Cretinism Strikes Back!

Just when you think you’re right, you’re wrong. That’s the beauty of the archaeological and anthropological worlds. Your theory one day, someone else’s the next.
That’s right folks, the new species vs. not a new species debate over the origins of Homo floresiensis has reignited.
CRETINISM STRIKES BACK!

A study from a Western Australian team has re-confirmed that the Flores hominid remains bare the hallmark features of modern humans affected by hypothyroid cretinism.
I know I tend to talk about this a fair bit, but I find it quite interesting, so deal with it. Also, I really don’t think we’re that far away from a “Is not!”/”Is too!” debate. I jest of course.
Professor Oxnard (awesome name) and his team claim that the results of their study confirm that:

the close grouping of H. floresiensis with the hypothyroid cretins, and the clear separation from both modern humans and from chimpanzees…leads them to conclude that the Liang Bua remains were indeed most likely cretins from a population of unaffected H. sapiens.

Oxnard explained that

"Cretinism is caused by various environmental factors including iodine deficiency -- a deficiency which would have been present on Flores at the period to which the dwarfed Flores fossils are dated."

The study has sought further evidence through drawing on modern human populations, arguing that their research is

"...consistent with recent hypothyroid endemic cretinism throughout Indonesia, including the nearby island of Bali,"

Hu – man – i – ty

Definition: 1. Humans considered as a group; the human race.

2. The condition or quality of being human.

3. The quality of being humane; benevolence

4. A humane characteristic, attribute, or act; mercy,

                                                                                         compassion

When we dig into the past to examine human origins, what is often looked for is indications of humanity. It is believed to be a trait uniquely linked to being human, traits which have previously created a barrier between ourselves and animals.

Psychologist Sarah Bronsan of Georgia State University intends to find out whether or not humanely traits can be found in other species. Working with Capuchin Monkeys;

She argues that traits like fairness and curiosity are essential for any social animals to survive and live together.

Capuchin Monkeys are one of the most intelligent new world monkey species, and as such have been extensively studied in the wild, but also in captivity. The species are one of few monkey species which have been documented to make and use tools in the wild. Tools are predominantly made and used to access certain foods, but there have also been documented cases during the mosquito season where Capuchins will crush millipedes and use the remnants as a form of insect repellent.
But what Bronsan wants to examine is the extent of social complexities within the Capuchin species. Conducting a series of experiments aimed at fairness, Bronsan documented how Capuchins reacted when one individual was given a slice of healthy cucumber, while another was given a scrumptious grape. While both monkeys received the cucumber treat, no problems were observed. However, when one individual was given a grape instead, the other monkey reacted as many of us would if we found out our colleague was getting a $5000 bonus for performing the same tasks. In other words, the monkey went apeshit!

Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.

But similar reactions have been demonstrated in the past. Check out this clip, where a Capuchin gets cheated in a game of blackjack.

Many animals have a sense of fairness. My two dogs for instance. Anyone with two dogs will surely be able to tell you that you can’t give one a piece of carrot, while giving the other a nice juicy steak. Riots ensue.
Of course there is still the argument of how being in captivity has influenced the behaviour of the Capuchins in this study. But undoubtedly, Bronsan and many others have shown that animals do share some of the same complex social rules as humans. The extent of which these social rules and humanely traits overlap, will likely be examined more thoroughly in the future.

Robot Tomb Raider

Just when you thought the only way Robots and Ancient History could intertwine would be in an episode of Stargate or Doctor Who, in walks a team from Leeds University to save the day!

A team of technicians from Leeds University in England have spent the last five years developing the “Djedi Project”. A venture which involves the use of robotics to unlock the engineering secrets to one of the worlds Ancient Wonders, the Great Pyramid of Khufu. The mission: to explore and determine the purpose of the two airshafts that lead from the Queen’s chamber in the great pyramid.


Previous examination of the airshafts have shown that they do not lead to the outer surface of the pyramid…Which many people thought a tad strange considering they were labelled as “airshafts”. Earlier missions in the 1990’s found that the southern shaft was blocked after 60m by a limestone door with copper handles. In 2002, a team succeeded in drilling through this door, only to find another door 20cm behind the one they’d just gone through. It was at this point that some experts started tearing their hair out in frustration, while others were left stunned and intrigued.


Zahi Hawass, Egyptologist and current Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, believes that

"With the help of the Djedi team, we hope to uncover the meaning of these airshafts by drilling through the doors that are blocking them……The team is hoping to gather as much evidence as possible to try to piece together the purpose of the airshafts, while at the same time ensuring that the Great Pyramid is not damaged in any way."

