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Sunday, December 30, 2012
Top Archaeology Stories: Week Ending December 30
Ancient Digger brings you the latest archaeology news. Here are the top stories on Ancient Digger for the week ending December 30, 2012.
Best Graduate Schools, Universities, and Colleges for Archaeology and Anthropology
I have compiled several lists in order to help you determine the top graduate colleges and universities with the best programs for anthropology and archaeology, as well as the top undergraduate colleges, universities and school programs for anthropology and archaeology.
Pompeii: Erotic Art and Roman Sexuality
Pompeii is an archaeological site, which was destroyed around AD 79 by Mount Vesuvius. It was a town full of aristocrats and artisans. Artisans who were previously slaves, who gained freedom in Pompeii and became wealthy merchants. Pompeii was a place for the super-rich! The Palm Beach of the Roman world. It was a place known for sexual indiscretions. One could choose his or her desires from a list of murals, pointing in the direction of their sexual perseverance. You would hang your belongings on a peg, a peg conveniently located near an erotic scene, a reminder of where you left your things. Then you would proceed with your indiscretions in secret rooms or bathhouses.
Mystery of the Pyramids Revealed in Coral Castle
The architecture of the pyramids is a combination of revolutionary masonry work and a focus on the heavens, in which the structures face the sky in an attempt to possibly appease the gods.
Excavation of Roman Art's Center Complete
Archaeologists who have completed the excavation of a 900-seat arts centre under one of Rome's busiest roundabouts are calling it the most important Roman discovery in 80 years.The centre, built by the emperor Hadrian in AD123, offered three massive halls where Roman nobles flocked to hear poetry, speeches and philosophy tracts while reclining on terraced marble seating.
Sacred Vessels Discovered at Tel Motza
Rare evidence of the religious practices and rituals in the early days of the Kingdom of Judah has recently been discovered at Tel Motza, to the west of Jerusalem. In excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is currently conducting at the Tel Motza archaeological site, prior to work being carried out on the new Highway 1 from Sha'ar HaGai to Jerusalem by the National Roads Company (previously the Public Works Department), a ritual building (a temple) and a cache of sacred vessels some 2,750 years old have been uncovered.
Crowd Gathers at Stonehenge for Winter SolsticeMore than 5,000 people have gathered to mark the winter solstice at Stonehenge. The attendance was equivalent to five times the number that turned out at Salisbury Plain for last year's event.
The Best Schools For Nautical, Maritime, and Underwater Archaeology in the US
Typically nautical, maritime, and underwater archaeologists study artifacts in ocean or sea environments. However, specialization usually doesn't occur until graduate school after the student has received a BS in Anthropology.
US Archaeology and Anthropology Schools and their Disciplines
I created this comprehensive list of Archaeology and Anthropology Schools in the United States and their Disciplines to assist students looking into the fields of anthropology and archaeology. When I first started looking for schools I quickly figured out, it was overwhelming. I had to visit dozens of websites just to gather the information I needed, to determine whether the college or university had the archaeology discipline I was interested in.
Hospital Heals Old Artifacts
As Turkey’s capital, Ankara is already home to some of the country’s best hospitals. For those tasked with protecting Turkey’s heritage, however, one stands out from the others: the restoration and conservation atelier at the Ankara Museum of Foundational Works – an “old artifact hospital.”
Interview with the Founder of Dig-It Games and Creator of Mayan Mysteries
I had the immense pleasure of interviewing Suzi Wilczynski, the founder of Dig-It Games. Suzi is a former archaeologist and teacher who has bridged the gap between entertainment and education. Her games were created for people who crave the challenge of a puzzle and who seek knowledge by solving the complexities of a mysterious ancient society through critical thinking.
Best Graduate Schools, Universities, and Colleges for Archaeology and Anthropology
I have compiled several lists in order to help you determine the top graduate colleges and universities with the best programs for anthropology and archaeology, as well as the top undergraduate colleges, universities and school programs for anthropology and archaeology.
Pompeii: Erotic Art and Roman Sexuality
Pompeii is an archaeological site, which was destroyed around AD 79 by Mount Vesuvius. It was a town full of aristocrats and artisans. Artisans who were previously slaves, who gained freedom in Pompeii and became wealthy merchants. Pompeii was a place for the super-rich! The Palm Beach of the Roman world. It was a place known for sexual indiscretions. One could choose his or her desires from a list of murals, pointing in the direction of their sexual perseverance. You would hang your belongings on a peg, a peg conveniently located near an erotic scene, a reminder of where you left your things. Then you would proceed with your indiscretions in secret rooms or bathhouses.
Mystery of the Pyramids Revealed in Coral Castle
The architecture of the pyramids is a combination of revolutionary masonry work and a focus on the heavens, in which the structures face the sky in an attempt to possibly appease the gods.
Excavation of Roman Art's Center Complete
Archaeologists who have completed the excavation of a 900-seat arts centre under one of Rome's busiest roundabouts are calling it the most important Roman discovery in 80 years.The centre, built by the emperor Hadrian in AD123, offered three massive halls where Roman nobles flocked to hear poetry, speeches and philosophy tracts while reclining on terraced marble seating.
Sacred Vessels Discovered at Tel Motza
Rare evidence of the religious practices and rituals in the early days of the Kingdom of Judah has recently been discovered at Tel Motza, to the west of Jerusalem. In excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is currently conducting at the Tel Motza archaeological site, prior to work being carried out on the new Highway 1 from Sha'ar HaGai to Jerusalem by the National Roads Company (previously the Public Works Department), a ritual building (a temple) and a cache of sacred vessels some 2,750 years old have been uncovered.
Crowd Gathers at Stonehenge for Winter SolsticeMore than 5,000 people have gathered to mark the winter solstice at Stonehenge. The attendance was equivalent to five times the number that turned out at Salisbury Plain for last year's event.
The Best Schools For Nautical, Maritime, and Underwater Archaeology in the US
Typically nautical, maritime, and underwater archaeologists study artifacts in ocean or sea environments. However, specialization usually doesn't occur until graduate school after the student has received a BS in Anthropology.
US Archaeology and Anthropology Schools and their Disciplines
I created this comprehensive list of Archaeology and Anthropology Schools in the United States and their Disciplines to assist students looking into the fields of anthropology and archaeology. When I first started looking for schools I quickly figured out, it was overwhelming. I had to visit dozens of websites just to gather the information I needed, to determine whether the college or university had the archaeology discipline I was interested in.
Hospital Heals Old Artifacts
As Turkey’s capital, Ankara is already home to some of the country’s best hospitals. For those tasked with protecting Turkey’s heritage, however, one stands out from the others: the restoration and conservation atelier at the Ankara Museum of Foundational Works – an “old artifact hospital.”
Interview with the Founder of Dig-It Games and Creator of Mayan Mysteries
I had the immense pleasure of interviewing Suzi Wilczynski, the founder of Dig-It Games. Suzi is a former archaeologist and teacher who has bridged the gap between entertainment and education. Her games were created for people who crave the challenge of a puzzle and who seek knowledge by solving the complexities of a mysterious ancient society through critical thinking.
The Return of Hopi Artifacts Causes Controversy
On an unknown date at an unidentified location, the U.S. government turned over a collection of undisclosed Sinagua artifacts to anonymous members of the Hopi Tribe for unspecified disposition.
The mysterious proceedings this fall involved an archaeological treasure trove and a substantial expenditure of tax dollars. Yet virtually everything about it remains secret under a federal law known as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA.
The 1990 law enables Indian tribes to reclaim ancestral remains and sacred objects that were unearthed from native burial sites by scientists or looters. Along with supplemental statutes, it also authorizes U.S. agencies to conceal virtually all details of those transactions.
The recent Hopi event involved archaeological digs from Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff. When The Arizona Republic sought a description of the repatriated items and an accounting of federal money spent, the government repeatedly answered, "Our intent is to honor the tribe's request, made in consultation, not to disclose information."
The secrecy and phrasing hint at an underlying controversy that has festered since the repatriation act was adopted.
For Native Americans, the repatriation of remains and funerary objects is a matter of justice — the return of sacred possessions that were dug up, defiled and displayed for decades in violation of tribal beliefs and human rights. To this day, activists are pushing to expand the law in the name of privacy, religious freedom and tribal sovereignty.
Conversely, for some archaeologists and anthropologists, the loss of ancient artifacts represents a scientific sacrilege — disposal of objects that may be irreplaceable in understanding human history and cultures.
Most researchers no longer defend the excavation of Indian burial sites, and few will publicly criticize the repatriation act because to do so would jeopardize their professional careers. But, privately, the repatriation of relics that were unearthed decades ago continues to raise questions of academic freedom, political correctness and the public's right to know.
Officials at the Museum of Northern Arizona, which housed at least some of the bones and artifacts returned to the Hopis this year, cooperated with the repatriation and declined to discuss the Sinagua collection. The non-profit museum sponsored many of the area archaeological digs years ago and remains a repository for artifacts.
Kelley Hays-Gilpin, anthropology curator, said that those items were the property of the federal government and that only a fraction of the museum's collection was lost. "It's not like we're getting emptied out," she said.
Still, records and sources indicate that items claimed by the Hopis included one of the most scientifically important burial subjects ever found in the Southwest — and perhaps one of the most sacred of Hopi ancestors.
He is known as the Magician, and his remains were accompanied by a unique archaeological bounty.
Swallower of Sticks
The man was buried at a place known as the Ridge Ruin, about 20 miles outside Flagstaff, in an unremarkable house of stone and clay. He remained there, undisturbed, for 800 years.
Then, in the late 1930s, John C. McGregor, an archaeologist at the Museum of Northern Arizona, uncovered the skeleton, along with more than 600 carefully placed funerary objects: ornate jewelry, baskets, cutting blades, mountain-lion teeth, shells, a pointy cap made of beads and, as a final offering, 420 arrows.
McGregor found what he called "the most outstanding decorative basket that has ever been found in the Southwest," featuring 1,500 carefully cut pieces of turquoise as well as rows of other stones and rodent teeth.
Many items, such as an exotic macaw corpse, were from distant lands. Some researchers suggested that the man of about 40 was a traveling Aztec merchant, or pochteca.
But Hopis who assisted and consulted McGregor said many of the objects were associated with ancient tribal skills such as shape-shifting, combating witchcraft and controlling weather or warfare. For example, they said 13 wooden pointers, laid over the remains, were used in a sort of sword-swallowing feat of magic by members of a warrior society. They called the man Moochiwimi, or Swallower of Sticks.
In a 1943 article for the American Philosophical Society, McGregor wrote that the Magician comprised "the richest burial ever reported in the Southwest." Others described it as "The King Tut of Northern Arizona."
To this day, the Magician remains a subject of research and conjecture.
Michael O'Hara, a professor at Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, wrote about him last year in a paper for the Society for American Archaeology.
O'Hara disputed the theory that ceremonial items reflected wealth, suggesting instead that the interment of ritual objects helped mourners reorder their social unit after the loss of a key figure.
O'Hara, who did not respond to interview requests, wrote that the Magician represents a "spectacular and wholly unique" archaeological find that provides "unparalleled insights into the social roles present in Sinagua society."
The Hopi way
Even today, Hopi tribal structure is based on a network of social groups, each with specialized responsibilities, skills and secret rituals stemming from spiritual beliefs.
Religious practices are considered so sacred that the secrets are not even shared among various societies. No Hopi who was contacted for this story would comment.
That deep sense of privacy is exemplified in a "Protocol for Research and Publication" posted on the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office website.
The protocol prohibits archaeological, anthropological or historical work — even news stories — without permission, and authorizes censorship of information deemed sensitive or thought to misrepresent the Hopi way.
Twenty-two years ago, Congress adopted the repatriation act with support from most major archaeology and anthropology associations. The Heard Museum in Phoenix spearheaded recommendations.
The law established a process for Native Americans to reclaim bones, burial relics and other items of "cultural patrimony" that were collected by scientists or stolen by looters. Scores of museums and federal agencies are required to create lists of remains or sacred objects and determine whether those items are affiliated with modern indigenous groups. Inventories are supposed to be published in the Federal Register.
Nationwide, nearly 179,000 whole or partial corpses have been identified, with nearly 13,000 of those returned to tribes. More than two-thirds of the remains have not been linked to modern tribes.
In addition, museums and federal agencies have listed about 2 million funerary or sacred objects. Roughly 176,000 of those have been turned over to tribes.
Since 1996, the National NAGPRA Program has issued more than 500,000ドル in grants to the Hopi Tribe for repatriation.
The federal program is managed by Sherry Hutt, who served for years as a Maricopa County Superior Court judge. Hutt, who also prosecuted artifact looters as an assistant U.S. attorney in Phoenix, said the law gives indigenous people a tool to regain items that were rightfully theirs. To put it in context, she said, imagine if someone wanted to dig up your parents for a new roadway: Who should decide what is done with the remains?
"Really, what NAGPRA says is Native Americans are just like everybody else — no more, no less," Hutt said. "It does not say you can't do science. What it says is: 'These are not your personal property.'"
Destroying history?
Resistance from some scientists is hardly new. In an essay published 15 years ago, Grinnell College (Iowa) anthropologist John Whittaker discussed a great divide between researchers and Native Americans.
Whittaker opened with a stanza from the Indian protest song, "Here Come the Anthros," by the late Sioux musician Floyd Red Crow Westerman:
The Anthros keep on digging our sacred ceremonial sites
As if there's nothing wrong and education gives them the right.
But the more they keep on digging, the less they really see,
'Cause they got no respect, for you or for me.
Whittaker offered a response, without rhymes:
"He wants me to leave it alone; I want to excavate it and learn from it. He wants control to be in Indian hands; I regard it as a human heritage that belongs to all. … I am interested in his opinions about the past; he doesn't think I have anything to say to him."
