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古代文化/文明小檔案 – 開欄文
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2023/10/27 04:22 瀏覽5,844 ｜回應37｜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 2024/05/02 16:13 修改第 3 次
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確認了！三星堆遺址祭祀坑年代 -- 安寧
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2023/11/19 09:22 推薦3 |
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北京大學新聞網，11/17/23，資訊來源： 紅星新聞，編輯：安寧
16日，由四川省文物局主辦，四川省文物考古研究院、三星堆研究院、四川廣漢三星堆博物館承辦的“三星堆遺址考古多學科綜合研究成果研討會”在四川廣漢舉行。共有來自全國20個科研機構、大學院校的代表分享了關於考古發掘、文物保護、多學科研究、科技手段運用、設施設備創新等領域的最新成果。
年代！確認了
三星堆遺址祭祀區尤其是祭祀坑的年代一直沒有明確的結論，北京大學加速器質譜碳十四年代研究團隊在此次三星堆遺址祭祀坑發掘過程中從六個坑中共採集了200多個可供測年的樣品，進行了全面研究。根據目前考古發掘研究結果和碳十四測年所能達到的精度，初步可以判斷三星堆所發現的幾個祭祀坑形成年代處於商代晚期，並且形成時間大致相當。
三號坑埋藏行為所發生的時間：落在西元前1117年—西元前1012年之間的概率是95.4%，落在西元前1109年到西元前1016年之間的概率是68.3%；
四號坑埋藏行為所發生的時間：落在西元前1126年—西元前1016年之間的概率是94.1%，落在西元前1115年—西元前1054年之間的概率是68.3%；
六號坑埋藏行為所發生的時間：落在西元前1201年—西元前1019年之間的概率是95.4%，落在西元前1125年—西元前1054年之間的概率是68.3%；
八號坑埋藏行為所發生的時間：落在西元前1117年—西元前1015年之間的概率是95.4%，落在西元前1111年—西元前1020年之間的概率是68.3%。
青銅器科技分析 三星堆擁有獨特制泥芯技術
北京科技大學冶金考古團隊對三星堆一、二號坑出土青銅器殘留泥芯進行岩相觀察、化學成分分析。結果顯示三星堆青銅器面具/人像、神樹、其他非容器等本地風格特徵器物泥芯與容器類器物泥芯在化學成分及顯微結構上均存在較大差異，推測與產地不同相關，本地風格器物與容器類器物鑄造地不同。
上海博物院研究團隊通過X-ray CT成像技術研究了三星堆遺址出土的12件青銅器製作工藝，並與中原同時期青銅器製作工藝作比較研究。發現三星堆與中原青銅器的鑄造技術既有相似的共性，也有鮮明的個性。相似的共性為：1.陶範法鑄造；2.金屬墊片及定位泥芯撐技術；3.鑄接技術。鮮明的個性為：1.盲芯中普遍存在細長的長方體木條，是三星堆獨特制泥芯技術的反映；2.普遍使用了以青銅合金為焊料的鑄焊技術。
玉石器及青銅器產地來源分析
成都理工大學研究團隊通過相關區域示蹤調查與取樣鑒定，分析了大寶山礦區岩石的微量元素、稀土元素含量，研究三星堆大玉料、代表性玉石與玉料產地靶區的岩石的相關性。結果表明，三星堆大玉料與彭州蛇紋石的相關性較高。並在此基礎上對彭州銅礦進行調查取樣與地球化學測試分析研究其與三星堆青銅器的關聯性，通過微量元素示蹤法表明彭州銅礦與三星堆部分青銅器關聯性較大。
有機殘留物分析推斷：牛和豬是祭祀活動中使用的祭牲
西北大學研究團隊開展的有機殘留物分析研究表明，三、四、七、八號坑沉積物和陶片的脂肪酸結果顯示出動物脂肪的存在，部分樣品的蛋白質組學結果顯示出豬、牛兩種動物的存在，並推斷牛和豬最有可能是黃牛和家豬，祭祀坑形成前可能存在儀式性燎燒活動。西北大學的溫睿教授介紹，三星堆先民在祭祀活動中，使用豬、牛等動物作為祭牲，對銅器、金器、玉石器等器物進行毀器，後進行燎燒，最後將所有器物分批埋藏在祭祀坑內，其中動物祭牲骨骼是相對集中埋藏在其中一個坑（1號坑）中的，其他坑混入了少量骨渣及動物脂肪和蛋白的殘留物。使用祭牲是埋藏各種器物前儀式活動的一部分，與燎燒器物、毀器、分批埋藏共同組成了埋藏前的儀式活動。同時，根據從三星堆祭祀坑出土的器物角度，如銅尊、銅罍、牙璋、玉環等，專家普遍認為三星堆文化和中原文化聯繫緊密。
揭示三星堆遺址發現絲織品的組織結構和織造工藝