It is a pretty spiffy robot too I might add. Equipped with a micro snake camera; a mini ultrasonic device to determine the thickness and condition of stone walls; a mini beetle robot to explore more confined spaces; a precision compass; an inclinometer; and a Coring drill.


The only things missing are a laser and a computerised voice that shouts “excavate!” when the robot drills through the stone walls of the shaft.

But in all seriousness, this project isn’t just an excuse for a bunch of geeks and nerds to get together and have a party in the great pyramid. Experts believe that the project will help to answer questions about the remarkable engineering behind one of the most monumental structures of the Ancient World.

Dr Robert Richardson of Leeds University admits

"We have no preconceptions. We are trying to gain evidence for other people to draw conclusions…..We are preparing the robot now and expect to send it up before the end of the year. It's a big question, and it's very important not to cause unnecessary damage.”

I don’t know about you, but I for one will be following this study…mainly because I think robots are cool…and that a robot exploring the pyramids is so cool its subzero. But seriously, what if the great pyramid comes tumbling down like a load of bricks (excuse the pun) because of a beetle sized robot? Somehow I don’t think “Oops, my bad” will cover you for the total destruction of one of the most famous wonders of the world.


However, I don’t think the Pyramid will be in any real danger. Why? I’m glad you asked.
Reason 1: HAWASS
There is no way this project and others like it would go through if Hawass thought it was going to damage the pyramid. Hawass makes a solid living off Egyptian cultural heritage and let’s face it, he’s hardly going to shoot himself in the foot now is he? And the project is five years in the making. It cannot possibly take 5 years to make a robot. I'd say a good three of those years where taken up by risk assessment reports and other red tape matters.


Reason 2: MECHANICAL ENGINEERS = SMART
Well you would hope so wouldn’t you? Especially considering how much faith we have in them in other areas of life.


Reason 3: ALIENS DID NOT BUILD THE PYRAMIDSNot that this contributes to the issue at hand, I just thought I should mention it.

 
 
 
 
Check out these for more information:
 
http://www.drhawass.com/blog/djedi-team-robot
 
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/robot-to-explore-mysterious-tunnels-in-great-pyramid-2046506.html
 
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20013217-1.html

So.....

It’s been almost a year since my last blog…I know, I know, more than a little bit slack on my behalf, but let me explain…



Ahem,


You see, there comes a time in one’s life, when life as you know it changes. We’ve all had that moment, the one where we feel like Alice, tumbling down the rabbit hole, expecting to wake up at any moment.


Only then to be taken by a group of suspect characters to a dishevelled apartment block, where a man clad in black leather offers you the choice between the blue pill and the red pill. A choice to remain trapped or to free your mind and become the one!.....


Okay, yes that is The Matrix. And no, I don’t really have a good excuse for my absence from the blogosphere. So what was I doing for almost 12 months you ask?

WELL! Nothing too exceptional (that would be in conflict with the title of this blog), I went travelling for a while, I studied, I got a new job, I partied, I did a lot of ordinary things like washing and ironing and eating and drinking, and I read some books. Like I said, pretty pathetic excuse right?


But I have returned! Like a Jedi, or something equally as awesome.*


And to mark my return, I have given the blog a bit of a renovation, just to give myself a bit of fresh start I guess. So welcome back to the unfortunate few silly enough to stumble across my little outbursts of crazy and sometimes nonsensical rants about nothing in particular. I would like to offer you all something amazing to come, but if we’re being honest….


Well its just going to be more of the same really. So if you like it, THANKS! And keep reading. If not, well, tough luck I guess. But if you don’t like it, why the hell have you come back for more? You really must be a sucker for punishment.

I mean seriously, of all the crappy blogs you could read, why come back to mine? Masochist much? You should probably see someone about that.




*Yes, Jedi = awesome, not nerdy or geeky, just awesome.

New Genus New Genus New Genus

Uh-oh-Spaghetti-oh!

Poor little Flo! New species, not a new species, now not a Homo?! Life can be so cruel. But rest assured, Flo won’t be lonely, she can hang out with Pluto in the “we are no longer what scientists first claimed us to be” club. It’s very exclusive.

That’s right folks, in an article that will be printed in the Journal of Human Evolution have suggested that Floresiensis should not be classified as homo as evidence could suggest that her ancestors may have exited Africa before the evolution of the Homo genus.

Do you hear that? Yes that would be the multi-regionalists clapping their hands and squealing “hah ha!” *

And then of course Brown would say “And I would have gotten away with it too! If it wasn’t for you Teuku Jacob! And your little dog too!”**

But in all seriousness now, Flo has come a long way, from a member of the homo genus, to a diseased individual, then a relative of the australopithecines and now arguably a whole new genus.