Whittaker, who declined to comment for this story, argued in his essay that science honors the dead by studying their lives and adding historical understanding to present-day cultures. He wrote that NAGPRA is "subtly racist" and "disastrous for archaeology" because it makes research politically incorrect while wiping out the chance to learn from previous finds.
"The laws have resulted in the destruction by reburial of vast amounts of archaeological evidence," he said.
Other prominent researchers have made similar points in litigation against NAGPRA, arguing that ancient remains in North America go back 11,000 years or more and, in some cases, have no cultural or genetic ties with modern Indians.
In a famous suit known as the Kennewick Man case, two archaeologists at the Smithsonian Institution and a University of Arizona professor were among eight plaintiffs who blocked the transfer of a 9,000-year-old skeleton to tribes in Washington state. A federal judge ruled there was no evidence tying the remains to contemporary cultures or people, so scientists were entitled to conduct research under another law, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act.
C. Vance Haynes Jr., a professor emeritus of anthropology and geology at the University of Arizona, said he consulted with a Hopi colleague before signing on as plaintiff in the Kennewick case. "He told me, 'You know, Vance, we're not all one Indian. There are a lot of us who want to know where we came from, and about our past.'"
Haynes specializes in the roughly 13,000-year-old Clovis culture, among the earliest humans in North America. "NAGPRA is a very important law," he said. "But, when it comes to sites more than 4,000 years old, we need to be able to study. ... Our whole mission is to increase knowledge."
Cleone Hawkinson, an anthropologist and president of a group known as Friends of America's Past, said federal policy discriminates in favor of Native Americans and thwarts the quest to fathom human development.
"NAGPRA is a narrow law, unfairly administered," said Hawkinson, who assisted plaintiffs in the Kennewick case. "Factual understanding of the past is distorted when a limited group is singled out as rightful 'owners' of all of prehistory and scientific inquiry is prohibited to evaluate their claims."
Stolen remains
James Riding In, an American Indian studies scholar at Arizona State University, said indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere were victimized by grave-digging in the name of science and are only now able to let forebears rest in peace.
"The dead are not resources belonging to an invading culture," he said. "The problem is that archaeologists and anthropologists stole those remains and created those issues."
There is not a homogeneous Indian perspective on death or afterlife but scores of different beliefs, Riding In said. Some may welcome archaeological inquiry, he said, but many view the excavation and removal of corpses as taboo.
Riding In said his people, the Pawnees, are among the latter: "There's still a spirit associated with those remains. The only purpose for disturbing the dead (in Pawnee culture) is to do harm to the living through witchcraft."
Riding In, who has participated in a number of repatriation events, said bones and artifacts are usually reburied either where they were unearthed or in an ancestral homeland. He said that archaeology and anthropology sometimes help Native people learn about the past or verify sacred sites or objects but that modern science also denigrates their beliefs as fairy tales.
Tribes have a right to privacy in reclaiming the ancients, regardless of tax dollars expended, Riding In and others said. "It is a sovereignty issue that allows Indians to determine what happens to their deceased. … It should be respected," he said.
Since NAGPRA was adopted, remains from more than 1,200 humans have been claimed by Arizona tribes in about 40 repatriation events.
John McClelland, NAGPRA coordinator at the Arizona State Museum in Tucson, said he got no official word that Hopis took possession of the Magician, but there were rumors. He added that the event apparently included additional Sinagua items that had been housed at the museum in Tucson.
McClelland said that NAGPRA is a fact of life and that most contemporary archaeologists respect the sensitivity of living people even if they regret the vanishing of scientific materials that might yield new information about their forebears. "It's true, there is a loss," he said. "Basically, that's the reality these days. ... The bottom line is it's a matter of human rights and Native American rights."
Source: Dennis Wagner, The Arizona Republic
The mysterious proceedings this fall involved an archaeological treasure trove and a substantial expenditure of tax dollars. Yet virtually everything about it remains secret under a federal law known as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA.
The 1990 law enables Indian tribes to reclaim ancestral remains and sacred objects that were unearthed from native burial sites by scientists or looters. Along with supplemental statutes, it also authorizes U.S. agencies to conceal virtually all details of those transactions.
The recent Hopi event involved archaeological digs from Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff. When The Arizona Republic sought a description of the repatriated items and an accounting of federal money spent, the government repeatedly answered, "Our intent is to honor the tribe's request, made in consultation, not to disclose information."
The secrecy and phrasing hint at an underlying controversy that has festered since the repatriation act was adopted.
For Native Americans, the repatriation of remains and funerary objects is a matter of justice — the return of sacred possessions that were dug up, defiled and displayed for decades in violation of tribal beliefs and human rights. To this day, activists are pushing to expand the law in the name of privacy, religious freedom and tribal sovereignty.
Conversely, for some archaeologists and anthropologists, the loss of ancient artifacts represents a scientific sacrilege — disposal of objects that may be irreplaceable in understanding human history and cultures.
Most researchers no longer defend the excavation of Indian burial sites, and few will publicly criticize the repatriation act because to do so would jeopardize their professional careers. But, privately, the repatriation of relics that were unearthed decades ago continues to raise questions of academic freedom, political correctness and the public's right to know.
Officials at the Museum of Northern Arizona, which housed at least some of the bones and artifacts returned to the Hopis this year, cooperated with the repatriation and declined to discuss the Sinagua collection. The non-profit museum sponsored many of the area archaeological digs years ago and remains a repository for artifacts.
Kelley Hays-Gilpin, anthropology curator, said that those items were the property of the federal government and that only a fraction of the museum's collection was lost. "It's not like we're getting emptied out," she said.
Still, records and sources indicate that items claimed by the Hopis included one of the most scientifically important burial subjects ever found in the Southwest — and perhaps one of the most sacred of Hopi ancestors.
He is known as the Magician, and his remains were accompanied by a unique archaeological bounty.
Swallower of Sticks
The man was buried at a place known as the Ridge Ruin, about 20 miles outside Flagstaff, in an unremarkable house of stone and clay. He remained there, undisturbed, for 800 years.
Then, in the late 1930s, John C. McGregor, an archaeologist at the Museum of Northern Arizona, uncovered the skeleton, along with more than 600 carefully placed funerary objects: ornate jewelry, baskets, cutting blades, mountain-lion teeth, shells, a pointy cap made of beads and, as a final offering, 420 arrows.
McGregor found what he called "the most outstanding decorative basket that has ever been found in the Southwest," featuring 1,500 carefully cut pieces of turquoise as well as rows of other stones and rodent teeth.
Many items, such as an exotic macaw corpse, were from distant lands. Some researchers suggested that the man of about 40 was a traveling Aztec merchant, or pochteca.
But Hopis who assisted and consulted McGregor said many of the objects were associated with ancient tribal skills such as shape-shifting, combating witchcraft and controlling weather or warfare. For example, they said 13 wooden pointers, laid over the remains, were used in a sort of sword-swallowing feat of magic by members of a warrior society. They called the man Moochiwimi, or Swallower of Sticks.
In a 1943 article for the American Philosophical Society, McGregor wrote that the Magician comprised "the richest burial ever reported in the Southwest." Others described it as "The King Tut of Northern Arizona."
To this day, the Magician remains a subject of research and conjecture.
Michael O'Hara, a professor at Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, wrote about him last year in a paper for the Society for American Archaeology.
O'Hara disputed the theory that ceremonial items reflected wealth, suggesting instead that the interment of ritual objects helped mourners reorder their social unit after the loss of a key figure.
O'Hara, who did not respond to interview requests, wrote that the Magician represents a "spectacular and wholly unique" archaeological find that provides "unparalleled insights into the social roles present in Sinagua society."
The Hopi way
Even today, Hopi tribal structure is based on a network of social groups, each with specialized responsibilities, skills and secret rituals stemming from spiritual beliefs.
Religious practices are considered so sacred that the secrets are not even shared among various societies. No Hopi who was contacted for this story would comment.
That deep sense of privacy is exemplified in a "Protocol for Research and Publication" posted on the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office website.
The protocol prohibits archaeological, anthropological or historical work — even news stories — without permission, and authorizes censorship of information deemed sensitive or thought to misrepresent the Hopi way.
Twenty-two years ago, Congress adopted the repatriation act with support from most major archaeology and anthropology associations. The Heard Museum in Phoenix spearheaded recommendations.
The law established a process for Native Americans to reclaim bones, burial relics and other items of "cultural patrimony" that were collected by scientists or stolen by looters. Scores of museums and federal agencies are required to create lists of remains or sacred objects and determine whether those items are affiliated with modern indigenous groups. Inventories are supposed to be published in the Federal Register.
Nationwide, nearly 179,000 whole or partial corpses have been identified, with nearly 13,000 of those returned to tribes. More than two-thirds of the remains have not been linked to modern tribes.
In addition, museums and federal agencies have listed about 2 million funerary or sacred objects. Roughly 176,000 of those have been turned over to tribes.
Since 1996, the National NAGPRA Program has issued more than 500,000ドル in grants to the Hopi Tribe for repatriation.
The federal program is managed by Sherry Hutt, who served for years as a Maricopa County Superior Court judge. Hutt, who also prosecuted artifact looters as an assistant U.S. attorney in Phoenix, said the law gives indigenous people a tool to regain items that were rightfully theirs. To put it in context, she said, imagine if someone wanted to dig up your parents for a new roadway: Who should decide what is done with the remains?
"Really, what NAGPRA says is Native Americans are just like everybody else — no more, no less," Hutt said. "It does not say you can't do science. What it says is: 'These are not your personal property.'"
Destroying history?
Resistance from some scientists is hardly new. In an essay published 15 years ago, Grinnell College (Iowa) anthropologist John Whittaker discussed a great divide between researchers and Native Americans.
Whittaker opened with a stanza from the Indian protest song, "Here Come the Anthros," by the late Sioux musician Floyd Red Crow Westerman:
The Anthros keep on digging our sacred ceremonial sites
As if there's nothing wrong and education gives them the right.
But the more they keep on digging, the less they really see,
'Cause they got no respect, for you or for me.
Whittaker offered a response, without rhymes:
"He wants me to leave it alone; I want to excavate it and learn from it. He wants control to be in Indian hands; I regard it as a human heritage that belongs to all. … I am interested in his opinions about the past; he doesn't think I have anything to say to him."
Whittaker, who declined to comment for this story, argued in his essay that science honors the dead by studying their lives and adding historical understanding to present-day cultures. He wrote that NAGPRA is "subtly racist" and "disastrous for archaeology" because it makes research politically incorrect while wiping out the chance to learn from previous finds.
"The laws have resulted in the destruction by reburial of vast amounts of archaeological evidence," he said.
Other prominent researchers have made similar points in litigation against NAGPRA, arguing that ancient remains in North America go back 11,000 years or more and, in some cases, have no cultural or genetic ties with modern Indians.
In a famous suit known as the Kennewick Man case, two archaeologists at the Smithsonian Institution and a University of Arizona professor were among eight plaintiffs who blocked the transfer of a 9,000-year-old skeleton to tribes in Washington state. A federal judge ruled there was no evidence tying the remains to contemporary cultures or people, so scientists were entitled to conduct research under another law, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act.
C. Vance Haynes Jr., a professor emeritus of anthropology and geology at the University of Arizona, said he consulted with a Hopi colleague before signing on as plaintiff in the Kennewick case. "He told me, 'You know, Vance, we're not all one Indian. There are a lot of us who want to know where we came from, and about our past.'"
Haynes specializes in the roughly 13,000-year-old Clovis culture, among the earliest humans in North America. "NAGPRA is a very important law," he said. "But, when it comes to sites more than 4,000 years old, we need to be able to study. ... Our whole mission is to increase knowledge."
Cleone Hawkinson, an anthropologist and president of a group known as Friends of America's Past, said federal policy discriminates in favor of Native Americans and thwarts the quest to fathom human development.
"NAGPRA is a narrow law, unfairly administered," said Hawkinson, who assisted plaintiffs in the Kennewick case. "Factual understanding of the past is distorted when a limited group is singled out as rightful 'owners' of all of prehistory and scientific inquiry is prohibited to evaluate their claims."
Stolen remains
James Riding In, an American Indian studies scholar at Arizona State University, said indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere were victimized by grave-digging in the name of science and are only now able to let forebears rest in peace.
"The dead are not resources belonging to an invading culture," he said. "The problem is that archaeologists and anthropologists stole those remains and created those issues."
There is not a homogeneous Indian perspective on death or afterlife but scores of different beliefs, Riding In said. Some may welcome archaeological inquiry, he said, but many view the excavation and removal of corpses as taboo.
Riding In said his people, the Pawnees, are among the latter: "There's still a spirit associated with those remains. The only purpose for disturbing the dead (in Pawnee culture) is to do harm to the living through witchcraft."
Riding In, who has participated in a number of repatriation events, said bones and artifacts are usually reburied either where they were unearthed or in an ancestral homeland. He said that archaeology and anthropology sometimes help Native people learn about the past or verify sacred sites or objects but that modern science also denigrates their beliefs as fairy tales.
Tribes have a right to privacy in reclaiming the ancients, regardless of tax dollars expended, Riding In and others said. "It is a sovereignty issue that allows Indians to determine what happens to their deceased. … It should be respected," he said.
Since NAGPRA was adopted, remains from more than 1,200 humans have been claimed by Arizona tribes in about 40 repatriation events.
John McClelland, NAGPRA coordinator at the Arizona State Museum in Tucson, said he got no official word that Hopis took possession of the Magician, but there were rumors. He added that the event apparently included additional Sinagua items that had been housed at the museum in Tucson.
