Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Szczepanowice Mass Grave, Eulau Redux (Archeowiesci.pl)
A Corded Ware family was discovered in the village of Szczepanowice, Southern Poland (Malopolska). See the article and 3D video at Archeowiesci.
This grave is weirdly similar to another Corded Ware family in Eulau, Germany. [here] There is a man and woman in the traditional gender-opposed Corded Ware rite. They also have two young children before them looking face to face.
Like Eulau, the family at Szczepanowice appears to have suffered a sudden, violent death. The man had several broken bones including a broken nose. Upon burial, the Szczepanowice family was richly equipped in a labor intensive grave setting that included rare and foreign objects.
In part 3 of this German documentary, the Beakerfolk are implicated but ultimately exonerated after detailed inspection of the arrowheads. It seems more likely that this grave format is in some way part of a Corded Ware ideal, either about the nuclear family or unity in the afterlife.
As the article in Archeowiesci eludes, there is some controversy to the interpretation of these violent multiple burials. One regards it as a tragedy in a violent world. Another sees something too standardized for chance, possibly a more ancient Indo-European practice of sati.
This grave is weirdly similar to another Corded Ware family in Eulau, Germany. [here] There is a man and woman in the traditional gender-opposed Corded Ware rite. They also have two young children before them looking face to face.
Like Eulau, the family at Szczepanowice appears to have suffered a sudden, violent death. The man had several broken bones including a broken nose. Upon burial, the Szczepanowice family was richly equipped in a labor intensive grave setting that included rare and foreign objects.
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| Via Wyborcza News. |
In part 3 of this German documentary, the Beakerfolk are implicated but ultimately exonerated after detailed inspection of the arrowheads. It seems more likely that this grave format is in some way part of a Corded Ware ideal, either about the nuclear family or unity in the afterlife.
As the article in Archeowiesci eludes, there is some controversy to the interpretation of these violent multiple burials. One regards it as a tragedy in a violent world. Another sees something too standardized for chance, possibly a more ancient Indo-European practice of sati.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Stonehenge Once Decked?
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| Julian Spaulding [MailOnline via "Stonehenge News and Information" blog] |
Julian Spaulding has a theory that Stonehenge was decked at some point. I'm not sure if whether this was true or not, but it
does seem reasonable to suggest that the stone structure is a
skeleton of a heavy organic structure. The fact that the sarsen stones are
flat seems rather convenient. On the other hand, if the structure was covered it would seem to take away from the view of the sky, so it seems less likely.
Le Neolithique nord-atlantique du Maroc: (Daugas et al, 1989)
This is an older paper but worth a revisit. I'll go off tangent and add some comments at the bottom.
Le Neolithique nord-atlantique du Maroc: premier essai de chronolgie par le radiocarbone
Jean-Pierre Daugas, Jean-Paul Raynal, Aziz Ballouche, Serge Occhietti, Pierre Pichet, Jacque Evin, Jean-Pierre Texier et Andre Debenath.
C.R. Academy of Sciences Paris, t. 308, Serie II, p. 681-687, 1989 [Link]
See also [Link]
Obviously this paper is about pottery decoration influences, not people or culture. Since the "Beaker package" is an international conglomeration of neat things from other cultures, the cultural origin of those 'things' means absolutely nothing. The Beaker culture also had several formative phases in Europe, and the culture or people did not exist before this because it is at its heart a synthesis of "the best of Europe" at that time.
At the same rate, it's not a bunch-o-cultures and its ethnicity, at least before our psychotic understanding, was not an open-membership organization. The Bell Beakers were a genuine people or group of peoples who were related to each other. They moved into the domains of other people and established themselves at the expense of others who often rejected their culture. So the genetic formulation of an ethnic core is absolutely valid. There's no reason to beat this to death with overly nuanced disagreements as I think we all understand that human mixture and identity is complex.
For all intents and purposes, the average Bell Beaker person in Europe will draw a majority of his heritage from the ethnic Corded Ware people of Northern Europe. I think we already started seeing this with the first genomes of the Mittel-Saale and the Elbe and culturally, this was always true. Regardless of how much localized Neolithic ancestry any Beaker may have, which is probably very substantial, almost all Beakerfolk can trace their common heritage to an ancestral denominator emanating from the general vicinity of Rhine.