As Brown concisely stated:

"What will come from this is either the redefining of the genus Homo or the argument that this species has so many unique characteristics and so many features shared with australopithecines that it probably belongs in its own genus,"

But what have we learned from this? Nothing is ever simple, static or unchanging.

And that Scooby Doo is secretly a multi-regionalist mole determined to fight the Out of Africa Model till the very end.***

*You know I right about this one
**I took a little creative liberty here, but I’m sure it carries the same sentiment
***It’s always the innocent ones you have to look out for

Underworld of the Pharaohs - Found

Who said archaeologists couldn’t be like Indian Jones?!

British explorer Andrew Collins* has found the ‘lost underworld of the pharaohs’. Apparently in his Indiana-esque travels, Collins stumbled upon an ‘enormous system of caves, chambers and tunnels' that lay hidden beneath the Pyramids of Giza!

Collins said the caves contain untouched archaeology, but are swarming with bats and venomous spiders. He also suggests you stay the hell away from the light and any diamond shaped floor tiles, oh removing the gold idol is a BAD IDEA!

I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist! If only all archaeology was this much fun!

*he should so change his name to something cooler, like ‘Andrew Zaine Ignatius Timothy Lane Fox Collins’ – then he could say “yeah, whose got the best name now Pitt Rivers?!”**

**IMHO ‘Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers’ has the best name in archaeology/anthropology.

News From Flores

Just when you thought the debate was nearly dead…

Enter Cladistics Analysis!

A team of anthropologists and archaeologists from ANU have released a new study analysing the evolutionary linage of the controversial H. floresiensis, found on the Island of Flores in Indonesia 2003.

The results published in the journal of human evolution suggest that not only is H. floresiensis a new species, but also that the species does not share an immediate ancestor, diverging nearly two million years ago. Furthermore:

The fact that the H. floresiensis population on Flores is a very early species
suggests that hominins emerged from Africa much earlier than previously thought.

So if you thought you just felt the earth move, it was probably seismic activity, but also a major paradigm shift. So get your popcorn out and get comfortable everyone, this is going to be an interesting ride!

p.s. I know I’m a little behind in the news of this but I’ve been busy having a life and being awesome.

p.s.s. hahaha I joke! I’ve just been busy doing assignments and working…what an exciting life I do lead!

Back

Wow.

I’ve come to the conclusion that as a blogger, I really suck!

For serious!

You see, life has been a bit tumultuous (hence my lack of blogs/webwankery). But I’m back in the game now I think.

So, from now on there will be no more slacking off.

See you soon space cowboy!

xx

Sweet Sacrifice

In some Ancient Cultures, when times were tough, human sacrifices were made to appease the gods. So to hell with sitting around saving our pennies, all we need to do to escape the GFC is knock off a few millionaires/CEO/Media Moguls and all will be right in the world again.

Okay, maybe not. So you can all return the people you’ve kidnapped back to their families, no arguments!

Anyway, on the subject of sacrifice research in Peru has revealed a mass grave of 33 mummies from the site of Chotuna Huaca, recovered earlier this year. Reports suggest most of the mummified remains were wonderfully preserved, with even hair and teeth surviving.

While sacrifice was not an uncommon event in Andean pre-Hispanic civilisations, archaeologists and anthropologists are puzzled by the huge number of victims which appear to have been killed simultaneously, a phenomena not yet observed in the region.

Further puzzling is that the remains belong to young females, some being no more than nine years old. Preliminary theories suggest the victims were probably sacrificed to bring fertility to farmlands.

http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.greatarchaeology.com/news/wp-content/mummy-peru_big.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.greatarchaeology.com/news/archaeology/33-peru-mummies-victim-of-human-sacrifices/&usg=__TrByWrLBScjFWEPUtHfkHCPwGAg=&h=307&w=461&sz=36&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=N4PoCq3Wsy_AcM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3D33%2Bmummies%2Bperu%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGIK_enAU272AU272%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

The Sardonic Grin

A recent study has revealed the toxin behind the smiling death. Phoenician colonists on the Island of Sardinia created one big CF* for contemporary societies by creating some damn freaky smiles on faces of the dead, both enemies and friends.

What eluded scientists until now was how they did it.

Enter hungry Shepherd.

Let us call this shepherd Bob.

Pulling a double shift one overcast afternoon, Bob realises that he forgot his lunch. So poor and tired Bob, almost delirious with hunger, stumbled upon this:






Sniff.
Mmmmmmm, well it smells okay, thought Bob.
So, after brushing off excess dirt and pollen, Bob proceeded to scoff down the sweet smelling flowers and the juicy, juicy roots of the pretty swamp flower. And oh boy was it yummy!

