đ§ Ancient Beat #38: 780,000-year-old fish dinners, contested footprint dating, and the modern value of Roman roads
đ§ Ancient Beat #38: 780,000-year-old fish dinners, contested footprint dating, and the modern value of Roman roads
Hi folks! Welcome to issue #38 of Ancient Beat. Our due date has come and gone (barely), but the baby is âdueâ whenever the babyâs good and ready, so here we are. đ One more issue to geek out on before I take a couple of weeks off.
Letâs get right into it â hereâs the latest ancient news. đ
đ Ancient News: Top 5
Fish fossils show first cooking may have been 600,000 years earlier than thought â Researchers examined remains from two particularly large species of carp found at the site of Gesher Benot Yaâaqov in Israel and found that the fish had been cooked a whopping 780,000 years ago. If true, that makes this the oldest known use of fire for cooking⌠by, oh, only about 600,000 years! Itâs tough to pinpoint exactly when humans started cooking because itâs hard to determine what an ancient hearth was used for, but the earliest definitive evidence comes from about 170,000 years ago. This study presents a decent amount of evidence, but the proof came in the enamel of the fish teeth. It showed evidence of being heated to 400-930 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a good range for well-done fish. We know that humans have been harnessing fire for at least 1.7 million years, so this may not be overly surprising, but it certainly adds a valuable data point â particularly because cooking had such a huge impact on our physiology.
Roman Roads Laid The Foundation For Modern-Day Prosperity â New Study Claims â Roman roads, which totaled about 50,000 miles at their peak, were built primarily for the transport of soldiers. In the planning, very little thought was given to older roads or the villages on them, but that didnât stop trade from flowing or market towns from popping up along the roads. And a fascinating new study analyzed how these roads affected the transfer of wealth, finding that the western parts of the Roman Empire are still impacted by the roads to this day. According to Ola Olsson, âGiven that much has happened since, much should have been adapted to modern circumstances. But it is striking that our main result is that the Roman roads have contributed to the concentration of cities and economic activity along them, even though they are gone and covered by new roads.â The researchers say that after the Roman Empire fell, the chaos could have caused economic structures to reorient, but they didnât â there was a continuity of wealth. This is in contrast to what happened in the eastern parts of the Roman Empire, where wheeled transport was largely abandoned in favor of camel caravans, leading to the roads falling into disrepair. Here, the researchers actually found a âreversal of fortuneâ, which can still be seen today.
âPuzzlingâ Archeological Find in Spain Uncovers Objects with Egyptian Motifs â Excavations at the 2,700-year-old site of Cerro de San Vicente in Spain have recently revealed lots of artifacts with motifs originating in Egypt and other eastern Mediterranean cultures. The most recent is a piece of faience (glazed pottery) that would have once depicted the Egyptian goddess Hathor. The piece was deliberately placed among the adobe blocks of walls in the city, alongside a sharkâs tooth, beads, and a fragment of an amphora. This raises questions about how they got here â perhaps gifts or trade items from a Phoenician delegation, or the adoption of customs by the indigenous population of Salamanca.
Hand of Irulegi: Ancient Bronze Artifact Could Help Trace Origins of Basque Language â A 2,000-year-old, life-sized bronze hand was found in Pamplona, Spain last year, and its significance has recently become clear. Researchers studied the strange symbols on it and now believe it to be the oldest written example of Proto-Basque. This means that the Vascones, an Iron-Age tribe that lived in Spain, had a written language â it was previously thought written language came to the area with the Romans. The first and only word to be identified so far is âsorionekuâ, which means âgood luckâ or âgood omenâ.
