Ancient Humans Roamed Persian Plateau 2 Million Years Ago - Payvand

Report

As I'm unable to find other sources or further details elsewhere, I'm reproducing this article from Iranian news agency Payvand, as is, in the hope that further details will emerge in the fullness of time...

Artifacts dating back to the Stone Age have been found on these plateaus, helping experts retrace the steps of a tribe of primitive men that lived in the prehistoric period more than 2 million years ago and passed through the region on their way to other countries.

Hamed Vahdati, a member of the archeological society at Iran's Cultural Heritage Center, says that primitive man originally emerged in East Africa, and intelligent man lived more than 90,000 to 100,000 years ago, proof of which has been found in South Africa and Palestine.

The Stone Age artifacts found in Iran are very similar to those found in East Africa.

"Iranian excavation teams are busy dating objects found in the caves where the primitive men once lived, in an effort to learn more about them and the tools they used," he added.

The Iranian plateau is a geological formation in Southwest Asia, Southern Asia and the Caucasus region. In spite of being called a plateau, Iran's continental shelf is far from being flat with the Lut Basin east of Kerman, in Central Iran, falling below 300 meters and Damavand, its highest peak, measuring 5610 meters.

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I think this story follows on from this news dating back to 2005, viz...

The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) has recently discovered evidence of a settlement of people who lived in the Damavand (misty mountain) area 50,000 years ago.

Anthropologist Farzad Foruzanfar said on Sunday that the French team discovered the settlement during their recent studies at the foot of Mount Damavand.

He added that the center is currently conducting additional studies in the area and plans to extend the work toward the city of Damavand.

“The Alborz Mountains and Mount Damavand are of great importance to paleontologists, but no serious study had been carried out in the region. The French team is now diligently conducting the study.

“The study will cover the Tehran region as well in order to learn more about lifestyles in prehistoric times,” he said.

He also stated that the team had previously carried out research projects in Yazd Province, leading to the discovery of cave dwellings established several thousand years ago.

And in case you're wondering about the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), here's a link to their site,

see also: World Heritage - Damavand

image: Mount Damavand from Shahrzad

Genes, Peoples & Languages (pdf) :: Cavalli-Sforza

Cavalli-Sforza_Genes, Peoples & Languages.pdf (application/pdf Object)

This is posted via Mathilda's Anthropology Blog, and here's the abstract of the paper which can be viewed in full by following the links at top.

Abstract

The genetic history of a group of populations is usually analyzed by reconstructing a tree of their origins. Reliability of the reconstruction depends on the validity of the hypothesis that genetic differentiation of the populations is mostly due to population fissions followed by independent evolution. If necessary, adjustment for major population admixtures can be made. Dating the fissions requires comparisons with paleoanthropological and paleontological dates, which are few and uncertain. A method of absolute genetic dating recently introduced uses mutation rates as molecular clocks; it was applied to human evolution using microsatellites, which have a sufficiently high mutation rate. Results are comparable with those of other methods and agree with a recent expansion of modern humans from Africa. An alternative method of analysis, useful when there is adequate geographic coverage of regions, is the geographic study of frequencies of alleles or haplotypes.

As in the case of trees, it is necessary to summarize data from many loci for conclusions to be acceptable. Results must be independent from the loci used. Multivariate analyses like principal components or multidimensional scaling reveal a number of hidden patterns and evaluate their relative importance. Most patterns found in the analysis of human living populations are likely to be consequences of demographic expansions, determined by technological developments affecting food availability, transportation, or military power.

During such expansions, both genes and languages are spread to potentially vast areas. In principle, this tends to create a correlation between the respective evolutionary trees. The correlation is usually positive and often remarkably high. It can be decreased or hidden by phenomena of language replacement and also of gene replacement, usually partial, due to gene flow.

For further analysis and comment by Mathilda, follow this link to her post, which includes a reproduction of the maps describing the first five principal components of European genes, as depicted in the original paper.


see also :: Cavalli-Sforza et al : The History And Geography Of Human Genes, Princeton University Press, 2007

Binnall of America : Audio : Season IV : 100th Edition with George Knapp

binnall of america : audio

BoA celebrated its 100th edition last weekend, and to mark this auspicious occasion, we heard from George Knapp, with whom listeners of Coast to Coast on the 3rd and 4th weekends of each month, will doubtless be familiar. Here's the show description...

We kick things off with a little bit of background on George Knapp and his evolution as a TV reporter. We dive right into the UFO discussion by first talking about George's investigation into Area 51. He begins by telling us about the background to his research into Area 51, including the influence of esoteric players like John Lear, Bill Cooper, and Bob Lazar in helping to fuel George's discovery of the infamous esoteric landmark and the subsequent explosion of Area 51 as a paranormal meme.

This leads to us hearing some remarkable stories about the reaction to George's Area 51 work from his colleagues in the news media. We get George's fascinating insider perspective on the long-standing belief, in some Ufological circles, of a media coverup of the UFO subject. We also get his take on the apparent changes in the media in the last year with regards to UFOs and how the coverage seems to be getting more positive. He also talks about some of his dealings with the basic cable UFO shows and his disappointment with how some of them are put together.

Next we talk about George's initial introduction to the world of Ufology, including attending the infamous 1989 MUFON convention which saw Bill Moore reveal his government connections and John Lear stage a mutiny and attempt to form his own convention within the convention. He also talks about the fallout from his reports on Area 51 and how various camps in Ufology used the story to their own ends. This leads to a general discussion on some of the problems of UFO studies today.

Looking at the future of Ufology, we ask George if there's any way to "save" Ufology or if it has degenerated too far beyond the point of saving. He tells us about how organizations like NIDS might be the ideal scenario for serious investigation of the UFO phenomenon. This segues into a discussion on the "economy of Ufology" and how the problems of the field take their toll on the good researchers who need funds to continue their work.

Moving on, we get George's opinion, based on his research, on how much the government really knows about UFOs. He reveals what aspect of the UFO phenomenon and the potential government coverup has always interested him the most. We also get his take on the idea of a "global conspiracy" to keep the UFO subject secret by certain countries. We then find out why George does not foresee UFO disclosure by the government at any point in the future and what it probably would take to blow the lid off the UFO secret.

We also get his thoughts on the Exopolitics movement that has sprung up in the last decade. He details some of the political problems with dealing with UFOs and shares an amazing story of a 2000 Congressional hearing on UFOs that almost happened but was thwarted by the very people pushing for UFO disclosure. Staying on the topic of UFO disclosure, George tells us about some of the potential political stumbling blocks that would likely prevent such a release of UFO information. He also shares his opinion that if UFO disclosure happened, then there might be some kind of criminal charges filed against some of the people who have kept the "truth" hidden from the public. He also makes the Devil's Argument that perhaps the truth behind UFOs is "too much" for the public to bear.

Up next, we cover George's groundbreaking work covering the Skinwalker Ranch (about which he co-wrote Hunt for the Skinwalker with Colm Kelleher). We start by finding out why the story seems to still resonate so much with people, nearly three years after the book was written. We then talk about George's experience investigating the infamous ranch and he tells us about how the book came about in the first place. He talks about one story from the ranch that they debated including in the book, because it was almost "too outrageous," but they decided to include it after all. He also shares some great stories about his personal experiences visiting the ranch.

We then discuss some of George's most recent work in the UFO realm: his investigation into a reported UFO crash in Needles, California. He gives a detailed look at the story, including the "post-crash" fallout of the story. He recounts some of the reports of Men In Black in the area after the event and his remarkable run-in with government agents and gives his frank assessment of what happened during that incident.

Heading towards the close, we get George's perspective on hosting Coast to Coast AM twice a month. He also tells us what guest he'd like to have on the show and hasn't had the chance to interview yet. We also find out what's next for George Knapp in the esoteric field.

All of which makes for a very listenable show, as was the case with the previous week's guest, Charles Upton, so here's the round-up for that show...

We begin with the bio / background on Charles Upton and how he became interested in the UFO phenomenon. Charles then gives a thumbnail look at metaphysics, which serves as the basis for his interpretation of the UFO phenomenon. Following that, Charles explains the title of his book Cracks in the Great Wall and provides a detailed look at his thesis of what is going on with the UFO phenomenon.

We find out why Charles ascribes a demonic element to the UFO phenomenon and then we discuss the "Hierarchy of Being," which serves as one of the foundations for his UFO work. He goes on to explain how he theorizes that the UFOs exist on a different plane of being from humans and, thus, their ephemeral nature when existing in our five sense world.

We talk about his critique of the concepts of time travel and reincarnation. Charles explains why he sees them as impossible or unreasonable concepts. This segues into Charles speculating on why the concept of time travel has become so popular in today's culture. Upton then details why he thinks the "unseen warfare" hypothesis is a better explanation than a more benevolent motive as far as the proverbial alien agenda is concerned.

From there, we discuss Upton's take on the work of Steven Spielberg, which he opines is actually some kind of UFO-related propaganda. We then find out about Upton's critique of the abduction research work of Dr. John Mack. We find out if Upton's criticisms of Mack's work extend to abduction research as a whole or if it is just limited to Mack's contributions to the field.

Following that, we talk about where Upton sees this whole UFO phenomenon heading, if it is reaching a peak and if that peak will be an armageddon/antichrist type scenario. This leads to some discussion on the overall breakdown of society, UFOs notwithstanding, which Charles has observed. From there, Charles explains why he thinks society is breaking down, why it has accelerated, and how the world, as we know it, may be coming to an end. We also get Upton's take on UFO disclosure and how he sees it fitting into his theory of demonically controlled UFOs.

Playing "Devil's Advocate" (no pun intended), binnall applies Occham's Razor to the UFO phenomenon, getting Upton's take on the idea that UFOs are simply another creation of God visiting Earth. Continuing to play "Devil's Advocate," we get Upton's take on the argument that the metaphysical pontifications of past philosophers is rudimentary and obsolete in today's science-driven society.

We tackle the ultimate question, if we are to be under seige by demons, is God going to bail the human race out? And, is it really the human race's fault that they embrace the proverbial "dark side," considering how they have been led astray by those who were tasked to protect them (government and church, for example) ?

We also discuss the idea that if there are evil forces controlling the UFOs then are they being off-set by good forces. This segues into a discussion on "magic powers" like psychic abilities, and how Charles sees them fitting into his overall worldview.

Heading towards the close, we find out from Charles if he thinks that the humans "pulling the strings" at the highest levels know that they are doing Satan's work or are they largely unaware. We find out what's next for Charles Upton.

Although this show started out very well, with the guest making a number of salient points, towards the end the discussion became overly generalised, and I was less than convinced by the idea that the human body is being deconstructed, or indeed that humankind is facing an imminent demise, partly at the hands of a Satan, hungry for the souls of humans.

At one point, a pessimistic Upton seemed to state that scientists had conclusively predicted the end of the world is nigh, or at least inevitable, and that this was proof of his own musings on the supernatural forces of evil that are apparently mitigating this set of circumstances. But despite the deepening air of gloom and despondency that pervaded the show's closing stages, the interviewee had plenty of interesting things to say earlier on, including a few words about group dreaming in an octagonal room, and the 'chains of worlds' theory.

The next show on BoA features Adam Gould, and is due to air this coming weekend.

And suffice it to say that this blog offers its congratulations to BoA as it celebrates 100 editions, and looks forward to the next 100.

On a final note, as is the case with many other web media outlets which are free to access, running costs are inevitably incurred, so if you'd like to donate to BoA, there's a Paypal button on the Binnall of America front page.

Ancient Road Found in Xom Trai Cave, Viet Nam

VNS link

News of an unusual find in Viet Nam, detailing the apparent discovery of a road that was in use somewhat earlier than we might expect; as we see...

Traces of a road used by ancient people 21,000 years ago have just been discovered at the Xom Trai Cave in the northwestern province of Hoa Binh’s Lac Son District.

Scientists from the Centre for Southeast Asian Prehistory recently made the discovery during an on-going preservation project at the site.

"This is the first discovery of such an ancient road in the Southeast Asian region and a rare discovery in the world," Nguyen Viet, PhD, centre director told Viet Nam News.

The Xom Trai Cave represents a typical residence of the Hoa Binh civilisation (from 34,100 years ago until 2,000 BC) in the ancient Muong Vang region, which is today’s Tan Lap Commune, Lac Son District in Hoa Binh Province.

Details are sparse, but I'm wondering why people living 21,000 years ago deemed it necessary to construct a road in the first place, and whether its purpose was strictly utilitarian, whether it was built as a decorative extra to the frontal approach to the cave, or if indeed there was a ritual consideration, in which the road was used by processions of people entering or leaving the cave. Perhaps a clue can be gleaned from this further detail from the story...

The excavation has also uncovered a tomb from about 17,000 years ago. The remains were buried in the typical style of the Hoa Binh civilisation, leaning towards the right with legs folded. The body’s hips were placed over 25cm of coal and the tomb was covered with soil and large stones. An oval pestle, two carving tools and a horn pointed hook were buried with the remains.

Many human bones had been found scattered about the cave before the complete tomb was discovered.

"Six clear traces of the road are being solidified by hard water", Viet said. "It is likely that more traces will be found. A larger number of worn- out stones indicate that the newly discovered road was used more often and for a longer period of time than the route at the southern end of the cave’s mouth. I guess the route was used between 10,000 and 21,000 years ago."

Here's a general description of the cave, and the history of its excavation...

The cave was discovered in 1974 and went through various stages of excavation in 1981, 1982, 1986 and 2004. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism listed it as a national archaeological relic in 2005.

The Hoa Binh Museum has co-ordinated with the centre to preserve the relic since 2004. Since then, researchers have discovered traces of approximately six metres of a road at the south end of the cave’s mouth. The ancient pathway lies 60-70cm deeper than the Hoa Binh civilisation layer. The traces are believed to date back 8,000-9,000 years ago and remain in good preserved condition.

Another four metres below the Hoa Binh civilisation layer, a route presumed to be used by the earliest cave dwellers has also been discovered. The route had been hidden by several layers of stones and debris that have fallen over time due to landslides and other geological events. Also, portions of the route have been covered by hard water resulting from rain water and local limestone.

For further information, please check the following links...

Người văn hoá Hoà Bình ở Xóm Trại đeo trang sức vòng cổ. Hoabinhian necklace

About.com: Archaeology - Hoabinhian

Terry Toohill: Human Evolution on Trial - Pacific Population

Dr.Nguyen Viet: Hoabinhian Macrobotanical Remains From Archaeological Sites In Viet Nam: Indicators Of Climate Changes From The Late Pleistocene To The Early Holocene (PDF)

...and by the same author, Hoabinhian Food Strategy in Viet Nam

image :: Xom Trai Cave

Late Pleistocene Hunter-Gatherers in the South Asian Rainforest: Geoarchaeology of Inhabited Rockshelters in South-Western Sri Lanka :: Antiquity

Antiquity Journal

Here's the second of two articles appearing in the current edition of Antiquity, both of which can be found in their Project Gallery; as with the previous post, here's the introduction...

Sri Lanka’s rainforests and grasslands, fashioned by the interaction of mountainous relief and Late Quaternary fluctuations of the Asian Monsoon, were inhabited by anatomically modern hunter-gatherers as early as at least c. 40 000 BP (Perera, in press). Rockshelters in the south-western, humid-tropical part of the island (Figure 1) have yielded some of the earliest manifestations of ‘behavioural modernity’ in South Asia, including geometric microliths, articles of personal ornamentation (Figure 2), evidence for long networks of exchange, differentiated use of space, burial and widespread use of ochre (Deraniyagala 1992; Wijeyapala 1997; James 2007; Perera, in press).

