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Archaeological potpourri


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  • 2 weeks later...

Neandertaler klebten Werkzeug mit Urzeit-Uhu

Forscher haben einen 40.000 Jahre alten Klebstoff entdeckt, mit dem Neandertaler ihre Werkzeuge reparierten.
 
Scientists discovered 40,000 years old glue Neanderthals used on their tools; the two compounds (ocher and bitumen) apparently had to be fetched from far away locations, adding complexity to this achievement. I think this lines up nicely with ~recent discoveries that the Neanderthals were capable of much more than they were given credit for earlier.
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4 hours ago, Gurken Khan said:

I didn't like the clickbaity title and you might think he steers too far into conspiracy territory; but the footage sure doesn't look like an archaeological site should be treated.

I don't see anything unusual, you should compare Pompei and Gobekli Tebe. Both are not entirely excavated and won't be in a close future.

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  • 2 months later...
On 23/06/2024 at 1:31 AM, Genava55 said:

I don't see anything unusual, you should compare Pompei and Gobekli Tebe. Both are not entirely excavated and won't be in a close future.

The roads and stilts rammed through the ancients structures did look unusual/wrong to me. Over 75% of Pompei is excavated and I'm under the impression that I quite frequently read about updates from there. Can't say that about Göbekli Tepe.

I don't agree with not fully exploring significant historic sites; if every part of that exploration needs to involve invasive means and if everything needs to be dragged to light and air might be a different discussion.

I tried to look for more details on that exclusive deal for the company but didn't find much; currently I'm not suspecting anything more sinister than "normal" corruption/nepotism.

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Quote

 

I would like to go on record affirming that I hope Göbekli Tepe is *never* fully excavated.

Archaeology is not about finding treasures or preparing ancient sites for tourism.

It is about answering specific questions using clever strategies that are minimally invasive.

 

I've never understood why an archaeological site should "never" be fully excavated. What's the point? Hopes that future technology can be less invasive or what? That's really the only real good reason to me.

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1 hour ago, Gurken Khan said:

I don't agree with not fully exploring significant historic sites; if every part of that exploration needs to involve invasive means and if everything needs to be dragged to light and air might be a different discussion.

It is always the case. Archaeology is a destructive process and archaeological ressources are not renewable, except by creating more material from the current period.

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2 minutes ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

I've never understood why an archaeological site should "never" be fully excavated. What's the point? Hopes that future technology can be less invasive or what? That's really the only real good reason to me.

Because people knowing the topic have seen the damages by 19th century archaeology. We must not consume every archeological reserves/ressources we know for future generation and for future technology.

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3 hours ago, Gurken Khan said:

Over 75% of Pompei is excavated and I'm under the impression that I quite frequently read about updates from there.

You should really read on the topic instead of reacting emotionally. Pompeii was discovered in 1709 and has known several excavations campaigns since the 18th century. Göbekli Tepe has been identified in 1965 and an excavation campaign started only in 1995. Furthermore Pompeii is currently under a new excavation campaign because there are too many depredations and destruction occurring on the site. And Pompeii has many buildings reinforced with concrete only to please the tourists.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Pompeii/History-of-excavations

Edited by Genava55
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What is the point of archaeology if most of your findings are published in an obscure journal only a hundred people will read and then it's all buried "for the future"? So, you find something unique about a wall in Pompeii (it has some kind of interesting material embedded or something), but reinforcing it "for tourists" allows this to be seen by thousands or tens of thousands. You note the peculiarities of the wall in that obscure archaeological journal, where that information would have sat on microfiche for decades anyway, and you reinforce the wall so that the space can be experienced by living breathing human beings. 

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1 hour ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

What is the point of archaeology if most of your findings are published in an obscure journal only a hundred people will read and then it's all buried "for the future"? So, you find something unique about a wall in Pompeii (it has some kind of interesting material embedded or something), but reinforcing it "for tourists" allows this to be seen by thousands or tens of thousands. You note the peculiarities of the wall in that obscure archaeological journal, where that information would have sat on microfiche for decades anyway, and you reinforce the wall so that the space can be experienced by living breathing human beings. 

I think that applies to everything science related no?

Also isn't there some money involved? Paywalls copyrights  and the like.

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30 minutes ago, Stan` said:

I think that applies to everything science related no?

Well, the opportunities for archeological sites (and maybe exhibitions) are pretty unique, some structural reinforcement here, maybe some makeup there... Apart from propping up dinosaur skeletons I can't think of any field where you can make your findings mass compatible in a comparable way.

 

37 minutes ago, Stan` said:

Also isn't there some money involved? Paywalls copyrights  and the like.

Glory to our capitalist system! Apart from paywalls and copyrights and the likes sites like Pompeii and Göbekli Tepe also have entrance fees and shops... Would be much harder to cash in on the lifecycle of the fruit fly or something like that.

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18 hours ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

What is the point of archaeology if most of your findings are published in an obscure journal only a hundred people will read and then it's all buried "for the future"?

What is the most important, extracting the most knowledge you can get from it or the enjoyment/fetichism of our generation to see the items and buildings exposed to the environment ?

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18 hours ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

So, you find something unique about a wall in Pompeii (it has some kind of interesting material embedded or something), but reinforcing it "for tourists" allows this to be seen by thousands or tens of thousands.

What does it bring to the thousands of people visiting Pompeii of so valuable? Honestly this is simply mass tourism in most cases. This is like Athens, far more people are visiting the acropolis than the museum of the acropolis where they would get the most information about it.

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exposure to masses is important for political resons that finally grant funds for archaeological research. that knoedge that holds so much value for you, actually doesn't to 99% of people, but they are being asked if the extraction of that knowledge is to be funded. culture is power, but you gotta spend some of it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Can anyone tell me if this find is legit?

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/bronze-age-sword-germany-180982399/

 

The sword looks suspiciously well-preserved for a 3000 year old piece of bronze. The aesthetics of the sword's design also look too fantasy-ish to me. But maybe I'm being to incredulous. 

And the arrowheads look suspiciously modern for being made in 1000 BC Germany. 

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3 hours ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

Can anyone tell me if this find is legit?

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/bronze-age-sword-germany-180982399/

 

The sword looks suspiciously well-preserved for a 3000 year old piece of bronze. The aesthetics of the sword's design also look too fantasy-ish to me. But maybe I'm being to incredulous. 

And the arrowheads look suspiciously modern for being made in 1000 BC Germany. 

https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_b/backbone/rb_1_2.html

https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/index.html

Addendum: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Crafting-Swords.-The-emergence-and-production-of-in-Bunnefeld/2e878f1c28499e22636c896ef84aeb24c4c8c8f7/figure/24

Edited by Genava55
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