中國絲綢博物館的研究團隊在三星堆遺址首次深入揭示了這一古代文明的絲織品組織結構和織造工藝，確認了纖維材質為桑蠶絲的基礎上，對絲織物的組織結構和織造工藝進行了詳細研究。在三星堆遺址出土的絲織品中，平紋織物是最為普遍的組織結構，即絹，除此之外還觀察到了綺和斜編織物。就織造工藝而言，研究團隊提出了三種可能的織造方式，即原始腰機的織造方式、雙軸織機或踏板織機的織造方式、提花織機的織造方式。
焚燒實驗還原祭祀場景重要資料
為瞭解祭祀坑形成過程、人類行為、器物功能等問題，四川大學黎海超教授帶領團隊開展了K6木箱焚燒實驗、玉器模擬焚燒實驗以及銅鈴複製實驗。實驗初步發現木箱的焚燒效果與風向、風力關係密切，明顯受到自然環境的影響；木箱焚燒過程中的聲音、火焰、煙霧存在視覺、聽覺和嗅覺等感官衝擊，焚燒行為對觀眾造成的感受需特別關注；玉器焚燒實驗選擇和田玉、獨山玉和岫玉等材料，並以幹竹為燃料進行焚燒。結果表明，焚燒中幹竹消耗極快，且產灰量小，因祭祀坑灰燼層較厚，應是焚燒了極多的燃料，場面宏大；在燃燒全過程中，幹竹子不斷發出爆竹炸裂聲，具有強烈的聽覺意義。
玉石在實際焚燒中受熱所形成的變化更複雜，與實驗室內馬弗爐加熱所形成的變化可能有一定的差異。通過複製三星堆祭祀坑銅鈴，討論銅鈴的鑄造技術、音樂性能、功能、組合、使用等問題。實驗探索出一套運用三維掃描、3D列印等技術複製銅鈴的流程，初步測音結果表明，銅鈴尺寸與音色關係密切。較小的銅鈴聲音清脆，最大的銅鈴聲音似編鐘。若加入更多尺寸的銅鈴，或有演奏旋律的可能。
“零的突破”：完整保護象牙標本6根
出土糟朽象牙的整體保護是世界性難題。荊州文物保護中心研究表明，祭祀坑出土象牙不同程度存在糟朽、飽水、殘缺、斷裂、裂隙、變色、片狀脫落、表麵粉化剝、黴害等病害。河南省考古研究院研究團隊研發製備出了適用飽水糟朽象牙文物的保護材料及相關保護工藝，破解了考古出土飽水糟朽象牙文物脫水加固保護難題；建立了飽水糟朽象牙長久穩定的預防性保護系統。迄今為止，採用該項新成果已處理不同糟朽狀態的象牙標本6根，實現了考古出土飽水糟朽象牙整根完整保護“零的突破”，為考古出土飽水糟朽骨角質文物的保護修復與活化利用貢獻了“中國方案”。
四川省文物考古研究院三星堆遺址工作站站長冉宏林介紹，後續的田野考古工作還將繼續深入探索三星堆遺址，這座古蜀國都城的內部格局，包括它的城門、道路、水路格局，宮殿區、作坊區、墓地，還有一般的居住區，這些非常重要的功能區，它們的所在位置和關係，以及內部細節構成。從而逐步揭示出當時居住在三星堆遺址裡邊的人群，他們的衣食住行、生產生活的具體細節，以及他們的生產管理的體系模式，甚至是他們人群的社會屬性，包括它的族群等級、身份、職責等等這樣一些內容，能夠讓大家全方位地，比較生動地去瞭解到3000多年前古蜀人他們的日常和國家運轉的模式。還需要瞭解三星堆遺址它所代表的古蜀文明，和中原文明、長江中下游文明和甘青地區的文明，它們之間的相互聯繫和相互交流溝通的具體情況，通過這些進而認識中華文明之所以能夠呈現出來多元一體和絢麗多彩格局的一個深層次的原因。
本文於 2023/11/19 10:01 修改第 2 次
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三星堆文化文物展 -- Christy Choi
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2023/11/19 06:23 推薦2 |
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以下這篇文章，介紹目前在香港展示的三星堆文化文物；請至原網頁參看相關圖片。
目前考古學研究和/或文化研究成果，是否建立起中國各地區出土文物完整的縱向(傳承)與橫向(傳播)關係，我並不知道。因此，這篇報導中記者所引用強森(張彦)先生的話，我不能說毫無道理。但是，以他一個帝國主義者後裔或餘孽的身份做這種評論，顯然有馬不知臉長的毛病。
Faces of Sanxingdui’: Bronze Age relics shed light on mysterious ancient kingdom
Christy Choi, CNN, 11/16/23
Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Sign up here.
Hong KongCNN — A golden face with patinaed turquoise eyes stares out of the darkness. Illuminated around it stand three other bronze heads — some have flat tops, others round — all looked over by a giant bronze statue almost 9 feet high. All have the same piercing, angular eyes.
