Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Dave Sowdon, Edward Rockstein, Kurt Theis,
John McMahon, Barnea Selavan, Joseph Lauer, Mike Ruggeri, Hernan Astudillo, Richard Campbell, Barbara Saylor Rodgers, Bob Heuman, David Critchley, Richard Miller, Kris Curry, Rick Heli, Richard C. Griffiths, Frank MacKay, John Hall, Don Buck, mata kimasitayo, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week (as always hoping I have left no one out).
================================================================
EARLY HOMINIDS
================================================================
Modern humans reached westernmost Europe some 5000 years earlier than previously thought, apparently:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/uol-mhr092320.php
https://phys.org/news/2020-09-modern-humans-westernmost-europe-years.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200928152919.htm
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-humans-reached-portugal-5-000-years-earlier-than-thought-1.9194658
https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/archaeology/more-surprises-about-palaeolithic-humans/
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2020/09/29/modern-humans-reached-westernmost-europe-5000-years-earlier/
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/09/modern-humans-reached-westernmost.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9064-200930-europe-modern-human
… related:
https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/unm-archaeologist-dig-up-clues-about-neanderthals/
When early humans arrived on Alor (Indonesia) some 40 000 years bp, they had some adapting to the environment to do:
https://phys.org/news/2020-10-years-sea-level-alor-island.html
================================================================
ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT
================================================================
The count of 2600 yeas bp sarcophagi from that site in Saqqara is now up to 59 (it might be 59 more?):
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/386483/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/In-Photos-A-collection-of–intact-th-Dynasty-coffi.aspx
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/92629/Egypt%E2%80%99s-Min-of-Tourism-Antiquities-%E2%80%9C-Today-we-announce-the
https://egyptindependent.com/egypt-announces-whopping-discovery-of-59-pharaonic-coffins-at-saqqara/
https://dailynewsegypt.com/2020/10/03/egypt-announces-2020-largest-archaeological-discovery-at-saqqara/
https://phys.org/news/2020-10-egypt-reveals-ancient-coffins-saqqara.html
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/3/egypt-unveils-59-ancient-coffins-in-major-archaeological-discover
https://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/archaeologists-find-59-ancient-coffins-buried-at-saqqara-pyramids-for-2-600-years-946cd2dd-09ff-5000-8a98-4e20a9a45fc3
https://www.reuters.com/article/instant-article/idUSKBN26O0PB
https://elpais.com/cultura/2020-10-03/descubiertos-59-sarcofagos-y-ataudes-intactos-en-la-necropolis-egipcia-de-saqqara.html
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/egypt-unveils-coffins-buried-2500-years-years-ago/articleshow/78465308.cms
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ancient-mummies-unearthed-egypt-after-more-2-600-years-n1241954
https://abcnews.go.com/International/dozens-sarcophagi-revealed-ancient-egyptian-burial-site-saqqara/story?id=73404885
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/egypt-reveals-59-ancient-coffins-found-near-saqqara-pyramids-1.5131549
… and a statue of the god Nefertum was also found among the coffins:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/386410/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Statue-of-god-Nefertum-unearthed-in-Egypts-Saqqara.aspx
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/92603/Egypt-uncovers-statue-of-god-Nefertum-in-Saqqara-necropolis
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/10/statue-of-god-nefertum-unearthed-in.html
Restoration plans for the site of Bahnasah (Minya):
Egypt is renewing calls for the return of the bust of Nefertiti from Germany:
Feature on Champollion and the Rosetta Stone:
More on that facial reconstruction and comparison to the mummy portrait:
Remains of a Neolithic settlement from Kahin Tepe (Turkey):
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/oldest-worship-place-in-black-sea-region-unearthed-158641
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9061-200929-neolithic-black-sea
Remains of a 4000 years bp textile mill from Beycesultan (Turkey):
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/10/4000-year-old-textile-mill-unearthed-in.html
Not sure if we’ve mentioned this Parthian-era burial of a girl from Isfahan:
https://ifpnews.com/skeleton-of-another-parthian-woman-unearthed-in-central-iran
A Parthian-era burial from a construction site in Western Iran:
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/452917/Millennia-old-tomb-skeleton-and-spearhead-unearthed-in-western
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9056-200928-iran-parthian-burial
More on chromium steel from Persia dating to the 11th century CE:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200923090438.htm
A possible 6500 years bp copper smelting furnace from Be’er Sheva:
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-what-may-be-world-s-first-furnace-from-6-500-years-ago-found-in-israel-1.9206592
