Archaeology
Hunter-gatherer communities used controlled fires 11,000-years-ago
Human hunter-gatherer communities were using controlled fires 11,000-years-ago to create open clearings to hunt wild grazing animals.
In a study led by the University of Barcelona (UB) and IPHES-CERCA, researchers analysed soil samples from Laguna de Villena on Spain’s southeastern Costa Blanca.
The team carried out a study on the geochemistry and sedimentary carbon content of the soil and pollen remnants. This investigation unveiled proof of controlled burning in the area during the Mesolithic era, which was likely done to alter the landscape, potentially with the goal of establishing open clearings and pastures to lure wild game for hunting.
Previously, it was believed that this practice began only during the Neolithic period around 9,000 years ago and didn’t become widespread until the Iron Age, approximately 3,000 years ago.
Abundant fuel sources were available due to the proliferation of oak and holm oak trees during a temperate and wet climatic phase. This climate likely facilitated the settlement of hunter-gatherer communities in the region, as the lagoon environment provided a diverse ecosystem for their sustenance.
The research highlights the alteration of the landscape by Mesolithic societies and a gradual aridification following a cooling climatic event 8,200 years ago. This combination disrupted the ecological equilibrium, signifying a significant shift in vegetation dynamics. Oak groves never regained their once-dominant position in the landscape, leading to the establishment of a new equilibrium characterised by the prevalence of pine forests and vegetation better suited for arid conditions.
Dr. Jordi Revelles, from the IPHES: “Despite the frequent consideration of a lesser capacity of hunter-gatherer communities in the transformation of the landscape, this work highlights the active role of the Mesolithic populations of the southeastern peninsula in the fire regime to favour open spaces in the forests”.
From the Neolithic onwards, the lower availability of fuel caused by the aridity and by agricultural and pastoral work translated into a lower intensity of fires.
Header Image Credit : Shutterstock
Archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology are excavating the crash site of a WWII B-17 Flying Fortress in an English woodland.
The B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC).
The bomber was mainly used in the European theatre for daylight strategic bombing, complimenting the RAF Bomber Command’s night bombers in attacking German industrial, military and civilian targets.
Cotswold Archaeology have been tasked by the Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency to search the crash site for the remains of the pilot, who died when the B-17 crashed following a system failure in 1944.
Image Credit : Cotswold Archaeology
At the time, the plane was carrying a payload of 12,000lbs of Torpex, an explosive comprised of 42% RDX, 40% TNT, and 18% powdered aluminium. Torpex was mainly used for the Upkeep, Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs, as well as underwater munitions.
The pilot was declared MIA when the plane exploded into an inferno, however, using modern archaeological techniques, the researchers plan to systematically excavate and sieve the waterlogged crash site to recover plane ID numbers, personal effects, and any surviving human remains.
It is the hope of the excavation team members that they will be able to recover the pilot’s remains and return him to the United States for burial with full military honours.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense whose mission is to recover unaccounted Department of Defense personnel listed as prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA) from designated past conflicts.
Header Image Credit : Cotswold Archaeology
Sources : Cotswold Archaeology
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists excavating at the ancient Tharsa necropolis have uncovered a Roman Era tomb guarded by two carved bull heads.
Tharsa is located near Kuyulu village in southeastern Turkey along the Adıyaman-Şanlıurfa Highway.
The site was situated on a major Roman highway from Doliche to Samosata, which today consists of a two settlement mounds and a large necropolis that dates from the 3rd century to the Byzantine period.
Excavations first commenced in 2021 which discovered a collection of Turuş Rock Tombs, a type of tomb construction carved directly into the bedrock.
In the latest season, archaeologists have excavated another Turuş Rock Tomb, however, this example was found to have two carved bull heads which is decorated with garlands and rosettes between the horns.
Bull heads, known as Bucranium, were a form of carved decoration commonly used in Classical architecture. In Ancient Rome, bucrania were often used on the friezes of temples in the Doric order of architecture, later influencing the architecture of buildings from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical periods.
Architectural examples of bucrania are representations of the practice of displaying garlanded, sacrificial oxen, whose heads were displayed on the temple walls.
Like similar Turuş Rock Tombs, the bull heads are carved directly into the bedrock, guarding a dozen rock cut steps descending into the burial chamber which has three arched niches known as acrosolia.
Mustafa Çelik, Deputy Director of Adıyaman Museum, said, “Tharsa Ancient City consists of 3 main archaeological areas: Big Mound, Small Mound and Necropolis Area. We started excavations in the necropolis area in 2024. We added 2 more rock tombs to the rock tombs we had previously uncovered. One of them is the rock tomb we identified today.”
Header Image Credit : Adıyaman Museum
Sources : Adıyaman Museum
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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