There’s something about the “Faces of Sanxingdui” — as this collection of sculptures is being billed — that feels both familiar and alien. Currently on display at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, they may appear Mayan or Aztec to the untrained eye, but these over-3,000-year-old sculptures weren’t unearthed anywhere near Mesoamerica’s ancient civilizations. They were discovered on China’s Chengdu Plain, at an archeological dig site called Sanxingdui (which translates as “three star mound”).
Thought to be the largest and oldest site left by the Shu kingdom, a civilization in southwestern China once only hinted at in myths and legends, Sanxingdui was not discovered until the 1920s, when a farmer stumbled across objects while digging an irrigation ditch. The site has since been found to contain the ruins of an ancient city made up of residences, sacrificial pits and tombs enclosed by high dirt walls. Archaeologists from the Sanxingdui Museum say the city was established some 4,800 to 2,800 years ago, until it was abandoned around 800 BC for unknown reasons.
The Chinese government has long promoted Sanxingdui as evidence of the country’s long, uninterrupted history — with the discoveries included in history textbooks for more than a decade. And while thousands of visitors have already flocked to the groundbreaking exhibition in Hong Kong, some analysts suggest that the items are also being used to support the Chinese government’s vision of national identity.
The mysterious and talented Shu
The Shu kingdom, which emerged in the Sichuan basin during the Bronze Age, is believed to have developed independently of the Yellow River Valley societies traditionally considered the cradle of Chinese civilization. Its inhabitants created exquisitely crafted bronze, jade, gold and ceramic objects, depicting fantastical beasts, kings, gods and shamans with bulging eyes and enlarged ears.
Around 120 of the items are currently on display in Hong Kong, and it’s the first time many of these objects, most of which were excavated between 2019 and 2022, have been showcased outside Sichuan province.
Remarkably, the sculptures predate the Terracotta Army, a collection of earthenware statues depicting the armies of China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang, by at least 1,000 years. Wang Shengyu, an assistant curator at the Palace Museum told CNN said the objects are far more advanced, imaginative, and artistic than those being produced anywhere else in China at that time.
“You can tell that it’s very sculptural and very artsy,” Wang told CNN at the exhibition opening, pointing to a roughly 1-foot-tall bronze figure whose fantastical, braided hair extends out to three times the height of its body and, had it not been broken, would stretch much further. “You can imagine how magnificent it was. From above his nose and all the way up, it would’ve been over 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) tall, according to the fragments (archeologists) found. The end of the pigtail is on his shoulder.”
Little is known about the Shu kingdom other than what’s been discovered on the 3.6-square-kilometer (1.4-square-mile) site outside Chengdu. There is no evidence of a written Shu language, and historical literature contains scant information about its culture other than a handful of myths and legends, including a reference to a Shu king called Can Cong whose eyes were said to have protruded — perhaps explaining why so many of the 13,000 relics recovered from the site feature bulging eyes.
After the Shu state was conquered by the Qin dynasty in 316 BC, Shu culture was “buried” under the “mainstream” culture that later emerged on China’s central plain, Chinese authorities wrote in a 2013 UNESCO submission seeking to have Sanxingdui and two nearby archeological sites recognized as World Heritage Sites. They are currently on UNESCO’s “tentative list.”
Since 1986, eight excavated pits at Sanxingdui have yielded giant masks of gods with bulbous, insect-like eyes and protruding ears, mythical creatures with gaping mouths and an almost 4-meter-tall (13-foot) bronze “tree of life” sculpture decorated with ornaments like a Christmas tree. All the items were found shattered, burned and buried, leading experts to believe the pits were used for ritual sacrifices. Some have now been painstakingly re-constructed by archaeologists. “It took 10 years to reconstruct the tree,” said Wang Shengyu, an assistant curator at the museum who helped curate the exhibition.
That tree is not on show in Hong Kong, as it is considered too precious to send abroad, but a section of one of six others discovered and ornaments are on display at the museum, as well as a 3D holographic projection of what experts think it would have looked like – its layers and branches adorned with birds, flowers, fruit, dragons, bells as well as jade and gold foil ornaments. The set are thought to have been part of a theater space.
‘Historical myth’ of a continuous civilization
The exhibition places these items in the context of other ancient civilizations and includes the Shu among the many societies to have existed in the country’s “5,000-year history.” According to a press release from organizers, museum and Hong Kong government officials at the opening stressed the “continuity, inventiveness, unity, inclusiveness and emphasis on peace and harmony” of Chinese history.
Henry Tang, chairman of the governing body behind the West Kowloon Cultural District (where the Palace Museum is located) and a former candidate for Hong Kong’s top leadership role, said in a statement that the district and museum are looking to “promote cultural and artistic exchanges between China and the world, ‘tell China’s story well’, and strengthen the public’s cultural self-confidence.”
But the narrative that the Shu kingdom was innately Chinese is contentious, according to Ian Johnson, a senior fellow for China Studies at US think tank, the Council on Foreign Relations.