Footprints Claimed as Evidence of Ice Age Humans in North America Need Better Dating, New Research Claims â In issue #22, I covered ancient footprints in Utah, similar to those found in New Mexico last year that pushed back the date of the peopling of the Americas to 21,000-23,000 BP. Hereâs the inevitable rebuttal to the dating â not as exciting (at least to me), but an honest back-and-forth is the basis of good science. While not refuting the claims, the researchers rightly believe that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. And their main argument is that the seeds that were dated are from a plant that grows underwater. Therefore, it gets much of its carbon from dissolved carbon atoms in the water, which can be quite a bit older. This is something that was acknowledged in the original paper. The researchers then demonstrated the effect by dating 75-year-old seeds of the same plant, and getting a result of 7,400 years. A 7,400-year difference would put the ancient seeds in line with a more mainstream timeline. Fascinating stuff. Iâll keep an eye out to the rebuttal to the rebuttal. đ
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đ Ancient News: Deep Dive
Human Population Boom May Have Doomed Madagascarâs Giant Animals â According to a new study, the extinction of megafauna in Madagascar coincided with a boom in the human population, supporting the idea that it was caused by an increasing number of humans and their shift to agriculture (along with the hotter, drier climate). The researchers also found that the modern Malagasy population is descended from a small Asian population that stopped mixing with other groups 2,000 years ago, until they mixed with a small African population in Madagascar 1,000 years ago. This mixing was apparently what led to the population boom. Side note: I was intrigued by the idea that agriculture affected these animals to such a degree so I looked into previous studies that were briefly alluded to in this article â it seems that humans may have upset the islandâs delicate ecosystem by bringing animals with them.
Skull Found in Turkey with Neat Hole May Have Been the Work of Mystics â A skull with a triangle-shaped hole was found in Van province, Turkey. It is dated to 5200 BCE, and it is thought to be from an ancient medical procedure know as trepanation; a practice which is believed to date back to roughly 6000 BCE. Similar to modern-day craniotomies and burr holes, a trepanation was a procedure where a hole was cut into a patientâs skull to treat head injuries, or possibly to remove evil spirits from the body. Many people survived after ancient trepanations, but at this point, it is unclear whether this individual did. This reminds me a bit of the (very) ancient surgery that I covered in issue #28.
When Did Judaism Emerge? Far Later than Assumed, New Theory Suggests â While itâs contested, one archaeologist states in his new book that there is no historical or archaeological evidence that ancient Judeans were even aware of the Torah laws, let alone observing them, before the 2nd century BCE. Traditionally, it is thought they started observing them around 1000 BCE. If the author is correct, it would mean that Judaism as we know it became a mass religion much later than we thought. According to Yonatan Adler, âIt is possible that the principles of Judaism were much older, that the texts that became scripture were much older, but I am asking here what were people doing⌠People were not observing it until a very late time.â
Pyramid of a Previously Unknown Queen, Hundreds of Mummies Discovered in Egypt â Archaeologists discovered 22 interconnected tunnels beneath a pyramid that belonged to Teti, the first king of the 6th Dynasty, at Saqqara in Egypt. Within the tunnels, they found a huge limestone sarcophagus and 300 coffins with mummies. The coffins were from the New Kingdom, whereas most known burials at Saqqara have been from the Old Kingdom or the Late Period. The pyramid of a previously unknown queen named Neith was also discovered nearby.
Ancient Temple Remains Uncovered on âHill of the Pharaohsâ â Excavations of an 11-acre temple complex at Tell El Faraâin in Egypt have revealed a hall lined with pillars. It is aligned on a north-south axis. They also found stone fragments with engravings, as well as ceramics and pottery which would have been used in rituals.
Roman-Era Necropolis Discovered in Southern Spain â A Roman necropolis has been discovered at a construction site in southern Spain. It is dated to the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. Finds include 24 cremations and 30 burials, including a lead sarcophagus. Glass jars of ointments, game tokens, a coin, an oil lamp, and glass beads were also found.
1,500-Year-Old Terracotta Figurines Found in Northern China â Terracotta warriors get all the attention, but what about terracotta dancers? And servants? Terracotta figurines dating back 1,500 years have been unearthed in a Northern Wegi Dynasty (386-534 CE) tomb in northern China. The figurines include musicians, dancers, servants, laborers, and animals. This find is expected to provide new information about the dress and social practices of the culture. (Btw, no, these are nothing like the famous terracotta warriors statues that I alluded to.)
Image credit: chinadaily.com.cn Hidden 2,000-Year-Old Roman Road Uncovered in Worcestershire Could Be of âGlobal Importanceâ â A 2,000-year-old Roman road was found near Evesham, England. About 10 meters have been uncovered so far. It is built like a wall, with large stones laid in bands, which is fairly typical of Roman roads. I wonder what kind of wealth the road has brought to the area.
