Archaeologists used to dig primarily at sites that were easy to find from obvious visual clues. Technology plays a much bigger role now. Introduction National Geographic magazines and Indiana Jones movies might have you picturing archaeologists excavating near Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge and Machu Picchu. And some of us do work at these famous places. But[…]
Analyzing the bones and teeth of individuals can give us insights into the details of their lives. Introduction Imagine you are an archaeologist excavating at a new building site in East London, the location of an ancient cemetery. Deep down you uncover bones that look old. You recover a full skull with teeth, and most[…]
Despite the scientific rigor of archaeology today, archaeological exploration is still an art and an adventure of the human mind. Introduction to Classical Archaeology Classical Archaeology is the study of past societies in the Mediterranean region on the basis of surviving material evidence. What this means, for all practical purposes, is that classical archaeologists –[…]
Diseases have often influenced historical events, but they are neglected in the documentation of these events. Human remains used to be considered a nuisance in archaeological excavations. Today they are considered a valuable source of information to understand the ways of life of prehistoric populations and their conditions. A short distance from what is now[…]
Both the Egyptian and Inca cultures treated their deceased differently based on social hierarchy within the culture. By Emma J. Williams Abstract This two-year research project was carried out as part of SUNY Potsdam’s Presidential Scholars program which allows undergraduates to conduct independent research. The project employs controlled laboratory experiments to compare desiccation rates in[…]
The Lion Temple Walls do seem to be a defining feature of many Egyptian settlements throughout the dynastic period. By Dr. Steven Snape Reader in Egyptian Archaeology University of Liverpool The origin of urbanism in Egypt includes the emergence of heavily defended walled settlements as major political and economic centres. The policy of providing enclosing walls for[…]
Hand axes from the site of Saffaqah, Saudi Arabia. (Palaeodeserts/Ian R. Cartwright) Hominins made stone tools in central Arabia 190,000 years ago, and the hand axe technology raises questions about just who they were. By Brian Handwerk / 11.29.2018 early 200,000 years ago, at the confluence of two long-vanished river systems in the heart of Arabia,[…]
Archaeological excavation at Ain Boucherit, Algeria. Mathieu Duval, Author provided Ancient stone tools found in what is now Algeria show early humans likely spread across Africa more rapidly than first thought. By Dr. Mathieu Duval (left) and Dr. Mohamed Sahnouni (right) / 11.29.2018 Duval: ARC Future Fellow, Griffith University Sahnouni: Archéologue et professeur, National Center for Research on Human Evolution (CENIEH) When did early humans first arrive in[…]
Petra, Jordan: The rock of Fassade and of “ed-Deir.” Andreas Voegelin, Antikenmuseum Basel. How a mysterious kingdom of former nomads created a luxurious, urban oasis in an inhospitable climate. Interview of Laurent Gorgerat (right) by James Blake Wiener (left) / 05.07.2013 Wiener: Communications Director, Ancient History Encyclopedia Gorgerat: Curator, Antikenmuseum Basel Few places on earth have captivated humanity[…]
Ruins of the ancient Great Synagogue at Capernaum (or Kfar Nahum) on the shore of the Lake of Galilee, Northern Israel / UNESCO, Wikimedia Commons Examining numerous different archaeological schools, disciplines, concepts, and methods currently in existence in Israel. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 10.29.2018 Public Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Introduction LMLK seals with Israeli postage stamps[…]
With a lot not on display, museums may not even know all that’s in their vast holdings. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong A tiny percentage of museums’ natural history holdings are on display. Very little of these vast archives is digitized and available online. But museums are working to change that. By Dr. Charles R. Marshall[…]
Divers are seen during the discovery of a centuries-old shipwreck, in Cascais in a photo released Monday. / Augusto Salgado/Cascais City Hall/Handout via Reuters A 400-year-old shipwreck that signified a time when the spice trade between Portugal and India was booming has been uncovered 40 feet below the water’s surface during a dredging project. By[…]
Hundreds of ancient gold coins were unearthed in the basement of a demolished theater in northern Italy. Archaeologists are calling it an “exceptional discovery.” / Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities By Shannon Van Sant / 09.10.2018 Hundreds of ancient gold coins were found last week in the basement of a former theater in northern[…]
Chieftains house replica / Photo by Juanjo Marin, Wikimedia Commons Archaeological artefacts found in places such as Viking graves and former villages – including animal bones, brooches, weapons, pottery, etc. – can tell researchers many things about the Vikings, including how wealthy they might have been, what they wore, what items they used in their[…]
Anglo-Saxon burial site at the Barrow Clump, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. / Photo by Rexfeatures What is the source of the myth that those in the past must have died young? By Christine Cave / 07.09.2018 PhD Candidate in Archaeology Australian National University You might have seen the cartoon: two cavemen sitting outside their cave knapping stone[…]
