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古代文化/文明小檔案 – 開欄文
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瀏覽4,917 ｜回應33｜推薦2 |
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我最近讀到兩篇介紹文化/文明的報導。由於我在寫一篇討論建劬兄《走出歐洲中心主義的心路歷程 -- 命運共同體 VS 文明衝突論》的文章，順帶把它們轉登在此處做為參考資料。我不日會提出我對「文化」和「文明」淺見，在該文中將說明「文化/文明」一詞的用法。
過些時間，我會把關於中國考古工作的資訊整理一下，發表在此欄。
本文於 修改第 3 次
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兵馬俑最新發現 -- P. Dewan
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請參看：將軍俑。
Rare army general and chariot unearthed among China's Terracotta Warriors
Pandora Dewan, 12/19/24
Credit: Danny Lehman/Getty Images 請至原網頁觀看照片
Archaeologists studying China's famous "Terracotta Army" have uncovered what they believe to be a rare, life-size statue of a high-ranking military officer, local media report.
The highly adorned figure, discovered at the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang in China's Shaanxi province, is only the 10th of its kind among the thousands of terracotta statues that have been unearthed at the site so far.
"These adornments on the high-ranking officers indicate how special they are," Xiuzhen Janice Li, an archaeologist at the University of Oxford and previously senior archeologist at the Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum, told Live Science in an email. "The style and colour of the adornments featured the aesthetic taste and social status symbols [of the time.]"
The figure was discovered alongside the remains of two chariots, three clay horses and two additional figurines, offering fresh insights into the organizational structure of the ancient army.
"The arrangement of the high-ranking officers in the military formation reflected the military strategy, such as [the] commanding system in the Qin dynasty," Li said.
The Terracotta Army was discovered in 1974 during the construction of a well in northwestern China. The find gave rise to one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in modern times: an army of thousands of life-size clay figurines located across three pits, dating back to the third century B.C.
Fifty years after its discovery, archaeologists have unearthed roughly 2,000 terracotta warriors, although experts estimate there could be as many as 8,000 across the three sites, according to National Museums Liverpool in the U.K. The figures were buried with crossbows, spears and swords, and are thought to have been built to protect China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang (who lived from 259 B.C. to 210 B.C.) in the afterlife.
The newfound figures were discovered in Pit Two, which is believed to contain the army's cavalry. However, Zhu Sihong, head of the excavation project, said that the officer is the first high-ranking individual to have been discovered at this site, the South China Morning Post reported.
Military officers are distinguished by their head pieces and colorful, intricately patterned armor, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Their hands are usually clasped in front of them and their shoulder pads and armor are embellished with ribbons.
While these findings offer new insights into the military structure of the ancient army, many questions still remain. "The major question is who is the top general to control the whole Terracotta Army?" Li said.
RELATED STORIES
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* 7,000-year-old alien-like figurine from Kuwait a 'total surprise' to archaeologists
* 1,800-year-old silver amulet could rewrite history of Christianity in the early Roman Empire
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(可能是史上)第一個中央政府 - Tom Metcalfe
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這篇報導的內容可說中肯和平衡。另一篇報導關於格拉茲教授的結論則難逃JTC (jump-to- conclusion)症候群之譏。
5,000-year-old artifacts in Iraq hint at mysterious collapse of one of the world's 1st governments
Tom Metcalfe, 12/04/24
Newly analyzed 5,000-year-old clay bowls unearthed in Iraq may be evidence of early government-like rule, a new study finds.
Excavations at the Shakhi Kora archaeological site in northeastern Iraq have revealed a settlement that archaeologists think dates from the fifth millennium B.C. (Image credit: Copyright Sirwan Regional Project) 請至原網頁觀看照片
Dozens of clay bowls may be evidence of one of the earliest government institutions in the world, a new study finds. The bowls, which were unearthed at an early archaeological site in Iraq, are thought to have held savory meals given in exchange for labor in ancient Mesopotamia.
But the site was eventually abandoned, which might indicate that local people had rejected centralized authority, although the researchers are uncertain whether this was the case. After this early government fell, it took another 1,500 years for any centralized governing authority to return to the region, the authors wrote in the study.
The researchers made this discovery at Shakhi Kora, an archaeological site southwest of Kalar in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, which holds the remains of a settlement that's thought to date to the fifth millennium B.C.
"Our excavations at Shakhi Kora provide a unique, new regional window into the development, and ultimately the rejection, of some of the earliest experiments with centralised, and perhaps state-like, organisations," University of Glasgow archaeologist Claudia Glatz said in a statement. Glatz has led excavations at the site since 2019 and is the lead author of the new study, which was published Wednesday (Dec. 4) in the journal Antiquity.
An international team of archaeologists and researchers from Iraq have investigated the Shakhi Kora archaeological site since 2019. (Image credit: Claudia Glatz et al.; Antiquity Publications Ltd) 請至原網頁觀看照片
Uruk expansion
The excavations by Glatz and her colleagues have revealed structures at Shakhi Kora that span several centuries, while pottery shards and other cultural items indicate a progression from the initial local traditions of the farming people who lived there, to the later domination of traditions from the early city of Uruk in southern Mesopotamia, more than 220 miles (355 kilometers) to the south. (According to archaeologists, the "Uruk period" is the earliest phase of the Sumerian civilization, between 4000 and 3100 B.C.)
Similar progressions have been seen at other sites in ancient Mesopotamia, and some archaeologists have suggested these are signs of an "Uruk expansion," in which the innovations of Uruk — including urbanization, interregional trade and early writing — were introduced to more distant regions by people who traveled there.
