In 2008 a letter was excavated during an archaeological dig of a Peruvian colonial town abandoned for unknown reasons around the turn of the 18th Century. On the back of that letter were recorded several numbers and their names in a dead tongue, lost in the upheaval following the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Even though this may be the only remnant of an entire language, there is quite a bit that linguists can glean from these fragments. For a brief overview of the findings of research by a joint American-Peruvian research group,
read here. And
here is the full journal article, which places these numbers in their historical and linguistic context.
posted by Kattullus
on Sep 25, 2011 -
11 comments
Did the Scots visit Iceland? New research reveals island inhabited 70 years before Vikings thought to have arrived. This appears to be the first physical evidence that
confirms the stories of celitc monks being on the island when the Norse arrived.
posted by novenator
on Dec 26, 2010 -
41 comments
Ever since the famed Lucy skeleton was discovered in Ethiopia in 1974, there have been some unanswered questions. She was very tiny, and some researchers claimed it was unlikely that she (and, by extension,
Australopithecus afarensis) could walk. Although other specimens were found throughout the 70s, none were more than bone fragments. Recently, researchers announced that they
found another partial skeleton, and they believe it proves that
afarensis was bipedal.
posted by Plutor
on Jun 22, 2010 -
7 comments
The Seljuk Han in Anatolia has tons of information about and pictures of the caravanserai, inns for caravans, built by the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm in what is now Turkey. The Seljuk caravanserai, called hans, were a vital resource for trade from the middle ages to recent times. The website, by
Katherine Branning, explains
what a han is,
their origins,
their function in trade,
what life there was like and much more. The site also features 39 individual hans, such as the
Kadin Han, now a furniture store,
Dibi Delik Han, which is undergoing restoration,
Zazadin Han, which has been restored already, and the spectacular
Sultan Han Kayseri. For an academic survey of Seljuk hans, here's Ayşıl Tükel Yavuz'
The concepts that shape Anatolian Seljuq caravanserais [pdf, automatic download].
posted by Kattullus
on Jan 8, 2010 -
13 comments
Man from the Margin: Cao Cao and the Three Kingdoms You'll perhaps have
read or
watched reports that archaeologists believe they have found the tomb of Cao Cao (曹操) (of course,
not everyone agrees with the identification). Warrior, strategist, statesman and
poe
t, Cao Cao lives on in the cultural memory of China, a
by-word for cunning and of course a central character in the great historical novel
Romance of the Three Kingdoms and hence also recent John Woo blockbuster
Red Cliff. To understand the man in his historical context, there's little better in English than the 1990 George Ernest Morrison Lecture in Ethnology given by now-retired Professor
Rafe de Crespigny, one of the foremost Western scholars of the Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms periods of Chinese history. He makes several of his vastly erudite essays on Chinese history available at the
ANU's website.
posted by Abiezer
on Dec 30, 2009 -
21 comments
Bogus! Why do fakes get made? Why do people fall for hoaxes? Greed, pride, revenge, nationalism, pranks, and gullibility mix in an archaeological setting. Archaeology Magazine examines eight classic cases, and more.
posted by amyms
on Dec 23, 2009 -
6 comments
Knossos: Fakes, Facts, and Mystery. "The masterpieces of
Minoan art are not what they seem... The truth is that these famous icons are largely modern. As any sharp-eyed visitor to the
Heraklion museum can spot, what survives of the original paintings amounts in most cases to no more than a few square inches. The rest is more or less imaginative reconstruction, commissioned in the first half of the twentieth century by
Sir Arthur Evans, the British excavator of the
palace of Knossos (and the man who coined the term 'Minoan' for this prehistoric
Cretan civilization, after the mythical King Minos who is said to have held the
throne there). As a general rule of thumb, the more famous the image now is, the less of it is actually ancient."
posted by homunculus
on Aug 30, 2009 -
16 comments
Waterlines is a new online exhibit from the excellent
Burke Museum at the University of Washington, Seattle. It tells the story of the land underlying Seattle, one of the United States' most geologically active city sites, and of the human attempts to engineer this landform. Closely related are the
archaeology of West Point and
Coast Salish Villages of Puget Sound (e.g., read the
story of North Wind and Storm Wind).
posted by Rumple
on May 2, 2009 -
3 comments
Why do mummies scream? Are screaming mummies really testaments to horrific deaths? Or are they the result of natural processes, botched or ad hoc mummification jobs, or the depredations of tomb robbers? Archaeology Online examines the science and history behind the gape-mouthed "masks of agony" seen on some mummies, and explores their portrayal in entertainment and pop culture. The article includes lots of interesting and informative additional links.
posted by amyms
on Mar 30, 2009 -
33 comments
The digital collection of the
Tokyo National Museum is full of wonder. TNM is the oldest museum in Japan and collects archaeological objects and art from Japan as well as other parts of Asia. The collection can be browsed by
type or
region. Here are some of my favorites:
Buddha's life,
The name "Korin" given to pupil,
Tale of Matsuranomiya,
Coquettish type,
Tea caddy in shape of bucket with handle,
Mirror, design of sea and island,
Traditionary identified as Minamoto no Yoritomo,
Seated Monju Bosatsu (Manjusri) and attendants,
Sword mounting of kazari-tachi type and (my current desktop background)
Figures under a tree. This is but a small sampling of all that can be found in the digital collection
posted by Kattullus
on Dec 22, 2008 -
4 comments
Akhetaten (a.k.a. Amarna) was the city built by Pharaoh
Akhenaten, famous for his
monotheistic beliefs and his queen,
Nefertiti and son,
Tutankhamun.
The Amarna Letters has translations of correspondence sent to the Akhenaten, but a trove of it was found at the Amarna site. During his reign a
distinctive style of art rose to prominence, only to vanish after his death. The Boston MFA
has 40 objects from the era in its collection. Perhaps the most famous of the cultural artifacts of Akhenaten is the Great Hymn to Aten (
hieroglyphics, four different English translations:
1,
2,
3,
4). This poem was
set to music by Philip Glass for his opera Akhnaten (
information about the opera). Some see
direct parallels between The Great Hymn to Aten and Psalm 104. Though it was billed as a new beginning, like many utopias, Amarna was
no haven for the regular folk who lived there.
posted by Kattullus
on Oct 4, 2008 -
23 comments
