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in Archaeology
by
Blake Edgar, March/April 2008
Edgar reports on the controversy surrounding a set of South African archaeological sites that contain evidence that modern human culture may have arisen as early as 164,000 years ago. Pieces of ocher with cross-hatched lines dating from 75,000 years ago suggest to some archaeologists evidence of symbolic reasoning abilities, which also implies the people who made them had language abilities -- and still earlier evidence has also surfaced. Still, many in the field continue to argue that modern human behavior (and language) most likely arose just 50,000 years ago. Edgar's piece ably recounts the debate, as well as the discoveries at South Africa's Blombos cave and what they may mean.
Posted 5:21, 15 February 2008
This abstract was written by
Bryan Keefer
and edited by Brijit.
in Archaeology
by
Mara Hvistendahl, March/April 2008
The city of Nanjing has commissioned a $10 million replica of the boat captained by Zheng He, a legendary fifteenth-century Chinese explorer. Chinese authorities hope to influence international opinion by highlighting China's historic role as a benevolent and peaceful nation more interested in trade than domination. Foreign histories, however, doubt that Zheng He's voyages were entirely peaceful, and note that "trade" was occasionally more accurately described as "tribute" -- and that China probably used both as a tools of foreign domination. Hvistendahl provides plenty of detail about both the ship itself and Zheng He's voyages, as well as a plan to sail the recreated vessel along one of its old routes.
Posted 5:20, 15 February 2008
This abstract was written by
Nicole Hablenko
and edited by Brijit.
in Archaeology
by
Samir S. Patel, March/April 2008
Patel summarizes the ongoing underwater excavation of what's thought to be the wreck of the Queen Anne's Revenge, the flagship of notorious pirate Edward Teach -- better known as Blackbeard. The ship, which ran aground in 1718, was located in 1996, though systematic attempts to retrieve the wreck began only in 2005. Discoveries so far include cannons, grenades of cast iron with wood fuses, as well as urethral syringe that would have been used for treating venereal disease ("an occupational hazard for a pirate," Patel notes). Still, the evidence that the ship is in fact Blackbeard's remains circumstantial, lending the article a frustrating inconclusiveness.
Posted 4:14, 15 February 2008
This abstract was written by
Bryan Keefer
and edited by Brijit.
in Archaeology
by
Mike Toner, March/April 2008
Toner reports on what archaeologists Chris Espenshade and Peter Siegel describe as "clearly one of the most significant sites in Puerto Rico," an unexpectedly rich complex of dwellings, graves, a large ceremonial plaza, and, most tantalizing, a 60-foot-long row of intricately carved petroglyphs. The petroglyphs confirm that the Taino believed in a spirit world, and suggest other details of Taino culture and religion. Several graves have also been discovered. Some Puerto Rican authorities, however, have objected to manner in which the excavation has been conducted (it was originally scheduled to become a dump); Toner concludes on the rather dour note that serious concerns remain about the site potentially being looted.
Posted 4:00, 15 February 2008
This abstract was written by
Nicole Hablenko
and edited by Brijit.
in Archaeology
by
Mark Rose, March/April 2008
Rose's breezy first-person account of his visit to the dig at Assos on Turkey's Aegean coast between Troy and Pergamon recounts the archaeological history of the site, which was the American Institute of Archaeology’s first dig in 1881. However, it was subsequently neglected for a century, and 1980s work at the site added a number of poor reconstructions. The piece also includes a historical synopsis of ancient Assos, an important regional center dominated by its more powerful neighbors, and contains a useful (if brief) account of the site as it stands today -- dominated by a poorly reconstructed temple of Athena.
Posted 3:39, 15 February 2008
This abstract was written by
Nicole Hablenko
and edited by Brijit.
in Archaeology
by
Jason Yrbanus, March/April 2008
As part of a course called "Archaeology of Harvard Yard," students and faculty are excavating Harvard's famous green and exploring the school's Native American history. The most notable find to date is printable type, believed to be part of the press used to produce the first translation of the Bible in North America -- into Wampanoag, a local Algonquin dialect. In future digs, faculty hope to find the edifice of the Harvard Indian College, established to educate local Native Americans and convert them to Protestantism. Yrbanus offers a brief but engaging introduction to Harvard's connection to the Wampanoags.
Posted 3:21, 15 February 2008
This abstract was written by
Kris Cambra
and edited by Brijit.
in Archaeology
by
Lauren Lancaster, March/April 2008
Work done by contract archaeologists (or "shovel bums," as they call themselves) accounts for 95 percent of the archaeology done in the United States. These skilled workers are hired to do cultural resource management (CRM), private projects that assess and excavate archaeological sites. Although they help to preserve the nation's heritage by ensuring that development doen't inadvertently destroy irreplaceable archaeological sites, they have little job security and are frequently compelled to relocate when the job is completed. Lancaster's gritty photos complement a brief essay about the lives of these workers.
Posted 1:10, 15 February 2008
This abstract was written by
Nicole Hablenko
and edited by Brijit.
Subjects/Tags:
crm,
in Archaeology
by
Eric A. Powell, March/April 2008
Jared Diamond's blockbuster books, Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel, have done much to popularize anthropology and archeology. But at a recent symposium in Arizona, academics gathered to expound on the reasons why Diamond's theories -- particularly the cultural reasons behind the collapse of settlements including those on Easter Island and Greenland -- may be wrong. Their ideas are interesting, but Powell's article makes no assessment of the differing arguments, and gives the sense, most likely unintentionally, that this is all academic nitpicking. This article is a good point of departure, but that's all.
Posted 1:03, 15 February 2008
This abstract was written by
Danny Kind
and edited by Brijit.
in Archaeology
by
Zack Zorich, March/April 2008
Zorich interviews John Hawks of the University of Wisconsin, who says that the acceleration of human evolution over the last 50,000 years has been driven by technological improvements like projectile weapons, symbolic artifacts, and -- most importantly -- an increase in our ability to communicate. He suggests that the language gene (FOXP2) could have originated in Neanderthals, who passed it on to us, and notes that a number of minor morphological changes, such as a slight decrease in body size, also occurred in the last 10,000 years. This brief interview aims to wet -- not quench -- the reader's curiosity, which it does quite successfully.
Posted 10:39, 15 February 2008
This abstract was written by
Nicole Hablenko
and edited by Brijit.
in Archaeology
by
Earl L. Ertman, March/April 2008
When in 2006 Ertman opened the first tomb to be found in Egypt's Valley of the Kings since King Tut's, he didn't find the mummy of Nefertiti as he had hoped. He did, however, make an interesting connection to the queen. Faces painted on coffins within the tomb shared the same distinctive eye shape as Nefertiti's -- the corner near the nose dips abruptly and abuts the upper lid, giving her an East Asian appearance. While it's possible the coffins belonged to her offspring, who inherited the eye shape, Ertman surmises that the upper classes considered it a sign of beauty, and adopted it as a "royal marker." It's an interesting argument, but short on conclusive evidence.
Posted 4:32, 12 February 2008
This abstract was written by
Kris Cambra
and edited by Brijit.