insist that in order for new cargo to arrive on the islands, certain social rules have to be followed. Moral renewal and collectivism over individualism are common themes: to love one another, to perform different kinds of sexual relationships, and the rejection of stealing, lying and cheating. No order, no cargo. A prominent writer and researcher on the cargo cults, Peter Worsley, has argued that cargo cults ‘weld previously hostile and separate groups together into a new unity’ and that ‘by projecting his message on to the supernatural plane’, a cargo cult luminary establishes that his leadership ‘transcends the narrow province of local gods and spirits associated with particular clans, tribes or villages’.

Cargo cults: a comforting reflection of the human condition

Despite having largely faded away, stories of cargo cults are constantly doing the rounds. A quick internet search of the term will throw up seemingly endless analyses and hypotheses; and if you are so inclined, you can purchase a bottle of John Frum alcohol to sip at your leisure. Many documentaries have been made about the faction that specifically worships Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. So why the obsession? Simply put, they epitomise modern, consumerist desire. It is a desire that cannot be satiated. We have endless opportunities to shop for our own cargo, and yet the acquisition of goods never seems to satisfy us. When we get our cargo, it doesn’t quash the desire. It intensifies it. Unending desire and the constant strive to be better, have more, and achieve dominance is human nature – whether it’s on the shores of Tanna or in the heart of Manhattan. To Westerners, cargo cults seem to be as futile as they are relatable. It’s the modern condition, reflected in a place that feels like another world.]]>

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Humans left Africa 270,000 years earlier than we thought

One of the tools from the discovery site in Shangchen, China. Credit: Professor Zhaoyu Zhu[/caption] Prior to this discovery, the earliest evidence of humanity outside Africa was a collection of skeletal remains and stone tools found in Dmanisi, Georgia, which have been dated to 1.85 million years ago – 270,000 years after the new discovery in Shangchen in the southern Chinese Loess Plateau. The research, published in the journal Nature, also suggests that the ancient humans returned to the same site repeatedly, possibly for hunting. The collection includes a notch, scrapers, cobble, hammer stones and pointed pieces. Each item shows sign of human use. The hammer stones, for instance, had been intentionally flaked. Fragments of animal bones that would have been contemporaneous with the items were also found. Most of the artefacts were made of quartzite and quartz, suggesting that the materials were sourced from the foothills and streams of the Qinling Mountains around 5 to 10 kilometres from the site. [caption id="attachment_8815" align="aligncenter" width="425"] The extensive collection of 2.1 million years old artefacts is causing archaeologists to reconsider the overall story of human migration. Credit: Professor Zhaoyu Zhu[/caption] Because the 96 stone artefacts were found in 17 different layers of fossil soils that had developed over a period of one million years, we now know that early humans occupied the Chinese Loess Plateau under varying climatic conditions between 1.2 and 2.12 million years ago. Professor Dennell says: “Our discovery means it is necessary now to reconsider the timing of when early humans left Africa.” The find “may add a new chapter to the story of hominin evolution, suggesting that some of these species left Africa far earlier than once believed and managed to travel over 8,000 miles east of their evolutionary birthplace,” The New York Times reports. The age of the tools “suggests that the hominins who made them were neither tall nor big-brained. Instead, they may have been small bipedal apes, with brains about the size of a chimpanzee’s.” Michael Petraglia, a paleoanthropologist at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History comment:S “The implications of all this are large. We must re-evaluate our understanding of human prehistory in Eurasia.”]]>

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Did the Romans hunt whales?

A gray area Due to centuries of whaling, the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is currently a threatened species, congregating off eastern North America. The Atlantic gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) has completely disappeared from the North Atlantic and can only be found in the North Pacific. Neither is found in the Mediterranean today. In fact, it has long been assumed that the Mediterranean was outside the historical range for both species. You can read more about the history of whaling here. [caption id="attachment_8733" align="aligncenter" width="536"] Atlantic Northern Right Whale mother and calf. Credit: Wikimedia Commons[/caption]

Calving season in the Med

Due to the migratory nature of both species of whale, their presence east of Gibraltar means that they would have entered calving season in the Mediterranean Sea. Co-author of the study Dr Camilla Speller, from the University of York, says: “Our study shows that these two species were once part of the Mediterranean marine ecosystem and probably used the sheltered basin as a calving ground. “The findings contribute to the debate on whether, alongside catching large fish such as tuna, the Romans had a form of whaling industry.”

Roman scandal

The paper speculates that small rowing boats and hand harpoons could have been used to capture the creatures; similar to the medieval Basque whaling methods used in the following centuries. Lead author of the study Dr Ana Rodrigues, from the French National Centre for Scientific Research, adds: “[The] Romans did not have the necessary technology to capture the types of large whales currently found in the Mediterranean, which are high-seas species. But right and gray whales and their calves would have come very close to shore, making them tempting targets for local fishermen.”

The ripple effect: what this means for other research

If coastal whales were in fact present in the Mediterranean, some previously perplexing sources suddenly make a lot more sense. Anne Charpentier, lecturer at the University of Montpellier and co-author in the study, said: “We can finally understand a 1st-Century description by the famous Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder, of killer whales attacking whales and their new-born calves in the Cadiz bay. “It doesn’t match anything that can be seen there today, but it fits perfectly with the ecology if right and gray whales used to be present.” As a result, the authors of the study are urging historians and archaeologists to re-examine their material in light of the knowledge that coastal whales were once part of the Mediterranean marine ecosystem. [caption id="attachment_8812" align="aligncenter" width="500"] A Roman mosaic with fishing scene, found in Hippolytus House in greater Madrid, Spain. Credit: Alberto Paredes/Alamy Stock Photo[/caption]

The forgotten calving grounds

“It seems incredible that we could have lost and then forgotten two large whale species in a region as well-studied as the Mediterranean. It makes you wonder what else we have forgotten,” concludes Dr Rodriguez.]]>

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17th century barracks discovered at Elizabeth Castle, Jersey

University of York has discovered new evidence confirming that there was an Army Barracks at Jersey’s Elizabeth Castle during the late 17th Century. The excavation also led the team to uncover a rare brass button, which is thought to have been part of an Army officer’s uniform.

