An article published in the January 2006 issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics examines the remains and depiction of dwarfs in ancient Egypt, concluding that they were assimilated into daily life and their disorder was not seen as a physical handicap. The journal is available online via Wiley InterScience at http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/ajmg.
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The depiction of dwarfs as shown in records available from ancient Egypt, the numerous figurines and amulets that were formed in their shape, as well as text from papyri invoking their magical powers leads the author to conclude that "the image of short people in ancient Egypt is essentially positive." "Dwarfs were likely accepted in ancient Egypt and were given a visible role in the society," the author concludes. "Furthermore their daily activities suggest integration in daily life and that their disorder was not shown as a physical handicap."
We mentioned the whole dwarf issue last week (?) in a post about possible siamese twins. These guys were, apparently, pictured as they were in life.
Also, here's a link to an Archaeology Channel video clip on MAGIC IN ANCIENT EGYPT. (It's the main page, so this particular video will eventually head down the list)
Rare dodo bones found on Mauritius
A Dutch-Mauritian research team has discovered remains of the extinct dodo bird on the Indian ocean island, dating back about 2 000 to 3 000 years.
"This new find will allow for the first scientific research into and reconstruction of the world in which the dodo [Raphus cucullatus] lived, before Western man landed on Mauritius and wiped out the species," the researchers said.
The site is described as a "mass grave" because of the large number of bones of a variety of species. Unclear what sort of context this indicates, whether it's a kill site or just a natural place for bones to accumulate (e.g., a sinkhole or something).
Brothel archaeology Artifacts From Memphis Bordellos Found
Near the blues clubs in the city's famed tourist district, archaeologists have turned up remains of bordellos that once dotted Beale Street.
Archaeologists dug through a half-block square site in the historic district while preparing for construction of a new hotel. There, about six feet down, they uncovered the remains of up to three ``female boarding houses,'' as bordellos were called in Memphis in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Among the recovered artifacts were numerous wine and liquor bottles, and pieces of porcelain dolls apparently once owned by the children of prostitutes.
Not terribly clear why these particular artifacts were interpreted as having come from bordellos, and we're not asking any further. This is, after all, a family blog.
Mostly.
When Keira Knightley isn't involved.
Not the Hasmoneans! The Hasmoneans were here - maybe
In late 1995, not far from the city of Modi'in, whose construction had begun a short time earlier, several excavated burial caves were found. The find aroused tremendous excitement initially, mainly because on one of the ossuaries an engraved inscription was interpreted to read "Hasmonean." Had they found a burial plot belonging to the family of the Hasmoneans?
When the discovery was announced, the archaeologist digging there, Shimon Riklin, explained that this was not the grave built by Simon the son of Mattathias the Priest for his father and his brothers, which is described in the Book of Maccabees I. The use of ossuraies - stone containers for secondary burial, in which the bones of the dead who had been removed from their original burial place were placed - began in the second half of the first century BCE, more than a century after the beginning of the Hasmonean Revolt. However, the discovery reinforced the theory that the town of Modi'in, where the revolt broke out in 167 BCE, lay not far from the burial caves, in the area of the present-day Arab village of Midya.
Zhou Dynasty Tombs Unearthed in Shaanxi
At a December 16 press conference cosponsored by the Shaanxi Provincial Culture Relics Bureau and the Hancheng City government, archaeologists announced the successful excavation of numerous and highly significant cultural relics from several ancient grave sites in Hancheng City, in northwestern China's Shaanxi Province. The relics date back approximately 2,800 years, from late western Zhou Dynasty (c. 1100 BC - c. 771 BC) to the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 BC - 256 BC).
At the press conference it was revealed that the tombs yielded four large-scale graves, with more than a dozen pits with representations of horses, chariots and many rare ceremonial wares in bronze, gold and jade. Archeologists theorize that the site is the grave of a state ruler who may have held some prominence during the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1100 BC - 221 BC).
Contains a few decent photographs of the excavations.
Tsunami anniversary Tsunami uncovers archaeological mystery
The destructive capacity of last year's tsunami wiped life from Earth in numbers that defy comprehension. Each one gone dramatically altering other lives - friends and families in a chain wrapped countless times around the world. Towns and villages and possessions obliterated. In many parts, the very presence of human beings simply erased, as if they were never there. The tsunamis took a great deal away, but in one tiny corner, they actually gave something back. And it has archaeologists and historians arguing about precisely what it is. It is evidence of a long-lost ancient community? Is there a mystical temple covered by time, or perhaps even an entire city buried beneath the sand and the sea around Mahabalipuram in southern India.
Anne Maria Nicholson travelled to India to piece together a picture from the fleeting glimpses snatched between the tsunamis and the more structured exploration now under way.
Transcript of an ABC news story on some temples that were noticed when the water rushed out to sea before the incoming waves. Might have been entirely uncovered as well, but it's unclear.