“Over the past few decades, the (Chinese Communist Party) has been trying to push a historical myth that all the peoples who have ever lived inside the current borders of the People’s Republic are ‘Chinese,’” he told CNN over email.
“The basic idea is that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) encompasses people who naturally belong together and therefore, from today’s standpoint, form a nation. Hence any effort to have autonomy or even independence is taboo — it runs against history.”
The People’s Republic of China was established in 1949, and its government has often used China’s continuous history as evidence that ethnic groups such as the Tibetans and the Uyghurs have always belonged to China.
Johnson said that there was little support for the idea that civilizations along the Yellow River had much in common with those in the Sichuan Basin.
“They have commonalities but are not the same — just as ancient Assyrians and Phoenicians and Greeks weren’t the same, even if they shared certain things in common,” he said, adding: “sponsoring these kinds of exhibitions are popular and win the government credit.”
When asked to comment, the Hong Kong Palace Museum said the exhibition was “curated based on academic and archaeological research” and that it reinforces its mission to deepen audiences’ “understanding of the lives and cultures of various regions and ethnic groups as well as exchanges among them in ancient China, which have contributed to the magnificence of China’s civilization and its ‘diversity in unity’ pattern of development.”
本文於 2023/11/19 06:26 修改第 2 次
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古城故事 – Joel Day
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2023/11/17 14:25 推薦2 |
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請參見本欄上一篇《《古城故事》讀後》。
Ancient Chinese city mystery unlocked after evidence of 'human sacrifice' unearthed
The ancient site offers a captivating glimpse into China's long-lost ancient culture - and reveals a darker side to the region's past.
JOEL DAY, 11/15/23
Shimao (石峁) sits in China's far north, an ancient settlement that likely played a central role in the region's culture and trade thousands of years ago.
Archaeologists believe it played this role during the early Xia Dynasty, and was once referred to as the "Stone City" given its advanced fortifications and installations.
Thriving for over three centuries, Shimao dates back to 2000 BC and is the largest known walled site of that period of China.
Researchers originally believed that the city's fortifications were once a part of the Great Wall, but on discovering pieces of jade, realised that they had found a Neolithic-era settlement.
Perhaps the darkest of all the discoveries made at the site have been in the piles of human bones, hinting at a culture of human sacrifice, and the first of its kind in China.
Before excavations were briefly suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, archaeologists uncovered 70 beautiful relief sculptures in stone, impressions of serpents, monsters, and half-human beasts similar to Bronze Age icons found in China.
Radiocarbon dating astonished the researchers when they found much to date from 4,300 years ago, making it nearly 2,000 years older than the first section of the Great Wall, and 500 years before the Chinese civilisation (千島湖) emerged in the Central Plains to the south.
The most grisly of all the discoveries came underneath the city's eastern wall in the form of 80 human skulls clustered in six pits.
No skeletons were attached to any of the skulls, and their number and placement suggest a ritual beheading was committed during the laying of the wall's foundation.
The earliest known example of human sacrifice in Chinese history, forensic scientists determined that almost all of the victims were young girls, most likely prisoners who belonged to a rival group.
Li Min, an archaeologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has visited and written extensively about Shimao, told National Geographic: "The scale of ritual violence observed at Shimao was unprecedented in early China."
The skulls, according to Li, preempted what would become a culture of human sacrifice and a "defining attribute of Shang civilisation" many centuries afterwards before dynasties eventually put an end to the practice.
Skulls are just one indication that the gates to the city marked the entrance to another world, for anyone crossing the threshold would have been amazed at the relatively advanced architecture.
Stone blocks in the high terrace walls were carved with lozenge designs to make them appear like giant eyes gazing down at the East Gate.
And, wedged into the stone walls at regular intervals were thousands of pieces of black and dark green jade, ornaments that shimmered in the sun and warded off the evil eye and displayed the power and wealth of the Shimao elites.
It wasn't an insular society, however, and the vast wealth of jade artefacts found at the site suggests Shimao — which had no natural jade of its own — had distant trading partners.
Ideas, technology, and goods are thought to have been exchanged from a host of other cultures across modern-day China, from the Altai steppe to the north to coastal regions near the Yellow Sea.
本文於 2023/11/17 14:25 修改第 1 次
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《古城故事》讀後
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2023/11/17 14:15 推薦1 |
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下面這篇文章以活人祭為介紹石峁文化的切入點。
該文化(約公元前2,000年)是龍山文化(約公元前3,000年 – 1,900年)的晚期。從以玉和菱形圖樣來裝飾城牆，可以看出石峁人的富裕與文化水平高度。從貿易範圍的廣度 – 阿爾泰山到黃海之濱 – 來看，交通工具與附屬產業(旅館、餐飲)在當時應該也非常發達。
該文沒有報導其它的文化面向，如「文字」。有待學者將石峁文化和其它同時期與鄰近的「文化」做個連接和比對，才能對中華文化有更全面、更深入的了解。
本文於 2023/11/17 14:23 修改第 2 次
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印尼金字塔可能改寫人類歷史 - Jordan Pearson
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2023/11/09 16:13 推薦1 |
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位於印尼Gunung Padang 的金字塔號稱有 27,000 to 16,000年之久。如果測試結果得到證實，它相當於考古學諾貝爾獎的發現猶其余事；改寫人類歷史的震撼至少比美哥白尼式劃時代性發現。
A Prehistoric Pyramid May Have Just Rewritten Human History, Scientists Claim
The pyramid of Gunung Padang in Indonesia began construction in the deep past, a new study claims, and was built by an unknown ancient people.