This archaeological record, together with Sri Lanka’s location halfway on the inferred route of anatomically modern human dispersal to Australasia (Figure 1a), locate the island’s prehistory at the centre of current debates on late Pleistocene human evolution, ecology, dispersal and cultural change.

The authors propose that the Late Pleistocene evidence of human habitation in Sri Lanka is especially interesting as it corresponds with "times of pronounced environmental change".

image from Antiquity

The Bab al-Mandab Paleoanthropology Project in Yemen Antiquity Journal

Antiquity Journal - link

Antiquity have a couple of interesting articles in their latest edition, both of which are free to view; the first takes us to Yemen, with the scene being set in this introduction...

Given its geographic location, the Arabian Peninsula has often been highlighted as a major hominin dispersal corridor from East Africa to Asia during the Plio-Pleistocene. However, this region (particularly southern Arabia) has not been tested adequately in order to confirm that inference. Our current knowledge regarding a land-bridge at the Strait of Bab al-Mandab remains equally unclear. The known Early Palaeolithic evidence in the Arabian Peninsula records both Oldowan and Early Acheulian occupation, indicative of multiple early dispersal events (Petraglia 2003).

Palaeolithic sites here are known to occur in a variety of ecological and topographic settings, often on the surface of terraces and volcanic landscapes, but occasionally in stratified contexts. Yemen represents the eastern terrestrial boundary of this zone and is thus the closest to East Africa. Unfortunately, very few Palaeolithic sites have been systematically excavated and most have yet to be accurately dated, thus remaining ambiguous for overall dispersal paradigms. As a result, such information as hominin subsistence, technological abilities, raw material exploitation, climatic adaptations, and the rate and success of dispersals into these areas is also poorly-understood.

That being said, there is ample scientific potential for inter-disciplinary palaeoanthropological investigations in this region for direct correlations with the East African record (Chauhan, in press).

The stated aim of this study is to revisit previously excavated sites, discover new ones, with the hope of gaining insights into the presumed dispersal of early humans from Africa into Eurasia.

image from Antiquity.

Saving Antiquities for Everyone :: Looted Memorial Statues Returned to Kenyan Family

Saving Antiquities for Everyone-Looted memorial statues returned to Kenyan family

In the previous two posts we looked at how various archaeological sites are being detailed, protected and in part, restored; in this post it is the return to its rightful custodians of stolen artifacts, in this case, vigango, described thus in the linked article...

Vigango are carved and erected to incarnate the spirits of deceased members of Gohu, a male semi-secret society, and are considered sacred by the Giriama and other northern Mijikenda peoples.

The two returned vigango were stolen more than twenty years ago, in 1985. By sheer coincidence, Monica Udvardy had photographed them at the Giriama homestead of Kalume Mwakiru shortly before their theft while she was conducting research on Mijikenda gendered secret societies. We (Udvardy and Linda Giles) discovered the vigango fifteen years later in the African collections of the Illinois State University Museum (later transferred to the Illinois State Museum in Springfield) and the Hampton University Museum in Virginia.

It is often asked how stolen artifacts and other objects of cultural value end up in respectable institutions such as museums, and to apprise ourselves of this particular set of circumstances, we return once more to the SAFE article...

Most vigango are stolen by unemployed Mijikenda male youths and sold to shops and markets in the coastal cities and in the capital, Nairobi, which then sell them to Western dealers and collectors. Most of the vigango in the United States have been imported by a dealer based in southern California. This dealer has sold many of the vigango to private individuals, including several associated with the Hollywood film industry; these individuals often then donate them to museums. Records from the Illinois State University Museum show that the actor Powers Boothe donated one of the Mwakiru vigango and seven other vigango to the Museum in 1986.

The other Mwakiru kigango was donated to Hampton University Museum by an undisclosed individual in the same year; Museum records indicate that it was one of ninety-four vigango collected by the American dealer among the ninety-nine total vigango acquired by the Museum between 1979 and 1987.

Be sure to check the rest of this story which goes into some detail relating how a high-profile media campaign has greatly raised awareness of how vigango have now become much harder to trade on the illegal antiquities market, and how in some cases, other vigango have been returned once their Western owners had been alerted to the problem, which as we see from the closing paragraphs of the linked article, is to this day, ongoing...

In spite of these successes, there are still many vigango in museums and private collections in the United States, Europe, and Kenya. We have been able to verify the presence of more than 400 vigango in various American museums, but there is no information about the families from whom they were stolen. This demonstrates the need to photograph vigango still in situ.

Though the Kenyan Ministry of State for National Heritage’s passage of a national heritage bill protecting various aspects of natural and cultural heritage is an excellent step, its application is hindered by its lack of a list of specific artifacts covered. Hence, vigango do not currently receive special protection through inclusion in a red list. We are also unaware of any efforts to prevent the sale of vigango and other stolen or endangered cultural items in the many curio and art shops catering to tourists and collectors.

The Saving Antiquities For Everyone (SAFE) website has a great many articles and reports from around the world, providing a wealth of written material and comment highlighting many of the direr aspects of the way in which archaeological heritage has been systematically pillaged, as well as how hot loot occasionally comes in from the cold, thereafter to be reintegrated within an appropriate cultural context.

see also :: BBC News June, 2007 : Kenyans Fete Repatriated Relics

image from BBC News

Saving Turkey's Treasures: Eastern Anatolia, Turkey - The Archaeology Channel - Video

The Archaeology Channel - Saving Turkey's Treasures: Eastern Anatolia, Turkey

In a previous post we saw how work aimed at detecting and protecting ancient sites in North America has been supported by World Heritage, and in this post we'll be mulling over this latest offering from TAC. This time, we're off to the historical city of Kars, continually inhabited across a thousand years of history, and from where the Global Heritage Fund have launched a project aimed at preserving and restoring the fabric of irreplaceable architecture, much of which is in an advanced state of disrepair, ravaged by years of war and neglect.

As well as restoring relics of the past, one of the key aims of GHF is to look to the future, by improving the lives of the current inhabitants, by not only involving them in the ongoing project, but establishing a firm economic foundation, whereby the local economy is boosted by tourism, as well as giving the public access to their own heritage.

Kars may not be a familiar place to all - myself included - but as we see from the opening scenes of the video, its geographical location made it a place of great importance to generations of peoples past, in particular Armenians and Ottomans, latter-day Russians, Georgians, all of whom inhabited an area we could roughly describe as lying to the south and south-east of the Black Sea, in the approximate centre of the Caucasus.

GHF Executive Director Jeff Morgan explains how Kars and the surrounding area has been of great strategic importance over hundreds of years, drawing in humans from near and far, creating what is described as a melting pot of peoples and cultures, whilst Osman Kavala of Anadolu Kültür ascribes an almost mystical aspect to a part of the world that is that very least, visually stunning.

As well as GHF and Anadolu Kültür, the local mayor has been instrumental in lending support to the project, the main aims of which are the conservation and restoration of old buildings, which commenced in May 2005, and where possible, to "clean up the archaeology". As mentioned earlier, a parallel aim is to improve the lot of the local population by attracting jobs and income from tourism, which in turn it is hoped will add increased stability and social cohesion.

Although some objections might be raised, not the least of which would contend that building hotels and other tourist facilities will detract from, or even ruin the scenery and ambience of the region, it should be borne in mind that it is only by increasing awareness and appreciation of Kars that enough funding and popular support can be raised to ensure its future, and in turn maybe lead to other sites elsewhere being recognised and given appropriate protection.

As things stand, it would appear that the project has gone down very well with local inhabitants, some of whom have become directly involved - this is of fundamental importance, and marks a sharp contrast to how archaeology has been conducted in the past, whereby all too often the archaeologists have been obliged as a separate entity, with almost no involvement of, and benefit to the local population. In this case, local interest and pride in a shared history should go a very long way to ensuring the success of this initiative, and persuading others to embark on similar excercises of archaeologists, researchers and the public whereby all work together in a common cause which benefits all those involved.

Kars has been chosen as a central point, or hub, from which other nearby sites can be accessed and researched, one of which is the site of Ani, located along what used to be the old Silk Road. Dotted across its now deserted landscape are all manner of old buildings, and places of worhsip, some of which appear to be on their very last legs, and in need of urgent support and conservation to keep them standing.

Despite the nearby presence of a strip mining enterprise, Kars Project Director John Hurd believes that in the long run, placing sites such as Ani under the auspices of World Heritage will not only provide a much needed filip to the Kars region and its people, but also help to bring a greater sense of much needed vitality and unity to the population as a whole. As Burcu Yilmaz of Koc University affirms in a final thought, a vitally important aim of these works is that the sites and associated heritage should be available and accessible to the public, both in Anatolia and beyond.

see also :: Global Heritage Fund: Kars

Google Books :: A Narrative of The Siege Kars

image from GHF.

New Research Sheds More Light On Ohio's Ancient High Bank Works

The Columbus Dispatch :: Archaeology: New research sheds more light on Ohio's ancient earthworks

Despite being almost 2,000 years old, and almost obliterated by modern-day ploughing, the walls of High Bank Works which originally stood at a height of 12ft, have been accurately imaged with a remote sensing technique known as Light Detection and Ranging, or lidar. This from Bradley T. Lepper at the Columbus Dispatch...

High Bank Works was featured in two presentations given this month at the fall meeting of the Ohio Archaeological Council. N'omi Greber, of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, described her recent investigation of the earthwork using archives, geophysical remote sensing and test excavations.

William Romain, a research affiliate with the Ohio State University's Newark Earthworks Center, included High Bank Works in a survey of Ohio earthworks using lidar, a remote sensing technology somewhat like radar that gives us startlingly accurate images even when the earthworks have been plowed to apparent oblivion.

The complementary conclusions of these studies demonstrate the complexity of the earthworks and how the ancient architects incorporated a remarkable knowledge of geometry, astronomy and local topography. These monumental compositions give us insight into the spiritual beliefs of these too-often underappreciated people.

There can be little doubt that were these structures still intact today, we the general public would be a great deal more appreciative of the skill and precision that went into constructing these unique monuments - whether or not we would be able to fully comprehend the intentions of the builders is a moot point, as is the case with the vast majority of sites of this ilk dating from prehistory. But regardless of whether we can exactly decipher whatever may be encoded into such sites, shouldn't in any way hinder us in recognising the need to ensure that as much as possible is done to preserve - and in some cases restore - these unintended gifts from our ancestors. More from the linked report...

These studies add to our understanding of the ancient earthworks and affirm the wisdom of preserving such sites, even when there might not appear to be much left to save.

In anticipation of the increase in tourism that will follow from the nomination of several Ohio mound sites, including High Bank Works, to the World Heritage List, the Center for the Electronic Reconstruction of Historical and Archaeological Sites at the University of Cincinnati is working with several partners to develop the Ancient Ohio Trail.

On the one hand, we might regret the agricultural effects that have so damaged ancient earthworks, but on the other, we can take solace from the fact that the earthworks haven't been completely destroyed by the work of construction firms and land development agencies; the fact that the future for the Ohio earthworks seems relatively secure can in large measure be attributed to the eminently sensible decision to have these sites included on the World Heritage List.

And should you happen to dwell in the vicinity of the Ohio Valley, interested in its complex history, or even specifically contemplating a visit to the mounds and earthworks, you might be tempted by the Ancient Ohio Trail, mentioned in the linked article - there appears to be no shortage of good walking and viewing opportunities, as depicted here.

see also :: Hopewell Culture (includes recommended reading list)

Google Books :: A. Martin Byers: 'The Ohio Hopewell Episode - Paradigm Lost, Paradigm Gained' (amongst a vast array of topics, there are some very interesting thoughts on the idea of 'world renewal' in this voluminous tome - reading it on Google Books is good, but in general I'd recommend reading the book itself.)

Antiquity :: Airborne Lidar and Historic Environment Records

image from: J.Q. Jacobs : Ancient Earthworks of Eastern North America - Liberty Township and High Bank Earthworks

Four Stone Hearth 54 @ moneduloides

Four Stone Hearth 54 @ moneduloides

The latest edition of the anthropology blog carnival, Four Stone Hearth was published a couple of days ago, and a very good one it is too, featuring a mix of what has been making the anthropology headlines, as well as covering the field of archaeology.

The next edition will be on December 3rd, over at Cognition And Culture, after which host slots are still open, so feel free to volunteer - details of how to apply for hosting and submitting content to future events can be found on the 4SH main page.

Shipwreck! Captain Kidd :: Expedition Week : National Geographic Channel

Expedition Week Shipwreck! Captain Kidd

Airs : (US) Tuesday, November 19th, 9.00 pm ET/PT


Back in December 2007, the headlines were awash with news that a sunken ship found off the Caribbean island of Catalina, had once been in the hands of none other than Captain William Kidd. This from Underwater Times...

Resting in less than 10 feet of Caribbean seawater, the wreckage of Quedagh Merchant, the ship abandoned by the scandalous 17th century pirate Captain William Kidd as he raced to New York in an ill-fated attempt to clear his name, has escaped discovery -- until now.

An underwater archaeology team from Indiana University announced today (Dec. 13) the discovery of the remnants. IU marine protection authority Charles Beeker said his team has been licensed to study the wreckage and to convert the site into an underwater preserve, where it will be accessible to the public.

And now, 11 months on, the National Geographic Channel is hosting the premiere of a documentary which tells the story of how the wreck was discovered and the subsequent efforts to obtain incontrovertible proof that this ship had been scuttled by Kidd in 1699. As I haven't seen this documentary, I'm not exactly sure how it will proceed, or what aspects it will cover, but as this report from the Underwater Times goes into some detail of what the archaeologists were hoping to ascertain when the wreck was first examined, and the means by which they hoped to achieve their aims, I'll add a couple of snippets from the linked text; for example...

The find is valuable because of the potential to reveal important information about piracy in the Caribbean and about the legendary Capt. Kidd, said John Foster, California's state underwater archaeologist, who is participating in the research.

"I look forward to a meticulous study of the ship, its age, its armament, its construction, its use, its contents and the reconstructed wrecking process that resulted in the site we see today," Foster said. "Because there is extensive, written documentation, this is an opportunity we rarely have to test historic information against the archaeological record."

Historians differ on whether Kidd was actually a pirate or a privateer -- someone who captured pirates. After his conviction of piracy and murder charges in a sensational London trial, he was left to hang over the River Thames for two years.

Historians write that Kidd captured the Quedagh Merchant, loaded with valuable satins and silks, gold, silver and other East Indian merchandise, but left the ship in the Caribbean as he sailed to New York on a less conspicuous sloop to clear his name of the criminal charges.

Anthropologist Geoffrey Conrad, director of IU Bloomington's Mathers Museum of World Cultures, said the men Kidd entrusted with his ship reportedly looted it, and then set it ablaze and adrift down the Rio Dulce. Conrad said the location of the wreckage and the formation and size of the canons, which had been used as ballast, are consistent with historical records of the ship. They also found pieces of several anchors under the cannons.

"All the evidence that we find underwater is consistent with what we know from historical documentation, which is extensive," Conrad said. "Through rigorous archeological investigations, we will conclusively prove that this is the Capt. Kidd shipwreck."

As with all the programmes being screened this Expedition Week, there is a dedicated web-page, on which can be found three quick video clips, some high-res images of the wreck site and related scenes, as well as a few handy facts on pirates, privateers and aspects of their lives.

