Nobody’s land? The oldest evidence of early Upper Paleolithic settlements in inland Iberia
“The directly dated cut-marked bones of ungulates indicate the presence of AMHs in inland Iberia during the early and mid-Upper Paleolithic. The paleoecological inferences suggest that human populations occupied Malia when climatic and ecological conditions were not particularly severe in terms of aridity and temperature.”
Nohemi Sala et al., Nobody’s land? The oldest evidence of early Upper Paleolithic settlements in inland Iberia. Sci. Adv.10, eado3807 (2024). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ado3807
Ancient Egyptian scribes and specific skeletal occupational risk markers (Abusir, Old Kingdom)
“Our research reveals that remaining in a cross-legged sitting or kneeling position for extended periods, and the repetitive tasks related to writing and the adjusting of the rush pens during scribal activity, caused the extreme overloading of the jaw, neck and shoulder regions.”
Brukner Havelková, P., Dulíková, V., Bejdová, Š. et al. Ancient Egyptian scribes and specific skeletal occupational risk markers (Abusir, Old Kingdom). Sci Rep 14, 13317 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-63549-z
Ancient DNA sheds light on the genetic origins of early Iron Age Philistines
“Our analysis suggests that this genetic distinction is due to a European-related gene flow introduced in Ashkelon during either the end of the Bronze Age or the beginning of the Iron Age. This timing is in accord with estimates of the Philistines arrival to the coast of the Levant, based on archeological and textual records (2–4).”
Michal Feldman et al., Ancient DNA sheds light on the genetic origins of early Iron Age Philistines. Sci. Adv.5, eaax0061 (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax0061
Long-lost Assyrian military camp devastated by ‘the angel of the Lord’ finally found, scientist claims
“At the British Museum in London, there is a relief depicting the siege of Lachish, and it shows the Assyrian camp. Stephen Compton, an independent scholar who specializes in Near Eastern Archaeology, compared this relief to photos from the early to mid-20th century which show Lachish. He identified a site north of Lachish with an oval shaped structure with walls that he thinks may have been the Assyrians’ camp.”
A little hard to get to, but a visit to Cimitile is worth the effort if you're interested in #EarlyChristian#archaeology Here St Paulinus of Nola expanded the basilica over the tomb of St Felix making it one of the most important martyr shrines in Italy
Does a cave beneath Pembroke Castle hold key to fate of early Britons?
“One of the issues that scientists are seeking to resolve is the question of whether or not Neanderthals interbred with Homo sapiens in Britain, as they did in other parts of the world. For good measure, they also want to know if the two species lived alongside each other or whether they replaced each other in successive waves.”
❗️Last call! The deadline for prospective applicants who wish to have the IHC as host institution for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships is 23 June.
👉 https://bit.ly/msca24
Discovery of ancient Greek shepherd’s graffiti rewrites Athens history
“Now, researchers have found graffiti drawn by a shepherd named“Mikon” who lived in the 6th century BC, which depicts a temple on the Acropolis predating the Parthenon.
By signing his drawing using particular alphabets, Mikon has allowed the graffiti to be dated.”
Interesting image from the #Catacomb of Marcus and Marcellianus of Moses or Peter striking the rock between two kanephoroi. Kanephoroi were unmarried women who led processions in ancient Greece carrying baskets containing grain offerings and the knife for slaughtering the sacrificial bull.
Late Neolithic collective burial reveals admixture dynamics during the third millennium BCE and the shaping of the European genome
“To conclude, our study of a Late Neolithic burial enables direct, quasi–real-time observation of the trimodal admixture processes in Europe between 3300 and 2600 cal BCE as steppe ancestry people dispersed and mixed with local Neo-ancestry groups or individuals. The generalization of the results obtained from our data suggests that this genomic transformation took place during a period of profound cultural change.”
Oğuzhan Parasayan et al., Late Neolithic collective burial reveals admixture dynamics during the third millennium BCE and the shaping of the European genome. Sci. Adv.10, eadl2468(2024). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl2468
Coin hoard from time of the Gallus Revolt unearthed in Lod
“The Gallus Revolt was an uprising by the Jews of Roman Palaestina against the rule of Constantius Gallus (brother-in-law of Emperor Constantius II) during the Roman civil war of AD 350–353.
The uprising was in response to the persecution of non-Christians by Constantius and the Christian clergy, who incited riots and destroyed Jewish synagogues and temples.”
Coin hoard from time of the Gallus Revolt unearthed in Lod
“_The Gallus Revolt was an uprising by the Jews of Roman Palaestina against the rule of Constantius Gallus (brother-in-law of Emperor Constantius II) during the Roman civil war of AD 350–353.
