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August 2003 | |
 10,000-year-old weapons found in Canada
The discovery in the Lac Mégantic region (Canada) of three fragments of spearheads, believed to be more than 10,000 years old, is being hailed as a major find. The artifacts are said to be the first evidence of human habitation in Quebec after glaciers receded and the ice age ended some 12,000 years ago. They are from fluted spearheads typical of weapons used in the early Paleo-Indian period, which existed from 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.
The fragments are of the Clovis style, which was characteristic of weapons and tools of that era in several parts of North America. They were unearthed by an archeological team led by anthropology professor Claude Chapdelaine, of the Université de Montréal, on a wooded lot near Lac des Araignées, southeast of Lac Mégantic, 250 kilometres east of Montreal.
He identified the site eight years ago as a promising area because it had been an old exit for melting water during deglaciation toward the Atlantic seaboard, making it ideal for caribou herds after the stabilization of the water levels. The herds usually attracted human hunters. This is the first such discovery in Quebec, although similar findings have occurred in Maine, New Hampshire, Nova Scotia and Ontario.
Chapdelaine expects the find will encourage other Quebec archeologists to explore more promising sites in the province. Photographer Robert Galbraith, an amateur archeologist who has been searching for Paleo-Indian sites during 20 years of collecting artifacts, was thrilled at the find. "At that time, this was a tundra-arctic environment, and you'd have the caribou and the arctic wolf, boreal and tundra-type species that native people would hunt with spears," Galbraith said. "This is a pre-bow-and-arrow era - a time when people used spears and rocks. Thrilling."
Source: Montreal Gazette (14 August 2003)
Amesbury archer on display
It is now over a year since archaeologists, working on a routine excavation on the site of a proposed new school in Wiltshire (England), unearthed the richest Bronze Age burial yet found in Britain, just three miles from Stonehenge.
From August 16 at Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum, the public will get its first glimpse of the more than 100 artefacts discovered alongside the skeleton of the 'Amesbury Archer'. From copper knives and pottery, to flint arrowheads, wristguards and gold hair ornaments, the new display will offer a unique snapshot of life 4000 years ago.
The buria, found in May 2002, dates back to 2300 BCe and contained a male skeleton and a quantity of grave goods that suggested he was a warrior or even some kind of king. Because of the proximity, both in space and time, to the ancient monument, some experts dubbed the archer, 'The King of Stonehenge', suggesting he may have been involved in its construction, though others disagree.
However, the significance of the find, said to be the richest of its type yet found in the whole of Northern Europe, is in no doubt. Not only did the grave contain the earliest datable copper and gold objects found in this country, but oxygen isotope analysis of the archer's teeth and bones indicates that he originally came from central Europe, possibly the Alps. This is the first evidence we have of this type that shows people were coming to Britain from mainland Europe at this time.
Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum Director, Peter Saunders said the finds will temporarily be displayed on their own, before being joined on a permanent basis by the human remains next year. The finds will be on display in Salisbury until September 30, after which they will join a major touring exhibition, Treasure: Finding Our Past, at the British Museum in November. Following a period at the National Museum of Wales, they will then be brought together with the human remains in a permanent display back in Salisbury from September next year.
Source: 24 Hour Museum (12 August 2003)
Dig seeks clues to Indians who lived in Maine 9,000 years ago
Archaeologists and volunteers visited a site along the Kennebec River (Maine, USA) in search of clues about a group of American Indians who set up camp there 9,000 years ago. The dig is a cooperative effort involving the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and the Friends of Merrymeeting Bay.
"The process is a long, slow one; and part of the business of an archaeologist is learning how to be bored and patient," said Arthur Spiess, a senior archaeologist with the commission. Uncovered thus far were small shards of rock that probably chipped off while Indian hunters were making knives and spears. A dense type of quartz known as chert, the shards are no bigger than a fingernail. "We've found chips of stone tools, but nothing complete or recognizable to the layman," Spiess said.
The project started about a year ago, when the preservation commission conducted an archaeological assessment of the large grassy field. They expected to find artifacts left by Irish settlers from the 1730s but instead turned up prehistoric stone chips.
Experts from the preservation commission and volunteers from the Merrymeeting Bay group work alongside each other as they drop small amounts of dirt into a bucket and put it through a large screen to look for artifacts. "Ninety percent of the work, you don't find anything," said Kaare Mathiasson, a museum technician with the preservation commission. "That makes it so much more exciting when you do find something."
Source: Concord Monitor Online (11 August 2003)
Prehistoric statue discovered in Italy
Workers fixing the sewers of a small Tuscan village have discovered a mysterious statue which may lead to a large Iron Age warrior cemetery. A little over 2 feet tall, the prehistoric statue was found in Filattiera, a village in the magical stone land of Lunigiana, the wild and remote northwestern corner of Tuscany that borders Liguria (Italy).