Elsewhere on the main Expedition Week site, another feature has recently been added, namely Egypt Is All Around You, which when clicked, links to a set of panoramic views of the pyramids and Sphinx at Giza, including a few from the Valley of the Kings.

See also :: National Geographic, December 2007 : Captain Kidd's Ship Found Off Dominican Island

Late Neolithic Cremation Urns Discovered During Istanbul Metro Construction

Istanbul's Buried History

Following on from recent news that the site of modern Istanbul was inhabited by humans at much earlier dates than hitherto suggested, archaeologists are detailing what appear to be very significant finds at Yenikapi, in the guise of cremation urns which date to around 8,000 years ago. This from Hurriyet Daily News...

The urns were found in the everglade at Marmaray, before heavy machinery was due to start excavations. The urns are a first in Anatolian history, which proves human tribes lived in Istanbul before the reigns of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.

Experts said the urns were a sensational find and Dr. İsmail Karamut, director of Istanbul Archeology Museums and the head of the excavation, said the digging would continue using hand operated tools from now on. Permission to recommence the use of heavy machinery will be decided at a later date. In ancient times, most funerals were held by simply burying (inhumation) or by burning the body (cremation). After cremation the ashes are usually put in ceramic urns or small stone containers, known as “larnax”.

The age of these discoveries coincides with the recent news, mentioned above, that this particular area was settled by 8,500 years ago, some 6,000 years before previous estimates, and puts old Constantinople in a similar time-frame as 9,000 year-old Çatalhöyük and subsequent settlements of the Late Neolithic that have been documented across Anatolia. As we see from RIA Novosti...

Turkish archaeologists have found artifacts showing that Istanbul, earlier believed to be founded 2,700 years ago by the Greeks as Byzantium, is 8,500 years old, local media said.

The Al-Watan newspaper said the excavations in Istanbul, which have gone on for four years, have uncovered four skeletons, as well as wooden and ceramic pieces, shedding new light on the history of the Turkish city.

The discovery was made two months ago at a depth of six meters below sea level at the site of an ancient settlement. Ismail Karamut, who directs Istanbul's Archaeological Museum, said the finding would force historians to rewrite the country's history.

And this report from The National, across in Abu Dhabi, includes a suggestion that Çatalhöyük and these early inhabitants of the Bosphorus may be directly related....

And yet, beneath the water table, underneath the rib cages of hollow merchant ships and broken clay pots, lay the greatest discovery yet. In August, Dr Karamut and his team came across four ancient skeletons buried in graves six metres below sea level. The two adults, aged approximately 35, and two children under two, are thought to have lived during the Neolithic age, around 6,000-6,500 BC.

The objects found with them, particularly ceramic pieces, have led Dr Karamut and his colleagues to conclude there was an ancient settlement in Yenikapi whose inhabitants lived on animal grazing and farming. Researchers have also linked the findings to the remains of an ancient settlement in Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic site in southern Anatolia which was excavated in the 1960s. The similarity between the sites suggests that settlers in the Anatolian planes migrated to Istanbul’s shores some 8,000 years ago.

Taking into consideration the strategic location of Istanbul, it's not too hard to imagine that humans then as now would have likely exploited the relatively easy access between mainland Europe and Asia afforded by the narrow Bosphorus strait, although whether these early findings mark the beginning of a previously unsuspected continuous phase of settlement from Late Neolithic to the present, isn't as yet demonstrated. Back to those burial urns...

The clothes and jewelry of the deceased were put in containers alongside the urn along with other possible items. For instance, if the deceased was killed by an arrow, the arrow would be included as well. The known forms of cremation in Anatolian Archaeology were seen in the early Bronze Age, but this type of burial was uncommon at Neolithic age excavations that date back 8,000 years.

Inside the urns, ashes wrapped in cloth, daily used dishes and the private belongings of the deceased were found. One urn found contained the skeleton of a baby. Experts said it was very likely this area was a burial site. The theory constructed for previous findings, that they may have been moved to this location by movements of a stream bed is no longer viable.

Archaeologists working at the site said after these extremely important findings, the idea of letting heavy machinery operate on the site should be discarded. The crematorium itself may be reached if digging was to continue, according to archaeologists.

Although there doesn't appear to be a great deal of coverage elsewhere, this does appear to be something of a major find, as cremations rarely date this far back into prehistory, with the Bronze Age being an early era more commonly associated with this specific brand of funerary practice. A final word from Istanbul...

Dr. Karamut said the urns were definitely very important findings but added, “It is too early to talk. The dig continues. We will share the results with the public in the upcoming days. I have seen the artifacts at the site. On Monday, we will bring geologists there”. Karamut said after the examinations, the excavation would continue before they had an evaluation.

Associate Professor Necmi Karul, branch chairperson for the Archeologists Community in Istanbul, said, “In Anatolian archaeology, there were no urn burials from the Neolithic Age. It is an extremely sensational find. It is definitely a burial site because they are side by side. They date back to 5800-6000 BC, the last of the Neolithic Age”. Karul also said the head of the excavation should be congratulated for not stopping the diggings.

We can only hope that further work at the site reaps further rewards by imparting more insights into the lives and deaths of ancient farmers, their families and friends, who once dwelt together in a place whose future incarnations would witness both the rise of classical civilisation and the fall from grace of Byzantium, after the siege of Constantinople in 1453.

see also :: Saving Antiquities For Everyone : Archaeological Ethics And The Roman Metro Line 'C'

The National (Abu Dhabi) : Dig Unearths Treasures Of Byzantine Era And Before

PRI's The World :: Istanbul Part II : Sunken Tunnels, Sunken Boats

Yenikapi Museum, Istanbul

Marmaray Project

Çatalhöyük - Press Release 2008 - "Exciting New Discoveries"

image from Der Spiegel :: Digging To Byzantium

Neanderthal Code :: National Geographic Channel

Neanderthal Code :: National Geographic Channel

In a previous post we looked at the upcoming programme on Stonehenge, due to be shown on the National Geographic Channel this coming November 20th, and in this post we'll be looking at the show which immediately follows it, at 10 pm ET/PT, namely 'Neanderthal Code', first shown on September 21st, 2008, and which runs to 2 hours.

As I haven't seen the documentary itself, I'll include comment from a review, in this case, an extensive summary, at archaeology.org, the official website of the Archaeological Institute of America, for whom Zach Zorich has written 'Decoding Neanderthals', from which these are the opening passages...

Research into the lives of Neanderthals is progressing at such a pace that National Geographic could probably produce a new documentary like "The Neanderthal Code" (airing Sunday, September 21, at 9:00 pm ET/PT on the National Geographic Channel) every couple of years and still fill it with new breakthroughs.

This program covers a vast amount of science, both old and new, and serves as a thorough and entertaining summary of the latest interpretations and data on our species' closest fossilized relatives. The show addresses several important questions: Did Neanderthals make art? Were they tougher than professional bull-riders? Did they have religion? If so, were they such a bunch of Puritans that they wouldn't mate with the Homo sapiens who invaded their territory in Europe roughly 40,000 years ago?

The last question receives the most attention because of data coming from newly sequenced fragments of Neanderthal DNA taken from a piece of bone found in Croatia's Vindija cave. The DNA evidence reveals some tantalizing clues about the relationship of modern humans to Neanderthals--we share a language gene--but stops short of being able to definitively tell us whether the two groups produced any hybrid offspring. John Hawks, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides much of the commentary on what the genetic evidence means. Some of the ideas he talks about were mentioned in the interview I did with him back in February.

The analysis of the Neanderthal genome is still a work in progress, and there is every reason to believe that important insights will take place over the next year or two, and I hope the National Geographic Channel will take this topic on again when the Neanderthal genome has been completely sequenced.

Vindija Cave is a well documented site located in modern-day Croatia, and has accordingly been the subject of much research, which recently has suggested that a previously studied set of fossil remains dated originally to 28,000 bp, have now been redated to an earlier date of 32,000 bp - the former date would have put the youngest Vindija Neanderthals amongst the latest known survivors in western Europe, with only Gibraltar and Lagar Velho in Portugal, yielding younger dates.

But the research hailed as the most significant in recent years has been the sequencing of around a million base pairs of nuclear DNA recovered from one of the Vindija specimens, dated at 45,000 bp - the general conclusion drawn by the researchers was that there appeared to be little that pointed towards evidence of Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans interbreeding; however, as this report by John Hawks points out, there appear to be certain conceptual problems with this analysis. It should be noted that Hawks himself is featured in this documentary, along with a host of others who have similarly been involved in contemporary research.

Drifting in on the morning mist and melting away in the midday sun, it's quite possible that Neanderthals were seldom seen and rarely encountered face-to-face by the anatomically modern humans of Upper Palaeolithic Europe. Having read that at any one time, there may only have been a maximum of 15,000 Neanderthals alive in Eurasia, it's hard to imagine there would have been much in the way of either conflict or inter-breeding between the two species. It would appear that in western Europe, the two species existed alongside one another for at least 15,000 years, if we take a start date of around 40,000 bp, and an end date of 25,000 bp. However, as the reviewer at archaeology.org points out, Neanderthals existed across a vast geographical range...

The discussion of hybridization includes data from some important sites like Lagar Velho in Portugal and Pestera cu Oase in Romania. Both sites are being investigated by Joao Zilhao of the University of Bristol and Erik Trinkaus of Washington University in Saint Louis who layout a fairly convincing case that the combination of features in the skeletons found at those two sites are the result of hybridization.

Trinkaus and Zilhao's interpretation is controversial to say the least (click here for a brief account by Zilhao), and the documentary gives short shrift to the opposing view point, which has been articulated by Jean Jacques Hublin of the Max Planck Institute in several articles published on this website (see "Brothers or Cousins?" and "The New Neandertal") that any interbreeding had little effect. Another problem with this otherwise excellent documentary is that the discussion limited to Europe.

Neanderthals in the Middle East and Asia are mentioned only in passing, and it creates the impression that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens only interacted on the European continent. That, of course, could not have been the case.

In a way, the hybridisation of Neanderthals and moderns debate reminds me of another, the ongoing arguments as to whether Neanderthals practiced cannibalism, frequently or otherwise; where some see unequivocal evidence in the archaeology, others point out that alternative interpretations of the same material could be equally valid. As far as cannibalism is concerned, we know that people living long before the Neanderthals, at Atapuerca, consumed human flesh, even though fossil evidence from the same site indicated there was no shortage of meat available, as other prey species appeared to have been plentiful in number.

We also know that we modern humans have been practicing cannibalism up until modern times, so it might not be too much of a surprise to learn that on occasion, Neanderthals may themselves have consumed their own. However, I think it would be incorrect to label the entire Neanderthal species as cannibalistic, or that such an activity should be used as one of their defining characteristics.

With improved techniques in the field of genetics, it's possible we'll learn a great deal more about the Neanderthal genome, and to what extent if any, there is evidence of breeding between the two species. Back to the review...

The program does a good job of showing the anatomical differences between modern humans and Neanderthals. It avoids getting bogged down in a comparative anatomy lesson by throwing in some dramatizations of Neanderthals meeting modern humans in a faux 40,000-year-old European woodland, but the modern humans shown in the reenactment of this momentous first meeting seem to be carrying the wrong tools.

The first anatomically modern humans in Europe, the Aurignacians, used tools and ate a diet that was very similar to the Neanderthals'. Differences between the two groups' technologies and diets don't show up until several thousand years later, and this important fact is missing from the documentary.

That's an important observation, and it's quite possible that this point will be raised in a subsequent production - as noted earlier, such is the rate at which new discoveries are made, and with them, new insights gained, that we might expect to see an updated documentary a couple of years hence - but the point is made that at some cultural and behavioural levels, there was initially very little difference between how the two species went about their everyday lives. Back for a final point from the linked review...

Some of the most interesting parts of the documentary were the insights it provided into the lives of Neanderthals. The placement and preservation of certain Neanderthal remains indicates that they may have buried their dead, If that interpretation holds up it would show they believed in an afterlife. Likewise, chunks of the black pigment manganese dioxide have turned up at some Neanderthal sites showing signs of use.

If the Neanderthals were using pigments to make paintings or to adorn themselves, it shows a previously unknown capacity for creating art. Another interesting comparison is that Neanderthals show the same patterns of bone breakage that is seen in modern day rodeo-riders, which has led researchers to believe that they lived very rough and dangerous lives and that their hunting methods probably involved coming into close contact with large game.

Reading between the lines, I get the distinct impression that the process of making documentaries about Neanderthals has itself evolved over recent years, to the point where we appear to have got away from what became the stereotypical portrait painted of them, which I daresay has been heavily influenced by the words of Marcellin Boule, writing nearly a century ago...

"It is probable that Neanderthal Man must have possessed only a rudimentary psychic nature, superior certainly to that of the anthropoid apes, but markedly inferior to that of any modern race whatsoever,” Boule concluded. "Without doubt he had only the rudiments of articulate speech.”

Boule had incorrectly reconstructed the Neanderthal physical anatomy, which in turn caused himself and future researchers - and thus documentary makers - to misinterpret the Neanderthal mind-set, a mistake which it would seem, is in the process of slowly being rectified.

To wrap things up, there is of course, a dedicated website for Neanderthal Code, which includes not only an overview of the documentary, but 3 short video clips, an interactive feature which gives a brief exploration of possible meetings between moderns and Neanderthals, as well as a history of our own perceptions of Neanderthals, by William Lee. In addition, there is a link to the Genographic Project, along with some nice images from the documentary which can be downloaded as wallpapers or screensavers, and last but not least, a link to the recent feature in the National Geographic magazine, 'Last Of The Neanderthals', which I covered in an earlier post.

Happy hunting, and as Larry Sanders would say, "no flipping".


Neanderthal Code airs Thursday, November 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT

Stonehenge Decoded :: National Geographic Channel

Stonehenge Decoded :: National Geographic Channel

Following on from my recent post which gave details of 'Expedition Week', being screened in the US on the National Geographic Channel from November 16th-23rd, here's a preview of a documentary due to air Thursday, November 20th, which takes us to Stonehenge, offering unique insights into the research conducted there in the past year or so.

By clicking through to the 'Stonehenge Decoded' page, you'll find links to various online features, including an overview, numerous related video clips, photos, an interactive map and even an interactive game. Elsewhere are some notes describing some of the many theories and myths that have grown up around Stonehenge over the years, seeking to explain how it was built, by whom, and for what purpose. Two of the video clips in particular caught my attention, which I've detailed below.

The first video clip takes us to a ridge situated near to the Durrington henge, upon which a series of huge wooden post-holes has been discovered, leading archaeologists to propose that the timber posts of old may have supported wooden platforms, on which the dead were laid, in order that their corpses might be de-fleshed, before the dried bones were removed for later burial or funerary rites.

Although there is substantial evidence for the cremation of bodies, derived from ashes recovered at various locations around Stonehenge, there would have been individuals for whom de-fleshing was the post-mortem norm. Bearing in mind that a single cremation required no less than a ton of wood, making such an activity costly in material and work-hours, it's quite possible that cremations were reserved for a contemporary elite, whereas being laid out to decompose atop a wooden platform may have been more likely to have been the common experience for less socially elevated Neolithic folk. One slightly confusing aspect of this clip is that at one point we see ashes being sprinkled into the nearby River Avon, and yet the putative evidence for the presence of the wooden platforms would seem to argue against the case for ashes of cremated people to be part of the funerary process; perhaps the de-fleshed bones made some sort of trip by raft or boat down the stretch of the river connecting Durrington to Stonehenge, or perhaps only the ashes of an elite made this journey to a final resting place at or near the massive stone monument.