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/6500-year-old-furnace-in-beersheba-sheds-light-on-ancient-technology-644415
https://www.timesofisrael.com/evidence-of-first-metallurgy-furnaces-from-6500-years-ago-found-in-beersheba/
A study of assorted storage jars suggest the possibility of identification of the use of the ‘tefach’ unit of measurement:
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/hebrew-u-modern-scans-of-archaeological-finds-may-show-traces-of-original-dimensions-of-biblical-tefach/2020/09/30/
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/288140
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-archaeologists-may-have-deduced-exactly-how-big-a-biblical-handbreadth-is-1.9197844
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/modern-scans-may-show-traces-of-the-original-dimensions-of-the-tefach-644028
https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/history-ideas/2020/10/how-broad-is-a-handbreadth-archaeologist-mays-have-found-an-answer/
A mikveh found during road construction a while ago was successfully transferred to nearby Kibbutz Hannaton:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/northern-community-successfully-transfers-ancient-ritual-bath-to-new-home/
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/2000-year-old-mikvah-in-jezreel-valley-hoisted-to-safe-location/2020/09/30/
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-kibbutz-rescues-second-temple-period-mikveh-from-builders-1.9201102
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/ancient-ritual-bath-makes-journey-to-new-kibbutz-home-644005
https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/milton-quintanilla/2000-year-old-jewish-ritual-bath-uncovered-by-isreali-archaeologists-in-galilee.html
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/hannaton-mikveh-08907.html
The Tomb of the Patriarchs will be closed for a while:
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/tomb-of-the-patriarchs-to-be-closed-until-end-of-sukkot-644175
Feature on the location of Zoar:
Feature on the archaeologists who gained access to Cold War spy satellite photos of Israel:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/satellite-archaeology-photos-israel
Feature on the Phoenicians:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/who-were-phoenicians-facts-where-phoenicia/
Feature on a Urartian inscription found back in the 1960s:
https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/end-of-the-watch-for-last-true-urartian-of-turkey/news
Feature on the various poets (etc) who hailed from Anatolia:
Feature on the ‘tree of life’:
http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2020/10/tree-of-life
Feature on Jews under Byzantine rule:
https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/how-jews-got-by-under-byzantine-rule-643413
Feature on the Bait Ras Project in Jordan:
https://www.albawaba.com/editors-choice/jordan-bait-ras-project-rich-tapestry-ancient-tombs-1384069
Feature on the flooding of Hasankeyf:
Concerns for sites in Yemen:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1743631/middle-east
Latest on that proposed ‘cable car’ in Jerusalem’s Old City:
More on a 2000 years bp inkwell from Khirbet Brakhot:
More on evidence of earthquake activity at a Canaanite palace:
Sites in Syria’s Raqqah have been destroyed by ‘militants’:
Not sure about this item on Israel’s ‘archaeological looters’:
https://www.972mag.com/archaeology-looting-israel-army/
Folks are still dealing with fallout from the conversion of Hagia Sophia:
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Orthodox-church-petitions-UN-over-Istanbul-s-15606014.php
Feature (podcast) on some Assyrian reliefs in the Getty:
http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/podcast-assyrian-reliefs-tell-the-story-of-an-empire/
================================================================
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)
================================================================
Latest finds from the Minoan palace of Zominthos:
Evidence of a 3000 years bp Nuragic trading site on Tavolara:
https://phys.org/news/2020-09-ceramics-uncovered-year-old-network.html
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/09/ceramics-uncovered-in-3000-year-old.html
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2020/10/02/ceramics-uncovered-in-3000-year-old-trading-network/
Latest Scythian burial is of a man, woman, and infant from Russia:
https://www.livescience.com/iron-age-burial-with-weapons-siberia.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9067-201001-siberia-scythian-grave
Not sure if we’ve mentioned this Thracian sun disk find from an altar in northwest Turkey:
A 4th century BCE cistern from Lumbarda:
https://www.croatiaweek.com/giant-cistern-from-the-4th-century-bc-excavated-in-lumbarda-on-korcula-island/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9060-200929-croatia-lumbarda-cistern
Finds from a dig at a 2400 years bp dwelling in Patara:
Assorted 2000 years bp (or so) fragments and the like from a site in Slovakia:
https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22496200/more-than-2000-year-old-fragments-of-ceramics-and-bones-uncovered-in-trencin.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9059-200929-slovakia-iron-age
A Roman-era lead coffin find from Arras (article in French):
https://www.geo.fr/histoire/archeologie-un-sarcophage-multiseculaire-exhume-a-arras-202297
