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Millennium BC (millennium + bc)
Kinds of Millennium BC Selected AbstractsSEDENTARY VERSUS NOMADIC LIFE-STYLES: The 'Middle Helladic People' in southern Balkan (late 3rd & first Half of the 2nd Millennium BC)ACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA, Issue 2 2004Maria Hielte First page of article [source] Malkata and Lisht Glassmaking Technologies: Towards a Specific Link between Second Millennium BCARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 1 2002J. L. Mass Elemental analyses have been conducted on 61 coloured opaque glasses from the Malkata and Lisht New Kingdom glass factories. The presence of tin in several of the blue glasses suggests that a bronze casting byproduct or corrosion product was the source of the copper colorant for these glasses. A positive correlation between the lead and antimony concentrations of the yellow and green opaque glasses, plus a consistent excess of lead oxide in these glasses, suggests the use of antimony-rich cupellation litharge as the source for the Pb2Sb2O7 , colorant in these glasses. The metallurgical byproducts used to colour the Malkata and Lisht glasses provide an explicit mechanism for Peltenburg's theory of interaction between second millennium BC glassmakers and contemporary metalworkers. [source] Psychoses of epilepsy in Babylon: The oldest account of the disorderEPILEPSIA, Issue 9 2008Edward H. Reynolds Summary We have previously published translations of Babylonian texts on epilepsy and stroke, which we believe to be the oldest detailed accounts of these neurological disorders from the second millennium BC. We now present a short Babylonian text, which clearly describes what are today known as interictal or schizophrenia-like psychoses of epilepsy. The text includes many of the classical symptoms of the syndrome, for example, paranoid delusions, hallucinations and mood disorders, as well as religiosity and hyposexuality, which have only been crystallized in the twentieth century. The Babylonians were remarkably good observers of human disease and behavior but had little or no understanding of pathology or brain function. Although they recognized many natural causes of disease, epilepsy and behavior disorders were attributed to supernatural, usually evil forces, the forerunner of the Greek concept of the Sacred Disease. [source] An Early Bronze Age Logboat from Degersee, Southern GermanyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Martin Mainberger In 2004 the remains of a logboat were discovered in Degersee, a small lake near Lake Constance, southern Germany. Dating to the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, it is an important find from a period with scarce archaeological evidence and only a few previously-known logboats. The vessel was situated in lake sediment and documented in situ. Our investigations can be linked to palaeo-environmental studies carried out at Degersee and adjacent lakes, and to palaeo-climatic research in the northern Alpine region. After investigation by underwater archaeologists the boat was moved to a sheltered place in deeper water. © 2008 The Author [source] Tephra-linked peat humification records from Irish ombrotrophic bogs question nature of solar forcing at 850 cal. yr BC,JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, Issue 1 2006G. Plunkett Abstract This paper investigates evidence for palaeoclimatic changes during the period ca. 1500,500,cal.,yr BC through peat humification studies on seven Irish ombrotrophic bogs. The sites are well-correlated by the identification of three mid-first millennium BC tephras, which enable the humification records at specific points in time to be directly compared. Phases of temporarily increased wetness are suggested at ca. 1300,1250,cal.,yr BC, ca. 1150,1050 cal.,yr BC, ca. 940,cal.,yr BC and ca. 740,cal.,yr BC. The last of these is confirmed to be synchronous at five sites, suggesting external forcing on a regional scale. The timing of this wet-shift is constrained by two closely dated tephras and is demonstrated to be distinct from the widely reported changes to cooler/wetter conditions associated with a solar minimum at 850,760,cal.,yr BC, at which time the Irish sites appear instead to experience drier conditions. The results suggest the possibility of either non-uniform responses to solar forcing in northwest Europe at this time, or the existence of unrelated climate events in the early first millennium BC. The findings caution against the correlation of loosely dated palaeoclimate data if the effects of forcing mechanisms are to be understood. