Nature. ]]>
Hurryiet Daily News. Located today in the western Turkish province of Mugla, in the center of the Yatagan district, the long-ruined ancient city is thought to have been one of the largest marble cities of antiquity from its founding during the Hellenistic era. Bilal Sogut, the Pamukkale University professor in charge of the excavation, recounted how the tombs, which contained the remains of both adults and children, were just some of the recent finds, which also included artifacts from varied time periods and evidence of a settlement that would have existed 3,500 years in the past. The researcher, who referred to Stratonikeia as “a living archaeological city”, called the site unique for is various characteristics, which included a high number of ancient structures surviving to the present day. The city, which would have at one time been home to the Carians of central Anatolia before the arrival of the Greeks, also holds ties to the Leleges, a pre-Hellenistic people that were said to have been allies of Troy during the Trojan War, the archaeologist said. One of the primary finds, according to Sogut, was the nearly four-foot-long skeleton found within a Byzantine-era tomb that had been undergoing cleaning and preservation works. The remains are thought to have belonged to a young woman who lived nearly 1,300 years in the past. There are high levels of historical continuity, according to the archaeologists, especially on one of the main areas currently under excavation and study. A thoroughfare being called “Western Street”, which was a field repurposed as a graveyard after a church on the site had collapsed, was the location of the 65 Byzantine tombs. Sogut remarked that the finds are currently undergoing conservation, with work continuing into 2017 at the very least. Even when archaeological finds are too far eroded or destroyed by time to be reconstructed, tourists to Stratonikeia will still be able to glimpse what life would have been like in the ancient city; there are plans to virtually reconstruct much of the structures unearthed through the use of 3D visualization technologies. Sogut says that once the excavation, analysis, and conservation efforts are concluded, visitors will be able to see many of the ancient city center’s structures, as they have been “revived” thanks to the use of the 3D technologies. Providing visual three-dimensional physical representations of ancient structures leads to higher levels of impact on visitors, the archaeologist stated, adding that it provides better opportunities for understanding. The 3D rendering, combined with gravure drawings, will be prepared in time to show visitors by the next season, Sogut said. Hopes are high that Stratonikeia, which has been classified as a “Tentative” UNESCO World Heritage Site, will soon be transitioned to full status. Archeological finds such as these, and those uncovered by research teams in the past, can help to expedite this process. ]]>
Science Advances, can be found here Image courtesy of Peter deMenocal]]>
Zygomaturus trilobus, discovered several decades ago may have finally provided the answer. Large and lumbering with big flared cheek bones (zygomatics), Zygomaturus was a marsupial generally the size of a large bull. Little is known about its ecology, or why it went extinct. Excavated on two different occasions during the 1980s, the animal’s upper jaw was shipped to the Australian Museum in Sydney where it was stored still surrounded by the original sediments. The lower part of the jaw is on display at Mungo National Park. Optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL) was used to test the sediment samples, while the fossils were tested directly using uranium series (U-series) dating. The tests show the specimen died approximately 33,000 years ago. Aborigines arrived in the region about 50,000 years ago. The Zygomaturus specimen indicates megafauna and people coexisted for 17,000 years at least. In fact, the species appears to have lived until the dramatic climate change referred to as the last glacial cycle prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. This date of 33,000 years does not necessarily represent the extinction of Zygomaturus. The deteriorating climatic conditions could have made Willandra Lakes a refuge for both people and megafauna as the surrounding plains became drier, bringing species like the Zygomaturus into increased contact with people. Regardless, the fossil has caused a shift in the debate over megafauna extinction. The research has been published in the Quaternary Science Reviews journal. ]]>
Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt volume 2017/1. Featured Image: Reconstruction by Jacques Vincent ]]>
here Image courtesy of David Frayer, University of Kansas]]>
Telegraph. The organization is appealing to the public for anyone who has information regarding Karoline Cohn to contact IAA. They are also attempting to locate Sophie Kollman, a woman who, in 1978, submitted testimony about Karoline Cohn. ]]>
Haaretz, new finds at the Gebel el Silsila necropolis in the form of lavish grave goods show that the individuals buried within were not slaves or menial workers as was first thought. In fact, grave offerings such as crocodiles and cats indicate these individuals, who were likely miners that helped quarry sandstone for construction during the early Eighteenth Dynasty, might have worked hard but were held in high regard. A Swedish archaeology expedition, spearheaded by John Ward and Maria Nilsson, excavated and studied a dozen new tombs, a trio of crypts, and an additional crypt with multiple animal burials, all dating to circa 1543 BCE to 1292 BCE. The discovery of previously-untouched tombs at Silsila – which would have been called Kheny during the Eighteenth Dynasty – has yielded in excess of 55 tombs. Each of these tombs has between 10 to 15 burials, but the majority of these burials have been long-since looted – though the new discoveries show little signs of ancient plundering. The remains of more than 80 people have been recovered so far, according to Nilsson, who said that there were not just men but women and children interred in these tombs. Based on telltale signs of wear on a portion of the skeletal remains, the researcher feels that it’s a good guess that these individuals would have been quarrymen and perhaps their families. Many of these individuals were buried with grave goods in the form of personal belongings. Some were laid to rest with amulets designed to provide protection for the soul’s journey to the world