Image credit: Wychavon DC Revolutionary WarâEra Graves Unearthed in South Carolina â The remains of 14 individuals who died in the Revolutionary Warâs battle of Camden (August 16, 1780) have been found in South Carolina, USA. This was a battle that helped the British strengthen their hold on the South.
Bathhouse Dated to Third Century B.C. Uncovered in Egypt â A large bathhouse dating to 2,200 years ago was discovered at the port of Berenike in Egypt. It is a large structure with two circular tholoi (domed buildings), each of which held 14 cold- and/or luke-water tubs. There was also another room for hot baths. A gymnasium may have once stood nearby.
Dead Wrong: Victorians âMistakenâ About Why Egyptians Mummified Bodies â A new exhibition argues that mummification in ancient Egypt was not used to preserve bodies, per se, but rather to transform people into a shape that the gods would accept. The idea that they did it strictly for preservation is apparently a flawed notion that came from the Victorians.
Unearthing Native American History on a Maryland Island â Archaeologists discovered 1,500 pounds of shells and 200 pieces of ceramics on St. Clementâs Island in Maryland, USA. This brings concrete evidence of a large First Nations presence in the state â something which has been willfully ignored, according to Gabrielle Tayac.
Archaeologists Discover Rare Bone Flute During Excavations in Kent â While excavating a ditch at a site first discovered in 2021 in Herne Bay, England, archaeologists recently discovered a bone flute. The site has evidence of activity from the Bronze Age to the Roman period, but this flute was discovered near medieval pottery, indicating that it may be from between the 12th and 15th centuries. It appears to be a âfipple fluteâ, the same class given to the modern-day recorder. It is carved from a sheep or goat tibia and has five finger holes on top, and one below. It is very well-preserved, but may be missing a mouthpiece.
Image credit: Cotswald Archaeology Ancient Egyptian amulet seal found in Turkey â An Egyptian amulet made of obsidian was discovered in the ancient city of Amastris in Turkey inside a structure built in the 2nd century CE. Itâs a small pyramidal stamp seal about 2 centimeters tall. The sides are carved with letters and talismanic words in demotic script. The base has a figure of the Egyptian god Bes, who made headlines last week too. The amulet would have been carried to protect the owner
Image credit: AA/The History Blog Ancient Egyptians May Have Used Branding Irons on Human Slaves â A new study suggests that ten small branding irons dating to 3,000 years ago that were found previously in Egypt were actually used on enslaved humans. It was previously assumed that they were used on cattle and/or horses, as seen in ancient Egyptian paintings, but the new study says the brands were too small to be cattle brands, which should be at least 4 inches long in order for the scar to remain legible as a calf grows. These are a third of that size â the same size that Europeans used on African populations. Until now, ancient Egyptian writing about âmarkingâ enslaved people was thought to refer to tattooing, but apparently tattooing in ancient Egypt was used exclusively on women and for religious purposes. Speaking of which, I covered some very interesting tattoos on Egyptian women in my last issue. The researchers also make the point that hand-poking a tattoo takes time and would not have been practical for marking enslaved people. The article goes on to discuss the difference between our modern concept of slavery and how it worked in ancient Egypt.
â¤ď¸ Recommended Content
Hereâs a one-star review about the Colosseum: âItâs cool and all but like⌠who cares?â đ I can understand that sentiment some sites⌠but the Colosseum?!
Hereâs an interesting article about one of the worldâs earliest cities: Mohenjo-daro in modern-day Pakistan. It was the largest city of the Indus Valley Civilization, and may have held 40,000 people at one point. Big thanks to my aunt for sending this my way. đ
Hereâs a video compilation of really interesting prehistoric artifacts that the Prehistory Guys have covered â from Neanderthal string, to a possible early prosthetic, to the fascinating Shigir Idol, and more.
Hereâs a quick little article about some wonderful ancient sacred sites.
And hereâs an archaeological update video on whatâs been happening at everyoneâs favorite site, GĂśbekli Tepe.
Wow, 600,000 years is a long time. Crazy. And I thought that study of Roman roads was really cool. As always, let me know what you think about all this.
And until next time, thanks for joining me.
-James
(newish twitter: @jamesofthedrum)
P.S. If you like what youâre seeing, please consider forwarding it to a friend. It would mean a lot! đ