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] COULD YOU TAKE A PICTURE OF MY BOAT, PLEASE?OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 4 2008THE USE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF MEDITERRANEAN SHIP REPRESENTATIONS Summary Representations of ships, sailors and seafarers are common in many ancient societies. They were carved, drawn or painted on a great variety of raw materials , stone, wood, metal, textiles and pottery , and can be found in settings such as caves, tombs or royal palaces. Their presence at these sites raises the possibility that these images of maritime life have symbolic or ritual connotations. This paper presents examples of representations of Phoenician and Punic ships from the first millennium BC, in an attempt to understand the role of both their creators and their audiences. These images are subsequently analysed in more detail, focusing on their technical features and their historical contexts. This paper concludes with a consideration of the social and religious aspects of ancient Mediterranean navigation. [source] WHO WERE THE GLASSMAKERS?OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 3 2007STATUS, THEORY AND METHOD IN MID-SECOND MILLENNIUM GLASS PRODUCTION Summary. Glass was first produced in a regular and controlled manner in the Near East in the sixteenth century BC. This paper examines a wide variety of textual, archaeological and analytical sources to try and determine more about the makers of this first glass. It attempts to show how modern ideas about medieval glassmaking have been anachronistically applied to the second millennium BC, and readdresses this by turning instead to second millennium sources of evidence. Using these sources, it investigates the position of glass within Late Bronze Age society and the status of glassmakers themselves. It goes on to examine the evidence for ritual and experimental behaviour in LBA crafts and industries and applies this to ideas of technological innovation and change in the period. It looks at the alchemical nature of glass production and proposes new ways of attempting to understand the glassmakers themselves. [source] USING AND ABANDONING ROUNDHOUSES: A REINTERPRETATION OF THE EVIDENCE FROM LATE BRONZE AGE,EARLY IRON AGE SOUTHERN ENGLANDOXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 2 2007LEO WEBLEY Summary. It has recently been demonstrated that a number of roundhouses of the early first millennium BC in southern England show a concentration of finds in the southern half of the building. It has thus been argued that this area was used for domestic activities such as food preparation, an idea which has formed the basis for discussion of later prehistoric ,cosmologies'. However, reconsideration of the evidence suggests that this finds patterning does not relate to the everyday use of the buildings, being more likely to derive from a particular set of house abandonment practices. Furthermore, evidence can be identified for the location of domestic activities within contemporary roundhouses that appears to contradict the established model. [source] ANATOLIA AND THE BALKANS, ONCE AGAIN , RING-SHAPED IDOLS FROM WESTERN ASIA AND A CRITICAL REASSESSMENT OF SOME ,EARLY BRONZE AGE' ITEMS FROM ,K,ZTEPE, TURKEYOXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 1 2007THOMAS ZIMMERMANN Summary. The ring-shaped idol pendant, a distinctive type of Chalcolithic ritual (?) jewellery, is discussed with regard to its chronology in the Balkans in light of its occasional appearance in Asia Minor. Known from domestic contexts, funerals and hoards (?), none of the so far documented Anatolian pendants (clearly another aspect testifying to the well-known Anatolian,Balkan connections in the fourth millennium BC) can be dated later than the Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age I. This fact provides further evidence for the developing hypothesis that certain inventories from ,kiztepe, the only prehistoric reference site on the Turkish Black Sea coast excavated on a large scale, need some profound chronological redating. Selected features and levels dated to ,Early Bronze Age II,III' at ,kiztepe seem to be several centuries older than currently believed, which has implications for the overall chronological range of these pendants. [source] Contexts of Monumentalism: regional diversity at the Neolithic transition in north-west FranceOXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 1 2002Chris Scarre The origins of funerary monumentalism in north-west France remain inextricably linked to questions surrounding the Neolithic transition in that region. Debate continues over the relative importance of influences from earlier Neolithic communities in north-east or southern France on the Mesolithic communities of western France. An alternative interpretation places these influences within the context of broad processes of change affecting indigenous communities throughout northern and western France during the fifth millennium BC. The evidence from several regions of northern and western France is reviewed in this perspective, with emphasis on the regional character of monument traditions. Though at one level these regional narratives must have been interrelated, the regional diversity of the process must also be underlined. The argument moves us away from simplistic notions of extraneous influences to a more nuanced understanding of change within the context of individual communities at the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition. [source] The