McClelland said that NAGPRA is a fact of life and that most contemporary archaeologists respect the sensitivity of living people even if they regret the vanishing of scientific materials that might yield new information about their forebears. "It's true, there is a loss," he said. "Basically, that's the reality these days. ... The bottom line is it's a matter of human rights and Native American rights."
Source: Dennis Wagner, The Arizona Republic
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Hospital Heals Old Artifacts
AA photo
As Turkey’s capital, Ankara is already home to some of the country’s best hospitals. For those tasked with protecting Turkey’s heritage, however, one stands out from the others: the restoration and conservation atelier at the Ankara Museum of Foundational Works – an “old artifact hospital.” This place is for “the healing of old artifacts,” said Özlem Erdem, one of the specialists that helps restore old artifacts from around the country. “We heal manuscripts from Turkey and even Turkish Cyprus, as well as carpets, kilims and wood artifacts and [artifacts] that are returned to the country after being smuggled abroad.”
Ultimately, the atelier helps clean and preserve Turkey’s ancient heritage for subsequent generations.
Artifacts in the atelier are first documented and photographed before being strengthened according to need, Erdem said. “We complete the work with proper materials and methods and prepare them for exhibition.”
The restoration specialist said many important artifacts from Kütahya, Antalya, Cyprus, Sivas, İzmir, Gaziantep and Kastamonu were undergoing restoration in the atelier, adding that the wood carving works of the Diviriği Ulu Mosque, which is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, were restored at the atelier.
Erdem is one of the restorers, along with Derya Şan and Ceyda Cüceloğlu.
Foundations Ankara Regional Director Aslan Yıldız said they were proud of having such an atelier to keep historical artifacts alive.
“We can restore all types of historical products here. In this way, we make a big contribution to the budget of the General Directorate of Foundations. We don’t procure services from anywhere else; we restore everything in our own atelier,” Yıldız said.
Yıldız said the establishment of a wider atelier was very important for Turkey because the country is very rich in terms of historic artifacts.
He also said the atelier had acquired a new washing tube for carpets and kilims that can be converted into a desk.
The Ankara Museum of Foundations Works features various examples of carpets collected from all around the country, as well as many other historical pieces. The museum building served as a law school from 1928 to 1941. In 2004, the building was restored to serve as a museum.
Paintings restored in Istanbul lab
Earlier this year in March, Türkiye İş Bankası opened the first painting conservation and restoration laboratory in Turkey as part of Mimar Sinan University with the aim of both supporting art and painting and conserving the country’s cultural heritage.
While the laboratory serves as a scientific base for the conservation and restoration of paintings, it is also becoming a base to raise professional restorers, according to cultural officials.
Source: Hurriyet Daily News
Excavation of Roman Art's Center Complete
Archaeologists who have completed the excavation of a 900-seat arts centre under one of Rome's busiest roundabouts are calling it the most important Roman discovery in 80 years.
The centre, built by the emperor Hadrian in AD123, offered three massive halls where Roman nobles flocked to hear poetry, speeches and philosophy tracts while reclining on terraced marble seating.
With the dig now completed, the terracing and the hulking brick walls of the complex, as well as stretches of the elegant grey and yellow marble flooring, are newly visible at bottom of a 5.5 metre (18ft) hole in Piazza Venezia, where police officers wearing white gloves direct chaotic traffic like orchestra conductors and where Mussolini harangued thousands of followers from his balcony.
"Hadrian's auditorium is the biggest find in Rome since the Forum was uncovered in the 1920s," said Rossella Rea, the archaeologist running the dig.
The excavations, which are now due to open to the public, are next to a taxi rank and squeezed between a baroque church and the Vittoriano, an imposing monument to Italy's defunct monarchy, which is nicknamed the Typewriter by locals.
The complex was only unearthed thanks to excavations to build a new underground railway line which will cross the heart of Rome. "We don't have funds for these kind of digs so this has come to light thanks to the new line," said Rea.
Archaeologists keeping a careful eye on what gets dug up have proved to be a mixed blessing for railway engineers, who have had to scrap plans for two stations in the heart of the centre of Rome when it was discovered their exits to the surface cut straight through Roman remains.
With the discovery of Hadrian's complex at Piazza Venezia, the line risked losing its last stop in the centre and being forced to run into the heart of Rome from the suburbs and straight out the other side without stopping. But Rea said the station and the ruins could coexist.
"I believe we can run one of the exits from the station along the original corridor of the complex where Romans entered the halls," she said.
The site sheds new light on Hadrian's love of poetry – he wrote his own verse in Latin and Greek – and his taste for bold architecture – an 11-metre-high (36ft) arched ceiling once towered over the poets in the central hall.
Today the performing space is riddled with pits dug for fires, revealing how after three centuries of celebrating the arts, the halls fell into disrepair with the collapse of the Roman empire and were used for smelting ingots.
At the centre of the main hall, like a prop from a disaster movie, is a massive, nine-by-five-metre chunk of the monumental roof which came crashing down during an earthquake in 848 after standing for seven centuries.
Following the quake, the halls were gradually covered over until a hospital built on top in the 16th century dug down for cellar space. "We found pots lobbed down a well after the patients using them died," said Rea. "We could date them because the designs on the glaze were the same we see on implements in Caravaggio paintings."
Source: Guardian
The centre, built by the emperor Hadrian in AD123, offered three massive halls where Roman nobles flocked to hear poetry, speeches and philosophy tracts while reclining on terraced marble seating.
With the dig now completed, the terracing and the hulking brick walls of the complex, as well as stretches of the elegant grey and yellow marble flooring, are newly visible at bottom of a 5.5 metre (18ft) hole in Piazza Venezia, where police officers wearing white gloves direct chaotic traffic like orchestra conductors and where Mussolini harangued thousands of followers from his balcony.
"Hadrian's auditorium is the biggest find in Rome since the Forum was uncovered in the 1920s," said Rossella Rea, the archaeologist running the dig.
The excavations, which are now due to open to the public, are next to a taxi rank and squeezed between a baroque church and the Vittoriano, an imposing monument to Italy's defunct monarchy, which is nicknamed the Typewriter by locals.
The complex was only unearthed thanks to excavations to build a new underground railway line which will cross the heart of Rome. "We don't have funds for these kind of digs so this has come to light thanks to the new line," said Rea.
Archaeologists keeping a careful eye on what gets dug up have proved to be a mixed blessing for railway engineers, who have had to scrap plans for two stations in the heart of the centre of Rome when it was discovered their exits to the surface cut straight through Roman remains.
With the discovery of Hadrian's complex at Piazza Venezia, the line risked losing its last stop in the centre and being forced to run into the heart of Rome from the suburbs and straight out the other side without stopping. But Rea said the station and the ruins could coexist.
"I believe we can run one of the exits from the station along the original corridor of the complex where Romans entered the halls," she said.
The site sheds new light on Hadrian's love of poetry – he wrote his own verse in Latin and Greek – and his taste for bold architecture – an 11-metre-high (36ft) arched ceiling once towered over the poets in the central hall.
Today the performing space is riddled with pits dug for fires, revealing how after three centuries of celebrating the arts, the halls fell into disrepair with the collapse of the Roman empire and were used for smelting ingots.
At the centre of the main hall, like a prop from a disaster movie, is a massive, nine-by-five-metre chunk of the monumental roof which came crashing down during an earthquake in 848 after standing for seven centuries.
Following the quake, the halls were gradually covered over until a hospital built on top in the 16th century dug down for cellar space. "We found pots lobbed down a well after the patients using them died," said Rea. "We could date them because the designs on the glaze were the same we see on implements in Caravaggio paintings."
Source: Guardian
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Sacred Vessels Discovered at Tel Motza
Rare evidence of the religious practices and rituals in the early days of the Kingdom of Judah has recently been discovered at Tel Motza, to the west of Jerusalem. In excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is currently conducting at the Tel Motza archaeological site, prior to work being carried out on the new Highway 1 from Sha'ar HaGai to Jerusalem by the National Roads Company (previously the Public Works Department), a ritual building (a temple) and a cache of sacred vessels some 2,750 years old have been uncovered.
According to Anna Eirikh, Dr. Hamoudi Khalaily and Shua Kisilevitz, directors of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The ritual building at Tel Motza is an unusual and striking find, in light of the fact that there are hardly any remains of ritual buildings of the period in Judaea at the time of the First Temple. The uniqueness of the structure is even more remarkable because of the vicinity of the site's proximity to the capital city of Jerusalem, which acted as the Kingdom's main sacred center at the time." According to the archaeologists, "Among other finds, the site has yielded pottery figurines of men, one of them bearded, whose significance is still unknown."
Tel Motza and the surrounding region are renowned for their prime archaeological importance. Many finds have previously been uncovered at the site, from a variety of different periods. From the 1990's to the beginning of the present millennium, the site was excavated in preparation for the new route taken by Highway 1. At the time, the site's archaeologists proposed once more identifying the site with the Biblical settlement "Mozah" mentioned in the Book of Joshua - a town in the tribal lands of Benjamin bordering on Judaea (Joshua 18: 26). The proposal was based, among other things, on the discovery at the site of a public building, a large structure with storehouses, and a considerable number of silos. At the time, archaeologists identified the site as a storehouse, run by high-ranking officials, for Jerusalem's grain supplies.
The current excavations have revealed evidence that provides another aspect to our understanding of the site. According to archaeologists Eirikh, Dr. Khalaily and, Kisilevitz, the current excavation has revealed part of a large structure, from the early days of the monarchic period (Iron Age IIA). The walls of the structure are massive, and it includes a wide, east-facing entrance, conforming to the tradition of temple construction in the ancient Near East: the rays of the sun rising in the east would have illuminated the object placed inside the temple first, symbolizing the divine presence within. A square structure which was probably an altar was exposed in the temple courtyard, and the cache of sacred vessels was found near the structure.
The assemblage includes ritual pottery vessels, with fragments of chalices (bowls on a high base which were used in sacred rituals), decorated ritual pedestals, and a number of pottery figurines of two kinds: the first, small heads in human form (anthropomorphic) with a flat headdress and curling hair; the second, figurines of animals (zoomorphic) - mainly of harnessed animals. The archeologists stress that "the find of the sacred structure together with the accompanying cache of sacred vessels, and especially the significant coastal influence evident in the anthropomorphic figurines, still require extensive research."
Ritual elements in the Kingdom of Judah are recorded in archaeological research, especially from the numerous finds of pottery figurines and other sacred objects found at many sites in Israel, and these are usually attributed to domestic rituals. However, the remains of ritual platforms and temples used for ritual ceremonies have only been found at a few sites of this period.
According to the site's directors, "The finds recently discovered at Tel Motza provide rare archaeological evidence for the existence of temples and ritual enclosures in the Kingdom of Judah in general, and in the Jerusalem region in particular, prior to the religious reforms throughout the kingdom at the end of the monarchic period (at the time of Hezekiah and Isaiah), which abolished all ritual sites, concentrating ritual practices solely at the Temple in Jerusalem."
Source: Israel Minitry of Affairs
(Photo: Clara Amit, courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority)
According to Anna Eirikh, Dr. Hamoudi Khalaily and Shua Kisilevitz, directors of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The ritual building at Tel Motza is an unusual and striking find, in light of the fact that there are hardly any remains of ritual buildings of the period in Judaea at the time of the First Temple. The uniqueness of the structure is even more remarkable because of the vicinity of the site's proximity to the capital city of Jerusalem, which acted as the Kingdom's main sacred center at the time." According to the archaeologists, "Among other finds, the site has yielded pottery figurines of men, one of them bearded, whose significance is still unknown."
Tel Motza and the surrounding region are renowned for their prime archaeological importance. Many finds have previously been uncovered at the site, from a variety of different periods. From the 1990's to the beginning of the present millennium, the site was excavated in preparation for the new route taken by Highway 1. At the time, the site's archaeologists proposed once more identifying the site with the Biblical settlement "Mozah" mentioned in the Book of Joshua - a town in the tribal lands of Benjamin bordering on Judaea (Joshua 18: 26). The proposal was based, among other things, on the discovery at the site of a public building, a large structure with storehouses, and a considerable number of silos. At the time, archaeologists identified the site as a storehouse, run by high-ranking officials, for Jerusalem's grain supplies.
The current excavations have revealed evidence that provides another aspect to our understanding of the site. According to archaeologists Eirikh, Dr. Khalaily and, Kisilevitz, the current excavation has revealed part of a large structure, from the early days of the monarchic period (Iron Age IIA). The walls of the structure are massive, and it includes a wide, east-facing entrance, conforming to the tradition of temple construction in the ancient Near East: the rays of the sun rising in the east would have illuminated the object placed inside the temple first, symbolizing the divine presence within. A square structure which was probably an altar was exposed in the temple courtyard, and the cache of sacred vessels was found near the structure.
The assemblage includes ritual pottery vessels, with fragments of chalices (bowls on a high base which were used in sacred rituals), decorated ritual pedestals, and a number of pottery figurines of two kinds: the first, small heads in human form (anthropomorphic) with a flat headdress and curling hair; the second, figurines of animals (zoomorphic) - mainly of harnessed animals. The archeologists stress that "the find of the sacred structure together with the accompanying cache of sacred vessels, and especially the significant coastal influence evident in the anthropomorphic figurines, still require extensive research."
Ritual elements in the Kingdom of Judah are recorded in archaeological research, especially from the numerous finds of pottery figurines and other sacred objects found at many sites in Israel, and these are usually attributed to domestic rituals. However, the remains of ritual platforms and temples used for ritual ceremonies have only been found at a few sites of this period.
According to the site's directors, "The finds recently discovered at Tel Motza provide rare archaeological evidence for the existence of temples and ritual enclosures in the Kingdom of Judah in general, and in the Jerusalem region in particular, prior to the religious reforms throughout the kingdom at the end of the monarchic period (at the time of Hezekiah and Isaiah), which abolished all ritual sites, concentrating ritual practices solely at the Temple in Jerusalem."