Beakers have an additional ancestry that makes them distinct from Corded Ware people. This is probably indicated by the distinct Y-chromosome and possibly by some fringe elements of African ancestry. This likely comes from Southwest Europe, and given its history, Atlantic Morocco of the Middle Neolithic shouldn't be discounted.
Other scenarios are possible as well, but whatever happened it was born in circumstances unique to Europe.
Le Neolithique nord-atlantique du Maroc: premier essai de chronolgie par le radiocarbone
Jean-Pierre Daugas, Jean-Paul Raynal, Aziz Ballouche, Serge Occhietti, Pierre Pichet, Jacque Evin, Jean-Pierre Texier et Andre Debenath.
C.R. Academy of Sciences Paris, t. 308, Serie II, p. 681-687, 1989 [Link]
Neolithic of north-atlantic Morocco: first radiocarbon chronology attempt
Abstract - Nice 14C dates, compared to previous data, are used to propose a chronological framework for the north Atlantic Neolithic of Morocco. The Cardial established late, from 5300 B.C., over a poorly-known autochtonous population, and spread to the south. The scarcely-evidenced Middle Neolithic followed, from 4500 B.C., with Saharian influences. Circa 3700 B.C., the upper Middle Neolithic expanded over the entire area studied, with a pottery industry of the Proto-Bell-Beakers type. The final phase of the Middle Neolithic was a favorable environment for the birth of local metallurgy. At about 2700-2500 B.C., it participated in the emergence of the Iberic Bell-Beakers civilization which would return its products to Morocco.
See also [Link]
Obviously this paper is about pottery decoration influences, not people or culture. Since the "Beaker package" is an international conglomeration of neat things from other cultures, the cultural origin of those 'things' means absolutely nothing. The Beaker culture also had several formative phases in Europe, and the culture or people did not exist before this because it is at its heart a synthesis of "the best of Europe" at that time.
At the same rate, it's not a bunch-o-cultures and its ethnicity, at least before our psychotic understanding, was not an open-membership organization. The Bell Beakers were a genuine people or group of peoples who were related to each other. They moved into the domains of other people and established themselves at the expense of others who often rejected their culture. So the genetic formulation of an ethnic core is absolutely valid. There's no reason to beat this to death with overly nuanced disagreements as I think we all understand that human mixture and identity is complex.
For all intents and purposes, the average Bell Beaker person in Europe will draw a majority of his heritage from the ethnic Corded Ware people of Northern Europe. I think we already started seeing this with the first genomes of the Mittel-Saale and the Elbe and culturally, this was always true. Regardless of how much localized Neolithic ancestry any Beaker may have, which is probably very substantial, almost all Beakerfolk can trace their common heritage to an ancestral denominator emanating from the general vicinity of Rhine.
Beakers have an additional ancestry that makes them distinct from Corded Ware people. This is probably indicated by the distinct Y-chromosome and possibly by some fringe elements of African ancestry. This likely comes from Southwest Europe, and given its history, Atlantic Morocco of the Middle Neolithic shouldn't be discounted.
Other scenarios are possible as well, but whatever happened it was born in circumstances unique to Europe.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Durrington Walls (Nick Snashall in USA Today)
USA Today inters Dr. Nicola Snashall, who also blogs FragmeNTs Stonehenge & Avebury blog in the sidebar. "You Know Stonehenge. This is Superhenge." USA TODAY
This excavation wrapped up sometime last week, so now that I've had a few moments to get my mind around this discovery I'll speculate on what could be the significance of this dig based on just a few things Ive read.
Posted by MegalithomaniaUK
Durrington Walls was excavated by the National Trust of Stonehenge and Avebury [here]. It was previously thought that the enormous enclosure was partly surrounded by large megaliths as ground radar had previous suggested. Rather what archaeologists found was very deep post holes that were weirdly uninstalled after their installation.
