tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/archaeologists-18333/articles
Archaeologists – The Conversation
2024-02-26T13:09:03Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/222663
2024-02-26T13:09:03Z
2024-02-26T13:09:03Z
The bog is where forensics and archaeology meet to solve ‘cold cases’
<p>Occasionally, police investigators find themselves announcing archaeological discoveries, rather than criminal findings. In 1984, for example, police oversaw the recovery of the Iron Age bog body (a naturally mummified corpse found in a peat bog) later called <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28589151">“Lindow Man” in Cheshire</a>, UK. On January 25, 2024, the <a href="https://www.psni.police.uk/latest-news/police-find-bog-body-dated-over-2000-years-bellaghy">Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI)</a> found themselves doing just that. </p>
<p>The civilian discovery, and subsequent PSNI excavation, of a 2,000 year old bog body at Bellaghy, in the Londonderry county of Northern Ireland, is significant because of the rarity of prehistoric human remains that <a href="https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/46717">include soft tissue preservation</a>. As with The Lindow Man, the initial investigations were conducted by the police in case the remains were those of a recent murder victim – making the location a crime scene rather than an archaeological site. </p>
<p>It was only following radiocarbon dating of the remains from Bellaghy that the body, by then identified as that of a young male, was shown to have lived during the Iron Age. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.psni.police.uk/latest-news/police-find-bog-body-dated-over-2000-years-bellaghy">In a statement</a>, Detective Inspector Nikki Deehan said: “On initial examination, we couldn’t be sure if the remains were ancient or the result of a more recent death. Therefore, we proceeded to excavate the body with full forensic considerations in a sensitive and professional manner. This approach also ensures that any DNA evidence could be secured for any potential criminal investigation.” </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Police find bog body dated over 2,000 years in Bellaghy.</span></figcaption>
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<p>There have been at least 2,000 bog bodies recovered from Europe’s peatlands, with around 130 <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/bogs-bones-and-bodies-the-deposition-of-human-remains-in-northern-european-mires-9000-bcad-1900/B90A16A211894CB87906A7BCFC0B2FC7">found in Ireland</a>. Archaeological excavations of bog bodies are <a href="https://www.casemateacademic.com/blog/2023/01/18/the-dos-and-donts-of-digging-a-bog-body/">very rare</a>, as the great majority of bog bodies are discovered ex situ – removed from their surroundings during peat cutting or by the actions of the finders. </p>
<p>The excavation of the Bellaghy Body by PSNI with support from forensic archaeologists points to the importance of careful and methodical recovery, for understanding both ancient and modern human remains found in peatlands. </p>
<h2>Navigating the bog</h2>
<p>Archaeologists need to understand context to interpret the past, and the peaty graves of bog bodies are no different. The Bellaghy body seems to have been found in situ, potentially offering valuable evidence associated with the circumstances of the death. This is important as it may assist in interpreting the violent ends met by other prehistoric bog bodies, some of whom have been interpreted as <a href="https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museums/Archaeology/Exhibitions/Kingship-and-Sacrifice">sacrificial victims</a>. </p>
<p>Peatlands are <a href="https://theconversation.com/bogs-are-unique-records-of-history-heres-why-100627">remarkable archaeological archives</a>, but the earth does not neatly divide traces of the distant and recent past. Archaeology and forensic science still have much to learn from each other. For example, the discovery of Lindow Man <a href="https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/moors-murder-detective-has-no-closure-from-bradys-death-1776797">directly influenced</a> the searches for the victims of the serial killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley on Saddleworth Moor in 1986 and 1987.</p>
<p>During The Troubles in Northern Ireland, Irish Civil Rights leader Bernadette Devlin wrote about the IRA using a site called <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1848819">The Black Bog</a> in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, to hide evidence of their activities. </p>
<p>Ecocritic Maureen O’Connor and archaeologist Benjamin Gearey have explored the role of peatlands during the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14688417.2021.1878049#:%7E:text=Seamus%20Heaney's%20(1969)%20poem%20Bogland,the%20bog's%20'encroaching%20horizon'.">Irish War of Independence</a>, sometimes used to hide both the dead and the living. </p>
<p>Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, The Independent Commission for the Location of Victim Remains (ICLVR) has sought to locate people who went missing during The Troubles, often referred to as <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/11/04/searching-for-northern-irelands-disappeared-as-the-years-went-on-it-just-became-life/">“the disappeared”</a>. In the commission’s search over the last 25 years, four people remain missing, including suspected IRA murder victim <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-6743159">Columba McVeigh</a>, who is believed to have been buried at Bragan Bog in the Monaghan county in Ireland.</p>
<h2>The challenge of the bog</h2>
<p>While forensic archaeologists have a very specific brief to fulfil, they are as likely to uncover traces of the distant past as they are traces of modern crimes. </p>
<p>In searching for modern victims of murder, the forensic archaeologist who uncovers evidence of the distant past has the same duty of care as all other archaeologists – to observe, record and recover traces of human activity. It is hoped that the PSNI recovery of the Bellaghy Boy will in time result in the release of information about the burial site for archaeologists to pore over. </p>
<p>Peatlands are challenging environments for both archaeological and forensic investigations. They are <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-finding-buried-bodies-77803">difficult to survey</a> for traces of graves or evidence of recent disturbance, making it hard to detect anything other than the <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/archeosciences/1646">solid geology below the peat</a>. </p>
<p>While peatlands might seem timeless in their appearance, they have changed significantly over the millennia. They have been subject to drainage and peat cutting for fuel, the planting of woodlands, agricultural use, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-35492599">settlement</a> and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/rspb-peak-district-trudy-harrison-crown-prosecution-service-england-b2337025.html">burned for grouse raising</a>. Most recently, some have been restored for biodiversity and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/02/21/headway/peat-carbon-climate-change.html">carbon capture</a>. </p>
<p>The peatland in which a person was buried in the 1970s might look very different to that under investigation in 2024, let alone <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0959683619838048">two millennia ago</a>.</p>
<p>Archaeologists are fascinated by change and continuity, and bogs offer both in spades. Peatlands have long provided locations where bodies might be deposited without apparent trace, and even today we often rely on chance to bring them to our attention. </p>
<p>The riddles of finding a body in a bog perplex police investigators, archaeologists and forensic scientists alike. While the archaeological record may show strikingly similar patterns of body deposition across time, very different motives and interpretations might lie behind these cases. </p>
<p>We need to think in terms of developing <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-journal-of-archaeology/article/abs/bog-bodies-in-context-developing-a-best-practice-approach/7CAE3C8DC6193E2F2584EE35C7990024">“best practice”</a> for excavating future bog bodies, drawing on contemporary approaches to investigating homicides. The work of the PSNI at Bellaghy could provide invaluable insights in this regard. </p>
<p>For archaeologists and forensic archaeologists, the future recording and reporting of bodies found in the bogs of Europe might help us better understand what human stories lie behind the patterns of those trackless, mossy graves.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosie Everett is a consultant forensic ecologist and has contributed to UK forensic science. Rosie Everett receives funding from the Natural Environment Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Gearey receives funding from the Irish Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karl Harrison does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The bog does not neatly divide traces of the distant and recent past. Archaeology and forensic science still have much to learn from each other.
Rosie Everett, Lecturer, Environmental Science, University College Cork
Benjamin Gearey, Lecturer in Environmental Archaeology, University College Cork
Karl Harrison, Lecturer in Forensic Archaeology, Cranfield University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/210192
2023-07-21T22:12:38Z
2023-07-21T22:12:38Z
Researchers find evidence of a 2,000-year-old curry, the oldest ever found in Southeast Asia
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538673/original/file-20230721-6029-zzrvqd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1828%2C1145&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ancient starch grains of ginger (Zingiber officinale), cinnamon (Cinnamomum sp.) and nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) were identified on the surface of this footed sandstone grinding slab.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Khanh Trung Kien Nguyen</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s hard to imagine a world without spice today. Fast global trade has allowed the import and export of all manner of delicious ingredients that help bring Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Sri Lankan (and so many more) cuisines to our dinner tables.</p>
<p>Now, new research shows the trading of spices for culinary use goes way back – some 2,000 years, to be precise. </p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh5517">paper published today</a> in Science Advances, we and our colleagues detail our findings of what seems to be evidence of Southeast Asia’s oldest known curry. It’s also the oldest evidence of curry ever <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/british-monks-discovered-curry-recipe-200-year-old-cookbook-180957979/">found outside India</a>.</p>
<p>We made the intriguing discovery at the Oc Eo archaeological complex in southern Vietnam. We found eight unique spices, originally from different sources, which were likely used for making curry. What’s even more fascinating is that some of these would have been transported over several thousand kilometres by sea.</p>
<h2>Grinding into the evidence</h2>
<p>Our team’s research wasn’t initially focused on curry. Rather, we were curious to learn about the function of a set of stone grinding tools known as “pesani”, which the people of the ancient <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Funan">Funan kingdom</a> likely used to powder their spices. We also wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/made-on-earth/the-flavours-that-shaped-the-world/">ancient spice trade</a>. </p>
<p>Using a technique called starch grain analysis, we analysed microscopic remains recovered from a range of grinding and pounding tools excavated from the Oc Eo site. Most of these tools were excavated by our team from 2017 to 2019, while some had been previously collected by the local museum.</p>
<p>Starch grains are tiny structures found within plant cells that can be preserved over long periods. Studying them can provide valuable insights into past plant use, diet, cultivation practices and even environmental conditions. </p>
<p>Of the 40 tools we analysed, 12 produced a range of spices including turmeric, ginger, fingerroot, sand ginger, galangal, clove, nutmeg and cinnamon. This means the occupants of the site had indeed used the tools for food processing, including to powder the rhizomes, seeds and stems of spice plants to release flavour.</p>
<p>To figure out how old the site and tools were, our team obtained 29 separate dates from charcoal and wood samples. This included a date of 207-326 CE produced by a charcoal sample taken from just below the largest grinding slab, which measures 76cm by 31cm (pictured below and at the top of this article).</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538674/original/file-20230721-19-gjvz7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538674/original/file-20230721-19-gjvz7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538674/original/file-20230721-19-gjvz7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538674/original/file-20230721-19-gjvz7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538674/original/file-20230721-19-gjvz7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538674/original/file-20230721-19-gjvz7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538674/original/file-20230721-19-gjvz7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538674/original/file-20230721-19-gjvz7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">We excavated this footed sandstone grinding slab in 2018. On its surface we found ancient starch grains of ginger (<em>Zingiber officinale</em>), cinnamon (<em>Cinnamomum sp.</em>) and nutmeg (<em>Myristica fragrans</em>).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Khanh Trung Kien Nguyen</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Another team working at the same site applied a technique called <a href="https://www.uow.edu.au/science-medicine-health/research/geoquest/facilities/thermoluminescence-dating-laboratory/">thermoluminescence dating</a> to bricks used in the site’s architecture. Collectively, the results show the Oc Eo complex was occupied between the 1st and 8th centuries CE.</p>
<h2>A spicy history</h2>
<p>We know the global spice trade has linked cultures and economies in Asia, Africa and Europe since classical times. </p>
<p>However, before this study we had limited evidence of ancient curry at archaeological sites – and the little evidence we did have mainly came from India. Most of our knowledge of the early spice trade has therefore come from clues in ancient documents from India, China and Rome.</p>
<p>Our research is the first to confirm, in a very tangible way, that spices were valuable commodities exchanged on the global trading network nearly 2,000 years ago.</p>
<p>The spices found at Oc Eo wouldn’t have all been available in the region naturally; someone at some point would have transported them there via the Indian or Pacific Ocean. This proves curry has a fascinating history beyond India, and that curry spices were coveted far and wide.</p>
<p>If you’ve ever prepared curry from scratch, you’ll know it’s not simple. It involves considerable time and effort, as well as a range of unique spices, and the use of grinding tools. </p>
<p>So it’s interesting to note that nearly 2,000 years ago, individuals living outside India had a strong desire to savour the flavors of curry – as evidenced by their diligent preparations. </p>
<p>Another fascinating finding is that the curry recipe used in Vietnam today has not deviated significantly from the ancient Oc Eo period. Key components such as turmeric, cloves, cinnamon and coconut milk have remained consistent in the recipe. It goes to show a good recipe will stand the test of time!</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-batshit-experiment-bones-cooked-in-bat-poo-lift-the-lid-on-how-archaeological-sites-are-formed-156865">A batshit experiment: bones cooked in bat poo lift the lid on how archaeological sites are formed</a>
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<h2>What’s next?</h2>
<p>In this study, we primarily focused on microscopic plant remains. And we have yet to compare these findings with other larger plant remains unearthed from the site.</p>
<p>During an excavation conducted from 2017 to 2020, our team also collected a significant number of well-preserved seeds. In the future we hope to analyse these, too. We may identify many more spices, or may even discover unique plant species – adding to our understanding of the region’s history. </p>
<p>By completing more dating on the site, we might also be able to understand when and how each type of spice or plant started to be traded globally.</p>
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<p><em>We would like to acknowledge our colleague Khanh Trung Kien Nguyen of Vietnam’s Southern Institute for Social Sciences for their invaluable contribution to this work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210192/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The discovery is helping shed light on a vibrant ancient spice trade that spanned many thousands of kilometres.
Weiwei Wang, PhD Candidate, Australian National University
Hsiao-chun Hung, Senior Research Fellow, School of Culture, History & Language, Australian National University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/204652
2023-05-05T16:24:08Z
2023-05-05T16:24:08Z
How archaeologists can help us live with wild animals
<p>For thousands of years, people in the British Isles lived with and depended on wild animals for food and clothes. The land teemed with species such as deer, boar, wolves, lynx and beavers. Then came farming, population growth and industrialisation. Many species were hunted to extinction and their habitats were lost. </p>
<p>Archaeological research reaches back in time to understand how humans and wild animals interacted. Ancient bones and teeth reveal these complex relationships. </p>
<p>Today, interactions between wild animals and people are often in the news, from <a href="https://www.timeout.com/london/city-life/are-londons-foxes-getting-bolder">urban foxes</a> to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/12/first-wild-beaver-in-wales-in-400-years-caught-felling-trees-in-garden">tree-felling beavers</a> and <a href="https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/humans-caused-the-overpopulation-of-wild-boars">wild boars</a>. Even the red deer – the monarch of the glen, celebrated as a symbol of wild Scotland – is facing widespread calls for population control and, on the Hebridean island of South Uist, total eradication.</p>
<p>Deer were a mainstay of British diets before <a href="https://www.academia.edu/25154142/The_Time_of_Deer">farming</a> and, out on the islands, my research demonstrates they remained an important <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290486458_Red_deer_on_Scottish_islands">food source</a> beyond the 15th century. It was only in the middle ages that deer became the preserve of royal hunts and later the favoured prey of fee-paying hunters. </p>
<p>Today they are often viewed as pests by the communities they impact. A combination of factors, including <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/covid-deer-venison-climate-change-b1785514.html">COVID-19</a> and <a href="https://rumdeer.bio.ed.ac.uk/climate-change">climate change</a>, has seen deer numbers <a href="https://consult.defra.gov.uk/team-trees/consultation-on-proposals-for-the-deer-management/">increase</a> and affect both <a href="https://forestrycommission.blog.gov.uk/2022/08/04/reducing-the-impact-of-deer-on-the-natural-environment-consultation-opens/">landscapes</a> and gardens. They also cause <a href="https://www.deeraware.com/background/">accidents on roads</a> and carry the ticks that pass on Lyme disease. </p>
<p>As wild animals, they are <a href="https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/protected-areas-and-species/protected-species/protected-species-z-guide/protected-species-deer#:%7E:text=Deer%20don%27t%20belong%20to,kill%20deer%20for%20certain%20purposes.">not owned</a> and only become someone’s property when they are captured or killed by persons entitled by law to do so. This is usually the owners of the land they inhabit. Land owning estates manage most herds and may provide hunting access for a fee. </p>
<p>The venison can be sold, but often <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19132700.highland-game-scottish-venison-donated-london-food-banks-amid-covid-drop-demand/">goes to waste</a> due to a lack of sufficient trained staff to check carcasses and markets for the meat. Hides are generally not valued and antlers are sold as <a href="https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/antos-antler-chew-p3266--1">dog chews</a>. </p>
<h2>South Uist</h2>
<p>In March 2023, the tensions between red deer and locals reached a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-64979967">crisis point</a> on the Scottish island of South Uist. There was a call to eradicate an entire herd of 1,198 animals, as their behaviour was negatively affecting locals. Arguments on either side focused on their history, use and value.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299840919_Colonization_of_the_Scottish_Islands_via_long-distance_Neolithic_transport_of_red_deer_Cervus_elaphus">As an animal archaeologist, my research</a> has shown that <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-took-red-deer-to-the-scottish-isles-57825">red deer</a> were taken to Scottish islands for food more than 5,000 years ago. </p>
<p>In the absence of any predators, their numbers were controlled through the killing (and eating) of both red deer calves and adults. Hides were worked and the valuable antlers, shed annually from stags, were used to create beautifully crafted tools and adornments. Red deer are represented in early art, both on and off the islands. A recent find of spectacular rock art on <a href="https://www.historicenvironment.scot/about-us/news/prehistoric-animal-carvings-discovered-for-the-first-time-in-scotland/">mainland Scotland</a> has highlighted their cultural importance during this period. </p>
<p>Unlike on most of mainland Britain, deer remained an important island food and thrived up until recently. In the 20th century, new animals were <a href="https://guerillaarchaeology.com/themes-and-projects/craftwork/deer-on-south-uist-past-present-and-future/">introduced</a> from the mainland. Genetic analysis suggests these deer supplemented existing populations and the herds became reestablished.</p>
<p>Over the past decades deer numbers across the UK have exploded from 450,000 in the 1970s to 2 million today – the highest level for <a href="https://consult.defra.gov.uk/team-trees/consultation-on-proposals-for-the-deer-management/">1,000 years</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://storasuibhist.com/members-information/documentation/agm-2021-presentation-2/">A recent count</a> found that South Uist deer numbers have increased by a third, from around 800 in 2015 to 1,200 today. This pattern is repeated elsewhere, such as the Isles of <a href="https://www.stornowaygazette.co.uk/business/deer-culls-to-increase-as-numbers-double-3992741">Lewis and Harris</a>. At the same time, the prevalence of ticks and the disease they carry has <a href="https://www.wihb.scot.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/A0-Template-The-ticking-time-bomb.-Incidence-of-Lyme-disease-in-the-Western-Isles-2010-2017.pdf">increased</a>.</p>
<h2>Management</h2>
<p>Deer herds clearly need to be managed, but there is a cost. Culling them requires trained individuals, as well as care to ensure animals do not suffer. Paying hunters provide some income, but the value of deer is not clear to all who live in deer-impacted communities. </p>
<p>As in the past, venison, antler and hides are all valuable items. Investment in resources and training by <a href="https://www.communitylandscotland.org.uk/members/storas-uibhist/">Stòras Uibhist</a>, the community-owned company that manages the 93,000 acre South Uist Estate, is producing venison. That’s both as a low-cost local food and a high-value delicacy. Antler is also a sustainable resource, grown and shed each year. </p>
<p>Archaeological initiatives are demonstrating to islanders, and beyond, how easy it is to work with this material. With only <a href="https://youtu.be/NpoNjqASV0k">simple tools</a>, saleable items inspired by island heritage and culture can be produced. On South Uist, the estate is looking to process and sell hides, while wildlife focused deer stalking with cameras can provide new tourist activities. </p>
<p>The deer of South Uist have <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-65025200">gained a reprieve</a>. The community voted to keep the herd, but in smaller numbers. In the absence of predators, humans need to actively manage such wildlife to maintain a balance. The value of red deer, both alive and dead, must be realised to create a sustainable wild landscapes for the future. </p>
<p>The deep history of human interactions with these animals can provide inspiration for their future management. Archaeologists like myself hold this knowledge and by sharing the stories and skills of the past, we can reconnect today’s people with previous generations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204652/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacqui Mulville receives research funding from Cardiff University, British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, Natural Environment Research Council</span></em></p>
There are arguments over the future of red deer on the Scottish island of South Uist but archaeological expertise can help people live alongside wild animals.