Earliest Evidence for Metal Bridle PartsOXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 4 2001M.A. Littauer Recent discoveries in different parts of the Near East have led the authors to reconsider the early history of metal driving bits. These now seem to go back into the third millennium BC, which is much earlier that the evidence previously indicated. The paper also includes a brief discussion of the links , if these existed at all , with early bridle bits made of organic materials from the southern Urals,Volga area. [source] Later Prehistory in South-East Scotland: A Critical ReviewOXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 4 2001D.W. Harding This paper reviews the progress of research over the past twenty years, with particular reference to enclosed and unenclosed settlement, agricultural patterns, domestic structural types and burial practices of the Iron Age in the south-eastern Borders. The concept of a ,trend towards enclosure' in the first millennium BC is reviewed and rejected, not least on the grounds of evidence from excavation for the dating sequences of major enclosed sites. In consequence a new overview of the later prehistoric settlement of the region is now possible, consistent with the accumulating archaeological and environmental data. [source] Perspectives on an Early Bronze Age Island Centre: An Analysis of Pottery from Daskaleio-Kavos (Keros) in the CycladesOXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 4 2000Cyprian Broodbank Island central places occupy a prominent position in archaeological, anthropological and historical debate, but the number of early examples of such centres that have to date been investigated in detail remains small. One such central place in the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC) Cycladic islands of the Aegean was the site of Daskaleio-Kavos on Keros, although the interpretation of this site's functions is controversial. Fieldwork at the site in 1987 generated a large sample of pottery that allows the site's local and inter-regional connections to be explored in detail for the first time. The results of ceramic analysis indicate that Daskaleio-Kavos operated as the active maritime centre of an intensive network of inter-island exchange. [source] The Iron Age in Western Spain (800 BC,AD 50): An OverviewOXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 1 2000Jseús R. Álvarez-Sanchís Vettonia was one of the most important Celtic regions in Iberia which emerged in the Iron Age. It corresponds largely to western Spain, between the Duero and Tagus valleys. The archaeological evidence indicates that the formation of this ethnic group lay in an historical process whose roots went back to the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age, when we begin to find a regular association between the first fortified sites and stable populations. These groups did not consolidate before the second half of the first millennium BC, in parallel with the development of other peoples of the interior of the Iberian Peninsula. This period can be recognized in particular through the spread of the ritual of cremation, ironworking, the adoption of the potter's wheel and the expansion of some settlements oppida which were ultimately to disappear with the Roman conquest. This paper sets out to examine the evolution of the area from an indigenous perspective, examining the process of change before and after the evidence referred to by Greek and Roman writers. [source] Cylinder seals and their use in the Arabian PeninsulaARABIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND EPIGRAPHY, Issue 1 2010D.T. Potts Cylinder seals were used in the ancient Near East from the fourth to the first millennium BC. Although the numbers known from sites in the Arabian Peninsula seem relatively small, more have been found there than is generally recognised. A comprehensive overview of the cylinder seals of Arabia is presented, and the cylinder and stamp sealing traditions of the region are discussed. [source] The earliest cylinder seal in the Arabian PeninsulaARABIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND EPIGRAPHY, Issue 2 2009Holly Pittman A cylinder seal of Late Uruk (late fourth millennium BC) type from Abu Dhabi is presented and analysed. Comparisons with excavated finds from elsewhere in the Near East are discussed. An inventory of cylinder seals from sites in the UAE and the Sultanate of Oman shows that cylinder seal use, while not unknown in the region, was never very great. The ways in which the seal may have arrived at its eventual place of discovery are described and the significance of the seal is assessed. [source] Early Dilmun and its rulers: new evidence of the burial mounds of the elite and the development of social complexity, c. 2200,1750 BCARABIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND EPIGRAPHY, Issue 2 2008Steffen Terp Laursen This paper deals with the social organisation of early Dilmun in Bahrain based on evidence from the burial mound record. Complete aerial photography survey and mapping have documented