Source: Israel Minitry of Affairs
Monday, December 24, 2012
Crowd Gathers at Stonehenge for Winter Solstice
More than 5,000 people have gathered to mark the winter solstice at Stonehenge.
The attendance was equivalent to five times the number that turned out at Salisbury Plain for last year's event.
More people had been predicted to congregate, as the date coincides with the end of the 5,125-year "long count" cycle of the Mayan calendar.
Druids and pagans are among those who head to Stonehenge each December to watch the sunrise on the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Wiltshire Police said "well over" 5,000 people had gathered to watch the sunrise over the giant stones at 08:05 GMT. The force said one person was arrested for being drunk and disorderly, and given a fixed penalty notice.
BBC Wiltshire reporter Annie Weston, at the scene, said: "This is the only time when people are allowed into the circle of stones.
"It is absolutely packed. People are cheering and chanting and everybody was looking towards the sun for that special moment.
"There are flags flying, druids here too and people of various religions and faiths."
She spoke with Shelby McCabe, from Honolulu in Hawaii, who said it was "the perfect day".
"All my friends are very jealous that I am here. They would love to be here. They told me to take 1,000 photos which I think I've done," she said.
Donna Nicholson, from Swindon, woke up at 03:00 GMT to get to the stones on time.
She said it was "exciting" to be there for the "new birth of a new era".
This year's solstice date also marks the conclusion of the long count cycle of the Mayan calendar, which some people believe indicates the end of the world.
Although the exact time of the solstice this year - when the Earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun - is at 11:11 GMT, English Heritage provided access to the stones earlier in the morning.
Source: BBC
The attendance was equivalent to five times the number that turned out at Salisbury Plain for last year's event.
More people had been predicted to congregate, as the date coincides with the end of the 5,125-year "long count" cycle of the Mayan calendar.
Druids and pagans are among those who head to Stonehenge each December to watch the sunrise on the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Wiltshire Police said "well over" 5,000 people had gathered to watch the sunrise over the giant stones at 08:05 GMT. The force said one person was arrested for being drunk and disorderly, and given a fixed penalty notice.
BBC Wiltshire reporter Annie Weston, at the scene, said: "This is the only time when people are allowed into the circle of stones.
"It is absolutely packed. People are cheering and chanting and everybody was looking towards the sun for that special moment.
"There are flags flying, druids here too and people of various religions and faiths."
She spoke with Shelby McCabe, from Honolulu in Hawaii, who said it was "the perfect day".
"All my friends are very jealous that I am here. They would love to be here. They told me to take 1,000 photos which I think I've done," she said.
Donna Nicholson, from Swindon, woke up at 03:00 GMT to get to the stones on time.
She said it was "exciting" to be there for the "new birth of a new era".
This year's solstice date also marks the conclusion of the long count cycle of the Mayan calendar, which some people believe indicates the end of the world.
Although the exact time of the solstice this year - when the Earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun - is at 11:11 GMT, English Heritage provided access to the stones earlier in the morning.
Source: BBC
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Interview with the Founder of Dig-It Games and Creator of Mayan Mysteries
I had the immense pleasure of interviewing Suzi Wilczynski, the founder of Dig-It Games. Suzi is a former archaeologist and teacher who has bridged the gap between entertainment and education. Her games were created for people who crave the challenge of a puzzle and who seek knowledge by solving the complexities of a mysterious ancient society through critical thinking.
Her latest creation, Mayan Mysteries, incorporates archaeology techniques with an exhilarating adventure and journey, which leads players into a Maya world of intrigue and mystery. One aspect, and the most important I believe, which makes this game unique, is the fact that it allows the player to use their prior knowledge to break apart information and make sense of it using a combination of science, math, reading, and geographical knowledge and skills.
[フレーム]
I read that you are a former archaeologist. What was your area of expertise and did you ever discover anything exciting on digs?
I am a Mediterranean archaeologist, with a focus on Bronze Age Greece and cultural interactions. I studied Roman Archaeology in college and spent many seasons at Roman and Byzantine sites in Greece and the Middle East. In my first season, I found the most unusual artifacts: Roman curse tablets. They were thin sheets of lead that people inscribed curses on, then folded up and threw in a well. It was fascinating. We also found a number of complete pottery and glass vessels in that well. It was pretty exciting.
When you started creating archaeology games, did you have the intention of integrating real archaeology terms into the game play like: superposition, carbon dating, trowel, etc?
Absolutely. My games are designed to teach archaeology and terminology plays a huge part. Roman Town included a number of vocabulary-related games. Mayan Mysteries focuses more on concepts such as stratigraphy, recording, context, dating and proper excavation methodology. We incorporate real archaeological tools and techniques as well. My games are authentic archaeological experiences.
How long did it take you to conceptualize this game? Did you employ others’ knowledge while creating it?
For Mayan Mysteries, it took approximately a year from preliminary research to launch. It was a bit more for Roman Town since I had a lot to learn about game design as well. For the content in Mayan Mysteries I worked with Dr. Robert J. Sharer from the University of Pennsylvania, an expert in the field. My process for game design is iterative rather than top down, which means that the design changes during development. So everyone involved in development (programmers, artists, writers, testers) had an impact on the final product.
What was your real motivation behind Mayan Mysteries? Was it for educational purposes or pure pleasure?
Mayan Mysteries was designed as an educational tool. Content was built around National Standards and the Teacher Management System was part of the original design. The mission of Dig-It! Games is to make interactive, educational products that seamlessly blend fun and learning. It is impossible to play one of our games without learning something. Having said that, I won’t release a game unless it’s fun, so we worked hard to make sure that we ended up with an educational tool that is enjoyable outside the classroom. Based on feedback from casual users, we’ve succeeded in making a fun game that happens to be educational.
What age group did you have in mind when you began creating this game?
Mayan Mysteries was created specifically for middle school students. When my own children were ages 11 through14, there were very few products designed specifically for them. Unfortunately, that’s still the case. Middle school students are an underserved group when it comes to games and fun educational products. As an educator, I also believe strongly that middle school education needs to include an emphasis on analytical and critical thinking skills. As a scientist, I feel that middle school is the time when kids need to learn the basic scientific and logical thinking that will enable them to be successful in STEM subjects down the road. I also happen to just like this age group, so it’s enjoyable for me to create products for them, and I love to watch them play my games: you can see the moments when things just start to click for them and the history, science and math suddenly make sense in their lives.
The processes of archaeology can be difficult to understand for a novice. Will Mayan Mysteries be difficult to understand and navigate for younger children?
Mayan Mysteries is an in-depth, immersive historical experience for anyone ages 11 and older. Younger children will struggle with some of the puzzles, but can play with help from a parent or older child. Additionally, Mayan Mysteries is a historically accurate depiction of the Maya culture; some topics such as warfare and sacrifices may not be appropriate for children younger than 11. There is no violence or graphic images in Mayan Mysteries, but some younger children may be disturbed by the concepts discussed. As far as the archaeological content, my goal is to make archaeology accessible to young people. As you say, it can be difficult to understand, and archaeologists often have trouble explaining what they do in simple terms. Dig-It! Games is changing that by creating immersive experiences that turn players into archaeologists. We blend archaeological concepts and methodology with fun, intuitive game play. Players walk away from our games with a true understanding of the fundamentals and importance of archaeology.
Mayan history is very complex with the symbology, culture, architecture, etc. How accurate really is the content in the game, especially if it’s geared towards a younger player who has no prior knowledge of Mayan culture?
The content in Mayan Mysteries was developed with the assistance of Dr. Robert J. Sharer, a world-renowned Maya expert. All the content is 100 percent historically accurate. Additionally, our sites are real places, our artifacts are completely authentic, and we use real Mayan glyphs and terms throughout the game. We incorporate real archaeological tools and techniques as well. Mayan Mysteries is an authentic and historically accurate representation of the Maya, incorporating detailed factual information about the ancient civilization. Our in-game encyclopedia includes more than 300 factual entries, each one paired with photos of actual Maya sites and artifacts as well as artists’ renderings of people, places, artifacts and glyphs. It was important to both Dr. Sharer and me that we create a game that was enjoyable while remaining true to history. I think we did that very well.
I’m a TESOL teacher, how do you think speakers of other languages would be able to navigate with Mayan Mysteries?
Mayan Mysteries was designed for English speakers with at least a 5th grade reading level. Some of the vocabulary may be tricky for non-English speakers, but most difficult terms are connected to links to definitions within the in-game encyclopedia. There are some Spanish terms used in the game, and much of the culture will be familiar to native Spanish speakers from Mexico and Central America. One of my goals with Mayan Mysteries was to create a game that would be successful for all different types of learners. For that reason, every part of the game includes voice-overs reading the text, which should help non-English speakers as well as auditory learners and kids who are not strong readers. The concepts of the game are universal and not reliant on any previous knowledge and game play is intuitive, so the original language of the user is not a factor in understanding and enjoying Mayan Mysteries.
What is it that you hope players will gain from playing Mayan Mysteries?
From playing Mayan Mysteries, players will have a deep understanding of: the fundamentals and importance of archaeology, methods of historical study including the use of primary sources, Maya history and culture, the Maya number system, the Maya calendar, the Mayan language, and Central American Geography.
Players will also gain an understanding of how beliefs are transmitted in societies, what culture is and how it is expressed, the methods by which governments and institutions develop and exercise authority, economic concepts such as trade, markets and production and distribution of goods, and how culture, government and belief systems influence and are influenced by scientific achievements. Finally, players will develop an understanding of why it is important to study the past and how past cultures influence modern life through interaction with Maya artifacts and an examination of Maya culture.
In addition, Mayan Mysteries uses puzzles and problem-solving exercises to develop and enrich kids’ analytical thinking, creative thinking, and independent learning skills. Puzzles about the Maya calendar, number system, and daily life assess reading comprehension, geographical knowledge, spatial reasoning, and science and math skills. Game play also requires players to test fact retention and knowledge in fun challenges.
Do you have intentions of creating archaeology games with the expert archaeologist or grad student, like myself, in mind?
My focus is on introducing elementary and middle school students to ancient civilizations in a way that is meaningful and understandable within their lives. I believe that archaeology is a powerful teaching tool for social studies: it brings history to life while encouraging students to use skills from multiple disciplines such as math, science and language arts. My goal is to create entertaining, interactive games that can be played at school or at home to truly engage children in the science of archaeology and educate them about civilizations and cultures in an immersive way that goes beyond what they can experience from a textbook or film.
Will Mayan Mysteries eventually be offered on more game systems in the future?
Mayan Mysteries can be played on Mac, PC, and tablet devices. We’re also happy to announce Mayan Mysteries is now available as an iPad app so it can be downloaded and played anytime, anywhere!
Are you still immersed in teaching and archaeology or are you spending more time creating new games?
Dig-It! Games is a full-time job, but I also follow the latest developments in education and archaeology.
Her latest creation, Mayan Mysteries, incorporates archaeology techniques with an exhilarating adventure and journey, which leads players into a Maya world of intrigue and mystery. One aspect, and the most important I believe, which makes this game unique, is the fact that it allows the player to use their prior knowledge to break apart information and make sense of it using a combination of science, math, reading, and geographical knowledge and skills.
[フレーム]
Interview with Suzi Wilczynski: Mayan Mysteries
I read that you are a former archaeologist. What was your area of expertise and did you ever discover anything exciting on digs?
I am a Mediterranean archaeologist, with a focus on Bronze Age Greece and cultural interactions. I studied Roman Archaeology in college and spent many seasons at Roman and Byzantine sites in Greece and the Middle East. In my first season, I found the most unusual artifacts: Roman curse tablets. They were thin sheets of lead that people inscribed curses on, then folded up and threw in a well. It was fascinating. We also found a number of complete pottery and glass vessels in that well. It was pretty exciting.
When you started creating archaeology games, did you have the intention of integrating real archaeology terms into the game play like: superposition, carbon dating, trowel, etc?
Absolutely. My games are designed to teach archaeology and terminology plays a huge part. Roman Town included a number of vocabulary-related games. Mayan Mysteries focuses more on concepts such as stratigraphy, recording, context, dating and proper excavation methodology. We incorporate real archaeological tools and techniques as well. My games are authentic archaeological experiences.
How long did it take you to conceptualize this game? Did you employ others’ knowledge while creating it?
For Mayan Mysteries, it took approximately a year from preliminary research to launch. It was a bit more for Roman Town since I had a lot to learn about game design as well. For the content in Mayan Mysteries I worked with Dr. Robert J. Sharer from the University of Pennsylvania, an expert in the field. My process for game design is iterative rather than top down, which means that the design changes during development. So everyone involved in development (programmers, artists, writers, testers) had an impact on the final product.
What was your real motivation behind Mayan Mysteries? Was it for educational purposes or pure pleasure?
Mayan Mysteries was designed as an educational tool. Content was built around National Standards and the Teacher Management System was part of the original design. The mission of Dig-It! Games is to make interactive, educational products that seamlessly blend fun and learning. It is impossible to play one of our games without learning something. Having said that, I won’t release a game unless it’s fun, so we worked hard to make sure that we ended up with an educational tool that is enjoyable outside the classroom. Based on feedback from casual users, we’ve succeeded in making a fun game that happens to be educational.
What age group did you have in mind when you began creating this game?