In particular, the excavations at Shakhi Kora have unearthed large numbers of distinctive pottery bowls, called beveled-rim bowls. The team thinks these bowls were used to supply food in return for labor — an early form of centralized authority, perhaps of the kind that led to the development of ancient Mesopotamian city-states. Analysis of the residues inside some of the bowls indicate many were used to serve meat, possibly as broths or stews, which suggests that herds of sheep and goats were kept near the ancient settlement for this purpose.
The excavations have revealed a large number of distinctive "beveled rim bowls" that researchers think were used to serve food to people in return for their labor. (Image credit: Copyright Sirwan Regional Project) 請至原網頁觀看照片
The researchers think this shows people traveled to Shakhi Kora to perform labor on behalf of "institutional households" there; and the excavations showed at least one of the household buildings featured pillars and drainage systems that were evidence of southern Mesopotamian influence.
But the excavations also show the site was abandoned in the late fourth millennium B.C. without any signs of violence or environmental pressures.The researchers think this indicates that local people had rejected the idea of a centralized system of authority and returned to their family farms.
"This reaffirms that top-down, hierarchical forms of government were not inevitable in the development of early complex societies," Glatz said. "Local communities found ways to resist and reject tendencies towards centralized power."
The archaeologists have also unearthed several structures built at different times, including at least one built with pillars that signify the influence of the southern Mesopotamian city of Uruk. (Image credit: Copyright Sirwan Regional Project) 請至原網頁觀看照片
Early society
Susan Pollock, an archaeologist at the Free University of Berlin and an expert in the evolution of early states in Mesopotamia who was not involved in the new study, said "hundreds" of people likely gathered at Shakhi Kora to perform labor at any one time.
Other excavations indicate there were many small settlements in the region at this time, which suggests people there had not moved to live in centralized locations and that the expected trend toward urbanism was "not working out," she said. But further research was needed to establish whether that signified a deliberate rejection of centralized authority or if there was another reason for the larger settlement's decline, Pollock told Live Science.
Glenn Schwartz, an archaeologist at Johns Hopkins University who was not involved in the study, said the limited size of the excavations at Shakhi Kora made it difficult to be certain whether they had revealed traces of an organized hierarchy.
The distinctive beveled-rim bowls found at Shakhi Kora have also been found at other archaeological sites from ancient Mesopotamia. "They were sort of the 'Styrofoam cup' of the Uruk period," he told Live Science.
Archaeologists had long debated what food the bowls may have contained, and the revelation that many had held meat or meat stew was an "exciting" result, Schwartz said.
Tom Metcalfe, Live Science Contributor, is a freelance journalist and regular Live Science contributor who is based in London in the United Kingdom. Tom writes mainly about science, space, archaeology, the Earth and the oceans. He has also written for the BBC, NBC News, National Geographic, Scientific American, Air & Space, and many others.
RELATED STORIES
—Are Mesopotamia and Babylon the same thing?
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—4,500-year-old Sumerian temple dedicated to mighty thunder god discovered in Iraq
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本文於 修改第 2 次
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歐洲、西亞地區古代文明的大衰落 -- Tom Hale
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相對應的中國時期：
1) 商(前17世紀-前11世紀，其後續政權宋延續至前3世紀)；
2) 周朝是中國歷史上繼商朝之後的王朝，也是最後一個完全施行封建制度的世襲王朝，可分為西周(約前11世紀—前771年)與東周(前770年—前256年)兩個時期。
In 1177 BCE, Civilizations Fell Apart In A Mysterious Simultaneous Collapse
What caused the late Bronze Age collapse?
Tom Hale, Senior Journalist, Edited by Francesca Benson,
Illustration of a relief from the mortuary temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu showing the Battle of the Delta between Egypt and the Sea Peoples. Image credit: Unknown artist in pay of Ramesses III via Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain) 請至原網頁觀看圖片
Just over 3,200 years ago, it must have felt as if humanity was reaching never-before-seen heights. Across the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Near East, a collection of complex and highly organized civilizations became interconnected through diplomacy, trade, and exchanges. Cultures boomed and cities rose. Then, it all fell apart – and no one is really sure why.
Some of the major societies impacted by the so-called "Bronze Age Collapse” were the Middle Assyrian Empire in Mesopotamia, the New Kingdom of Egypt, the Babylonians, the Hittite Empire of Anatolia, the Trojans, the Mycenaeans in mainland Greece, and the Minoans in Crete. For most of these societies, what followed was somewhat of a "dark age" with little remarkable technological or cultural advancement as well as social stagnation.
The societies came to prominence during the Bronze Age, a period starting around 3300 BCE that was marked by the use of bronze tools, produced by smelting copper and alloying it with tin, arsenic, or other metals. This technological breakthrough created a stronger and more durable material than previously available metals, giving these societies a significant edge in weaponry, toolmaking, engineering, and art.
This revolution also laid the foundation for the development of larger urban centers, the establishment of complex social hierarchies, and the invention of various writing systems, such as cuneiform.
For reasons that aren’t clear, this prosperous network came crashing down around the 12th century BCE.
In his 2014 book about the late Bronze Age collapse, American archaeologist Eric Cline highlights the year 1177 BCE as a decisive moment when things significantly deteriorated. However, as he notes, complex systems take time to unfold. Over the course of a few decades, rebellions raged, wars broke out, cities fell into ruin, writing systems were extinguished, and cultures were seemingly wiped from the planet.
Historians have come up with a variety of explanations for the demise, including many of the usual suspects behind society's collapse.
One long-held explanation is the arrival of a new dominant force: the "Sea Peoples.” This supposed band of marauding conquerors didn’t leave any monuments or written records, so their identity is far from clear, and their existence is still widely debated. Perhaps they weren’t a unified culture, but a catch-all term applied to any sea-faring peoples from elsewhere in the Mediterranean.