Jordan Pearson, 11/07/23
The pyramids of Egypt are staggeringly ancient. By the time of Cleopatra, they were already thousands of years old. But new research claims that another pyramid might have them all beat, potentially rewriting the history of human civilization.
A team of researchers say in a new study that Gunung Padang, a pyramid in Indonesia, is at least 16,000 years old, roughly 10,000 years older than the pyramid of Djoser in Egypt, long thought to be the world’s oldest.
The researchers, who hail from a collection of universities and institutions in Indonesia, say this makes Gunung Padang “potentially…the oldest pyramid in the world.” In contrast, ancient Egyptians are believed to have begun construction on the Djoser pyramid roughly 5,000 years ago. The new research indicates that Gunung Padang is a highly complex, prehistoric pyramid that sheds “light on the engineering capabilities of ancient civilizations during the Palaeolithic era,” also known as the Stone Age.
Gunung Padang is a pyramid-shaped mound of terraced earth adorned with ancient stone built on top of an extinct volcano. It has long been acknowledged as an ancient site, but just how old has been a matter of some debate. Most estimates have placed it under 2,000 years old, but Indonesian geologist Danny Hilman Natawidjaja—one of the study's co-authors—has long claimed that the site is much older. A decade ago, Natawidjaja’s claims caught the attention of then-President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who set up a task force to study the pyramid, which included Natawidjaja.
Natawidjaja’s claims are controversial because they suggest an unknown Stone Age civilization created a monumental pyramid. ''People think the prehistoric age was primitive, but this monument proves that wrong,” he said in 2013. Since then, the team’s work has been revealed in piecemeal. Last month, they published a study in the peer-reviewed journal Archaeological Prospection that concludes the oldest parts of Gunung Padang are 27,000 to 16,000 years old, based on a range of tests including electrical resistivity tomography, ground-penetrating radar, seismic tomography, and core sampling among other methods.
Using these techniques and aided by a landslide on one side of the structure that researchers say revealed a new and much earlier layer of the pyramid’s construction, the paper’s authors conclude that Gunung Padang was built in stages over millennia. The authors explain:
“According to the analysis, Unit 3 [the oldest layer] is estimated to have been constructed during the remarkable timeframe of 25,000 to 14,000 BCE. Following this period, there was a hiatus spanning from 14,000 to 7,900 BCE before Unit 3 was ultimately buried between 7,900 and 6,100 BCE. Remarkably, approximately two millennia later, the construction of Unit 2 took place between 6,000 and 5,500 BCE. Another significant hiatus occurred from 5,500 to 2,100 BCE, followed by the construction of Unit 1 between 2,000 and 1,100 BCE. Lastly, an intriguing excavation of Unit 2 and subsequent soil fills transpired between 1,393 and 1,499 CE.”
The researchers write that “this study sheds light on advanced masonry skills dating back to the last glacial period,” and “challenges the conventional belief that human civilization and the development of advanced construction techniques emerged only during the warm period of the early Holocene or the beginning of the Neolithic, with the advent of agriculture approximately 11, 000 years ago.” Rather, they say that the evidence from Gunung Padang indicates that advanced construction techniques existed before agriculture was adopted.
Natawidjaja and his co-authors write that more research is needed to uncover more information about Gunung Padang, and researchers from around the world will surely be eager to independently assess the claims included in the paper. Regardless, it’s a fascinating proposal about what human existence was really like in the time before recorded history.
本文於 2023/11/29 21:47 修改第 2 次
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簡介15個非洲的古代文化/文明 -- Deb Lotti
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2023/10/27 14:18 推薦1 |
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15 ancient African civilizations you should know about
Deb Lotti, 10/25/23
Africa is the world’s second-largest continent and home to a multitude of peoples. It has also been the birthplace of some of history’s most interesting civilizations. Here are a few examples.
Ancient Egypt
The ancient Egyptian civilization evolved over three millennia until its absorption into the Roman Empire in 30 BCE. Their mastery of a hieroglyphic writing system has provided us with exceptional documentation of their history. Many of their monuments have also survived, including pyramids and temples covered in bas-relief sculptures (photo) depicting political events as well as scenes from everyday life.
Kingdom of Kush
This kingdom arose around 2,000 BCE and enjoyed centuries of prosperity in the region now known as Nubia. Its long history is marked by both trade relations and military conflict with its northern neighbor, Egypt. Surviving monuments show an assimilation of Egyptian customs with those of the rest of Africa. Examples include funerary rites seen in the pyramids of Meroë (photo).