Mayan Mysteries was created specifically for middle school students. When my own children were ages 11 through14, there were very few products designed specifically for them. Unfortunately, that’s still the case. Middle school students are an underserved group when it comes to games and fun educational products. As an educator, I also believe strongly that middle school education needs to include an emphasis on analytical and critical thinking skills. As a scientist, I feel that middle school is the time when kids need to learn the basic scientific and logical thinking that will enable them to be successful in STEM subjects down the road. I also happen to just like this age group, so it’s enjoyable for me to create products for them, and I love to watch them play my games: you can see the moments when things just start to click for them and the history, science and math suddenly make sense in their lives.
The processes of archaeology can be difficult to understand for a novice. Will Mayan Mysteries be difficult to understand and navigate for younger children?
Mayan Mysteries is an in-depth, immersive historical experience for anyone ages 11 and older. Younger children will struggle with some of the puzzles, but can play with help from a parent or older child. Additionally, Mayan Mysteries is a historically accurate depiction of the Maya culture; some topics such as warfare and sacrifices may not be appropriate for children younger than 11. There is no violence or graphic images in Mayan Mysteries, but some younger children may be disturbed by the concepts discussed. As far as the archaeological content, my goal is to make archaeology accessible to young people. As you say, it can be difficult to understand, and archaeologists often have trouble explaining what they do in simple terms. Dig-It! Games is changing that by creating immersive experiences that turn players into archaeologists. We blend archaeological concepts and methodology with fun, intuitive game play. Players walk away from our games with a true understanding of the fundamentals and importance of archaeology.
Mayan history is very complex with the symbology, culture, architecture, etc. How accurate really is the content in the game, especially if it’s geared towards a younger player who has no prior knowledge of Mayan culture?
The content in Mayan Mysteries was developed with the assistance of Dr. Robert J. Sharer, a world-renowned Maya expert. All the content is 100 percent historically accurate. Additionally, our sites are real places, our artifacts are completely authentic, and we use real Mayan glyphs and terms throughout the game. We incorporate real archaeological tools and techniques as well. Mayan Mysteries is an authentic and historically accurate representation of the Maya, incorporating detailed factual information about the ancient civilization. Our in-game encyclopedia includes more than 300 factual entries, each one paired with photos of actual Maya sites and artifacts as well as artists’ renderings of people, places, artifacts and glyphs. It was important to both Dr. Sharer and me that we create a game that was enjoyable while remaining true to history. I think we did that very well.
I’m a TESOL teacher, how do you think speakers of other languages would be able to navigate with Mayan Mysteries?
Mayan Mysteries was designed for English speakers with at least a 5th grade reading level. Some of the vocabulary may be tricky for non-English speakers, but most difficult terms are connected to links to definitions within the in-game encyclopedia. There are some Spanish terms used in the game, and much of the culture will be familiar to native Spanish speakers from Mexico and Central America. One of my goals with Mayan Mysteries was to create a game that would be successful for all different types of learners. For that reason, every part of the game includes voice-overs reading the text, which should help non-English speakers as well as auditory learners and kids who are not strong readers. The concepts of the game are universal and not reliant on any previous knowledge and game play is intuitive, so the original language of the user is not a factor in understanding and enjoying Mayan Mysteries.
What is it that you hope players will gain from playing Mayan Mysteries?
From playing Mayan Mysteries, players will have a deep understanding of: the fundamentals and importance of archaeology, methods of historical study including the use of primary sources, Maya history and culture, the Maya number system, the Maya calendar, the Mayan language, and Central American Geography.
Players will also gain an understanding of how beliefs are transmitted in societies, what culture is and how it is expressed, the methods by which governments and institutions develop and exercise authority, economic concepts such as trade, markets and production and distribution of goods, and how culture, government and belief systems influence and are influenced by scientific achievements. Finally, players will develop an understanding of why it is important to study the past and how past cultures influence modern life through interaction with Maya artifacts and an examination of Maya culture.
In addition, Mayan Mysteries uses puzzles and problem-solving exercises to develop and enrich kids’ analytical thinking, creative thinking, and independent learning skills. Puzzles about the Maya calendar, number system, and daily life assess reading comprehension, geographical knowledge, spatial reasoning, and science and math skills. Game play also requires players to test fact retention and knowledge in fun challenges.
Do you have intentions of creating archaeology games with the expert archaeologist or grad student, like myself, in mind?
My focus is on introducing elementary and middle school students to ancient civilizations in a way that is meaningful and understandable within their lives. I believe that archaeology is a powerful teaching tool for social studies: it brings history to life while encouraging students to use skills from multiple disciplines such as math, science and language arts. My goal is to create entertaining, interactive games that can be played at school or at home to truly engage children in the science of archaeology and educate them about civilizations and cultures in an immersive way that goes beyond what they can experience from a textbook or film.
Will Mayan Mysteries eventually be offered on more game systems in the future?
Mayan Mysteries can be played on Mac, PC, and tablet devices. We’re also happy to announce Mayan Mysteries is now available as an iPad app so it can be downloaded and played anytime, anywhere!
Are you still immersed in teaching and archaeology or are you spending more time creating new games?
Dig-It! Games is a full-time job, but I also follow the latest developments in education and archaeology.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Truth of Words: A Historical Museum Exhibit
Last year I created a museum exhibit based on a letter written by Moses Seixas and the answer that one congregation received after George Washington visited Newport in August 1790, three months after Rhode Island joined the United States.
Although it's not archaeology, it is history and heritage, and here at Ancient Digger I like to share both.
If you have questions after you take a look, please feel free to leave comments below.
Credits
Although it's not archaeology, it is history and heritage, and here at Ancient Digger I like to share both.
If you have questions after you take a look, please feel free to leave comments below.
Truth of Words: How One Congregation Spoke and Every Listened
Credits
- Chernos Lin, Rachel. "The Rhode Island Slave-Traders: Butchers, Bakers and Candlestick-Makers." Slavery & Abolition: A Journal of Slave and Post-Slave Studies. 23.3 (2002): 21-38. Print.
- Diner, Hasia R. The Jews of the United States. London: University of California Press,2004.
- Haas, William P. "Touro Synagogue." Community Scholar Publications. Paper 7 (2010):1-7. Web. 13 Apr. 2012.
- Haynes, Charles C. Religion in American History: What to Teach and How. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1990. eBook.
- "History of Touro Synagogue." Touro Synagogue. Congregation Jeshuat Israel, TouroSynagogue Foundation, and George Washington Institute for Religious Freedom, n.d.Web. 17 Mar 2012.
- Main Street, Westerly, Rhode Island, 1900s. N.d. Photograph. Family Old Photos, Westerly.Schor, Esther H . Emma Lazarus . 1st ed. New York: Random House, Inc, 2006. 5. Print.
- Seixas, Moses. “Address to the President from the Hebrew Congregation.” The Papers ofGeorge Washington. University of Virginia, 18 August 1790. Web
- Sephardi Jews. 2009. Photograph. Wikipedia.
- Tombstone of Moses Seixas at Newport, R. l.. N.d. Photograph. Jewish Encyclopedia.
- Washington, George. "GW's Reply to the Hebrew Congregation." The Papers of George Washington. University of Virginia, 18 August 1790. Web. 16 Mar 2012.
Japanese archaeologists find 1,400 year old Kofun-period warrior still in armor
A 1,400 year old Kofun-period warrior, still dressed in his lamellar suit of armor, was unearthed at the Harunayama Futatsudake excavation site. The warrior, together with an infant, were probably killed and buried during a volcanic eruption, archaeologists believe.
Located in Gunma Prefecture, the Kanai Higashiura site, together with the nearby Kuroimine and Nakasuji, has been called the “Pompeii of Japan” because the whole area was buried after the eruption Harunayama Futatsudake in the early part of the sixth century. Over the years, around 600 armored suits have been discovered, but this is the first time that the suit was still worn by its owner. The common name for these suits are kozaneko or keiko, and normally they are found in tombs, next to its owner.
This particular warrior was found face down in the direction of the volcano and might have been kneeling at the time of the eruption, then fell face forward. He wasn’t wearing a full suit, just protection for his torso and thighs, which might mean he wasn’t on official duty. He might have been trying to escape the volcano’s wrath by running for cover with his family.
Archeologists further theorize that this warrior was part of an elite group of soldiers. Based on his size and the armor design that could be found on tombs, it might even be that he was a local ruler. Further examination of the remains might lead to a deeper understanding of the local history of this lost town or city.
Source: iO9
Located in Gunma Prefecture, the Kanai Higashiura site, together with the nearby Kuroimine and Nakasuji, has been called the “Pompeii of Japan” because the whole area was buried after the eruption Harunayama Futatsudake in the early part of the sixth century. Over the years, around 600 armored suits have been discovered, but this is the first time that the suit was still worn by its owner. The common name for these suits are kozaneko or keiko, and normally they are found in tombs, next to its owner.
This particular warrior was found face down in the direction of the volcano and might have been kneeling at the time of the eruption, then fell face forward. He wasn’t wearing a full suit, just protection for his torso and thighs, which might mean he wasn’t on official duty. He might have been trying to escape the volcano’s wrath by running for cover with his family.
Archeologists further theorize that this warrior was part of an elite group of soldiers. Based on his size and the armor design that could be found on tombs, it might even be that he was a local ruler. Further examination of the remains might lead to a deeper understanding of the local history of this lost town or city.
Source: iO9
Prehistoric Humans Cared for Their Sick
Lorna Tilley, The New York Times
While it is a painful truism that brutality and violence are at least as old as humanity, so, it seems, is caring for the sick and disabled. And some archaeologists are suggesting a closer, more systematic look at how prehistoric people — who may have left only their bones — treated illness, injury and incapacitation. Call it the archaeology of health care.The case that led Lorna Tilley and Marc Oxenham of Australian National University in Canberra to this idea is that of a profoundly ill young man who lived 4,000 years ago in what is now northern Vietnam and was buried, as were others in his culture, at a site known as Man Bac.
Almost all the other skeletons at the site, south of Hanoi and about 15 miles from the coast, lie straight. Burial 9, as both the remains and the once living person are known, was laid to rest curled in the fetal position. When Tilley, a graduate student in archaeology, and Oxenham, a professor, excavated and examined the skeleton in 2007 it became clear why. His fused vertebrae, weak bones and other evidence suggested that he lies in death as he did in life, bent and crippled by disease.
They gathered that he became paralyzed from the waist down before adolescence, the result of a congenital disease known as Klippel-Feil syndrome. He had little, if any, use of his arms and could not have fed himself or kept himself clean. But he lived another 10 years or so.
They concluded that the people around him who had no metal and lived by fishing, hunting and raising barely domesticated pigs, took the time and care to tend to his every need.
"There's an emotional experience in excavating any human being, a feeling of awe," Tilley said, and a responsibility "to tell the story with as much accuracy and humanity as we can."
This case, and other similar, if less extreme examples of illness and disability, have prompted Tilley and Oxenham to ask what the dimensions of such a story are, what care for the sick and injured says about the culture that provided it.
The archaeologists described the extent of Burial 9's disability in a paper in Anthropological Science in 2009. Two years later, they returned to the case to address the issue of health care head on.
"The provision and receipt of health care may therefore reflect some of the most fundamental aspects of a culture," the two archaeologists wrote in The International Journal of Paleopathology.
In the case of Burial 9, Tilley says, not only does his care indicate tolerance and cooperation in his culture but suggests that he himself had a sense of his own worth and a strong will to live. Without that, she says, he could not have stayed alive.
"I'm obviously not the first archaeologist" to notice evidence of people who needed help to survive in stone age or other early cultures, she said. Nor does her method "come out of the blue." It is based on and extends previous work.
Among archaeological finds, she said, she knows "about 30 cases in which the disease or pathology was so severe, they must have had care in order to survive."
Source: The New York Times, The Denver Post
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Adventurers Meet on Ancient Ruins to await End of World
A few words by an American scholar, a crumbling Mexican monument and the love of a good yarn were all it took to spawn the belief that the world could end this week.
December 21 marks the end of an age in a 5125 year-old Maya calendar, an event that is variously interpreted as the end of days, the start of a new era or just a good excuse for a party.
Thousands of New Age mystics, spiritual adventurers and canny businessmen are converging on ancient ruins in southern Mexico and Guatemala to find out what will happen.
"No one knows what it will look like on the other side," said Michael Di Martino, 46, a long-haired American who is organizing one of the biggest December 21 celebrations at the Maya temple site of Chichen Itza on the Yucatan peninsula.
It is not the world but "the way we perceive it" that will end, said DiMartino, who pledged his event at ground zero for 2012 acolytes will be a "distilling down of various perspectives into a unified intention for positive transformation, evolution and co-creation of a new way of being."
A mash-up of academic speculation and existential angst seasoned with elements from several world religions, the 2012 phenomenon has been fueled by Hollywood movies and computer games, and relentlessly disseminated by Internet doom-mongers.
Mass hysteria in a Russian prison, a Chinese man building survival pods for doomsday and UFO lovers seeking refuge with aliens in a French mountain village are just some of the reports that have sprung up in the final countdown to December 21.
Robert Bast, a New Zealander living in Melbourne who wrote a book called "Survive 2012" on how to cope with the possible catastrophe, believes the Maya may have sent out a warning.
"The most likely thing for me is a solar storm, but that's not going to kill you straight away. It's more of a long term disaster," said Bast, 47, noting a flu pandemic could also strike the planet. "I feel the world isn't as safe as we think it is. The last couple of generations have had it very cosy."
When dawn breaks on Friday, according to the Maya Long Count calendar, it marks the end of the 13th bak'tun - an epoch lasting some 400 years - and the beginning of the 14th.
This fact would probably have languished in academic obscurity had not a young Maya expert named Michael Coe written in the 1960s that to the ancient Mesoamerican culture the date could herald an "Armageddon" to cleanse humanity.
Since then, the cult of 2012 has snowballed.
Among the sun-bleached pyramids, shaded mangroves and deep cenotes of the Maya heartland, there are hopes December 21 will bring a spiritual re-birth.