Evidence of Roman salt exploitation/transport from a site near Spalding:
https://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/archaeologists-surprised-by-spalding-dig-9125203/
Remains of a Roman amphitheatre from Civitate (Italian):
Three Roman sarcophagi from Venitimiglia (Italian):
Interesting interpretation of a Roman-era mosaic from Nea Paphos:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/09/ancient-mosaic-criticises-christianity/135688
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2020/09/30/ancient-mosaic-criticises-christianity/
Not sure where to put this item on Nagara as an ‘Indo-Dionysiac Metropolis’:
https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/culture/nagara-ancient-indo-dionysiac-metropolis
… and in case you missed the latest finds from Pattanam with Roman links:
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/in-uncles-backyard-student-finds-stone-linking-kerala-to-roman-empire-6692560/
https://www.news18.com/news/india/class-12-students-rare-roman-seal-find-could-prove-keralas-pattanam-was-legendary-port-city-muziris-2932709.html
Not sure why this ‘glassified brain’ evidence from a victim of Vesuvius is back in the news:
https://www.livescience.com/preserved-neurons-vesuvius-eruption.html
https://gizmodo.com/preserved-brain-tissue-found-in-victim-of-ancient-vesuv-1845252435
New excavations at the acropolis of Populonia (Italian):
https://www.nove.firenze.it/nuova-campagna-di-scavo-archeologico-allacropoli-di-populonia.htm
Finds made at the Venizelos station during metro construction in Thessaloniki will be temporarily moved:
Concerns for sites in the wake of shelling at Tigranakert:
https://hyperallergic.com/592287/tigranakert-artsakh-nagorno-karabakh-war/
There was a fire at Selinunte (article in Italian):
There’s new lighting at the Acropolis:
https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/09/29/the-acropolis-is-about-to-become-even-more-impressive/
… and lighting was used on the Hellenic Parliament to commemorate Thermopylae and Salamis:
https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/09/30/hellenic-parliament-illuminated-to-honour-the-battles-of-thermopylae-and-salamis/
https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/09/30/greek-parliament-honors-battles-of-thermopylae-and-salamis/
More on that 2400 years bp mask of Dionysus from Daskyleion:
https://hyperallergic.com/590131/turkish-archaeologists-uncover-24000-year-old-dionysus-mask/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-2400-year-old-dionysus-statue-180975938/
Mary Beard was pondering some statuary:
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/sculpture-puzzles-blog-post-mary-beard/
… and talking about powerful women:
Peter Jones on COVID and Socrates:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-socratic-approach-to-covid
Joel Christensen on what Greek sources reveal about grief:
https://theconversation.com/what-the-greek-classics-tell-us-about-grief-and-the-importance-of-mourning-the-dead-145827
https://www.brandeis.edu/now/2020/september/christensen-grief-conversation.html
Reviews of Natalie Haynes, *Pandora’s Jar*:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-8793803/Pandoras-Jar-review-Proves-classics-far-dead-evolving-us.html
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/women-in-the-greek-myths-by-natalie-haynes-review-from-pandora-to-medusa-6h6bbjzdc
Review of some recent translations of the Oresteia:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n19/emily-wilson/ah-how-miserable
On an upcoming marathon reading of the Odyssey:
http://www.emporiagazette.com/free/article_3e54d718-fc1c-11ea-9b73-1b73e6a0e5ab.html
… and one that was done to mark the end of quarantine:
http://udallasnews.com/2020/09/30/odyssey-reading-marks-end-of-frome-quarantine/
Pondering whether early Christians used psychedelics:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-early-christians-use-psychedelics
Folks are pondering/suggesting the need for a ‘490 BC project’:
https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/09/what-we-really-need-is-a-490-b-c-project/
Feature on Falerii Novi:
https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/falerii-novi-a-roman-city-revealed-by-radar.html
Feature on Asclepius in Epidaurus:
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2020/10/02/the-chthonic-dwelling-place-of-asclepius-in-epidaurus/
Feature on Vestal Virgins:
https://www.grunge.com/253430/what-it-was-really-like-to-be-a-vestal-virgin/
Feature on Akrotiri:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/09/akrotiri-the-ancient-town-buried-by-a-volcano/135656
Feature on the Roman mosaic from the House of Aion in Paphos:
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2020/10/02/the-roman-mosaic-from-the-house-of-aion-in-paphos/
Feature on Caesar’s assassins:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/julius-caesar-s-assassins-were-widely-regarded-as-heroes-in-rome
Feature on precedents for gerrymandering in ancient Athens:
Feature on an inscription from Somerset associated somehow with Caratacus:
https://www.devonlive.com/news/history/mystery-gravestone-dating-back-1500-4543003
Feature on a marble funerary altar at the Met:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/metcollects/roman-funerary-altar
Feature reflecting on the Battle of Salamis:
The British Museum says the Parthenon Marbles aren’t going anywhere:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8777415/Oliver-Dowden-issues-statue-warning-museums-galleries.html