Carthage
This city-state was founded by the Phoenicians during the 9th century BCE in modern Tunisia. According to legend, Queen Dido was responsible for its creation. Carthage was a commercial and military power that rivalled Rome for two centuries. In fact, it was during this period that Hannibal, the famous Carthaginian general, crossed the Alps with elephants to launch an attack in the heart of enemy territory.
Land of Punt
While its exact location remains unknown, the Land of Punt was probably situated south of the Red Sea. Ancient Egyptians spoke of Punt as a valued trading partner. In the 15th century BCE, Queen Hatshepsut commissioned a major naval expedition to Punt that returned with incense, ivory, and myrrh trees. The voyage was immortalized in bas-relief sculptures adorning her mortuary temple.
Mauritania
This Maghreb kingdom was a federation of Moorish (or Berber) tribes annexed by Rome in the first century during the reign of Caligula. In Cherchell, Algeria, visitors can still admire a round, African-style tomb decorated with Hellenistic patterns (photo) that houses the remains of Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Egypt’s last queen and wife of King Juba II of Mauritania.
Kingdom of Aksum
Ethiopia has given rise to several civilizations since antiquity. The Kingdom of Aksum, one of the largest Ethiopian states, arose in the first century and eventually developed its own language (Ge’ez), alphabet, and money. It left behind numerous monuments, including the obelisk depicted in this drawing. Aksum was also one of history’s first Christian states. Christianity became its official religion all the way back in the fourth century.
Jolof Empire
This large medieval Muslim empire was founded in the 13th century in present-day Senegal and Gambia. It produced a common culture and language, Wolof, which is still spoken there today. Numerous iron, silver, brass, and gold ornaments from this period testify to a highly skilled population. The empire finally split into several kingdoms in the 16th century.
Ashanti Empire
This empire rose to prominence in what is now Ghana near the end of the 17th century. Thanks to mining and trade in gold and jewelry (photo), the Ashanti people enjoyed a prosperous existence. British traders on the coast saw a source of fabulous riches and initially established commercial ties with the empire, namely in slave trading. They did not begin to colonize the area until the late 19th century.
Republic of Salé
This maritime city-state came into existence following the expulsion of ancient Muslims, known as Moriscos, from Spain in the 17th century. Some settled around the Casbah of the Udaya, a medieval Moroccan fortress (photo), then revolted against the local sultan to proclaim their own republic. The new state then proceeded to live off the spoils of piracy in retaliation against Spain’s seizure of Morisco property.
Ajuran Sultanate©Wikimedia Commons
Somalia was once home to a series of sultanates. Ajuran, one of the most powerful, ruled over a large portion of the Horn of Africa from the Middle Ages until the 17th century. Its impressive architectural heritage includes protective fortifications built to guard against foreign invasion and highly sophisticated hydraulic systems for improving agriculture.
Kingdom of Benin
This kingdom arose in the 13th century in the forests of present-day Nigeria. It prospered for many centuries thanks to trade in gold and slaves. Benin is particularly famous for the Benin Bronzes, a group of brass and bronze sculptures and plaques (photo). The kingdom also served as a regional commercial hub under the control of the Oba, or king.
Hausa
The Hausa occupied several city-states in the Sahel region starting in the 15th century and are remembered for their skilled leatherwork (photo). According to one origin myth, the Hausa were descended from Bayajida, a man from Baghdad who married the Queen of Daura (now part of Nigeria) and brought about numerous changes in the Indigenous society, such as ending its matriarchy.
Bambara kingdom of Ségou
The Bambara people were originally part of the Mali Empire, but when the Empire adopted Islam during the Middle Ages, many of them migrated to Ségou, where they founded an animist kingdom. In the 18th century, under the reign of Mamari “the Commander” Kulibali, the Bambara kingdom grew into a powerful state with its own army and navy. The Commander, whose tomb can be see in this photo, continues to inspire legends to this day.
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulus formed a kingdom in the 19th century under the leadership of Shaka, a mythical chief who created a formidable army and brought his people into political unity. They enjoyed a reputation as fierce warriors who fought and often defeated white colonists in southern Africa. The South African province of KwaZulu-Natal still has a symbolic king.
Tuareg people
These nomadic tribes of Berber origin have lived for centuries in the Sahara, where they long held control over trade routes. Today, they are dispersed among several north African countries and the Sahel region. While their reputation as skilled warriors has long been celebrated, the Tuareg also enjoy a vibrant culture and an oral tradition passed down by women. According to legend, the Tuareg trace their origin back to a common female ancestor.
本文於 2023/10/27 14:18 修改第 1 次
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十大古文明及其首都位置 ----- Joshua Chiedu
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2023/10/27 04:27 推薦1 |
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本文原載於一份旅遊雜誌；它不是學術性文章；這可能是此文未介紹中國的原因。
10 Greatest Civilizations The World Has Ever Known And Where Their Capital Cities Are Located Today
JOSHUA CHIEDU, 10/08/23
With so much importance placed on these ancient cities, they often held the greatest treasures of the oldest civilizations they served.