Nobody seems quite sure what to expect on Friday, but it has not stopped people getting their hopes up.
"This is the Arab Spring of the spiritual movement," said Geoffrey Ocean Dreyer, a 52-year-old US musician wearing a sombrero and mardi gras beads. "We're going to create world peace. We're going to Jerusalem and we're going to rebuild Solomon's temple."
ANXIETY ATTACKS
The words of Coe, a highly respected Maya scholar, were published in 1966 at the height of the Cold War, stirring fears in a world haunted by the prospect of nuclear holocaust.
Coe could not be reached for comment for this article, but friends and academics who know him insist he never meant to inspire a vision of apocalypse when he committed them to paper.
Stephen Houston, a Maya expert at Brown University in Rhode Island and student of Coe's, said too much has been read into the end of the 13th bak'tun, which was little more than a "dull mathematical declaration" used to bracket dates.
"I see it all as an expression of present day anxiety and not much more than that," Houston said.
Few remaining inscriptions refer to the event, and the best known one is part of a monument recovered from a Maya site in Tabasco state called Tortuguero - much of which was torn down in the 1960s to make way for the construction of a cement factory.
Still, the mix of religion, ancient inscriptions and media-driven speculation about impending doom remains potent.
"I got an email the other day from a mother who was contemplating taking her own life, because she didn't know what was really going to happen, she didn't want her children to live through this ordeal," said David Stuart, a Maya expert at the University of Texas. "We can dismiss it as a kooky idea, which it is, but they're still ideas and they still have power."
US space agency NASA has sought to allay fears of impending catastrophe, noting that "our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012."
Nothing has given the 2012 theories more oxygen in the run-up to the big day than the Internet, noted John Hoopes, a Maya anthropologist at the University of Kansas.
"Computers come straight out of the same people who were smoking pot and protesting at Berkeley and Stanford," he said, referring to US student movements in the 1960s.
"This Maya calendar stuff has been part of hacktivism lore for 40 years, since the beginning, and with every significant change in computer technology, it's gotten another boost."
Many of those gathering in Chichen Itza praised the Internet as a discussion forum and organizing tool for New Age events.
"We don't need leaders now we have the Internet," said Muggy Burton, 66, who had traveled to Mexico from Canada with her 15-year-old, blue-haired granddaughter, Talis Hardy.
The two, who communicate with each other by whistling, plan to live in Mexico for six months, according to Burton, who is going to homeschool Hardy. "It's the end of the world for her, and the beginning of a new one," she added.
MAYA SKEPTICS
Mexico's federal government is not officially marking the phenomenon, but the country's tourism agency has launched a "Mundo Maya 2012" website with a countdown to December 21.
Up to 200,000 people are expected to descend on Chichen Itza alone for the night of December 20.
Among modern descendants of the Maya, the idea it could all come to an end on Friday generally raises a wry smile - but they are happy to play along if it makes money.
"It's a psychic epidemic," said Miguel Coral, 56, a cigar salesman in Merida, a colonial town and capital of Yucatan state. "It's all about business, but that's fine. It helps our country. I think it's excellent we've exported this idea."
Nearby, workers built a pyramid of spray-painted polystyrene blocks for the opening of the town's Maya festival.
"If people who believe in this joke want to come, let them," said Jose May, a Merida tourism official of Maya descent. "Nobody here believes that. Those people were sold an idea."
Hazy rumors have helped feed the sense of anticipation.
A few hours' drive south of Merida in the remote Maya town of Xul, which means "the end," media reports began circulating as early as 2008 that a group of Italians were readying themselves for impending doom by building apocalypse-proof bunkers.
Today, the settlement dubbed the "end of the world resort" is open for business as "Eco Spa Las Aguilas."
"There's no truth in it," said deputy manager Andrea Podesta, 45, referring to speculation it was a cult.
"Some people came here, took some hidden photos, and published some very unpleasant articles about us," he added, noting the glistening new spa was booked up well into 2013.
Inside, a group of elderly Italians, mostly dressed in white, were watching the path of an asteroid on a giant screen. A black-and-white image of Christ's face hung from the wall and a large stone statue of a robed woman greeted visitors.
Whatever lies in store for the planet, even Maya academics who have fought to play down the hype surrounding the passing of another 24 hours feel there could still be some surprises.
"I think there may be some mischief on December 21 because the whole world is watching," said Hoopes in Kansas, citing rumors hacktivist group Anonymous was planning a stunt. "It's a very fertile opportunity for a tremendous prank."
Source: The Age
December 21 marks the end of an age in a 5125 year-old Maya calendar, an event that is variously interpreted as the end of days, the start of a new era or just a good excuse for a party.
Thousands of New Age mystics, spiritual adventurers and canny businessmen are converging on ancient ruins in southern Mexico and Guatemala to find out what will happen.
"No one knows what it will look like on the other side," said Michael Di Martino, 46, a long-haired American who is organizing one of the biggest December 21 celebrations at the Maya temple site of Chichen Itza on the Yucatan peninsula.
It is not the world but "the way we perceive it" that will end, said DiMartino, who pledged his event at ground zero for 2012 acolytes will be a "distilling down of various perspectives into a unified intention for positive transformation, evolution and co-creation of a new way of being."
A mash-up of academic speculation and existential angst seasoned with elements from several world religions, the 2012 phenomenon has been fueled by Hollywood movies and computer games, and relentlessly disseminated by Internet doom-mongers.
Mass hysteria in a Russian prison, a Chinese man building survival pods for doomsday and UFO lovers seeking refuge with aliens in a French mountain village are just some of the reports that have sprung up in the final countdown to December 21.
Robert Bast, a New Zealander living in Melbourne who wrote a book called "Survive 2012" on how to cope with the possible catastrophe, believes the Maya may have sent out a warning.
"The most likely thing for me is a solar storm, but that's not going to kill you straight away. It's more of a long term disaster," said Bast, 47, noting a flu pandemic could also strike the planet. "I feel the world isn't as safe as we think it is. The last couple of generations have had it very cosy."
When dawn breaks on Friday, according to the Maya Long Count calendar, it marks the end of the 13th bak'tun - an epoch lasting some 400 years - and the beginning of the 14th.
This fact would probably have languished in academic obscurity had not a young Maya expert named Michael Coe written in the 1960s that to the ancient Mesoamerican culture the date could herald an "Armageddon" to cleanse humanity.
Since then, the cult of 2012 has snowballed.
Among the sun-bleached pyramids, shaded mangroves and deep cenotes of the Maya heartland, there are hopes December 21 will bring a spiritual re-birth.
Nobody seems quite sure what to expect on Friday, but it has not stopped people getting their hopes up.
"This is the Arab Spring of the spiritual movement," said Geoffrey Ocean Dreyer, a 52-year-old US musician wearing a sombrero and mardi gras beads. "We're going to create world peace. We're going to Jerusalem and we're going to rebuild Solomon's temple."
ANXIETY ATTACKS
The words of Coe, a highly respected Maya scholar, were published in 1966 at the height of the Cold War, stirring fears in a world haunted by the prospect of nuclear holocaust.
Coe could not be reached for comment for this article, but friends and academics who know him insist he never meant to inspire a vision of apocalypse when he committed them to paper.
Stephen Houston, a Maya expert at Brown University in Rhode Island and student of Coe's, said too much has been read into the end of the 13th bak'tun, which was little more than a "dull mathematical declaration" used to bracket dates.
"I see it all as an expression of present day anxiety and not much more than that," Houston said.
Few remaining inscriptions refer to the event, and the best known one is part of a monument recovered from a Maya site in Tabasco state called Tortuguero - much of which was torn down in the 1960s to make way for the construction of a cement factory.
Still, the mix of religion, ancient inscriptions and media-driven speculation about impending doom remains potent.
"I got an email the other day from a mother who was contemplating taking her own life, because she didn't know what was really going to happen, she didn't want her children to live through this ordeal," said David Stuart, a Maya expert at the University of Texas. "We can dismiss it as a kooky idea, which it is, but they're still ideas and they still have power."
US space agency NASA has sought to allay fears of impending catastrophe, noting that "our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012."
Nothing has given the 2012 theories more oxygen in the run-up to the big day than the Internet, noted John Hoopes, a Maya anthropologist at the University of Kansas.
"Computers come straight out of the same people who were smoking pot and protesting at Berkeley and Stanford," he said, referring to US student movements in the 1960s.
"This Maya calendar stuff has been part of hacktivism lore for 40 years, since the beginning, and with every significant change in computer technology, it's gotten another boost."
Many of those gathering in Chichen Itza praised the Internet as a discussion forum and organizing tool for New Age events.
"We don't need leaders now we have the Internet," said Muggy Burton, 66, who had traveled to Mexico from Canada with her 15-year-old, blue-haired granddaughter, Talis Hardy.
The two, who communicate with each other by whistling, plan to live in Mexico for six months, according to Burton, who is going to homeschool Hardy. "It's the end of the world for her, and the beginning of a new one," she added.
MAYA SKEPTICS
Mexico's federal government is not officially marking the phenomenon, but the country's tourism agency has launched a "Mundo Maya 2012" website with a countdown to December 21.
Up to 200,000 people are expected to descend on Chichen Itza alone for the night of December 20.
Among modern descendants of the Maya, the idea it could all come to an end on Friday generally raises a wry smile - but they are happy to play along if it makes money.
"It's a psychic epidemic," said Miguel Coral, 56, a cigar salesman in Merida, a colonial town and capital of Yucatan state. "It's all about business, but that's fine. It helps our country. I think it's excellent we've exported this idea."
Nearby, workers built a pyramid of spray-painted polystyrene blocks for the opening of the town's Maya festival.
"If people who believe in this joke want to come, let them," said Jose May, a Merida tourism official of Maya descent. "Nobody here believes that. Those people were sold an idea."
Hazy rumors have helped feed the sense of anticipation.
A few hours' drive south of Merida in the remote Maya town of Xul, which means "the end," media reports began circulating as early as 2008 that a group of Italians were readying themselves for impending doom by building apocalypse-proof bunkers.
Today, the settlement dubbed the "end of the world resort" is open for business as "Eco Spa Las Aguilas."
"There's no truth in it," said deputy manager Andrea Podesta, 45, referring to speculation it was a cult.
"Some people came here, took some hidden photos, and published some very unpleasant articles about us," he added, noting the glistening new spa was booked up well into 2013.
Inside, a group of elderly Italians, mostly dressed in white, were watching the path of an asteroid on a giant screen. A black-and-white image of Christ's face hung from the wall and a large stone statue of a robed woman greeted visitors.
Whatever lies in store for the planet, even Maya academics who have fought to play down the hype surrounding the passing of another 24 hours feel there could still be some surprises.
"I think there may be some mischief on December 21 because the whole world is watching," said Hoopes in Kansas, citing rumors hacktivist group Anonymous was planning a stunt. "It's a very fertile opportunity for a tremendous prank."
Source: The Age
Monday, December 17, 2012
Midyat’s underground city awaits attention
An underground city in the southeastern province of Mardin’s Midyat district, which is known to have been used as a settlement in the early period of Christianity, will open to tourists if it is provided allocation.
Specifications on the underground city had been prepared in 2009 and reports were sent to the Diyarbakır Council of Monuments, said Lozan Bayar, an archaeologist from the Mardin Municipality Protection and Supervision Office (KUDEB). “The city was registered as the Söğütlü Underground City and a project had been prepared to bring the city into tourism [sights],” Bayar said.
The structure dates back to the early Christianity era and similar ones can be found in the Cappadocia region, Bayar said. “This is more beautiful and bigger, but because of financial problems we cannot restore it. It was used as a sewer system, cesspool and a barn. Some of its parts have been covered with a wall. We plan to restore it with a nice project and bring it into Turkish and world tourism. It dates back to the fourth and fifth century, what we call the early Christianity period,” Bayar said.
Christians escaping the pressures of Rome used areas of the underground city as both shelter and living spaces, according to Bayar. “In the early Christianity period Rome was under the influence of Pagans before it later recognized Christianity as the official religion. Such underground cities provide security for people and they also performed their prayers there. They are also places to escape. Cisterns, water wells and sewer systems have been in existence since that period.
The underground city covers a large part of the district and is so big archaeologists were not able to uncover all parts of the city. “We knew about the existence of this place but did not know about its length. It has two main entrances and one in the north side. We have not reached every part of the city yet. Unfortunately, villagers use some part of the city as animal barn and cesspools. The city covers 80 percent of whole district,” Bayar said.
KUDEB’s art historian and the Sabancı Mardin City Museum Director Gani Tarkan said the underground city was launched as a second degree archaeological site by the Diyarbakır Council of Monuments on Feb. 26, 2010.
Older residents of the area knew about the city, but did not know its importance. “We got information from these people and determined the entrances. The entrances of some of the tunnels in the underground city have been closed. There are similar tunnels in Nevşehir. They are on the World Cultural Heritage List. One of them is Derinkuyu underground city. One million tourists visit this city annually. Maybe Söğütlü is more important than it is. But we learned about its existence only two-three years ago,” Tarkan said.
Source: Hurriyet Daily News
Specifications on the underground city had been prepared in 2009 and reports were sent to the Diyarbakır Council of Monuments, said Lozan Bayar, an archaeologist from the Mardin Municipality Protection and Supervision Office (KUDEB). “The city was registered as the Söğütlü Underground City and a project had been prepared to bring the city into tourism [sights],” Bayar said.
The structure dates back to the early Christianity era and similar ones can be found in the Cappadocia region, Bayar said. “This is more beautiful and bigger, but because of financial problems we cannot restore it. It was used as a sewer system, cesspool and a barn. Some of its parts have been covered with a wall. We plan to restore it with a nice project and bring it into Turkish and world tourism. It dates back to the fourth and fifth century, what we call the early Christianity period,” Bayar said.
