🧐 Ancient Beat #74: Olmec ceremonial centers, fortified stilt villages, and daughter-languages of PIE
Happy Friday and welcome to issue #74 of Ancient Beat, folks!
Here’s the latest ancient news. 👇
🗞 Ancient News: Top 5
Archaeologists Uncover Europe's Oldest Stilt Village — Europe’s oldest stilt community was discovered in Lake Ohrid, Albania. Dating to roughly 6000 BCE, it’s nearly 1,000 years older than any other known lake-dwelling site in the Mediterranean and Alpine regions, and it’s also one of the earliest sedentary villages. Somewhere between 200 and 500 people would have lived in houses on stilts above the water’s surface (or perhaps above regularly-flooded land). And around the settlement, roughly 100,000 spiked planks were found suggesting some serious defensive fortifications. Seeds, plants, and bones of animals (both wild and domesticated) were also unearthed. Why they built their village here, as well as what they were protecting themselves from with all those spikes, remain mysteries.
Archaeologists Uncover Olmec Ceremonial Center — A possible pyramid, four rectangular spaces (possibly ball courts), and 15-foot-tall earthen mounds have been discovered due to heavy rains in the Juan N. Méndez Municipality of Mexico. Collapsed stones near the rectangles were probably once stands for spectators. And the mounds indicate that the site was likely a significant ceremonial center. In fact, it may be one of the region’s first Olmec settlements and ceremonial sites. The Olmecs are the earliest known Mesoamerican civilization, and they’re best known for the huge stone heads that they carved.
Ocean Sediments Reveal Cold Snap in Europe’s Distant History — Homo erectus lived in Spain from 1.4 million years ago until 1.1 million years ago, but then there was a 200,000-year gap until Homo antecessor showed up in England. A recent analysis of ocean sediments from the coast of Portugal suggests a 4,000-year cooling event that occurred about 1 million years ago, and the researchers believe this is what drove early hominins out of Europe. They also state that the change in climate may have led to evolutionary and technological advancements, allowing a new species of hominin to repopulate Europe later. According to Axel Timmermann, “Contrary to previous beliefs, our study demonstrates that human occupation of Europe was not continuous, but rather punctuated by at least one regional climate-induced extinction.”
Archaeologists Find 4,000-Year-Old Ceramic Pipe Drainage System in China — The earliest ceramic pipe drainage system ever discovered in China was found at the site of a Neolithic settlement of Pingliangtai. Individual drainage ditches were built for each home (450-600 residents) and public space, all of which connected with the ceramic pipes that drained water into the moat outside of the settlement’s earthen walls. The moat may have been used both for defense and irrigation in the dry months. Interestingly, the water management was egalitarian, with no difference in drainage quality. The same goes for burials — there were no elaborate tombstones or grave goods, and no indication of an elite group. The discovery may show that centralized authority was not necessary for the effective management of floods, as was previously believed, despite the need for extensive planning and coordination. The complex water management system was necessary because Pingliangtai was built on a floodplain and sediment analysis showed that there was extremely heavy rain there at the time, just as there is now.
Ancient European Languages Shed Light on a Great Migration and Weather Vocabulary — The Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language, which is the origin of many languages that we know today, started in Ukraine around 4500 BCE and then spread, with daughter languages popping up as the language morphed and changed. One now-extinct language went 2,500 miles eastward to the Tarim Basin in China. Researchers are trying to understand why and how the culture, known as the Tocharians, migrated so far. They seem to have left their homeland in 3500 BCE, going to southern Siberia first, and arriving in the Tarim Basin around 1000 BCE. Their first known written history appeared in 400 CE. This new data reduces the role that they were thought to have played in the region’s prehistory and strengthens the role of Iranian languages. According to Michaël Peyrot, “Languages preserve precious information about their prehistory through the effects of language contact. Observing the effects of language contact, such as borrowed words, enables us to draw conclusions about the proximity of the speakers of different languages and at which point in time the contact took place.” Amazing what can be done with words.
That’s it for the free Top 5! If you’re a free subscriber, sign up for the paid plan for another 20 stories and 7 recommended pieces of content covering a palace, a gate, a tablet, a hoard, a circular enclosure, and “beer archaeology”.
Until next time, thanks for joining me!
-James
Twitter: @jamesofthedrum
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🗞 Ancient News: Deep Dive
3350-Year-Old Palace Structure and Grain Jars Found in Aydın, Turkey — The 7,500-year-old Tepecik Mound in Aydın, Turkey was excavated again this year and a public building was discovered with a granary and grain jars. The structure, being referred to as a palace, is thought to be from the period of the Arzava or Mira Kingdom, roughly 1250-1300 BCE. According to Sevinç Güne, “In this area, architectural remains, a magnificent wall structure and finds from the 13th century BC, which we call the Late Bronze Age, were unearthed. Unlike the previous years, we come across a very thick and magnificent masonry technique in the architecture and it seems to be a very large structure… Large pithoi were found associated with this structure, and these pithoi functioned entirely as warehouses. Therefore, we are working in a storage area belonging to a magnificent, public structure.”