Jacqui Mulville, Professor in Bioarchaeology, Head of Archaeology and Conservation, Cardiff University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/197816
2023-03-22T17:18:31Z
2023-03-22T17:18:31Z
How a local community helped us make incredible prehistoric discoveries
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516900/original/file-20230322-22-l769gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C18%2C4160%2C3095&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Around 400 local children have been involved in this archaeological project in Cardiff, Wales.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Vivian Paul Thomas</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The knowledge and control of bronze gave some people who lived between 2200BC and 700BC enormous wealth and power. Their lives and deeds were immortalised by their burial mounds, known as barrows and cairns, which still litter our landscape today. Incredibly though, finding the places where <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Bronze-Age">bronze age</a> people lived has proven to be very difficult. </p>
<p>In south Wales, for example, only a handful of settlements are <a href="https://museum.wales/articles/1339/Prehistoric-feasting-in-south-Wales/">known</a> about. Typically, all that remain are the ruins of a flimsy roundhouse or two. We have little else to tell us about the lives of the inhabitants. Maybe that’s because bronze age people had mobile lifestyles, moving around the landscape with their herds from season to season but never staying in the same place too long. That’s one argument, anyway. </p>
<p>However, in the summer of 2022, a collaborative, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335914255_The_Caerau_and_Ely_Rediscovering_Heritage_Project_legacies_of_co-produced_research">community-led archaeological excavation</a> on the outskirts of Cardiff began to challenge those assumptions. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An illustration depicts a prehistoric bearded man pouring liquid into a mould. Two men in the background are gathered around a fire." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516899/original/file-20230322-399-mcbkan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516899/original/file-20230322-399-mcbkan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516899/original/file-20230322-399-mcbkan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516899/original/file-20230322-399-mcbkan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516899/original/file-20230322-399-mcbkan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516899/original/file-20230322-399-mcbkan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516899/original/file-20230322-399-mcbkan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The bronze age is the name given to the period of time between 2200BC and 700BC.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/foundry-workshop-on-outskirts-lake-town-1122922061">Morphart Creation</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s hard to imagine how our prehistoric ancestors would have reacted when they first began to make and use metal. They took rocks that sparkled with green and silver, crushed and heated them until they became liquid. They then poured this elixir into moulds before cooling and breaking them open to reveal the dark golden-coloured metallic objects inside. It must have appeared like magic. </p>
<p>Since 2011, our <a href="https://www.caerheritage.org">CAER Heritage Project</a> has mobilised people in the Cardiff suburbs of Caerau and Ely to imagine and explore such history and archaeology. Both areas face challenges such as high unemployment and poor educational attainment. But they are also home to a host of extremely friendly and talented people, not to mention some outstanding heritage too.</p>
<p>Until recently, much of our archaeological investigation had focused on the <a href="https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/130880/1/Davis_and_Sharples_Glamorgan_Hillforts_Caerau.pdf">Caerau hillfort</a>. This is the largest and most impressive iron age (700BC) hillfort in the region and is almost entirely surrounded by houses. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of school children stand in a field with their backs towards the camera. A man stands in front of them pointing towards something." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516749/original/file-20230321-2560-3ljuag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2048%2C1532&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516749/original/file-20230321-2560-3ljuag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516749/original/file-20230321-2560-3ljuag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516749/original/file-20230321-2560-3ljuag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516749/original/file-20230321-2560-3ljuag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516749/original/file-20230321-2560-3ljuag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516749/original/file-20230321-2560-3ljuag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Local schoolchildren gather near the Caerau hillfort.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Vivian Paul Thomas</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://caerheritageproject.com/discover/">We discovered</a> that the hilltop was used as a gathering place during the stone age (3600BC), before the hillfort was built around 600BC. </p>
<p>Over the last couple of years, we have taken archaeology into the housing estates themselves. During the COVID lockdowns between 2020 and 2021, local residents did “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-53234395">mini-digs</a>” in their gardens. Many <a href="https://caerheritageproject.com/2020/07/16/caer-big-dig-the-big-discoveries-so-far/">discovered</a> prehistoric items such as flints and pottery shards. </p>
<p>The best chance of finding the places where prehistoric people lived was in a large area of open ground known as Trelai Park, which is around 1,500 metres east of the Caerau hillfort. The park is today used for sport but in its centre are the remains of a <a href="http://www.cardiffparks.org.uk/otheropenspaces/trelaipark/info/romanvilla.shtml">Roman villa</a>, which was excavated in 1922 by the renowned archaeologist, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mortimer-Wheeler">Sir Mortimer Wheeler</a>. </p>
<p>A century later, in April 2022, we completed a “geophysical survey” of the park with local school children and adults. Geophysics is a process using a machine called a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/magnetometer">magnetometer</a>, which allows archaeologists to “see” under the ground without removing the soil and helps us work out where to dig.</p>
<p>We had expected to find more Roman remains, but around 200 metres south of the villa, we discovered an intriguing square enclosure.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Looking over the shoulder of a man wearing a baseball cap who is using a tool to carve out a section of earth." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516908/original/file-20230322-26-zw4oej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516908/original/file-20230322-26-zw4oej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516908/original/file-20230322-26-zw4oej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516908/original/file-20230322-26-zw4oej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516908/original/file-20230322-26-zw4oej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516908/original/file-20230322-26-zw4oej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516908/original/file-20230322-26-zw4oej.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Vivian Paul Thomas</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Digging beneath one of the football pitches last summer, we revealed the <a href="https://the-past.com/news/remains-of-a-bronze-age-roundhouse-unearthed-in-near-cardiff/">remains of a substantial roundhouse</a>. It was made from timber and thatch which had long since rotted away, but the big post holes that held up its circular wall still survived. </p>
<p>A radiocarbon date from a piece of burnt wood indicated it was built around 1500BC, which is the middle of the bronze age. That makes it the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-62155069">oldest known house in the Welsh capital</a>. </p>
<p>Even more amazingly, the floor surface that its occupants had walked, worked and slept on was still there. Trampled into this floor were finds of flint and stone tools, pottery and burnt bones which gave us a glimpse into bronze age daily life. </p>
<p>Surrounding the roundhouse was a large ditch and bank which was the square enclosure we had discovered through geophysics. Placed into the ditch was an <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-62155069">extraordinary complete pot</a>, beautifully decorated in bronze age “<a href="https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/details.xhtml?recordId=3246094&recordType=MonographSeries">Trevisker</a>” style. This type of decoration is common in Devon and Cornwall but this pot was made from local Welsh clay. Perhaps it was a copy made by bronze age travellers 3,500 years ago. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A pair of hands wearing rubber gloves holds up a muddy object." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516909/original/file-20230322-1452-pa1ljw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516909/original/file-20230322-1452-pa1ljw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516909/original/file-20230322-1452-pa1ljw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516909/original/file-20230322-1452-pa1ljw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516909/original/file-20230322-1452-pa1ljw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516909/original/file-20230322-1452-pa1ljw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516909/original/file-20230322-1452-pa1ljw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Was this clay pot made by bronze age travellers?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Vivian Paul Thomas</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>No other bronze age settlement like this has been discovered in south Wales and we have plenty of questions as a result, which, so far, remain unanswered.</p>
<p>One thing we do know is that none of these discoveries could have been made without the passion and participation of local people. Almost 400 children were involved in the dig as well as hundreds of volunteers, who gave more than 3,000 hours of their time to help out. </p>
<p>What sets CAER apart from many other community archaeology projects is that the people have remained involved in the work way beyond just the excavation process. Children and adults have sieved, cleaned and analysed our finds and continue to research the bronze age in their spare time. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An aerial shot of a green field with three separate archaeological excavations taking place. There are precise holes in the ground and a blue tent set up." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516922/original/file-20230322-18-qmmcss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516922/original/file-20230322-18-qmmcss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516922/original/file-20230322-18-qmmcss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516922/original/file-20230322-18-qmmcss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516922/original/file-20230322-18-qmmcss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516922/original/file-20230322-18-qmmcss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516922/original/file-20230322-18-qmmcss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The archaeological dig in Trelai Park took place on the football pitch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Crown Copyright RCAHMW</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Buoyed by such enthusiasm, we will be back digging in Trelai Park this summer, where once again we will be working alongside our passionate citizen archaeologist colleagues. We’re excited at the prospect of what we may uncover.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197816/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oliver Davis receives funding from AHRC, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council Wales, Royal Archaeological Institute, Prehistoric Society, Cambrian Archaeological Association. </span></em></p>
Since 2011, professional and amateur archaeologists in Cardiff have been unearthing prehistoric artefacts. But last summer, they began to discover something even more extraordinary.
Oliver Davis, Senior lecturer, Cardiff University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/201352
2023-03-13T16:29:18Z
2023-03-13T16:29:18Z
Were there gladiators in Roman Britain? An expert reviews the evidence
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514013/original/file-20230307-20-md4g9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4583%2C3215&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Colchester vase, dating to the later second century AD.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flickr.com/photos/41523983@N08/23175635162">Following Hadrian/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1853, <a href="http://teachinghistory100.org/objects/about_the_object/roman_gladiators">a Roman vase</a> was found being used as a container for ashes in a grave outside Roman Colchester. Dating to the later second century AD, it depicted four gladiators with their names scratched into the surface of the vase. </p>
<p>Two of the gladiators, Memnon and Valentinus, were shown as the classic pairing of a lightly armed but nimble <em>retiarius</em> (net man) and heavily armed but cumbersome <em>secutor</em> (pursuer). The <em>retiatius</em>, Valentinus, has lost his weapon – a trident – and holds up his finger as a sign of submission. </p>
<p>Long thought to be an import, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-64855991">fabric analysis has now shown</a> the vessel to be of local manufacture. The ashes the vessel contained were of a male of about 40 years of age and not of local origin. Could he have been a gladiator?</p>
<p>Gladiators are one of the <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203187982/story-roman-amphitheatre-david-bomgardner">emblematic images of the Roman world</a>. Massive amphitheatres, depictions of gladiators in Roman art and literature and more recent portrayals such as Russell Crowe’s portrayal of the Roman general-turned-fighter, Maximus Decimus Meridius in the film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ieIbInFpg">Gladiator</a> (2000) have all contributed to the perception of blood and gore, crowd frenzy, Christians and lions, the caprices of emperors. </p>
<p>The origins of gladiatorial spectacle go back to <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Blood_in_the_Arena.html?id=VRG1m8LjUloC&redir_esc=y">the Roman Republic</a> (the ancient state centred on the city of Rome founded in 509BC), where it was originally associated with funeral games for prominent men. Gladiators represented a propitiatory blood offering, skirting close to being a <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Blood_in_the_Arena.html?id=VRG1m8LjUloC&redir_esc=y">form of human sacrifice</a>. </p>
<p>By the second century BC, gladiators had become professionals, forming corporations under a <em>lanista</em> (trainer). Normally selected from prisoners of war, criminals and slaves, they had little if any social standing. Nevertheless, as the Colchester vase shows, they could become celebrities and could be awarded the <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/rudis-symbol-of-gladiators-freedom-118423"><em>rudis</em></a> (a wooden sword signifying freedom). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An aerial view of the remains of the Caerleon amphitheatre now covered in grass." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514016/original/file-20230307-121-wzbxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514016/original/file-20230307-121-wzbxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514016/original/file-20230307-121-wzbxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514016/original/file-20230307-121-wzbxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514016/original/file-20230307-121-wzbxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514016/original/file-20230307-121-wzbxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514016/original/file-20230307-121-wzbxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Caerleon Roman amphitheatre in Wales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-welsh-town-caerleon-wales-1775132039">steved_np3/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Gladiatorial weapons training was introduced to the Roman army and thereafter there was a strong link between soldiers and gladiatorial games. Many <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270136142_The_Roman_Amphitheatre_From_Its_Origins_to_the_Colosseum_Book_Review">amphitheatres in the European provinces</a> were built at colonies of military veterans (<em>coloniae</em>), meaning they became part of the monumental equipment of Roman-style cities in the empire and beyond.</p>
<p>So the construction of amphitheatres and the staging of gladiatorial games in a province such as Britain shows the local populations buying into this aspect of Roman cultural values as sponsors and as spectators. </p>
<p>Most amphitheatres in Britain were not constructed in stone, but were instead large banks of earth carrying timber seating, a little like American “bleachers”, either side of an elliptical arena with entrances at either end. Large examples such as that at <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/cirencester-amphitheatre/">Cirencester</a> could have sat several thousand people. They showed off the assimilation to Roman ways of the local nobles who financed their construction and the games. </p>
<p>Gladiatorial combat’s strong links with the army explains why the two major stone amphitheatres in Britain were at the legionary fortresses of <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/chesters-roman-fort-and-museum-hadrians-wall/">Chester</a> and <a href="https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/caerleon-roman-fortress-and-baths">Caerleon</a>. Colchester was a colony for military veterans, so an amphitheatre there would be expected, though archaeologists have not yet located one.</p>
<h2>Evidence of gladiators in Britain</h2>
<p>More tangible evidence of the gladiators themselves in Britain is harder to come by. But some recent discoveries allow us to flesh out the picture. </p>
<p>There must have been an amphitheatre at the long-lived, legionary fortress of York, but it is yet to be discovered. Excavations between 2004 and 2005 at <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c62d8bb809d8e27588adcc0/t/5ce6b7fd9140b77268a26a9f/1558624260806/Romans-lose-thier-heads-AYW6.pdf">York’s Driffield Terrace</a> uncovered 82 Roman burials and 14 cremations dating largely to the third century. </p>
<p>The sex and age profile of the buried bodies was very unusual. They were almost all males and aged from their late teens to their early forties. </p>
<p>These men were generally taller and more robust than the average male burial from Roman Britain. <a href="https://www.yorkarchaeology.co.uk/new-blog/gladiators">Evidence suggested</a> that they had geographically more varied origins than men from Roman York in general. </p>
<p>Extraordinarily, more than half of the men had been decapitated, the skull placed in the grave with the corpse. </p>
<p>How to interpret them? Given that the age range is that for service in the Roman army, <a href="https://www.yorkarchaeology.co.uk/new-blog/gladiators">one hypothesis</a> was that they were soldiers executed for serious offences. But <a href="https://www.yorkarchaeology.co.uk/new-blog/gladiators">further research</a> has shown evidence that they suffered blunt force trauma, often to the head. Could they have been gladiators? </p>
<p>Intriguingly, the pelvis of one of the men has indentations consistent with the bite of a large carnivore. Perhaps an instance of the Roman capital punishment of <a href="https://visit-colosseum-rome.com/damnatio-ad-bestias/"><em>damnatio ad bestias</em></a> – being thrown to the beasts in the arena.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A mosaic showing gladiators fighting off a tiger with a spear" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514018/original/file-20230307-20-kjfrr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514018/original/file-20230307-20-kjfrr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514018/original/file-20230307-20-kjfrr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514018/original/file-20230307-20-kjfrr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514018/original/file-20230307-20-kjfrr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514018/original/file-20230307-20-kjfrr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514018/original/file-20230307-20-kjfrr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gladiators fighting a tiger in detail of floor mosaic from the Great Palace of Constantinople.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/ancient-roman-mosaic-museumistanbulturkey-81067159">Sadik Gulec/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Occasionally, other finds suggest an interest in gladiatorial combat in Britain. Three mosaics from villas in <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g23561904-d190074-i330238867-Bignor_Roman_Villa-Bignor_West_Sussex_England.html">Sussex</a>, <a href="http://cka.moon-demon.co.uk/KAR046/KAR046_mosaics.htm">Kent</a> and the <a href="https://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=2369">Isle of Wight</a> show gladiators, but since at one site this entailed cupids dressed as gladiators, these were probably just artistic conventions rather than representations of Roman British reality. </p>
<p>More convincingly, <a href="https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/10536181.pictures-unearthed-roman-pottery-fragment-thought-to-depict-lion-killing-gladiator/">pieces of pottery</a> with representations of gladiators have been recovered from both Chester and Cirencester – both places with amphitheatres. These were in red gloss pottery mass produced in present-day France. Perhaps they were imported as souvenirs for people attending gladiatorial spectacles.</p>
<p>Other objects show the hold of gladiators on the popular imagination, such as an <a href="https://www.bridgemanimages.com/en-US/roman/clasp-knife-handle-in-the-form-of-a-gladiator-from-south-shields-2nd-3rd-century-ad-ivory/ivory/asset/44074">ivory clasp knife handle</a> showing a gladiator from the Roman fort at South Shields. </p>
<p>It seems that by the fourth century AD the amphitheatres in Roman Britain were falling into disuse as cultural tastes shifted. But as the Colchester vase has shown, people in Roman Britain – at least for a time – viewed gladiators as celebrities, not unlike modern day sports stars.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201352/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Esmonde Cleary does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The Colchester vase contains the remains a male of about 40 years of age and not of local origin. Could he have been a gladiator?
Simon Esmonde Cleary, Emeritus Professor of Roman Archaeology, University of Birmingham
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/200318
2023-03-06T12:05:04Z
2023-03-06T12:05:04Z
I dug for evidence of the Rosetta Stone’s ancient Egyptian rebellion – here’s what I found
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511957/original/file-20230223-28-pwwi02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1185%2C601&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hellenistic soldiers as depicted in the Nile mosaic of Palestrina.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8268/nile-mosaic-of-palestrina/#google_vignette">World History Encyclopedia</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/rosetta-stone-a-new-museum-is-reviving-calls-to-return-the-artefact-to-egypt-195037">Rosetta Stone</a> is not known for its content, but as a lexicon of Egyptian hieroglyphics. The decree inscribed on the stone, however, discusses a violent revolt – largely lost to history – that shaped the trajectory of western civilisation.</p>
<p>Had the young pharaoh Ptolemy V been overthrown, events like the Hasmonean revolt (which established a Jewish kingdom), the affairs of Cleopatra with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony, and even the rise of Christianity may have looked very different.</p>
<p>Until recently, the story of the struggle between the Greeks and the Egyptians was known only through Greek sources and <a href="https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/files/TheGreatRevoltoftheEgyptians.pdf">shreds of evidence</a> like graffiti.</p>
<p>Professor Robert Littman, of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, and I uncovered <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00934690.2022.2158569">evidence of the civil war</a> at Tell Timai – the ruins of the ancient city of Thmouis in Egypt’s Nile delta. The archaeological evidence has revealed widespread destruction from the time of the rebellion, 204-186BC.</p>
<p>In 2009, evidence of burned buildings with ceramic vessels still in place first suggested that there had been a catastrophic event at Tell Timai. The destruction was widespread and followed by a levelling and rebuilding of the ruined city. Over the following years, evidence including weapons and unburied bodies that graphically pointed to an episode of extreme violence accumulated.</p>
<p>One of the bodies had old wounds (suggesting he had been a warrior) and unhealed wounds (suggesting he had died violently). A young man was found in a kiln, suggesting he had crawled in there to hide and perhaps died of his wounds.</p>
<h2>Dating the destruction</h2>
<p>Having identified the destruction at the city of Thmouis, we wanted to know why it fell victim to war.</p>
<p>Establishing the precise timing of events in archaeological excavations is difficult. The range from radiocarbon dating, for instance, is often too broad to provide a concise date that aligns with historic records. At Thmouis, however, one room held evidence that allowed for more accurate dating.</p>
<p>A hoard of coins on the floor dated to the reign of Pharaoh Ptolemy IV, while all of the coins from the levelling layer dated to Ptolemy VI. A dinner setting for four also had some distinctive vessels following an Athenian style that placed them in the first quarter of the second century BC during the reign of Ptolemy V.</p>
<p>Ptolemy V Epiphanes, who was just a boy when his father was murdered in 204BC, assumed power in a tumultuous time. The economy was ravaged by foreign wars and there was a growing violent insurrection from the native Egyptian population, who no longer wished to live as second-class citizens while the Macedonian dynasty and Greek imperialists prospered at their expense.</p>
<p>Ptolemy V is known for the Memphis Decree of 196BC in which the priests of Ptah (supporters of the Ptolemaic dynasty) proclaimed the anointment of Ptolemy V as the divine pharaoh of Egypt. In this decree, they outlined Ptolemy’s successful prosecution of the war against the Egyptian rebels and noted his success in besieging a city close to Thmouis.</p>
<p>The decree was inscribed on hard stone and copies were placed in all temples. It was written in hieroglyphs, Demotic and Greek so that all could read it. The most famous copy today was found in the Nile delta by a French officer in 1799. </p>
<p>It proved to be the key that philologist Jean-François Champollion used to decode Egyptian hieroglyphs – the Rosetta Stone.</p>
<h2>What were the consequences of the Egyptian revolt?</h2>
<p>Evidence from other sites in the delta suggested that there were economic and political consequences for those cities that joined the rebellion, such as closing harbours.</p>
<p>Another stone decree gave an account of the Greek general <a href="https://www.academia.edu/19803915/Ptol%C3%A9m%C3%A9e_%C3%89piphane_Aristonikos_et_les_pr%C3%AAtres_d_%C3%89gypte_Le_D%C3%A9cret_de_Memphis_182_a_C_%C3%89dition_comment%C3%A9e_des_st%C3%A8les_Caire_RT_2_3_25_7_et_JE_44901?auto=download">Aristonicus</a> who led some of the forces of Ptolemy V and his campaign to root out the last of rebels at Tell el Balamun, a city just north of Thmouis. </p>
<p>Historical accounts carved on the Rosetta Stone and the Aristonicus stone aligned with the evidence we found at Thmouis. The cities of the central Nile delta played a major part in the great rebellion and their citizens suffered greatly for their part.</p>
<p>The outcome of the Egyptian revolt against Hellenistic imperialism had far-reaching consequences. The Egyptians had appointed their own pharaohs and, with the help of the Nubians, took control of much of Egypt. </p>
<p>After 20 years of conflict, the Hellenistic military machine subdued the rebellion and the last rebel leaders were murdered when they came to negotiate peace at the Nile delta city of Sais.</p>
<p>Had the Egyptians prevailed, Egypt might have taken a different turn. Their traditional gods of Isis and her son Horus, for example, might not have so easily surrendered their identities to Mary and Jesus with the coming of Christianity.</p>
<p>After securing control of Egypt, the Ptolemaic dynasty played a key role in the geopolitics of the eastern Mediterranean. It supported the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid dynasty of Syria, establishing a Jewish kingdom. And, of course, the Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra was a vital character in the story of how the Roman republic became an empire.</p>
<p>Thmouis was rebuilt as a city full of Greek colonists and soon became the regional seat of power as the Ptolemaic dynasty took power away from Egyptian temple priests who participated in the rebellion.</p>
<p>The transformation of Thmouis from a small tributary town to a regional capital reflects the hand of an oppressive government that wanted to make sure that no major revolt from the people they ruled would ever pose a threat to their control again.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200318/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay Silverstein does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
We uncovered evidence of a rebellion so significant, that events such as Cleopatra’s affairs and the rise of Christianity may not have come to pass without it.