the extensive mound fields of Bahrain in their entirety and revealed a new and rare type of burial mound encircled by an outer ring wall. From the spatial distribution and appearance of these ,ring mounds' it is argued that they cover the time span 2200,1750 BC. It is further argued that the ring mounds reflect the entombment of a prominent segment of early Dilmun society and thus testify to the presence of a social elite as early as the late third millennium BC. The paper offers evidence supporting the view that fundamental changes in the size of the ring wall and the encircled mound occurred over time, culminating in the colossal ,royal' mounds near Aali village. The increase in size of the special mounds and the exclusive appearance of the type in the Aali cemetery after the emergence of ten concentrated cemeteries around 2050 BC are correlated with the already available evidence of increasing social complexity in Dilmun. Three clusters of ring mounds in Aali are argued to reflect the appearance of one or more ruling lineages that were ultimately to found the colony on Failaka, Kuwait, and rule not only Bahrain but also the adjacent coast of Saudi Arabia. [source] In the beginning: Marhashi and the origins of Magan's ceramic industry in the third millennium BCARABIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND EPIGRAPHY, Issue 1 2005D.T. Potts Ceramics from the Jiroft plain in southeastern Iran are compared with material of Umm an-Nar-type dating to the mid- and late third millennium BC in the Oman Peninsula. Technological and stylistic comparisons suggest the strong possibility that potters from the Iranian side of the Straits of Hormuz may have been the instigators of Magan's earliest ceramic industry. [source] Saar and its external relations: new evidence for interaction between Bahrain and Gujarat during the early second millennium BCARABIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND EPIGRAPHY, Issue 2 2001R. A. CARTERArticle first published online: 7 JUL 200 First page of article [source] Tepe Ghabristan: a Chalcolithic tell buried in alluviumARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 1 2007Armin Schmidt Abstract The Chalcolithic tell of Ghabristan in northwest Iran is now buried by alluvium and a magnetometer survey of the tell and its surroundings was undertaken to reveal any features under this cover. After the abandonment of the tell in the late third millennium BC it was used as an Iron Age cemetery by inhabitants of the neighbouring tell of Sagzabad. The magnetometer data show a related irregularly shaped channel that is also considered to be of Iron Age date. Its shallow burial depth, compared with the thick sedimentary layers underneath, indicates a considerable slowdown of alluviation rates in the second millennium BC, possibly related to environmental changes. The survey also found evidence for undisturbed buried building remains, most likely associated with copper workshops. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The use and origin of antimonate colorants in early Egyptian glass,ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 4 2002A. J. Shortland The origin of the colorants in Egyptian glass of the second millennium BC has been the subject of much research and debate. Several colorants including lead antimonate yellow and calcium antimonate white appear in the archaeological record apparently concurrently with the introduction of glass, and it is possible that their origins are in some way linked. This paper examines the use of the antimonate colorants and uses analytical and experimental techniques to deduce possible technologies of production. Trace element data derived from a pilot study by LA-ICPMS gives additional indications of a possible source in the Caucasus for the antimony of these glasses. [source] Geschichte und Evolution der Lactose(in)toleranz.BIOLOGIE IN UNSERER ZEIT (BIUZ), Issue 6 2009Das Erbe der frühen Viehzüchter Abstract Die Fähigkeit, auch im Erwachsenenalter noch Lactose verarbeiten zu können, basiert auf Punktmutationen in einem dem Lactase-(LPH-)Gen vorgelagerten Sequenzbereich, der Bindestellen für Regulatorproteine enthält. Die Ursache für die weltweit sehr uneinheitliche Verteilung der Lactase-Persistenz liegt in der europäischen Menschheitsgeschichte: Im Verlauf des 8. vorchristlichen Jahrtausends entwickelte sich im Nahen Osten innerhalb einer größtenteils lactoseintoleranten Population eine Tradition der Milchviehzucht und des Milchverzehrs. Durch den starken Selektionsdruck auf die Lactosetoleranz verbreiteten sich die mutierten Allele sehr schnell. Während des 7. Jahrtausends v. Chr. begannen etliche dieser Populationen sukzessiv Europa zu besiedeln. Auch im nordöstlichen Afrika und auf der arabischen Halbinsel entstand eine Milchwirtschaft, die jedoch auf anderen Mutationen basiert. The ability to digest lactose in adulthood is baised on point mutations within an upstream region of the lactase-(LPH-)gene. This region contains multiple binding sites for different transcription factors. The heterogenous distribution of the