Durrington Walls and nearby Stonehenge had either complementary or competing purposes depending on the interpretation. Likely, Durrington Walls contained a bunch of huts where the people who built Stonehenge lived, and then both structures had a (possibly simultaneous) phase where they were improved, again 'possibly' concordant with the Beaker phase, although I'm not sure anything from the Beaker culture is found at the occupation site.
So unlike the very sad and disappointed headlines of the British press for not finding gigantic stones beneath the soil, I'll say that this find opens up a very intriguing possibility instead, based on where these posts were located outside the ditch.
This excavation wrapped up sometime last week, so now that I've had a few moments to get my mind around this discovery I'll speculate on what could be the significance of this dig based on just a few things Ive read.
Posted by MegalithomaniaUK
Durrington Walls was excavated by the National Trust of Stonehenge and Avebury [here]. It was previously thought that the enormous enclosure was partly surrounded by large megaliths as ground radar had previous suggested. Rather what archaeologists found was very deep post holes that were weirdly uninstalled after their installation.
Durrington Walls and nearby Stonehenge had either complementary or competing purposes depending on the interpretation. Likely, Durrington Walls contained a bunch of huts where the people who built Stonehenge lived, and then both structures had a (possibly simultaneous) phase where they were improved, again 'possibly' concordant with the Beaker phase, although I'm not sure anything from the Beaker culture is found at the occupation site.
So unlike the very sad and disappointed headlines of the British press for not finding gigantic stones beneath the soil, I'll say that this find opens up a very intriguing possibility instead, based on where these posts were located outside the ditch.
It seems possible that these post holes could be the piles of a large lever engine, similar concept to a shaduf, and used to excavate the enormous fifteen to twenty-something foot ditch that surrounds the town, or whatever it is. I imagine something like this being reassembled many times as the shadufasaurus is moved along the perimeter.
If I understand correctly, some of the timbers appear to have plucked out of the ground which could mean that, like modern tower cranes, the 'excavator' was used to partially assemble and disassemble itself or at least its footings. This is all speculation based on reading a couple of paragraphs and it could be that the ditch is too far from posts for it to make any difference.
If I understand correctly, some of the timbers appear to have plucked out of the ground which could mean that, like modern tower cranes, the 'excavator' was used to partially assemble and disassemble itself or at least its footings. This is all speculation based on reading a couple of paragraphs and it could be that the ditch is too far from posts for it to make any difference.
It's entirely possible that people with baskets, picks and shovels excavated all of this one basket at a time, however two miles away the same people stacked stones at Stonehenge.
On a separate note, thinking more broadly about ditched enclosures in general and quickly infilled ditches and so forth, I kind of wonder if these ditches of any size are nothing more than benjo ditches.
If a bunch of people lived in a place like Durrington Walls, you've got to have a big benjo ditch, maybe additional small ones and a big one to catch the runoff.
She provides a description on the dig and the archaeologists for the project [here].
See also a paper by MP Pearson regarding his view on the connections [here].
Old concept. SciNews.
See also "Huge ritual monument thought to be buried near Stonehenge doesn't exist admit archaeologists" Telegraph UK
"New Stonehenge' was made of WOOD: Vast 4,500-year-old timber circle may have been erected to commemorate the builders of its famous neighbor" DailyMail
'New Stonehenge' at Durrington Walls 'had no standing stones' BBC
On a separate note, thinking more broadly about ditched enclosures in general and quickly infilled ditches and so forth, I kind of wonder if these ditches of any size are nothing more than benjo ditches.
If a bunch of people lived in a place like Durrington Walls, you've got to have a big benjo ditch, maybe additional small ones and a big one to catch the runoff.
She provides a description on the dig and the archaeologists for the project [here].
See also a paper by MP Pearson regarding his view on the connections [here].
Old concept. SciNews.
See also "Huge ritual monument thought to be buried near Stonehenge doesn't exist admit archaeologists" Telegraph UK
"New Stonehenge' was made of WOOD: Vast 4,500-year-old timber circle may have been erected to commemorate the builders of its famous neighbor" DailyMail
'New Stonehenge' at Durrington Walls 'had no standing stones' BBC
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