We regret to inform our faithful readers that the Mehr News web site seems to be down. We realize this may cause a great deal of social disruption among readers of this blog. We can only hope that this problem will be resolved ASAP.
And you know, where we are, there ain't no sunshine. . . .
Egyptian caves update Ancient Mariners: Caves harbor view of early Egyptian sailors
On Christmas Day last year, Kathryn Bard got an unusual gift.
Working with her colleagues to remove sand from a hillside along Egypt's Red Sea coast, the Boston University archaeologist poked through a small opening that had appeared and felt . . . nothing. She had reached into the entrance to a human-made cave in which sailors stored their gear as many as 4,000 years ago.
Two days later, Bard's team found a larger cave nearby. The same ancient seafarers used this one, she and her colleagues surmised, as a temple or shrine.
CRM update I Archaeology, Off-Road Vehicles, and the BLM
The American public favors a balanced use of the land between conservation and recreational use, but achieving this balance has proved a tricky proposition in the West. The explosion of off-road vehicle use for recreation in the past ten years poses a serious threat to the preservation of Native American sites on public land. So does the increasing number of hikers, campers, and other outdoor enthusiasts who come to the Four Corners region of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. That includes archaeology buffs, who come to explore the cliff dwellings and rock art left behind by the Anasazi (Ancient Puebloan) peoples.
Good read.
CRM update II Heinrich drafting protections for area's archaeological sites
City Councilor Martin Heinrich has been drafting and re-drafting an archaeological ordinance since last fall, but the legislation will soon be on its way to the city's Environmental Planning Commission for review.
"In so many communities, we have lost fairly priceless archaeological resources over the years that somebody thought wasn't important enough to protect," Heinrich says.
Long article for MSBNC, and another worth reading.
Non-Mehr news from Iran Italian digs unearth ancient Parthian court
Italian digs in Turkmenistan are unearthing an extensive archaeological complex that was once a flourishing artistic and political center for the ancient civilization of Parthia. The latest round of digs has revealed invaluable detail about a fortified complex, located 18km southwest of the country's modern capital Ashkhabad, near the border of Iran, according to the excavation director, Antonio Invernizzi of Turin University.
Archaeologists believe that Old Nisa, one of the Parthian Empire's earliest capitals, was founded in the 2nd century BC.
And now, the Parthian economic report: Inflation Rate in Parthian Times: Less than One Percent
Studies on three pieces of hide discovered in Uraman of Kurdistan in 1909 revealed them as documents of several sales of one piece of land during one century at the Parthian times with an inflation rate of less than one percent.
The hides were accidentally discovered by a shepherd working in Uraman area in a cave in 1909. They were translated and published by an Englishman in 1915, and rights now are kept in the British Museum, London.
Badly formatted, as usual. Seems interesting, but the data set is obviously limited.
And even more from Iran Sassanid Skeleton Rises from Bolaghi Gorge
Iranian and French archaeologists have discovered an adult male skeleton and a clay pot in a one-hectare graveyard in the historical site of Bolaghi Gorge, in Fars Province.
International experts are now busy working in the Gorge located 4 kilometers from the Pasargadae World Heritage Site to save the historical remains there before the newly constructed Dam of Sivand is flooded by the end of the year.
Doc Says Arthritis Killed Columbus
Bad food or a sexually transmitted disease probably crippled Christopher Columbus, a researcher suggested Friday.
The famed explorer was struck with a mysterious illness while returning from his first voyage to the New World, and doctors at the time blamed gout. Although he made four trips to the Americas, the disease progressively became worse and he died a crippled man.
Dr. Frank C. Arnett, a rheumatologist at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, said Columbus more likely was struck with reactive arthritis, caused by a number of bacteria responsible for food poisoning as well as sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia.
More mummy scans Child mummy kept under wraps while researchers look inside
Stanford University researchers aided by Silicon Valley engineers are using high-tech tools to unravel the mystery of a 2,000-year-old child mummy -- without removing the wraps.
Researchers hope that more than 20,000 images taken by sophisticated scanning equipment and other technological tools at Stanford's School of Medicine will offer a detailed, three- dimensional look inside the small Egyptian mummy that has been stored at a San Jose museum for more than 70 years.
The mummy, less than 3 feet tall, was handled as delicately as possible when it was transported Friday to Stanford from the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum & Planetarium, said curator Lisa Schwappach-Shirriff.
Life on the edge of Rome's empire
If Hadrian's Wall was the eventual northernmost frontier of Roman expansion, then the fort of Bremenium was on the edge of the empire.
For more than 200 years, the fort, now the hamlet of High Rochester in Northumberland National Park, was the most northerly occupied base in the entire Roman empire.
It was a dicey place to be, as indicated by the fact that the garrison was provided with a giant catapult which fired heavy stone balls.
Long article, worth reading, if you can get past the (mostly) single-sentence paragraph style.
Group of ancient tombs unearthed in Hebei
Archeologists recently discovered an ancient group of tombs of considerable size, containing three tombs from the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) and four from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), in Xuanhua County of north China's Hebei Province.
Archeologists said the group of tombs were found at a construction site. Several tombs lost their top parts, which were apparently taken by grave looters.
What grad students do with their time
Heh. Just got this from our old Department's grad student mailing list. Names changed to protect the innocent:
Jack had a ragged piece of parchment with a sketch map of Seattle on it. There was a black 'X' over the Marco Polo hotel on Aurora that said, "Here be booty". Is that the one?
-------------- Original message --------------
Hi,
Has anyone happened to find a tube with a map inside? I thought I left it in Denny 401 after the Tom's talk on riday. Please let me know if you find it. Thank you.
XXXXXXXXX
Interesting non-archaeological story The unselfish gene
Rather than having a single major function, most genes, like roads, probably play a small part in lots of tasks within the cell. By dissecting biology into its genetic atoms, reductionism failed to account for these multitasking genes. So the starting point for systems biologists isn't the gene but rather a mathematical model of the entire cell. Instead of focusing on key control points, systems biologists look at the system properties of the entire network. In this new vision of biology, genes aren't discrete nuggets of genetic information but more diffuse entities whose functional reality may be spread across hundreds of interacting DNA segments.
We have little to comment on, this not being precisely our field, but we like the overall tone of the article.
The HP Mastodon New Tech Reveals Mastodon Secrets
For the first time in thousands of years, mastodons are growing in Michigan, thanks to the wonders of inkjet technology.
A method of "rapid prototyping," which uses inkjets to build faux bones from virtual bones, is enabling paleontologists to make accurate full-sized and miniature replicas of mastodon skeletons. The computer-completed skeletons then can make more durable museum exhibits and models for studying mastodon movement and behavior.
And congratulations once again for posterity DRI awards 2005 Nevada Medal to University of Washington archaeologist Donald K. Grayson
Desert Research Institute has awarded its 2005 Nevada Medal to University of Washington scientist Dr. Donald K. Grayson, who is widely recognized as one of the world's foremost archaeologists and paleoecologists.
Paleoecology is the branch of science dealing with the interaction between ancient life forms, including humans, and their environments.
. . .
"Dr. Grayson has conducted landmark research in wide-ranging but related areas," DRI President Dr. Stephen G. Wells said. "He has made fundamental as well as innovative scientific and historical contributions in many disciplines, strongly influencing those who work in them,"
Definitely well-deserved. Congratulations, Dr. Grayson.