Whatever the identity, their arrival may account for the widespread abandonment of cities across Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Canaan, Cyprus, and Egypt between the 13th and 12th centuries BCE.
It’s also a possibility that some civilizations rotted from the inside through a general system collapse. Scholars have noted that many late Bronze societies had “fatal centralized, complex, and top-heavy” political structures that made them vulnerable to inequality and exploitation, leading to social instability.
Another explanation is that an environmental catastrophe was at play. A 2013 study looked at pollen grains from sediments of an ancient lake in the region and found evidence of climate changes around this time. This environmental change, the study authors argue, led to widespread droughts, food shortages, and famines. The consequence of this was mass migration, social upheaval, and these once-strong civilizations being left vulnerable to invaders, perhaps the Sea Peoples.
Likewise, studies have highlighted an outbreak of plague in Crete at the end of the 3rd millennium BCE, although there’s limited evidence to suggest it impacted other societies.
As Cline points out in his book, the Bronze Age collapse is unlikely to be explained by a single factor. Instead, he proposes that it was a “perfect storm of calamities,” including many of the themes mentioned here.
History is a humbling reminder that no civilization, no matter how powerful or advanced, is immune to collapse. When the great civilizations of the Bronze Age were on their upward trajectory, few could have foreseen that their grand cities and grander ideas would eventually fade into obscurity. Yet, with the right mix of climate change, internal conflict, and technological shifts, even the most formidable societies can easily falter and fall.
A previous version of this article was first published in November 2022.
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金字塔可能以水壓升降機建立 - Tim Newcomb
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請參考本欄05/23貼文。
PLOS ONE：《科學的公共圖書館第1號》
Engineers Found Evidence of Hydraulics in an Ancient Pyramid, Solving a 4,500-Year-Old Mystery*
See how Egyptian engineers might have used water to shape history’s greatest monuments.
Tim Newcomb, 07/26/24
* A new study suggests that the first of seven key pyramids in Egypt, the Step Pyramid of Djoser, was built using a hydraulic lift.
* Dated to about 4,500 years ago, this would move up the introduction of major hydraulic systems from previous beliefs.
* The landscape, waterways, and interior architecture of the pyramid all point to the hydraulic system.
Hydraulic mechanics may have indeed been the driving force behind the construction of ancient Egyptian pyramids.
In a recently published study in PLOS ONE, scientists concluded that the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt—believed to be the oldest of the seven monumental pyramids and potentially constructed about 4,500 years ago—offers a remarkable blueprint for hydraulic engineering.
The hydraulic-powered mechanism could have maneuvered the oversized stone blocks forming the pyramid, starting from the ground up. The research team says the Step Pyramid’s internal architecture is consistent with a hydraulic elevation mechanism, something that’s never been reported before at that place or in that time.
By lifting the stones from the interior of the pyramid in what the authors call a “volcano fashion,” the water pressure from the hydraulic system could have pushed the blocks into place. If proved out, this research shows the Egyptians had a powerful understanding of advanced hydraulic systems well before modern scholars believed they did. That begs the question: Was this the first major use of the system, or had it been in play previously?
No matter the answer, pulling it off at the Step Pyramid would have been no easy feat.
The team believes that based on the mapping of nearby watersheds, one of the massive—and yet unexplained—Saqqara structures, known as the Gisr el-Mudir enclosure, has the features of a check dam with the intent to trap sediment and water. The scientists say the topography beyond the dam suggests a possible temporary lake west of the Djoser complex, with water flow surrounding it in a moat-like design.
As a Nile tributary fed the area, a dam could have created a temporary lake, potentially linking the river to a “Dry Moat” around the Djoser site, helping move materials and serving the hydraulic needs.
“The ancient architects likely raised the stones from the pyramid center in a volcano fashion using the sediment-free water from the Dry Moat’s south section,” the authors write.
In one section of the moat, the team found that a monumental linear rock-cut structure consisting of successive, deep-trench compartments combines the technical requirement of a water treatment facility—and a design still often seen in modern-day water treatment plants—by including a settling basin, retention basin, and purification system.
“Together, the Gisr el-Mudir and the Dry Moat’s inner south section work as a unified hydraulics system that improves water quality and regulates flow for practical purposes and human needs,” the authors write. The team believes the water available in the area was sufficient to meet the needs of the project.
“Ancient Egyptians are famous for their pioneering and mastery of hydraulics through canals for irrigation purposes and barges to transport huge stones. This work opens a new line of research: the use of hydraulic force to erect the massive structures built by Pharaohs.”
* 原文請用標題搜尋，此處「超連接」無效。
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11個尚未解秘的古代事件、現象、和遺跡 -- Connor Brighton
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《世界地圖》網誌上對以下11個古代文化現象有簡短報導。其中Stonehenge和Linear A (Minoan)可參見本欄前兩篇貼文。
* Stonehenge
* Cleopatra's Tomb
* Greek Fire
* The Birth Of Jesus
* Yonaguni Monument
* The Viking Penny
* Roman Dodecahedrons
* Nazca Lines
* Thonis-Heracleion
* Sacsayhuaman
* Linear A (Minoan)
11 Ancient Mysteries Researchers Still Can't Explain
Connor Brighton, 07/07/23
There has never been a point in modern history where humans know more about Ancient civilization than now. Thanks to the tireless work of top-notch scientists, historians, and archeologists, new discoveries and breakthroughs are being made each day. All of these advancements paint a clearer picture than ever before. However, despite the unprecedented progress made, much of Antiquity remains shrouded in mystery. Even though our experts are sitting on hills of information, there are still mountains of missing clues and pieces to the puzzle.