https://news.gtp.gr/2020/09/29/british-museum-still-refuses-return-greeces-parthenon-marbles/
More on Daniel Voshart’s AI-assisted recreation of 54 Roman emperors:
https://www.livescience.com/ai-roman-emperor-portraits.html
https://www.latercera.com/que-pasa/noticia/como-era-el-verdadero-rostro-de-caligula-neron-o-augusto-artista-logra-impresionante-reconstruccion-de-las-caras-de-emperadores-romanos/2MEPTZAP3FEHFA6LBAHNPNEOG4/
More on that tourist accused of carving his initials in the Colosseum:
https://www.deseret.com/u-s-world/2020/9/28/21473725/rome-colosseum-arrest-scandal-irish
More on that Christian chalice from Vindolanda:
https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/news/christian-chalice-found-at-vindolanda.htm
—–
Roman Archaeology Blog:
Rogueclassicism:
http://rogueclassicism.com/
================================================================
EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland)
================================================================
A study of the 12 000 years bp petroglyphs in the Ojo Guarena Karst region:
https://phys.org/news/2020-10-years-parietal-art-ojo-guarea.html
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/09/12000-years-of-cave-art-in-ojo-guarena.html
Evidence of Neolithic-era ritual activity (including trepanation and post-mortem decapitation) from Cueva de la Dehesilla:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/uos-nfa092520.php
https://phys.org/news/2020-09-funerary-ritual-behaviors-neolithic-iberian.html
https://www.livescience.com/stone-age-skull-trepanation-brain-surgery.html
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/neolithic-severed-skulls-and-goat-remains-shed-light-on-stone-age-funerary-rituals/
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2020/09/28/new-funerary-behaviors-of-the-neolithic-iberian-populations-discovered/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9058-200928-spain-neolithic-sacrifice
An 8400 years bp (domestic) dog burial from Sweden:
https://www.livescience.com/stone-age-dog-burial.html
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/09/8400-year-old-dog-burial-found-in-sweden.html
Excavation of a 4th/3rd century BCE massacre site in northern Spain:
https://www.livescience.com/iron-age-village-massacre.html
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/30/europe/iron-age-massacre-town-scn-intl-scli/index.html
https://www.9news.com.au/world/archaeologists-discover-iron-age-massacre-frozen-in-time/161c50c5-720c-40bb-a3df-93b2a21542fb
https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/no-graves-no-burials-archaeologists-find-bodies-of-massacre-victims-from-iron-age-2927213.html
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/10/an-iron-age-massacre-frozen-in-time/135718
Remains of an Iron Age ‘temple’ are the latest finds from an excavation of a settlement site in Norway:
https://www.lifeinnorway.net/sensational-find-of-pagan-temple-remains-in-norway/
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/09/pagan-temple-unearthed-in-norway.html
Details on a timber circle found in Somerset a couple years ago:
https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/news/somersets-first-timber-circle-found.htm
I think we mentioned this 1500 years bp burial of a royal of some sort in Saxony-Anhalt:
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/09/1500-year-old-royal-grave-unearthed-in.html
Interesting study of textiles in King Canute’s shrine in Odense:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-10/uosd-dkg100120.php
https://phys.org/news/2020-10-danish-king-enshrined-brothers.html
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2020/10/02/puzzle-about-precious-silk-textiles-from-ad-1100-solved/
A Viking-era child burial from Dublin:
https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2020/0925/1167539-viking-body-dublin/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9063-200930-ireland-child-remains
Pondering the nature of the Vikings:
A possible sculptured head of Edward II from the ruins of Shaftesbury Abbey:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/oct/01/mystery-stone-head-shaftesbury-abbey-julian-richards-king-edward
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8794751/Archaeology-700-year-old-stone-head-thought-depict-King-Edward-II-unearthed-Dorset.html
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kings-head-unearthed-on-site-of-ancient-abbey-gcx7tmxk0
Remains of a medieval wall from Malaga:
A medieval burial’s skull possibly reveals a girl’s punishment for adutery:
https://www.livescience.com/anglo-saxon-teenager-nose-cut-off.html
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/30/uk/anglo-saxon-girl-punishment-scli-intl-gbr-scn/index.html
https://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/370/reader/reader.html?#!preferred/0/package/370/pub/370/page/37/article/87357
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/10/anglo-saxon-woman-mutilated-as-punishment/135723
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9069-201002-england-medieval-punishments
Remains from a Cistercian monastery in Meath include an oven for baking ‘sourdough bread’:
17th century glassware from an underwater site near Bourgas:
https://sofiaglobe.com/2020/10/01/archaeology-sunken-glass-treasure-found-near-bourgas-on-bulgarias-black-sea-coast/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9071-201002-black-sea-glassware