San Diego Giant on display at side show In December of 1896, a group of anatomists and anthropologists from Washington, D.C. traveled to a sideshow in Atlanta to examine a mummy known as the San Diego Giant. By Dolly Stolze / 03.19.2018 In December of 1896, a group of anatomists and anthropologists from Washington, D.C.[…]
Location of the sunken island of Cyanida / Kianida on Ptolemy’s 9th European Map (Nona Europae Tabula) published in the Reichenbach Monastery in 1467. The sizable island was likely located off the coast of the spot of today’s Black Sea border of Bulgaria and Turkey. Map: Wikipedia, National Library in Warsaw, Poland A sizable but now[…]
Iconic photography taken during the decade-long excavation of King Tutankhamun’s tomb has gone on display at Cambridge University’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA). 06.14.2018 The exhibition Photographing Tutankhamun has been curated by University of East Anglia (UEA) Egyptologist Dr Christina Riggs and gives a different view on the ‘golden age’ of archaeology and photography in the[…]
Ötzi the Iceman has come to life. Simon Claessen/Flickr, CC BY-SA Here’s what one man from around 3,300 BCE actually sounded like. By Dr. Anna Barney / 10.03.2016 Associate Dean of Education Professor of Biomedical Acoustic Engineering University of Southampton Researchers recently managed to recreate the voice of 5,300-year-old Ötzi the iceman by recreating his vocal tract. The technology is promising[…]
The Mummy, in its 2017 rendition, rehashes an 80-year-old franchise focused on revived Egyptian corpses. AlloCine Mummies are scary but they also fascinate us, giving us the feeling that we can vanquish time by preserving our most perishable feature: flesh. By Dr. Christian-Georges Schwentzel / 06.22.2017 Professor of Ancient History Université de Lorraine Somewhere in Iraq, the tomb raider[…]
Excavating the eastern wall section of Halmyris in 2016. Emily Hanscam, Author provided Excavating the history of migration along the frontier of the Danube. By Emily Hanscam / 07.25.2017 PhD Candidate in Archaeology Durham University Today, some of the frontiers of the Roman Empire are now national boundaries, but in antiquity these spaces functioned very differently from how we understand borders today. I am part of a[…]
EPA It takes more than a quick scan for high-tech archaeology to reveal history’s secrets. By Dr. Kristian Strutt / 03.23.2016 Experimental Officer and Geophysical Researcher University of Southampton A recent discovery could radically change our views of one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites, Tutankhamun’s tomb. Scans of the complex in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings revealed[…]
Curse Tablet, about 100 B.C., found in Morgantina, Sicily. Lead, 3 11/16 x 1 13/16 in. (9.4 x 4.6 cm). Museo Archeologico Regionale of Aidone By Dr. Alexandra Sofroniew / 12.12.2012 Assistant Professor of Art History University of California, Davis One small but powerful object stands out among the artifacts excavated from the ancient city[…]
Behold the femur. Bence Viola, MPI EVA Radiocarbon-dated to around 45,000 years old. By Dr. Daniel Zadik / 10.24.2014 Postdoctoral Researcher in Genetics University of Leicester When a human bone was found on a gravelly riverbank by a bone-carver who was searching for mammoth ivory, little did he know it would provide the oldest modern-human genome yet sequenced. The[…]
Middle Palaeolithic artefacts emerged during excavation at Attirampakkam. Sharma Centre for Heritage Education, India Modern humans could have left Africa shortly after evolving, making it to India in tens of thousands of years. By Dr. Patrick Randolph-Quinney / 01.31.2018 Reader/Associate Professor in Biological and Forensic Anthropology University of Central Lancashire We are all children of Africa. As members of the hominin species Homo sapiens, you and[…]
A rich Roman villa from the 3rd – 4th century AD has been discovered some 30 km away from the major Roman city of Augusta Traiana, near Bulgaria’s Gurkovo. Photos: Radio Stara Zagora By Ivan Dikov / 05.09.2018 A rich Ancient Roman mansion from the 3rd – 4th century AD has been discovered near the town of Gurkovo[…]
Fallen star sword. Daniella Comelli/University of Pisa Research has confirmed a knife found in the ancient Egyptian pharaoh’s tomb was made with metal from the heavens. By Dr. Diane Johnson / 06.03.2016 Post-Doctoral Research Associate Department of Physical Sciences The Open University Scientists have long speculated that the ancient Egyptians used metal from meteorites to make iron objects. Now an analysis of[…]
A key part of civilisation? E Photos, CC BY-SA The discovery of a 4,000-year-old wine cellar in Israel has provided the best direct evidence yet of the raucous, boozy celebrations that were a key part of the region’s culture at the time. By Dr. Karlena Tomc-Barbosa / 08.27.2014 Archaeologist, Private Tutor Durham University The discovery of a 4,000-year-old wine cellar in Israel has provided the best direct evidence yet of the raucous, boozy[…]
TonelloPhotography/Shutterstock.com Each discipline tells us only part of the story. And so the truest picture of prehistory comes from triangulating these independent lines of evidence. By Dr. Michael Dunn (left) and Dr. Annemarie Verkerk (right) / 03.29.2018 Dunn: Professor in Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University Verkerk: Postdoctoral Research Associate in Linguistics, Max Planck Institute for the[…]
Centre for the Study for Christianity and Culture, University of York., Author provided New archaeological research on Glastonbury Abbey pushes back the date for the earliest settlement of the site by 200 years – and reopens debate on Glastonbury’s origin myths. By Dr. Roberta Gilchrist / 03.23.2018 Professor of Archaeology University of Reading New archaeological research on Glastonbury Abbey pushes back the date for[…]