Using visual technology to better understand history

I was pleased to come across an interesting use of modern computer technology that is being used to decipher more the mysteries of the ancient world.  It is called “Rome Reborn” and its aim is to create a 3-D model of Rome, tracing its development from as early as 1000 BCE all the way up to the early Middle Ages in 550 CE.  The project is focusing on creating a working model for the year 320 CE as a baseline to complete the rest of it.

While some might think it interesting in that they will have the ability to take a stroll through the streets of ancient Rome and have a look about, the applications of this project are much more varied.  As each new discovery is made by excavations on Roman sites, the map can be added to, creating a very accurate depiction of what the great city must have looked like.  Recently, for example, there was a discovery made that suggests the Roman forum may have been painted in bright colors - quite a different view from the cold white marble that people normally associate with Rome.

Being able to see what the city once looked like may give new insights into how the ancient Romans lived.  Rome is already one of the more thoroughly documented cities of the ancient world, but there are always things that just don’t get mentioned.  Aesthetics go a long way to demonstrating the mindset that Romans may have had - or at least a peak into the heads of those who built the city.  There is potential for this to be used as both a tool of science and an educational resource. 

Still, the project is a very ambitious one and will likely take many years to complete.  In truth, it will never be completed, as new finds will constantly alter it.  Even just building that baseline model of 320 CE will be a daunting task for the teams of archaeologists and computer technicians.  Once completed, however, this new bit of technological history may quickly set a new standard for the way things are done in the world of archaeology.  Who knows?  Maybe someday the ancient cities of the world will all be but a click away via the Internet, accessible to anyone who would like to take a walk through the streets of the world of the past.

True mystery of Stonehenge revealed at last?

The mystery of who built Stonehenge and why they did it has been around for thousands of years.  Until now, only speculation reigned and many theories were put forth.  Some believed the purpose of the monument was spiritual in nature while others explored the possibility that it may have been something more practical.  A few far-out theories even have Stonehenge as the result of some extra-terrestrial influence.  Finally, a group of archaeologists believe they may have cracked this ancient puzzle.

Several teams of archaeologists have been working together for the last 10 years to find the truth.  What they came up with is quite different from what most believed, however.  By studying all the relevant factors that prevailed during its period of construction (approximately 3,000 to 2,500 BCE), they discovered that when it was built there was a single culture taking hold throughout many different areas of the land now known as Britain.

Other clues, such as the amount of organized manpower needed, suggested that someone was in control of a great many people at the time.  The condition of human remains shows that people at the time were eating better as well.  A large village was also found near the site, meaning that there was a community in place nearby.

Their conclusion is that all these clues add up to Stonehenge being raised to signify some unification event of Britain.  There are many other factors that are strange about the monument, such as its alignment to the solstices, but these are believed to have been handed down from times even earlier than its construction.  The site at which it is built may have been a sacred site before Stonehenge was there and the new construction built upon the secrets of the old.

So while the spiritual significance of the way Stonehenge was built may still be up in the air, the practical reasons are now known.  The monument was erected to commemorate the power of some great king who managed to bring the varied lands of Britain under one rule.  So much for the alien space-traveler theory.

The Neolithic 99 percent

Social inequity predates the Occupy Wall Street movement by about 9,000 years.

When looking at our current political and social landscape in the U.S., it’s easy to think that the inequalities within our system are a unique injustice. However, inequalities inherent with social systems have always been present. Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome were overrun with more slaves than citizens.

The Holy Roman Church dominated Medieval Europe at the expense of their adherents, while “nobility” grew rich off the backs of their serfs. Even colonial America was largely run by rich landowners who, when levied with taxes by the British, whipped the poor into a frenzy to go fight a revolution. However, it’s not known just how far back these kinds of systemic inequities have been present in human civilization. A recent feature in Wired attempts to answer that question.

The Agricultural Revolution, dated back some 11,000 years, are commonly thought by anthropologists to be the beginning of systematic social hierarchies (and thus the beginning of inequalities in those hierarchies). As people learned to grow and harvest food, they had to stay in one place, creating condensed populations that required “managing.”

It was with this advent, the true beginning of human civilization, that a few people consolidated power over larger numbers of others around the accessibility and control of the food supply. This is substantiated by the unearthing of graves from this time, where small numbers of people were buried with larger numbers of “grave goods” (pottery, weapons, furs, etc.) than the rest. However, there was little to show that heredity or inheritance were defined.