An impending dig under a Worcester car park:
Plans for a study of the catacombs ar Sheffield General Cemetery:
A dig at a wind farm site in Yorkshire:
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/dig-ancient-remains-cable-route-britains-biggest-wind-farm-2988525
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-54401903
Some idiot spray painted a 14th century church in Bristol:
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/historic-broad-street-church-damaged-4565720
David Parr house has been given listed status:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-54254531
Studying a 17th century ‘pirate alliance’ on the coast of Ireland:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/secret-irish-pirate-republic
Latest feature on Doggerland:
A study of the cause of death of the son of Enrique II of Castile:
https://elpais.com/cultura/2020-10-02/la-muerte-de-don-pedro-un-misterio-de-casi-siete-siglos.html
More on the sacristy find at Westminster Abbey:
https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/news/sacristy-uncovered-at-westminster-abbey.htm
More on evidence of smallpox from Anglo-Saxon Oxford:
https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/news/ancient-smallpox-strain-in-anglo-saxon-oxford.htm
———-
Archaeology in Europe News:
http://archaeology-in-europe.blogspot.com/
Medievalists.net:
https://www.medievalists.net/category/news/
Viking Archaeology Blog:
http://viking-archaeology-blog.blogspot.com/
================================================================
ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC
================================================================
I think we mentioned this inscribed 13 000 years bp mammoth tusk from Siberia:
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/engraved-mammoth-tusk-tom-river-08887.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9057-200928-siberia-engraved-tusk
A 5000 years bp mass grave of decapitated individuals from Siberia:
An interesting 16th century (?) burial of a boy (and others) from a necropolis in Siberia:
A paleolithic site from Shandong:
http://www.china.org.cn/china/2020-09/27/content_76755750.htm
On the importance of archaeology in China:
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-09/29/c_139407138.htm
https://bitterwinter.org/while-the-world-confronts-china-xi-jinping-calls-a-meeting-of-the-politburo-on-archeology/
Remains of a Tang Dynasty palace from Shaanxi:
Images of Buddhist ‘saints’ from a 1300 years bp temple in Japan:
https://phys.org/news/2020-10-uncover-japanese-temple-ancient-art.html
Buddha statues and coins from a school site (not sure why they were digging) in Peshawar:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1583105
Ongoing concerns for temples in Andhra Pradesh:
Feature on the Adichanallur site:
Feature on Buddha’s birthplace:
Feature on India’s 18th century ‘Skull Famine’:
https://edtimes.in/skull-famine-of-late-1700s-that-indian-history-forgets-to-mention/
A judicial decision in the 1992 (!) destruction of the Babri mosque:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-54318515
https://www.dw.com/en/babri-mosque-demolition-indian-court-acquits-bjp-leaders/a-55101245
Feature on Arnhem Land Maliwawa petroglyphs:
https://phys.org/news/2020-09-arnhem-maliwawa-art-window.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/tfg-alm092920.php
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-australia-54383750
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-10/01/c_139412171.htm
https://phys.org/news/2020-10-uncover-japanese-temple-ancient-art.html
https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/archaeology/a-missing-part-of-the-rock-art-gallery/
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2020/10/01/arnhem-land-maliwawa-rock-art-opens-window-to-past/
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/10/arnhem-land-maliwawa-rock-art-opens.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9072-201002-australia-maliwawa-figures
================================================================
NORTH AMERICA
================================================================
Some First Nations people in the Pacific Northwest apparently were breeding dogs for their hair (and feeding them fish):
https://www.uvic.ca/news/academics/2020+wool-dogs-tseshaht-first-nations+news
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ancient-north-americans-bred-dogs-wool-study/story?id=73406207
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9070-201002-first-nation-dogs
What archaeology reveals about the 1680 Pueblo Revolt:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/27/us/pueblo-revolt-native-american-protests.html
Native American burials and other items from a road reconstruction project in neenah (Wisconsin):
Latest on the search for the First Baptist Church at Colonial Williamsburg:
Hotel renovations in St Petersburg revealed a forgotten 19th century elevator:
https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/history/2020/09/04/historic-detroit-hotel-elevator-discovered-during-remodel-in-st-petersburg/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9066-201001-florida-electric-elevator
Concerns for sites in the Chaco region:
https://www.abqjournal.com/1501578/tribes-and-archaeologists-want-to-protect-chaco-region-ex-amended-oil-and-gas-leasing-plan-is-raising-myriad-concerns.html
https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2020/09/30/tribes-archaeologists-are-working-to-identify-sites-in-greater-chaco-for-protections-from-oil-and-gas/
Cornell has digitized some Native American artifacts:
https://www.wamc.org/post/collection-highlights-native-american-artifacts-central-ny
https://digital.library.cornell.edu/collections/seneca
An Alabama town removed a statue of a Confederate soldier under cover of darkness:
A portrait of the US’s first black state-level lawmaker is going on display in the Vermont statehouse:
https://www.wamc.org/post/portrait-first-black-lawmaker-be-displayed-vermont-statehouse
Fredericksburg’s slave auction block is being moved to a museum:
Woodrow Wilson’s response to the 1918 pandemic and its aftermath:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/03/us/woodrow-wilson-coronavirus-trnd/index.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-happened-when-woodrow-wilson-came-down-1918-flu-180975972/
Pondering evidence of Indigenous-Viking trade in North America:
https://aeon.co/essays/did-indigenous-americans-and-vikings-trade-in-the-year-1000
Reviews of Reynolds, *Abe*:
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/29/918080865/david-s-reynolds-book-abe-reveals-new-information-about-lincoln
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/books/review/abe-david-s-reynolds.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/books/review/abe-abraham-lincoln-in-his-times-by-david-s-reynolds-an-excerpt.html
================================================================
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
================================================================
Archaeologists have figured out the ‘step by step’ process of the settlement of the Caribbean:
https://phys.org/news/2020-09-archaeologists-step-by-step-path-people-caribbean.html
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/archaeologists-determined-the-step-by-step-path-taken-by-the-first-people-to
https://theconversation.com/archaeologists-determined-the-step-by-step-path-taken-by-the-first-people-to-settle-the-caribbean-islands-130669
Six Mayan pyramids from the Yucatan:
https://yucatanexpatlife.com/6-mayan-pyramids-found-this-year-in-yucatan/
A study of the 431 volcanic eruption near the Ilopango caldera and its effects on the region:
https://gizmodo.com/scientists-reveal-more-about-volcanic-eruption-that-roc-1845217253
https://www.ibtimes.com/mayan-civilization-exact-timeline-volcanic-eruption-disrupted-ancient-communities-3054032
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/09/new-data-on-a-volcanic-eruption-that-scattered-ash-across-mayan-lands/
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-ilopango-volcanic-eruption-that.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9065-201001-el-salvador-volcano
A handy list of assorted Zoom lectures on the ancient Americas:
https://mikeruggerisevents.tumblr.com/
More on all those mammoth bones from Mexico City:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/worlds-largest-mammoth-find-mexico-city
https://www.sapiens.org/news/mexico-city-mammoth-find/
—–
Mike Ruggeri’s Ancient Americas Breaking News:
Ancient MesoAmerica News:
http://ancient-mesoamerica-news-updates.blogspot.com/
================================================================
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
================================================================
Interesting feature on the (women only) Nushu language:
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200930-nshu-chinas-secret-female-only-language
A study of art in Westminster is highlighting links to the slave trade:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/30/westminsters-links-to-britains-slave-trade-revealed-in-art-survey
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/uk-parliament-finds-ties-slavery-art-collection-180975961/
The dispute over the Gweagal Shield in the British Museum is heating up:
… while the Royal Academy is pondering the sale of a Michelangelo tondo:
https://www.dw.com/en/should-michelangelo-be-for-sale/a-55078319
On the history of the smallpox vaccine:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200928-how-the-first-vaccine-was-born
Why New York, Mumbai, an Guangzhou were once known by other names:
On the Portuguese origins of Vindaloo:
On the influence of a Swiss village on Nietzsche:
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20201001-the-tiny-swiss-town-that-inspired-nietzsche
Feature on Abbot Hadrian the African:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/anglo-saxon/hadrian-clerk-libya-african-who-anglo-saxon-england/
Melting ice in Antarctica has revealed a colony of ‘mummified penguins’:
Feature on uppercase and lowercase:
https://mymodernmet.com/uppercase-lowercase-letters/
Pondering whether empires are always evil:
https://thecritic.co.uk/are-empires-always-evil/
On systemic racism in philosophy:
https://aeon.co/essays/racism-is-baked-into-the-structure-of-dialectical-philosophy
On race and European art:
https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/art-exhibits/sonoma-art-professor-tackles-race
On a collection of the first photos of enslaved people:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/books/to-make-their-own-way-in-world-zealy-daguerreotypes.html
Another piece on what history teaches us about living through a pandemic:
… and one on what people used to use for toilet paper:
https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-what-people-used-before-toilet-paper-was-invented
Review of Ariel Sabar, *Veritas**:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n18/james-lasdun/bats-on-the-ceiling
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/books/review/veritas-ariel-sabar.html
More on that Shakespeare work found in Salamanca:
https://elpais.com/cultura/2020-09-25/la-ultima-obra-teatral-de-shakespeare-reaparece-en-salamanca-cuatro-siglos-despues.html
================================================================
MUSEUM MATTERS
================================================================
Tantra:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/spectacular-and-mind-expanding-tantra-at-the-british-museum-reviewed
https://www.hindustantimes.com/photos/ht-weekend/photos-exhibition-on-tantra-opens-at-british-museum-london/photo-2Rtkk18nifGo1dqpisRl5L.html
Artemisia:
https://www.apollo-magazine.com/art-diary/artemisia/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-54334727
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-54338537
Pompeii:
Chinese Porcelain:
https://www.dw.com/en/porcelain-bestselling-export-product-made-in-china/g-55135593
Luxury:
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200928-what-is-a-life-of-luxury-now
https://madparis.fr/en/about-us/exhibitions/forthcoming-exhibitions/musee-des-arts-decoratifs/luxes/
The UK government threatened museums removing controversial objects with funding cuts:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/09/26/museums-told-stop-pulling-statues-risk-funding-cuts/
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/uk-government-warns-museums-about-monuments-1911462
https://observer.com/2020/09/uk-government-colonialist-statues/
… to which the British Museum responded that they would be ‘contextualizing’ such objects:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/09/27/british-museum-wont-remove-controversial-objects-will-contextualise/
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/british-museum-not-intend-remove-160842138.html
https://www.irishnews.com/magazine/entertainment/2020/09/27/news/british-museum-we-do-not-intend-to-remove-controversial-objects-2079818/
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/museums-warned-not-to-drop-contentious-works-2722gmv07
… and opEds on same:
https://www.fodors.com/world/europe/england/london/experiences/news/the-british-museum-is-relocating-slaver-statues-but-is-it-enough
https://www.apollo-magazine.com/the-culture-secretary-has-no-business-threatening-museums/
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/british-museum-artefacts-slavery-empire-history-cancel-culture-b740891.html
A Museum of Myth just opened in Enna:
https://www.ansa.it/sicilia/notizie/2020/09/30/museo-del-mito-dedicato-alla-dea-kore-inaugurato-a-enna_90a386e4-f08a-46da-89ad-7189280c157b.html
https://www.ragusanews.com/2020/09/30/appuntamenti/enna-nasce-il-museo-del-mito/112743
https://www.repubblica.it/dossier/cultura/arte-mostre-e-fotografia/2020/10/02/news/l_autunno_di_demetra_un_mito_da_museo-269241001/
================================================================
AUCTIONS AND SALES RELATED
================================================================
A nice price for an 18th century Chinese wine ewer found in a Derbyshire garage:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-54273999
================================================================
ON THE DNA FRONT
================================================================
Latest study suggesting sapiens/neanderthal interbreeding prior to out-of-Africa is looking at Y chromosomes:
https://phys.org/news/2020-09-neandertals-male-sex-chromosome-modern.html
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/how-neanderthals-lost-their-y-chromosome
https://elpais.com/ciencia/2020-09-26/desvelado-el-encuentro-sexual-mas-antiguo-de-nuestra-especie.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-human-y-chromosomes-replaced-those-neanderthals-quiet-genetic-takeover-180975944/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9062-200929-neanderthal-y-chromosome
Meanwhile, a Neanderthal gene variant has been tied to increased risk of severe COVID-19:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2818-3
https://www.dw.com/en/neanderthal-gene-increases-risk-of-severe-coronavirus-study/a-55112474
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/30/health/neanderthal-genes-severe-coronavirus-reactions-wellness-scn/index.html
https://news.ki.se/neandertal-gene-variant-increases-risk-of-severe-covid-19
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200930094758.htm
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-neanderthal-genes-liability-covid-patients.html
Using DNA to ‘reunite’ a pair of Viking skeletons:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-54356483
More on the MacDougall bloodline:
https://phys.org/news/2020-09-genetic-signature-ancient-macdougall-bloodline.html
================================================================
THE TECHY SIDE
================================================================
More on studying diet via pot residues:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/09/studying-clay-pot-residues-could-help-scientists-recreate-ancient-recipes/
================================================================
CLIMATE MATTERS
================================================================