The second video clip also focuses on Durrington, and includes footage of archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson, describing the enormity of what was once a Neolithic settlement at Durrington, which at its zenith, may have comprised as many as 1,000 houses and assorted buildings. Despite the publicity this past Summer surrounding another dig at Stonehenge in support of the so-called 'Neolithic Lourdes' idea, I find the excavations at Durrington to be much more interesting, because in my opinion, they involve real investigative archaeology which not only reveals previously unknown structures and activities in the area, but moreover lends a more human perspective to some of the perplexing mysteries surrounding those who built the various monuments and edifices on Salisbury Plain, at the end of the Neolithic era.

(N.B. the above links might load different Stonehenge video clips on each occasion, but those I've mentioned are easy enough to find, and and in any case, it's worth watching each one, all of which are but a few minutes in duration.)

Mike Parker Pearson plays a leading role in the Stonehenge Riverside Project, which is in part, sponsored by National Geographic, and has been conducting excavations each Summer at Durrington and nearby, since 2005. The SRP website has loads of links detailing past work, discoveries and possible interpretations, with this page detailing research for 2008.

Elsewhere in the video section are clips of an interview with the legendary Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap fame, who offers us his opinion on what Stonehenge was really all about - not to be missed.

In addition to the programme videos, there's a quick peek at the 3-D Photosynth project, for which staff photographer Rebecca Hale took over 3,000 images of Stonehenge in 2 days, the end product of which should be spectacular indeed.


New Stonehenge Discovery airs in the US, Thursday, November 20 at 8 p.m. ET/PT

see also :: National Geographic News, May 2008 :: 'Stonehenge Was Cemetery First And Foremost'.

Binnall of America : Audio : Season IV - Extreme Expeditions: Travel Adventures Stalking the World's Mystery Animals - Adam Davies

binnall of america : audio

Episode 3 of BoA Season 4 is up and available for download, free onsite, and from iTunes as a podcast.

Adam Davies

Extreme Expeditions: Travel Adventures Stalking the World's Mystery Animals

1 Hour, 35 Minutes

Bonus, post-show mini-interview with Thunderbird researcher Ken Gerhard.

Here's the show description from host, Tim Binnall...

BoA returns to the UK to talk with Adam Davies, author of Extreme Expeditions: Travel Adventures Stalking the World's Mystery Animals. We'll be covering some of the adventures that are detailed in his book, including his travels to the Congo to search for the Mokele Mbembe, hunting the Orang Pendek in Sumatra, investigating the Mongolian Death Worm, and other treks around the world seeking truly unique cryptids.

We'll also delve into the human side of crypto expeditions, talking about what makes a good team, the political roadblocks to international work, how Adam's family feels about his adventures and much more. Plus, we cover Alien Big Cats, the Seljord Serpent, American Bigfoot, the "kill v. no kill" debate, and, as always, tons and tons more.

This is a jam packed edition of BoA which spans the globe and covers a wealth of cryptozoological topics.

And in case you missed last week's edition, in which Dr. Stephen Rorke talked us through the so-called Spiricom hoax; here's the audio link, plus an overview...

It's the "Halloween hangover" edition of BoA:Audio, as we welcome emerging instrumental transcommunication researcher Dr. Stephen Rorke, to take a sober look at the Spiricom Story. Stephen provides us with an in-depth examination of the infamous esoteric tale, including the "official" public story of Spiricom, profiling the players involved, why Rorke believes Spiricom to be a hoax, and, if it was a hoax, who was behind it and why.

Plus, the true story of Thomas Edison's "attempts to communicate with the dead," who is still perpetuating the Spiricom hoax, where the device is today, and a plethora of more material in this richly detailed episode of the program.

It's a whole new view of an often-overlooked (or blindly accepted) esoteric story on a groundbreaking edition of BoA:Audio.

Next week's show, airing around November 16th, will feature Charles Upton, discussing his belief that there may be what are described as 'demonic influences' at work with regard to the UFO phenomenon.

Death = Weird? on being unexceptional...

o b u...: DEATH = WEIRD?

In a recent post on Stonehenge, I made reference to an article called 'Deathways Open Doors To Unexpected Cultural Practices', and this linked post at on being unexceptional is a continuation of that theme, in that its author gives us details of post-mortem practices, which in some cases, are idiosyncratic, to say the least. We're given the summary of a Top Ten of these post-four-dimensional procedures, as listed at Live Science.com; here are numbers 10 and 9...

Number 10: Towers of Silence

The body of the deceased was taken to an exposed area, usually a stony outcrop and exposed to the elements and animal activity. After the body was reduced to bones, bleached from exposure to weather conditions, they were gathered up and either redeposited somewhere else or destroyed. Such practices have been recorded in Indigenous groups around the world, but particularly by peoples that followed the Zoroastrianism doctrine.


Number 9: Tree Burials

Heavily documented in Indigenous American populations, the deceased person was often wrapped in a shroud and placed in a tree or hung from the tree to decompose. After decomposition reached its final stages, the bones where often reburied.

Here's an explanatory note and additional comment from the author herself...

I think it’s important to understand that death is a very traumatic event for any society, regardless of time period or cultural beliefs. Mortuary practices often result from the needs of the living and as such, can tell us about the culture of a community, rather than just information about the individual who was buried.

Mortuary practices, no matter how different from what is perceived as “normal” westernised burials, all serve a social function: to help the living cope with the feelings of loss and grief for the deceased. These practices often hold a community together in times of social desperation. To call the article Top 10 WEIRD ways to deal with the dead, implies blatant disrespect for practices of non-western communities. In this day and age, you’d think we’d all be able to respect the beliefs and values of other cultures!

It might be argued that it is precisely this modern day and age which has done more to destroy, eradicate and oppress the the beliefs and values of other cultures, but on a more prosaic note, I'd venture to add that a headline containing the word 'Weird' alongside 'Death' is primarily designed as a commercial attempt to catch the eyes of readers, rather than being deliberately insulting to cultures foreign to ourselves in the West of the present day.

I think it's fairly safe to say that for truly strange and arcane funerary and post-mortem practices, our prehistoric forebears came up with ideas which today we could never hope to discern - I'm thinking specifically of the Natufian and early Neolithic eras in the Middle East, where for example at Jericho, there are the plastered skulls, whilst elsewhere we find all manner of strange burials and associated artefacts and animal remains.

see also :: From Behind The Mask - Plastered Skulls of Ain Ghazal


image :: Tower of Silence, near Yazd, Iran, from livius.org

Continual Fire-Making by Hominins at Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov, Israel - ScienceDirect - Quaternary Science Reviews

ScienceDirect - Quaternary Science Reviews : Continual fire-making by Hominins at Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov, Israel

Here's the link to the abstract of the paper mentioned above, which proposes that humans have possessed the ability to make and control fire at a time when the Acheulean lithic industry represented the cutting edge of tool use, back in those heady days of the Lower Palaeolithic; it is further suggested that this use of fire may have prompted an African exodus by early humans...

This paper presents the culmination of an extensive study of fire-use at the Early and early Middle Pleistocene site of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov. Using software available in the GIS package, we have examined the spatial distribution of burned and unburned flint microartifacts from eight Acheulian archaeological horizons. The results of this study demonstrate that the burned microartifacts are never evenly distributed and dense concentrations are observed.

The circumstances that introduced these burned flint artifacts to the archaeological layers are examined, suggesting that anthropogenic rather than natural fires are responsible for the observed patterns. As the evidence for the use of fire is recorded throughout the long stratigraphic sequence, it seems that fire was continually used by the Acheulian hominins of the site. This repetitive use of fire indicates that the hominins of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov had a profound knowledge of fire-making, enabling them to make fire at will.

The site in question, located in the Dead Sea rift in the Hula Valley of northern Israel, has been the subject of research for many years, and here's another abstract from a paper called 'The Structure and Morphotectonics of the Gesher Benot Ya'aqov Area, Northern Dead Sea Rift, Israel' (2000) by Shmuel Belitzky; as we see...

Geological, geomorphological, and morphotectonic studies at the Gesher Benot Ya'aqov Acheulean site, Northern Jordan Valley, provide: 1) a unique opportunity to establish the ecological background of hominid behavior during the early stages of widespread human occupation; 2) crucial data for understanding the paleo-environment and the various processes that affected the area near the Gesher Benot Ya'aqov site; and 3) a basis for further comprehensive research in the region.

Quaternary tectonic activity near the Acheulean archeological site has produced a complex local setting that controls the surrounding landscape. Tectonic activity formed the Benot Ya'aqov embayment, which attracted hominids and a variety of other fauna. Sediments of the Benot Ya'akov formation deposited in the embayment facilitated excellent preservation of the remnants of Acheulean hominid activities and of abundant floral and faunal remains. The formation was subsequently affected by faulting and folding.

Local uplift ended the deposition of lacustrine sediments in the embayment of Hula Valley Basin and caused erosion and vertical incision of the Jordan River that resulted in the capture of the Rosh Pinna River and the exposure of the Benot Ya'akov formation. These deposits are found in different structural positions along the north–south oriented morphotectonic embayment. The outcrops contain numerous archeological sites, giving the study area an unusually high potential for future hominid discoveries.

Following on from that, here's a link to a 2002 story from the same site, in which it transpires that evidence of archaic humans living 780,000 years ago, show they were using stone tools in order to process plant foods - in this case, a variety of nuts. Although using large stones to smash open tough nuts has also been observed in chimpanzees, it's interesting to note that the stone tools found at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov Area, apparently also bear a strong resemblance to those used in the present by modern hunter-gatherers.

It's the sheer variety of past behaviours detected at the site which make it notable, as described here...

The researchers report that a wide range of activities, including hunting, gathering and toolmaking, were performed at the site, showing it had been inhabited for an extended period.

Research on chimps and contemporary hunter-gatherer tribes suggest that nut-gathering was mainly performed by women and children.

"It can be concluded that the people living on the Lake Hula shore 780,000 years ago already had developed a complex society composed of members of various ages and both genders," Professor Goren-Inbar said.

And if the controlled use of fire can now be attributed to those early humans, it would appear that they were sophisticated indeed - which raises the question of whether or not they had, or would have needed, spoken language in order to pursue their lifestyle. This from Eurekalert...

Dr. Nira Alperson-Afil, a member of Goren-Inbar's team, said that further, detailed investigation of burned flint at designated areas in all eight levels of civilization found at the site now shows that "concentrations of burned flint items were found in distinct areas, interpreted as representing the remnants of ancient hearths." This tells us, she said, that once acquired, this fire-making ability was carried on over a period of many generations. Alperson-Afil's findings are reported in an article published in the most recent edition of Quaternary Science Reviews.

She said that other studies which have reported on the use of fire only verified the presence of burned archaeological materials, but were unable to penetrate further into the question of whether humans were "fire-makers" from the very early stages of fire-use.

"The new data from Gesher Benot Ya'akov is exceptional as it preserved evidence for fire-use throughout a very long occupational sequence. This continual, habitual, use of fire suggests that these early humans were not compelled to collect that fire from natural conflagrations, rather they were able to make fire at will," Alperson-Afil said.

The manipulation of fire by early man was clearly a turning point for man's ancestors, Once "domesticated," fire enabled protection from predators and provided warmth and light as well as enabling the exploitation of a new range of foods.

Said Alperson-Afil: "The powerful tool of fire-making provided ancient humans with confidence, enabling them to leave their early circumscribed surroundings and eventually populate new, unfamiliar environments."

Fire, Walk With Me?

So we might ask, what was it specifically about fire that might have prompted early humans to depart their homelands, blazing trails en route to pastures new? Actually, I'm not at all sure that this precocious use of fire specifically prompted a human migration out of Africa, or anywhere else - by 780-790 kya, humans were already living on the Iberian Peninsular, notably at Atapuerca, and probably Orce, whilst at Dmanisi, fossilised remains date back 1.7 million years, before even the Acheulean industry had begun. And somewhat improbably, Homo erectus at 840 kya, had taken up residence on a secluded island in modern-day Indonesia, known today as Flores, and latterly home to the mysterious Homo floresiensis.

Dmanisi, as I've said before, is puzzling, because it had previously been believed that the invention of a more modern tool-kit had prompted - or even allowed for - an early African exodus, and there has been some discussion as to whether the individuals there were of Asian descent instead.

Moreover, the human presence in southern and northern Iberia, at proposed dates as early as 1.2 mya, raises the awkward question of exactly from where those residents had originally hailed, and how they might have crossed the open seas that separated northern Africa from southern Iberia - I think there has even been a suggestion that these humans, like their Dmanisi counterparts, had themselves evolved in Eurasia.

As far as I'm aware there is no evidence for the controlled use of fire at any of these sites, and yet early humans had evidently travelled in from places far away - furthermore, there is evidence of a human presence as far east as China from around 2 - 2.5 mya, again with no use of fire being recorded.

And judging from this Terra Daily 2006 article, 'Buffet For Early Human Relatives, 2 Million Years Ago', I get the impression that it was the ability and adaptability of Paranthropus, at 1.8 mya to forage for a wide variety of foods, which led to later early humans to go wandering off on their own, regardless of the fact they had neither sophisticated tool-kits or the use of fire to help them on their way; here's a snippet from that article...

University of Utah scientists improved a method of testing fossil teeth, and showed that early human relatives (Paranthropus) varied their diets with the seasons 1.8 million years ago, eating leaves and fruit when available in addition to seeds, roots, tubers and perhaps grazing animals.

"By analyzing tooth enamel, we found that they ate lots of different things, and what they ate changed during the year," says University of Utah geology doctoral student Ben Passey, a coauthor of the study in the Friday, Nov. 10 issue of the journal Science.

"We wanted to know if they had variability in their diets on the time scale of a few months to a few years," he says. "The new method showed that their diets were extremely variable. One possibility is that they were migrating seasonally between more forested habitats to more open, savanna habitats."

Bearing in mind that Paranthropus at 1.8 mya roughly coincides with the archaic human remains at Dmanisi, it seems apparent that early humans and their evolutionary predecessors were well able to take care of themselves, and certainly had the confidence to explore and colonise parts of the world we would never suspect them as having reached, had it not been for the fortuitous finds of their fossilised remains.

But one question remains, regardless of exactly how the globe was colonised by early humans, as we still have little idea as to how the mastery of fire could have been divined in the first place, whether there was a single discovery that spread through cultural diffusion, or whether instead, there were multiple and independent insights across a wide range of locations and dates.

images of hand-axe

image at top from Physorg.com

Expedition Week :: National Geographic Channel

Expedition Week :: National Geographic Channel

Starting Sunday, November 16th, and running through to Sunday, November 23rd, viewers in the US will be able to tune into Expedition Week, which will be screened by the National Geographic Channel. In addition to the glittering array of 22 videos, there is the 'Expedition Of A Lifetime' competition, where entrants are encouraged to enter their own 1-minute video, stating where in the world they'd like to embark on an expedition, with the winner being granted just such an expedition to the destination of their choice. (N.B. This competition is open to US residents only).

And as if all that wasn't enough, there is also 'The Expedition Game', which can be accessed at top right of the main page, and elsewhere, more details of which will appear later in this post.

But first to the week of documentaries, covering a period of time spanning the age of the dinosaurs to the Space Age, and a multitude of points (and locations) in between, will comprise both documentaries with which viewers may already be familiar, as well as several new productions never before seen on national TV. The first of these premieres features the Great Pyramid at Giza, with Bob Brier, who explores what may be a solution as to exactly how this vast yet painstakingly detailed wonder from ancient Egypt was constructed. Below is a brief clip from that video, 'Unlocking The Great Pyramid', which airs on Sunday, November 16th, 9pm Et/PT...




