Nakisisa George’s Post

Humans hid in this lava tube in Saudi Arabia for 7+ thousands of years Story by Mihai Andrei  4 min read"I "In the arid landscape of Arabia, archaeologists don’t usually find a lot of artifacts. The heat dries organic matter, making it fragile and unlikely to preserve. However, researchers found an unexpected ally in a lava tube. According to a recent study, humans have been taking refuge in this lava tube for over 7,000 years, leaving behind numerous artifacts and art pieces. Archaeologists exploring deep within the Umm Jirsan Cave system. Image credits: Green Arabia Project. © ZME Science Lava and ancient shepherds A  lava tube is a natural tunnel-like formation. The top part of the lava flow cools down and solidifies, while the molten lava beneath continues to flow beneath this hardened crust. This creates a hollow, tube-like structure that can vary widely in size and length. This is also the case of Umm Jirsan. This is essentially a system consisting of three lava-tube passages separated by two collapses. It measures 1481.2 m in length (just under a mile) and has a height of 8-12 m (26-39 ft). The site has been known to the Saudi Geological Survey for decades now, and local people have of course known Umm Jirsan forever. That said, the site had never been properly investigated or surveyed by palaeontologists or archaeologists. Its recognition as an archaeological site is new,” says Mathew Stewart, the lead researcher and a Research Fellow at Griffith University’s Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution (ARCHE), for ZME Science. Stewart and colleagues found a wealth of archaeological evidence at Umm Jirsan. The earliest of these dates to around 10,000 years ago, and the latest to some 3,500 years ago. They found depictions of cattle, sheep, and dogs — a testament to the pastoral past of these populations. However, the lava tube was probably not inhabited continuously. Species identifiable in the rock art of Umm Jirsan. (A) sheep (Panel 8); (B) goat and two stick figures with tools on their belts (Panel 8); (C) long-horned cattle (Panel 6), photo enhanced using the ybk setting on DStretch; (D) ibex with ribbed horns and coat markings (Panel 4). Bottom: tracings of examples A-D. Image credits: Stewart et al., 2024, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0. © ZME Science Temporary shelter The density of artifacts is relatively low. This suggests people didn’t stay at the site continuously. Instead, they used it as a temporary hideaway. People (especially shepherds) traveling between different oasis settlements likely used it as a stopping point. In the harsh desert, having access to such a stopping point would have been invaluable. “Based on the low density of lithics recovered from the excavation, as well as from the surrounding landscape, we suspect that visitation to the site may have been rather transitory. It’s clear that people knapped stone tools on site, as well as lit fires and cooked and processed food. “  

Pompeii experts defend Pliny’s date for Vesuvius eruption. The Archaeological Park of Pompeii is reaffirming the date of Mount Vesuvius’s eruption as August 24, 79 C.E., as recorded by Pliny the Younger. A new study in the park’s e-journal rebuts claims suggesting the eruption occurred in October or November. Pliny’s letters to Tacitus (written between 107 and 108 C.E.) are the earliest eyewitness accounts of the disaster and the only sources providing a specific date. However, the original texts are lost, and subsequent translations have led to misinterpretations. The study outlines these errors, tracing alternative theories back to 1797, when Neapolitan bishop Carlo Maria Rosini proposed a November 23 date. This theory aligned with Cassius Dio’s claim that the eruption occurred in autumn. However, Romans of the time considered autumn to begin in early August. The debate reignited in 2018 after archaeologists discovered a charcoal inscription in Pompeii’s House of the Garden. Likely written by a worker, the note was dated October 17, 79 C.E. Experts argued the fragile charcoal couldn’t have lasted long, supporting an October eruption. To challenge this, park officials conducted an experiment in October 2023, recreating a charcoal inscription on the same wall. By August 2024, the note remained legible and fresh-looking, suggesting such inscriptions could endure up to a year. They concluded the original note might have been written in October 78 C.E., predating the eruption by ten months. Critics have also cited seasonal foods like chestnuts found in Pompeii to argue for a later eruption date. The study counters this by noting ancient climate variability and the possibility that foods like pomegranates were stored for household use, such as fabric dyeing. While the park stands by Pliny’s account, it acknowledges the debate isn’t settled. “Pliny the Younger may have been wrong,” the paper concedes, urging continued research to uncover a definitive answer. #artcollecting #artexhibition #artmuseum #artinvesting #artinvestment #artcollector #artnews #artworld #artmarket #artmarketnews #artauction #arthistory #worldrecord #modernart #impressionism #postwar #pompeii