About 8,500 years ago a farming culture referred to as the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) moved into eastern Europe, and spread across the continent to present-day Paris, France in as little as 500 years. It was subsequently replaced by other cultures, but there’s significant evidence to show that LBK was socially stratified. Researchers unearthed several cemeteries from this period, known as the European Neolithic.

Since power was organized around control of food, researchers looked principally at unearthed bodies’ teeth. Particularly they looked at the presence of strontium, an element present more in loess soils and less in non-loess soils; non-loess soils being more fertile. They then correlated this data with the number of adzes, a Neolithic digging tool that was considered a sign of the wealth of the individual.

The findings show that men with more adzes did seem to have more access to fertile fields, implying a stronger crop and more relative wealth. In addition, they found that men with adzes tended to be related, showing that more fertile land was inherited from fathers before. In addition, researchers found that women tended to grow up in less fertile areas, and had a much higher difference in the strontium present in their teeth.

This indicates that men in the LBK were sedentary, staying with their farmland, while women tended to move around more looking for better matches. Social mobility, thus, tended to take place at a increase rate for females, than for males, presumably through marriages.

Qin’s Terracotta Army grows in numbers

One of the most spectacular sites in archaeological history rests in the country of China.  It is the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuang, who lived more than 2000 years ago.  Though his rule would be short and his dynasty last only a few years longer than his life, he left behind a legacy that would change the way future emperors thought of China and steer them in the direction of uniting the various kingdoms under one ruler.  The other part of his legacy is the Mausoleum of Qin and its massive army of terracotta warriors and chariots, each designed uniquely to display the face of the living warrior that served as model.

This wonder lay beneath the earth for over 2000 years, only rediscovered in 1974.  Since then three excavations have been made and resulting in the unearthing of more than 8000 warriors along with countless numbers of other artifacts.  Recently, the third excavation has been underway and now more warriors will join the ranks of Qin’s unliving army.

The latest excavation brought forth more than 300 artifacts, including 120 warriors, 12 horses and 2 chariots, as well as various weapons and drums.  Also included in the find was a shield - the first of this type of artifact to be found at the site.  Some of the warriors found are of higher rank and thus their statues show a finer degree of craftsmanship.

This new round of finds displays evidence of a fire sometime in the past.  Most of the warriors were burned and some melted almost completely.  

Researchers have concluded that the fire was of a high enough temperature that is had to have been man-made.  There is also evidence that many of the statues were smashed deliberately.  Archaeologists are putting this puzzle together, but reason that the tomb was most likely looted and burned by the military leader who overthrew Qin’s dynasty following his death.

Many of the new warriors are, despite the fire, better preserved than previous finds.  They retain some of the paint which was used to decorate them following their construction, whereas all other statues have lost that detail due to the effects of time.  Some of the found statues appear to be entertainers of some sort, having no weapons or armor.

The scale of the Qin Mausoleum is still unknown.  Even with three excavations, archaeologists reckon that they have only unearthed a fraction of what lies beneath the ground.  More finds are likely in the future, and with them perhaps some new revelations about Emperor Qin and the historical times in which he lived.

WikiLoot - Helping to stop artifact theft and sales

Anyone who has read my posts (I do have a few readers out there, right?) knows that I have a big problem with people looting or destroying archaeological sites.  It must be my anthropology education, but the idea of history being treated like a commodity brings out the anger in me.  Now, some like-minded individuals are putting together a means of combating at least half of the problem, that of looting.

Looting artifacts from sites or stealing them is an underground industry that brings in literally billions of dollars every year.  The sheer numbers of missing artifacts make it very apparent how lucrative this business is.  In Italy alone there are more than 500,000 artifacts known to have been stolen.  One can only guess at how many have been taken from places like the highly unregulated and site-rich Middle East.  But these thefts are difficult things to stop and it’s hard to track down those who are buying the items to recover them.  Often, only after a museum has spent tons of money to acquire an artifact is it discovered to have been stolen, leaving them to return the piece and out the precious cash that they use to purchase the treasures they display.

WikiLoot is a new system being developed by Jason Felch, the author of a book that deals with the problem of artifact smuggling.  It would involve using a database filled with photos and documents that detail stolen artifacts.  The source materials used are the files taken directly from dealers of illegal artifacts who have been caught.  Anyone would be able to get online and peruse these files and, if conscious about the contents of their local museums, may be able to spot a few stolen items.