This is a topic I've covered here at remote central back in April 2007, and I imagine this will be a pretty compelling programme, as there does seem to be good evidence which suggests that as a result of the research of Jean-Pierre Houdin, amongst others, we might now know how vast numbers of heavy stone blocks were raised into position on a structure no less than 484 ft high at its apex. Indeed, so compelling was his methodology and painstaking research, that leading Egyptologists such as Bob Brier have strongly endorsed the conclusions reached by Houdin.


As mentioned earlier, The Expedition Game is an integral part of the promotional website, and is described thus by National Geographic...

In the EXPEDITION WEEK game you create your own virtual explorer with custom expedition gear and tools. Players are then assigned a series of missions to seek out relics, tracking their expedition progress in their online passports. Missions and artifacts are randomly generated, ensuring a never-ending series of quests for players to enjoy. A background story for each player is generated each session of game play, and with the completion of each mission, more information is revealed. Additionally, during each night of EXPEDITION WEEK between 8 and 11 p.m. ET/PT, secret codes will be revealed during the shows that will unlock special items in the game for enhanced play.

“The EXPEDITION WEEK game is particularly engaging in that it takes players beyond the programming featured in the week and allows them to interact with and complete their own adventures and expeditions,” said Brad Dancer, senior vice president, Research and Digital Media for NGC. “EXPEDITION WEEK offers answers to questions that have challenged us for generations, and we are excited that the game takes it one step further in a fun and engaging way.

All of which sounds a great deal of fun, and best of luck to all who play.


Here's a checklist of the other documentaries billed as "either world, North America, or U.S. premiere":

Direct From the Moon – Monday, November 17, at 9 p.m. ET/PT

"With stunning footage from the Kaguya lunar orbiter, NGC reveals images of the moon and Earth like never seen before, and unlocks the secrets of 4.5 billion years of Earth, moon and solar system history."


Shipwreck! Captain Kidd – Tuesday, November 18, at 9 p.m. ET/PT

Captain Kidd's Canon – A canon pulled from a shipwreck may have once traveled with Captain Kidd before finding its way to the ocean floor. (video clip)

Don't Mess with the Kidd – Captain Kidd thought he would be received as a hero, but he turned out to be the most wanted pirate in the British Empire. (video clip)

The Kidd and Catalina – A mysterious discovery on Catalina Island may reveal secrets of Captain Kidd. (video clip)


The Real George Washington – Wednesday, November 19, at 9 p.m. ET/PT

George Washington Revealed – The truth behind the legend of George Washington. (video clip)

The Real George Washington – Legendary for his honesty, George Washington was capable of surprising craftiness as well. (video clip)


Lost Cities of the Amazon – Thursday, November 20, at 9 p.m. ET/PT

Unearthing the Lost City – To the untrained eye, it was a trench – but to this archaeologist, it was the discovery of a lifetime. (video clip)


Egypt Unwrapped: Alexander the Great's Lost Tomb – Friday, November 21, at 8 p.m. ET/PT

Alexander the Great – For all his power in life, Alexander the Great could not control the fate of his body after death. (video clip)

Alexander's Great Power – Even in death, Alexander the Great exerted his influence with a legend that claimed his body imbued caretakers with his power. (video clip)


Egypt Unwrapped: Mystery of the Screaming Man – Friday, November 21, at 9 p.m. ET/PT

Silent Scream – His face locked in a scream, 'Unknown Man E' has mystified archaeologists for decades. (video clip)

Wrapped in Enigma – Discovered among the most famous pharaohs in Egyptian history, Unknown Man E remains a mystery. (video clip)

Theory of the Goat Skin – The presence of a goat skin in Unknown Man E's tomb leads investigators in a new direction. (video clip)


Egypt Unwrapped: The Scorpion King – Sunday, November 23, at 8 p.m. ET/PT

Before the Pharaohs – The discovery of King Scorpion challenges the history books that claimed Egyptian civilization arose from foreign invaders. (video clip)

The First Writings – Tiny tablets found in the Scorpion King's tomb lead archaeologists to change their understanding of the birthplace of writing. (video clip)


Herod's Lost Tomb – Sunday, November 23, at 9 p.m. ET/PT

Herod's Lost Tomb – Archaeologists announce the discovery of Herod's Tomb. (video clip)

Herod's Smashed Tomb – Archaeologists sift through the remains of King Herod's Sarcophagus. (video clip)


Bonus Video:

The Bones Jackson Chronicles - A man on a mission to become the next National Geographic Explorer (video clip)


Proceedings get under way at 8 p.m. on Sunday, November 16th, with 'King Tut And The Lost Dynasty', for which there are three programmes, namely:

Mummy Scan - Watch scientists scan Egyptian royal mummies. (video clip)

Pharaoh's Curse – A curse may have found the finder of Tut's tomb. (video clip)

Theory of Murder – The clues from King Tut's tomb have lead archaeologists to theorize of a possible murder – and Tut wasn't the only victim. (video clip)


We are advised of other related features on the dedicated website:

March of Explorers Timeline – From the National Geographic archives, hear historic audio clips of explorers, view photos of personal items and discover what made their expeditions so significant.

Interactive Panoramas – Explore Egypt's Giza Plateau with interactive 360° panoramic images of iconic locations like the Sphinx, and the Great Pyramid.

Plus behind-the-scenes trivia, videos, photos, and more!

(I don't yet have links for the above, and these will be added as and when they become available.)

That just about wraps up this post, and during the coming week, I'll post details of other documentaries on show which haven't been mentioned in this post; topics include Neanderthals, Stonehenge and the Clovis culture, which existed in North America until around 12,000 years ago, until it and and vast numbers of animals, including the mammoth, were suddenly extinguished following what is now thought to have been the devastating impact of an exploding comet, high above Canada.

It merely remains for me to wish all who watch the documentaries and participate in the website activities, a suitably satisfying experience.

The Archaeology Channel - Our First Pledge Drive: Responding To World Economic Conditions

The Archaeology Channel - Welcome

The latest video posted online by TAC features founder and President, Rick Pettigrew, who advises us that due to the currently adverse condition of the economy, several financial supporters of TAC have been obliged for the time being to withhold funding. This from the TAC website...

World economic conditions have threatened to severely reduce our income from underwriting, our top income source. In response, ALI is featuring our first Pledge Drive, beginning November 5 and lasting up to two weeks, until November 18. Our goal is to replace the lost underwriting income with new supporting Memberships, to ensure a sound financial footing for ALI and thus also for TAC. Check for daily updates to learn how you can help TAC continue to deliver and expand its programming. We are counting on your support! Thank you.

Further details regarding available options to those wishing to lend financial support to The Archaeology Channel are given during this 6-minute video, and suffice it to say, many people reading this, or who otherwise regularly watch TAC content, should be able to afford a few tens of dollars at the very least.

Archaeology teaches us a great deal about the ancient world, but if there's one thing we all know about our modern world, it's that virtually everything costs money. So although we might have the privilege of watching free archaeology videos online, we know that the process of making, producing and showing the videos, as well as maintaining the website itself, all incur costs on a non-stop basis, and it is therefore incumbent upon those of us who wish to benefit in the future from this resource, to try and ensure its continued presence online by helping out from time to time.

Another avenue open to those wishing to contribute their dollars to this enterprise is the TAC Marketplace, wherein can be found a very good selection of related books, dvds and videos available for purchase, and with Christmas already looming on the distant horizon, there should be plenty of gift ideas of interest to all.

see also: TAC Memberships

image from TAC Marketplace

A 12,000-year-old Shaman Burial From The Southern Levant (Israel) — PNAS

A 12,000 year old shaman burial from the southern Levant (Israel) — PNAS

During this past week, various websites are reporting on claims by a team of archaeologists in Israel have discovered the skeletal remains and accompanying grave goods of what they suggest is a Natufian shaman, which if authenticated, would make it the earliest known burial of its kind. Here's the abstract from PNAS...

The Natufians of the southern Levant (15,000–11,500 cal BP) underwent pronounced socioeconomic changes associated with the onset of sedentism and the shift from a foraging to farming lifestyle. Excavations at the 12,000-year-old Natufian cave site, Hilazon Tachtit (Israel), have revealed a grave that provides a rare opportunity to investigate the ideological shifts that must have accompanied these socioeconomic changes. The grave was constructed and specifically arranged for a petite, elderly, and disabled woman, who was accompanied by exceptional grave offerings.

The grave goods comprised 50 complete tortoise shells and select body-parts of a wild boar, an eagle, a cow, a leopard, and two martens, as well as a complete human foot. The interment rituals and the method used to construct and seal the grave suggest that this is the burial of a shaman, one of the earliest known from the archaeological record. Several attributes of this burial later become central in the spiritual arena of human cultures worldwide.

For some further detail, Michael Balter reports for Science Magazine, beginning his essay thus...

Before there were priests or doctors, people seeking solace or treatment for an illness often called in a shaman, an intermediary between the human and spirit worlds. Archaeologists working in Israel now claim that a 12,000-year-old grave of a woman buried with various animal and human body parts is that of an early shaman. If true, it could mean that shamanism arose during a critical period in human cultural evolution.

Although largely supplanted by organized religion, shamanism is still widespread in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. For example, many Eskimo groups around the Arctic Circle practice shamanism. The roots of shamanism reach back at least to the ancient Greeks and possibly even to prehistoric times. Many archaeologists assume that shamanism preceded organized religion, and some see depictions of shamans in cave art from 15,000 years ago or earlier--although that interpretation is controversial.

As a brief aside, there is putative evidence, according to James Shreeve in his book 'The Neandertal Enigma' in which the author relates how a Neanderthal burial was found in 1972, at Hortus in France, with what may have been a leopardskin cape, which in turn has been suggested as indicating that these archaic humans may have had shamans as far back as 50,000 bp, although as this appears to be the only data-set from that era, it would be difficult to definitely support that claim. Although it is by no means universally accepted that the Hilazon Tachtit burial represents anything specifically shamanic, the presence of leopard remains at both Hilazon Tachtit and Hortus might possibly represent something more than a coincidence.

The lead archaeologist at Hilazon Tachtit is Leore Grosman, and as she is partly funded by National Geographic, the following details are excerpted from their own report on the site...

The artifacts found in the woman's grave shed light on some of the specifics of Natufian rituals from this period, said Grosman, whose study was published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

For example, the turtles appear to have been eaten as part of the burial ceremony. Their shells were then placed around the deceased woman. Pig bones were cracked open and their marrow was removed before the bones were placed beneath the woman's hand. The grave was closed with the slab perhaps to prevent damage caused by animals.

The Telegraph goes into a little more detail regarding stones placed upon the body at time of burial...

"Clearly a great amount of time and energy was invested in the preparation, arrangement, and sealing of the grave," said Miss Grosman, noting the body was placed in an unusual way – laid out on its side and its legs folded inward at the knees.

It was then covered with 10 large stones, either to keep wild animals away, speculated Miss Grosman, or as part of efforts by the community to keep the shaman's spirit inside the grave.

This last detail rings a bell, because I read recently of another burial, I think from the same part of the world and dating to around the same time, of a single burial upon whose chest a large rock had been placed - offhand I can't recall if there were any associated grave goods, as unfortunately I can't remember exactly where I read this - possibly in After The Ice, which I don't have to hand, and the site may have been somewhere like Nevali Cori. (If anyone reading this can point me in the right direction, I'd be very grateful.)

My thoughts at the time led me to conclude that whoever placed the rock on the single burial did so because they wished to ensure that either the physical body didn't come back to life, or a ghost derived therefrom didn't come back to haunt those who had buried the individual, so it's most interesting to read of this Hilazon Tachtit burial which includes a total of ten stones placed over the body. Of course, I don't know whether there was any direct link between the two burials, be it if a funerary or utilitarian purpose, but it seems worth mentioning the similarities.

Back to National Geographic, for some further thoughts...

Harvard University anthropologist Ofer Bar-Yosef said the shaman grave is a rare find. For every 50 Natufian hunter-gatherers, only one would have been a shaman, he said.

"Finding a shaman's burial is like finding Napolean's (sic) grave," said Bar-Yosef, who was not involved in the study but who served with a group of fellow scientists who reviewed the report for inclusion in the journal.

"I've spent many years digging other Natufian sites, and I've found a bunch of graves, but I've never found anything like this."

The shaman's grave and its contents "finally give another view into a society that didn't leave behind a written record. … It's almost equivalent to a textual record."

Another word on shamanism and its roots from Michael Balter...

Although largely supplanted by organized religion, shamanism is still widespread in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. For example, many Eskimo groups around the Arctic Circle practice shamanism. The roots of shamanism reach back at least to the ancient Greeks and possibly even to prehistoric times. Many archaeologists assume that shamanism preceded organized religion, and some see depictions of shamans in cave art from 15,000 years ago or earlier--although that interpretation is controversial.

To finish this post, here are yet further comments, also from Michael Balter's post...

"This is an extremely important report on a rare find at a critical time of cultural evolution," says Brian Hayden, an archaeologist at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada. Ian Kuijt, an anthropologist at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, adds that the "authors have done an excellent job of supporting their argument" for prehistoric shamanism.

But Mina Evron, an archaeologist at the University of Haifa in Israel, cautions that there may be alternative explanations, though she doesn't offer one herself. Just because the team's "colorful interpretation" seems plausible, she says, "it ain't necessarily so."

Whatever this grave turns out to be in the final analysis, there is no doubt that this is no ordinary burial for someone considered an ordinary member of Natufian society, some twelve millennia ago, and hopefully there will be forthcoming research that will yield yet further detail to this enigmatic burial in Galilee.

image from Anthropology.net, who also furnish us with more illustrations

Four Stone Hearth: Late Night Election Night Archaeoporn

Four Stone Hearth: Late Night Election Night - Archaeoporn

The latest edition of Four Stone Hearth is up at Archaeoporn, and it looks like another good one, so be sure to visit the site, hit the links and read the posts.

The next edition will be in 2 weeks' time, November 19th, over at Moneduloides.

Human Evolution On Trial :: Indo-Europeans by Terry Toohill

Human Evolution On Trial - 'Indo-Europeans'

Up till now in Part II we have been looking mainly at an expanding wave of human migration into a previously uninhabited sub-point of the human star, Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific (”The Human Star” [A Map]). You saw that progressive improvements in technology allowed the expansion. This led to the evolution of a new race (or subspecies?). Later, as the defence continues to present evidence in favour of the defendant, the jury will see similar, but earlier, movements into uninhabited environments.

Because people of European origin have a relatively long written history and they have done most of the work on genes and languages, we know a fair bit about historical population movements into and around the Northwest European point of the star. This may provide us with evidence about what happens when humans with new technology move into regions others already inhabit. The process should be similar to the movement of Europeans into New Zealand (“Change” [European Migration]) or the microlithic-using people into the region of the Hoabinhian (“Pacific Population” [Mixing]).


Indo-European Languages

Most European people speak languages classified as being part of the Indo-European language family, although other languages survive. We’ll come back to these soon [Mingling]. The distribution and pattern of change in the Indo-European languages suggests an early expansion, followed by a series of secondary expansions of the regional varieties that then evolved locally from the original dialects. Indo-European is in turn often classified along with Finno-Ugric, Altaic and some other language families as part of a widespread Eurasiatic language superfamily (Greenberg and Ruhlen 1992). Presumably Indo-European had evolved through a similar process from an ancient expansion of proto-Eurasiatic. We will reach that expansion and yet more support for the wave theory of evolution in “North to Alaska” [Eurasiatic].

