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The oldest golden treasure in the world, dating from 4,600 BCE to 4,200 BCE, was discovered at the Varna Necropolis in Bulgaria.
Source: Wikipedia
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Ancient DNA Tells Us Much About Modern Basque's Once-Unknown Origins
The Basques have unique customs and a language - Euskera - that is unrelated to any other spoken in Europe, or indeed the world. Nestled in a mountainous corner of Atlantic Europe, they also show distinct genetic patterns to their neighbours in France and Spain. But their origins have remained an elusive mystery for as long as anthropologists and linguists have been studying the Basque and their Euskera. Mattias Jakobsson from Uppsala University in Sweden analysed the genomes of eight Stone Age human skeletons from El Portalón in Atapuerca, northern Spain. These individuals lived between 3,500 and 5,500 years ago, after the transition to farming in southwest Europe. The results show that these early Iberian farmers are the closest ancestors to present-day Basques. Jokobsson’s results suggest that the modern Basque are likely descendants of early farmers, possibly mixed with local hunter-gatherers and using their language, who then became isolated for millennia. Read the full BBC article here
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What are these weird-looking ceramic circles? If you guessed “ancient Japanese ear plugs” congrats! Your get to brag to your friends. No money, sorry. These are a pair of ceramic, red lacquer ear plugs found at Hachijo-kita, Japan. They date to the neolithic Jomon Period, between 1500 and 1000 BCE.
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A wonderful archaeological reconstruction from my UCD colleagues. Really wish I could have been there to help with it! This house fundamentally questions much of what we think we know about Mesolithic settlement in Ireland and Britain.
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- by Feng Li, Xing Gao, Fuyou Chen, Shuwen Pei, Yue Zhang, Xiaoling Zhang, Decheng Liu, Shuangquan Zhang, Ying Guan, Huimin Wang and Steven L. Kuhn
“The Shuidonggou site cluster in northern China contains 12 different early prehistoric sequences with great potential to cast light on the transition to Upper Palaeolithic behaviour in East Asia. Here researchers present the latest results from Locality 2, reporting seven occupation levels with hearths, animal bone and diverse industries. Although previously compared with European Upper Palaeolithic sequences, the new work proposes a different trajectory of development. Distinctive macroblade technology arrived in the area, possibly from Mongolia or Siberia, about 41000–34000 years ago. This industry subsequently disappeared, to be replaced by flake technologies" (read more/not open access).
(Source: Antiquity 87(336):368-383, 2013; bottom image: Past Horizons)
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This flute was carved from a vulture’s bone 30,000 years ago. It was found in a cave in what is now Southern Germany and is the oldest known musical instrument
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Fast-accumulating data seem to indicate that our close cousins, the Neandertals, were much more similar to us than imagined even a decade ago. But did they have anything like modern speech and language? And if so, what are the implications for understanding present-day linguistic diversity? Modern language and speech can be traced back to the last common ancestor we shared with the Neandertals roughly half a million years ago, according to new research.
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Archaeologists in Mexico have catalogued thousands of etchings carved into stones that they believe were made by hunter-gatherers 6,000 years ago.
The carvings, known as petroglyphs, mostly consist of wavy lines and concentric circles, with some images representing deer tracks.
Some 8,000 images were found at the site in Narigua in northern Mexico.
Experts say the etchings may be part of hunter-gatherer initiation rites, or representations of stars.
The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) says it is now preparing to allow tourists into the site, some 100km (60 miles) west of the city of Monterrey.
INAH archaeologist Gerardo Rivas said there was evidence of hunter-gatherer tribes having lived in the area.
He said many of their settlements were temporary, but evidence of cooking implements and stoves still remained.
He said the petroglyphs may reveal clues as to the level of sophistication of the tribes, and the kinds of tools they were able to manufacture.
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The North West Essex Ring is interesting because it is a solid gold piece of jewellery from the Anglo-Saxon era depicting the Pagan god Woden with the two ravens. However, Woden is holding a cross, an icon of Christianity. There is only one known man who actively worshipped both Christian and Pagan gods - King Raedwald. The ring looks very similar to a helmet discovered in a ship in a burial mound that is thought to have been his.
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Open Access Archaeology Digest #98
Get your Open Access (free to read) archaeology fix: The Burghal Hidage fort of Eorpeburnan: a suggested identification http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/med_arch/contents.cfm?vol=16 Excavations at Summerlee Ironworks, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/psas/contents.cfm?vol=137 Understanding Yana Prehistory: Application of Multiple Analyses http://www.scahome.org/publications/proceedings/Proceedings.05Hull.pdf
Learn more about Open Access and Archaeology at: http://bit.ly/YHuyFK
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Stone bust, Celtic culture of Bohemia, circa 3rd century BCE.
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This is a Mesolithic period fishtrap from Clowanstown, Co. Meath, Ireland. The conical woven basket was used within a waterbody, likely in conjunction with a post and wattle fence to channel fish towards the trap. This trap is 7,000 years old and due to its remarkable preservation gives a glimpse at a materiality beyond stone that is frequently denied to us for the Mesolithic period of Ireland. This is one of the most precious and spectacular discoveries for the Mesolithic period and is of European significance.
Image: National Museum of Ireland
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Located in the buffer zone of Cuc Phuong National Park, Con Moong Cave in Thach Yen commune, Thanh Hoa, has been known for many years as a unique archaeological site in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
After excavation, archaeologists have demonstrated that Con Moong represents the cultural…
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Mammoth bone artefacts from the open-air site of Pavlov, Moravia (Czech Republic)
Top and left: Details of an incised mammoth tusk (Gravettian). The complex engravings on the artefact have been interpreted by some researchers as a map who see evidence for the depiction of the Dyje River and possibly cabins. It has thus been named the “Map of Pavlov” (Barandiarán Maestu 2006).
Right: A heavily modified mammoth radius (Gravettian). Regarding art mobilier and non-lithic tools, artefacts made from mammoth ribs, including bevelled-edge tools have also been recovered from Pavlov as have personal ornaments and clay figurines (Wojtal et al. 2012).
- Barandiarán Maestu, I. 2006. Imágines y adornos en el arte portátil paleolítico. Barcelona: Ariel Prehistoria.
- Svoboda, J., Králik, M, Culíková, V., Hladilová, S., Novák, M., Nývltová Fišáková, Nývlt, D. and Zelinková, M. 1999. ”Pavlov VI: an Upper Palaeolithic living unit,” Antiquity 83(320):282-295.
- Wojtal, P., Wilczyński, J., Bocheński, Z.M. and Svoboda, J.A. 2012. “The scene of spectacular feasts: Animal remains from Pavlov I southeast, the Czech Republic,” The Evolution of Hominin Food Resource Exploitation in Pleistocene Europe: Recent Studies in Zooarchaeology. 252(27):122-141.
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Examples of decorated Palaeolithic adornments:
Top: an incised bone disc ready for suspension on either side, from L’abri Montastruc, France (Magdalenian). Discs such as these were often made from a thin piece of scapula, usually a cervid and are generally rather small (4-5 cm in diametre).
Bottom: a bracelet made from hollowed out ivory decorated with fretwork and punctured holes for wrapping around the wrist, from Mezine, Ukraine (Gravettian).
*Barandiarán Maestu, I. 2006. Imágines y adornos en el arte portátil paleolítico. Barcelona: Ariel Prehistoria