SUMMARY
* Ancient civilizations built capital cities that served as the heart of their territories, holding great treasures and historical significance.
* Rome, Carthage, and Athens were capitals of ancient civilizations that left a significant impact on history and can still be explored today.
* The location of ancient capital cities such as Carthage, Rome, and Uruk can still be visited in present-day Tunisia, Italy, and Iraq, providing valuable insights into the lives of historic people.
Throughout human existence, several ancient civilizations have sprung up in different parts of the world. As they grew in size and strength, they established cities, some of which were kept aside to serve as their capitals from where they ruled their territories. With so much importance placed on these cities, they often held the greatest treasures of the civilizations which they served.
To invaders of old, these ancient cities around the world were often viewed as the heart that needed to be struck to bring down the entire body, but for history lovers in the modern day, the world's ancient civilizations and their capital cities today are the best places to learn more about historic people and where they lived.
From the ancient Sumerian civilization to Ancient Egypt, here are the greatest civilizations the world has ever known and where their capital cities are located in the ancient and modern world.
10 Ancient Carthage
The Carthaginian Civilization was, without a doubt, one of the great civilizations to ever exist in the world. The origins of this ancient Semitic civilization date to the 9th century BC when it was founded by the sea-trade-loving Phoenicians. The civilization quickly grew and soon became the dominant power in the Mediterranean.
Its reign over the region, however, would eventually be greatly threatened by Ancient Rome and would eventually come to an end in 146 BC after decades of fierce Naval and ground battles with the relentless Romans.
Location of the capital city: Carthage was the capital of the Carthaginian civilization, and it is located in the present-day city of Tunis in Tunisia.
9 Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a mighty civilization founded in the 8th century BC in what is now present-day Rome, Italy. The empire was one of the largest in history, and it dominated the Mediterranean and large parts of Europe for a long time until its fall in 480 AD.
It was one of the most successful civilizations in history, and a great deal of inventions has been attributed to it, including concrete, the Roman amphitheater, welfare, newspapers, and many more.
Location of the capital city: Rome was the capital of Ancient Rome, and the city still exists today in present-day Italy.
8 Etruscan Civilization
The Etruscan civilization was one of the first civilizations in the world that originated in the Italian peninsula. Its origins date to around 900 BC, and it quickly grew to become the dominant power in Italy until it was conquered by Ancient Rome in the 3rd century BC. Ancient Rome then went on to adopt a great deal of Etruscan culture and inventions.
Like some other civilizations around the Mediterranean, Etruscan civilization was made up of independent city-states, so it did not necessarily have a capital city. The Etruscan Civilization, however, had a few notable cities like Veli, Caere, Tarquinia, Populonia, and Vulci, although most of these cities were destroyed by the Romans.
Veli was the richest city-state during the reign of the Etruscan civilization, but it was completely destroyed when the Romans invaded the city in 396 BC. The ruins of Veli today can be seen at Isola Farnese, Lazio, Italy, but they do not contain significant Etruscan creations.
Important Etruscan cities: Populonia and Tarquinia were two important Etruscan cities, and they are among the best places to see remains of this great civilization. Populonia is located in the town of Piombino in the province of Livorno, while Tarquina is in the province of Viterbo in the Lazio region.
7 Achaemenid Empire
With a territory covering an area of 5.5 million square kilometers (2.1 million square miles), the Achaemenid Empire was the largest empire in the ancient world. It was an ancient Iranian empire and was founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC.
The empire grew for several centuries and threatened the ancient world with its mighty military strength, conquering great civilizations, including the kingdom of Lydia, the Babylonian Empire, Ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and many others. In 330 BC, however, the empire fell to the young King of Macedon - Alexander the Great, who founded many cities in the ancient world.
Location of the capital city: Persepolis was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, and this city is located in the city of Marvdasht in modern-day Iran.
6 Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization was one of the greatest ancient civilizations in history that once thrived in the territory now occupied by several countries in South Asia, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. It is one of the three oldest civilizations in the world - the other two being the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.
The Indus Civilization was also the most extensive of the three oldest civilizations in the world. It was founded in 3300 BC and declined around 1300 BC due to climate change, which reduced the city’s water supply and forced its citizens to migrate, thereby leading to the fall of the civilization.
Location of the capital city: The Indus Valley Civilization had two major capital cities known as Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. Mohenjo-daro can be found in the province of Sindh, while Harappa can be found in the province of Punjab, both in modern-day Pakistan.
5 Phoenicia
Phoenicia was an ancient Semitic civilization that originated from the eastern Mediterranean around 3000 BC and lasted up to 332 BC when it fell to Alexander the Great. The people that made up this civilization were Canaanites, and they built their civilization around maritime trading. They were excellent sailors who established several port cities around the Mediterranean to aid their maritime trade, and Carthage was one of these cities.