The first major excavation of Elizabeth Castle, Jersey

Built on a rocky islet in St Aubin’s Bay, Elizabeth Castle has defended the shores of Jersey for more than 300 years. Archaeologically speaking, it is a complex site, and has never been excavated in this manner before. It was originally a defensive island fortress during the 16th Century, before falling to occupation by German soldiers during the Second World War. The dig has been conducted alongside Jersey Heritage and originally aimed to discover the location of barracks blocks, allowing historians to learn more about the people that used the building. An archives team from the University of York has worked closely with Jersey Archive to use data for the benefit of the archaeologists. They have since been able to identify four key areas where trenches could be created, which has not only framed the search for artefacts, but also detailed potential evidence of the original structure of the site. The excavation has lasted a week so far, with structural evidence of the barracks, including walls, a cobbled floor and a curious door key, coming to light. [caption id="attachment_8808" align="aligncenter" width="505"] The team also found a key at the site, thought to be contemporary to the site. Credit: University of York[/caption]  

A rare Tudor find: the brass Board of Ordnance button

The brass button comes from the uniform of an officer of the Board of Ordnance, dating to the 18th Century. As there would only have been one Board of Ordnance Officer based at the castle, this is a rare find. Dr Catriona Cooper, from the University of York’s Department of Archaeology, said: “The Board of Ordnance was a government body established in the Tudor period to act primarily as custodians to the areas required in defence of the country. “It is exciting to find this button, because there would have only been one officer that wore this uniform at Elizabeth Castle.  He would have had oversight of the castle’s defences and its army supplies, such as weaponry.” [caption id="attachment_8809" align="aligncenter" width="505"] The brass button is from the uniform of an officer of the Board of Ordnance. Credit: University of York[/caption]

Giant haul of findings from nearby hospital block

Archaeologists are also investigating an early 19th Century hospital block, utilising digital visualisation techniques, to produce a better understanding of the make-up of the building.  It is hoped that the completed work will assist Jersey Heritage to enhance the visitor experience to the site. As part of an ongoing partnership between Jersey Heritage and the University of York, the dig has been much more fruitful than the team had first imagined: “We have also uncovered a comb, tokens and coins, as well as lots of clay pipes ceramics and building materials.  The aim will be to open these finds up to the public and reveal more about the life at the hospital and barracks sites to allow for a clearer window into the past of this fascinating castle site.”]]>

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How European colonisation completely wiped out dogs in America

Canines and colonisers: an unhappy tale Colonial devastation bestowed upon native humans of the Americas is well-documented; but evidence about dogs’ lives is less known. However, an international team has started to ask – and answer – those questions. Fifty researchers collaborated on the investigation and together, they conducted the most detailed and thorough study of ancient and modern dog DNA to date. Through biological and archaeological evidence, they examined the remains of 71 ancient dogs from the Americas and Siberia; and put their findings alongside the genomes of modern dogs. [caption id="attachment_8797" align="aligncenter" width="720"] A ritual burial of two dogs at a site in Illinois near St. Louis suggests a special relationship between humans and dogs at this location and time (660 to 1350 years ago).
Credit: Photo courtesy Illinois State Archaeological Survey[/caption]

Lineage losses for man’s best friend

Published in the journal Science, the new evidence gives us reason to conclude that ‘pre-contact’ dogs disappeared to a similar extent to the Neanderthals. One of the authors was Greger Larson from the University of Oxford, who is leading an international effort to investigate how dogs have been domesticated. He says the study solidifies our understanding of the fates of humans and their animals: “The Europeans come through. They knock out the humans. They knock out the dogs… It’s a complete disappearance.” Leading the research was Laurent Frantz, an expert on ancient DNA at the Queen Mary University of London. Until now, there hadn’t been sufficient evidence to tell the story of what happened to dogs after the arrival of European colonists. However, his research proves that pre-contact dogs were identifiable as a group separate to any other, and that their disappearance came about from a combination of disease and European persecution.

Dogs in America: a history

America’s earliest dogs were not domesticated North American wolves, as has been speculated. It’s much more likely that they followed humans over a land bridge that once connected North Asia and the Americas, the study found. You can read more about recent research on human migration into the Americas here. The earliest archaeological evidence for dogs living in North America comes from 10,000 years ago. As humans entered the region 14,000 years ago, it looks like the first wave didn’t bring dogs with them. The first canines to arrive in America were of East Asian descent, but soon evolved into their own group, distinct from both their ancestors and modern dogs. The animals in question are loosely related to Arctic breeds, such as huskies and malamutes, which arrived with later human migrations into North America. [caption id="attachment_8798" align="aligncenter" width="640"] A modern Malamute.[/caption]

“Forced cultural changes”

Humans and dogs coexisted relatively peacefully in both continents for over 9,000 years. But when European colonists arrived, they were gone. “This suggests something catastrophic must have happened, and it’s likely associated with European colonisation,” says Frantz. Clearly, early humans and dogs in the Americas faced many of the same challenges after European contact. University of Illinois Professor of Anthropology, Ripan Malhi, explains: “It is known how Indigenous peoples of the Americas suffered from the genocidal practices of European colonists after contact… What we found is that the dogs of Indigenous peoples experienced an even more devastating history and a near-total loss, possibly as a result of forced cultural changes and disease.”]]>