Stonehenge
One of England's more famous landmarks, the prehistoric wonder that is Stonehenge, remains as mysterious as the first day it was ever recorded by Roman chroniclers. Historians generally agree that early Britons constructed Stonehenge sometime 5,000 years ago.
It has never been clear as to why the structure was ever made. Some theories claim it was an elaborate temple for various religious ceremonies. Others are certain that Stonehedge was a way for the ancient people of the British Isles to predict the seasons and tell the time. Some even go as far as to say that it is the remnants of a once great and mighty civilization lost to time. With nothing in the way of written records from that time, there is a good chance that humans will never know for sure.
Cleopatra's Tomb
Despite being one of the most famous and well-documented rulers of Ancient Egypt, the last known whereabouts of Cleopatra's body are still unknown to this day. After the death of Mark Antony and the suicide of Cleopatra, Plutarch claimed that the two lovers were placed in a tomb together.
However, there is no clear mention of the tomb's exact location, and no one has been able to find it since. In 2010 a group of archeologists did some digging around Alexandria and found many ancient tombs from the same era Cleopatra ruled over but were unable to find her tomb.
There is a good chance that her tomb met a similar fate to that of Alexander the Great's. It is most likely that the tomb is either deep underwater or sitting underneath an apartment block in modern-day Egypt.
Greek Fire
Greek fire was a wonder weapon of its day. The closest thing it could be compared to is modern-day napalm. The Byzantines first created these destructed weapons of war sometime in the 7th or 8th century CE. It was primarily used in naval warfare and was a key component in fending off endless invasions and sieges of Constantinople.
The flammable substance was often put into siphons and shot at enemy ships with horrific results. There were numerous times when entire enemy fleets would go up in flames thanks to quick thinking and crafty maneuvering by the Byzantines.
Despite its tremendous effect on the battlefield as the Byzantine Empire began to wane in power in the 13th century, mention of the use of Greek fire vanished almost overnight. It is thought by experts that since the creation of Greek fire was such a closely guarded secret fewer and fewer people knew the formula and ingredients needed to make it as the centuries passed on; one day, the last person on Earth who knew how to make it died without telling anyone or writing it down.
The Birth Of Jesus
Christmas, one of the most celebrated holidays in the world, commemorates the day Jesus Christ was born on December 25th. However, it is likely that Jesus was not born on this day. Despite common conception, the Bible never does mention a clear date for when Jesus was supposedly born. Only where and how he was born.
It is widely excepted that December 25th was assigned as the date of Christ's birth because it coincided with the Roman festival of Saturnalia. Saturnalia was dedicated to the Roman god Saturn. The festivities of this Roman holiday consisted of things like gift-giving and large feasts with friends and family.
As the Romans began to convert to Christianity slowly, it makes total sense to as why they would replace their old pagan holidays with new Christian ones that take place at the same time of the year as before.
Yonaguni Monument
The Yonaguni Monument was first discovered in the 1980s off the coast of Japan by a team of divers. The so-called monument resembles what some people call the ruined remains of a lost civilization that has since fallen into the ocean.
This "Japanese Atlantis" has been heavily disputed by historians, archeologists, and geologists as nothing more than a natural formation of rocks at the bottom of the ocean caused by the movement of plate tectonics. The Yonaguni Monument will most likely remain a source of endless intrigue and mystery until further research and exploration of the site.
The Viking Penny
It is a well-established fact that the first Europeans to step foot on the North American continent did so around the year 1000 in what is today Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. A Viking party stopped here for roughly a year to wait out the winter and gather lumber and other resources. Their time here was brief, and little is known about what they did in North America aside from surviving.
However, in 1957 an amateur archeologist claimed to have stumbled upon a Norse coin dated to be as old as 1060 or 1085. This would mean that either the coin was from the original Viking expedition made in 1000 or that the coin was given to them by another Viking party that arrived much later. To this day, it is the only example of Norse currency found in North America.
Roman Dodecahedrons
These bizarre looking 12 sided shapes are some of the most strange and peculiar remnants of the Roman era. Most of the dodecahedrons unearthed by archeologists seem to have been made between 100 to 300 CE.
The use of these bizarre objects is something that is still heavily debated by experts. Some think they were items used in religious ceremonies, while others think they are something as benign as decorative furniture.
A select fringe group of researchers claims that these alien shapes are well-disguised advanced weapons that the Romans were able to engineer.
Nazca Lines
Between the years 1 to 700 CE, the Nazca people in Ancient Peru began to carve nearly foot-deep markings into the side of rockfaces throughout their territory. The reasons for doing this are unexplained, and many questions remain unexplained to this day.
The carving often resembled plants or sometimes animals, but there are a few instances of carvings that resulted in undecipherable hieroglyphs and markings.
As you can imagine, these markings are the source of endless conspiracies. More recent hypotheses suggest that these markings could be a simple plea to help from their gods or that they were somehow connected to astronomy.
Thonis-Heracleion
It was not until the early 2000s that a team of divers discovered what can only be explained as the real-world Atlantis. The port city of Thonis-Heracleion was once a thriving port city in Ancient Egypt, but the city mysteriously vanished from any written records for thousands of years. Historians were not entirely sure what happened to the city until they found it underwater.
What was so remarkable about the city was how relatively intact it was. The city still had its bridges, large 16 ft stone statues, and other notable points of interest. Historians are unsure what caused Thonis-Heracleion to slide into the sea. One theory is that a sudden combination of earthquakes, tsunamis, and floods around 800 CE brought the city down.
Sacsayhuaman
Sacsayhuaman is the name given to a massive Incan stone structure that was built in the mountains of Peru. Its exact date of construction is not clear. Some ascertain that it was built in the 14th century, but others suggest it was much earlier.