Israeli Archeologists Find 'Most Ancient Gate' Discovered in Holy Land — A 5,500-year-old gate was discovered at the site of Tel Erani near Kiryat Gat, Israel. It’s being hailed as the oldest gate ever found in the country. It’s about 4.5 feet, includes a passageway of large stones, and is flanked by two stone towers. According to Emily Bischoff, “This is the first time that such a large gate dating to the Early Bronze Age has been uncovered. In order to construct the gate and the fortification walls, stones had to be brought from a distance, mudbricks had to be manufactured, and the fortification walls had to be constructed. This was not achieved by one or a few individuals. The fortification system is evidence of social organization that represents the beginning of urbanization.”
Hunter-Gatherer Metallurgy in the Early Iron Age of Northern Fennoscandia was Integrated and Advanced — Iron metallurgy was thought to be underdeveloped and passively received by the hunter-gatherer communities of Northern Fennoscandia in the pre-Roman Iron Age (200-50 BCE). But a new study suggests that their iron technology was actually integrated and advanced. Researchers found no signs of experimentation, meaning that metallurgy originated from skilled metal workers from other areas. According to the study, “The Sangis and Vivungi sites reveal the inhabitants’ advanced knowledge of metallurgy. At an early stage, different types of iron, including soft ferritic iron and high-carbon steel, were produced. The numerous finds of high-quality steel waste at both sites indicate that smelting processes at high temperatures had been mastered, including the use of extreme temperatures in the furnaces, as attested by the presence of cast iron.”
Big Game Hunting — Remains of large predators are quite rare in archaeological contexts, but a study looked at a large number of sites over thousands of years and found that the frequency of leopard, lion, and bear remains changed over time, with Leopard remains being more numerous during the Neolithic and then virtually non-existent in the Copper and Bronze Ages, when lion and bear remains became more common. The researchers believe this is due to changing symbolic importance, with the lion and bear possibly symbolizing authority during a time when social hierarchies had become more developed.
3,800-Year-Old Cuneiform Clay Tablet Found in Turkey — A 3,800-year-old clay tablet with a cuneiform inscription in Akkadian has been discovered in an Accana tumulus in Turkey. The text appears to contain an agreement made by Yarim-Lim, the first known king of Alalakh, to purchase a city. According to Murat Akar, “It proves to us that those kings had the economic power and potential to buy another city in those times. There is also the name of the important people of the city who witnessed this sale on the tablet, most likely.”
Unveiling Japan's ancient practice of cranial modification: The case of the Hirota people in Tanegashima — According to a new study, intentional cranial modification was practiced by the Hirota people on the Japanese island of Tanegashima from the 3rd-7th century. Modified skulls had already been found there, but it was not clear whether the modification was intentional or simply a side-effect of some other practice. It occurred in both sexes and resulted in a short head with a flattened back of the skull. The researchers believe this was practiced to preserve group identity and possibly even support the long-distance trade of shellfish. I covered another recent discovery about cranial modification in issue #72.
Iron Age Treasure Hoard Found in Anglesey — Fifteen gold coins known as “staters” were found near Llangoed, Wales. They date to between 60 and 20 BCE. The stylized coins are attributed to the agricultural Corieltauvi tribe. The seem to be inspired by Macedonian coins, which have a bust of Apollo on one side and a chariot with a horse and charioteer on the other side — these staters show Apollo’s wreath and hair on one side and a triangular-headed horse with symbols on the other side.
Archaeologists Discover Ancient Synagogue in the Black Sea Region — Traces of a synagogue’s foundations and walls, as well as marble menorahs, liturgy tables, and fragments of marble stele were discovered in the ancient Greek city of Phanagoria in Russia. The stele fragments have inscriptions that say “house of prayer” and “synagogue”, and these date to 16-51 CE. The synagogue itself dates to the Second Temple Period (597 BCE - 70 CE) and stood for about 500 years until Phanagoria was destroyed by the Huns.
Large Anglo-Saxon Burial With Bodies And Roman Artifacts Found At Bicker Fen, Lincolnshire, UK — A large Anglo-Saxon burial was found in Lincolnshire, England at a site with signs of Roman occupation and Anglo-Saxon agriculture. The burials include 22 individuals, along with a number of artifacts, like a Roman bone comb, a hairpin, and an incense burning vessel. Pottery dates the site to roughly the mid-2nd century until the 4th century.
Archaeologists Uncover the Material Culture of Slavery on São Tomé Island — The island of São Tomé in the country of São Tomé and Príncipe was colonized and became the largest producer of sugar by the 1530s through the use of slave labor. Researchers have been studying a surviving building there. It was large, indicating the size of the enslaved workforce, and had windows facing the work areas for surveillance. Ceramic sugar molds were also found and X-ray fluorescence shows them to be from Portugal. The study may have big implications about the history of colonialism, and it may be the origin of the plantation model that was later used in the Americas.
