🧐 Ancient Beat #112: Matrilineal Celts, sacred hunts, and snake boundaries

Welcome to issue #112 of Ancient Beat! Let’s get right into it — here’s the latest ancient news. 👇

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🗞 Ancient News: Top 5

• Genetic Study Investigates Relationships Between Iron Age Elites — DNA analysis of 31 skeletons from 7 burial sites in southwestern Germany, dating to the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, suggests elite Iron Age Celts may have passed power through matrilineal lines. The study also confirmed the kinship between two elite individuals buried about 6 miles apart, indicating a dynastic succession. According to Stephan Schiffels, “Based on the fairly precise death dates, estimates of age at death and the genetic similarity of the two princes, only one scenario comes into question as uncle and nephew, more precisely: the sister of the Hochdorf prince was the mother of the Asperg prince.” Artifacts found include gold and bronze items, indicating the high status of the individuals.

• 2,000-Year-Old Rock Art, Including Nearly 140-Foot-Long Snake, May Mark Ancient Territories in Colombia, Venezuela — Archaeologists have mapped 14 massive rock art sites in Venezuela and Colombia using drones and photography. The engravings, located along the Upper and Middle Orinoco River, feature human and animal motifs, including a 138-foot-long snake. These works of art, about 2,000 years old, likely marked territorial boundaries and held cultural significance, particularly featuring snakes associated with local myths.

Image credit: Philip Riris et al.; Antiquity Publications Ltd

• Researchers Discover 400,000-Year-Old Stone Tools Designed Specifically For Butchering Fallow Deer In Israel — Archaeologists found specialized stone tools at Jaljulia and Qesem Cave, Israel, dating back 400,000 years. These Quina scrapers, made from non-local flint sourced from the Mountains of Samaria, had sharp, scale-like edges adapted for processing smaller, faster game. They were used to butcher fallow deer, indicating a shift in diet after the disappearance of elephants. The researchers believe that the deer were held as sacred by the people who hunted them because the flint links them to mountains that were apparently held sacred.

• Carpenter’s Workshop — With 2,000-Year-Old Tools — Unearthed at Pompeii — In Pompeii, a carpenter's workshop dating back to approximately 2,000 years ago has been unearthed in a villa in the suburb of Civita Giuliana. The discovery was made using a unique casting method, which involved filling the voids left by organic materials like wood, which disintegrated over time under a thick layer of ash from Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 CE. This technique has allowed archaeologists to create detailed plaster molds of objects that once occupied the space. The findings include a chest, rope, pieces of wood, an amphora, a saw, a bed, and a partial bed frame, suggesting that the space was used to manufacture furniture and other wooden, rope, and fabric objects. The workshop is believed to have been operated by enslaved people, reflecting the harsh realities of labor in ancient Pompeii.

• Submerged Roman Structure Found in the Waters Near Campo di Mare — A Roman structure submerged near Campo di Mare, Italy, has been unearthed by archaeologists. This circular pavilion was 165 feet in diameter and composed of two walls held by mortar and clay, with pillars for stability. It’s part of a larger villa complex and features distinct Roman construction techniques such as opus spicatum (bricks in a herringbone pattern) flooring and opus signinum (type of Roman concrete) material, which were both popular from the 1st century BCE to the 2nd century CE. The structure's architectural style and materials indicate its luxurious nature and historical significance.

Image credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti Paesaggio Etruria Meridionale

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Until next time, thanks for joining me!

-James
Twitter: @jamesofthedrum

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🗞 Ancient News: Deep Dive