Cities established by the Phoenicians were often independent and did not form part of a larger empire like other ancient civilizations, so there was no central city that controlled their territory. A few Phoenician city-states, however, grew to become incredibly wealthy and important, and at the top of the list are - Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos. These cities are all located in Modern-day Lebanon, and they all hold jaw-dropping history.
Tyre was the birthplace of Dido - the founder of Carthage, and Europa - the mother of King Minos of Crete. Sidon was the oldest son of Canaan according to Genesis 10:15, which most likely makes it the oldest Phoenician city.
Byblos is considered one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. It is the birthplace of the Alphabet, which eventually made its way to Ancient Greece, so the Western world has this Phoenician city to thank for its written languages.
The most important Phoenician cities: Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos, all located in modern-day Lebanon
4 Minoan Civilization
The Minoan Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that is regarded as the oldest civilization in Europe. The civilization was founded around 3100 BC on the Island of Crete, and it flourished until the 15th century BC when it was destroyed by conquerors from the mainland.
The Minoan Civilization is famous for its vibrant art, massive structures, and pottery. The Civilization is also the setting of the legend of the Minotaur.
Location of the city center: Knossos was the capital of the Minoan Civilization and was where the largest Palace of Minos was located. Knossos is also the site of the labyrinth where the Minotaur was kept, and its ruins can be found in the present-day town of Heraklion, on the island of Crete in Greece
3 Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was a civilization in North Africa that is today regarded as one of the most incredible civilizations ever to exist. Egypt is one of three considered the most ancient civilizations in the world - the other two being the civilization of Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley Civilization.
Although several small tribes existed in the region as far back as 5000 BC, Egypt became a unified civilization around 3100 BC. Soon, the civilization became a dominant power in the Mediterranean and invented many great things, including the construction of the Great Pyramids, writing, Papyrus Sheets, black ink, the calendar, clocks, medicine, and mummification.
For thousands of years, Egypt flourished until 332 BC, when it fell to Alexander the Great.
Location of the capital city: Egypt had several capitals throughout its long reign, but Memphis and Thebes were the most popular. Memphis was the first capital of Ancient Egypt, and today, its ruins can be found 20 km south of Cairo, in the village of Mit Rahina, in Badrasheen, while the ruins of Thebes lie in modern-day Luxor (one of the most ancient cities in the world today)
2 Ancient Greece
An aerial view of the Ancient Acropolis of Athens and other buildings in Greece
Ancient Greece is one of the most popular civilizations the earth has ever known and is home to some of the most historic cities in the world today. This civilization rose up in the 8th century BC after the fall of the Mycenaean civilization and lasted up to 323 BC when Alexander the Great died.
The civilization was made up of city-states, and it is famous for its numerous achievements that form the root on which the Western civilization was built. So many things were invented in Ancient Greece, including democracy, philosophy, free speech, the Olympic Games, poetry, and the Greek alphabet, which was a modification of the Phoenician alphabet.
Ancient Greece did not have a capital city as it was not united under a single throne or government. It was instead made up of city-states, most of which were in constant conflict with each other. Without a doubt, the most popular city-state in Ancient Greece was Athens.
This city is one of the oldest cities in the world and is where some of the civilization’s most important achievements were made, which makes it widely regarded as the birthplace of Western Civilization. Today, Athens is still in existence, and it is the best place to learn about the history of the Ancient Greek civilization.
1 Sumerian Civilization
The Sumerian Civilization has been hailed as being the oldest civilization the world has ever known. The civilization was located in Mesopotamia, and it came into existence around 3300 BC, after which it quickly grew to become powerful in the region.
Sumer was made up of several city-states where the Sumerians lived and flourished, inventing incredible things, including writing, art, architecture, and pottery. The Sumerian Civilization is credited for inventing the oldest known text in the world.
Despite being of the same origin and sharing the same culture and language, Sumerian city-states were often at war with each other, which left them vulnerable to invaders, including the Elamites, Sargon (who founded the Akkadian empire), and the Gutians.
The Sumerian civilization eventually came to an end when the Amorites invaded and took over the cities. Soon, the Sumerian culture became absorbed into the Amorite culture, and a powerful empire known as Babylon was born.
Ancient Sumer did not have a central capital city, but it had several cities that became greatly important during its existence. Uruk was one such important city and the most popular in Sumerian history. It was the first major city of the Sumerian civilization and, by extension, the first city of the ancient world. Uruk was once ruled by Gilgamesh, who built great walls around the city.
Ur was also an important Sumerian city at a time, and the ruins of this city can be found in Tell el-Muqayyar, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq. Ur is believed to be the birthplace of Abraham.
Most important city in Ancient Sumer: Uurk was the most popular city in the Sumerian Civilization, and its ruins can be found today in Al-Warka, Muthanna Governorate, Iraq
本文於 2023/10/27 08:52 修改第 3 次
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