beyond. Such burial goods were expensive, clearly showing these individuals were of a higher social status than conscripted workers or simple slaves, according to Nilsson. More signs indicating the relative wealth and affluence of these ancient Egyptians can be found in the beautiful craftsmanship of the rest of the jewelry that was buried with them. Pendants, scarabs, amulets and earrings found in the tombs show high levels of expertise, indicating that those who worked ancient Egypt’s quarries might have been regarded with high levels of deference – though the researcher was quick to say that there would have to be further study and analysis before this could be concluded categorically. The site is also noteworthy for the high number of animal burials, many of which show signs of being sacrificed prior to being interred. In one instance, a single crypt contained approximately a dozen goats and sheep that look as if they were purposely sacrificed, judging by visible head trauma. Additional remains, which include a pair of crocodiles, a cat and a pair of Nile perch were also included in these animal burials. One of the crocodiles was found outside a tomb, which may indicate that it had expired there after one of the Nile’s many floods. Again, more analysis will be necessary to make final determinations. ]]>
PLOS ONE. Until now, the earliest settlement date for North America was estimated at 14,000 years Before Present (BP), based on the earliest reliably dated archaeological sites. The new study has moved that date back to 24,000 years BP, to a period that coincides with the height of the last ice age. The groundbreaking research was carried out by Ariane Burke, a professor in Université de Montréal’s Department of Anthropology, and her doctoral student Lauriane Bourgeon, with the contribution of Dr. Thomas Higham, Deputy Director of Oxford University’s Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit. A controversial site first excavated forty years ago is at the heart of the latest study. The Bluefish Caves, located on the banks of the Bluefish river in northern Yukon near the Alaskan border, were first studied by archaeologist Jacques Cinq-Mars over a ten year period beginning in 1977. Radiocarbon dating of animal bones discovered at the site led the researcher to hypothesize that human settlement in the surrounding region dated back to 30,000 BP. For thirty years Cinq-Mars’ conclusions have remained controversial in the scientific community, primarily due to the lack of other sites of a similar age. In addition, there was no clear evidence that the horse, mammoth, bison and caribou bones found in the Bluefish Caves were the result of human activity there. Bourgeon set out to answer once and for all whether Cing-Mars’ hypothesis was correct. Over the course of two years she examined 36,000 bone fragments taken from the Bluefish Caves and preserved in the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau. Fifteen bones showed ‘undeniable’ traces of human activity, according to a University of Montreal press release. Another twenty fragments showed probable traces of human activity. “Series of straight, V-shaped lines on the surface of the bones were made by stone tools used to skin animals,” said Burke. “These are indisputable cut-marks created by humans.” The bones were then submitted for radiocarbon dating. The oldest fragment, a horse mandible showing marks likely caused by the tongue being removed by a stone tool, was dated to between 23,000 and 24,000 years BP. “Our discovery confirms previous analyses and demonstrates that this is the earliest known site of human settlement in Canada,” explained Burke in the press release. “It shows that Eastern Beringia was inhabited during the last ice age.” The results support findings made in studies of population genetics that a group of a few thousand individuals lived in isolation in Beringia between 15,000 and 24,000 years ago. “Our discovery confirms the ‘Beringian standstill [or genetic isolation] hypothesis,'” said Burke, “Genetic isolation would have corresponded to geographical isolation. During the Last Glacial Maximum, Beringia was isolated from the rest of North America by glaciers and steppes too inhospitable for human occupation to the West. It was potentially a place of refuge.” It seems, therefore, that the ancient humans inhabiting the Bluefish Caves were among those who, at the end of the last ice age, migrated south and went on to colonise the entire North American continent, along the coast and down to South America. Image courtesy of Université de Montréal ]]>
FoxNews article. “Only when the dates came back from the lab we were reassured that indeed these were the remains of stables and other activities from the time of David and Solomon.” The research highlights the early community’s sophisticated and refined defense system and trade links, demonstrating a connection with the distant Mediterranean region. In addition to moving food and materials back and forth from other regions, the donkeys housed at the complex would have been used as part of copper production. The fact that one of the biggest ancient copper smelting plants in the Timna Valley is located near the fortification is of particular importance. Ben-Yosef says in the article: “Until now we didn’t have evidence of military conflicts in the copper mines of Timna at this period. Moreover, they are in accord with the biblical accounts depicting wars between David and the Edomites who inhabited this region.” The archaeologist went on to add that given the hotly debated accounts between biblical historians, finding actual evidence is significant. Aviv University notes in a recently released statement that the fabled King Solomon mines are believed by some experts to be located somewhere among the Timna Valley ancient smelting camps. There is no clear description of “King Solomon’s mines” within the Old Testament, but there are references to military clashes between the Edomites (the descendants of Esau, Isaac’s firstborn son and Jacob’s twin brother) and Israel. Discovered in 1934, the copper smelting site in Timna Valley was first believed to be a slave camp dating to the Iron Age. This theory was debunked by Ben-Yosef along with his colleagues in 2014, when they analyzed organic clothing and material finds which indicated a sophisticated, hierarchical society. The research team intends to continue their exploration of the ancient societies in the Timna copper mine area. The research has been published in The Journal of Archaeological Science. ]]>