"The sculpted slab has been re-used to create a 'cassetta' tomb, a typical burial of the ancient Ligurian people in which stone slabs were used to make a sort of coffin. So far we have identified three tombs, containing fragments of pottery. We are very excited as further excavation will begin shortly," said archaeologist Rita Lanza. Broken, neckless, with arms carved in bas-relief, the stelae has been dated to 2,000 BCe by the shape of the dagger it holds in one hand.
Similar to Menhirs — mysterious, ancient single standing stones found throughout Europe — the statue stelae dotted the Lunigiana landscape until Christianity took over and destroyed them. Thought to be symbols of pagan idols, today their meaning is still debated. Some experts believe they were funerary monuments; others think they represented the chiefs of a tribe. Consisting of sandstone slabs with an inscribed or sculpted human body, the stelae from Lunigiana are unlike any other found in Alto Adige, Corsica, Southern France and Spain — they are inscribed on the front side and serve as sort of thin, two-dimensional monuments.
Faceless, another unusual feature according to Lanza, the newly discovered statue was found less than 700 feet from the Pieve of Sorano, an ancient church where Lunigiana's most important stelae — an intact stone warrior — was discovered.
"It's an important discovery as it indicates the presence of a new Iron Age necropolis, probably the burial place of warriors. But most of all, this stelae shows that these statues were re-used in making tombs some 2,500 years after they were first created. This was totally unknown and opens up a new scenario," said archaeologist Emanuela Parbeni, an expert of Iron Age findings in Lunigiana.
Source: Discovery Channel News (8 August 2003)
Archaeologists find 6,000-year-old statuette in Czech Republic
Archaeologists have found a unique about 6,000-year-old statuette of a human head from the Neolithic period near Postrelmov (Czech Republic), archaelogists' team head Vladimir Gos said. The statuette, which probably served ritual purposes, was discovered during the archaeological exploration before a planned construction of a highway in the area, Gos added.
"We have uncovered a number of valuable findings, but the statuette is definitely the most important one. It proves that people from the local Neolithic settlement devoted their time to spiritual life," Gos explained. He said that he expected the statuette to be a part of a vessel, used for cult practices, which had probably belonged to the village shaman.
Apart from the statuette, archaeologists have also discovered some pottery, stone and flint tools and parts of furnaces. Gos noted that the findings would be displayed to the public in the Sumperk Museum in about a year.
The team of archaeologists has been working in Postrelmov since May and they will complete their exploration in mid-August. The Neolithic, or "New Stone Age," in Central Europe dates from 6,000 to 3,500 BCe It is associated with a change from hunting and gathering to farming and settling down in the first villages.
Source: Czech Happenings (1 August 2003)
Houses excavated in Neolithic city Catalhoyuk protected
The houses founded in Catalhoyuk, central Turkey - one of the most ancient settlement areas in the world - have been recently covered with a roof for protection.
After the Catalhoyuk Research Project's tenth year was completed, Culture and Tourism General Director Nadir Avci visited the excavation site and obtained information from Standford University Archeology Professor responsible for excavation Ian Hodder. Afterwards, Avci opened 20 houses excavated in southern Catalhoyuk, saying that it was necessary to take protective measures since they were trying to preserve the finds after excavating. Meanwhile, Professor Hodder informed visitors at a press conference that the houses would be opened for visiting. "Last year, some 7,000 tourists visited Catalhoyuk, but we expect that this number will reach 100,000 in the upcoming years," added Hodder.
The Neolithic site of Catalhoyuk was first discovered in the late 1950s and excavated by James Mellaart over four excavation seasons between 1961 and 1965. The site rapidly became famous internationally due to the large size and dense occupation of the settlement, as well as the spectacular wall paintings and other art uncovered inside the houses.
Source: Turkish Daily News (15 August 2003)
Arsonists destroy building at dig site
Arsonists have destroyed the site headquarters of a major archeological dig in Oxfordshire (England). The temporary building was set up next to Castle Hill, the site of an Iron Age fort at Wittenham Clumps -- where archaeologists are carrying out the first excavation of one of the two beech-capped hills at Little Wittenham.
Hugo Lamdin-Whymark, an Oxford Archaeology project officer, said the cabin was mainly used as a tea room and office for archaeologists and volunteers, who are excavating trenches at the hill fort site. The fire happened between 5pm on Tuesday and 8am on August 13, when the smouldering remains of the building were discovered by a warden at the Northmoor Trust, which owns the Clumps. Firefighters from Didcot attended. Ian Rowland-Hill, chief executive of the Northmoor Trust, described the fires as "wanton vandalism".
Source: thisisoxfordshire.co.uk (14 August 2003)
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