To me, this is a revolutionary idea.  It allows enthusiasts to help in the complicated and expensive process of finding stolen items and helps to get them back to the countries where they’re supposed to be.  Hunting down artifacts is time-consuming and many countries simply don’t have the resources to do it effectively.  By allowing people to have access to the files, a small army of historians and archaeology buffs is there to assist in stopping this history-destroying underground trade.

Currently, Felch is working on acquiring funding to set the project up.  With the devotion that anthro-heavy universities show toward their career, I doubt he will have much of a problem getting together the needed cash.

Bringing glory to Babylon

The ancient city of Babylon is by far one of the world’s oldest and most famous sites.  It is a piece of the birth of history as we know it, demonstrating the results of a formation of social and religious practices that would change the world.  When it comes to importance in the development of modern civilization, Babylon is on par with such legendary regions as Egypt, Greece and Rome.  Unfortunately, this city is in serious danger of becoming nothing more than a memory, the remains of it being blown away on the winds as dust.

The site already sustained enough damage from Saddam Hussein when that idiot decided he was going to restore it with an added flair that gave praise to him and modern Iraq.  That was almost immediately followed by American soldiers using the site as a base of military operations and doing deliberate damage to many structures to make way for helicopters and road vehicles.  That doesn’t even include the soldiers who decided they wanted to take a piece of this ancient history home with them and so looted the bricks of Babylon’s buildings.  Now, unless repairs and preservation efforts are made immediately, it may suffer a more complete destruction in addition to the humiliating desecration that it has already undergone.

Most of the site is unexcavated, which means there’s still plenty that is protected by the processes of Mother Nature.  What rests above the ground is what archaeologists and the government of Iraq is worried about.  Their current goal is to get the site in good enough condition to have it placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.  If Babylon can achieve this status, it has a much greater chance of receiving the necessary funding and skilled helpers required to do a full and proper restoration.

The restoration efforts are a huge undertaking and present many challenges.  Both weather and a rising water table threaten the walls and structures of Babylon, in addition to careless tourists whom the government guardians of the site can’t seem to properly control.  It seems that the only hope of being able to get Babylon recognized by UNESCO now involves adding the Iraqi war elements to the cultural bid - a tasteless but possibly necessary strategy.

Once again, war and human ego has brought some of the world’s most interesting history to the brink of destruction.  Only time will tell if the efforts being made by those who wish to save this site will be successful.  Until then, each new rising wind will take with it a swirling of dust made from the once great and proud capitol of the Babylonian Empire.

New information holds clues to Mayan collapse

One of the greatest archaeological mysteries of our time involves the collapse of the once-great Mayan civilization.  Though European powers would eventually reach the shores of Central America and destroy much of what remained of this culture, the true collapse came hundreds of years earlier.  Unfortunately, the Spanish also burned many of the Mayan books in their efforts to purge pagan beliefs, so historical records are extremely limited on the subject.  Scholars have spent decades speculating on what might have caused the collapse, developing theories that included warfare, political breakdown and environmental collapse.  No doubt all theories are in some way correct and that no one thing caused the collapse.  Recently, more clues have been found relating to shifts in Mayan trading patterns.  These discoveries may add one more piece to this intriguing puzzle.

One of the most valuable substances in Mayan society was obsidian.  Since the Mayans had no knowledge of how to forge metal weapons, this volcanic glass was used for warfare and seen as an indicator of wealth and power.  The control of sources of obsidian was essential to Mayan leaders who wished to maintain the prominence of their kingdoms.

This new study of the Mayan trade of obsidian shows that where once the substance was acquired via river trade routes, near the time of the collapse the main distribution came from coastal trade.  This means that inland kingdoms, which were once strong and glorious, might have slowly lost their edge to coastal kingdoms.  Without the vital obsidian, leaders would have become poorer and poorer until eventually their neighbors on the coast took over as the most powerful kingdoms of the region. 

Researchers figured all this out by using advanced Social Network Analysis software to track the presence of certain types of obsidian in different regions over several time periods.  These amazing new computer tools allow for complex examinations of such patterns and provide access to information that might otherwise have taken decades to assemble. 

Currently, the causes behind the shifts in trade are not known, but will likely be the subject of study in the near future.  Some theories include rivalries between formerly allied kingdoms or increases in the technology and efficiency of coastal seafaring.  Finally, all the years of speculation may be coming to an end as more discoveries are made using the power of technology.  The mysteries of the past are being made clear via the innovations of the present.