Study of the Indo-European languages indicates most have diversified only since the Bronze Age developed. A great deal of evidence indicates people speaking proto-Indo-European dialects started moving from the region north of the Caucasus Mountains, in the modern Ukraine, perhaps as long ago as 5000 to 6000 years (Mallory 1989). This movement was in turn probably the product of an expansion of Early Bronze Age groups. People in Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus Mountains and round the Caspian Sea had been using copper (a component of bronze) for thousands of years before then. Influences from these regions almost certainly contributed to the development, and possibly language, of the Indo-Europeans in the first place.

As well as the early and later expansions the Indo-European languages are often also divided into separate western, or European, and eastern branches. The eastern branch of Indo-European includes most languages spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern India. In ancient times the region in Central Asia between this group and the western group was home to such Indo-European languages as Hittite, Scythian, Sarmatian, Alan, Gothic and Tocharian (Mallory 1989). Have you got all that? There’s a diagram coming up.

These languages from the middle have all been replaced in the last 1500 years by the expansion of a different branch of Eurasiatic, the Altaic, in the form of Turkic and Mongolian-speaking people from the east. Most of the central Indo-European languages have become extinct but descendants of the people who spoke them are still there. A huge number of human mtDNA and Y-chromosome branches are found in such groups as the Kazakhs, Kirghiz and Uighurs (“MtEve” [The Trees]). The people in the region have become a mixture (Olson 2002), not quite yet a stabilised hybrid population (“Hybrid vigour and Inbreeding” [Survival]).

Here is an Indo-European language tree, based loosely on Gray and Atkinson (2003). Within historic times many of the languages have expanded. Others have become extinct. Languages of the eastern branch are in Italics. The jury will see the geographic distribution of the western languages later (map 8) but all these divisions are obviously nowhere near absolute as the speakers of the various languages moved around and influenced each other.




So we can imagine that before the Altaic expansion there was probably a gradation of Indo-European languages right across the middle of the human star from Northwest Europe to Northern India. They almost certainly arose from a single ancestral language that had developed during the Bronze Age. The languages diversified as they lost contact with each other. Neighbouring groups could understand each other but the further away from home you got the less you could understand. This is called a dialect chain (Bellwood 1978) and is a reasonably common phenomenon. As the defence first said in “The Human Star” a similar phenomenon in biology is called a cline. An element of class differentiation in the languages probably existed as well, such as that Barry Cunliffe (1994) suggests existed between the Scythians and Thracians around 500 BC.

Perhaps looking at the way languages expand may be able to tell us something about the way genes expand. The jury has already seen, in “The Human Star”, the map of the first principal component of genetic variation in Europe (map 2). We’ll look at the second principal component much later in “Culture” (map 18). The map of the third principal component, in Cavalli-Sforza (1995), accounts for about 10% of the genetic variation in Europe (map 7) and probably represents some expansion of Indo-European speaking people. One genetic extreme occurs where the Indo-European languages perhaps originated, although language can spread independently of genes. I’ve used arrows to suggest the movement of the eastern branch. The expansion doesn’t show up in genetic maps available for Asia.





It’s interesting to see that even within Europe the genes spread nowhere near as far as the language family did. You can see that regions even as close to the genetic centre as Germany and Southern Scandinavia lie beyond the boundary between it and the other genetic extreme. Ireland, Britain, Spain, France, Italy and the Western Balkans, all today Indo-European speaking, are well outside the main genetic movement. Cavalli-Sforza’s original map shows these places virtually lack any of the genes. There is also evidence that languages such as Greek, Latin and Celtic contain non-Indo-European words, probably adopted from languages spoken by earlier populations in each area (Mallory 1989).

And some people presently living in Southwest Britain have the same mitochondrial DNA as that of human skeletons in the same region from nearly 10,000 years ago, well before the Bronze Age or the Indo-European languages’ evolution (Jones 2001). This all lends weight to the idea that just small groups of Indo-European speaking people actually migrated into Western Europe. Pre-existing populations found it useful to adopt languages such as Celtic, Latin, Greek and Albanian. The languages spread to the extremities largely under the influence of traders, metalworkers or warriors rather than actual population movements that included women. In other words the languages sort of catapulted past the genetic expansion. Many of the original population remained and they and the languages formed hybrids: another example of the relative independence of genes and culture. In other words “Indo-European” is a linguistic concept rather than genetic or racial.

It appears from the earlier diagram, and map 7, that dialects on the geographic margins of Indo-European had already evolved into separate languages by the time of any original expansion. In fact it’s possible that Hittite descended from a dialect that had developed near the Caucasus Mountains by the time the Indo-European family separated from the Finno-Ugric family, the most closely related of the Eurasiatic languages (“North to Alaska” [Eurasiatic]).


The Chariot

Ancient sacred texts from India show the chariot was a very important part of the early Indo-European culture. It may have been the horse’s domestication about 6000 years ago that allowed the Indo-European expansion, and carried the Tocharians’ ancestors into east Central Asia (Mallory 1989). It was the idea of riding it with stirrups (Burke 1978) and the accumulation of other advances in warfare that led to the more recent expansions back west of the Mongolian and Turkic-speaking people such as Attila the Hun, Timur the Tatar and Genghis Khan. But as I’ve said, we still find many different Y-chromosome and mtDNA lines through the region.

The horse didn’t appear in Mesopotamia (considered by many people to be the centre of urban civilisation’s development) until just before 2000 BC (just over 4000 years ago). Until that time people in Mesopotamia had used cattle or donkeys to pull four-wheeled carts. As well as these animals the Indo-Europeans also used the horse as a draught animal (Gamkrelidze and Ivanov 1990). Later elements of the Indo-European expansion, at least, are almost certainly associated with the invention some time before about 1600 BC of the two-wheeled chariot (Jobling et al 2004). It was probably invented either just north or south of the Caucasus Mountains but the technology rapidly passed through them.

Perhaps the invention was a product of the mixing of Indo-European-speaking people with the Mesopotamian cultures. There certainly seems to have been an Indo-European element involved in the early stages of its spread. However, like the microlithic (“Polynesian Origins” [Japan]), the technology spread much further than the genes, or even the language. We’ll return to the northern expansion soon [Mingling]. But research has shown that the Indo-European element decreased as the chariot moved south from the Caucasus Mountains.

At the time many people in Turkey already spoke Indo-European languages, such as Hittite and the related Luwian, although other languages were also spoken in the region. The Hittites may even have invented the chariot. Just to the east of the Hittites kings with eastern Indo-European names ruled the Mitanni. Their gods were the same as ancient Indian ones (Campbell 1976), but their language was not Indo-European (Leick 2001, and Chahin 2001). The southerly moving Gutians, Hurrians (Horites in the Bible?) and the Kassites (who ruled Babylon for more than 400 years) also probably had some sort of connection to the Indo-Europeans. We’ll also return to these languages soon. Further south though the Semitic-speaking Hyksos people introduced the chariot from Canaan into Egypt, and ruled the northern part of that country for more than a hundred years (Clayton 1994). This is another example of technology, probably transmitted by wandering males, spreading beyond the genes, or even the language. The defence will use the name “Canaan” as a general term for the Mediterranean Sea’s far eastern shore: modern day Israel (including regions claimed as Palestinian), Lebanon and western Syria. We’ll return to the region, and the Hittites and Hyksos, in “The Last Point” [Gene Flow].


Mingling

The defence has already pointed out that migration waves are not usually a single movement by a single group of people. They are much more complicated affairs. The Indo-European migration therefore was, once again, not a total displacement of population. It is generally accepted the Hittites for example mixed with the local population of Turkey and adopted elements of the local culture and languages (Mallory 1989, and Chahin 2001). In fact documents discovered in the ancient Hittite capital are written in up to eight languages including several other Indo-European ones. Incidentally, around the time of Akhenaten, and for some time afterwards, the Hittites seem to have had a monopoly on iron working. They may also have invented this technology.

You can see from the distribution of the western Indo-European languages (map 8) that within Europe the languages divide in turn into a southeastern and a widespread northern and western branch. It’s possible the culture known as “Linear Pottery” or “Danubian” brought the Indo-European languages into Europe about 5000 BC. But because bronze was yet to be invented in Danubian times it is more likely the “Corded Ware” or “Battle Axe” people introduced the languages about 2000 years later, in 3000 BC (Mallory 1989). Linear pottery is shown at the centre left of map 8 and corded ware at the top left (Roe 1971). Many pottery styles shown so far will reappear in later maps as we follow our evolution back through time.




Indo-European replaced most pre-existing languages throughout Europe, although earlier inhabitants survived. It is not known what languages were spoken in Europe before Indo-European arrived but some non-Indo-European languages exist, mostly in isolated or mountainous areas. For example people speaking languages grouped into another branch of Eurasiatic, Finno-Ugric, are found in the Arctic far north (the number 1s in the map). Hungarian is also part of this family and was introduced to that country during historic times (Olson 2002). It is not shown on the map. The remaining isolated languages are not classified as even part of the Eurasiatic superfamily. They are totally separate. Basque is spoken in the Pyrenees (number 2) and we know that at least two other non-Indo-European languages survived into ancient Roman times: Ligurian (very much influenced by Indo-European) in the Ligurian Apennines and Western Alps of Italy (number 3) and Etruscan (number 4). Some forms of Pictish may also have had non-Indo-European elements (Davies 2001). Other non-Indo-European languages were probably spoken in parts of Spain.

Tomas Gamkrelidze and Vyachislav Ivanov (1990) suggest there may be a connection between number 2, Basque and, far to the east, number 5, various languages, such as Georgian, spoken in the Caucasus Mountains. Although the Caucasus languages are confined to just a small mountainous region they are extremely varied. Their diversification is presumably very ancient and they are actually divided into several separate families (Cavalli-Sforza 1995). Although they are today confined to the Caucasus Mountains until about 3000 years ago languages related to some of them were found in Turkey (Mallory 1989) and in Western Iran. They had probably been even more widely spread earlier. For example some people believe Sumerian, the first language used for writing in the cities of Mesopotamia, may have been related to one or other branch of Georgian. As more probably were Kassite and the Hurrian languages, such as that of the Mitanni, of Northern Iraq and Northern Syria. If in fact Basque is related to some of these languages it would suggest an earlier language expansion similar to the Indo-European, perhaps associated with the Linear Pottery people (“The Last Point” [Pottery]).


Slavic

Many people in my home province of Northland trace their ancestry to the region along the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea, called Dalmatia when their ancestors left it. It was more recently part of Yugoslavia and is now part of Croatia. The land has not shifted much but, as you can see, the name it is known by has changed periodically. So has the language spoken there. Ancient Greek and Roman sources tell us quite a bit about the region’s history and so we’ll have a look.

Way back in “Change” [European Migration] I refered to the people as South Slavs. They speak a language that is part of the Slavic language group. This group includes Russian and Polish. In Roman times the Western Balkan peninsular was called Illyricum and Pannonia. A variety of Indo-European speaking people occupied it but none from the Slavic branch. The first Indo-European languages there probably belonged to the southeastern, or Greek, branch. But Illyrian itself was probably from the northern and western branch, related to the East Italian languages spoken at the time along the western shore of the Adriatic. Modern Albanian most likely descends from a branch of either Dacian / Thracian or Illyrian spoken in the region during early Roman times (Mallory 1989). Branches of Celtic had also been introduced into parts of the area. We’ll come back to Celtic soon.

The Roman province of Illyricum produced at least two emperors. Diocletian and Constantine were both from there, but from 400 AD the province was again in turmoil. Goths, Huns, Avars and Magyars invaded it. This last group established an empire in Hungary (Jobling et al 2004) and, as the defence has mentioned, the language spoken there today belongs to a northern Asian family, Finno-Ugric. But the language doesn’t reflect the genes. There is no genetic difference between Hungarians and neighbouring people. A great deal of gene flow has obscured any original difference.

Any so-called Huns or Magyars have been totally absorbed (Walker and Shipman 1996). In fact there is abundant evidence the groupings we call Huns, Avars, Goths etc. were themselves made up of a genetic mix of people, including disaffected people from the area they were actually invading. J. P. Mallory (1989) writes “by the time the Huns, for example burst into Central Europe they were an amalgam of Turkic, Iranian and Germanic-speaking peoples”.

Slavic-speaking tribes joined the expansion, coming from somewhere near the original Indo-European homeland. Some of them crossed the Danube River after 500 AD and settled in the Roman province of Illyricum. Again the movement was probably similar to the movement of Europeans into New Zealand 150 years ago, or the microlithic-using people into the Hoabinhian region. The Northwest Balkan people therefore preserve genes of the region’s earlier inhabitants. They simply adopted the incoming Slavic language. The earlier language managed to survive in the southern mountains and more inaccessible regions to become the modern Indo-European language Albanian. But, except for the Arctic far north, there appear to be fewer Indo-European genes there than anywhere else in Europe (map 7).

The modern differences between Slavic-speaking Bosnians, Croats and Serbs are simply differences resulting from more recent introductions of literacy (or civilization). The languages are the same and vary only as much as do the dialects of New Zealand Maori or of Britain and Ireland. They all understand each other fairly easily. It is merely the method of writing that is different. Croatians write in the Roman script and are Roman Catholic, Serbs write in a modified Russian script and are Orthodox Christians and the Bosnians sometimes write in Arabic and are Muslim. Of course the bitterest arguments are usually those between family members. We’ll come back to religion in “Culture” but the differences in the region are manufactured rather than real. The recent years of strife were simply tribal.

The history of Western Europe has many parallels with that of the Balkans.


Celtic

The northern Indo-European-speaking or Corded Ware people had eventually reached the already fairly densely populated Atlantic coast of Europe. The Atlantic people used huge stones (megaliths, mega - huge) for monuments. They responded to the newcomers by accentuating this difference, possibly through religion, by using even bigger ones (Cunliffe 1994). But the people mixed. And like most religious beliefs Stonehenge may be the product of a hybrid of ideas (“Culture” [Evolution of a Religion]).

Today some people in Western Europe are referred to as Celts. The far western branch of the Indo-European group of languages is usually referred to collectively as being Celtic although speakers of this group of languages moved east as far as Turkey. There they became known as Galatians (Davies 2001). Several Celtic expansions are well dated, as the more recent movements occurred in historic times. These happened between 2500 and 2000 years ago and both Greek and Roman writers recorded them.

Celtic origins probably go back at least a further thousand years though (Davies 2001). Again the languages spread further and faster than the genes and it is impossible to correlate any Celtic expansion with any particular genetic group. On the other hand a Celtic expansion is universally correlated with the Central European “La Tène” and earlier “Hallstatt” Iron Age technologies and cultures. Early elements may go back to the expansion of the Bronze Age “Urnfield” people from about 1300 BC though. Traders, metalworkers or warriors spread the languages. But Celtic genes were actually spread much more widely than the languages. Many Celts became mercenaries in armies throughout the ancient world. Of course their genes may survive as just a very minor modern component in regions where they were stationed.

The Celts developed near the headwaters of the Danube, the Rhône, the Rhine and other North European rivers. These rivers provided the main trade routes between the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. As a result people in the region where the rivers nearly meet were among the first in Europe to develop efficient metalworking, especially iron (Clark 1969). Efficient metalworking promoted more efficient farming and land clearance. This led to a population or at least cultural expansion. The expanding Celtic languages replaced earlier ones, but genetic studies show large elements of the original population remained.