What makes Sacsayhuaman so spectacular is not the sheer size of the fortress but rather its construction techniques. The massive stone building was assembled using no mortar or other binding substance.
The stones all fit snugly together but are not the same shape. This would suggest that the architects of this marvel created the fortress as they went. How the Incans moved these massive stone blocks weighing as much as 100 tons is a mystery to this day.
Linear A (Minoan)
The Minoan civilization lasted for centuries in what is today called Crete in modern-day Greece. Not much is known about these people, but it is clear that they established themselves as one of the more notable powers in the Ancient Mediterranean Bronze Age.
Their civilization disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared. It is thought that many of their cities were destroyed in a series of floods, earthquakes, and tsunamis. The only kind of written language they left behind was something researchers call Linear A. It is believed that if Linear A can be cracked, then it can open the door to a better understanding of the Minoan people and their untimely fate.
Hopefully, as technology improves and more information is decyphered, humans will begin to learn more about our ancient past. Plenty of other examples throughout history were considered unsolvable mysteries, only for them to be cracked wide open decades later aided by technological breakthroughs or new archeological discoveries. Either way, seeing what the future holds for our past is exciting.
UNSOLVED ANCIENT MYSTERIES
These mysteries are characterized by either an abundance of physical evidence without explanation or records, or records without corresponding evidence.
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5個流行的巨石陣何以被建造理論 – Jo Rowan
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請至原網頁觀看照片。
第四個理論顯然混淆了「建造的理由」和「建造後(衍生)的功能」；難道「邏輯學」不是考古學系的必修課程？還是羅文女士沒有修過「邏輯學」？
5 POPULAR THEORIES ABOUT WHY STONEHENGE WAS BUILT
Jo Rowan
Located in open grassland on the rolling hills of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, is arguably the world's most famous prehistoric monument. Stonehenge is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is lauded as the most architecturally sophisticated prehistoric stone circle in the world.
Construction of Stonehenge began around 3000 BC during the Neolithic Period and continued well into the Bronze Age for over 1,500 years. The original monument was an early form of henge, which the British Museum describes as ‘a series of ceremonial monuments defined by ditches and banks of soil, usually circular or oval in shape, used to enclose a sacred space.’
By 2500 BC, the huge stone boulders had been brought to the site. The smaller bluestones were transported from west Wales on a remarkable journey spanning some 150 miles, whilst the larger sarsens came from the Marlborough Downs around 20 miles away.
The monumental task of transporting the stones, as well as raising them into place, has puzzled the minds of archaeologists and historians throughout history.
Over the years, several theories including some outlandish claims, have been put forward to explain who built Stonehenge and why? We take a look at five of them.
1. Solar calendar
The most widespread and popular theory about Stonehenge has been around since the 18th century. It suggests the monument is an ancient solar calendar that served as a physical representation of the year. It has been observed that the axis of the stones at the centre of Stonehenge marks the position of the rising sun on both the winter and summer solstice – the shortest and longest days of the year.
This would have enabled the ancient people to keep track of the changing seasons, vitally important for the local farming communities. It also provided people with an opportunity to gather together and celebrate the changes in the solar year.
2. Burial ground
During the early Bronze Age, burial mounds began to crop up around Stonehenge, reflecting the changing attitudes of people towards death and the afterlife. Burying people with sacred objects became the dominant way of expressing spiritual meaning across Britain and Europe.
Starting in 1900 BC and lasting for about 1,000 years, around 350 burial mounds were built at the Stonehenge site, suggesting the place took on ceremonial significance, acting like an ancient burial ground and temple to the dead.
3. A Druid temple
Around the 17th century, a theory connecting Stonehenge with the Druids arose. Given the awe-inspiring nature of Stonehenge, it's easy to see how the site could inspire religious spirituality and be used as a place of worship. Along with the well-established links between the ancient Celtic pagans and the changing of the seasons, it’s easy to also see the connection between Stonehenge and the Druids.
So was Stonehenge a Druid temple erected by the ancient Celtic pagans as a place of worship? The short answer is no. The construction of Stonehenge predates the Druids by some 2,400 years. What’s more, the ancient Druids, unlike their modern contemporaries, didn't worship the Sun or solstice since no records of such celebrations exist.
4. Place of healing
Skeletal analysis of bones unearthed at the Stonehenge site reveals many had marks of injury or illness. This gave rise to a theory, proposed by two leading British archaeologists, that the location was an important site for ancient healing. People came from far and wide to be healed by the magical powers of the giant stones.
Adding to this theory is evidence on the bluestones themselves, many of which display signs of having been chipped away at. Was this just ancient vandalism or deliberate acts by ancient people, hoping to take home a part of the magical healing stones to create some kind of healing talisman?
5. Aliens and wizards
Considering how impressive Stonehenge is, it’s easy to understand how previous generations have placed mythical explanations at the heart of the monument’s construction.
A popular theory during the Medieval Period had the mythical wizard Merlin at the centre of the creation of Stonehenge. The famous mage was a pivotal character in the legend of King Arthur and a theory arose around the 12th century linking Merlin to Stonehenge.
Using giants or just his own magic, Merlin supposedly moved the monument from Ireland and placed it at its current location on Salisbury Plain.
The spiritual successor to the Medieval wizard theory is surely the modern extra-terrestrial one. Gaining traction in the late 60s and into the 70s, the alien theory was founded on the principle that Stonehenge couldn’t possibly have been made by ancient people who possessed such primitive tools. Instead, it had to be the work of some advanced extra-terrestrial civilisation.
One clear theory as to why Stonehenge was built and by whom might never become clear, but what is evident is how the monument stood for different things over the generations, its meaning and purpose shifting and altering with those who inhabited its surroundings.