Could Gunung Padang be the oldest pyramid in the world? This controversial site is the current matter of debacle between the Archeology community. What is the current issue with Gunung Padang? The Gunung Padang site in West Java, Indonesia, which includes a raised earth site. The paper’s authors—led by Danny Natawidjaja—claim that it is the remnants of a prehistoric pyramid from up to 27,000 years ago, far surpassing the oldest known pyramid in the world at a mere 4,700 years old. Now that is being retracted by from Wiley, the publishers of the journal Archaeological Prospection. Following publication of the article, concerns were raised by third parties with expertise in geophysics, archaeology, and radiocarbon dating, about the conclusions drawn by the authors based on the evidence reported. Back to the science: Danny's team based much of their findings on radiocarbon dating from core drilling. But the retraction says that the dating has no tie to human interaction, especially in a place not believed to have been inhabited at the time the paper’s authors say humans were hand-forming the pyramid. The team based much of their findings on radiocarbon dating from core drilling. But the retraction says that the dating has no tie to human interaction, especially in a place not believed to have been inhabited at the time the paper’s authors say humans were hand-forming the pyramid. Natawidjaja took the lead for the authors, arguing against the retraction, suggesting it represents a “severe form of censorship.” Now, there are other findings like studies of the structure using seismic tomography, electrical resistivity tomography and ground-penetrating radar which presents the possibilty that this site could have "undergorund chambers"(This is also a matter of debate). Are there chambers? Yes and no. It depends what one means by chambers. The data do indicate significant variations in density underground, as the graphs show clearly. Just how dense are the dense areas, and just how empty are the less dense areas would need to be determined by digging. Gunung Padang is a volcanic hill. It isn’t surprising that there would be tubes, voids, crevices, even chambers. In my opinion this site need to be fully excavated, if there is a possibility that this is the oldest pyramid in the world this could rewrite the books. Let's dig the damm site and be done with it!

Records of Pompeii’s survivors have been found – and archaeologists are starting to understand how they rebuilt their lives https://lnkd.in/gQW6YvMH On Aug. 24, in A.D. 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted, shooting over 3 cubic miles of debris up to 20 miles (32.1 kilometers) in the air. As the ash and rock fell to Earth, it buried the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. According to most modern accounts, the story pretty much ends there: Both cities were wiped out, their people frozen in time. It only picks up with the rediscovery of the cities and the excavations that started in earnest in the 1740s. But recent research has shifted the narrative. The story of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is no longer one about annihilation; it also includes the stories of those who survived the eruption and went on to rebuild their lives. The search for survivors and their stories has dominated the past decade of my archaeological fieldwork, as I’ve tried to figure out who might have escaped the eruption. Some of my findings are featured in an episode of the new PBS documentary, “Pompeii: The New Dig.” Making it out alive Pompeii and Herculaneum were two wealthy cities on the coast of Italy just south of Naples. Pompeii was a community of about 30,000 people that hosted thriving industry and active political and financial networks. Herculaneum, with a population of about 5,000, had an active fishing fleet and a number of marble workshops. Both economies supported the villas of wealthy Romans in the surrounding countryside. In popular culture, the eruption is usually depicted as an apocalyptic event with no survivors: In episodes of the TV series “Doctor Who” and “Loki,” everyone in Pompeii and Herculaneum dies. But the evidence that people could have escaped was always there. The eruption itself continued for over 18 hours. The human remains found in each city account for only a fraction of their populations, and many objects you might have expected to have remained and be preserved in ash are missing: Carts and horses are gone from stables, ships missing from docks, and strongboxes cleaned out of money and jewelry. All of this suggests that many – if not most – of the people in the cities could have escaped if they fled early enough. Some archaeologists have always assumed that some people escaped. But searching for them has never been a priority.

