Archaeology Top Discoveries of 2018 The First Bakers Hunter-gatherers were baking bread thousands of years before the birth of farming! About 14,400 years ago in the Black Desert of Northeastern Shubayqa, Jordan, someone was experimenting with the recipe for the perfect flat bread. Archaeobontanists from the University of Copenhagen found that the people living at this small campsite, hunter-gatherers who belonged to a culture known as the Natufians, were making unleavened bread-like products at least 4,000 years before the dawn of agriculture. Charred remains from the ovens suggest Natufians gathered wild cereals; barley, einkorn and oat sieved and club-rush tubers (a type of flowering plant) that were kneaded prior to cooking to make flour for the bread. During that time period it was probably not a staple food, but a rare treat reserved for special occasions. Mustard seeds had also been found in some bread remains excavated from other sites, so it's possible that Natufians sprinkled a few on their own pastries. The presence of hundreds of charred food remains in the fireplaces has given scientists the chance to characterize 14,000-year-old food practices. This discovery tells us that our ancient ancestors were smart people who knew how to use their environment well. It also tells scientists that processing food is much more basic techniques in human history that was previously thought.
The Oldest Drawing The world's oldest known drawing has been identified on a small stone flake recovered in South Africa's Blombos Cave. The tiny fragment measures less than two inches long and barely half an inch wide. It features a crosshatch pattern of visible lines. A scientific research team first used microscopic and chemical analysis to determine that the marks are composed of ochre, a naturally occuring clay Earth pigment lying on the flake's surface. Scientists believe this is the oldest known drawing by Homo sapiens made 73,000 years ago. This predates the previously known drawing by 30,000 years. The tiny fragment features six parallel lines that are diagonally crossed by three curved lines. Archaeologists believe that the design almost certainly had some meaning to the maker. It probably formed part of a common symbolic system understood by other people in their group. Other objects were found within the cave, including shell beads and engraved stone tools, Homo sapien's teeth, spear points and bone tools. What do you think could be the meaning of the design? Do you think this small piece was part of a larger drawing? What do you think about ancient humans creating art 73,000 years ago?
The Bronze Hand Swiss Archaeologists announced the discovery of what they believe is the earliest metal representation of a human body part ever found in Europe. The hand is dated to be 35,000 years old. It is slightly smaller than life-sized, made of more than a pound of bronze. It has a cuff of gold foil glued to the wrist, and a socket inside that would have allowed it to be mounted on to a stick or pole. Vegetable glue was used to affix the gold foil. Radiocarbon dating suggests the unusual artifact was fashioned in the mid-second millennium B.C.; between 1,400 and 1,500 B.C. The objects were found in a badly-damaged grave, located on a plateau above Lake Biel near the tiny village of Preles. It overlooked a magnificent view of the Alps. In the burial, archaeologists found the bones of a middle-aged man, along with a long bronze pin, a bronze spiral probably worn as a hair tie, and fragments of gold foil matching those that adorn the bronze hand. They also recovered one of the sculpture's broken fingers in the man's grave. This is a good indication that the hand was originally buried with the man. The hand was originally found by looters, and was removed from the grave without any documentation on how or where is was discovered in the grave. The looters (or they like to be known as treasure hunters) turned the hand, along with a bronze dagger and a rib bone over to the authorities. What do you think the hand was used for? (Statue, rituals, prosthetic?) Do you think this man could be a high ranking official with such a unique hand buried with him?
Bronze Age Plague Samara, Russia: Two skeletons buried in a 3,800 year-old shared grave shows the signs of the Bubonic plague similar to the plague that spread throughout Europe in the 14th century, killing up to 200 million people. Despite its significance in shaping human history, the origin of the plague remains shrouded in mystery - but the new discovery has pushed its age back by at least 1,000 years older. Examination of the human remains discovered in the Samara region of Russia revealed that both were infected by the same kind of bacteria that ravaged medieval Europe. The bacteria that causes bubonic plague is known as Yersinia pestis. It has been responsible for some of the most devastating pandemics in history, including the Black Death in the 14th century. The disease was able to spread rapidly and reach pandemic proportions. The skeletons were one male and one female - buried together. Based on the condition of their bones, the woman was between 35 and 45 years old when she died, and the man was between 30 and 40 years old. Like others in the cemetery, they were members of the local Srubnaya culture, which shared ancestry with both Yamnaya pastoralists from the Eurasian steppe and early European farmers. They were buried together in a Kurgan: a wooden chamber beneath a mound of earth. Seven other people buried in the same cemetery had no trace of the plague. Scientists determined that the strain with which the pair was infected had developed mutations that allowed it to be carried by fleas. Researchers are unsure how earlier known strains of the bacterium were spread, but they are certain that fleas spread plague efficiently. How do you think the Bubonic plague was spread? Do you find it interesting that scientists did not believe this was an ancient disease before this discovery? Do you think the plague has been around a lot longer than 1800 B.C.?