A few hours later, Bob was found dead, with a grin on his face.

Now I personally think this would make a great story to tell your children to teach them not to eat just anything because you can DIE! Its like the Cry Wolf story really.

Anyway, Bob’s unintentional suicide lead scientists closer to the secret identity of the Sardonic herb.

And so, now we know NOT to eat the Hemlock Water-Dropwort, and that there will undoubtedly be a new cosmetic method in the fight against aging.

And you thought inserting botulism was bad! Take that wrinkles! Muahahahaha!





*CF=clusterfuck, but I'm trying to keep this blog PG

To whom it may concern,

Okay, so I know I said more blogging and I have been meaning to I’ve just been busy!
And I have proof! “A Method for the Quantified Analysis of Fragmented Faunal Remains and the Application of this Model to Body Size Classes” Yeah that’s right!
I give the seminar for this project tomorrow, so I intend to be back in the blogosphere by the end of the week.
Strap yourselves in!

The Peter Pan PNR

It was a cool night on the 11th of May this year when I came to the realisation that I'd spent my last day as a teenager cleaning fish tanks and writing a report on a statistical method to distinguish fragmented faunal bones.
It was quite depressing! If someone asks me what I did on my last day as a teenager, I wanted to be able to say something at least remotely cool! Like "I was kidnapped by the CIA and ordered to seduce an evil terrorist that looked like David Tennant."
But no, i cleaned fish tanks and wrote a report.
The second sad realisation came when I realised that I could now never live in Neverland as one of the lost children of no specific gender (look what political correctness has done to that fairytale).
So, on the 12th of May 2009, I turned 20.
I did have a request for birthday gifts this year: David Wenham/David Tennant/Josh Lucas wrapped in pink ribbon and a TARDIS. As yet, I haven't received any of those, but I figure there should be at least a two week grace period for shipping.
But anyway, happy birthday to me.
More blogging is on the way, so stay tuned!

Breaking the Silence

Hey everyone!

Just a quick one to let you know two more studies arguing that 'Flo' is a new species have been released. From memory i think the stories are published in the journal 'Nature'. I'll have to get back to you on that one anyway.

Ordinarily I would love to sit down and have a little rant about our dear friend Flo, but I've got to go to work, and then I have to finish my Advanced Research Project -_-.

Life just isn't fair.

P.S. K.RUDD! Where’s my stimulus package huh?!

I'm not [Dead]!

Heya Space Cowboys/Cowgirls!

Yes, I am alive!

I apologise for the lack of blogging rants, I’ve been otherwise preoccupied….

I wish I had an awesome excuse involving the economic downturn and espionage work for people who wear black suits and shoes that squeak… but unfortunately I’m boring.

The reason I’ve been quiet is because I’ve got my hands full of antelope bones! Wallaby and Kangaroo soon to join! Now if that’s not a party I don’t know what is….
It is a long story, but needless to say things have been a little hectic.

But there have been so many new and exciting things happening in archaeology that I’m truly regretting my absence from the blogosphere. Not because anyone actually reads this, but because now my brain is doing this thing where I try to write an essay only to ramble incoherently and then pursue weird tangents that end in…well, let’s just say it gets pretty messy.

Anyway, I’ll get back to the point. Here are some stories that I think you folks might be interested in.

Cleo and Ant, where art thou?! http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gYKMmuL5ZHmbklSW5GCtfIYFtxeg

Anything you can do, I can do better
http://www.livescience.com/animals/090413-human-climbers.html

Just when you thought British archaeology had enough problems
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7992300.stm

Will your child be the first to join the x-men?!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090408/sc_mcclatchy/3208192

For the lit crowd…and all of you lovely people searing with art wank
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7931823.stm

More mummies than you can poke a stick at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7879366.stm

Dinosaurs in Cambodia…FTW?! ….okay this one I just thought was funny
http://grinding.be/2009/04/09/cambodia-dinosaur-images-noticed-in-temple-ruin/

Spike = Keanu?? Eh?! - Some would argue that this isn't archaeological, i disagree. People will dig up dvds in the future and when they figure out how to recovery the images they will say "well, now we know why it was in the garbage!"

No, I'm sorry!

I shall wait until the movie surfaces until i pass judgement.

http://www.scificool.com/keanu-reeves-as-spike-in-cowboy-bebop-live-action-movie/

Okay, I seriously have to stop procrastinating! But I’m hoping that will keep you entertained until next Friday at least.

I promise to keep up my crazy talk. So those of you, YES YOU, who started to think I was dead, fear not! You may sleep well from this night on!

[Insert cricket buzz/hum here]

Do crickets buzz? Hum? Chirp? Whistle? