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In early 2024, Spain’s culture minister announced that the nation would overhaul its state museum collections, igniting a wave of anticipation—and controversy. It is crucial to understand that decolonizing efforts in museums do not equate to an immediate, wholesale return of cultural material. Unlike the U.K.,
A recent study, published in the European Journal of Archaeology 1 , suggests these plaques may represent one of humanity's earliest attempts at recording genealogy—a non-verbal precursor to modern ancestry documentation. Journal : European Journal of Archaeology , 2004. Journal : Cambridge Archaeological Journal , 2009.
Such tasks likely involved collaboration and the transmission of knowledge within the group, suggesting that these skills were culturally shared over generations. This discovery supports growing evidence that Neanderthals possessed the cognitive abilities and social structures necessary for cultural innovation. 147–165.
Discovering Emotion in Ancient Mesopotamia From the flutter of "butterflies in the stomach" to the weight of a "heavy heart," emotions are often tied to physical sensations in modern cultures. Towards a Universal Understanding of Emotions This study opens new doors to understanding whether emotions are universal or culturally specific.
Found in different parts of Europe, these two industries have often been grouped together as “transitional industries,” implying that they might share a common technological or cultural origin. A new study published in the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology 1 has upended this assumption. But do they? 4a) blade-like. (4b)
Unlike many other archaeological sites that have been repeatedly excavated over decades, this cave has only recently been investigated systematically. Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports , 63 (105064), 105064. The radiocarbon dating places these tools firmly within the Early Epigravettian, aligning with known sites across Italy.
The Acheulian culture, which emerged around 1.75 Using experimental archaeology, advanced 3D scanning, and photogrammetry, they recreated and analyzed the wear patterns on stone tools from Melka Wakena. ” Melka Wakena’s archaeological record offers a glimpse into these capabilities. Quaternary International.
From the audience, as an anthropologist-in-training afraid her fieldwork would amount to nothing, I was thrilled to hear a cultural-historical reference on the nose enough for me to easily interpret (ventriloquize?). This statement might seem at first glance to be in line with an account that considers history and cultural conditions.
It suggests that these journeys were neither incidental nor purely educational but held profound cultural and spiritual significance. Liminal Beings: Children as Mediators In many indigenous cultures, children are perceived as liminal beings—occupying a threshold between the earthly realm and the spiritual world.
ENTERING THE FRAY I agreed to discuss archaeology with pseudoarchaeologist Graham Hancock on the mega-popular but controversial podcast the Joe Rogan Experience. But reaching those outside my echo chamber demands more than my archaeological expertise. I’m distinguishing archaeology from mythology. Many people buy it.
But was its use during the Upper Paleolithic purely practical, or did it hold deeper cultural significance? The research, published in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 1 , presents compelling micro-archaeological evidence that fire was not just a survival tool but a defining cultural trait of the Gravettian tradition.
The archaeological discovery of Preclassic clay figurines atop the San Isidro pyramid in El Salvador raises profound questions about the social and ritualistic lives of Mesoamerican cultures. “This discovery contradicts the prevailing notion about El Salvador’s cultural backwardness or isolation in ancient times.
Archaeological excavations at Mandrin Cave revealed the remains of both Neanderthals and modern humans. Evolutionary, cultural, and social processes that seem unimaginable if we try to apply them to sapiens populations, as we understand them through cultural anthropology, history, and archaeology.
Recent archaeological findings suggest that the Bronze Age board game, Hounds and Jackals—also known as Fifty-Eight Holes—may have originated not in Egypt, as previously believed, but in Asia. 2024 A Global History of Ancient Games Board games have been part of human culture for millennia. Crist et al.,
To uncover this past, a team launched the country’s first archaeological research. The Praia Melão engenho and estate is the first archaeological site identified in São Tomé. Other objects, including fragments of African ceramics and a cowrie shell, show the perseverance of cultural traditions among the enslaved workers.
The study, published in PLOS ONE 1 on December 11, 2024, uses bioarchaeological analyses to shed light on the diets, deaths, and cultural practices of this enigmatic population, linked to the Neolithic Cucuteni-Trypilla culture. Cultural Context The rarity of cremated remains in Trypillian burials adds another layer of intrigue.
I’ll start with a confession: I am not a cultural anthropologist. I call this a “confession” because “ (bio)archaeologists ” like me—scholars who identify with archaeology, biological anthropology, or both—are not necessarily known for centering social theories like Intersectionality in our subdisciplines. Intersectional Anthropology.
Recently 1 , an archaeological excavation at the site of Ucanal in present-day Guatemala has unveiled a remarkable find that promises to deepen our understanding of Maya ceremonial practices and shed light on the complexities of political transitions within this ancient society. Dr Christina T. 1 Halperin, C.
Early Neolithic farmers, known for their distinct Linear Pottery Culture (Linearbandkeramik, or LBK), expanded rapidly across the region. Map of the LBK culture and the studied sites. The Violent Collapse of the LBK Culture By 5000 BCE, the Linear Pottery Culture began to decline, marked by episodes of violence and social upheaval.
7, 2022 By Studies Weekly World history is full of remarkable women who changed the way we live today. Later in life, she was one of the first women to work in Mexican archaeology and the first person to study the pre-Columbian site of Chalcatzingo. Impressed with her work, the national museum hired her as the director of archaeology.
The launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 sparked panic among instructors who realized it can answer homework questions, analyze data, and generate whole essays in seconds (although its facts and citations may not always be trustworthy). Ian Straughn worked with students in an introductory archaeology course using Humata.ai
Cave art has long been a touchstone for understanding the cognitive and cultural worlds of ancient humans. Their simplicity belies their profound significance as one of the earliest forms of human visual culture. Journal : Journal of Archaeological Science , 2019. Journal : Updating Neanderthals , 2022. Collado, H.,
Researchers from the China National Silk Museum and the Sichuan Research Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology have confirmed that silk played a significant role in sacrificial rituals conducted by the Shu State during the late Shang Dynasty (1600–1100 BCE). Cambridge Archaeological Journal. Ge, J., & Hu, Y.
Discovered alongside an extraordinary assemblage of Clovis artifacts—bone tools, projectile points, and red ochre—this burial site has been a key to understanding the Clovis culture. A Broader Impact on Ecology and Culture Technology and Mobility Clovis toolkits reflect their focus on large game.
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