lactase persistence all over the world originates from the European history of humanity: in the course of the eighth millennium BC among a mainly lactose-intolerant population in the Near East evolved a cultural practice of dairy farming and milk consumption. As a result of the strong and positive selection the mutated alleles spread out rapidly. In the course of the seventh millennium BC many of these populations gradually settled Central Europe. The beginning of dairy farming in the north east of the African continent and on the Arabian Peninsula are based upon different point mutations. [source] Temple, Economy, and Religion in First Millennium BabyloniaRELIGION COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2008Michael Kozuh The study of economy and religion in Babylonia during the first millennium bc is primarily that of two well-documented temples, the Eanna temple of the city of Uruk and the Ebabbar of Sippar. The administrative archives of those temples , consisting of tens of thousands of cuneiform texts , allow us to understand parts of the temple economy in great detail, while at the same time this abundance of material frustrates traditional approaches to Babylonian religion. This essay aims in general to emphasize that Babylonian temples were large-scale, multifaceted religious institutions. Capitalizing on recent advancements in our technical understanding of the temple economy, it integrates these advancements into issues of broader religious, historical, intellectual, and economic significance. In particular, it stresses three points: first, the temples' amalgamated ruling structure fostered institutional permanence and should therefore be understood as a challenge to the ,temple-as-household' metaphor; second, large-scale centralization of wealth in the temples was necessary for advancements in Babylonian learned culture (especially in astronomy and mathematics); and, finally, the centralization of manpower in the temples gave them particular advantages in the politics of the first millennium bc. In the end, I argue that all of these are in fact manifestations of Babylonian religion in themselves. [source] GLAZED CERAMIC MANUFACTURING IN SOUTHERN TUSCANY (ITALY): EVIDENCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL CONTINUITY THROUGHOUT THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD (10TH,14TH CENTURIES),ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 1 2008C. FORTINA Archaeometric investigation allowed the characterization of two important classes of ceramics: ,vetrina sparsa' and ,invetriata grezza'. Their archaeological peculiarity makes them particularly suited for tracing the evolution of glaze manufacturing in southern Tuscany throughout the medieval period (10th,14th centuries). These ceramics were found in different sites of historical importance, and also from a mining perspective. Local copper, lead, zinc and iron mineralizations supported the growth of several settlements in the vicinity of the mines. The many castles and different archaeological finds (ceramics, glazed ceramic, slag etc.) attest to the intense mineral exploitation of the area from at least the first millennium bc up to the modern period. In light of these geological and archaeological characteristics, archaeometric investigation was intended to provide insight into ancient technical knowledge of ceramic glazing and to determine the source area for raw materials in the medieval period (10th,14th centuries). Ceramic bodies were analysed through OM, XRDp, SEM,EDS and XRF, while coatings were investigated through SEM,EDS. Mineralogical, petrographic and chemical analyses revealed slightly different preparation and firing processes for the two classes of ceramics. These data suggest the continuity through the centuries of the ,vetrina sparsa' and ,invetriata grezza' production technology. The mineralogical phases, such as monazite, xenotime, zircon, barite, Ti oxide, ilmenite, titanite, tourmaline and ilvaite, and the lithic (intrusive and volcanic) fragments detected within the ceramic bodies suggest a source area in the vicinity of the Campiglia mining district. Lastly, the presence of Cu,Zn,Pb (Ag) and Fe sulphide mineralizations (materials used to produce glaze) in the area supports the hypothesis of local manufacture. [source] INSIGHTS INTO NORTH MESOPOTAMIAN ,METALLIC WARE'*ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 2 2006T. BROEKMANS With the aim of shedding new light on the still poorly understood North Mesopotamian metallic ware, ceramic and soil samples from Tell Beydar (northeastern Syria, third millennium bc) were investigated using a range of analytical techniques, including optical microscopy, SR,XRD and SEM,EDX. The objective of this work was to differentiate calcareous metallic ware from non-calcareous ware without the aid of chemical analyses and to find further validation of the existing hypothesis that the former group is an imitation of the latter. A third group of metallic wares from Tell Beydar is believed to be of non-local, still regional origin. [source] | |||||||||||||