Ewoud Deschepper’s Post

ANCIENT ENIGMA UNRAVELED: PREHISTORIC ARTIFACTS REVEAL SURPRISING PRACTICAL PURPOSE IN ROPEMAKING Unravel the archaeological mystery of perforated batons found in a cave in southwestern Germany. Initially thought to be ritualistic objects or noisemakers from the last ice age, a new study suggests a more practical application: ropemaking. Crafted from mammoth ivory, these artifacts, prevalent over 35,000 years ago, were found to have spiral grooves precisely designed for turning plant fibers into rope. The discovery challenges previous beliefs and highlights the practical ingenuity of prehistoric societies. https://lnkd.in/dNy7DNY7

First Encounters Spanish Explorations in the Caribbean and the United States, 1492–1570 - OA PDF: https://lnkd.in/gD99htY8 Drawing on the most recent historical and archaeological research, First Encounters describes the period of early Spanish contact with New World peoples. This series of highly readable essays reports original research and investigations mounted over the last ten years, a decade of remarkable breakthroughs in our knowledge about significant events in the first decades after 1492. In nontechnical language the authors invite us to play Watson to their Sherlockian investigations. We are made privy to the modus operandi of anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians as they assemble clues from historic documents, topographic features, and excavated artifacts to map out the neighborhood boundaries of Puerto Real, Hispaniola, abandoned in 1578, or to establish which sites in the southeast United States can legitimately claim that “de Soto slept here.” We learn how Columbus’s ship Niña must have smelled on her 1498 voyage, how the discovery of a pig mandible helped nail down the site of Anhaica, de Soto’s 1539-1540 winter camp. Books in this series show how early explorers found and settled Florida and the Caribbean. They tell the tales of early pioneers, both foreign and domestic. They examine topics critical to the area such as travel, migration, economic opportunity, and tourism. They look at the growth of Florida and the Caribbean and the attendant pressures on the environment, culture, urban development, and the movement of peoples, both forced and voluntary. 

Archaeological finds - how will we be remembered? As an archaeologist I often wonder this. What fabric will survive? What finds will distinguish us? What will our time period be known as? The plastic period? The finds are often what the general public are most interested in. In fieldwork terms this is termed the finds assemblage and it will eventually end up in an archive/museum. A discard policy is often agreed to make sure that our museums are not overwhelmed. Early discussions on this or a pre-emptive retrieval policy deployed on site can reduce costs to clients and pressures on archive space. At SLR Consulting we can organise archaeological fieldwork for our clients and manage associated costs. #archaeology #slrconsulting #whitbyabbey #archaeologicalfieldwork

Human activity on Curaçao began centuries earlier than previously believed, study finds - Simon Fraser University: New research co-led by Simon FRASER University and the National Archaeological Anthropological Memory Management (NAAM Foundation) in Curaçao extends the earliest known human settlement of Curaçao by centuries, adding pieces to the puzzle of pre-Colombian Caribbean history. https://lnkd.in/embVdJY3

Another exciting session to be hosted by members of AACAI - Just a reminder that AACAI are convening a session for this year's Australian Archaeological Association (AAA) Conference in Cairns (3-6 December 2024) entitled 'Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Inc. (AACAI) - Shared Heritage in the Consulting World.' Part of the session abstract is as follows: 'This session presents consulting projects that seek to push the boundaries of Cultural Heritage Management practice, recognising that these boundaries are somewhat different between the states and territories. We explore how these changes have worked in placing a greater emphasis on First Nations’ voices and discuss how this shift in focus might affect a broader change in the public perception of Indigenous cultural heritage where traditional scientific approaches have failed to do so.' Submissions for paper abstracts close this Friday, 21st June. You can submit here: https://lnkd.in/gbiFAHF6

https://lnkd.in/ebJsv9zN Extremely interesting archaeological site, a snapshot of how everyday people lived in the early Bronze Age. Without the painstaking excavations, analysis and use of modern scientific techniques none of this would have been known. So, if anyone asks me again what is the point of archaeology, I will direct them to this and other similar excavations and studies. Life, then as now, is much the same its about a home, warmth, safety, food, family, community, friends, work and hopefully some leisure. Archaeology is about filling in the gaps of history and illuminating prehistory, using identifiable evidence to tell the human story, so that we may learn from our past. Fantastic dig, great analysis.

Ryan et al provide an overview of the history of excavations of the Balzi Rossi archaeological sites, located near the French border in Italy. Balzi Rossi has been excavated since the mid-1800s, providing some of the best known Middle and Upper Paleolithic fossils, including Neanderthals, in Europe. Unfortunately, a lot of the sites were excavated before modern archaeological techniques were developed, and many of the artifacts are lost. The geological context of most of the early excavations are also unknown. The occupation of the sites was likely related to sea level position, and the authors attempt to provide some context to what the potential sea level position was. They find evidence of three Pleistocene high stands, but possibly aside from MIS 5e (130-115 ka), the age of the highstands are highly uncertain. Their best estimates indicate that the deposits may go back to the MIS 12/11 boundary (430-410 ka). https://lnkd.in/gjdqcb46

𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐭 𝟏𝟎:𝟎𝟎 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲 - 𝟓𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫". You are more than welcome to join us at the The Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome. Or you can follow the livestream: https://lnkd.in/dyHNEXdr This three-day conference will explore the impact of the Biferno Valley Survey (BVS) on landscape archaeology and historical interpretation, and trace new paths for future research. The BVS set a new standard in interdisciplinary collaboration and in presenting its results across a wide geographic and temporal range. Since then, two new waves of survey projects have pursued new research questions. The more recent projects have engaged with the BVS in different ways: using it as a conceptual or historical baseline, or as a source of legacy data to build upon. Researchers from Molise-based projects, as well as those from comparable regional landscape projects along the Apennine spine, will reflect on the BVS and the current and future challenges. For the full program ⤵ https://lnkd.in/dS6V6fze

The Vikings in Canada Scientists have known for many years that Vikings — a name given to the Norse by the English they raided — built a village at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland around the turn of the millennium. But a study published in Nature is the first to pinpoint the date of the Norse occupation. The explorers — up to 100 people, both women and men — felled trees to build the village and to repair their ships, and the new study fixes a date they were there by showing they cut down at least three trees in the year 1021 — at least 470 years before Christopher Columbus reached the Bahamas in 1492, Previously the date was based only on sagas — oral histories that were written down in the 13th century, at least 200 years after the events they described took place. The scientific key to the exact date that the Norse were there is a spike in a naturally radioactive form of carbon detected in ancient pieces of wood from the site: some cast-off sticks, part of a tree trunk and what looks to be a piece of a plank. Indigenous people occupied L’Anse aux Meadows both before and after the Norse, so the researchers made sure each piece had distinctive marks showing it was cut with metal tools — something the indigenous people did not have. But their stay didn’t last long. The research suggests the Norse lived at L’Anse aux Meadows for 3 to 13 years before they abandoned the village and returned to Greenland. ( Below ) A reconstructed Norse longhouse built beside the archaeological site at L'Anse aux Meadows in Canada's Newfoundland.