Jay Silverstein, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology , Nottingham Trent University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/171214
2021-12-19T19:52:45Z
2021-12-19T19:52:45Z
Volunteer on a dig for the thrill of digging up the past (you’ll also learn to hate buckets)
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433044/original/file-20211122-23-l5ld24.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4031%2C3011&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photograph: Gil Davis</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/how-to-guides-113946">series</a> explaining how readers can learn the skills to take part in activities that academics love doing as part of their work.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>A few more brushstrokes and the student gasped with excitement. There in the dirt was a small, bronze statue of a calf, revealed for the first time in 3,000 years. The discovery could have been yours! In this article, I dip into the many opportunities for you to take part in an archaeological dig both locally and abroad. </p>
<p>Places on these digs are not confined to university students. There are opportunities for you to become involved in the fascinating world of archaeology both locally and abroad. You can make a useful contribution in many ways and have enormous fun doing it.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433359/original/file-20211123-15-138pe3e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433359/original/file-20211123-15-138pe3e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433359/original/file-20211123-15-138pe3e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433359/original/file-20211123-15-138pe3e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433359/original/file-20211123-15-138pe3e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433359/original/file-20211123-15-138pe3e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433359/original/file-20211123-15-138pe3e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A volunteer found this statuette of a small bronze calf, which would have shone like gold, at a dig in Israel. It was found in a Canaanite temple at Khirbet el-Rai, identified as biblical Ziklag, in a joint Hebrew and Macquarie University excavation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photograph: Gil Davis</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is archaeology?</h2>
<p>Archaeologists in popular imagination are like Indiana Jones and Lara Croft seeking powerful lost artefacts and unimaginable wealth. You don’t need me to tell you this is the stuff of fantasy. Gone too are the days (hopefully!) when real archaeologists just wanted to find palaces and temples and significant objects to stuff in museums. </p>
<p>The reality is more absorbing and less dangerous. The questions that interest us nowadays involve understanding how people lived and interacted with their landscape. What did they eat, drink, wear and believe, and what tools and technologies did they use? This comes under the rubric of “material culture”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-archaeology-is-so-much-more-than-just-digging-108679">Why archaeology is so much more than just digging</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433361/original/file-20211123-19-gf8pzx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433361/original/file-20211123-19-gf8pzx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433361/original/file-20211123-19-gf8pzx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433361/original/file-20211123-19-gf8pzx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433361/original/file-20211123-19-gf8pzx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433361/original/file-20211123-19-gf8pzx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433361/original/file-20211123-19-gf8pzx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">ACU Professor Gil Davis excavates a grave at Tel Akekah, Israel, in a joint project with Tel Aviv University.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photograph: Benjamin Sitzmann</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Excavation is the essential part, but it is destructive. We excavate the minimum area possible to answer specific research questions. We leave the remainder for future archaeologists with different questions and even better technologies.</p>
<p>Uncovering architectural remains and artefacts is vital, but only if we can interpret the finds. To do so, we need to employ a wide range of specialisations, many of them scientific. </p>
<p>To take a case in point, a team in Israel was excavating the site of Ramat Rachel, which was the administrative centre of the Persians just outside Jerusalem. It was complete with a palace and <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101028113622.htm">pleasure gardens</a> traditionally kept by Eastern potentates – think the Garden of Eden full of exotic species. No plants have survived from 2,500 years ago, of course, but the walls in the garden were plastered annually, and in the plaster was microscopic evidence of pollens and phytoliths (the mineralised remains). Bingo! </p>
<h2>How does a dig work?</h2>
<p>A typical dig in the Middle East, Europe and the United Kingdom will start with a survey to identify what is likely to be found and the most promising areas to excavate. This includes plotting surface finds. </p>
<p>Just as sultanas in a cake mix will come to the surface, ubiquitous broken sherds of pottery litter the ground. Diagnostic elements can be identified, giving a snapshot of what lies beneath. Geophysical surveying reveals the outline of subterranean structures. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433360/original/file-20211123-19-3ya1xq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433360/original/file-20211123-19-3ya1xq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433360/original/file-20211123-19-3ya1xq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433360/original/file-20211123-19-3ya1xq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433360/original/file-20211123-19-3ya1xq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433360/original/file-20211123-19-3ya1xq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433360/original/file-20211123-19-3ya1xq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Volunteer Michaela Gill unearths a pot at Khirbet el-Rai, Israel, a joint excavation between Hebrew and Macquarie universities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photograph: Sophie Gidley, Macquarie University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The dig director(s) then decides where to dig in 5m-by-5m squares. Each square has a supervisor and a few people to help dig and record the finds. </p>
<h2>What you can do (and why you will learn to hate buckets)</h2>
<p>Those squares don’t dig themselves. First you get down to the levels of interest by removing all the topsoil. It’s usually filled with tree roots and rocks. Mattocks, spades and an endless supply of buckets are the go. </p>
<p>This is where (your?) labour comes in. Most digs need volunteers to do the hard yakka. The dig supplies the equipment, training and supervision; the volunteers do the work. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433358/original/file-20211123-27-1ayxxle.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433358/original/file-20211123-27-1ayxxle.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433358/original/file-20211123-27-1ayxxle.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433358/original/file-20211123-27-1ayxxle.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433358/original/file-20211123-27-1ayxxle.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433358/original/file-20211123-27-1ayxxle.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433358/original/file-20211123-27-1ayxxle.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Volunteers removing soil in a bucket line at Tel Azekah, Israel, on a joint Tel Aviv and Macquarie University excavation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photograph: Benjamin Sitzmann</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Soon the team reaches the levels of interest. The work becomes more careful, turning to trowels and brushes. The volunteers become adept at identifying and recording finds and levels. </p>
<p>Fit people don’t need a gym on a dig. Others less physically able will contribute to light duties, logistics, recording and preparing meals.</p>
<p>A dig draws on a wide range of expertise including geophysics, surveying, photography, computing, pottery, lithics, biology, zoology, archaeometallurgy, chemistry and isotopic analysis. There is always call for volunteers able to offer specialised skills. People with medical and allied health training are especially welcome, as are people who can speak a local language. </p>
<p>Australian sites are handled differently as they mostly deal with understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander use of land and historical (post-European settlement) sites. Research questions are usually linked to cultural heritage management. </p>
<p>The way the sites present does not lend itself to excavating in squares and is more to do with plotting surface finds such as campsites spread out over a wide area. Nonetheless, volunteers are usually welcome and specialised skills and knowledge are prized.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cave-dig-shows-the-earliest-australians-enjoyed-a-coastal-lifestyle-77326">Cave dig shows the earliest Australians enjoyed a coastal lifestyle</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How to volunteer</h2>
<p>Be mentally prepared. It’s tough work in the dirt with long hours and very basic, shared accommodation. Hats and sunscreen are essential – but not whips. Usually, you pay for the privilege of participating, though the dig will supply your accommodation, food and transport. </p>
<p>There are endless opportunities to volunteer but finding them takes a bit of sleuthing on the net. Some countries provide a contact point. </p>
<p>For digs in Israel, which is where we dig at Australian Catholic University, contact the <a href="http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_eng.aspx?sec_id=55&subj_id=229">Israel Antiquities Authority</a>. Field schools are ideal, such as these ones in <a href="https://www.archaeological.org/fieldwork/sanisera-fieldschool-dig-in-the-roman-city-of-sanisera-menorca-balearic-islands-spain/">Menorca</a> (Spain), <a href="https://iafs.ie/about/">Ireland</a> and <a href="http://heritage.svoge.bg/en_programs.php">Bulgaria</a>. The <a href="https://www.archaeology.org/index.php/search-page?q=volunteer&search=Go">Archaeological Institute of America</a> lists many opportunities. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433366/original/file-20211123-21-k8spf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433366/original/file-20211123-21-k8spf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433366/original/file-20211123-21-k8spf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433366/original/file-20211123-21-k8spf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433366/original/file-20211123-21-k8spf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433366/original/file-20211123-21-k8spf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433366/original/file-20211123-21-k8spf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some of the pottery unearthed at Khirbet el-Rai, Israel, and restored by the Israel Antiquities Authority.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photograph: Israel Antiquities Authority</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For digs in Australia, it is best to inquire at the <a href="https://www.idp.com/australia/search/archaeology/all/aus/">universities that offer archaeology</a> to find out which digs they are doing and whether they accept volunteers.</p>
<p>Finally, if you’re serious about becoming an archaeologist, especially if you are studying it, many organisations place volunteers. Here’s <a href="http://australianarchaeology.com/careers-resources/information-for-students/getting-involved-in-archaeology-while-studying/">a guide</a> courtesy of the Australian Archaeological Association.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/down-and-dirty-what-volunteers-bring-to-archaeological-digs-30956">Down and dirty: what volunteers bring to archaeological digs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why do it?</h2>
<p>A dig offers a unique experience. Volunteer archaeologists know they’re doing something worthwhile. You challenge yourself in many ways, work in a team and create amazing friendships with like-minded people. </p>
<p>As you gain experience, you become more valuable. You could then be employed as a supervisor and not have to pay. </p>
<p>Many volunteers become archaeology junkies who can’t wait to spend their next holiday digging up the dirt.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>You can read other articles in this series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/how-to-guides-113946">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171214/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gil Davis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
An archaeological dig is the holiday experience of a lifetime. And as you learn more skills, the rewards grow.
Gil Davis, Associate Professor and Director, Ancient Israel Program, Australian Catholic University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/161213
2021-05-26T18:09:40Z
2021-05-26T18:09:40Z
How pots, sand and stone walls helped us date an ancient South African settlement
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401860/original/file-20210520-19-159uk7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An aerial view of the Bokoni homesteads in modern-day Mpumalanga, South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex Schoeman</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you go for a walk in the green hills of Mpumalanga in the north east of South Africa, you may stumble across some stone walls. Either stubbing your toe or appearing through the grass at about chest height, these walls direct and disrupt your path. </p>
<p>Climbing to the top of these gentle slopes, your eye is drawn to circular and linear patterns. From above you quickly realise these patterns are the remains of towns – clusters of homesteads, traditional households, terraces and roads. These ruins are the remnants of the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/article/abs/order-openness-and-economic-change-in-precolonial-southern-africa-a-perspective-from-the-bokoni-terraces/39152E5A9EB8E02BA54E201D97EDB30D">Bokoni polity</a>, a region that contains the southernmost collection of stone terrace farming sites in Africa. </p>
<p>Archaeologists study the Bokoni sites as they are a marvel of urban farming innovation and ingenuity. </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X21002327">research</a> we have broken new ground about the Bokoni sites, and solved a mystery that’s puzzled scientists for decades – when the first sites were built. Our findings were made possible with techniques and technology usually used in geology.</p>
<h2>The search for the beginning</h2>
<p>Archaeologists, in collaboration with historians, have defined four phases of occupation for Bokoni. Oral histories provide particular insight into phase II, the zenith of the Bokoni’s urban growth and planning, when the larger towns were occupied. </p>
<p>For instance in 1936, as part of <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL26726077M/Klank_en_vormleer_van_Sekoni">his research</a> into the seKoni language, linguist C.W. Prinsloo mapped the extent of Bokoni in the 1800s and indicated earlier capitals. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23266579?seq=1">Pedi oral traditions</a> recorded by missionaries in the 1960s refer to the Marateng (Pedi) royals encountering seKoni speakers in approximately 1650CE. </p>
<p>But there are no known historical accounts of Phase I. So, until now, it hasn’t been known exactly when the Bokoni emerged. But, by turning to the material record and archaeological science, our research has solved this enduring mystery. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X21002327">applied</a> a technique called luminescence dating to resolve the origins of this tradition. We now know that Bokoni Phase I was built as early as the 15th century – before the arrival of European colonisation or trade reached the interior. And that the Bokoni farmers continued to thrive for centuries despite the turmoil that was arriving at nearby shores. </p>
<p>These findings disrupt past narratives that decry the presence and ability of African farmers before and during colonisation. They also offer new ways of understanding individual lives and familial patterns. This research helped us reconstruct when people began to build these incredible structures, how long a household was occupied before abandonment, and how their successors interacted with the structures they left behind.</p>
<h2>Four phases</h2>
<p>The four phases identified by researchers as being key periods in the Bokoni polity are as follows.</p>
<p>Phase I marks Bokoni’s emergence (the date of which remained unknown until now). Phase II, in the 17th and 18th centuries, saw the peak of Bokoni’s urban growth and planning. During this period, most Bokoni residents would have been urban farmers, first in and around the capital called Moxomatsi, and later at the succession capitals Mohlo-Pela and Khutwaneng, which lies in modern day Mpumalanga, South Africa. </p>
<p>Phase III marks the start of the upheaval that resulted in Bokoni’s decline in the 19th century, while Phase IV documents the diaspora from the mid-19th century onwards. Bokoni broke apart because of regional conflict in the early to mid 1800s. </p>
<p>Given the dearth of written or oral history from Phase I, we turned to the science of dating in our search for answers.</p>
<h2>Dating methods</h2>
<p>Only two radiocarbon dates exist for sites from this period and region. This is because radiocarbon dating is not ideal for Bokoni. <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-radiocarbon-dating-and-how-does-it-work-9690">Radiocarbon dating</a> measures the radioactive carbon isotope in organic remains. The technique provides the date of death by measuring the remaining radiocarbon component of organic remains like bone or wood. But in certain conditions the soil does not preserve organic remains.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-radiocarbon-dating-and-how-does-it-work-9690">Explainer: what is radiocarbon dating and how does it work?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Luminescence dating was far more suitable for the Bokoni site. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/optically-stimulated-luminescence">Optically stimulated luminescence</a> is a dating technique that measures when quartz or feldspar grains within the soil were last exposed to light or heat. This time stamp tells us when these minerals were buried (or trapped in an object like a pot). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Some digging equipment and measuring sticks lie on the sandy ground while rolling mountains are pictured in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402805/original/file-20210526-15-cusoha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402805/original/file-20210526-15-cusoha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=660&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402805/original/file-20210526-15-cusoha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=660&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402805/original/file-20210526-15-cusoha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=660&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402805/original/file-20210526-15-cusoha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=829&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402805/original/file-20210526-15-cusoha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=829&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402805/original/file-20210526-15-cusoha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=829&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Luminescence dating with a view.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex Schoeman</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When quartz grains are exposed to light, their electrons become excited and leave their correct orbitals; this is called bleaching. At the point of bleaching, the grain has age zero. Once the grain is buried, it uses the radiation within the surrounding soil to return its electrons to their correct orbital. </p>
<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/viMzFjupr4p5Qcu5uq" width="100%" height="360" frameborder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/viMzFjupr4p5Qcu5uq">A GIF showing the process, Ruby-Anne Birin via GIPHY</a></p>
<p>Scientists then measure the dose absorbed by the grain and divide it by the rate at which that dose was absorbed. This value provides the date of the last exposure to light, which allows us to determine when a material or surface became buried, or when a pot was last fired.</p>
<p>Our team used this technique at two homesteads in Komati Gorge Village, a southern town within Bokoni. We already knew that one homestead was older than the other because many of its stones were re-purposed to build the more recent settlement. </p>
<p>Our results indicate several periods of occupation, abandonment and new construction. The older homestead was occupied from as early as 1489CE until it was abandoned around 1577CE. The builders of the younger homestead reused the older from approximately 1682CE to 1765CE. The younger homestead itself was reused at some time between 1738CE and the early 20th centuary.</p>
<p>Future work refining our understanding of the occupation periods of Bokoni may also allow us to better reconstruct the environmental and political landscape people lived within.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161213/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Schoeman receives funding from the National Research Foundation, African Origins Platform. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mary Evans and Ruby-Anne Birin do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
We now know that Bokoni Phase I was built as early as the 15th century – before the arrival of European colonisation or trade.
Ruby-Anne Birin, DPhil student in Archaeological Science, University of Oxford
Alex Schoeman, Associate professor, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand
Mary Evans, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography and Geochronology, University of the Witwatersrand
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/147176
2020-12-04T13:29:27Z
2020-12-04T13:29:27Z
How do archaeologists know where to dig?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372833/original/file-20201203-15-1dnrry6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=43%2C229%2C3604%2C2479&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A variety of clues can tip off archaeologists about a promising spot for excavation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gabriel Wrobel </span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>National Geographic magazines and Indiana Jones movies might have you picturing archaeologists excavating near Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge and Machu Picchu. And some of us do work at these famous places. </p>
<p>But archaeologists <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HtKKK9AAAAAJ&hl=en">like</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=7JZmEuwAAAAJ">us</a> want to learn about how people from the past lived all over the planet. We rely on left-behind artifacts to help fill out that picture. We need to excavate in places where there’s evidence of human activity – those clues from the past aren’t always as obvious as a giant pyramid, though.</p>
<p>Finding that evidence can be as simple as strolling past clearly distinguishable ruins – ah, there are some broken pots or carved stones right over there. It can be as complex as using lasers, satellite imagery and other new geophysical techniques to reveal long-lost structures. The right skills and tools are helping researchers locate traces from the past that would have been overlooked even a few decades ago.</p>
<h2>Open eyes, open ears, open minds</h2>
<p>The simplest and oldest identification method is a pedestrian survey: looking for evidence of human activity, either on unstructured strolls or when walking in a grid. Unless the evidence is crystal clear – like those broken pots – such surveys usually need a trained eye to read the clues.</p>
<p>In Belize, where one of us (Gabe) works, remains of houses and even large temple pyramids that were abandoned over 1,000 years ago are usually covered in trees and plants; exposed sections look like stone piles.</p>
<p>I brought my father to a site where workers had removed the thick foliage so archaeologists could thoroughly map the site. Another archaeologist and I excitedly discussed the visible architectural features – patios, terraces, the stubs of walls. Finally, my dad threw his hands up in the air and said “All I see are rocks!”</p>
<p>But our trained eyes recognized that the piles of stones or earthen mounds we saw were suspiciously aligned. Stare at archaeological sites long enough and you’ll notice them too.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371991/original/file-20201130-23-5sy8x4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="man beside a rocky mound" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371991/original/file-20201130-23-5sy8x4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371991/original/file-20201130-23-5sy8x4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371991/original/file-20201130-23-5sy8x4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371991/original/file-20201130-23-5sy8x4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371991/original/file-20201130-23-5sy8x4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371991/original/file-20201130-23-5sy8x4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371991/original/file-20201130-23-5sy8x4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Archaeologist Josue Ramos from the Belize Institute of Archaeology stands beside a mound of rocks newly revealed in cleared jungle. Its size and shape show that this site is part of an ancient building.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gabriel Wrobel</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Understanding what you see also can require familiarity with local geology and flora. And who is more familiar than the people who live in a region? It pays for archaeologists to make friends with the locals and to be very respectful of their knowledge. In my work in Belize, most of the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/maya-mortuary-landscapes-central-belize/3250676C4186537A4E605EDE921F0F57/core-reader">settlement and ritual cave sites</a> where my students and I work were initially identified by local hunters who know the forest and its landmarks intimately.</p>
<p>One time, I was walking through the jungle in Belize when a local friend of mine stopped suddenly in what appeared to me as a random cluster of trees. He said “This must have been someone’s farm.” He’d seen specific domestic plants that are commonly found in gardens in his village. Not being as familiar with local flora, I never would have noticed this subtle difference. So, even living plants can be considered part of human-modified archaeological sites. </p>
<h2>High-tech remote sensing</h2>
<p>In recent years, archaeologists have begun to <a href="https://theconversation.com/six-tools-that-are-revolutionising-archaeology-by-helping-us-find-sites-without-digging-51826">use new methods</a> to find archaeological sites that had previously been overlooked. These techniques, broadly referred to as remote sensing, allow us to peer through dense forests without clearing them, digitally removing jungle growth and centuries of soil to reveal long-lost structures hidden beneath. High-resolution scans using lasers or <a href="https://www.academia.edu/23392059/Using_Drones_in_a_Threatened_Archaeological_Landscape_Rapid_Survey_Salvage_and_Mapping_of_the_Maya_Site_of_Saturday_Creek_Belize">3D photographs</a> can even detect subtle undulations of ground surfaces that are not visible to the human eye.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372056/original/file-20201130-17-1jufy2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Digital Elevation Model" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372056/original/file-20201130-17-1jufy2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372056/original/file-20201130-17-1jufy2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372056/original/file-20201130-17-1jufy2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372056/original/file-20201130-17-1jufy2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372056/original/file-20201130-17-1jufy2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372056/original/file-20201130-17-1jufy2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372056/original/file-20201130-17-1jufy2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The view of fields around the Maya site of Saturday Creek, Belize. The image on left stitched together thousands of photographs into a single 3D surface. The image on the right used virtual illumination to highlight small changes in elevation to identify ancient house mounds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Models created by Mark Willis, used with permission of Eleanor Harrison-Buck</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://www.geospatialworld.net/blogs/what-is-lidar-technology-and-how-does-it-work/">LiDAR</a> – light detection and ranging – fires pulsed lasers to determine distance based on what reflects back and how quickly. When used from a plane, millions of points are collected, resulting in a detailed topographic map of the landscape. Specialists working with these data can remove trees and other objects to digitally expose ground surfaces.</p>
<p>A recent example at the ancient Maya city of Tikal, Guatemala, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/02/maya-laser-lidar-guatemala-pacunam/">revealed around 61,000 structures in the jungles</a> surrounding the city’s center. The density of settlement came as a shock because, despite extensive pedestrian survey in the past, even experienced archaeologists failed to recognize most of these ephemeral remains.</p>
<p>Increasingly, archaeologists find sites by searching satellite imagery, including Google Earth. For instance, during a recent drought in England, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/opinion/britain-drought-cropmarks-summer.html">remains of ancient features</a> began to appear across the landscape and were visible from above.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360667/original/file-20200930-20-1gbp6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360667/original/file-20200930-20-1gbp6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360667/original/file-20200930-20-1gbp6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360667/original/file-20200930-20-1gbp6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360667/original/file-20200930-20-1gbp6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360667/original/file-20200930-20-1gbp6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1180&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360667/original/file-20200930-20-1gbp6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1180&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360667/original/file-20200930-20-1gbp6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1180&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This image presents magnetic data from the Hollywood Mounds site, a Mississippian mound center in Tunica County, Miss. Excavation verified that the rectangular shapes are the remains of wattle-and-daub structures.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bryan Haley</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Remote sensing can also focus on smaller areas. <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-do-archaeologists-discover-forgotten-ancient-monuments-47317">Geophysical techniques</a> are commonly used before excavating to scan the ground where researchers know archaeological remains are buried. These nondestructive methods help pick out buried anomalies from surrounding soils by distinguishing their density, magnetic properties or conduction of electrical currents.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>The shape and alignment of these features can often provide clues about what they are. For instance, the dense walls of a building will show up as distinct from the surrounding soil.</p>
<h2>What will archaeologists of the future find?</h2>
<p>As you look around for evidence of human activity in the past, remember you’re actively involved in making the archaeological sites of the future. Since archaeology is the study of anything material left behind by human beings, that definition also fits what remains after Nevada’s annual <a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/burning-man-archaeology-may-give-us-window-into-past">Burning Man festival</a>, for example, or as <a href="https://www.undocumentedmigrationproject.org/about">migrants journey across the U.S.-Mexico border</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372182/original/file-20201201-17-1t52yth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="tailgaters in a parking lot with litter visible" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372182/original/file-20201201-17-1t52yth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372182/original/file-20201201-17-1t52yth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372182/original/file-20201201-17-1t52yth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372182/original/file-20201201-17-1t52yth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372182/original/file-20201201-17-1t52yth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372182/original/file-20201201-17-1t52yth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372182/original/file-20201201-17-1t52yth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tailgating (and associated trash) in the University of Idaho’s Kibbie Dome parking lot in 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Curtis Cawley, Kaitlin Frederickson, Allison Neterer and Wendy Willis.</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, there are archaeological sites nearly everywhere you look. One of us (Stacey) once studied trash left behind during tailgating parties. My students and I wanted to understand if alumni and students were drinking different types of alcohol. Using archaeological methodologies, we discovered that alumni partied with expensive alcohol, such as wine and microbrews, while students drank what they could afford: cheap, corporate beers, with Coors Light and Bud Light being the most common beers of choice.</p>
<p>We made this archaeological “discovery” by carefully <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2010.497397">mapping and identifying trash</a> prior to and during the game. While most of it was picked up, smaller pieces undoubtedly found their way into the soil, perhaps to be discovered by a future <a href="http://campusarch.msu.edu">Campus Archaeology Program</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372001/original/file-20201130-21-lce239.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Microplastics on a beach in Vietnam" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372001/original/file-20201130-21-lce239.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372001/original/file-20201130-21-lce239.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372001/original/file-20201130-21-lce239.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372001/original/file-20201130-21-lce239.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372001/original/file-20201130-21-lce239.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372001/original/file-20201130-21-lce239.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372001/original/file-20201130-21-lce239.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Future archaeologists will find a lot of plastic – like these microplastics on a Vietnamese beach – in layers of the Earth dating to the current era.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gabriel Wrobel</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We archaeologists used to dig primarily at sites that were easy to find. Technology is changing that. In fact, applications like Google Earth are making possible a new era of citizen science, with researchers sometimes enlisting the help of members of the public to comb through data. Through efforts by archaeologists to engage and educate the public, including <a href="http://www.passportintime.com">incorporating volunteers into lab and field work</a>, giving <a href="https://www.goafar.org/about-maya-at-the-playa">public lectures</a> and <a href="https://www.miplace.org/historic-preservation/archaeology/archaeology-day/">workshops</a>, and creating accessible <a href="https://www.instagram.com/capmsu/">web resources</a>, we hope to show that the story of our past is often hidden in plain sight.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147176/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stacey Camp receives funding from the National Park Service.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriel D. Wrobel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Archaeologists used to dig primarily at sites that were easy to find thanks to obvious visual clues. But technology – and listening to local people – plays a much bigger role now.