The uprising was in response to the persecution of non-Christians by Constantius and the Christian clergy, who incited riots and destroyed Jewish synagogues and temples._”
Have you ever thought about how dinosaurs lived on a warm, swampy Earth and how we live on one that’s cold enough to keep pretty much the entirety of Greenland and Antarctica buried under kilometers-thick sheets of solid ice and wondered, hmm, how did we get from there to here? The short answer is that it took 50 million years of declining atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and dropping temperatures, not to mention building an ice sheet or two. For the longer story of the last 50 million years of climate change, including some of the reasons why, catch this episode of our podcast with Dr De La Rocha! You’ll hear about plate tectonics and continental drift, silicate weathering, carbonate sedimentation, and the spectacular effects the growth of Earth’s ice sheets have had on Earth’s climate. There are also lessons here for where anthropogenic global warming is going and whether or not its effects have permanently disrupted the climate system. Fun fact: the total amount of climate change between 50 million years ago and now dwarfs what we’re driving by burning fossil fuels, and yet, what we’re doing is more terrifying, in that it’s unfolding millions of times faster.
!!Nerd alert!! If you're interested in the primary scientific literature on the subject, these four papers are a great place to start:
-Dutkiewicz et al (2019) Sequestration and subduction of deep-sea carbonate in the global ocean since the Early Cretaceous. Geology 47:91-94.
-Müller et al (2022) Evolution of Earth’s plate tectonic conveyor belt. Nature 605:629–639.
-Rae et al (2021) Atmospheric CO2 over the last 66 million years from marine archives. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 49:609-641.
-Westerfeld et al (2020) An astronomically dated record of Earth’s climate and its predictability over the last 66 million years. Science 369: 1383–1387.
🪔 For eyes pleasure: a fresco with a banquet scene from the Villa Doria Pamphili Columbarium - a graveyard along the western slopes of the Gianicolo Hill. Found in 1838, the columbarium had more than five hundred lucules. In 1922 the frescoes were removed and re-assembled, now on display in the Museo delle Terme. 📸 me
🪔 For eyes pleasure: Mausoleum of Hadrian, also known as Castel Sant'Angelo. It was built between 134 and 139 AD, and #Hadrian's ashes were placed here a year after his death in Baiae in 138 AD, together with those of his wife Sabina, and his first adopted son, Lucius Aelius, who died in 138. 📸 me. No filters, no photo editing.
🪔 On this frieze from the Trajan's Column one can see two scenes from the 1st Dacian war: above one can see #Trajan and his troops traveling by ship, then reaching shore and disembarking. Below Trajan is giving his second adlocutio - a speech addressed to his legions. 📸 me
🪔 For #FrescoFriday: Fresco fragment of a Calendar with Children bearing offerings to the goddess Diana. Beginning of the 3rd century A.D. Ostia, from an edifice near Porta Laurentina. Now in Musei Vaticani. 📸 me
Agropastoral and dietary practices of the northern Levant facing Late Holocene climate and environmental change: Isotopic analysis of plants, animals and humans from Bronze to Iron Age Tell Tweini
“In view of the known critical factors influencing Bronze and Iron Age agriculture in the Eastern Mediterranean region, such as the global climate fluctuations at the end of the Early and Late Bronze Age or the collapse of the socio-economic system in connection with migrations, at least in part of a warlike nature, which are described as the invasion of the “Sea Peoples”, agricultural production at Tell Tweini proves to be comparatively resilient. Thus, despite the destruction of Tell Tweini in the first quarter of the 12th century BC, a revival of urban life and trading systems in the 11th century BC and continuing into the Iron Age II is evident.”
Fuller BT, Riehl S, Linseele V, Marinova E, De Cupere B, et al. (2024) Agropastoral and dietary practices of the northern Levant facing Late Holocene climate and environmental change: Isotopic analysis of plants, animals and humans from Bronze to Iron Age Tell Tweini. PLOS ONE 19(6): e0301775. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301775
Agropastoral and dietary practices of the northern Levant facing Late Holocene climate and environmental change: Isotopic analysis of plants, animals and humans from Bronze to Iron Age Tell Tweini
“In view of the known critical factors influencing Bronze and Iron Age agriculture in the Eastern Mediterranean region, such as the global climate fluctuations at the end of the Early and Late Bronze Age or the collapse of the socio-economic system in connection with migrations, at least in part of a warlike nature, which are described as the invasion of the “Sea Peoples”, agricultural production at Tell Tweini proves to be comparatively resilient. Thus, despite the destruction of Tell Tweini in the first quarter of the 12th century BC, a revival of urban life and trading systems in the 11th century BC and continuing into the Iron Age II is evident.”
Fuller BT, Riehl S, Linseele V, Marinova E, De Cupere B, et al. (2024) Agropastoral and dietary practices of the northern Levant facing Late Holocene climate and environmental change: Isotopic analysis of plants, animals and humans from Bronze to Iron Age Tell Tweini. PLOS ONE 19(6): e0301775. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301775
🪔 For the #RuinOftheDay: remains of the Temple of Rome and Augustus right behind the Parthenon of Acropolis in Athens. It was likely built between 19 and 17 BC and it is the only Athenian temple dedicated to the cult of the Emperor. 📸 me
Concordia, located in the north of Italy, was the birthplace of the early Christian author Rufinus. Among its archaeological remains are a Christian basilica and the “Trychora Martyrum,” a 4th c. martyrs shrine. By the end of the century it was transformed into a small basilica