Facts about Stonehenge
* The Stonehenge bluestones weigh between two and five tonnes each, whilst the larger sarsens weigh around 25 tonnes. The largest sarsen, the Heel Stone, weighs a whopping 30 tonnes.
* Many theories have been proposed as to how the giant stones were raised. The most popular theory suggests they were moved into position using plant fibre ropes and a wooden A-frame. Another theory took inspiration from the Easter Island heads, claiming the Stonehenge slabs were rocked from side to side with levers. Small pieces of wood were then placed underneath the lifted side until the rock was nearly upright.
* The UNESCO World Heritage Site at Stonehenge is massive, covering some 6,500 acres. To put that into perspective, that’s 7.5 times as big as New York City’s Central Park.
* The tallest standing stone at Stonehenge is 8.71 metres tall, around 28 feet, with a portion of it buried underground.
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米勒特神話及其迷宮遺址 ---- Eyal Green
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Living Greek mythology: New discovery in Crete may be legendary Minotaur labyrinth
A 4,000-year-old circular structure resembling Minoan tomb architecture was unearthed near Kastelli, Crete, suggesting it could be the legendary labyrinth of King Minos.
EYAL GREEN, 06/22/24
While working on a new airport, a 4,000-year-old structure was discovered in Crete, and may have been the legendary labyrinth built for Minoan King Minos, LiveScience reported last week.
Atop a hill near the town of Kastelli - and approximately 51 kilometers southeast of Heraklion, Crete’s capital city – the ancient structure features a unique architectural design, commonly attributed to the Minoan civilization, and is believed to have been constructed around 2000-1700 B.C.
The structure, measuring 48 meters in diameter, features two main sections: a central circular building and an outer area formed by walls and created by a pattern similar to the spokes of a wheel. The building consists of eight stone rings intersected by small walls, creating a labyrinthine layout.
The recently discovered circular building near Kastelli, according to the Greek Culture Ministry’s statement, appears to have functioned as a site for community-wide ritual feasts rather than a residential complex. This theory was made when bones of numerous animals, among other artifacts, were found in the area, suggesting ceremonies involving food, wine, and various offerings.
Unlike the traditional square or rectangular layout of Minoan palaces like Knossos, the Kastelli structure's circular design aligns more closely with that of Minoan tombs, marking it as a unique architectural find. Its specific dimensions and exact height remain undetermined as archaeological investigations are still underway.
Ongoing research efforts, conducted in collaboration with the Greek Interior and the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, aim to further understand the building's purpose and ensure its preservation for future study. This collaborative work emphasizes the significance of the site in shedding light on ancient Minoan cultural practices and architectural diversity, according to LiveScience.
Who were the Minoans
A Bronze Age civilization, the Minoan people, once forgotten after the civilization’s collapse, was rediscovered by Sir Arthur Evans in his early 20th-century archaeological efforts. Evans coined the term "Minoan" after King Minos of mythology.
Archaeologists have dated the ancient culture to around 3000 and 1100 B.C. However, despite their complex culture and artifacts like pottery and frescoes, the Minoans' written language remains undeciphered.
Knossos, the most famous Minoan palace, represents their architecture: centered around a large open area with corridors leading to numerous smaller rooms. Despite being termed "palaces," these structures primarily served as administrative centers rather than royal residences.
The Minotaur and the Labyrinth
According to Britannica, in Greek mythology, when King Minos of Crete refused to sacrifice a majestic white bull with golden horns and hooves to Poseidon (who also gifted Minos the beast), the god punished King Minos by having his wife, Pasiphae, bear a half breed child from the same divine white bull. Poseidon's wrath caused Pasiphae to fall for the bull, and their offspring, the Minotaur, was confined within a labyrinthine structure crafted by Daedalus at King Minos’ request.
Later, when King Minos, sought vengeance for his son Androgeos' death in Athens, he demanded that seven youths and seven maidens be sent every nine years as tribute to the Minotaur. Theseus, the Athenian hero, volunteered to end this grim tradition. With the help of Ariadne, Minos' daughter, who fell in love with Theseus, he navigated the labyrinth using a thread provided by Ariadne and defeated the Minotaur.
Interestingly, a fragment of text from the poet Sappho showed that the story of Minos’ human tribute demands from the people of Athens already circulated at the start of the sixth century B.C., despite the Minotaur’s name never being mentioned. Moreover, while there was a focus on Theseus’ accomplishments, the Minotaur was mostly absent from his more popular stories, according to a report by National Geographic.
However, archeologists have not drawn parallels between the newly discovered structure and the home of the legendary Minoan Minotaur.
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軟實力展現之絲路探源 – 南華早報
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貴霜帝國是當時亞歐四大強國之一，與漢、羅馬、安息(古波斯)三個同一時期的帝國並列；為月氏(Yuezhi)族所建。並請至原網頁參看照片。
Chinese archaeological work in Uzbekistan helps 'fill a gap in the history' of ancient Silk Road empire
South China Morning Post, 06/22/24
Chinese and Uzbek archaeologists have completed the first phase of a joint project to excavate the remains of an ancient empire on the Silk Road.
The dig in Surxondaryo, a region in southern Uzbekistan, uncovered a "significant number" of artefacts and dozens of burials from the Kushan Empire, a vital hub on the Silk Road, according to China's state news agency Xinhua.
The archaeologists believe that the discoveries, which also include three houses, revealed that eastern Surxondaryo is "a crucial area for Kushan people distributions".
Little archaeological work has been done in that particular area and the team said the work helped fill out the historical record.
The Chinese team told Xinhua: "The presence of continuous traces of habitation on the eastern side of the Surxondaryo River region during the Kushan Empire ... fills in a gap in the history of this region during that period."
The Kushan Empire, which rose in the 1st century AD, covered most of modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as parts of India and Iran, becoming a crucial hub along the Silk Road.
The empire was also seen as playing a vital role in helping the spread of Buddhism, and some histories believe it was the route through which the religion first arrived in China during the Han dynasty.
The dig is one of a number of projects which China is using to boost cultural ties with Central Asian republics, with the Chinese Institute of Archaeology, the Shaanxi Provincial Research Institute of Archaeology and Northwestern University playing a leading role.
The first joint projects with Uzbekistan began in 2012, with Chinese state media at the time describing it as an effort "to study the civilisational processes of ancient cities and the cultural lineages and routes of the ancient Silk Road".
Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly highlighted the importance of such initiatives, both during a visit to Uzbekistan in 2016 and last year, when he hosted the leaders of five countries at the first China-Central Asia summit.
He told the visitors it was important that we "carry forward our traditional friendship and promote people-to-people exchanges", promising to boost cultural tourism.
The term Silk Road was coined by the 19th century German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen to describe the trade networks through which valuable commodities such as silk, porcelain, jade, gunpowder, livestock and fruit were traded in a vast network linking the main Eurasian empires.
At the heart of the route was Central Asia, a crossroads for merchants travelling between China, Persia, India and the Roman Empire.
Zhu Yongbiao, an international relations professor at Lanzhou University, said China wants to promote joint archaeological projects to strengthen cultural and human-to-human exchanges, which could then help promote the Belt and Road Initiative - a modern-day infrastructure project based on the old Silk Road.
"The promotion of belt and road construction requires people-to-people communication, and archaeological cooperation is one of the crucial fields," Zhu said.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian republics are rediscovering their national history after decades-long assimilation and suppression from the Russian-dominated Soviet Union.
He said independence has stimulated "a strong interest in their history and national origins", adding this is "a stage that all countries must go through after independence".
The South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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馬雅文化之祭祀犧牲幼童 ---- Katie Hunt
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我們應該慶幸先秦文化沒有向活人祭祀的方向轉進。否則，如果我們老祖宗在四、五歲被嘎掉的話，…。從而，「慎終追遠」想想還真有點道理，不那麼「封建」了。
Who were the victims of Maya sacrifice? Ancient DNA reveals an unexpected finding
Katie Hunt, 06/13/24
The ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula has long been associated with human sacrifice, with hundreds of bones unearthed from temples, a sacred sinkhole and other underground caverns.
A long-held misconception is that the victims were often young and female — an impression that has stuck in the contemporary imagination and become hard to dislodge even as more recent research has suggested that both men and women were among those sacrificed as well as children. A study published Wednesday in the journal Nature adds unexpected detail to that more complex picture.
The new analysis, based on ancient DNA from the remains of 64 people who archaeologists believe had been ritually sacrificed and then deposited in an underground chamber, found the victims were all young boys, many of whom were closely related.
“There were two big moments of surprise here,” said lead study author Rodrigo Barquera, a researcher in the department of archaeogenetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.
“We were thinking, influenced by traditional archaeology that we would find, a non-sex-biased burial or mostly girls,” he said.
“And the second one (was) when we found out that some of them were related and there were two sets of twins.”
Analysis of skeletons can only reveal so much
The lurid notion that the Maya only sacrificed young women or girls is largely a myth that originated from early and romantic accounts of Chichén Itzá’s sacred sinkhole, or cenote, said Rubén Mendoza, an archaeologist and professor in the department of social sciences and global studies at California State University, Monterey Bay. He wasn’t involved in the study but is an editor of a new book on ritual sacrifice in Mesoamerica.
“This characterization of Maya sacrifice was catapulted to the forefront through media depictions of young maidens (aka virgins) being hurled to their deaths at the Sacred Well,” he said via email.
However, the mystery of exactly whom the Maya sacrificed has been hard to untangle because it’s impossible to identify the sex of a child’s skeleton by analyzing bones alone.
While the pelvis and a few other bones can reveal whether the skeleton was an adult male or female, the telltale differences only emerge during puberty and, even among adults, natural variation can make accurate identification difficult.
This difficulty makes genetic analysis particularly valuable, said study coauthor Christina Warinner, John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences and Anthropology at Harvard University and a group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. But the impact of ancient DNA, which has revolutionized archaeology in Europe and higher latitudes, has been more limited in tropical areas because DNA degrades more easily in warm conditions. However, recent advances in ancient DNA technology are expanding its reach, she said.
“We’re getting better and better at retrieving even very small amounts of DNA. And suddenly, we now have the ability to do these large-scale genomic studies and apply ancient DNA as a tool to help us understand the past in Mesoamerica,” Warinner said. “I am so excited about that because this is an area of the world which has this incredibly rich history.”
Boys were younger than 6 when they were sacrificed
The team behind the new study was able to extract and sequence ancient DNA from 64 out of around 100 individuals, whose remains were found scattered in a water chultún — an underground storage chamber discovered in 1967 about 400 meters (437 yards) from the sacred sinkhole in Chichén Itzá.
With radiocarbon dating, the team found that the underground cavern was used for 500 years, although most of the children whose remains the team studied were interred there between AD 800 and 1,000 — during the height of Chichén Itzá’s political power in the region.
All the children were boys, who had been drawn from the local Maya population at that time, according to the DNA analysis, and at least a quarter of them were closely related to at least one other child in the chultún. The group also included two pairs of twins as well as siblings and cousins. Most of the boys were between 3 and 6 years old when they died.
Analysis of variants or isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in the bones also suggested that the related children had similar diets. Together, according to the authors, these findings suggested that related male children were likely selected in pairs for ritual sacrifices linked to the chultún.