Gabriel D. Wrobel, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Michigan State University
Stacey Camp, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Michigan State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/140060
2020-06-10T04:01:04Z
2020-06-10T04:01:04Z
Who owns the bones? Human fossils shouldn’t just belong to whoever digs them up
<p>All humans alive today can claim a common ancestral link to some hominin. Hominins include modern humans, extinct human species, and all our immediate ancestors.</p>
<p>Recent discoveries of hominin remains, including the skull of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/fossil-find-suggests-homo-erectus-emerged-200-000-years-earlier-than-thought-135068"><em>Homo erectus</em></a> in South Africa, have generated high levels of interest from the public and scientific community alike. </p>
<p>Fossils hold invaluable information about human history. But digging deeper, there is much complexity around the question of what a “fossil” is, and who should be granted ownership of them. This is the topic of our latest research article <a href="https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(20)30973-7">published in the journal Heliyon</a>. </p>
<h2>Fossils fuel debate</h2>
<p>The question of what qualifies as a “fossil” remains open. The Oxford dictionary defines <a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/fossil,%202017">fossils</a> as: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>the remains or impressions of a plant or animal embedded in rock and preserved in petrified form. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340776/original/file-20200610-82636-1286025.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340776/original/file-20200610-82636-1286025.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340776/original/file-20200610-82636-1286025.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340776/original/file-20200610-82636-1286025.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340776/original/file-20200610-82636-1286025.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340776/original/file-20200610-82636-1286025.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340776/original/file-20200610-82636-1286025.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340776/original/file-20200610-82636-1286025.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dinosaur poo can become fossilised. This is called a coprolite.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But this definition doesn’t encompass the broader use of the word. Eggshells or coprolites (fossilised excrement) are neither direct remains nor the impression of an animal or plant, but archaeologists often refer to them as “fossils”. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.livescience.com/37781-how-do-fossils-form-rocks.html#:%7E:text=The%20most%20common%20method%20of,the%20bones%20%E2%80%94%20are%20left%20behind.&text=These%20crystallized%20minerals%20cause%20the,with%20the%20encasing%20sedimentary%20rock.">process of fossilisation</a> can start immediately after an organism’s death, and the term “fossil” isn’t attached to a specific time period or state of preservation.</p>
<p>The term also relates to the perceived value, uniqueness or rareness of remains (and what they may reveal). Given such a breadth of meanings, it’s unsurprising attempts to regulate the status of fossils are fraught.</p>
<h2>Hands off my fossil!</h2>
<p>There was lively <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/oct/25/discovery-human-species-accused-of-rushing-errors">debate</a> surrounding the 2015 discovery of <em><a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/09560">Homo naledi</a></em> in the Rising Star cave near Johannesburg, South Africa. The public’s access to the site and its fossils drew heavy criticism from researchers. This raised the question: should fossil discoveries be freely available?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340778/original/file-20200610-82636-uh3uey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340778/original/file-20200610-82636-uh3uey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340778/original/file-20200610-82636-uh3uey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340778/original/file-20200610-82636-uh3uey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340778/original/file-20200610-82636-uh3uey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340778/original/file-20200610-82636-uh3uey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340778/original/file-20200610-82636-uh3uey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340778/original/file-20200610-82636-uh3uey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The announcement of the discovery of Homo naledi fossils in 2015 in South Africa was met with mixed responses from the research community.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/governmentza/21106873410/in/photostream/">GovernmentZA / Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Generally, around the world a person who excavates a fossil is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/007327530704500403?journalCode=hosa">allowed to keep it</a>. Not only that, they can conduct potentially destructive analyses on it, and grant scientific and public access to the information it reveals. </p>
<p>Such practices can generate “gentleman’s club” syndrome, wherein members of scientifically influential groups have a better chance of accessing important fossils. But despite being accepted practice in the field, the “finders keepers” approach is legally problematic. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homo-naledi-may-be-two-million-years-old-give-or-take-50416">Homo naledi may be two million years old (give or take)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Humans and human remains have a special status in most nations’ legal systems. While animals can be owned, humans can’t. Compounding this, the definition of “human” is itself contested, and this muddies the legal waters when it comes to discovering archaeological human remains. </p>
<p>For instance, recent DNA discoveries of interbreeding between <em>Homo sapiens</em>, <em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature16544">Homo neanderthalensis</a></em> and <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/338/6104/222">Denisovans</a> – as well as the fact that <em>Homo naledi</em> and <em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02999">Homo floresensis</a></em> existed at the same time as modern humans – indicates scientists struggle to reach a consensus on where the boundaries of “human” lie.</p>
<p>The definition of “human” can also be culturally ascribed. Many <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/Regarding-the-Dead_02102015.pdf">indigenous peoples</a> including communities from Australasia and Africa recognise an ancestral connection to species not always classified as <em>Homo sapiens</em>.</p>
<p>So what should be done with the fossilised remains of extinct species that aren’t “human” in the sense of belonging to <em>Homo sapiens</em>, but are nevertheless our evolutionary ancestors?</p>
<h2>Are human remains things to be owned?</h2>
<p>In Australia, as in most common law systems, there can be no “property” in a human corpse. While both burial and exhumation are regulated, ownership of a corpse is not.</p>
<p>The export of “Class A” cultural heritage, which includes human remains, is prohibited under the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2014C00597/Html/Text">Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986</a>. Also, Australian state legislation regulating the scientific use of human tissue (such as the NSW <em>Human Tissue Act 1983</em>) doesn’t require any consent for samples excavated before 2003. </p>
<p>On the other hand, Australia also has a <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/what-we-do/cultural-heritage/indigenous-repatriation">national repatriation program</a> for Indigenous cultural patrimony. This program seeks to restore stolen human remains and sacred objects to their original communities.</p>
<h2>Cultural subjects</h2>
<p>The tension between scientific interests and spiritual beliefs is apparent in the context of repatriating human remains to Indigenous communities. </p>
<p>While fossilised human remains hold significant scientific value, their symbolic and spiritual value can’t be ignored, particularly to communities that feel a connection to them. Human remains would be best described as both scientific objects and also cultural subjects.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/africas-rich-fossil-finds-should-get-the-air-time-they-deserve-91849">Africa's rich fossil finds should get the air time they deserve</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Some scientists view repatriation and reburial of human remains as a deliberate destruction of a “source of information” that <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/280831?seq=1">belongs to global humanity</a>.</p>
<p>On the other hand, historical injustices and the imbalance of power between colonial entities and Indigenous people stand against such arguments. As a result, the repatriation and reburial of human remains becomes inseparable from broader legal arguments advanced by Indigenous peoples today.</p>
<p>Human, hominin and hominid fossils are far more than just objects to be owned. In fact, they reside at a contested and poorly regulated scientific, cultural and legal intersection.</p>
<p>We need common standards for ownership, protection and access controls. One solution would be to establish an international delegation with key stakeholders including scientists, lawyers, community representatives and policy makers. </p>
<p>Ideally, this could exist under the umbrella of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Such a body could foster constructive dialogue on how we value human fossils, and how we assign them ownership.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140060/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Renaud Joannes-Boyau receives funding from the Australian Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anja Scheffers receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alessandro Pelizzon and John Page do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
You can’t own a human, so why can you own their remains? We need to stop treating human fossils as objects.
Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Senior research fellow, Southern Cross University
Alessandro Pelizzon, Senior lecturer, Southern Cross University
Anja Scheffers, Professor, Southern Cross University
John Page, Associate professor, Southern Cross University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/138217
2020-05-14T14:05:30Z
2020-05-14T14:05:30Z
Archaeology shows how ancient African societies managed pandemics
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334285/original/file-20200512-175235-1ept8za.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3516%2C2286&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Studying ancient African societies, like Great Zimbabwe, can reveal how communities dealt with disease and pandemics.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every so often, a pandemic emerges that dramatically alters human society. The <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/black-death">Black Death</a> (1347 - 1351) was one; the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-pandemic-h1n1.html">Spanish flu</a> of 1918 was another. Now there’s COVID-19. </p>
<p>Archaeologists have long studied diseases in past populations. To do so, they consider a wide array of evidence: settlement layout, burials, funerary remains, and human skeletons.</p>
<p>For example, because of archaeologists <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/afriques/2228">we know</a> that the damaging impact of epidemics prompted the abandonment of settlements at Akrokrowa in Ghana during the early 14th century AD. About 76 infant burial sites at an abandoned settlement that now forms part of the Mapungubwe World Heritage site in the Limpopo Valley of South Africa <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3858052?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">suggest</a> a pandemic hit the people living there after 1000 AD.</p>
<p><a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/social-text/article-abstract/29/1%20(106)/151/33668/Vermin-BeingsOn-Pestiferous-Animals-and-Human-Game?redirectedFrom=fulltext">Archaeological and historical insights</a> also expose some of the strategies that societies adopted to deal with pandemics. These included burning settlements as a disinfectant and shifting settlements to new locations. Social distancing was practised by dispersing settlements. Archaeologists’ <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?oi=bibs&cluster=1361896654194271917&btnI=1&hl=en">findings</a> at Mwenezi in southern Zimbabwe also show that it was a taboo to touch or interfere with remains of the dead, lest diseases be transmitted in this way. In the late 1960s, some members of an archaeological dig excavating 13th century house floors in Phalaborwa, South Africa, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00438243.1969.9979500">refused to keep working</a> after encountering burials they believed were sacred. They also worried that the burials were related to a disease outbreak. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/social-distancing-what-it-is-and-why-its-the-best-tool-we-have-to-fight-the-coronavirus-133581">Social distancing</a> and isolation have become watchwords during the COVID-19 pandemic. From archaeology, we know that the same practices formed a critical part of managing pandemics in historical African societies. In what is Zimbabwe today, the Shona people in the 17th and 18th centuries isolated those suffering from infectious diseases - such as leprosy - in <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/akanyangira-yaona/oclc/11289756">temporary residential structures</a>. This meant that very few people could come into contact with the sick. In some cases, <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/book/59520">corpses were burnt</a> to avoid spreading the contagion.</p>
<p>Humans have a propensity to relax and shift priorities once calamities are over. Data collected by archaeologists, that show how indigenous knowledge systems helped ancient societies in Africa deal with the shock of illness and pandemics, can help remind policy makers of different ways to prepare modern societies for the same issues.</p>
<h2>Social distancing and isolation</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41464956">Research</a> at the early urban settlement of K2, part of the Mapungubwe World Heritage site, has thrown significant light on ancient pandemics. </p>
<p>The inhabitants <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/kingdoms-southern-africa-mapungubwe">of K2</a> (which dates back to between AD1000 and AD1200) thrived on crop agriculture, cattle raising, metallurgy, hunting and collecting food from the forest. They had well developed local and regional economies that fed into international networks of exchange with the Indian Ocean rim. Swahili towns of East Africa acted as conduits. </p>
<p>Archaeological work at K2 <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41464956">uncovered</a> an unusually high number of burials (94), 76 of which belonged to infants in the 0-4 age category. This translated into a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8157260">mortality rate of 5%</a>. The evidence from the site shows that the settlement was abruptly abandoned around the same time as these burials. That means a pandemic prompted the community’s decision to shift to another settlement. </p>
<p>Shifting to another region of Africa, <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/afriques/2228">archaeological work</a> at early urban settlements in central and southern Ghana identified the impact of pandemics at places such Akrokrowa (AD950 – 1300) and Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa in the central district of Ghana. </p>
<p>These settlements, like others in the Birim Valley of southern Ghana, were bounded by intricate systems of trenches and banks of earth. <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6431/1022">Evidence shows</a> that after a couple of centuries of continuous and stable occupation, settlements were abruptly abandoned. The period of abandonment appears to coincide with the devastation of the Black Death in Europe. </p>
<p>Post-pandemic, houses <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6431/1022">were not rebuilt</a>; nor did any rubbish accumulate from daily activities. Instead, the disrupted communities went to live elsewhere. Because there are no signs of long term effects – in the form of long periods of hardship, deaths or drastic socioeconomic or political changes – archaeologists believe that these communities were able to manage and adapt to the pandemic. </p>
<p>Analysis of archaeological evidence reveals that these ancient African communities adopted various strategies to manage pandemics. These include burning settlements as a disinfectant before either reoccupying them or shifting homesteads to new locations. African indigenous knowledge systems <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/book/59520">make it clear</a> that burning settlements or forests was an established way of managing diseases. </p>
<p>The layout of settlements was also important. In areas such as <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/crafting-identity-in-zimbabwe-and-mozambique/9BCFACD0B362B8262BD3E16011A34DA3">Zimbabwe and parts of Mozambique</a>, for instance, settlements were dispersed to house one or two families in a space. This allowed people to stay at a distance from each other – but not too far apart to engage in daily care, support and cooperation. While social coherence was the glue that held society together, social distancing was inbuilt, in a supportive way. Communities knew that outbreaks were unpredictable but possible, so they built their settlements in a dispersed fashion to plan ahead.</p>
<p>These behaviours were also augmented by <a href="http://www.goandproclaim.co.za/downloads/file/Preliminary%20assessment%20of%20nutritional%20value%20of%20traditional%20leafy.pdf">diversified diets</a> that included fruits, roots, and other things that provided nutrients and strengthened the immune system. </p>
<h2>Africa’s past and the future of pandemics</h2>
<p>There were multiple long-term implications of pandemics in these communities. Perhaps the most important was that people organised themselves in ways that made it easier to live with diseases, managing them and at the same time sticking to the basics such as good hygiene, sanitation and environmental control. Life did not stop because of pandemics: populations made <a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/social-text/article-abstract/29/1%20(106)/151/33668/Vermin-BeingsOn-Pestiferous-Animals-and-Human-Game?redirectedFrom=fulltext">decisions and choices</a> to live with them. </p>
<p>Some of these lessons may be applied to COVID-19, guiding decisions and choices to buffer the vulnerable from the pandemic while allowing economic activity and other aspects of life to continue. As evidence from the past shows, social behaviour is the first line of defence against pandemics: it’s essential this be considered when planning for the latest post-pandemic future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shadreck Chirikure receives funding from the National Research Foundation of South Africa, the University of Cape Town, the Royal Society, the British Academy and the University of Oxford. He is a Professor of Archaeology in the University of Cape Town and holds a British Academy Global Professorship in the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford. </span></em></p>
Archaeologists have long studied diseases in past populations. They’ve explored the evolution of pathogens and how they interacted with humans.
