Archaeology

Entries Tagged as 'Archaeology'

Lion-Man or Lioness-Woman?

December 10th, 2011 · 3 Comments · Archaeology, Hunter-Gatherers, Shamanism

The Lion-Man figurine from Hohlenstein-Stadel cave in southwestern Germany is one of the oldest and most spectacular Paleolithic figurines. It is approximately 33,000 years old and was carved from mammoth tusk. When discovered in 1939, it was in hundreds of small pieces which fit together with this result:
This is a splendid example of therianthropy, a [...]

Out of Symbolic Africa

November 22nd, 2011 · 1 Comment · Archaeology, Cognition

When fully modern humans left Africa, their journey is often described as the “colonization” or “peopling” of the world. Characterizing things this way can give rise to the mistaken impression that the journey out of Africa was unprecedented and unique. This of course ignores the fact that human ancestors pulsed out of Africa multiple times [...]

Bioarchaeology of Crucifixion

November 5th, 2011 · No Comments · Archaeology

Fascinating post by Kristina Killgrove over at Osteons, with bonus clip from Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Besides perfecting the dark art of crucifixion over a 600 year period (it was banned by the Emperor Constantine in 337 CE to exalt the Christian symbol), what did the Romans ever do for us:

Except for the aqueduct, [...]

Göbekli Tepe: Series Conclusion

October 21st, 2011 · 1 Comment · Archaeology, Ecology, History, Neolithic

In the Göbekli Tepe series opener, I noted that several claims have been made about this 11,000 year old archaeological site:

It was built by nomadic hunter-gatherers rather than sedentary or village agriculturalists.
It was a religious or ritual pilgrimage center that attracted people from far and wide.
The massive stone pillars or megaliths were “temples” or “shrines.”
Göbekli [...]

Göbekli Tepe: Houses of the Holy?

October 19th, 2011 · 11 Comments · Archaeology, History, Hunter-Gatherers, Neolithic

In the series introduction, I asked whether Göbekli Tepe was (as the excavator Klaus Schmidt suggests) an archaeological or metaphorical Stairway to Heaven. Continuing the Led Zeppelin riff, a better question for today might be whether Göbekli’s megalithic structures were Houses of the Holy.

E.B. Banning suggests something along these lines in “So Fair a House: [...]

Göbekli Tepe: Publications & Reports

October 17th, 2011 · 2 Comments · Archaeology, History, Hunter-Gatherers, Neolithic

In 1994 Klaus Schmidt discovered Göbekli Tepe and in 1995 he began the ongoing excavations. In 1998 Schmidt published his first site report. To date, Schmidt has published close to 20 articles or reports (about half of which are in German) and others working with Schmidt have published more. For this Schmidt deserves considerable praise. [...]

Göbekli Tepe: The Claims

October 14th, 2011 · 2 Comments · Archaeology, History, Hunter-Gatherers, Neolithic

Göbekli Tepe has received more press coverage in recent years than perhaps any other archaeological site, including Stonehenge. Some of this coverage is due to the simple fact that Göbekli is the oldest megalithic site in the world. For this reason alone, it deserves our attention. It seems, however, that much of this attention has [...]

Göbekli Tepe: Site & Surrounds

October 14th, 2011 · No Comments · Archaeology

The 11,000 year old archaeological site of Göbekli Tepe sits on a hill in southeastern Turkey overlooking the surrounding plains and hills. Here is the approach:

The site is large and sits on over 20 acres:

This is the surrounding view from the hilltop:

Although the size of this dig is truly impressive, only about 5% of the [...]

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Tags:Gobekli Tepe·Turkey

Göbekli Tepe: Series Introduction

October 12th, 2011 · 4 Comments · Archaeology, History, Hunter-Gatherers, Neolithic, Ritual

The 11,000 year old archaeological site of Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey is undoubtedly one of the most important in the world. German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt began the ongoing excavations at Göbekli in 1994. Besides being a huge undertaking (less than 5% of the site has been uncovered), the finds — and claims associated with [...]

From Paleolithic Diviners to Axial Prophets

October 9th, 2011 · 6 Comments · Archaeology, Axial Age, Hunter-Gatherers, Magic

A person of many astute observations, one of Robert Bellah’s most astute is his refrain (when talking about the history of religions) that “nothing is ever lost.” By this I take Bellah to mean that at any given point in time, an existing religion will contain elements from earlier religions. There is continuity in religious [...]

Genealogy of Religion

Exploring the Origins, History and Future of Religion