“It is surprising to me to see family members, given the enormous time breadth of the deposit, which by radiocarbon dates is now confirmed to have been used over a time span of 500 years, during which these bodies slowly accumulated,” said Vera Tiesler, a bioarchaeologist and professor at the Autonomous University of Yucatán, in an email. She wasn’t involved in the research.
While the study authors believe this finding reveals the only known burial of sacrificed male children, Tiesler said that the ancient Maya ritual calendar was complex, likely with different “victim profiles” for different religious occasions throughout the year and time cycles.
How twins were identified
To avoid sampling the same child twice, the team used the same bone from each child — the petrous bone in the base of the skull.
“Since each child only has one of those, you can be sure that we didn’t double sample any individuals,” Warinner said. “And that’s actually what allowed us to identify identical twins.”
Twins hold a special place in the origin stories and spiritual life of the ancient Maya, Warinner added, particularly a story called the “Hero Twins” in which two brothers descend into the underworld to avenge their father’s death.
It’s not clear how or exactly why the children were sacrificed, but sacrificial methods in use at the time included decapitation and removal of the heart.
“I think we have to remember that death, and everything that these rituals imply, were completely different to us, because we have a very different view of the world than the one that they had,” Barquera said. “For them, it was not losing a child, not losing one of their kids, but an opportunity given by whatever forces to be part of this special burial.”
Connections to present-day community
Warinner said the study was the first time that genetic material recovered from ancient Maya remains was detailed enough to be sequenced, providing a richer picture of who the victims were and to whom they were — and are — related.
The team compared the ancient DNA with that of 68 residents of the present-day Maya community of Tixcacaltuyub. The researchers found the two shared a close genetic signature.
“They were super happy to learn that they were related to the people that once inhabited Chichén Itzá,” Barquera said.
The team also showed how the residents’ immune systems had been shaped by the biological consequences of diseases that European colonizers brought. The researchers found the local Indigenous population today has genetic variants that may have protected them against salmonella infection, thought to be the pathogen behind the devastating 1545 cocoliztli epidemic.
María Ermila Moo-Mezeta, a Mayan coauthor of the study and research professor at the Autonomous University of Yucatán, said the new analysis was significant for her, as a professor of Indigenous origin, to preserve the “historical memory of the Mayan people.”
It was fascinating to learn how past suffering had left a stamp on the immune system of present-day Maya communities, Tiesler added.
“This study is decisively new; a starting point for further, more specific inquiries about the convoluted trajectory of the Maya,” she said.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
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金字塔工程的秘密-JULIETTE COLLEN
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埋藏在沙漠與農田下的遠古河道，可以說明建造金字塔巨大石塊的運輸方式。
Great Mystery of How Ancient Egyptians Built The Pyramids Finally Appears Solved
JULIETTE COLLEN, AFP, 05/17/24
(Anton Petrus/Getty Images；請至原網頁觀看照片)
Scientists have discovered a long-buried branch of the Nile river that once flowed alongside more than 30 pyramids in Egypt, potentially solving the mystery of how ancient Egyptians transported the massive stone blocks to build the famous monuments.
The 64-kilometre-long river branch, which ran by the iconic Giza pyramid complex among other wonders, was hidden under desert and farmland for millennia, according to a study revealing the find on Thursday.
The existence of the river would explain why the 31 pyramids were built in a chain along a now inhospitable desert strip in the Nile Valley between 4,700 and 3,700 years ago.
The strip near the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis includes the Great Pyramid of Giza – the only surviving structure of the seven wonders of the ancient world – as well as the Khafre, Cheops and Mykerinos pyramids.
The water course of the ancient Ahramat Branch borders a large number of pyramids dating from the Old Kingdom to the Second Intermediate Period, spanning between the Third Dynasty and the Thirteenth Dynasty. (Eman Ghoneim；請至原網頁觀看地圖)
Archaeologists had long thought that ancient Egyptians must have used a nearby waterway to move the giant materials used to build the pyramids.
"But nobody was certain of the location, the shape, the size or proximity of this mega waterway to the actual pyramids site," lead study author Eman Ghoneim of the University of North Carolina Wilmington in the United States told AFP.
The international team of researchers used radar satellite imagery to map the river branch, which they called Ahramat – "pyramids" in Arabic.
Radar gave them the "unique ability to penetrate the sand surface and produce images of hidden features including buried rivers and ancient structures," Ghoneim said.
Surveys in the field and cores of sediment from the site confirmed the presence of the river, according to the study in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.
The once mighty river was increasingly covered in sand, potentially starting during a major drought around 4,200 years ago, the scientists suggested.
The great pyramid mystery
The Giza pyramids stood on a plateau roughly a kilometre from the banks of the river.
Many of the pyramids had a "ceremonial raised walkway" which ran alongside the river before ending at the Valley Temples which served as harbours, Ghoneim said.
This indicates that the river played "a key role in the transportation of the enormous building materials and workmen needed for the pyramid's construction," she added.
Exactly how ancient Egyptians managed to build such huge and long-standing structures has been one of history's great mysteries.
These heavy materials, most of which were from the south, "would have been much easier to float down the river" than transport over land, study co-author Suzanne Onstine of the University of Memphis in the US state of Tennessee told AFP.
The banks of the rivers could have been where the funeral entourages of pharaohs were received before their bodies were moved to their "final burial place within the pyramid," she suggested.
The river may also indicate why the pyramids were built in different spots.
"The water's course and its volume changed over time, so fourth dynasty kings had to make different choices than 12th dynasty kings," she said.
"The discovery reminded me about the intimate connection between geography, climate, environment and human behaviour."
©Agence France-Presse
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