Shadreck Chirikure, Professor in Archaeology, University of Cape Town
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/122008
2019-08-29T18:03:04Z
2019-08-29T18:03:04Z
Surveying archaeologists across the globe reveals deeper and more widespread roots of the human age, the Anthropocene
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289131/original/file-20190822-170914-ejab20.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C15%2C2445%2C1737&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People have been modifying Earth – as in these rice terraces near Pokhara, Nepal – for millennia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Erle C. Ellis</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Examples of how human societies are changing the planet abound – from building roads and houses, clearing forests for agriculture and digging train tunnels, to shrinking the ozone layer, driving species extinct, changing the climate and acidifying the oceans. Human impacts are everywhere. Our societies have changed Earth so much that it’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1810141115">impossible to reverse many of these effects</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289249/original/file-20190823-170951-fay4qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289249/original/file-20190823-170951-fay4qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289249/original/file-20190823-170951-fay4qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=722&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289249/original/file-20190823-170951-fay4qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=722&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289249/original/file-20190823-170951-fay4qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=722&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289249/original/file-20190823-170951-fay4qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289249/original/file-20190823-170951-fay4qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289249/original/file-20190823-170951-fay4qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nuclear bomb testing left its mark in the geologic record.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ivy_King_-_mushroom_cloud.jpg">National Nuclear Security Administration/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some researchers believe these changes are so big that they mark the beginning of a new “human age” of Earth history, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02381-2">Anthropocene epoch</a>. A <a href="http://quaternary.stratigraphy.org/working-groups/anthropocene/">committee of geologists</a> has now proposed to mark the start of the Anthropocene in the mid-20th century, based on a striking indicator: the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01641-5">widely scattered radioactive dust</a> from nuclear bomb tests in the early 1950s.</p>
<p>But this is not the final word.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/08/arrogance-anthropocene/595795/">Not everyone</a> is sure that today’s industrialized, globalized societies will be around long enough to define a new geological epoch. Perhaps we are just a flash in the pan – an event – rather than a long, enduring epoch. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/04/great-debate-over-when-anthropocene-started/587194/">Others debate</a> the utility of picking a single thin line in Earth’s geological record to mark the start of human impacts in the geological record. Maybe the Anthropocene <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-still-dont-understand-the-anthropocene-and-theyre-going-about-it-the-wrong-way-70017">began at different times</a> in different parts of the world. For example, the first instances of agriculture emerged at different places at different times, and resulted in huge impacts on the environment, through land clearing, habitat losses, extinctions, erosion and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-28419-5">carbon emissions</a>, forever <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.05.022">changing the global climate</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289132/original/file-20190822-170906-v68d5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289132/original/file-20190822-170906-v68d5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289132/original/file-20190822-170906-v68d5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289132/original/file-20190822-170906-v68d5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289132/original/file-20190822-170906-v68d5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289132/original/file-20190822-170906-v68d5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289132/original/file-20190822-170906-v68d5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289132/original/file-20190822-170906-v68d5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Human practices like burning the landscape – as in this night bush fire outside Kabwe, Zambia – have been affecting the Earth since long before the nuclear era.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrea Kay</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If there are multiple beginnings, scientists need to answer more complicated questions – like when did agriculture begin to transform landscapes in different parts of the world? This is a tough question because archaeologists tend to focus their research on a limited number of sites and regions and to prioritize locations where agriculture is believed to have appeared earliest. To date, it has proved nearly impossible for archaeologists to put together a global picture of land use changes throughout time.</p>
<h2>Global answers from local experts</h2>
<p>To tackle these questions, we pulled together a <a href="http://globe.umbc.edu/archaeoglobe/">research collaboration</a> among archaeologists, anthropologists and geographers to survey archaeological knowledge on land use across the planet.</p>
<p>We asked over 1,300 archaeologists from around the world to contribute their knowledge on how ancient people used the land in 146 regions spanning all continents except Antarctica from 10,000 years ago right up to 1850. More than 250 responded, representing the largest expert archaeology crowdsourcing project ever undertaken, though some <a href="https://crowdsourced.micropasts.org/">prior</a> <a href="https://www.globalxplorer.org/">projects</a> have worked with amateur contributions.</p>
<p><a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax1192">Our work</a> has now mapped the current state of archaeological knowledge on land use across the planet, including parts of the world that have rarely been considered in previous studies.</p>
<p>We used a crowdsourcing approach because <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/aap.2018.3">scholarly publications don’t always include the original data</a> needed to allow global comparisons. Even when these data are shared by archaeologists, they use many different formats from one project to another, making it difficult to combine for large-scale analysis. Our goal from the beginning was to make it easy for anyone to check our work and reuse our data – we’ve <a href="https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/ArchaeoGLOBE">put all our research materials online</a> where they can be freely accessed by anyone.</p>
<h2>Earlier and more widespread human impacts</h2>
<p>Though our study acquired expert archaeological information from across the planet, data were more available in some regions – including Southwest Asia, Europe, northern China, Australia and North America – than in others. This is probably because more archaeologists have worked in these regions than elsewhere, such as parts of Africa, Southeast Asia and South America.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/690/ArchaeoGLOBE_INAG.gif?1566501861">
<figcaption><span class="caption">Animation showing the spread of intensive agriculture across the globe over the past 10,000 years, based on ArchaeoGLOBE Project results. (Nicolas Gauthier, 2019, CC-BY-SA)</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our archaeologists reported that nearly half (42%) of our regions had some form of agriculture by 6,000 years ago, highlighting the prevalence of agricultural economies across the globe. Moreover, these results indicate that the onset of agriculture was earlier and more widespread than suggested in the most common global reconstruction of land-use history, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683609356587">History Database of the Global Environment</a>. This is important because climate scientists often use this database of past conditions to estimate future climate change; according to our research it may be underestimating land-use-associated climate effects.</p>
<p>Our survey also revealed that hunting and foraging was generally replaced by pastoralism (raising animals such as cows and sheep for food and other resources) and agriculture in most places, though there were exceptions. In a few areas, reversals occurred and agriculture did not simply replace foraging but merged with it and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10963-019-09131-2">coexisted side by side for some time</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289133/original/file-20190822-170918-n7j523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289133/original/file-20190822-170918-n7j523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289133/original/file-20190822-170918-n7j523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289133/original/file-20190822-170918-n7j523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289133/original/file-20190822-170918-n7j523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289133/original/file-20190822-170918-n7j523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289133/original/file-20190822-170918-n7j523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289133/original/file-20190822-170918-n7j523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">View of the Kopaic Plain in Boeotia, Greece. People first partially drained the area 3,300 years ago to claim land for agriculture and it’s still farmed today.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lucas Stephens</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The deep roots of the Anthropocene</h2>
<p>Global archaeological data show that human transformation of environments began at different times in different regions and accelerated with the emergence of agriculture. Nevertheless, by 3,000 years ago, most of the planet was already transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers and pastoralists.</p>
<p>To guide this planet toward a better future, we need to understand how we got here. The message from archaeology is clear. It took thousands of years for the pristine planet of long ago to become the human planet of today.</p>
<p>And there is no way to fully understand this human planet <a href="https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1051&context=anthro_fac_pubs">without building on the expertise of archaeologists</a>, anthropologists, sociologists <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-still-dont-understand-the-anthropocene-and-theyre-going-about-it-the-wrong-way-70017">and other human scientists</a>. To build a more robust Earth science in the Anthropocene, the human sciences must play as central a role as the natural sciences do today.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
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<div>
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<p><a href="http://www.aag.org">Erle C. Ellis is a member of the American Association of Geographers</a></p>
<footer>The association is a funding partner of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122008/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Marwick receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, and the National Geographic Society </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erle C. Ellis received funding from the National Science Foundation for this project under grant CNS 1125210. He is a fellow of the Global Land Program, a member of the Anthropocene Working Group of the International Commission on Stratigraphy, and a senior fellow of the Breakthrough Institute. He is a member of the American Association of Geographers.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucas Stephens receives funding from the American Council of Learned Societies. He is a Mellon/ACLS Public Fellow and Senior Research Analyst at the Environmental Law and Policy Center and a Research Affiliate at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Boivin receives funding from the Max Planck Society. She is Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, an Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland, and a Research Affiliate at the Smithsonian Institution and University of Calgary.</span></em></p>
Hundreds of archaeologists provided on-the-ground data from across the globe, providing a new view of the long and varied history of people transforming Earth’s environment.
Ben Marwick, Associate Professor of Archaeology, University of Washington
Erle C. Ellis, Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Lucas Stephens, Research Affiliate in Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
Nicole Boivin, Director of the Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/113937
2019-03-21T14:19:54Z
2019-03-21T14:19:54Z
As archaeologists, it was our duty to take on Cadbury over ads encouraging kids to dig up ‘treasure’ – and we won
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265116/original/file-20190321-93060-17y0dti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C44%2C3725%2C2446&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Doonagore Castle, which Cadbury incorrectly identified as Mooghaun Fort in its ad campaign. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/round-tower-doonagore-castle-ireland-130088756">Shutterstock.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The latest online campaign by chocolate giant Cadbury encouraged children to go “treasure hunting” over Easter. Kids were encouraged to “uncover underwater shipwrecks in Devon” or “dig up Viking silver on the River Ribble”. After discovering the website, archaeologists (ourselves included) launched a <a href="http://bajrfed.co.uk/bajrpress/cadbury-treasure-hunt-fiasco/">call to action</a>, pointing out that such activities might well be breaking the law.</p>
<p>Several of the sites listed were protected monuments, where treasure hunting is illegal. Cadbury named Mooghaun Fort in Ireland, which is covered by very strict national laws, as one of its treasure hunting sites. Any excavation or use of metal detectors in Ireland requires a state-licensed archaeologist. Without one, <a href="https://www.museum.ie/The-Collections/Metal-Detecting-in-Ireland-The-Law">fines can be enormous and lead to prison time</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1106895450139971584"}"></div></p>
<p>Cadbury removed their campaign website two days later. The company now promises to “focus solely on directing families to museums where existing treasures can be found”. So, thanks to the swift response from the heritage community, damage to sites was prevented – unlike a similar incident involving the company in the 1980s. </p>
<p>At that time, a <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2230560/Cadburys-calamity-The-22-carat-gold-egg-led-thousands-people-digging-countryside.html">Creme Egg treasure hunt</a> led to members of the public digging up historic sites throughout the UK, in search of a scroll that would entitle them to one of 12 22-carat gold eggs. This treasure hunt was also cancelled, after the company received complaints from landowners. </p>
<h2>The treasure laws</h2>
<p>Britain has probably the oldest and most liberal treasure hunting laws in the world. The common law of Treasure Trove goes back to late Saxon times. When objects of gold or silver were discovered, ownership fell to the Crown. In 1996, the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/24/contents">Treasure Act</a> placed the law on a more modern footing, redefining “treasure” to include prehistoric metalwork, coin hoards and objects made of gold and silver that are at least 300 years old.</p>
<p>People who find such artefacts have a responsibility to declare it to their local <a href="https://finds.org.uk/contacts">Finds Liaison Officers</a> for review. If museums wish to acquire the treasure, a reward is split between the finder and the landowner. Of course, it is not permitted to hunt for treasure on the 20,000 archaeological sites that are protected <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/what-is-designation/scheduled-monuments/">ancient monuments</a>.</p>
<p>In contrast, throughout much of Europe and the developing world, it’s illegal to use a metal detector for treasure hunting – and so is any form of unlicensed excavation. In Mediterranean countries such as Greece or Italy, where the landscape is bursting with buried sites, tomb robbers face significant criminal sanctions.</p>
<p>While stories in the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6657067/Iron-Age-chariot-amateur-history-lover-whos-set-pocket-1MILLION.html">media</a> tell of amazing finds, metal detectors are more likely to turn up trivial pieces from the past, such as nails, buttons and ring-pulls. The depth that most detectors reach is seldom more than eight inches in freshly ploughed soil on farmers’ land – soil that would already be considered disturbed.</p>
<p>Yet the way these finds are distributed in the soil can offer clues about the location of new archaeological sites. Working with detectorists, <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/archaeology/research/current-projects/torksey/">archaeologists at Torksey</a>, in Lincolnshire, were able to pinpoint the location of the Viking winter camp of 872, which led experts to massively increase their estimates of the size of the invasion army.</p>
<h2>Report and respond</h2>
<p>The Portable Antiquities Scheme records many detectorists’ finds, and makes them available to view on a <a href="https://finds.org.uk/database">public website</a>. With over 3m photographs online, it’s a fascinating resource documenting the everyday objects of the past. </p>
<p>The UK’s ambiguous national attitude towards metal detecting and treasure hunting divides archaeologists. Responsible detectorists can be viewed as citizen scientists, helping to create a database of the nation’s rich buried heritage. Many already work together with archaeologists, and we encourage this community of enthusiasts and professionals – and the wider public – to make their voices heard in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/revising-the-definition-of-treasure-in-the-treasure-act-1996-and-revising-the-related-codes-of-practice">current consultation on the Treasure Act</a> to forge new definitions and guidance on how to explore our shared cultural heritage.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Citizen science in action.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/metal-detecting-field-stubble-114239302">Shutterstock.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But treasure hunters who are driven by profit can strip objects of their cultural context and remove them into private collections forever. Even worse are “<a href="http://theconversation.com/history-wars-archaeologists-battle-to-save-our-heritage-from-the-nighthawks-49068">nighthawks</a>”: an illegal fringe group who trespass private land in purposeful efforts to secretly loot archaeological sites. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/history-wars-archaeologists-battle-to-save-our-heritage-from-the-nighthawks-49068">History wars: archaeologists battle to save our heritage from the nighthawks</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>One area of concern are detecting rallies, when a farmer may open up his fields for a day and invite all-comers to hunt for treasure. In spite of defined <a href="https://finds.org.uk/getinvolved/guides/rallycode">codes of conduct</a>, hundreds of detectorists may descend on the landscape to be stripped of any finds, within a few hours, with little scope to record them or where they were found, while the objects disappear into people’s pockets.</p>
<h2>Commodifying culture</h2>
<p>There was a missed opportunity for Cadbury to work with archaeologists and engage with the UK’s ancient artefacts and sites as a wonderful cultural resource. The minister for arts, culture and heritage has <a href="https://twitter.com/Michael_Ellis1/status/1108027220218523649">called on the company</a> to redress its transgressions, as have national organisations such as the <a href="https://twitter.com/archaeologyuk/status/1107652242402873344">Council for British Archaeology</a>. In response, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-47617110">Cadbury said</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was not our intention to encourage anyone to break existing regulations regarding the discovery of new archaeological artefacts and we are grateful this matter has been brought to our attention.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are many opportunities for families to explore outdoor sites of historic and archaeological importance, without digging holes in the ground. The network of <a href="https://www.yac-uk.org/">Young Archaeologists Clubs</a> is a great place to start and join an enthusiastic community, who offer a hands-on approach to the past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113937/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
A swift response from the heritage community prevented damage to sites of national heritage.
Aisling Tierney, Research associate, University of Bristol
Mark Horton, Professor in Archaeology, University of Bristol
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/108668
2018-12-16T14:36:20Z
2018-12-16T14:36:20Z
Using archaeology to understand the past, present, future of climate change
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250312/original/file-20181212-110253-ly9zr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Firefighter Jose Corona sprays water as flames from the Camp Fire consume a home in Magalia, Calif., on Nov. 9, 2018. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Noah Berger)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A photo from the tragic <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4680573/paradise-california-before-after-fire/">“Camp Fire,” the most destructive wildfire in California history</a>, shows a house burned down to its foundation. Such images are difficult to process, particularly with 86 people dead. </p>
<p>The image got me thinking about what archaeological research can tell us about disasters and climate change. As an archaeologist, I seek to answer questions about the choices we make, and the things we own and love.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250310/original/file-20181212-110253-1vggg8w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250310/original/file-20181212-110253-1vggg8w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250310/original/file-20181212-110253-1vggg8w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250310/original/file-20181212-110253-1vggg8w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250310/original/file-20181212-110253-1vggg8w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250310/original/file-20181212-110253-1vggg8w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250310/original/file-20181212-110253-1vggg8w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The remains of a house recently burned in northern California. Centre left are two fire-blackened pots. The owners escaped unscathed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Robert Frizzell)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The blackened clay pots in the image above mean a lot to the owners; they are a reminder of the two years their parents spent in Ethiopia in the 1960s, and the many other family objects that did not survive the fire. </p>
<p>In my field work in the high Andes, I have excavated many burned houses, often with layers of ash and <a href="https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/lab-for-interdisciplinary-research-on-archaeological-ceramics-lirac">broken, burned pots that I study in my laboratory at McMaster University.</a> Although the people I study died long ago, I still wonder about how the inhabitants felt as their houses burned and about the things left behind.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250317/original/file-20181212-110253-psntcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250317/original/file-20181212-110253-psntcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250317/original/file-20181212-110253-psntcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250317/original/file-20181212-110253-psntcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250317/original/file-20181212-110253-psntcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250317/original/file-20181212-110253-psntcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250317/original/file-20181212-110253-psntcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stone foundations of a 1,600-year-old house in the highlands of Bolivia. The mud-brick structure was burned, and several large cooking pots were broken and blackened on the clay-lined floor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(A. Roddick)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite the difficulty of studying ordinary but meaningful objects associated with traumatic events, archaeologists have long studied <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2018/10/16/new-pompeii-graffiti-may-rewrite-history-in-a-major-way/#623db89d5484">the impact of disasters such as tsunamis, large-scale El Niño events and volcanic eruptions</a>. Researchers <a href="http://cdmbuntu.lib.utah.edu/cdm/ref/collection/upcat/id/1186">have worked to understand</a> large-scale tragedies like <a href="http://amhistory.si.edu/september11/">Sept. 11, 2001</a> and the <a href="https://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/articles/2007-05-03/digging-up-the-present">2003 Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island.</a> </p>
<p>Archaeologists can help with recovery and explore <a href="https://www.crcpress.com/Natural-Disasters-and-Cultural-Change/Grattan-Torrence/p/book/9780415589086">how communities can change after disasters</a>. For instance, <a href="https://www.macfound.org/fellows/31/">Shannon Dawdy</a> has explored the effects and after-effects of disaster. Dawdy has studied the recovery in post-Katrina New Orleans to consider the <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1525/aa.2006.108.4.719">material, political and emotional processes that continue to impact places after the disaster</a>. She notes that the archaeology of the majority African-American Lower 9th Ward is distinct, and reveals power structures in New Orleans, where destroyed homes were left exposed for many months, allowing artifacts to sink into the layers of Earth.</p>
<p>We might similarly consider vulnerable populations in California before and after the fires. Although California is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country, the destroyed community of Paradise was considered an <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/11/16/18098441/paradise-california-wildfire-housing">“oasis in the state’s punishing housing market.”</a> Reports suggest the fires in California <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/us/homeless-california-wildfires-evacuees.html">have produced a new housing crisis.</a></p>
<h2>Archaeology of climate change</h2>
<p>The fires in California were <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/11/climate-change-california-wildfire/">not caused by climate change alone, but it was an important factor</a>. Archaeologists have been studying climate change for more than 150 years; much of our data is a <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2158275">“paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental archive.”</a> Climate disaster can both reveal the past and threaten the past, whether it’s in <a href="https://www.archaeology.org/issues/105-1309/letter-from/1165-glaciers-ice-patches-norway-global-warming">melting glaciers</a>, <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/wildfire-archeology-exposes-treasures-of-the-dead">wildfires</a> or <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/08/climate-change-brings-the-uks-hidden-past-to-the-surface/">droughts</a>. </p>
<p>Archaeology in the wake of more recent climate disasters is difficult, and is driving some to develop new archaeological methods and innovative inter-disciplinary techniques. But interpretation of our findings is equally challenging. Although the gradual changes of climate are constant, climate disasters can incur damage over the course of days, or even hours. </p>
<p>How do we relate high-resolution climate proxies — those physical indicators of past conditions — to daily life in the past?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/weve-been-studying-a-glacier-in-peru-for-14-years-and-it-may-reach-the-point-of-no-return-in-the-next-30-106422">We've been studying a glacier in Peru for 14 years – and it may reach the point of no return in the next 30</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the Lake Titicaca region of Bolivia, <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/01/010129064113.htm">researchers continue to model South American climate histories.</a> Here the emergence (around 400 AD) and “collapse” (around 1100 AD) of the ancient city of <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/567">Tiwanaku (a UNESCO World Heritage site)</a> overlap with periods of climate change. </p>
<p>Archaeologists have drawn on sediment cores to determine lake levels, ice-core data from the <a href="https://phys.org/news/2013-04-discovery-year-old-rosetta-stone-tropical.html">the Quelccaya Glacier that’s disappearing due to climate change,</a> and a large number of radiocarbon dates from sites in the region to understand the impacts of climate. </p>
<p>Some argue that drought, the salinization of soils and a potato cyst may have undermined the raised field system that the state relied upon. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250535/original/file-20181213-178579-pfii2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250535/original/file-20181213-178579-pfii2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250535/original/file-20181213-178579-pfii2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250535/original/file-20181213-178579-pfii2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250535/original/file-20181213-178579-pfii2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250535/original/file-20181213-178579-pfii2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250535/original/file-20181213-178579-pfii2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A reconstruction of the raised field system outside of Tiwanaku. This landscape is currently undergoing rapid environmental change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(A. Roddick)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This landscape also shows the results of <a href="https://phys.org/news/2018-06-sacred-lake-locals-tackle-titicaca.html">more recent human choices, including urbanization and pollution</a> and the impacts of human-driven climate change. For instance, the glacial peaks that have long held spiritual significance to the Indigenous Aymara are now bare of snow. </p>
<p>The region has also suffered dangerous droughts, in which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/28/shrinking-glaciers-state-of-emergency-drought-bolivia">the urban and rural poor were particularly vulnerable</a>.</p>
<h2>Archaeology of the future</h2>
<p>Archaeologists consider such ongoing threats. With the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/global-warming-must-not-exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report">UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warning that we have 12 years to avoid dire consequences</a>, archaeologists recognize the importance of communicating their understandings of ancient landscapes and the threats that face particularly vulnerable populations. Archaeologists work in the present to understand the past, but also to speak to future crises.</p>
<p>For instance, archaeologist Ken Sassaman studies how ancient Indigenous peoples on the northern Gulf coast of Florida lived through 5,000 years of climate change. They navigated dramatic sea-level rises and shoreline retreats (at a rate of a football field every five years) by moving their ancestors (in what must have been an emotional event), <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/globalwarming/ancient-floridians-knew-how-to-cope-with-rising-seas-archaeologists-find/2255732">shifting their diets and even signalling climate threats to future inhabitants</a>. </p>
<p>Explicit warnings sent from the past are also seen in the 17th-century “hunger stones” along the Elbe River in the Czech Republic that <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/08/24/641331544/drought-in-central-europe-reveals-cautionary-hunger-stones-in-czech-river">warn of future droughts</a>.</p>
<p>Like people thousands of years ago, archaeologists use their knowledge of the past to warn of future climate crises. For instance, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/10/opinion/climate-change-hurricane-michael.html">Sassaman has met with legislators in Florida, a state that officially denies the reality of human-caused climate change</a>. </p>
<h2>Choosing our future</h2>
<p>An inter-disciplinary team of archaeologists, ecologists, geomorphologists, botanists and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band from Berkeley, Santa Cruz and the San Francisco Estuary Institute shows Indigenous peoples of California have a <a href="https://news.berkeley.edu/2018/09/24/fighting-fire-with-fire-a-qa-with-kent-lightfoot/%5D(https://www.archaeology.org/issues/272-1709/letter-from/5826-letter-from-california-fires">long history of landscape burning, often choosing to burn to create and maintain productive grassland/shrubland landscapes</a>. Some of this work is informing policy discussions and <a href="https://www.firescience.gov/projects/10-1-09-3/project/10-1-09-3_JONES_CH_09">novel forms of fire-management</a>. This research shows that the biodiversity, topographies and Indigenous histories of California require local solutions.</p>
<p>Archaeologists have a role to play in the decision-making around how we respond to future climate disasters. In our work, as we consider the relationship between short-term events and long-term processes, we can help navigate our uncertain futures. As the ancient examples from Bolivia and Florida demonstrate, climate doesn’t determine our futures. Our choices have always mattered, and they still do.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108668/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Roddick receives funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). </span></em></p>
With the dire consequences of climate change looming, archaeologists recognize the importance of communicating their findings on ancient landscapes and the threats that face vulnerable populations.