The last Ice Age was apparently triggered by ‘ice discharge’ in the North Pacific:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-10/osu-idi100120.php
Antikythera is apparently a center of climate change research:
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200929-the-remote-greek-island-seeking-new-residents
Studying the role of historical volcanic eruptions in temperature variability:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200928090500.htm
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-testimony-of-trees-how-volcanic.html
================================================================
TOURISTY THINGS
================================================================
On the ‘most complained about’ landmarks in the world:
Berwick-upon-Tweed:
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200927-the-british-town-with-a-third-nationality
================================================================
CRIME BEAT
================================================================
Feature on Turkey’s ‘anti smuggling department’ of the Culture and Tourism Ministry:
A bust in Thessaloniki related to some ancient coins:
A Cambodian national was arrested in possession of 300 or so ancient jars:
https://www.startribune.com/cambodian-man-arrested-with-almost-300-centuries-old-jars/572573152/
Smugglers in Iran were arrested with a pile of ancient gold:
https://ifpnews.com/ancient-gold-antiquities-seized-in-western-iran
Those Romanian book thieves have received their comeuppance:
https://www.dw.com/en/thieves-who-stole-irreplaceable-books-jailed-in-uk/a-55141533
More on the Fortuna Fine Arts folks allegedly falsifying provenance for some of their items:
https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/13201-for-arrested-nyc-antiquities-dealer-illegal-trade-is-family-business
https://www.occrp.org/en/27-ccwatch/cc-watch-briefs/13183-nyc-antiquities-dealers-busted-for-falsifying-provenance
———-
conflict antiquities:
http://conflictantiquities.wordpress.com/
anonymous swiss collector:
http://www.anonymousswisscollector.com/
Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues:
http://paul-barford.blogspot.ca/
Looting Matters:
http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/
Illicit Cultural Property:
http://illicit-cultural-property.blogspot.com/
SAFE:
http://www.savingantiquities.org/blog/
================================================================
REPATRIATION AND RECOVERY
================================================================
Feature on assorted repatriation cases:
More on the UK returning a Sumerian plaque to Iraq:
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/sep/27/ancient-sculpture-put-up-for-auction-in-uk-to-be-returned-to-iraq
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-set-return-ancient-sculpture-secretly-smuggled-out-iraq
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200929-britain-to-return-stolen-artefact-to-iraq/
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/09/iraq-ancient-artifact-sumerian-british-museum-repatriate.html
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/09/britain-to-return-looted-4000-year-old.html
================================================================
NUMISMATICA
================================================================
On damnatio memoriae on Roman coinage:
http://numismatics.org/pocketchange/imperial-images/
On images of Pan on coins:
https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/the-life-and-death-of-pan-and-his-coins/
On Ajax the Lesser on Greek coins:
https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/ancient-greek-coins-the-mythology-of-ajax-the-lesser/
Argying about ancient Pandyan coins in Sri Lanka:
https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/ancient-pandyan-coins-bring-intrigue-and-dispute-sri-lanka
Latest e-Sylum:
http://www.coinbooks.org/v23/club_nbs_esylum_v23n39.html
… and the one which should appear later today:
http://www.coinbooks.org/v23/club_nbs_esylum_v23n40.html
————————
Coin Week:
================================================================
OBITUARIES
================================================================
George Frison:
================================================================
AUDIO/VIDEO NEWS
================================================================
Audio News from Archaeologica:
https://www.archaeologychannel.org/audio-guide/audio-news/2994-audio-news-from-archaeologica-september-20-through-september-26-2020
================================================================
GENERAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS BLOGS
================================================================
Archaeology Magazine News Page:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/
About.com Archaeology:
Archaeology Briefs:
http://archaeologybriefs.blogspot.com/
Atlas Obscura:
Heritage Daily:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/
Sapiens Archaeology:
https://www.sapiens.org/category/archaeology/
Taygete Atlantis excavations blogs aggregator:
http://planet.atlantides.org/taygete/
================================================================
PODCASTS/VODCASTS
================================================================
Archaeosoup:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Archaeos0up?feature=watch
Archaeology Podcast Network:
http://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/
================================================================
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