Tomb Robbing in Ancient Times

Archaeologists and historians may be worried about the effects that tomb robbers have on the practice of their trade today, though this phenomenon has been going on for much longer than most might think.  Ever since ancient times, when things got hard it was often the habit of the desperate and poor to target the tombs of the better-off as a source of income.  During particularly rough periods, the ruling governments would have few resources to devote toward maintaining their customary guard over these sites and consequently there would be little to stand in the way of thieves.

Though this may seem as if it disturbs archaeological integrity, in contrast to the damage that modern robberies cause these old acts of looting actually preserve a different kind of record - that of the actions of the lower classes taken against those of wealth and station.  In some cases, entire groups of important bodies would be moved to other locations and placed together so that they could be protected from thieves.  Some of these caches have been found by archaeologists today and give hints as to what sorts of problems were occurring at what times in the distant past.

Unfortunately, it also leaves other tombs unoccupied, which can sometimes obscure the archaeological record as historians seek to figure out whether bodies and treasures were moved thousands or only hundreds of years previous.  Matching can be done through proper dating techniques, but unless both elements of the removal are found, the absence of a body may remain a mystery for decades.

Today, the problem of people looting tombs and other archaeological sites is a serious one.  Perhaps in thousands of years, other archaeologists may look back and study the events that occur today, but for now it is more important that as much be preserved as possible.  Still, poverty and/or greed are prime motivators for people to ignore the importance of history and steal away precious treasures, including many which contain major clues to the way past cultures lived and died.  We have the power today to alleviate the causes which create these symptoms and more action can be taken to ensure that the troubles which caused looting in the past do not repeat themselves.

Sorry, Doomsday People - Mayan Calendar Keeps Going for Several Thousand Years Beyond 2012

The year 2012 has been filled with the screams and cries of the paranoid and the uneducated as they make their claims that the end of the Mayan calendar marks the end of the world.  December 2012 is supposedly the date, seeing as how a cycle that was important to the Mayans comes to a close.  Unfortunately for these doomsday lovers, new archaeological finds are showing that what was thought to be the end of the Mayan calendar by many is, in fact, not even close.

An excavation in Xultun, Guatemala has unearthed some rather interesting Mayan murals.  The site has been known of since the early 20th century and a few attempts have been made to clear the remains, but one little house went undiscovered until recently.  Within this house, thought to be a scribe’s chambers, archaeologists found the oldest known records of Mayan astrological tables to date.  These markings are from the early 9th century, which put them ahead of other known Mayan calendars by centuries.

Detailed on the walls of the house are numbers which appear to be equations.  The calculations are a representation of numbers that track a cycle of 2.5 millions days.  Accompanying these calculations are maps of astronomical cycles.

These finds tie together much of what is already known regarding Mayan concepts of time and map out a calendrical cycle that stretches 7000 years into the future.  So, despite the belief that 2012 is the end times, the Mayans had already plotted for thousands of years beyond.

No doubt some will choose to ignore the evidence and still running screaming through the streets warning people that ‘the end is nigh,’ but that is relatively unimportant in the long run.  What is important is that we are now one step closer to understanding this ancient Mesoamerican culture.  Hopefully, more finds in the near future will turn up writings as old as these and give us even more clues about the Mayan’s beliefs and astronomical expertise.

Using nature to help find the past

The discovery and preservation of the past is a subject hotly debated by those seeking to unearth the remains of history.  One camp prefers to leave things beneath the earth until technologies are improved to a point where preservation can be done properly.  Others prefer to dig up these remains and begin preservation now with whatever methods are currently available.  This has led to some sites being protected by law to the point where archaeologists are not allowed to touch them.  But these investigators are not content to just sit and wait, so they’ve gotten a bit creative.  The latest out-of-the-box method?  They’re using moles to do the excavations for them.

The site in question is Epiacum, a Roman fort in the UK that is dated to around 120 CE.  English Heritage has deemed the site to be protected from digs, although artifacts are finding their way to the surface due to moles digging their holes in the ground and dragging up pieces here and there.  In response, archaeologists have been going in and sifting through what the moles have brought up.

Thirty-seven volunteers have been looking through the moles’ remains and have turned up some interesting treasures which give more clues to Roman life in ancient Britain.  Bits of pottery, jewelry, pieces of old plumbing and nails have all been found.

Though these artifacts will certainly not be in situ, at least some of them can be studied until the site is opened up to a proper excavation.  Currently, those in charge of the project are collecting the artifacts and sending them off to a museum.  They hope to eventually bring them back and set up a display about the site for visitors to enjoy.  It may be unorthodox, but using the moles is working.  And better yet, they put in plenty of hours and work free of charge.

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