Andrew Roddick, Associate Professor of Anthropology, McMaster University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/99501
2018-09-09T16:30:24Z
2018-09-09T16:30:24Z
Protecting heritage is a human right
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235086/original/file-20180905-45175-czh5kp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A line of protesters against the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota head to a unity rally on the west steps of the State Capitol in September 2016 in Denver. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Technological advancements in archaeology in recent decades have produced amazing insights into the lives of ancient peoples. These range from <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-42916261">uncovering lost Mayan cites in Guatemala</a> to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0455-x">identifying Neandertal-Denisovan offspring</a> to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jan/03/ancient-dna-reveals-previously-unknown-group-of-native-americans-ancient-beringians">recovering early Native American DNA</a>.</p>
<p>Discoveries continue to reveal unexpected details about our shared human past. But the new information also brings new responsibilities and concerns about the political, ethical and social dimensions of archaeological research and heritage management. This is especially true for Indigenous peoples for whom heritage is about more than objects of scientific study or items to preserve in museum displays.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A leaf shaped slate point is one of over 490 artifacts found near an Indigenous burial site of at least 35 bodies of the ancestral lands of Ye'yumnuts in Duncan, B.C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Western ways of thinking about heritage seek universal truths about human behaviour and tend to focus on the material manifestations of the past. Indigenous conceptions of heritage, in contrast, <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-taken-thousands-of-years-but-western-science-is-finally-catching-up-to-traditional-knowledge-90291">are inclusive and include not only objects and places, but also customs, practices, relationships, stories, songs and designs</a>. These are passed between generations and contribute to a person’s or group’s identity, history, worldview and well-being. </p>
<p>One Yukon elder defined heritage this way: “<a href="https://www.sfu.ca/ipinch/sites/default/files/resources/reports/yfn_ipinch_report_2016.pdf">It is everything that makes us who we are.</a>”</p>
<p>Indigenous perspectives of heritage have become widely known over the past 30 years, and are being integrated into research projects and management practices. In some cases, divisive relationships between Indigenous and Native American communities and archaeologists, (sometimes labelled grave robbers), have been transformed into collaborative, mutually beneficial relationships. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-taken-thousands-of-years-but-western-science-is-finally-catching-up-to-traditional-knowledge-90291">It's taken thousands of years, but Western science is finally catching up to Traditional Knowledge</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>More importantly, a growing number of Indigenous archaeologists and anthropologists are discovering, interpreting and protecting their own ancestral sites. And there is a growing recognition of the legitimacy of Indigenous <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-taken-thousands-of-years-but-western-science-is-finally-catching-up-to-traditional-knowledge-90291">traditional knowledge</a>. For example, the Nyungar Cultural Rangers program <a href="https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/parks/aboriginal-involvement/504-aboriginal-ranger-program">in Western Australia</a> is a community-driven program, in which Indigenous men and women train others in the traditional ways of caring for their own lands.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pl3M2gB42tI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Nyungar Cultural Rangers.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite these incremental changes, Indigenous peoples continue to press for meaningful engagement with those controlling their heritage. Current policies in settler countries like Australia, Canada and the United States still provide only limited room for Indigenous input into decision-making on issues of heritage. </p>
<h2>The influence of economic development</h2>
<p>Development projects are claiming ancestral sites at alarming rates. This ineffective protection of Indigenous heritage is a violation of human rights, while the <a href="https://theconversation.com/threats-to-bears-ears-and-other-indigenous-sacred-sites-are-a-violation-of-human-rights-87609">continued destruction of ancient sites, burial grounds and sacred places can be considered a form of violence</a>.</p>
<p>While heritage is essential to all peoples, Indigenous peoples in colonized lands have historically had the least control over theirs. State-controlled heritage policies are a source of regular conflict, with substantial social, political and economic consequences. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/threats-to-bears-ears-and-other-indigenous-sacred-sites-are-a-violation-of-human-rights-87609">Threats to Bears Ears and other Indigenous sacred sites are a violation of human rights</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Fundamental differences in how heritage is valued raise tremendous challenges to establishing respectful, ethical and effective policies to protect objects, practices and places of local significance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Buildings are seen on the Jericho Lands, a 15.7-hectare parcel of land formerly owned by the Department of National Defence, in Vancouver, B.C., on April 8, 2016. The Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations have paid $480-million for the prime piece of real estate on the west side of Vancouver.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the U.S., there is extensive federal legislation, but archaeological sites on private land receive little protection. This is not the case in Canada, where most heritage legislation is provincial but no less problematic.</p>
<p>Economic pressures strongly influence heritage policies. Today, heritage site protection is largely the domain of professional cultural resource management, a $1-billion-a-year industry. Some critics say this profession helps commercial projects comply with heritage laws and effectively facilitates development more than it protects heritage.</p>
<p>Furthermore, protecting heritage sites may pit Indigenous peoples against private landowners and other interest groups. </p>
<p>In British Columbia, private landowners wishing to build are responsible for the cost of archaeological testing, as required by provincial legislation, raising loud complaints about protecting <a href="https://biv.com/article/2012/10/bones-discovery-threatens-to-sink-couples-life-sav">“a bunch of stones and bones.”</a> </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grace Islet, B.C. is the home to a sacred burial ground.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the same time, the public sees tax dollars being spent to rectify poor, ad hoc decisions regarding heritage preservation, for example, when threatened Indigenous burial grounds or sacred sites, such as Grace Islet in B.C., <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/british-columbia-pays-545-million-for-grace-islet/article23022593/">slated for destruction and development, are eventually purchased by the province</a>. </p>
<p>In South Dakota in 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe led the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline not only over lack of adequate consultation, but also failure to recognize the impact of the pipeline on the cultural, spiritual and environmental dimensions of the land and water. </p>
<h2>Ancestors vs. scientific specimens</h2>
<p>The unequal protection under the law for <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/ipinch/resources/declarations/ancestral-burial-grounds/">settler vs. Indigenous human remains</a> is especially problematic, with the latter often considered to be scientific specimens. </p>
<p>In B.C., human remains dating before 1846 (the date of Confederation) — predominantly ancestral First Nations — are considered part of the archaeological record, which is protected by the Heritage Conservation Act. Those dating after 1846 — predominantly white — are protected under the much stronger Cemeteries Act.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, it has proven very difficult to redress the types of inequalities faced by Indigenous peoples because of Western notions of heritage and the guiding principle of stewardship. There is a lack of neutrality, with heritage management policies operating from a privileged, largely Western-centric position.</p>
<p>There is now some accommodation of Indigenous knowledge, but with limited credence given to oral histories, except when it concurs with archaeological sources. Some scientists have concerns of relinquishing any significant control over decisions about archaeological projects and policy development — lest the integrity of the archaeological record be diminished.</p>
<p>These concerns include fear of an “anything goes” non-scientific approach to heritage. The idea is that if we protect Indigenous heritage we will only operate from a stance of political correctness and will no longer engage in science. Yet this is challenged by recent studies that demonstrate the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/tek/george-nicholas.htm">complementarity of Western science and Traditional Knowledge</a>. </p>
<h2>Working together</h2>
<p>Despite these hurdles, there is increasing acknowledgement worldwide that protection of everyone’s heritage needs to be a fundamental human right. </p>
<p>Government agencies and NGO’s are increasingly joining with universities and Indigenous organizations to develop solutions. Protecting Indigenous cultural heritage is more than an issue of academic interest, however. </p>
<p>We urgently need a set of practical guidelines for addressing and preventing heritage loss by Indigenous peoples.</p>
<p>Significant strides have been made. The United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007. In Australia, <a href="https://www.reconciliation.org.au/what-is-reconciliation/">the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation was established in 2001.</a></p>
<p>Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created in 2008. The U.S. established its commission in 1998 but with a much broader mandate and has yet to address specific Native American concerns.</p>
<p>It is another matter to transition these ideas from theory to practice to policy. There is uncertainty about what the acceptance of UNDRIP means and what the steps are for implementation, especially for Canada, the U.S. and New Zealand, the three countries that initially voted against it. </p>
<p>Only months after Canada officially removed its objector status to the UNDRIP Declaration, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould <a href="http://ipolitics.ca/2016/07/12/ottawa-wont-adopt-undrip-directly-into-canadian-law-wilson-raybould/">said, while speaking to the Assembly of First Nations, that its adaptation into Canadian law was “unworkable.”</a> In the U.S., there is much <a href="http://indianlaw.org/implementing-undrip/how-un-declaration-rights-indigenous-peoples-can-be-used-protect-against-trump-agenda">uncertainty about what will happen under the Trump administration.</a></p>
<p>The various initiatives launched in recent years offer at least nominal restitution for past harms suffered by Indigenous peoples, including the loss of land, language, cultural traditions and sovereignty due to colonialism.</p>
<p>But no matter how well-meaning “sorry” may be, reconciliation needs to involve changing how things are done. That change must extend to how heritage sites, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/postcolonial-blog/2017/oct/05/the-government-must-bring-the-stolen-indigenous-dead-home">especially burial grounds and sacred sites, are protected.</a></p>
<h2>Being hopeful, not fearful</h2>
<p>The passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in the U.S. in 1990 sent shock waves through the discipline of archaeology, but the world did not end as some archaeologists feared. </p>
<p>Instead it has contributed to new and productive relationships with Native Americans. It created opportunities for scientific research on the ancestors that has revealed their life histories, as well as connections between past and present-day communities. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">School District 79’s head of Aboriginal Education Program Rosanna Jackson is photographed during a cultural tour of the ancestral lands of Ye'yumnuts in Duncan, B.C., in July 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some Indigenous Elders believe the ancestors let themselves be found so they can teach today’s Native youth about their history.</p>
<p>Herb Joe, a member of the Stó:lō House of Respect Caretaking Committee, <a href="http://www.sfu.ca/ipinch/sites/default/files/resources/reports/the_journey_home_ver2_may2016.pdf">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>What comes to mind for me is the gift of knowledge [and] awareness that is happening for us [in working] with the ancestors. The amount of knowledge that we’re acquiring and will continue to acquire with the DNA samples and all that, that’s going to be a gift to the Stó:lō people … our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, they’re going to be healthier people with the gift of this knowledge about who they are and where they came from. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>There can be no argument that colonialism robbed First Nations of much of their heritage. As a society today, we must support the restoration and protection of their cultural heritage beyond lip service.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99501/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>George Nicholas has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to support the research conducted by the Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage (IPinCH) project (2008-2016). <a href="http://www.sfu.ca/ipinch">www.sfu.ca/ipinch</a></span></em></p>
Development projects are claiming ancestral sites at alarming rates. This ineffective protection of Indigenous heritage is a violation of human rights.
George Nicholas, Professor of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/85891
2017-10-24T19:04:43Z
2017-10-24T19:04:43Z
Curious Kids: Where did the first person come from?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191323/original/file-20171023-26688-10rhu15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Here’s a modern human skull on the left, and Neanderthal skull on the right. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darren Curnoe</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is an article from <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/curious-kids-36782">Curious Kids</a>, a new series for children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome – serious, weird or wacky!</em> </p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Where did the first person come from? – Maeve, age 8, Adelaide.</strong> </p>
</blockquote>
<p>What an awesome question, Maeve! It’s one that has stumped many scientists over the years. And that’s because it’s a surprisingly tricky question to answer.</p>
<p>Why, I hear you ask?</p>
<p>Well it kind of depends on what you mean by a person. It might seem obvious to us today what we mean by a person. You, me, or mum, your teacher at school, or the people you might meet while holidaying overseas. </p>
<p>We’re all people, which means that from the point of view of science we all belong to the same species. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-do-we-get-allergic-to-food-82503">Curious Kids: How do we get allergic to food?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Scientists give scientific names to all species. These labels make it easier for us to communicate with each other and to make it clear exactly which species we are talking about. The honey bee, for example, is called <em>Apis mellifera</em>, while a rose is named <em>Rosa gallica</em>. </p>
<p>Our species has the name <em>Homo sapiens</em> which means the “wise person”. (There are other species of human, like Neanderthals, but I’m going to talk here about <em>Homo sapiens</em> because that’s what we are - that’s what I mean by a person).</p>
<p>So, all of the people alive today belong to the species <em>Homo sapiens</em>. And, as we travel back in time, archaeologists have found bones from people belonging to our species which are at least 200,000 years old. </p>
<p>To me, that’s an unimaginable amount of time, but we also know that it’s just a tiny fraction of the time that the Earth has existed (which is about 4.5 billion years). This actually makes us a very young species compared to most of the millions of other species alive on the planet today.</p>
<p>The skeletons of these very early people have been found by archaeologists in places like Morocco in North Africa, Ethiopia and Kenya in East Africa, and in South Africa. </p>
<p>So, one answer to your question is to say that the first person came from Africa around 200,000 years ago.</p>
<p>But here’s where it starts to get a little bit tricky. </p>
<p>The first person wasn’t alone of course, but lived in a small group of perhaps a couple of hundred people. So its probably better to think about the “first people” rather than the “first person” who lived in Africa all of those years ago. </p>
<p>These very ancient people are all members of our large extended family and they are the ancestors of everybody alive today.</p>
<p>They slowly spread across Africa, living in every nook and cranny they could during the first 100,000 years that our species was around. They settled down by the coast, in the mountains, and eventually even in the desert. </p>
<p>But by about 70,000 years ago, a small group of them left their African homeland and spread out across the rest of the planet, setting up home in Asia, Australia, Europe, and eventually in the Americas. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CJdT6QcSbQ0?wmode=transparent&start=66" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Animated map showing how early humans migrated across the globe.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-is-the-earth-round-80311">Curious Kids: Why is the Earth round?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>So, the very first Asian person, or the first Aboriginal Australian person, the first European, or first Native American, all descend from these African people who spread out from Africa around 70,000 years ago.</p>
<p>This means that for every person alive today, no matter our ancestry, it’s fair to say that we are all Africans! Our species first began in Africa and the ancestors of all of us alive, no matter where we live today, are Africans.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Have you got a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to us. They can:</em></p>
<p><em>* Email your question to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au
<br>
* Tell us on <a href="https://twitter.com/ConversationEDU">Twitter</a> by tagging <a href="https://twitter.com/ConversationEDU">@ConversationEDU</a> with the hashtag #curiouskids, or
<br>
* Tell us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/conversationEDU">Facebook</a></em></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Please tell us your name, age, and which city you live in. You can send an audio recording of your question too, if you want. Send as many questions as you like! We won’t be able to answer every question but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85891/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Darren Curnoe receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>
Maeve, age 8, has a question that has stumped many scientists over the years. And that’s because it’s a surprisingly tricky question to answer. It depends a bit on what you mean by ‘person’.
Darren Curnoe, Associate Professor and Chief Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of New South Wales, UNSW Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/84716
2017-10-12T13:46:01Z
2017-10-12T13:46:01Z
Ancient DNA increases the genetic time depth of modern humans
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189965/original/file-20171012-31375-hmz15a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tapping into ancient DNA can help us understand ancient humans' movements and lives.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.google.co.za/search?q=DNA&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdmrr14efWAhVIChoKHQ4qB2IQ_AUICygC&biw=1522&bih=708#imgrc=GOr_O-uj32HSEM">Illustration: Marlize Lombard, Maryna Steyn and Anders Högberg</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s been about 2000 years since a young boy died on what is today a beach in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province. In the 1960s the child’s remains were exposed to wind and rain. It was carefully excavated and taken to the museum in Durban and later to Pietermaritzburg. Over the past four years I have worked with a team of researchers who reconstructed the DNA of the boy from Ballito Bay and other ancient individuals, and what we’ve <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2017/09/27/science.aao6266.long">discovered</a> changed what we know about deep human history.</p>
<p>The boy lived about 2000 years ago, which helped us to recalculate the time at which humans like us – <em>Homo sapiens</em> – first split or branched from archaic or pre-modern human groups to between 350 000 and 260 000 years ago.</p>
<p>Previously, it was thought that we emerged just a little less than 200 000 years ago. This was mostly based on the shape of fossil skulls found in Ethiopia, and on earlier work on the DNA of people currently living in southern Africa, such as Khoe-San groups. </p>
<p>Then, earlier in 2017, a <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/06/world-s-oldest-homo-sapiens-fossils-found-morocco">skull from Morocco</a> that looks like a combination of us and older human groups was dated to about 300 000 years ago. This age also overlaps with that of <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/05/homo-naledi-human-evolution-science/"><em>Homo naledi</em></a> in South Africa.</p>
<p>Our deeper genetic estimate for the origin of modern humans further tallies with the ages of two other southern African archaeological finds, the <a href="http://showme.co.za/tourism/florisbad-museum-and-research-centre-soutpan/">Florisbad skull</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8599389">Hoedjiespunt fossils</a>. If we take all the DNA, archaeological and fossil evidence together, the period roughly between about 200 000 and 350 000 years ago is becoming increasingly interesting for exploring our origins. </p>
<p>Collectively, this research shows that humans might have originated from several regions in Africa instead of just one, with different groups interacting with each other through time and across the landscape. We do not know exactly how or where – yet. But work like ours helps to fill gaps and highlight interesting new questions. For example, by pushing back our genetic origins it is now necessary to revisit interpretations of “what is human” in the fossil record.</p>
<h2>Digging into DNA</h2>
<p>South Africa has a fascinating archaeological record, with a Stone Age spanning more than 2 million years. But archaeology is not only about stones and bones: it is mainly about the people of the past.</p>
<p>So how do we get from the stones and the bones to the people? One way is through DNA. The last decade saw remarkable development in the technology and methods to understand ancient human DNA. As an archaeologist I became fascinated by what these approaches could tell us about our human origins in Africa, and started working with colleagues in <a href="https://h3africa.org/component/contact/contact/15-other/37-dr-himla-soodyall">South Africa</a> and <a href="http://katalog.uu.se/profile/?id=N9-1616">Sweden</a> who are geneticists associated with a <a href="http://www.iob.uu.se/research/evolution-and-development/jakobsson?languageId=1">laboratory</a> in Uppsala specialising in ancient human DNA. </p>
<p>Some of my previous research has focused on Stone Age sites in KwaZulu-Natal, so that it made sense to focus on ancient DNA from this province. The team at Uppsala’s laboratory, assembled experts to do the extraction, analysis and interpretation of the results, resulting in this newest research.</p>
<p>We were able to reconstruct the full genome of the Ballito Bay child together with six other individuals from KwaZulu-Natal. The remains of one adult male also come from Ballito Bay; those of an adult female were found on the beach at Doonside, further south. Together with the boy, they are associated with the Stone Age more than 2000 years ago in South Africa. Genetically, they are related to <a href="http://www.san.org.za/history.php">San groups</a> who were on the landscape before herders from East Africa came in to live among them and formed local herding groups, historically known as the <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/khoikhoi">Khoe or Khoikhoi</a>.</p>
<p>The remains of the four other individuals are from contexts that archaeologists associate with the <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/iron-age-kingdoms-southern-africa">Iron Age</a>. These were farmers who came into southern Africa from West Africa, possibly through what is today Angola. </p>
<p>All four of these individuals were found not on the coast, but in KwaZulu-Natal’s inland areas. Interestingly, these Iron Age individuals had gene variations to protect them against <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9_Vq78Ljzc">malaria</a> and sleeping sickness. We didn’t find similar variations among the Stone Age individuals. This shows that the Iron Age individuals lived or moved through areas in Africa long enough to build resistance against these diseases, whereas those from the Stone Age probably did not.</p>
<h2>Building our understanding</h2>
<p>This is an important addition to our understanding of human history.</p>
<p>Cumulatively, the fossil, ancient DNA and archaeological records indicate that the transition from archaic to modern humans was older than previously thought, and probably did not occur in one place in Africa. Instead there might have been <a href="https://vimeo.com/19797501">gene flow</a> between groups from, eastern, southern and northern Africa, who all potentially played a role in our common human history.</p>
<p>Reconstructing the full genomes of human remains even older than 2000 years will help us to understand the relationships between the different groups that roamed the African landscape during ancient times.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84716/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marlize Lombard receives funding from the African Origins Platform of the National Research Foundation of South Africa. </span></em></p>
Archaeology is not only about stones and bones: it is mainly about the people of the past. DNA is one way to get from the stones and the bones to the people and their stories.