Ireland and Spain, at a geographic margin of the Celtic world, preserved older forms of the Celtic language and so it is assumed later language innovations in the central area failed to reach them (Davies 2001). We have seen that something similar happened in “Eastern Polynesia” [Marginal Polynesia]. It also seems that the Celtic languages as a whole are more closely related to Tocharian, Hittite, and several Italian languages (including Latin) than they are to other Indo-European languages (Mallory 1989, and Gamkrelidze and Ivanov 1990). Celtic may be partly the product of an early expansion of Indo-European, perhaps the Corded Ware people.

Immigration always leads to problems, though, even today.

But the violence of the Celtic migrations may have been exaggerated because the Romans and Greeks, who were trying to stop them, wrote all the surviving accounts. Celtic tribes defeated a Roman army and attacked Rome in 390 BC. In 280 BC they invaded Delphi in Greece (Davies 2001) and all this, naturally enough, influenced Roman and Greek attitudes. But we know from modern history that receivers always emphasize the violence of a movement and the migrators accentuate their innocent, peaceful intentions and the advantages brought to the original inhabitants. History always depends on whose side of the story you hear.

The Celts and Germans are basically part of the same development. I have a great deal of difficulty distinguishing between Saxon, Celtic or even early Viking artifacts and John Davies (2001) admits the Germans as described in “the first century BC were remarkably similar to the Celts as described by authors two centuries earlier”. The Celtic and German languages were probably originally simply opposite ends of a dialect chain [Indo-European Languages]. Some people believe the only difference between Celt and German is the River Rhine (see for example Cunliffe 1994).

The Roman Empire’s expansion north to the Rhine led to greater contact within and between different regions of the Empire. This eliminated many differences between the languages spoken within the Celtic parts of it. In fact some people regard Latin itself as being closely related to the Celtic languages (Gamkrelidze and Ivanov 1990).

Latin had already expanded and replaced all the other languages on the Italian peninsular including other Indo-European ones. Ultimately it replaced Celtic within most continental parts of the empire. Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and Romanian are all descended from regional varieties of Latin. The Latin and Celtic languages were lost in Britain because Anglo-Saxons brought their branch of German into the country about 1600 years ago.

Their language gave rise to Modern English, which has since spread widely around the world and also replaced many other languages. Spanish, Portuguese, French and Russian are other Indo-European languages that have spread far from their original homeland and replaced other languages. As in the example of the Roman Empire interactions within political boundaries (usually also geographic) and the use of writing has narrowed the original regional variation in each of these languages. The languages often still form clines of dialect within each political region though.


History

Before we leave the Indo-Europeans we’ll explore the Irish element of my pedigree. Like Maori the Irish preserve stories of earlier inhabitants of their land. The list varies but usually has the first inhabitants as the Partholon who are attacked by the Fomorians. Survivors of this suffer the attack of the Nemidians with the result every one is killed. How they got their story through is a mystery. Some claim that in fact one survivor, Tuan mac Caraill, lived for hundreds of years and was eventually able to tell the Christian Saint Finnen the story (Campbell 1976). Meanwhile the next group, the Fir Bolg, had been followed by the Tuath de Danaan (my surname in Irish is spelled Tuathail). The Milesians next pushed these last two groups into the hills and deep forest. The stories say they became the “Little People”, leprechauns and fairies. There may be a kernel of truth in these stories but are they history, as we know it? The stories are similar to Maori stories of Patupaiarehe, Turehu, Maruiwi etc. Most populations have myths of people before themselves. Families tend to get pushed around over time. Of course to justify replacing them the newcomers usually portray the original inhabitants as being much more primitive than themselves.

Humans actually first arrived in Ireland near the end of the ice age, about 10,000 years ago. The defence mentioned Daniel Bradley’s (1996) mitochondrial DNA research on African, Indian and European cattle in “Pedigrees” [Selection]. He and some colleagues have also looked at human Y-chromosomes in Ireland (Hill et al 2000). They found that the vast majority of men on the west coast carry Y-chromosomes closest to just one of the many European Y-chromosome lines. This Y-chromosome (a version of R, see “MtEve” [The Trees]) actually forms a cline across Europe, dropping to just a few in the Middle East. As we would expect, the extreme margin of the human star’s Northwest European point has less genetic variety than does the middle of the human star. This Irish Y-chromosome is closely related to a very common one amoung Basques in the Pyrenees region, people whose language is not even Indo-European. The Y-chromosome type had probably spread along Europe’s western geographic margin long before the Indo-European languages reached the region. And even before rising sea level at the end of the ice age opened the English Channel (“The Last Point” [Islands Again]).

The jury can see from all this that, even though they come from just a single point of the human star, the European side of the New Zealand family is the product of a complex set of expanding and contracting genetic and linguistic migration waves. These waves have given rise within Europe to a complex of different races, religions and language groups. You will meet the very first people into the human star’s Northwest European point in Part IV (see “Contents”).

My great grandfather left Cork in Southwest Ireland and came to New Zealand in 1861 (“Pedigrees” [Ancestry]). He was simply just one more individual in the wave of European migration around the outside of the star over the last few hundred years. This was made possible by technological and scientific advances in Europe. An especially useful advance was the development of ships capable of carrying large cargoes of humans and livestock.

Europeans colonised especially the Americas, South and East Africa, Australia and New Zealand. They usually relied on their gods and mythconceptions to justify their expansion, and to claim large tracts of land. Any resistance from the original inhabitants provoked indignant retaliation and yet more land confiscation. In spite of this the original inhabitants have survived and influenced the European immigrants culturally, technologically and even genetically. Populations of European origin in each region have become different from each other. On the other hand the original populations have also adopted the invaders’ technology, and usually language and other elements of culture.

The development or introduction of new technology leads to times of plenty, an increase in population and alters the environment. At such times hybrids are most likely to form (“Change” [Galapagos Finches]). As the new technology expanded the boundaries became porous. As we would expect, any hybrids between Europeans and the indigenous inhabitants have a mix of characteristics from each kind. Many characteristics are halfway between the two (“Hybrid Vigour and Inbreeding” [Survival]). And of course the new technology and culture introduced to each region caused massive change in the environment. This in turn caused a new round of extinctions. In many cases environmental change has been so great we cannot even begin to imagine what the regions were like before any Europeans, let alone earlier humans, arrived.

However in order really to understand the defence case the jury must try. The defence will attempt to give you some idea in “Extinctions” [How Did We Do It?]. And of course climate change had altered all regions hugely many times before anything like humans appeared.

In Part I the jury saw how genes work and we looked at the overall distribution of modern human kinds around the world. You saw how, within any group of humans, languages, and even of species, the points or margins of distribution become the most different from the overall average.

In Part II we have looked in some detail at several geographic margins of the human distribution. Our examination of both the Polynesian and Indo-European ancestors of the New Zealand population showed that human migration, language replacement and gene flow has been virtually continuous for at least the last five to ten thousand years. This process has led to the patterns we see for the development of races and diversification into tribes, sometimes speaking different languages.

The jury has seen that human expansions are always limited by the technology the particular human group possesses at the time. On the other hand technology allows the expansion of any culture that possesses it but the technology, and often the culture and language, spread further than the genes. The defence asks the jury to remember all this. Of course geography has had a major influence on the direction and extent of the waves of expansion (“The Human Star” [Geography]).

In Part III we will widen our perspective and move rapidly back through the past. The defence will show that the processes and patterns covered so far have been active during the evolution of all species.

In Part IV the jury will be able to see how we can use this evidence to help us understand all the stages in the evolution of the modern human species, Homo sapiens.

By the time we reach the end of Part V we will have followed this evolution right back to where we are now. The jury will have seen all the waves of technology, culture and genes from apes until today.

See next :: Human Evolution On Trial - 'Time'

Witnesses Called

Aldamiz, Luis Expansion of Indo-European Peoples

Anthony, David W., The Horse, The Wheel And Language (2007) Princeton University Press

Bellwood, Peter (1978) Man’s Conquest of the Pacific Collins, Auckland.

Bradley et al (1996) Mitochondrial Diversity and the Origins of African and European Cattle Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. Vol. 93 pp. 5131-5135.

Burke, James (1978) Connections Macmillan, London Ltd.

Campbell, Joseph (1976) Occidental Mythology Penguin Books, New York.

Cavalli-Sforza, Luigi Luca and Cavalli-Sforza, Francesco (1995) The Great Human Diasporas Addison- Wesley

Chahin, M. (2001) The Kingdom of Armenia Curzon Press, Great Britain.

Clark, Grahame (1969) World Prehistory. Cambridge University Press, UK.

Clayton, Peter A. (1994) Chronicle of the Pharaohs Thames and Hudson ltd., London.

Cunliffe, Barry ed. (1994) The Oxford Illustrated Prehistory of Europe Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Davies, John (2001) The Celts

Cassell and Co., U.K. Gamkrelidze, T. V. and Ivanov, V. (1990) The Early History of Indo-European Language. Scientific American, 262, 110-116 Munn and Co., New York.

Gray, Russell and Atkinson, Quentin (2003) Language-Tree Divergence Times Support the Anatolian Theory of Indo-European Origin Nature, 426 no.6965: 435-439

Greenberg, J. and Ruhlen, M (1992) Linguistic Origins of Native Americans Scientific American, 267 –94-99, Munn and Co., New York.

Hill et al (2000) Y-Chromosome Variation and Irish Origins Nature 404 no.6776: 351-2.

Jobling et al (2004) Human Evolutionary Genetics Garland Science, New York.

Jones, Martin (2001) The Molecule Hunt The Penguin Press, London.

Leick, Gwendolyn (2001) Mesopotamia, the Invention of the City The Penguin Press, England.

Mallory, J. P. (1989) In Search of the Indo-Europeans Thames and Hudson, New York.

Olson, Steve (2002) Mapping Human History Houghton Mifflin Company, New York.

Raitio, Mirja et al (2001) Y-Chromosomal SNPs in Finno-Ugric-Speaking Populations Analyzed By Minisequencing On Microarrays Genome Research Vol. 11, Issue 3, 471-482, March 2001

Roe, Derek (1971) Prehistory Paladin (Macmillan and Co. Ltd.), London.

Walker, Alan and Shipman, Pat (1996) The Wisdom of the Bones Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Is Cave Art Really Proof of Modern Thinking & Language? - Biology of Mind

Is Cave Art Really Proof of Modern Thinking & Language? - Biology of Mind

In a recent post I made mention of a new blog, hosted by John Hawks on behalf of his students (and interested readers), namely 'Biology of Mind', which has produced a steady stream of posts since its inception. This post links to a recent article posted there by Brian Olson, and as I was unable to leave a comment (the reCatchpa thingy didn't work for me), I've decided instead to address the paper to which it refers, as well as the post itself, on this blog.

The paper in question is called 'Cave Art, Autism, and the Evolution of the Human Mind', (pdf) written in 1998 by Nicholas Humpreys, and proposes that the people who produced the cave paintings in Upper Palaeolithic Europe, the oldest of which are dated to no later than 35,000 bp, didn't possess modern minds, or more crucially, capability for complex spoken language.

I'm just going to add some general observations, rather than write an exhaustive essay, or reiterate too many of a number of points I've made in previous posts. Here's the introductory paragraph of the original paper...

The emergence of cave art in Europe about 30,000 years ago is widely believed to be evidence that by this time human beings had developed sophisticated capacities for symbolization and communication. However, comparison of the cave art with the drawings made by a young autistic girl, Nadia, reveals surprising similarities in content and style.

Nadia, despite her graphic skills, was mentally defective and had virtually no language. I argue in the light of this comparison that the existence of the cave art cannot be the proof which it is usually assumed to be that the humans of the Upper Palaeolithic had essentially
'modern' minds.

Before continuing with the reading, I'd advise readers to quickly look through the illustrations throughout the paper, in order to have an idea of exactly what the author is referring to when describing and comparing the Palaeolithic drawings and those of autistic Nadia, then aged 5, made in the modern era.

Before even considering the merits or otherwise of the drawings of either party it's worth bearing in mind that to create the drawings, the two sets of artists had very different options before they could start drawing. Living in the modern era, Nadia would have been provided with the required materials, comprising pencil and paper, whereas her Palaeolithic forebears would have had no such luxuries.

Before they even entered a cave - and not all Palaeolithic art was produced within caves - the artists would have needed to obtain all the resources they required; ochre for the pigment, to which they would need to add some sort of binding agent, like fat or even blood. In instances where stencilling wasn't used, brushes would have to be made, sometimes by using hair obtained from local fauna, with everything collected and gathered before the first line could be drawn.

Moreover, Nadia was given a specific task, having been asked, or instructed to draw particular animals - (although I could be wrong, and she drew of her own volition, with the results being analysed thereafter) - whereas creators of Palaeolithic art probably had no such directives issued to them, leaving us to ask what motivated them to paint, draw and engrave those animals that populated their world in a manner far more intense and proximal than is the case with our modern selves and post-glacial faunal survivors.

Where caves were used, these were evidently very carefully selected, and long journeys into the interior were sometimes made; moreover it has even been suggested by Reznikoff that in some circumstances, caves, or locations within them, were specifically chosen according to the acoustic properties thereof.

I therefore find it hard to believe that this degree of planning and preparation could have taken place in mute silence of human beings with little or no speech capabilities. Here's an excerpt from the blogged review of the paper...

One of the most important parallels is that both seem to draw direct representations of the images that they see. Most people when asked to draw a scene will tend to rely partly on the image of the scene in their head, but also on the language that they describe the scene with and their culturally stereotyped view of what the scene should look like. So when someone is told to draw a picture of a bear, they picture a bear in their head and draw it.

But their mind’s picture is shaped and filtered by their native language and their belief of what a bear should look like. This results in what Humphrey calls an economical and modern drawing. This type of filtering and stereotyping appears to be absent in both Nadia’s and the cave drawings. They both depict visceral images that appear to be recreated from only the image, without regard to describing the animal or naming it according to what it should look like.

The drawings of Nadia are very accomplished, and in some ways they do bear an eerie resemblance to some cave drawings; moreover, it appears that this ability wasn't unique to her, but is shared by other sufferers of the same condition. It raises the intriguing question as to whether this type of drawing ability is actually innate in humans, and whether it would be present in us today, had we not learned to use complex speech. There is even a comment in the linked paper suggesting that this innate artistic ability and complex language are incompatible, although that wouldn't explain why the majority of accomplished artists are generally pretty articulate individuals.

Another important aspect of cave art that doesn't appear to have been given due consideration in Humphrey's paper is that although many animals are ostensibly depicted on cave walls as simple line drawings, there are many instances where the contours and shapes of cave walls have not only been incorporated into the paintings, but may have been the reason why those spots were chosen.

And as Iegor Reznikoff has pointed out, there appears to be good evidence that in some cave systems, the acoustic properties of the cave interior were of great importance when it came to choosing locations for particular paintings, and if that's the case, I can't imagine for one moment that such research, planning and execution could have been carried out by more or less mute individuals.

Another excerpt from the linked review...

Another parallel the author describes is both drawings show haphazard overlaying of one image over another. Many scientists have believed that this is an attempt to show movement or large herds in the cave drawings, but Humphrey theorizes that they both share a common trait. Nadia, as many Autistic people, has trouble conceptualizing the big picture and can only see details of a scene.

She cannot see the forest from the trees essentially. Humphrey’s states that if the humans creating the cave art did not have a fully “modern” brain and thought process, it is possible they too lacked the generalization and conceptualization required to piece different components of information together in a coherent way.