19 papers… from the Navy Seals of archaeology. CRM geoarchaeology conducted all over the US- on land and underwater. Geoarchaeologists from all corners, will descend on Denver next April. 52 geoarchaeology presentations in all, on the geoarchaeology of just about anything and any environment you can imagine. If this is what you’ve been missing, we’ve got you covered. See you in Denver. #yearofgeoarchaeology #erm #ermgeoarchaeology #sustainability #ermculturalheritage #SAA2025 #culturalheritage #STP #societyforamericanarchaeology #geologicalsocietyofamerica #geoarchaeology #geology #deeptesting #ACRA #geoarchaeologist #culturalresources #SHPO #THPO #archaeology #crm #coring #geoprobe #floodplains #fluvial #alluvial #paleosols #river #geomorphology #rivers #fluvialgeomorphology #stratigraphy #fluvial #colluvial #buriedAhorizons #alluvial #glacial #eolian #coastal #societyforamericanarchaeology #geomorphic #paleolandscapes #probabilitymodeling #predictivemodeling #radiocarbon #geotechnical #glacial #lacustrine #GIS #hillshade #denver #colorado

Pompeii experts defend Pliny’s date for Vesuvius eruption. The Archaeological Park of Pompeii is reaffirming the date of Mount Vesuvius’s eruption as August 24, 79 C.E., as recorded by Pliny the Younger. A new study in the park’s e-journal rebuts claims suggesting the eruption occurred in October or November. Pliny’s letters to Tacitus (written between 107 and 108 C.E.) are the earliest eyewitness accounts of the disaster and the only sources providing a specific date. However, the original texts are lost, and subsequent translations have led to misinterpretations. The study outlines these errors, tracing alternative theories back to 1797, when Neapolitan bishop Carlo Maria Rosini proposed a November 23 date. This theory aligned with Cassius Dio’s claim that the eruption occurred in autumn. However, Romans of the time considered autumn to begin in early August. The debate reignited in 2018 after archaeologists discovered a charcoal inscription in Pompeii’s House of the Garden. Likely written by a worker, the note was dated October 17, 79 C.E. Experts argued the fragile charcoal couldn’t have lasted long, supporting an October eruption. To challenge this, park officials conducted an experiment in October 2023, recreating a charcoal inscription on the same wall. By August 2024, the note remained legible and fresh-looking, suggesting such inscriptions could endure up to a year. They concluded the original note might have been written in October 78 C.E., predating the eruption by ten months. Critics have also cited seasonal foods like chestnuts found in Pompeii to argue for a later eruption date. The study counters this by noting ancient climate variability and the possibility that foods like pomegranates were stored for household use, such as fabric dyeing. While the park stands by Pliny’s account, it acknowledges the debate isn’t settled. “Pliny the Younger may have been wrong,” the paper concedes, urging continued research to uncover a definitive answer. #artcollecting #artexhibition #artmuseum #artinvesting #artinvestment #artcollector #artnews #artworld #artmarket #artmarketnews #artauction #arthistory #worldrecord #modernart #impressionism #postwar #pompeii https://lnkd.in/eJ2nDf_8

Didn’t get your copy? Darn. I kept putting them out around the conference. They kept disappearing. Then I ran out. Who knew? Society for American Archaeology members, join SAA’s Geoarchaeology Interest Group (GIG). $3 per year. This year will be like no other. It’s the Year of Geoarchaeology. No other reason needed. You’ll get our annual newsletter, periodic emails from your current GIG Chair (me), and invites to our monthly online meetings- to talk shop, how to advance geoarchaeology to full integration at every phase of every archaeological project, training, just about everything. And we got goals. Big ones. You don’t have to be a geoarchaeologist to join, just “geoarchaeology interested” works just fine. Join us! #SAA2024 #yearofgeoarchaeology #geoarchaeologyinterestgroup #archaeologicalpowerofgeoarchaeology #culturalheritage #STP #societyforamericanarchaeology #geoarchaeology #deeptesting #ACRA #geoarchaeologist #culturalresources #SHPO #THPO #archaeology #crm #coring #geoprobe #floodplains #fluvial #alluvialterraces #paleosols #river #geomorphology #rivers #fluvialgeomorphology #stratigraphy #fluvial #colluvial #buriedAhorizons #alluvial #glacial #eolian #coastal #gsa #societyforamericanarchaeology #geomorphic #paleolandscapes #probabilitymodeling #predictivemodeling #OSL #micromorphology #radiocarbon #geoprobe #geotechnical #geotechnicalinvestigation #drilling #drillingrig