Christians escaping the pressures of Rome used areas of the underground city as both shelter and living spaces, according to Bayar. “In the early Christianity period Rome was under the influence of Pagans before it later recognized Christianity as the official religion. Such underground cities provide security for people and they also performed their prayers there. They are also places to escape. Cisterns, water wells and sewer systems have been in existence since that period.
The underground city covers a large part of the district and is so big archaeologists were not able to uncover all parts of the city. “We knew about the existence of this place but did not know about its length. It has two main entrances and one in the north side. We have not reached every part of the city yet. Unfortunately, villagers use some part of the city as animal barn and cesspools. The city covers 80 percent of whole district,” Bayar said.
KUDEB’s art historian and the Sabancı Mardin City Museum Director Gani Tarkan said the underground city was launched as a second degree archaeological site by the Diyarbakır Council of Monuments on Feb. 26, 2010.
Older residents of the area knew about the city, but did not know its importance. “We got information from these people and determined the entrances. The entrances of some of the tunnels in the underground city have been closed. There are similar tunnels in Nevşehir. They are on the World Cultural Heritage List. One of them is Derinkuyu underground city. One million tourists visit this city annually. Maybe Söğütlü is more important than it is. But we learned about its existence only two-three years ago,” Tarkan said.
Source: Hurriyet Daily News
Mosaic Floor Discovered in Didymoteicho
A series of well-preserved archaeological finds have been discovered during this year’s excavations at what has been identified as the ancient Plotinopolis, situated in the outskirts of modern-day Didymoteicho, northeastern Greece. Plotinopolis was a Roman city founded by the Roman Emperor Traianus, who named it after his wife Plotini.
The hill of Aghia Petra, just outside Didymoteicho, has been the focus of archaeological interest since before World War II, while in 1965 a golden forged bust of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus was found there. From 1965 onward, the 19th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities has been conducting systematic excavations in the area.
The mosaics unearthed, form part of the floor of a typical Roman triclinium, the formal dining room in Roman houses. Monstrous ichtyocentaurs and Nereids are depicted in the mosaic unearthed, along with portrayals of the God of Eurus River and Plotini.
The leader of the excavations, archaeologist Matthaios Koutsoumanis, describes the findings as: “both (creatures) are seated on a dolphin, and one of them is holding a scarf over the head like a ‘peplos’. It is certain by now that the scene with the Eurus River and Plotini is not the only one, as a second panel is coming to light. (…) Next year’s excavation has a lot of surprises in store for us.” That could make Plotinopolis one of the biggest excavations in the region of Thrace.
Source: Greek Reporter
The hill of Aghia Petra, just outside Didymoteicho, has been the focus of archaeological interest since before World War II, while in 1965 a golden forged bust of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus was found there. From 1965 onward, the 19th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities has been conducting systematic excavations in the area.
The mosaics unearthed, form part of the floor of a typical Roman triclinium, the formal dining room in Roman houses. Monstrous ichtyocentaurs and Nereids are depicted in the mosaic unearthed, along with portrayals of the God of Eurus River and Plotini.
The leader of the excavations, archaeologist Matthaios Koutsoumanis, describes the findings as: “both (creatures) are seated on a dolphin, and one of them is holding a scarf over the head like a ‘peplos’. It is certain by now that the scene with the Eurus River and Plotini is not the only one, as a second panel is coming to light. (…) Next year’s excavation has a lot of surprises in store for us.” That could make Plotinopolis one of the biggest excavations in the region of Thrace.
Source: Greek Reporter
Migaloo: World's First Archaeology Dog
Since a canine nose is equipped with some 200 million more olfactory receptors than a human's, scientists are increasingly turning to dogs as field assistants to track and monitor populations of wild species.
Such "conservation dogs" can sniff out creatures as small as a lizard or as large as a gorilla, pinpoint where invasive plants are growing, and even guide marine biologists to fresh whale poop. (See pictures of scat research.) But can a dog smell the past?
Australian dog trainer Gary Jackson of Multinational K9 has trained a black lab mix named Migaloo as the world's first "archaeology dog," able to locate bones that are hundreds of years old. He spoke with National Geographic magazine's Amanda Fiegl.
Read the Story at National Geographic: Meet Migaloo, World's First "Archaeology Dog"
Such "conservation dogs" can sniff out creatures as small as a lizard or as large as a gorilla, pinpoint where invasive plants are growing, and even guide marine biologists to fresh whale poop. (See pictures of scat research.) But can a dog smell the past?
Australian dog trainer Gary Jackson of Multinational K9 has trained a black lab mix named Migaloo as the world's first "archaeology dog," able to locate bones that are hundreds of years old. He spoke with National Geographic magazine's Amanda Fiegl.
Read the Story at National Geographic: Meet Migaloo, World's First "Archaeology Dog"
Friday, December 14, 2012
Quantitative Study: Teacher Gender Bias in the EFL Classroom
The article “Speaking the same language? Gender-based teacher performance in the EFL class” investigates the role of teacher gender as it applies to EFL success in the classroom in Southern Spain. The researchers have researched this issue with the intent of understanding and addressing issues of gender and how those issues influence relations and interactions between teacher and student in the EFL classroom. The purpose is to identify which characteristics are most closely related to student satisfaction and performance. The researchers consider gender constructs, policies, teacher treatment of gender issues, and how gender influences teacher behavior.
The evolutionary track of the idealized teacher has always been the dominated by masculinity and male domination in the political ring. This notion of professionalism, as Madrid and Hughes explained (2010), “is conceived as the rational capacity” to essentially behave appropriately in the classroom and better serve the students at an adequate level of competence.
Feminists abhor this ideology and seek to remove this notion of gender determinism and social constructivism, since women can also serve as models of professionalism. In Spain, these ideas of gender dominance are being challenged by legislative changes, and the idea of performance is being weighted much more heavily than what has been historically accepted in the past.
Although the researchers did consider the fact that teacher bias and social constructs plays a part in instruction, they also considered the personal feelings and behaviors of the students. Many EFL students, when performing written assignments, assign certain genders to characters, thus reflecting their own gender stereotypes. Additionally, male students tend to dominate the conversations, but females initiate them, which may be due to the actual subject matter of the discussion. Teachers will often use gender biased classroom materials, therefore this perpetuation and unconscious mistreatment of gender in teaching leads to social constructs, which drive students to act in different ways.
Teachers also believe that teaching students gender stereotypes is not appropriate and should only be addressed by the student’s family, and not the school. This allows the school to remain “neutral”. This essentially means that all students should be treated equally according to performance and not gender, which is not always the case. There is a clear divide between teachers who promote equity and those who defend equality. Some EFL teachers don’t feel comfortable treating students in different ways. This may be because some students may not have access to the same resources as those who have access to everything as far as educational resources are concerned. Female teachers have obvious compassion for their students, which may reflect their own background and their status in relation to gender, whereas male teachers may express fewer acceptances of those who are less socially advantaged.
The method used for the research is a mixed methods approach that employs quantitative and qualitative evidence collected from students and teachers, represented as (n=459) and (n=35), from primary schools to the university level in Spain.
Qualitative data taken from the perspective of the students yielded the following results:
1) There is a preference for female teachers at the primary school level;
2) The belief that female students work better with male students was not as significant as male students who believe they work better with female teachers;
3) male and female students believed they work better with and learn more from female teachers;
4) overall personal opinion was higher for female teachers than male teachers;
5) female teachers believe in more equality in the classroom.
Quantitative analysis taken from the perspective of students using questionnaires yielded the following results:
1) male and female ability to teach was more important than gender;
2) male teachers demand more respect but women have to impose themselves to receive respect;
3) male teachers get poorer results than female teachers;
4) female teachers understand male students better, they are more lenient, and they can be trusted;
5) female teachers are more intelligent and smaller children work better with them.
Qualitative data using open questionnaires and completed by teachers yielded the following results:
1) female teachers in primary schools believe they inspire more trust and male teachers garner more respect in regards to all classes;
2) female teachers are considered more maternal and therefore they understand the students better;
3) male students look at themselves as authority figures because of family constructs. Results from secondary schools show us that women are more sensitive to emotional changes in students, however students obey them less.
Results from the university teachers yielded the following results:
1) male students are much more shy with female teachers;
2) male students are careful about their approach with female teachers as opposed to males;
3) female students try to act “attractive” towards male teachers, but they do the opposite with female teachers.
The research involved with this study is extensive and certainly useful; especially considering the framework consisted of both quantifiable and social measurements, which is a rare occurrence for those who discount Qualitative research as consistent or neutral because of subjectivity. What’s interesting to me is the fact that teachers believe that gender has no bearing on performance, or the actual perception of the students. Students, male and female, believe that gender does in fact matter and that their overall academic performance is greatly influenced by the gender of their teacher. Preference towards male and female teachers in the university setting should be a significant portion of the research, but the data does take a backseat to primary and secondary school findings. This topic could certainly merit more extensive study as it applies to a topic, which creates a substantial amount of social upheaval in legal discourse.
The study also talks about the authoritative stance of male teachers in the classroom, but this attitude did not yield the results that are normally expected, in that students did not feel that they learned more from them. In fact, they learned less. Why could this be? Perhaps the students associate their male teachers with their father, and if they disregard their father’s authority at home, they would most definitely, and most likely, do the same in the classroom. If we compare this with female authority in the classroom, it may just be the fact that the students prefer their teaching style and methods, and their gender is not a consideration.
All individuals are ethnocentric and all genders can be debated using superiority, strength, and intelligence as the main factors for the arguments. The truth is, there are parallels in all genders. I’m a proponent for gender equality in the classroom, but I’m also a supporter of equity. I agree that classroom materials can be biased, but I disagree with tailoring your lessons to represent each gender when one gender might be absent from the discussion, as far as historical context is concerned. If we are studying a primary source, written by the hand of Anne Frank, would we trust her opinion about her own experience during the Holocaust, or a secondary source written by a male author, who reviews her opinions and gives his own account of her experiences? Context is key here.
Concerning gender policies in the classroom opposed to the home environment, I think this is a shortsighted opinion. If we were to completely exclude the importance of gendered characters throughout our history, what would we have left? Should we remove the social context of gender when we study Cleopatra and only look at her from a behavioral standpoint? We have to allow students to develop their own gender roles as it applies to their own identity. Yet, I can certainly understand why a gender policy in certain schools, especially concerning religious beliefs, might be a completely different situation, and in this case the school would not remain neutral.
You never want to impose your own ideology on students in the classroom, but you also cannot be afraid to represent society in an egalitarian fashion. This is what will make you a strong educator. To represent all sides of the discussion. There are times when controversial themes will provoke feelings of anger and disdain, but those feelings can be directed accordingly using open discussions and debates. This will not only allow EFL students to practice discourse and reciprocal listening, but it will help them construct opinions based on main ideas and arguments, which is essential to developing your own identity and voice.
Reference
Madrid, D., Hughes, S.P. (2010). Speaking the same language? Gender-based teacher performance in the EFL class. The Open Applied Linguistics Journal, 3, 1-9.
The evolutionary track of the idealized teacher has always been the dominated by masculinity and male domination in the political ring. This notion of professionalism, as Madrid and Hughes explained (2010), “is conceived as the rational capacity” to essentially behave appropriately in the classroom and better serve the students at an adequate level of competence.
Feminists abhor this ideology and seek to remove this notion of gender determinism and social constructivism, since women can also serve as models of professionalism. In Spain, these ideas of gender dominance are being challenged by legislative changes, and the idea of performance is being weighted much more heavily than what has been historically accepted in the past.
Although the researchers did consider the fact that teacher bias and social constructs plays a part in instruction, they also considered the personal feelings and behaviors of the students. Many EFL students, when performing written assignments, assign certain genders to characters, thus reflecting their own gender stereotypes. Additionally, male students tend to dominate the conversations, but females initiate them, which may be due to the actual subject matter of the discussion. Teachers will often use gender biased classroom materials, therefore this perpetuation and unconscious mistreatment of gender in teaching leads to social constructs, which drive students to act in different ways.
Teachers also believe that teaching students gender stereotypes is not appropriate and should only be addressed by the student’s family, and not the school. This allows the school to remain “neutral”. This essentially means that all students should be treated equally according to performance and not gender, which is not always the case. There is a clear divide between teachers who promote equity and those who defend equality. Some EFL teachers don’t feel comfortable treating students in different ways. This may be because some students may not have access to the same resources as those who have access to everything as far as educational resources are concerned. Female teachers have obvious compassion for their students, which may reflect their own background and their status in relation to gender, whereas male teachers may express fewer acceptances of those who are less socially advantaged.
Method
The method used for the research is a mixed methods approach that employs quantitative and qualitative evidence collected from students and teachers, represented as (n=459) and (n=35), from primary schools to the university level in Spain.
The Results
Qualitative data taken from the perspective of the students yielded the following results:
1) There is a preference for female teachers at the primary school level;
2) The belief that female students work better with male students was not as significant as male students who believe they work better with female teachers;
3) male and female students believed they work better with and learn more from female teachers;
4) overall personal opinion was higher for female teachers than male teachers;
5) female teachers believe in more equality in the classroom.
Quantitative analysis taken from the perspective of students using questionnaires yielded the following results:
1) male and female ability to teach was more important than gender;
2) male teachers demand more respect but women have to impose themselves to receive respect;
3) male teachers get poorer results than female teachers;
4) female teachers understand male students better, they are more lenient, and they can be trusted;
5) female teachers are more intelligent and smaller children work better with them.