Excavations Uncover Gothic Cemetery Filled with Ornate Jewelry — Roughly 50 burials dating to the 4th century CE were found in a park in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. The region at the time would have been inhabited by Goths, who contributed to the decline of the Western Roman Empire and the beginning of medieval Europe. Grave goods included silver necklaces, silver fibulae, a silver-bead necklace, jewelry with a snake motif, and an intact urn.
Ancient Gold Coins Minted 1,400 Years Apart Unearthed in Same Field — Two gold coins were discovered on the same day in a field in Derbyshire, England. I’m no metal detectorist, but I think it goes without saying that finding two unrelated treasures in a day… well, that’s a pretty darn good haul! They were minted 1,400 years apart. The oldest is a Celtic gold stater from 65 BCE. The more recent coin is a medieval quarter noble from between 1351 and 1361 CE.
Archaeologists Make 'Exceptional' Discovery at Ancient Roman Changing Rooms — A crisscrossing set of iron bars that was remarkably well-preserved was discovered in a bathhouse in Mérida, Spain. If this sounds familiar, I covered the discovery of the baths themselves in issue #71. The bars would have covered a window of the apodyterium (changing room and primary entry into public baths).
Ancient Roman Bath with ‘Sophisticated Furnishings’ Uncovered in Cologne — And while we’re on the topic of the Roman propensity for bathing in public, here’s a Roman bath complex that was discovered in Cologne, Germany. The complex was part of a large residential building replete with painted plaster walls and a hypocaust (in-floor heating). Cologne was once the Roman colony of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, which was founded in 50 CE.
Archaeologists are Tracing the Footsteps of a 200,000-Year-Old History in a Gurs Valley Cave — The first cave excavation of the Paleolithic period in Northern Mesopotamia is underway in Gurs Valley, Turkey. So far, they’ve found stone tools and flakes from the Upper, Middle, and Lower Paleolithic, with an emphasis on the Middle Paleolithic.
Boy Finds 1,800-Year-Old Coin at After-School Club — A rare Roman silver denarius coin minted 1,800 years ago during the reign of Marcus Aurelius was discovered by a boy playing in a sandbox. Breman, Germany, where it was found, was not a part of the Roman empire, so it’s possible that the sand was mined elsewhere and it came with the sand. The boy found it last year but it has only just been announced.
Lifeguard and Beachgoer Discover 2nd Century Archaeological Treasure at Central Italy Beach — A beachgoer discovered a perfectly-preserved 2nd-century amphora on Pontine beach in Latino Italy.
Long-Lost Roman Bridge Re-Discovered in Chepstow River Wye Mud — A bridge (or possibly a pier) that could date as far back as the Roman occupation was rediscovered on the River Wye in Wales. The wooden structure was first uncovered in 1911 and was recorded, but the exact location was unknown until now.
Indonesia’s Tiny Pleistocene Shell Beads Studied — 12,000-year-old beads made of Nautilus shells that were found in Makpan Cave on the Indonesian island of Alor were microscopically analyzed and compared to those of other islands. The researchers found similarities, including production methods and the beads’ reflective quality, that show shared ornamental traditions. Many beads were found and each would have taken a long time to create, so these were obviously important. Shell fishhooks and obsidian artifacts also share similarities, so it appears as though these islands shared a culture.
Sacred Place and Astronomical Observatory: New Research on the Middle Neolithic Circular Enclosure of Goseck — Excavations at the circular enclosure of Goseck in Germany, which dates to between 4900 and 4550 BCE) have recently been published. The enclosure includes a ditch with a possible rampart in front of it, two concentric palisade wreaths delimiting the interior of the complex, three entrances (north, southeast, and southwest), and numerous pits with animal bones and pottery. The circular ditch (as well as other areas) had a large number of cattle skulls, indicating some special significance of the animal. In a unique pit with burned walls, remains of a human were found, though much of the individual is missing, indicating that they were deposited in a partially skeletonized state. And five phalanges of a right hand were found in another pit. Multiple astronomical alignments indicate a sacred function.
❤️ Recommended Content
Last week I covered a 4,000-year-old hexagonal pyramid found in Kazakhstan. Here’s a video on the topic.
Here’s an article about the sandstone rock formations of Tassili N’Ajjer National Park. The park is referred to as “the greatest museum of prehistoric art” thanks to its concentration of rock art. The article includes some really striking photos.
Here’s a video about a guy who is making beer according to ancient recipes, in what he calls “beer archaeology”.
Here’s a photo of a really cool 18th Dynasty Egyptian ring. It features the figure of a seated cat — and quite a regal-looking one at that. Ancient Egyptians were big on cats. 😻
Here’s an article about a huge database of prehistoric sites that may come in handy for some of you.
Here’s a reddit post about a 3,200-year-old attendance sheet from Ancient Egypt. It has some pretty interesting reasons that people missed work.
My wife pointed me to this anthropological channel and it has some really interesting content about humanity. If you’d like to nerd out for a bit, head there.
That’s it for this week. As always, let me know your thoughts!
-James
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