It is indeed puzzling to consider why some ancient rock art is superimposed over previous work, although I seem to recall reading somewhere that there is - or was until recently - a custom for people visiting a particular site on an annual or other basis, there to deliberately superimpose their own creations over earlier illustrations, but not because they wish to obliterate them, or because they have poor levels of conceptualisation, but as part of an ongoing tradition of adding new to old.

The author summarises thus...

Regarding the theory specifically, I think that it is possible language was much less complex and important than we assume during this period, although I can’t go so far as to say it is absent or just involved in social structure and relationships. One of my complaints about the article is that the author does not go into very much detail on what a “modern” drawing style is, and it is left largely to the reader to take the author’s word on it.

I also wish the author would have gone into greater detail of the reasoning behind why the cave drawings with stick men were so evident of complex language regarding social structures. Overall I found the article to be highly interesting reading, although I think the theory itself has a lot more proof and work necessary to be considered a truly viable alternative to existing theories.

In fairness to Humpreys, his paper was published in 1998, before the discoveries at Blombos Cave, Pinnacle Point and elsewhere in North Africa, whilst during the decade that has since elapsed, a great deal more research into Palaeolithic and prehistoric rock art has been done; Robert Bednarik in particular has been instrumental in suggesting that the origins of symbolic behaviour involving the use of pigments and bodily decoration date back to the Lower Palaeolithic, and that spoken language might date back to the times of Homo erectus, when they mysteriously arrived - possibly by having navigated the open seas - at the island of Flores, some 840,000 years ago.

And in the context of Palaeolithic cave art, attention needs to be paid to what other activities humans were pursuing at those times - the invention of new technologies, such as harpoons for catching fish, eyed needles for sewing, and so on, indicate levels of complex thinking that again, I doubt could have been absent from contemporary humans.

In the Middle East there is evidence at Ohalo II, for the cultivation of foods dating back to 23,000 bp, where it is apparent that people were also living relatively settled lives, evidenced by the remains of brush huts - hardly the activities of people unable to think or speak in ways that we would consider modern enough to support such a lifestyle.

Moreover, the appearance of Göbekli Tepe and related sites, maybe dating back 12,000 years, follow far too soon after Palaeolithic naturalistic art ceased, for there have been a type of qauantum leap in consciousness that suddenly gave rise to complex human speech - and in any case, as this image shows, despite the innovatory monumentalism that was present, animal motifs similar to those found in cave art, appear on the stone pillars that stood atop the modified hilltops of southern Anatolia.

The Paracast with Gene Steinberg and David Biedny

The Paracast with Gene Steinberg and David Biedny

Last week's guest Mac Tonnies discussed many things Martian, including the expressed regret that NASA are concentrating more on robotic missions, rather than human, boots-on-the ground exploration - and Richard Hoagland comes in for something of a predictable verbal bashing - in yet another good show, whilst their next offering discusses...

...the "Culture of Ufology" is explored by veteran UFO author and publisher Tim "Mr. UFO" Beckley, experiencer Jeremy Vaeni, and your outspoken Paracast crew.

The show is due to be posted imminently, and whilst we're waiting, here's a note from co-host Gene Steinberg...

Can You Handle the Truth?

Some of you think that I dwell on the past a little too much. Maybe that's true, in part, but I also believe that UFO research hasn't gone anywhere in the past 60 years. Many of today's belief systems are pretty much the same as they were then, and the goals are similar.

So I'm sure many of you believe that UFOs — or flying saucers — are from outer space, and that the government knows facts about the phenomenon that you want them to disclose.

That's precisely what the late Major Donald E. Keyhoe was saying in several books he wrote that were published beginning in the early 1950s. Later, Keyhoe became head of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, better known as NICAP, where he pursued what I regard as a misguided goal of seeking hearings in Congress on the subject.

None of this amounted to much of anything of course, even though hearings were held. In the end, we are no closer to understanding what's going on, but that hasn't stopped the ongoing cries for disclosure. There's even a plan afoot to flood the president-elect, shortly after his election, with a million faxes demanding the truth about UFOs.

Other than clogging fax machines, I doubt if those demands for disclosure will have any positive result, regardless of who is elected. Indeed, I'd be surprised if the candidates know much at all about the subject, other than what has been reported in the media over the years on talk shows and documentary programs, such as "UFO Hunters," co-hosted by our friend, Bill Birnes.

So where does the truth lie, and is it a truth that you really want to hear? Can you, in fact, handle that truth?

Consider if the government knows little more than we do about what's really happening. Maybe they have sightings that we haven't heard about, with more compelling evidence, but it's quite possible they haven't a clue as to what might be responsible. Since governments are entrusted with our security, how would the public react knowing that intelligently-controlled aircraft of unknown origin are invading our airspace willy-nilly and there's nothing we can do about it?

If you believe some of the conspiracy theories, it may well be that some governments have already had contact with alien beings, and that they either tolerate their presence or have certain agreements in force governing the presence of UFOs on Earth.

The consequences of that agreement, if it exists, are fodder for rampant speculation. How are abductions handled, for example? Are those actions, which involve the illegal kidnapping of humans, simply tolerated for reasons unknown, or are they part of some insidious plot of one sort or another?

Let's indulge in a little science fiction: What if another civilization, whose gene pool has been depleted as the result of wars, disease, or another reason, wants to create a hybrid race that would ensure their continuance as a race? I suppose there are positive reasons why such a thing might happen. Perhaps, in exchange for a little interbreeding, we will gain the benefits of advanced technology and other guidance.

From a less-than-favorable standpoint, what if that advanced civilization really wanted to engage in a quiet invasion of Earth, and the governments, knowing they cannot defend themselves even with nuclear weapons, have acquiesced and agreed to that takeover, which may take years to complete? In exchange, no lives will be lost. We won't suspect a thing until it's too late to even attempt to fight back.

This particular scenario, of course, seems rather outrageous, and I don't necessarily believe a word of it.

However, if you want to know the truth — whatever it might be — you have to be prepared for the consequences, whatever they might be.

Peace,
Gene Steinberg
Co-Host, "The Paracast"

As with BoA, all shows are archived and free to access.

see also :: Whitley Strieber: 'Can We Succeed At Contact?'

Binnall of America Season 4 Premier - The Black Vault Radio Network

The Black Vault Radio Network

A brief heads-up for anyone who might not yet have heard Jim Marrs making his customary appearance on the opening show which marks the start of each new BoA season.

As I mentioned in a previous post, BoA Audio is now also hosted at BVRN, whose show description for BoA S04 E01 runs thus...

Season IV kicks off with Jim Marrs discussing his new book The Rise of the Fourth Reich. Topics discussed include the themes of Jim’s new book, Rudolph Hess’s flight to England, US/USSR space programs using Nazi scientists, Nazi super soldier Otto Skorzeny, the May 1979 Jimmy Carter assassination attempt, Nazi social trends found in America today. Plus, JFK assassination discussion, the 2008 election, the past year in Ufology & 911 studies, and, as always, tons and tons more.

The wait is over … it’s BoA:Audio, it’s Season IV, it’s Jim Marrs. Let the games begin!

And of course, BoA Season 4 can be heard at, and downloaded from Tim Binnall's own site - here's the link for Season 4, and Episode 2 should be coming our way sometime this weekend, although as yet, no details of this week's guest have been published.

In addition to the audio section, there are several guest writers and bloggers who regularly contribute content to the site, whose posts can be found under the 'Columns' section - in light of the recent discovery of the oldest known Hebrew text, Richelle Hawks' post, 'The Whole Wide Word' which includes a link to Stan Tenen, may be of interest.

Studs Terkel, US Broadcaster and Oral Historian, Dead at 96

link

Just a very quick post to mark the passing of a long-lived observer of the US public in the 20th century, Studs Terkel, whose name was unfamiliar to this blogger until a few months back, when I saw him in a TV interview he gave for the BBC. It was immediately apparent that despite his advancing years, his mind was very much still up and running, evidenced by the fact he had just published his most recent book, 'Touch And Go: A Memoir'.

This from his obituary, by Ed Vulliamy in The Guardian...

Studs Terkel — master chronicler of American life in the 20th century, veteran radical and vibrant soul of the midwestern capital of Chicago — has died, aged 96. To register him as "writer and broadcaster" would be like calling Louis Armstrong a "trumpeter" or the Empire State Building an "office block". Strictly and sparsely speaking, it is true.

He is best known to Americans as the voice that asked the questions on the Studs Terkel Show which ran for 45 years, syndicated from the WFMT radio station of downtown Chicago. The tapes of his interviews take up rack after rack at WFMT; there are 9,000 of them, and Studs was setting about a catalogue when he fell ill.

By any standards that's a huge volume of work, and as almost all of it is unfamiliar to me, I unable to offer much in the way of comment; however, the following paragraphs, from the same Guardian article, seem to aptly illustrate the ability Terkel possessed to take the minute details from the life of a member of the public, and recognise the invisible dramas and indiscernible drivers that can comprise vitally important aspects of everyday life - as we see...

In a way, Terkel's story is best told through that of Hobart Foote. When one asked Terkel which of all 9,000 interviewees he valued most, the answer was this one, which made it into a book, Working (1974).

Foote lived in a mobile home near the Illinois-Indiana state line with his wife, a Bible and little else but "the clangor of trains, Gary-to-Chicago bound". The area is a great mesh of railroad lines, criss-crossing the roads. And so Foote talks about the "train problem" he has getting to work, since his journey is punctuated by so many railway crossings and long waits for lumbering freight trains to pass, and if he arrives a minute after nine, he gets docked for the whole hour.

And so Foote's drive to work is a daily adventure, driving at speed to a detailed but flexible system across the assault course of railway crossings, changing the route according to which train is late or on time, which crossing shut and which open. "It's a game you're playing," he tells Studs. "Catch this light at a certain time, and then you've got the next light. But if there's a train there, I take off down Cicero Avenue and watch those crossings. And if I make her okay, you've got a train just over on the Burnham line you gotta watch for. But it's generally fast ..."

Why does Terkel remember this especially? "Because it's a great suspense tale. An adventure thriller through the railroads every morning, so this man doesn't get docked for the whole hour. The principle is that ordinary people have extraordinary thoughts — I've always believed that — and that ordinary people can speak poetically. Also that no one else speaks like that and that there is no other person like that in the world.

And to finish, here are some more words, this time from The Atlantic, and which for this sombre occasion, serve to communicate the wit and verve of Studs Terkel as he addresses the very subject of death...

Naturally, when I pick up a newspaper these days, the first place I turn to isn't sports, or arts, or the business of business, or the op-eds. I immediately turn to the obituaries. The old doggerel with which many mature readers may be acquainted has become my mantra.

"I wake up each morning and gather my wits,
I pick up the paper and read the obits.
If my name is not in it, I know I'm not dead,
So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed."

There is a dedicated website studsterkel.org, on which various audio files from Terkel's long and illustrious career can be accessed, as well as other useful links and pages - and The Guardian piece does a nice job in supplying further anecdotes from his life and work.

Louis Terkel, born March 16, 1912, died October 31, 2008

Prehistoric Caribbean :: Small Islands Preferred By Ocean-Going Peoples

Science Daily

An archaeologist from University of Florida has uncovered a surprising paradox in the way islands in the Caribbean were settled in the past, discovering that small - and sometimes tiny - islands were settled in preference to their much larger counterparts.

This from Science Daily...

“We’ve written history based on the bigger islands,” said Bill Keegan, a University of Florida archaeologist whose study is published online in the journal Human Ecology.

“Yet not only are we now seeing people earlier on smaller islands, but we’re seeing them move into territories where we didn’t expect them to at the time that they arrived.”

Early Ceramic Age settlements have been found in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Montserrat, for example, but are absent from all of the larger islands in the Lesser Antilles, Keegan said. And all of the small islands along the windward east coast of St. Lucia have substantial ceramic artifacts — evidence of settlement — despite being less than one kilometer, or .62 mile, long, said Keegan, who is curator of Caribbean archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus...

...“In the short term, small islands often are superior to larger islands, and for a variety of reasons, they were actually people’s first choice,” Keegan said. “They had better wind flow, fewer mosquitoes and more plentiful marine resources. With sufficient water and a relatively small amount of land to grow certain kinds of crops, they had everything one would need.”

I'd imagine a refuge from mosquitoes would have been a key attraction - larger islands might have better resources over the longer term, but it's interesting to note that in some cases people departed larger islands in favour of their smaller counterparts. Moreover, as is pointed out later in the same article, it would have often been easier to obtain food and other resources from the sea, referred to as a prehistoric highway, rather than hacking across the length and breadth of a larger island, battling through the overgrown undergrowth - far easier instead to head for the shore, grab the canoe and avail oneself of the abundant resources that swam nearby. It appears also that smaller islands were easier to manage when considering small-scale agriculture, and being relatively isolated probably made such resources easier to defend from unwanted incursions.

The evidence for these suggestions is to be found in the archaeology recovered, in the guise of pottery sherds, dated to the Early Ceramic Age, around 2,500 bp, as we see...

Much of Keegan’s research focused on Grand Turk, Middle Caicos and very small cays in the Turks and Caicos Islands, along with Carriacou in the Grenadine Islands, he said.

Pottery remains he found that were analyzed at the Florida Museum of Natural History’s ceramic technology lab shows that humans often left large islands for small ones, probably initially to take advantage of abundant marine resources along the coastline, he said.

Ceramic pottery sherds recovered from the smaller Turks and Caicos islands, for example, were actually found to have come from Haiti, he said. “Traveling to the Turks and Caicos gave these people an opportunity to get sources of food that weren’t locally available to them,” he added.

In another case, pottery remains were found on an extremely tiny island in the Turks and Caicos that had little soil and was accessible only by a sand spit, Keegan said.

“The island looks just like a rock,” he said. “To think that anyone would have any reason to be out there is just beyond believability. But the island is named Pelican Cay, so people may have gone there to capture sea birds and their eggs.”

In addition to fish and the above mentioned eggs of seabirds, 'tortoises, iguanas and sea turtles' were also available, with sea turtles being especially sought after, with the inevitable result that eventual over-exploitation caused a decline in the turtle population. Whether this small island preference can be traced elsewhere in prehistoric archaeology isn't clear, especially when considering areas of dry land that have since been submerged as ocean levels rose at the end of the Pleistocene, but this research would seem to indicate that earlier humans may well have exploited similar resources.

N.B. As Terry Toohill points out in a comment on this post, he has discussed the role of islands in his essay, 'Human Evolution On Trial - Eastern Polynesia' in the section called 'Islands', from which this is the opening paragraph...

McGlone et al (in Sutton 1994) call finding previously unoccupied islands the prehistoric equivalent of winning a lottery. With huge populations of birds and animals with no fear of humans, and undisturbed fish and shellfish in the surrounding sea, there would have been no shortage of food for these first arrivals. The huge populations of foraging seabirds would also have made unoccupied islands effectively bigger targets and easier to find than they would be today. Any volcanic islands would be sources of stone for tools, implying a great deal of deliberate two way voyaging.

The whole process provides easily enough time for the culture to diverge from Samoan and become recognisably different and diversified by the time the Marquesas, Society (Tahiti) and Hawai‘ian islands were settled. In Part IV the defence will suggest that several early human expansions through open grassland containing scattered clumps of trees were similar.

Source :: University of Florida (2008, October 30). Small Islands Given Short Shrift In Assembling Archaeological Record.

image from here