Marlize Lombard, Professor with Research Focus in Stone Age Archaeology; Director, Centre for Anthropological Research in the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Johannesburg
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/72058
2017-02-02T19:06:25Z
2017-02-02T19:06:25Z
Friday essay: the silence of Ediacara, the shadow of uranium
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155075/original/image-20170131-3259-1d7av1s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Marcoo was a 1.4 kilotonne ground-level nuclear test carried out at Maralinga in 1956. The contaminated debris was buried at this site in the 1967 clean-up known as Operation Brumby.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As an archaeologist working in the remote areas around Woomera and the Nullarbor Plain, my understanding of South Australia was first informed by rocks and soil. This was a landscape of fossils and <a href="http://paleoportal.org/index.php?globalnav=fossil_gallery&sectionnav=taxon&taxon_id=109">trace fossils</a> – the preserved impressions left by the passage of a living body through sediment – jostling for attention. On this land surface, SA presents an arc extending from the “death mask” fossils of early multicellular life to the human leap into the solar system. Sure, you might say, this could be said of other locations on Earth. But here it seems laid bare for any who can read the distinctive pattern of signs.</p>
<h2>The silent shore</h2>
<p>This was once a shoreline in a silent world. Throughout some terrifying ice ages, when glaciers reached almost to the equator, microscopic single-celled creatures held on to life in the freezing oceans. As the ice sheets retreated, warmer shores opened up on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondwana">Gondwana supercontinent</a>, including what would later become the Flinders Ranges. Microbes swarmed together in mats to colonise the sandy sea floor. Wind and water were the only sounds, but there was nothing yet with ears to hear them.</p>
<p>The rhythm of the waves created undulations on the sea floor, to which the microbial mats cleaved. For millions of years the green ocean carpet flourished in the shallow waters. Around 635 million years ago, new forms of multicellular life appeared as additional tiers in this simple ecology. Creatures similar in appearance to fern fronds anchored themselves in the mats by a round root-like hank. Others took the form of segmented worms squashed into round pancakes. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155079/original/image-20170131-3251-w7wzf7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155079/original/image-20170131-3251-w7wzf7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155079/original/image-20170131-3251-w7wzf7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155079/original/image-20170131-3251-w7wzf7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155079/original/image-20170131-3251-w7wzf7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155079/original/image-20170131-3251-w7wzf7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155079/original/image-20170131-3251-w7wzf7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155079/original/image-20170131-3251-w7wzf7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fossil of an Ediacaran worm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Far from “<a href="http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/red-in-tooth-and-claw.html">nature red in tooth and claw</a>”, this was nature basking in the sun, in no hurry to change. Storms were the most dramatic events to occur over millions of years. The surges of water these produced would drag the button holdfast of the fronds across the sandy ocean floor, leaving a crackled trace until the wave passed and left it swaying again. In one of these storms, a sudden influx of loose sediment was dragged over some fronds, knocking them flat and covering them with silt. There was too much weight to break free and these limbless, toothless creatures had no way to burrow out.</p>
<p>Gondwana drifted, split, folded and, around 540 million years ago, uplifted, raising the ocean floor to form the slopes of a mountain range.</p>
<p>The fossilised fronds and pancake worms of the fauna from the <a href="http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vendian/ediacaran.php">Ediacaran geological period</a> (635–542 million years ago) are now on display at the South Australian Museum. The ripples in the stone cast shadows that allow you to almost see the shimmering of the shallow water. The “elephant skin” texture – where the hank of a single fern frond was dragged in the storm surge – is visible in the stone, as is the wiggly path or trace fossil of a small worm that escaped burial.</p>
<p>In effect, South Australia is the trace fossil of an earlier continent, or an earlier planet – perhaps not even this one. The Ediacara fauna are vastly different to present life on Earth, and may provide an analogue for life elsewhere in the solar system.</p>
<h2>The dust giants</h2>
<p>In the <a href="http://www.livescience.com/40311-pleistocene-epoch.html">Pleistocene era</a>, starting from about 1.8 million years ago, the ice sheets advanced again. With so much water locked away in the ice, vast plains were exposed on the continental shelf. Plant communities died off and soil formation slowed as temperatures and rainfall decreased. No longer consolidated by vegetation, sediments were blown away in the cold winds. <em>Aeolian</em> is the word, like a harp with a dry rustling sound. The sand traversed huge distances and settled into waves of dunes reflecting the wind direction. The leaching of iron stained their quartz sands Martian-red.</p>
<p>Low saltbushes and bluebushes were studded across the dunes at the edge of the ranges, with occasional forests of large saltbush. Giant kangaroos, three metres high, were as tall as these forest canopies. They loped along the dunes with their smaller cousins, sometimes venturing to the open grasslands that stretched to the distant coast of Sahul.</p>
<p>The carnivore <em><a href="https://australianmuseum.net.au/thylacoleo-carnifex">Thylacoleo carnifex</a></em> roamed the plains, stalking <em><a href="https://australianmuseum.net.au/palorchestes-azeal">Palorchestes azael</a></em> and other herbivores. Waterholes were perilous places where the giant snake <em><a href="http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/w/wonambi.html">Wonambi naracoortensis</a></em> coiled in wait. Taking shelter from the cold wind in a limestone cave, Aboriginal people might have looked out to see the huge shadows of a herd of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diprotodon">diprotodons</a>, the marsupial “rhinoceros”, or <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/a-case-of-mistaken-identity-for-australias-extinct-big-bird-52856">Genyornis</a></em>, the two-metre-tall flightless bird. If these animals were reptiles, we would call them dinosaurs.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155266/original/image-20170201-29911-m4jdoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155266/original/image-20170201-29911-m4jdoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155266/original/image-20170201-29911-m4jdoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155266/original/image-20170201-29911-m4jdoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155266/original/image-20170201-29911-m4jdoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155266/original/image-20170201-29911-m4jdoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155266/original/image-20170201-29911-m4jdoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155266/original/image-20170201-29911-m4jdoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wallaby skin water carrier.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stuart Humphreys © Australian Museum</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the height of this cold, dry period – 30-19,000 years ago – a person might have seen the ocean only a few times across their lifespan. A nacreous abalone shell, excavated at <a href="https://www.academia.edu/27094779/A_Technological_Analysis_of_Stone_Artefacts_from_Allens_Cave_South_Australia_Thesis_Abstract_2016">Allen’s Cave</a> on the Nullarbor Plain and dated to 18,000 years ago, speaks of a journey hundreds of kilometres overland to the shore. Specialist knowledge was needed to travel far from permanent or regular water sources: how to find water-bearing roots, rock wells, and Artesian springs. Perhaps more was needed too: <a href="https://australianmuseum.net.au/wallaby-skin-water-carrier-pre-1885">kangaroo-skin water bags</a>, the endurance to carry a coolamon of water for miles without spilling a drop. The desert sands and the porous limestones of the Nullarbor don’t hold water reservoirs, and the aridity turned the lakes to the west and north of the Flinders Ranges into salt.</p>
<p>Aboriginal people would have noted but passed over the sedimentary rocks that preserved the Ediacara fauna. Instead, they searched for <a href="https://www.mindat.org/min-960.html">chalcedony</a>, <a href="https://www.mindat.org/min-994.html">chert</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silcrete">silcrete</a>. With an understanding of how these stones fracture, you can make a cutting edge sharper and more sterile than a metal surgical blade. Glassy veins of such stone, nacreous in their own way, occur throughout the Nullarbor plain.</p>
<p>Countless scholarly papers describe the climatic conditions and biological record of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Glacial_Maximum">Last Glacial Maximum</a>. Between the lines of these papers we can catch a glimpse of how Aboriginal people may have experienced these landscapes. In the field, I look for traces of their life where the red dunes are exposed – a stone tool or the ashes of a hearth, perhaps. Mining companies, however, would mostly prefer these traces vanished.</p>
<h2>A line in the sand</h2>
<p>The ice melted again, and water inundated the great coastal plains. The megafauna were long gone, leaving the regular kangaroos, emus and wombats behind to compete with new migrants: sheep, cattle, camels and rabbits. The livestock, particularly cattle, thrived on saltbush.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155082/original/image-20170131-3274-18q8gdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155082/original/image-20170131-3274-18q8gdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155082/original/image-20170131-3274-18q8gdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155082/original/image-20170131-3274-18q8gdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155082/original/image-20170131-3274-18q8gdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155082/original/image-20170131-3274-18q8gdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1089&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155082/original/image-20170131-3274-18q8gdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1089&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155082/original/image-20170131-3274-18q8gdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1089&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">George Goyder.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It was still arid out in the north and centre, though droughts lasted just a few years instead of thousands. The years 1863–66 were particularly severe. The Surveyor-General of SA, <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/goyder-george-woodroffe-3647">George Goyder</a>, was sent out in 1865 to define the area where reliable rainfall divided agricultural from grazing land. In the absence of rainfall records, he observed geology and vegetation to create a line stretching over 3000 kilometres, from Pinaroo on the Victorian border to Ceduna in the far west. South of the line was dominated by mallee scrubs, and the north by saltbush and other chenopods.</p>
<p>A few years later, seasons had improved. The bold bought land above the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goyder's_Line">Goyder Line</a> for cropping. This line was not, however, just a mark on a map; as successive drought oscillations continued, farmers were forced back south, abandoning homesteads and even whole towns, the crumbling remains of which are still visible today.</p>
<p>In the process of settlement, trees were cut down for fence posts, telegraph poles and firewood. On the treeless Nullarbor Plain, soil was stabilised by delicate <a href="http://www.soilcrust.org/crust101.htm">biological crusts</a> formed from lichens and bacteria. The hard hoofs of the livestock cracked them like the toffee shell on a crème brûlée, and the dust blew again.</p>
<p>In 1945, the CSIRO scientist RW Jessup was sent to investigate soil erosion in arid areas of South Australia. He noted the degeneration caused by the combined effect of rabbits and stock. When rabbits reached plague proportions and began to run out of food, they ate the young shoots and ringbarked trees. Fast growing species could bounce back, but slower trees like mulga and myall suffered the most, especially in the absence of Aboriginal firing regimes to germinate seeds. Jessup noticed the Precambrian rocks but did not stop to look for fossils. He was more focused on the windblown sands: evidence of how pastoralism was recreating the arid conditions of the Pleistocene.</p>
<p>The same year saw the end of the Second World War. Far away in another hemisphere, a <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/wernher-von-brauns-v-2-rocket-12609128/">rocket capable of reaching outer space</a> had been built and <a href="http://www.atomicheritage.org/history/bombings-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-1945">two atomic bombs deployed</a>. These events would shape the world for decades to come, and leave their imprint in the outback of South Australia.</p>
<h2>Uranium and rockets</h2>
<p>In 1946, there were many people roaming the South Australian deserts. One was geologist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reg_Sprigg">Reg Sprigg</a>, searching for uranium to supply the growing demand for nuclear weapons. He started with the old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium_Hill">Radium Hill</a> mine in the east, and surveyed Mount Painter in the Flinders Ranges, before coming to the Ediacara Hills in the north of the ranges. On the gentle slopes, he was struck by ancient sandstone slabs, generally a poor type of stone for fossil preservation. But he’d seen fossils in this sort of rock before. The round impressions that he saw looked like flattened jellyfish and large segmented worms, but the rock was clearly Precambrian – an age when only single-celled animals were supposed to exist.</p>
<p>The discovery was initially received with scepticism. Some argued that the shapes were natural phenomena. Others disputed the dates. It wasn’t until the discovery of similar fossils in Namibia, Siberia and other locations, and the support of some University of Adelaide academics, that the Ediacara fauna were acknowledged to be genuine. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155084/original/image-20170201-3265-13oq03n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155084/original/image-20170201-3265-13oq03n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155084/original/image-20170201-3265-13oq03n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155084/original/image-20170201-3265-13oq03n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155084/original/image-20170201-3265-13oq03n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155084/original/image-20170201-3265-13oq03n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=979&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155084/original/image-20170201-3265-13oq03n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=979&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155084/original/image-20170201-3265-13oq03n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=979&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Spriggina fossil.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The creatures then received names. <em><a href="http://paleoexhibit.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/dickinsonia-from-ediacaran-biota.html">Dickinsonia</a></em> was the flat pancake worm. The jellyfish turned out to be mostly the discoid holdfast of the frond-shaped <a href="https://museumvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/discoverycentre/600-million-years/timeline/ediacaran/charnia/">Charnia</a>. Reg Sprigg lent his name to the mysterious segmented <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spriggina">Spriggina</a></em> species – maybe a worm, maybe a frond, maybe something like the later trilobites. </p>
<p>While Reg Sprigg continued his search for uranium deposits, men from the Army’s Survey Corps were on the gibber plains around Mount Eba, mapping an area the size of England to enclose a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woomera_Test_Range">rocket test range</a>. The Anglo-Australian Joint Project was established to develop weapons for Britain, and Australia hoped, through this arrangement, to gain a greater defence capacity to fend off Asia. The German V-2 rocket, which had devastated London in the last months of the war, would form the basis of this new weapon system.</p>
<p>Senior British military personnel took a flight to see the proposed area for themselves. They flew over the Central Aborigines Reserve on the borders between South and Western Australia, the direction in which the future rockets would be launched. To their eyes, the red desert recalled another: the white sands around the <a href="http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/trinity-atomic-bomb-site">Trinity site in New Mexico</a>, USA, where the first atom bomb was exploded in 1944. The Australian author <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Southall">Ivan Southall</a> described this view later in 1962: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Here it was, one of the greatest stretches of uninhabited wasteland on earth, created by God specifically for rockets.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Hidden in plain sight</h2>
<p>Aboriginal people became a trace fossil in the land deemed empty – hidden in plain sight. <a href="http://www.kokatha.com.au/">Kokatha</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitjantjatjara">Pitjantjatjara</a>, <a href="http://nativetitle.org.au/profiles/profile_sa_adnyamathanha.html">Adnyamathanha</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barngarla_people">Barngarla</a> people lived on missions around the state, and gathered in coastal towns that offered them the employment that the rocket range had promised but didn’t deliver.</p>
<p>At this time, white Australians thought Aboriginal occupation had been a few thousand years at most, and many believed Aboriginal people were dying out – the inevitable result of the “stone age” being superseded by the “space age”.</p>
<p>Ironically, it would take American chemist <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1960/libby-bio.html">Willard Libby’s</a> invention of radiocarbon dating in the 1940s – an idea that came to him when working on the atomic bomb for the <a href="http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/einstein/peace-and-war/the-manhattan-project/">Manhattan Project</a> – to establish the much deeper antiquity of occupation. <a href="http://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/vale-emeritus-professor-john-mulvaney">John Mulvaney’s</a> 1962 excavation of Kenniff Cave in Queensland used radiocarbon to obtain a date of 19,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155078/original/image-20170131-3279-gjdmlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155078/original/image-20170131-3279-gjdmlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155078/original/image-20170131-3279-gjdmlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=957&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155078/original/image-20170131-3279-gjdmlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=957&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155078/original/image-20170131-3279-gjdmlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=957&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155078/original/image-20170131-3279-gjdmlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1203&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155078/original/image-20170131-3279-gjdmlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1203&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155078/original/image-20170131-3279-gjdmlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1203&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black Arrow rocket, Woomera.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1947, on the first reconnaissance for a place to build the township that would service the rocket range, surveyors found tens of thousands of stone tools at Phillip Ponds. Recognising that evidence of Aboriginal occupation also meant the presence of water, they selected this location for the <a href="http://homepage.powerup.com.au/%7Ewoomera/town.htm">Woomera Village</a>, named after the wooden spear-thrower used by Aboriginal people in many parts of Australia. The street names in the new town were sourced from a vocabulary compiled by HM Cooper, published in 1948 as <a href="http://digital.slv.vic.gov.au/view/action/singleViewer.do?dvs=1485930873895%7E603&locale=en_US&metadata_object_ratio=10&show_metadata=true&VIEWER_URL=/view/action/singleViewer.do?&preferred_usage_type=VIEW_MAIN&DELIVERY_RULE_ID=10&frameId=1&usePid1=true&usePid2=true">Australian Aboriginal Words and Their Meanings</a>.</p>
<p>In the following decades, Australian scientists designed sounding rockets for upper atmosphere research and worked on British long-range ballistic missiles like the <a href="http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/blue-streak-uks-cold-war-rocket.html">Blue Streak</a>. They also collaborated with the US in establishing another new technology: tracking the satellites that were planned for launch in the <a href="http://www.nas.edu/history/igy/">International Geophysical Year</a> of 1957–58. In 1957, the world’s first satellite, Sputnik 1, sent its distinctive beep into the ether. The Space Age had begun.</p>
<h2>Radioactive</h2>
<p>My trips to the <a href="http://www.defence.gov.au/woomera/about.htm">Woomera Prohibited Area</a> are sometimes to advise mining companies about heritage issues, and sometimes to do my own research on Australia’s space program. One day, I’m taken out to the derelict structures once used as launch pads for a unique hybrid rocket.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pvcHO4WieV0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The satellite launcher <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(rocket)">Europa</a> was a collaboration between six European nations and Australia in the early 1960s. The two launch pads stand on the edge of a blindingly white salt lake. Rock art sites can be found on outcrops and boulders around the lower edge of the steep shores. Against the wind, I imagine the tremendous roar of the rocket’s engines and think of Ivan Southall’s description of the landscape in his 1962 book, Woomera:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s almost like you are living in another world, just as though you had been shot off in a spaceship and let down on some strange planet where men had never been before.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Writing about Woomera and Maralinga, Southall constantly emphasises the silence of a landscape where, he avers, even Aboriginal people speak in undertones. This seems supremely ironic when you think of rocket engines roaring, or the more sinister blast of an atom bomb. From 1956 to 1963, Australia supported Britain in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_nuclear_tests_at_Maralinga">a series of nuclear tests</a> at two locations outside Woomera’s perimeter, Maralinga and Emu Field. Southall visited Emu Field in 1962 where</p>
<blockquote>
<p>sprayed with yellow paint, and silent in the sand, are abandoned trucks and jeeps and weapons once too hot to handle. There, near the bomb towers that vanished, the very surface of the desert has become as glass.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155072/original/image-20170131-3244-j4qjj0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155072/original/image-20170131-3244-j4qjj0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155072/original/image-20170131-3244-j4qjj0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155072/original/image-20170131-3244-j4qjj0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155072/original/image-20170131-3244-j4qjj0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155072/original/image-20170131-3244-j4qjj0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155072/original/image-20170131-3244-j4qjj0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155072/original/image-20170131-3244-j4qjj0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Green-tinged nuclear glass at Maralinga.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The vitrified sand is the same iron oxide-coated sediment of the Pleistocene aeolian dunes, now with a greenish tinge like a cheap wine bottle. Such nuclear glass is highly collectible, and is sometimes called trinitite after the glass from the Trinity site in New Mexico.</p>
<p>The resonances of these tests aren’t fading any time soon. Generations of Aboriginal people and white Australians still suffer the effects of exposure to radiation. The shadows of the radioactive fallout – the “black mist”, as many Aboriginal people call it – are almost inescapable when you travel west in this state.</p>
<p>At Woomera, I go to look at the grave monuments in the cemetery on the hill outside the town. There are multiple still births and infant deaths, often in the same family. People don’t like to talk about it, but there are stories of women wailing in the streets, driven by unassuagable grief. A local urban myth held that if a pregnant woman stood on the hill facing Maralinga during a bomb test, the sex of the foetus would be revealed in x-ray silhouette.</p>
<p>On the far west coast we’re walking through the saltbush and tyre-piercing bluebush to a rock hole, where some of the traditional owners want to carry out maintenance by clearing the accumulated weeds and dirt. On our way we pass an unusual farm shed. It’s made of radiation-proof lead, scavenged from Maralinga by the landowner. I learn that such scavenging has distributed the artefacts of rockets and bombs all over the state.</p>
<p>On another day, the women are driving up the Ooldea track towards the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Australian_Railway">transcontinental railway line</a>. One roasted a wombat the night before and distributes chunks to us. As we gnaw on the bones, the women point out campsites off to the side of the track. You can’t necessarily see anything from the road, but the locations are loaded with memory. These are places where they camped during the trek from the Maralinga lands down to the coast. It wasn’t safe to stay, but leaving creates its own devastation.</p>
<p>Finally, I’m here at Maralinga. Despite four phases of remediation, there is so much to catch the archaeologist’s eye. No doubt the last people in white radiation suits to leave the site after the 2000 <a href="https://industry.gov.au/resource/Documents/radioactive_waste/martac_report.pdf">clean-up</a> thought all the residues of the hot yellow machines and bomb towers were safely interred in the burial mounds. I’m used to working at the scale of stone tools, though, and find the surface is scattered with small artefacts like broken ceramics and beer cans. </p>
<p>What really sticks in my memory are ephemeral traces of human presence. Along the wire of a perimeter fence, someone has looped bits of metal and twist ties in a line. A square grid has been drawn in the gravel near a radio tower. The tyre tracks of earth-moving machinery around and over the large burial mounds make me think of rover tracks on Mars.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155071/original/image-20170131-3269-1meucf2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155071/original/image-20170131-3269-1meucf2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155071/original/image-20170131-3269-1meucf2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155071/original/image-20170131-3269-1meucf2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155071/original/image-20170131-3269-1meucf2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155071/original/image-20170131-3269-1meucf2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155071/original/image-20170131-3269-1meucf2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155071/original/image-20170131-3269-1meucf2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Decorated fence at Maralinga.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This land is already a nuclear waste dump. The locations and proposals change, but the same apparent “emptiness” that brought rockets, nuclear tests and detention centres now attracts commercial interest in storing nuclear waste from other nations. It’s the end of a cycle that starts with the mining and export of Australian uranium. The redistribution of uranium is a very <a href="https://quaternary.stratigraphy.org/workinggroups/anthropocene/">Anthropocene</a> process, part of the dismantling and reassembling of the planet.</p>
<p>In the end it will all be buried, all become an archaeological site. Long after the molecular structure of the human-made materials has broken down, the uranium and plutonium will still be decaying. Future archaeologists may find it difficult to determine if these radioactive deposits are natural or cultural. Maybe the distinction will be irrelevant.</p>
<h2>Epilogue: the wind</h2>
<p>The story isn’t quite over yet, though. The Ediacara fauna gave their name to a new geological period, and while their relationship with contemporary species is still hotly debated, they have changed the way life on Earth is viewed.</p>
<p>The megafauna had largely disappeared by 10,000 years ago. The role of Aboriginal people in their extinction is also hotly debated, though archaeological evidence does not support the “overkill” hypothesis. New genetic studies are now pushing back the date of Aboriginal arrival in Australia to more than 60,000 years ago.</p>
<p>The Goyder Line is <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-02/goyders-line-climate-change-wheat-wine-grapes/6919276">shifting south</a> under the impacts of climate change.</p>
<p>Reg Sprigg, who died in 2008, established the Arkaroola Sanctuary in the Flinders Ranges. The Mars Society of Australia selected it as their primary <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2004/03/23/1071845.htm">Mars analogue landscape</a> to pursue both planetary science and practical aspects of Mars colonisation.</p>
<p>After becoming the fourth nation in space with the launch of the <a href="http://homepage.powerup.com.au/%7Ewoomera/wresat.htm">WRESAT-1 satellite</a> in 1967, Australia’s ambitions have languished. Woomera is still a busy test range, but we are no longer at the forefront of space exploration.</p>
<p>Maralinga has been handed back to its traditional owners. You can visit as a tourist.</p>
<p>The wind has been a constant theme. Once the dominant sound in the Ediacaran world, now it drives giant wind turbines supplying power to the state.</p>
<p>One planet’s past may be another’s future. The Ediacarans have vanished from South Australia, but deep time is always waiting to burst through the crusts of the surface. In the words of Ivan Southall:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the most barren regions, the most lifeless regions, strange things happen after rain. Primitive crustaceans suddenly stir in the saline mud, reminding one of the dawning of time.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><em>This essay first appeared in Griffith Review State of Hope, the 55th edition of Griffith Review.</em></p>
<p><em>The author thanks Hilda Moodoo, Wanda Miller, Eileen Wingfield, Andrew Starkey and many others who have generously shared their knowledge.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72058/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Gorman is a member of the Advisory Council of the Space Industry Association of Australia and the Alternate State Delegate for the South Australian Chapter of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Inc</span></em></p>
History is writ large in the remote areas around Woomera and the Nullarbor: from the fossils of microscopic, cell-like creatures to ancient stone tools to the deitrus of rocket tests and the painful legacy of the Maralinga atomic blasts.