If archaeology is required for potential subsurface disturbance below the vertical limit of shovel testing, run, don't walk, to your nearest geoarchaeologist. They live for this and want to help. Very likely, it will save your project time, money, and increase the likelihood of a project moving forward more efficiently. Mind the gap. Then investigate it, thoroughly. For those buried sites. It's too important. #yearofgeoarchaeology #erm #ermgeoarchaeology #sustainability #ermculturalheritage #SAA2025 #culturalheritage #STP #societyforamericanarchaeology #geologicalsocietyofamerica #geoarchaeology #geology #deeptesting #ACRA #geoarchaeologist #culturalresources #SHPO #THPO #archaeology #crm #coring #geoprobe #floodplains #fluvial #alluvial #paleosols #river #geomorphology #rivers #fluvialgeomorphology #stratigraphy #fluvial #colluvial #buriedAhorizons #alluvial #glacial #eolian #coastal #societyforamericanarchaeology #geomorphic #paleolandscapes #probabilitymodeling #predictivemodeling #radiocarbon #geotechnical #glacial #lacustrine #GIS #hillshade

Has it? That was published 25 years ago. Geoarchaeology should be middle age by now. (the field, not the geoarchaeologists) What does middle-aged geoarchaeology look like? Are we there yet? Mainstream? Those are the first few questions I ask in my "Letter from the Chair" to the Society for American Archaeology's Geoarchaeology Interest Group this year. More to follow. By the way, the citation: Tina Niemi, “Geoarchaeology—Where Do We Go from Here?” American Journal of Archaeology 103 (1999). Yes, we've made great strides. But enough? #GIG #geoarchaeologyinterestgroup #societyforamericanarchaeology #culturalheritage #STP #geoarchaeology #deeptesting #ACRA #geoarchaeologist #culturalresources #SHPO #THPO #archaeology #crm #coring #geoprobe #floodplains #fluvial #alluvialterraces #paleosols #river #geomorphology #rivers #fluvialgeomorphology #stratigraphy #fluvial #colluvial #buriedAhorizons #alluvial #glacial #eolian #coastal #gsa #societyforamericanarchaeology #geomorphic #paleolandscapes #probabilitymodeling #predictivemodeling #OSL #micromorphology #radiocarbon #geoprobe #geotechnical #geotechnicalinvestigation #drilling #drillingrig

The Apidima Enigma: Rewriting Human History with a 210,000-Year-Old Skull Dispelling the out of Africa myth Archaeology A Groundbreaking Discovery in Greece In the annals of human evolution, few discoveries have been as startling as the one made in Greece’s Apidima Cave. A 210,000-year-old human skull, now known as Apidima 1, has recently been identified as the oldest evidence of Homo sapiens outside Africa. This finding, published in Nature, pushes back the timeline of our species’ migration from Africa by over 50,000 years, challenging long-held beliefs about human evolution. The story begins in the 1970s when two cranial fossils were unearthed in Apidima Cave, located on Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula. Initially thought to be Neanderthal remains, these fossils – Apidima 1 and Apidima 2 – remained unstudied for decades. It wasn’t until a recent multinational research team, led by Katerina Harvati, applied advanced digital reconstruction techniques that the true significance of these fossils came to light. Unveiling the Truth: Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals The team’s analysis confirmed that Apidima 2 was indeed an early Neanderthal skull, dating back 150,000 years. However, the real breakthrough came with Apidima 1. This partial skull, once thought to be Neanderthal, was revealed to be an early Homo sapiensu specimen, astonishingly dated at 210,000 years old. Reshaping Our Understanding of Human Migration This discovery has profound implications for our understanding of human evolution and migration patterns. It suggests that our ancestors left Africa much earlier than previously thought, in smaller, less successful waves before the major exodus around 70,000 years ago. A Complex Tapestry of Human Evolution The Apidima finding adds to a growing body of evidence that human evolution and migration were far more complex than once believed. It paints a picture of a world where different human species coexisted and interacted, challenging the linear narrative of human evolution that has long dominated scientific thought. Conclusion: A New Chapter in Human History, with research that invites us to reconsider our assumptions about human origins. As we continue to unearth new evidence, the story of our past becomes increasingly intricate, reminding us of the importance of approaching our history with an open mind and a willingness to embrace complexity. This enigmatic skull from Apidima Cave not only rewrites the timeline of human migration but also serves as a testament to the ever-evolving nature of scientific knowledge. It stands as a pivotal piece in the grand puzzle of human evolution, promising to shape our understanding of our species’ journey for years to come. https://lnkd.in/e572M8cj