Journal article alert For those with online journal access, a new paper is
out summarizing the Late Quaternary of Egypt and northern Sudan. This impossibly long link supposedly
works. Otherwise, the reference is:
Nicoll, Kathleen, Recent environmental change and prehistoric human activity in Egypt and
Northern Sudan, Quaternary Science Reviews 23 (5-6):561-580 (March 2004).
Abstract:
This paper reviews the various Late Quaternary records that are available from
western Egypt and northern Sudan, which includes more than 500 published radiocarbon dates
and various sedimentary archives from local landscape components, including palaeolakes,
soils, drainages (wadis), and archaeological sites. This palaeoenvironmental compilation
frames the spatial and temporal context of local cultural activities when the region was
most hospitable ~9000–6000 BP; at this time, monsoonal weather influenced the portion of the
African continental interior, creating enough convective rainfall for occasional surface
water storage. In this part of the modern Sahara, rapid hydroclimatic changes play a key
role in geomorphic evolution and resource availability. As `watering holes' formed and dried
up in the Early to Middle Holocene, Neolithic people developed various subsistence
strategies, including opportunistic hunting of small animals (e.g. gazelle and hare), and
food-related (e.g. wild sorghum, millet, and legumes) activities: gathering, plant
cultivation and livestock-rearing. During its wettest phases during the `monsoonal maximum,'
the area was drought-prone, sustaining a meager steppe–shrub desert flora. Further
desertification and aeolian deflation during the Middle and Late Holocene fostered
technological innovation, migration and settlement, as well as the further development of
agrarian communities and complex culture.
More on Egyptian paleoclimates
href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/CA/journal/issues/v45n2/042901/042901.html">Drought
in Ancient Egypt (Down the page; subscriber restricted)
Historical and paleoenvironmental data suggest that much of Africa was affected
by a damaging drought about 4,000 years ago. Jean-Daniel Stanley and colleagues
(Geoarchaeology 18 [2003]) use strontium isotopes and materials analysis of two well-dated
Nile Riverregion sediment cores to trace the variations in the river's flow and annual flood
patterns during this period.
Strontium isotopic tracer studies measure the ratio of 87Sr to 86Sr. Since the two
major tributaries of the Nile drain regions with different ratios of these isotopes,
sediments in the delta can be traced to either the high-ratio White Nile catchment or the
low-ratio Blue Nile catchment. Precipitation rates in these regions can be inferred from
sediment flow levels, since reduction in plant cover in drier periods allows more erosion to
take place. Petrological studies documenting the presence of iron-oxiderich sediments, a
characteristic of dry periods, show that the entire Nile River water catchment was
exceptionally low around 4,200 B.P. Further evidence for arid conditions comes from local
historical records and from reliefs depicting a desert landscape. These multiple lines of
evidence for widespread drought simultaneous with the collapse of the Old Kingdom in Egypt
reveal a major causal factor in that collapse.
A disastrous drought at the end of the Old Kingdom has long been posited as one of the
causes for the collapse of the Old Kingdom. The king was seen as particularly divine during
these early DYnasties and primarily responsible for the well-being of the state. It is
thought that his inability to bring the annual flood may have contributed to the decreasing
authority of the monarch at this time bringing about the First Intermediate Period when
Dynastic rule was confused and probably non-existent throughout most of Egypt.
And now for something completele different. . . .
Archaeologist talks about Oregon's early natives
Dr. Dennis Jenkins believes the entire Sumner Lake Basin was once filled with water up to state Highway 31. Contributed Photo
Were humans present 12,000 years ago in the Great Basin region of Oregon when buffalo, non-Spanish horses and even camels roamed the landscape?
This, the central question of University of Oregon archaeologist Dennis Jenkins' series of digs, is what researchers have been trying to determine since the 1930s.
In 1938, Luther Cressman, the first to explore the region, discovered preserved 9,000-year-old shredded sage sandals at Fort Rock Cave in south central Oregon. Until radiocarbon dating verified his find, his belief was that humans had occupied the area a maximum of 4,000 years ago.
Significant quote: In these caves, Jenkins found both human artifacts and animal bones radiocarbon dated to the same time period, 12,000 to 14,000 years ago.
This would be very signficant as any remains this old bear on the question of the timing of human entry into the New World.
Archaeologist tracks down history of tiny statue
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The barbarian first caught his eye 19 years ago.
Robert Cohon strode through the classical galleries of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The light was low. The room was quiet. A spotlighted statue in a display case stopped Cohon in his tracks.
The barbarian was only 7 inches tall, but, Cohon says, "it was spectacular."
The nude figure had muscular legs and a cape. It held one hand high, the other low, as if carrying a shield and a weapon. The dark bronze surface was mottled with tiny patches of red and green patinas. With its twisted posture, the look on its face and a bandaged leg, the barbarian appeared wounded and in pain.
To someone steeped in the art of ancient cultures, this small bronze statue of a warrior was quite a prize. Its presence at the museum helped Cohon decide to take a job as the Nelson's curator of antiquities.
Yet, within a couple of years, his elation turned to doubt amid questions about the figure's authenticity.
Good article on how one investigates forgeries.
Two halves of ancient sculpture come face to face
Two halves of a terracotta lion's head have been reunited after 2,500 years apart.
Following an international search, the two halves of the head, which would have decorated an ancient Greek temple, went on display together at Newcastle University Shefton Museum of Greek Art and Archaeology for the first time today.
The right side of the sculpture has been on display at the university since the 1970s, when it was purchased by the late Lionel Jacobson, a regular benefactor of the university.