Alice Gorman, Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/70284
2017-01-04T13:28:01Z
2017-01-04T13:28:01Z
Why we built an artificial cave to teach our students about ancient art
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149870/original/image-20161213-1629-1p3bfig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Third-year archaeology student Dominic Coe replicates a painting of rhino based on the original image in France's Grotte Chauvet.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are hundreds of books with illustrations of the earliest human artworks. Images of bison, mammoth, lions and horses from famous cave sites like <a href="http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/chauvet/">Chauvet</a>, <a href="http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/lascaux/">Lascaux</a>, <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/310">Altamira</a> and <a href="http://www.grottederouffignac.fr/index.php/welcome">Rouffignac</a> shine out from these pages. </p>
<p>Such photographic images are the most common way through which people encounter the first representational art. </p>
<p>To see these images in their original setting, however, is a very different thing. It’s no simple matter, though: the most famous sites have been closed for decades since it became apparent that the influx of visitors changed their delicate natural environment and degraded their images. So how can students get access to this representational art?</p>
<p>At the University of Liverpool, we decided that if our students couldn’t get to these caves, we’d bring the caves to them. That’s what prompted us first to teach students to replicate representational art themselves – and then to build an artificial cave environment in the university’s Central Teaching Laboratories.</p>
<p>These processes, outlined <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440316301649">in research</a> we’ve just published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, illustrate the value of an experimental approach to the study of ancient human crafts. </p>
<p>It is only through detailed and scientifically controlled experiment that we can control enough of the natural variability to investigate many of the most problematic yet interesting questions about past human lives. </p>
<h2>Different time, different light</h2>
<p>In their original cave environments, images are neither flat nor evenly lit as they are in books. They are not planted immediately in front of your eyes. Instead you must look up or down or through gaps to catch a glimpse. </p>
<p>The images themselves are topographically rich. They use natural undulations of the rock surface to lend depth to their representation. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.grotte-cerdon.com/offer-item/prehistoric-activity-making-lamps-from-fat/?lang=en">animal fat lamps</a> of the time cast just small pools of light. The temperature of this light also transformed the painted colours to the human eye. The beautiful panoramic photos of cave art discovered in sites like Lascaux that are now so well-known are in fact modern views that were probably unavailable to their contemporary audience. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149874/original/image-20161213-1608-4sk6an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149874/original/image-20161213-1608-4sk6an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149874/original/image-20161213-1608-4sk6an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149874/original/image-20161213-1608-4sk6an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149874/original/image-20161213-1608-4sk6an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149874/original/image-20161213-1608-4sk6an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149874/original/image-20161213-1608-4sk6an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149874/original/image-20161213-1608-4sk6an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A classic modern view of the painted bulls at Lascaux, lit using a powerful spot lamp.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To experience these artworks at first hand and in the right light offers a completely different perspective. In an ideal world, students might visit the original sites to see the images in their natural setting. Now, at best, they might be able to visit one of a growing number of replica caves such as the <a href="http://en.cavernedupontdarc.fr">Grotte Chauvet</a>, created by national heritage agencies to meet the desire of the many thousands of people who want to see these images in their natural environment. </p>
<p>But these replica caves are still too well-lit to convey the proper experience students need, and obviously the images on their walls cannot be physically handled.</p>
<p>Our first attempt at dealing with this experiential problem came in 2011. We started by encouraging students to replicate images themselves using original pigments like ochre and charcoal, and original techniques like brush- and finger-painting, and spitting. They worked on canvas-lined panels in a well-lit laboratory. </p>
<p>The experience, though practically informative, was still limited. </p>
<p>That was when we decided to bring the cave environment to students. Working with our Central Teaching Laboratories and a climbing wall manufacturer, Hangfast, we created an artificial cave environment in 2014. The wall replicates wall surfaces from some of the better known painted caves like Lascaux, Altamira and Gargas. </p>
<p>Light from the outside is kept out. Replica lighting mimics the original lamps inside. A laboratory has become a completely different world.</p>
<h2>The benefit of experience</h2>
<p>Students can now experience what it is like to make images using the original materials – and develop a clearer understanding of how those images might have been seen at the time. This facility has allowed us to make experimental research a significant and well-liked feature of students’ learning. A recent student commented:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The cave just brings these images to life in a way the books can’t.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149875/original/image-20161213-1629-1hkdx7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149875/original/image-20161213-1629-1hkdx7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149875/original/image-20161213-1629-1hkdx7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149875/original/image-20161213-1629-1hkdx7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149875/original/image-20161213-1629-1hkdx7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149875/original/image-20161213-1629-1hkdx7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149875/original/image-20161213-1629-1hkdx7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149875/original/image-20161213-1629-1hkdx7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The artificial cave lit by small lamps that approximately replicate the light that would have been produced by contemporary Palaeolithic fat lamps.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Students can now scientifically explore the effects of different sorts of animal fat on the light created, the use of different materials as binders or extenders of paint, and the difficulties of making brushes with animal hair and original glues. They can also explore the problems of replicating specific images from cave sites. </p>
<p>All of this allows them to learn effectively about cave art. And experience can challenge researchers’ preconceived understandings of images that are now very publicly known. </p>
<p>The cave has other benefits too. It offers a perfect opportunity for primary and secondary school pupils coming to university to get their first taste of what higher education can offer. </p>
<p>These youngsters can see that to study the archaeology of the first humans is not the study of a long gone time. It is an active study in which, as students, they might play a direct part in the development of new knowledge that is such an essential part of higher education. </p>
<p>In academic research, the study of the earliest human art has transformed from one that sought to identify the original meaning of images to one where we examine this earliest imagery as a creative human craft.</p>
<p>In teaching, a real “cave” – as our students now call it – provides the perfectly complement to an effective learning environment for the 21st century.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70284/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
In an ideal world, students might visit original cave sites to see ancient paintings in their natural setting. This isn’t possible, so the idea of an artificial cave set-up at a university was born.
Anthony Sinclair, Professor of Archaeological Theory and Method, University of Liverpool
Emma Nelson, Lecturer in Clinical Communication, University of Liverpool
Jason Hall, Chief Archaeology Technician, University of Liverpool
Patrick Randolph-Quinney, Reader in Biological and Forensic Anthropology, University of Central Lancashire
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/57014
2016-03-31T12:07:53Z
2016-03-31T12:07:53Z
Should we 3D print a new Palmyra?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116818/original/image-20160330-28455-8y1i9g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A depiction of the destruction.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Humam Alsalim and Rami Bakhos</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The destruction at the ancient city of Palmyra symbolises the suffering of the Syrian people at the hands of the terrorist group known as Islamic State (IS). Palmyra was a largely Roman city located at a desert oasis on a vital crossroad, and “one of the most important cultural centres of <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/23">the ancient world</a>”. Its remarkable preservation highlighted an intermingling of cultures that today, as then, came to stand for the tolerance and multiculturalism that pre-conflict Syria was renowned for -– tolerance that IS seeks to eradicate.</p>
<p>Early in the conflict, the area was heavily fortified. Roads and embankments were dug through the necropolises and the Roman walls, and the historic citadel defences were upgraded. Yet the terrorists occupied and desecrated the city from May 2015, systematically destroying monuments such as the Temple of Baalshamin, the Temple of Bel, seven tower tombs, a large Lion goddess statue and two Islamic shrines. They ransacked the museum, tortured and executing the former site director <a href="https://theconversation.com/khaled-al-asaad-the-martyr-of-palmyra-46787">Khaled al-Asaad</a> in search of treasure to sell. According to <a href="http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/unitar/downloads/chs/Palmyra.pdf">satellite imagery analysis</a> the site was heavily looted throughout it all.</p>
<p>Now the city has been recaptured, the first damage assessments <a href="http://www.heritageforpeace.org/syria-culture-and-heritage/damage-to-cultural-heritage/previous-damage-newsletters/damage-to-syrias-heritage-28-march-2016/#mctoc3">are underway</a>, and Syrian – and international – attention is already
turning to restoration. This work will be greatly aided by the Syrians who risked their lives to transport the contents of the Palmyra museum <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/art-design/2015/09/men-saving-syria-s-treasures-isis">to safety</a>. The last truck pulled out as IS arrived, with bullets whizzing past.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116929/original/image-20160331-15137-4ee048.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Manar Monumental Arch, destroyed by IS in 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Judith McKenzie/Manar al-Athar April 13 2010</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even as they were displaced, Syrians have worked to keep a detailed memory of the city alive. Syrian artists created artworks <a href="http://www.studentshow.com/gallery/26282319/Cultural-Beheading">depicting the destruction</a>. In a Jordanian camp, refugees made miniature models of the city and other cultural sites, even measuring out the number and position of Palmyra’s columns <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/mar/02/art-helping-syrian-refugees-keep-culture-alive">from photographs</a>.</p>
<p>The international community is also playing its part. Groups like <a href="http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/unitar/downloads/chs/FINAL_Syria_WHS_23122014.pdf">UNOSAT, the UN’s satellite imagery analysts</a> have used satellite imagery to monitor the damage. On the ground, Syrian-founded NGOs <a href="http://apsa2011.com/apsanew/">like APSA</a> have linked <a href="http://www.asor-syrianheritage.org/">with universities</a> to <a href="http://www.asor-syrianheritage.org/special-reports/">assess the site</a>. Groups such as <a href="http://www.newpalmyra.org/">NewPalmyra</a> and <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/6b4q5z94">Palmyra 3D Model</a> are using the latest technology to create open-access 3D computer models from photographs.</p>
<p>Others have gone even further. The <a href="http://digitalarchaeology.org.uk/">Million Image Database Project</a> at the Oxford Institute for Digital Archaeology distributed cameras to volunteers across the Middle East to collect 3D photos of sites. As well as creating 3D models, they will recreate full-scale artefacts, sites, and architectural features using their own <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1617%2Fs11527-015-0571-0">cement-based 3D printing</a> techniques. This will start with a recreation of the arch from Palmyra’s Temple of Bel, due to be unveiled in London in April 2016. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116956/original/image-20160331-28472-ux5esv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Preserving the memory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNHCR/Christopher Herwig</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Ethics of restoration</h2>
<p>As well as being used for research, education and enjoyment, this technology could recreate (and perhaps ultimately restore) what IS has destroyed. 3D printing can be done in any colour of shapeable material, and can be as obvious – <a href="http://www.icomos.org/charters/venice_e.pdf">or as unobtrusive</a> – as desired. The group is also exploring using computer-guided tools to quickly carve their models into stone.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t be the first time such large-scale restoration has been undertaken. <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/30">Historic central Warsaw</a>, for example, was destroyed during World War II, and was almost completely reconstructed and is now a World Heritage site. Reconstruction is costly, but might be accomplished more quickly and cheaply using new digital techniques, showing the world that Syria values its cultural heritage.</p>
<p>But many argue that 3D printing fails to capture the authenticity of the original structures, amounting to little more than the <a href="http://cllbr.com/en/post/culture-and-the-risk-of-disneyfication/183/#.VvwFcRIrLUI">Disneyfication</a> of heritage. They also point out that the fighting is still ongoing: 370,000 Syrians are dead, millions are displaced, and perhaps 50%-70% of the nearby town has been destroyed. Given the pressing humanitarian needs, stabilisation alone should be the priority for now. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116930/original/image-20160331-28436-9z7tog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Temple of Baalshamin, destroyed by IS in August 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Judith McKenzie/Manar al-Athar. April 13 2010</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rebuilding also fails to redress the loss caused by the extensive looting of the site, focusing only on the dramatically destroyed monuments. Perhaps most importantly, its worth asking whether returning Palmyra exactly to its pre-conflict state denies a major chapter of its history? There needs to be a wide-ranging discussion on the priorities for the immediate future and the nature of any future reconstruction.</p>
<p>As has happened after <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1179/1350503315Z.00000000095">previous conflicts</a>, there may need to be a memorial as a testimony to those beheaded in the arena, or tied to columns that were detonated, or to the former site director executed in trying to protect this site that was so important to him. These stories, and many more, are a part of Palmyra’s, and Syria’s, history.</p>
<p>One thing is clear: while Palmyra may hold great significance to the world, the final decision should belong to those who have lived alongside it, cared for it, managed it, fought for it, and protected it for generations: the Syrian people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57014/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Cunliffe is affiliated with the University of Oxford's EAMENA Project, in addition to being a member the UK Committee of the Blue Shield. </span></em></p>
Work is already underway to repair the damage to the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria, but we need to question if technology will take things too far.
Emma Cunliffe, Research associate, University of Oxford
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/43986
2015-07-01T04:22:45Z
2015-07-01T04:22:45Z
What stone tools found in southern tip of Africa tell us about the human story
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86739/original/image-20150629-9096-10sbwl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This selection of stone tools provides a glimpse into the implements used by Africans 50 000 to 60 000 years ago. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Stone tools. Our ancestors made them, some people still make them, and many species of extinct humans made them too. For more than <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v521/n7552/full/nature14464.html?WT.ec_id=NATURE-20150521">three million years</a>, fractured pieces of hard rock provided past people with a means to extract their livelihood from the environment. </p>
<p>Because stone is plentiful and cheap to acquire, stone tools were made in large numbers. And because it is so durable, it usually outlasts other traces of human activity. With the passing of time, everything from our thoughts and languages to clothes, food waste and even our own bones are inevitably erased. But stone tools have remained. </p>
<p>For this reason, stone tools have been integral to the way archaeologists have told the human story. We have used them to build models of adaptation, population size, trade networks and cultural identity.</p>
<p>The last of these is founded on the knowledge that stone tool manufacture was a skill taught over generations in culturally specific ways. Temporal patterns in stone tool form have thus been taken to reflect the appearance and disappearance of cultural groups, and spatial patterns to signal cultural contractions and migrations. </p>
<p>But there is a problem with using stone tools in this manner. There is a limited number of ways to break a rock, constrained by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fracture_mechanics">physical laws</a>. Fracturing stone in ways that result in usable forms introduces further constraints. Consequently, and to a greater degree than any other item of material culture, stone tools are prone to convergence, or the chance manufacture of similar tools by unrelated populations.</p>
<h2>Stone tools as a marker of human migrations</h2>
<p>Despite these well-documented limitations, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/radical-theory-of-first-americans-places-stone-age-europeans-in-delmarva-20000-years-ago/2012/02/28/gIQA4mriiR_story.html">stone tools</a> continue to be used to infer past migrations. </p>
<p>There are two reasons for this. First, we know that they retain some cultural information. Shared cultural systems are thus a plausible explanation for technological similarities in spatially separated occurrences.</p>
<p>Second, we often don’t have anything else to go on. Across most of the globe few other items of material culture survive. At the same time, human skeletal material and ancient DNA are extremely hard to come by. And while modern DNA can help us identify population changes in time it struggles to pinpoint where they occurred in space. </p>
<h2>The role of ‘Nubian’ cores</h2>
<p>These factors coalesce when we try to understand when and by what routes early modern humans left Africa. While the scientific community is increasingly certain that Homo sapiens evolved in Africa 200 000 years ago, we still don’t know for how long we remained an exclusively African species. Certainly we had entered Europe by <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/science/fossil-teeth-put-humans-in-europe-earlier-than-thought.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&emc=eta1">40,000 years ago</a> and Australia probably <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/02/0224_030224_mungoman.html">50,000 years ago</a>, but these are at best youngest ages and <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/111/20/7248.abstract">not all are accepted</a>. </p>
<p>An important addition to this puzzle was published in <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0028239">2011</a>. Researchers working in <a href="http://global.britannica.com/place/Arabia-peninsula-Asia">Arabia</a> reported on finding what are known as “Nubian cores” dating roughly 100,000 years ago. Nubian cores are a specific type of artefact used to make stone points. They are named for their association with the <a href="https://oi.uchicago.edu/museum-exhibits/history-ancient-nubiaOLD">Nubian region</a> of northeast Africa, where they where made by early modern humans between 125,000 and 70,000 years ago. </p>
<p>If the Nubian cores found in south-west Asia reflect an information system shared with the contemporary inhabitants of the greater Nile Valley, these artefacts would constitute the earliest evidence for modern humans outside of Africa. This would also push back the date for our first excursions into the rest of the world. One important thing about Nubian cores is that their occurrence has always been constrained to north-east Africa, making their distribution a plausible candidate for a shared cultural system.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86860/original/image-20150630-5864-zbo9sk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86860/original/image-20150630-5864-zbo9sk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=174&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86860/original/image-20150630-5864-zbo9sk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=174&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86860/original/image-20150630-5864-zbo9sk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=174&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86860/original/image-20150630-5864-zbo9sk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=218&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86860/original/image-20150630-5864-zbo9sk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=218&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86860/original/image-20150630-5864-zbo9sk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=218&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The open-air site Uitspankraal 7 in the Western Cape of South Africa, where unexpected artefacts were found.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex Mackay</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lessons from unexpected finds in South Africa</h2>
<p>For the last five years we have inspected caves and open air sites around the Doring River in the eastern Cederberg area located in the south-west of South Africa. This is some 6000km south-west from the typical Nubian belt. </p>
<p>At a site named Uitspankraal 7, the team identified what appeared at first glance to be Nubian cores. To confirm this unexpected find, we returned to the site to carry out detailed analysis of these cores and the surrounding artefacts last year. In the end, our analyses confirmed that the cores perfectly matched the key identifying characteristics of the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040618212031710">Nubian</a>. </p>
<p>As part of the same project, excavations were done 30km away at the site of Mertenhof. In dense artefact layers deep in the cultural sequence, a team led by our colleague Aara Welz revealed large numbers of stone points and a single example of a Nubian core, with two more examples added in this year’s excavation. The time period to which these artefacts relate is known as the post-Howiesons Poort, and is well-dated to around 50 000 - 60 000 years ago at sites across southern Africa. </p>
<p>Do these Nubian artefacts reflect a great migration of north-east Africans to the continent’s southern tip? Or are they the result of convergence in the face of finite possibilities?</p>
<p>For several reasons, we think that they reflect convergence. First, we could find no evidence of Nubian-like cores in the 6000 km between the classic Nubian belt and south-west Africa. If there was a great migration, it is one that left no evidence in the intervening space. Second, our artefacts likely occur some 15,000 to 60,000 years too late for the typical Nubian. </p>
<p>To put that in perspective, it would require people to maintain the same technology across 750 to 3000 generations, all the while moving from the Sahara across central Africa and down into the temperate zones of southern Africa. </p>
<h2>Broken bits of rock can only tell us so much</h2>
<p>If we accept that our findings reflect convergence on the Nubian, what does this mean for the timing of modern human’s first tentative steps out of Africa? While it doesn’t falsify the Arabian-Nubian connection, it complicates the ready equation of a set of artefact types with a set of people.</p>
<p>It remains plausible that modern people coming from Africa around 100,000 years ago made the cores identified in south-west Asia. But our data also reinforces how fiendishly difficult it is to track the movements of early modern humans when broken bits of rock provide the bulk of our data. </p>
<p>That two sets of artefacts in different places look remarkably similar has drawn archaeologists into discussions of migrations for more than 100 years. In the end, however, they have often found that probability, playing out over thousands of kilometres and years, had by chance thrown up the same forms twice (or more). </p>
<p>The emergence of Homo sapiens as a global species – and the associated questions of where, when and why – is a central issue in understanding the nature and origins of human-ness. Presently, all of these questions remain open. Despite the substantial current research effort, we suspect that many more twists still remain in the human story.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This article was based on a paper in the <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0131824">journa</a>l PLOS One.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43986/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Mackay receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Manuel Will and Natasha Phillips do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Stone tools have been integral to the way archaeologists have told the human story.
Alex Mackay, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, University of Wollongong
Manuel Will, PhD student of Stone Age Archaeology, University of Tübingen
Natasha Phillips, PhD candidate in Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.