Qualitative data using open questionnaires and completed by teachers yielded the following results:
1) female teachers in primary schools believe they inspire more trust and male teachers garner more respect in regards to all classes;
2) female teachers are considered more maternal and therefore they understand the students better;
3) male students look at themselves as authority figures because of family constructs. Results from secondary schools show us that women are more sensitive to emotional changes in students, however students obey them less.
Results from the university teachers yielded the following results:
1) male students are much more shy with female teachers;
2) male students are careful about their approach with female teachers as opposed to males;
3) female students try to act “attractive” towards male teachers, but they do the opposite with female teachers.
Implications
The research involved with this study is extensive and certainly useful; especially considering the framework consisted of both quantifiable and social measurements, which is a rare occurrence for those who discount Qualitative research as consistent or neutral because of subjectivity. What’s interesting to me is the fact that teachers believe that gender has no bearing on performance, or the actual perception of the students. Students, male and female, believe that gender does in fact matter and that their overall academic performance is greatly influenced by the gender of their teacher. Preference towards male and female teachers in the university setting should be a significant portion of the research, but the data does take a backseat to primary and secondary school findings. This topic could certainly merit more extensive study as it applies to a topic, which creates a substantial amount of social upheaval in legal discourse.
The study also talks about the authoritative stance of male teachers in the classroom, but this attitude did not yield the results that are normally expected, in that students did not feel that they learned more from them. In fact, they learned less. Why could this be? Perhaps the students associate their male teachers with their father, and if they disregard their father’s authority at home, they would most definitely, and most likely, do the same in the classroom. If we compare this with female authority in the classroom, it may just be the fact that the students prefer their teaching style and methods, and their gender is not a consideration.
All individuals are ethnocentric and all genders can be debated using superiority, strength, and intelligence as the main factors for the arguments. The truth is, there are parallels in all genders. I’m a proponent for gender equality in the classroom, but I’m also a supporter of equity. I agree that classroom materials can be biased, but I disagree with tailoring your lessons to represent each gender when one gender might be absent from the discussion, as far as historical context is concerned. If we are studying a primary source, written by the hand of Anne Frank, would we trust her opinion about her own experience during the Holocaust, or a secondary source written by a male author, who reviews her opinions and gives his own account of her experiences? Context is key here.
Concerning gender policies in the classroom opposed to the home environment, I think this is a shortsighted opinion. If we were to completely exclude the importance of gendered characters throughout our history, what would we have left? Should we remove the social context of gender when we study Cleopatra and only look at her from a behavioral standpoint? We have to allow students to develop their own gender roles as it applies to their own identity. Yet, I can certainly understand why a gender policy in certain schools, especially concerning religious beliefs, might be a completely different situation, and in this case the school would not remain neutral.
Conclusion
You never want to impose your own ideology on students in the classroom, but you also cannot be afraid to represent society in an egalitarian fashion. This is what will make you a strong educator. To represent all sides of the discussion. There are times when controversial themes will provoke feelings of anger and disdain, but those feelings can be directed accordingly using open discussions and debates. This will not only allow EFL students to practice discourse and reciprocal listening, but it will help them construct opinions based on main ideas and arguments, which is essential to developing your own identity and voice.
Reference
Madrid, D., Hughes, S.P. (2010). Speaking the same language? Gender-based teacher performance in the EFL class. The Open Applied Linguistics Journal, 3, 1-9.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Basilica Dated to Constantine Reign Discovered
© Sascha Hoffmann/sxc.hu
Archaeologists in Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia have found a basilica said to date from the time of emperor Constantine the Great in the area of the West Gate of Serdica, as the city was known in Roman times.The basilica is 27 metres wide and about 100m long, according to Yana Borissova-Katsarova, head of research at the site. It featured multi-coloured mosaics. Further exploration of the find will be difficult because of its location under the modern city.
Sofia deputy mayor in charge of culture, Todor Chobanov, said that the discovery of the basilica may be proof that Constantine intended to establish the city as a centre of Christianity.
Constantine, who ruled from 306 to 337 CE, was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. Sofia, as Serdica, was under Roman rule from 29 BCE and remained under Roman and later Byzantine rule, with some interruptions because of Hun invasions and destruction, for a number of centuries.
Serdica is said to have been described by Constantine as “my Rome”. Chobanov said that the discovery of the basilica suggested that this saying attributed to Constantine was “not just words”.
The area around the West Gate of Sofia is being studied by archaeologists as part of a programme being funded mainly by Sofia municipality.
Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandukova said that there were plans for a garden and park in the area which would enable visitors to view the discoveries at the archaeological site. This project should start in 2013 and be completed within two years, local media quoted the mayor as saying.
Borissova-Katsarova, a professor at Sofia University, said that the archaeological project at the site was a continuation of excavations done between 1975 and 1980. The current project is a partnership between the municipality, the university and the Bulgarian Academy of Science.
Work at the site has resulted in the uncovering of the wall, a gate and tower. The gate was said to date from the fifth to sixth century CE, and the tower from the sixth. The wall was initially built in the second century by emperor Marcus Aurelius and was later expanded and strengthened. The foundations, two metres deep, suggest that the wall about eight to nine metres high.
She said that excavations had found that Serdica had been a very well developed town in terms of irrigation and sanitation. Archaeologists had found pipelines for fresh water.
Archaeologists had found the Via Militaris, the street used mainly for military purposes and leading to the city wall. Most of the artifacts found at the site were related to everyday life, such as coins.
Source: Sofia Globe
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
New Evidence Suggest Noah's Flood Did Happen
Robert Ballard, one of the world's most famous underwater explorers, has set his sights on proving the existence of one of the Bible's most well known stories.
In an interview with ABC's Christiane Amanpour the archaeologist who discovered the Titanic discussed his findings from his search in Turkey for evidence of a civilization swept away by a monstrous ancient flood.
"We went in there to look for the flood," Ballard said. "Not just a slow moving, advancing rise of sea level, but a really big flood that then stayed... The land that went under stayed under."
Many have claimed to have discovered evidence of Noah's Ark, the huge ship that Noah filled with two of each creature to repopulate the planet following God's devastating flood. But in the 1990s, geologists William Ryan and Walter Pitman gathered compelling evidence that showed a flood--if not an ark--may have occurred in the Middle East region about 7,500 years ago, PBS reports.
The theory, the Guardian reports, is that a rising Mediterranean Sea pushed a channel through what is now the Bosphorus, submerging the original shoreline of the Black Sea in a deluge flowing at about 200 times the volume of Niagara Falls and extending out for 100,000 square miles.
Ballard has been exploring this theory for more than a decade, National Geographic reports, first discovering evidence of a submerged ancient shoreline in 1999. At that point, Ballard was still not convinced this was a biblical flood, according to the Guardian. Last year, his team found a vessel and one of its crew members in the Black Sea, according to ABC.
Ballard is using advanced robotic technology to travel back nearly 12,000 years to a time when much of the Earth was covered in ice, ABC reports. If and when this ice started to melt, massive floods may have surged through parts of the globe, wreaking havoc on anything and anyone in its way.
With an impressive track record (besides the Titanic, Ballard also found the wreck of the battleship, Bismarck, and a U.S. fleet lost off Guadalcanal in the Pacific) and plenty of confidence, Ballard remains unfazed by critics. He plans on returning to Turkey next summer.
The story of Noah and his ark is a building block of Genesis, in the Old Testament. It is similar in some respects to the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, according to National Geographic, and the ancient Greeks, Romans and Native Americans all have their own variations on legendary flood stories.
Source: Huffington Post
In an interview with ABC's Christiane Amanpour the archaeologist who discovered the Titanic discussed his findings from his search in Turkey for evidence of a civilization swept away by a monstrous ancient flood.
"We went in there to look for the flood," Ballard said. "Not just a slow moving, advancing rise of sea level, but a really big flood that then stayed... The land that went under stayed under."
Many have claimed to have discovered evidence of Noah's Ark, the huge ship that Noah filled with two of each creature to repopulate the planet following God's devastating flood. But in the 1990s, geologists William Ryan and Walter Pitman gathered compelling evidence that showed a flood--if not an ark--may have occurred in the Middle East region about 7,500 years ago, PBS reports.
The theory, the Guardian reports, is that a rising Mediterranean Sea pushed a channel through what is now the Bosphorus, submerging the original shoreline of the Black Sea in a deluge flowing at about 200 times the volume of Niagara Falls and extending out for 100,000 square miles.
Ballard has been exploring this theory for more than a decade, National Geographic reports, first discovering evidence of a submerged ancient shoreline in 1999. At that point, Ballard was still not convinced this was a biblical flood, according to the Guardian. Last year, his team found a vessel and one of its crew members in the Black Sea, according to ABC.
Ballard is using advanced robotic technology to travel back nearly 12,000 years to a time when much of the Earth was covered in ice, ABC reports. If and when this ice started to melt, massive floods may have surged through parts of the globe, wreaking havoc on anything and anyone in its way.
With an impressive track record (besides the Titanic, Ballard also found the wreck of the battleship, Bismarck, and a U.S. fleet lost off Guadalcanal in the Pacific) and plenty of confidence, Ballard remains unfazed by critics. He plans on returning to Turkey next summer.
The story of Noah and his ark is a building block of Genesis, in the Old Testament. It is similar in some respects to the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, according to National Geographic, and the ancient Greeks, Romans and Native Americans all have their own variations on legendary flood stories.
Source: Huffington Post
Monday, December 10, 2012
Archaeologists find Maya ceramics and mural paintings in three underwater caves in Mexico
Helena Barba. INAH-SAS.
Underwater archaeologists of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH – Conaculta), recently explored three spaces, all abundant with Mayan culture materials: two semidry caves in Campeche and a cenote [A water-filled limestone sink hole] in Yucatan.The cenote stands out since it contains particularly stylish ceramic that is calculated to have been elaborated about 2,300 years ago. This is unique in its type since it’s the only one that has been found in a cenote.
To Helena Barba Meinecke, responsible for all the underwater archaeology of the Yucatan peninsula, the detailed registry of the caves and the cenote, as well as the archaeological elements found in them, confirm the speculation that these places were used for rituals in the pre Hispanic era.
Cenote San Manuel
The distinct characteristics of the pieces, located in the cenote San Miguel, make them stand out among the other discoveries. Access to this 20 meter (65.61 feet) deep body of water, is through the town well by rappel. The divers must not be in the water longer than 20 minutes, which is why a change of divers was required. At least six hours of meticulous planning was needed to retrieve two Mayan pots, possibly dating back to 300 AD or 200 AD (during the Late Postclassic period).
The cenote has an entry of about a meter in diameter. One of the pots is globe shaped and has a braided handle. It contains an anthropomorphic face and a phytomorphic body. The other pot shows a Mayan face with a diadem detailed in a red and blue pigment.
“Up till now, there had not been such stylish ceramic elements found in the peninsula’s underwater spaces, nor had they found ceramic elements as well preserved as these. They are unique materials that could have been stolen if we had not extracted them”, said Helena Barba Meinecke, expert of the Underwater Archaeology Section (SAS) of INAH.
Huachabi Cave
The explorations of the Underwater Archaeology Atlas project, carried out during the first half of last November, continued in the semidry cave of Huachabi, Campeche, where the findings were of no less in importance. This cave – with more than 500 meters (1640.41 feet) in length at its widest part, also has two slopes – is found inside the Miramar archaeological site, still unexplored in the Chenes region. Inside the cave, which one must rappel 20 meters (65.61 feet) to get through, there are nearly 50 spaces with offerings of distinct proportions. Carbon samples were taken to estimated the approximate date while archaeologist Eunice Uc, investigator of the INAH Center – Yucatan, works on defining the ceramic types to provide an appropriate timeline; the context of the ceramic elements has been preliminarily supposed to date back to the Classic Mayan period (600 – 900 AD).
Also, next to these materials, fragments of mural paintings were detected in different chambers of the cave. The small symmetry between their designs (anthropomorphic as well as representations of vegetables and insects that inhabit the subterranean environment), and the fact that they were elaborated with red clay, taken from inside the cave, could mean these were older than the rest of the elements found.
Aktun aam Cave
The cave was baptized as Aktun aam because of the great quantity of violinist spiders [also known as the “brown recluse”] (Loxosceles laeta) found in its corners. The cave is also located in Campeche and it’s accessed by rappel at a 15o angle. It is possible that initiation ceremonies or purification ceremonies were performed in the cave given the disposition of the objects that were discovered. Also, several strewn materials around the cave suggest the objects were elaborated inside the cave.
Archaeologist Barba Meinecke explained that in each branch of the cavern – 200 meters (656.16 feet) -, were placed, generally in ensembles, decorated black colored pots and metates [ a stone block with a shallow concave surface, used for minor grinding], intentionally broken, and that were elaborated with the same limestone from within the cave.
Source: Art Daily
Friday, December 7, 2012
Archaeologists probe ancient life forms on Barrow Island
Barrow Island lies 50 kilometres off the north west coast of Western Australia. It's an island with a shady past, cut off from the mainland around 700, 000 years ago.
Resources giant Chevron is building a gas extraction hub on Barrow Island that will employ thousands of workers during construction.
But at the same time, a team of archaeologists is piecing together a picture of life on the island thousands of years ago.
Peter Veth, lead chief investigator on the Barrow Island archaeology project and Winthrop Professor of Archaeology at University of Western Australia.
Listen to the podcast as Winthrop explains the work on the island for the past 30 years.
Source: ABC.Net.AU
Resources giant Chevron is building a gas extraction hub on Barrow Island that will employ thousands of workers during construction.
But at the same time, a team of archaeologists is piecing together a picture of life on the island thousands of years ago.
Peter Veth, lead chief investigator on the Barrow Island archaeology project and Winthrop Professor of Archaeology at University of Western Australia.
Listen to the podcast as Winthrop explains the work on the island for the past 30 years.
Source: ABC.Net.AU