🧐 Ancient Beat #104: New henges, weird burials, and hallucinogenic song depictions

Hi folks! Welcome to issue #104 of Ancient Beat.

Important: Last week, Substack screwed the pooch — the platform only sent issue #103 to 33% of you. 🤦‍♂️ I’m sorry about that! Here’s the issue if you’d like to catch up. It was a good one.

Also important: I want to give a huge THANK YOU to Andie from Ancestral Habits, who so kindly gave me a shoutout on her fascinating Instagram account. You might have seen some of her content shared here on the Beat, because I’m a big fan. If you want to explore how to be human by looking at prehistoric life (who doesn’t?), I highly recommend that you check it out!

And one more important thing: Here’s the latest ancient news. 👇

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🗞 Ancient News: Top 5

• Search for Saint Guthlac’s Hermitage Reveals Prehistoric Henge — In the quest for Saint Guthlac's hermitage, a remarkable prehistoric henge was uncovered in Crowland, England. The circular earthwork is almost 250 feet across with a surrounding ditch about 16 feet wide. It is positioned on a highly visible peninsula and likely served as a key ceremonial center in the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. It’s one of the largest henges in eastern England, and may have stood out in Guthlac's era. Excavations unearthed artifacts from both the Anglo-Saxon period, including ceramics and high-status drinking vessels, and the remains of a 12th-century hall and chapel, suggesting continuous recognition of the area's sanctity over millennia.

• Great Barrier Reef Discovery Overturns Belief Aboriginal Australians Did Not Make Pottery, Archaeologists Say — Archaeological findings on a Great Barrier Reef island challenge the belief that Aboriginal Australians didn't make pottery. Dated between 3,000 and 2,000 years ago, 82 pottery shards suggest a sophisticated knowledge of pottery-making and connections with a broader oceanic network of cultures across the Coral Sea. This redefines views on Indigenous Australians' technology and isolation, indicating a deep history of cultural exchange and maritime skill.

• 1,500-Year-Old Burial of Lynx with 4 Dogs Stacked on It Puzzles Archaeologists — In Hungary, an early-medieval site unveiled a perplexing find: A lynx buried with four dogs, dating back to between the 5th and 6th centuries. The dogs resemble today's pointers or German shepherds. They were buried in a 4.6-foot pit. The Eurasian lynx, once a common predator in Europe, is scarcely found in archaeological contexts, making this discovery even more exceptional. Speculations about the burial range from a hunting incident to ritual significance, but the precise nature remains unclear due to the chaotic historical context of the period. Humans are weird.

• The Hidden Role of the Milky Way in Ancient Egyptian Mythology — A study by an astrophysicist has illuminated the significant role of the Milky Way in the mythology of ancient Egypt, particularly in its association with the sky-goddess Nut. The research suggests that the Milky Way was seen as Nut's physical manifestation, tracing her body across the sky. During winter, it highlighted her arms, whereas in summer, it followed her backbone, correlating with key seasonal rituals in the Egyptian calendar. This connection between the galaxy and divine imagery suggests a deep, culturally embedded understanding of the cosmos, linking the seasonal cycles of the Milky Way with the life-giving cycle of Nut.

• Carvings in Southern Peru May Have Been Inspired by People Singing While Hallucinating — In Toro Muerto, a site in southern Peru featuring roughly 2,600 volcanic boulders with petroglyphs, researchers suggest that the rock art may have been inspired by hallucinogenic experiences. That’s not overly unique, but bear with me. The area, spanning 10 km² in a desert gorge near the Majes River Valley, contains lots of imagery, including the 'danzantes'— dancing human figures — which are often accompanied by zig-zags and squiggly lines. So here’s the cool part. Those lines are thought to represent the actual songs and/or dances. They say these are the artists' attempts to depict the energized movements and sensations experienced during rituals involving hallucinogenic plants. This hypothesis aligns with similar practices observed among the Tukano people in Colombia. That’s pretty neat. I wonder if they were able to “read” the music to some extent.

Image credit: Cambridge Archaeological Journal

That’s it for the free Top 5! If you’re a free subscriber, sign up for the paid plan for another 25 stories and 4 recommended pieces of content covering the (positive) impact of humans on biodiversity, fox buddies, North American languages, eclipses, beautiful glassware, Clovis points, and new findings at Pompeii.

Until next time, thanks for joining me!

-James
Twitter: @jamesofthedrum

P.S. If you want access but it’s a little too steep for you right now, just email me — I want this to be accessible.

P.P.S. Paid members, read on!

🗞 Ancient News: Deep Dive