Early Americans One of the most intriguing questions in American archaeology is, "Who were the earliest people in the Americas?" For the past 80 years, scientists have thought that they were members of the Clovis culture, whose ancestors came to North America from Siberia 13,000 years ago. In recent decades, archaeologist have come to believe that people reached North America far earlier. There has been a new discovery in central Texas at the Gault site, that offers evidence that humans inhabited America as far back as 21,700 years ago. Scientists from the Texas State University unearthed more than 150,000 human modified stones at the Gault Archaeological site, about 40 miles North of Austin. The find shows that there is another runner in the race on who was here first. The find also shows the presence of a previously unknown projectile point technology in North America from before 16,000 years ago. The archaeologists have uncovered ancient rocks shaped into bifaces - used as hand axes - blades, projectile points, engraving tools and scrapers dating to between 16,700 and 21,700 years old. They refer to the tools as the Gault Assemblage. Not much about the physical traits of those who used the tools can be inferred from the material in the find, but its significance lies in how old the items are. The scientists used optically stimulated luminescence to age the materials, which means they were able to find how long it had been since the sediment the items were found in had been exposed to sunlight. If these Americans indeed occupied parts of Texas in the time range identified by the Gault Assemblage, they probably arrived in the Americas during the peak of the last Ice Age, about 20,000 year ago. At that time, North America would have been covered with permafrost and dotted with tall glaciers which would have made travel conditions to allow their journey across the land bridge from Asia known as Beringia. Do you think America has been inhabited earlier than we thought?
The Odyssey In Olympia, Greece, a brick was found amid a heap of discarded building material in a village outside the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia. Researchers had a great surprise that the brick was inscribed with an excerpt from the Odyssey, the epic poem that tells of the Greek hero Odysseus, a 1-year journey following the Trojan war. The poem which relates events of the twelfth century B.C., is thought to have been composed in the eighth century B.C. and was first written down in the sixth century B.C. Researchers have dated the newly discovered excerpt to the third century A.D. at the latest. They believe it is likely the oldest inscribed section of the Odyssey ever found in Greece! The clay slab contains 13 verses from the 12,109 line poem. The newly discovered text comes from the Odyssey's 14th Rhapsody, in which the hero, disguised as a beggar, tells his faithful servant Eumaeus that Odysseus is still alive. Archaeologists believed the brick was inscribed at some point, and later it was used for construction. Any glimpse into Homer before medieval times is rare, and any insight into the composition of the epics is precious. Whether the stories of the Odyssey and The Iliad were composed by a blind poet named Homer is a source of debate, though many researchers believe Homer was probably not a historical individual but a cultural tradition that developed the stores over many decades or centuries, with scribes writing them down sometime around the 8th century B.C. Have you read The Odyssey? Do you think Homer was a real person? Or was he created by a group of people?
Return to Pompeii Despite more than 250 years of almost continuous exploration, one-third of the ancient city of Pompeii had never been excavated until 2018! Mt. Vesuvius left the city buried under volcanic material, creating a nearly perfect record of the day's activities - bread baking in ovens, houses under renovation, gardens being tended. But in the unexcavated sections, all that mud, ash and hardened bits of lava has been collapsing toward previously excavated properties. And so, a large-scale excavation of the unexplored area called Regio V has begun and been truly extraordinary. The remains of an adult who died at the crossroads while trying to flee the eruption. The skull was found later at a lower level than the rest of his body, having been displaced by the collapse of a tunnel below. The skull suggests that he was not, as first thought, crushed to death by the block but rather asphyxiated during the pyroclastic flow. Remarkable colorful frescoes have been found on the fronts of houses. They boast particularly fine wall-paintings of cupids and vegetal motifs. One painting had architectural elements and various animals, above all a pair of dolphins that lend their name to the newly discovered building: the House of the Dolphins. Archaeologist have identified external features; four balconies have been discovered in the "Alley of the Balconies," along with the upper floor of the buildings. Political aspirations of individuals can be found painted in red and black on external walls. One calls for votes for Helvius Sabinus - a good man worthy of public office. These inscriptions are written on a surface prepared with white paint, perhaps to cover up any previous notices. What do you think its like discovering a city that is frozen in time? What do you think life was like in Pompeii? Why are we so amazed at the artifacts scientists discover in Pompeii?
Ancient Shipwreck A Greek merchant ship was discovered more than a mile under the surface of the Black Sea. The ship has been radiocarbon dated to be 2,400 years old. This is the world's oldest known intact shipwreck. The ship was found 50 miles off the coast of Bulgaria using deep-sea camera system. The 75-foot-long wooden ship remains remarkably well preserved because the Black Sea's depths are oxygen-free. This has allowed experts to examine elements of ancient ship construction for the first time. This includes the design of the mast, twin rudders, and rowing benches. The ship is believed to have been a trading vessel of a type that researches say has only previously been seen "on the side of ancient Greek pottery such as the 'Siren Vase' in the British Museum." The scientists intend to leave the vessel where it was found. The ship's cargo remains unknown and the scientists say they need more funding if they are to return to the site. Other ships that have been found to have contained amporae (wine vases) in the cargo, and from that they can discover where it originated from...but that mystery will have to wait. Would you like to know what is inside the 2,400 year old ship? If you had unlimited funds, would you leave the ship where it was found or would you try to bring it to the surface? Only 20% of our oceans have been explored, do you think there are other things under the oceans to be discovered? (Shipwrecks, cities, artifacts, ect.)
Engaging Questions! 1. Do you think there are many more discoveries to be made throughout the world? 2. Was there any amazing discoveries when you were growing up? 3. What mystery would you like to see solved by an archaeological discovery? For example: Where did Amelia Eahart go? What is the Bermuda Triangle? Who killed King Tut? Where is Atlantis? 4. Do you think a lot of discoveries are lost because of rising water levels? 5. Do you think a lot of the ancient artifacts are being looted by grave robbers? Curious Dragonfly LLC Trina Terrell www.curiousdragonfly.com 303.903.5319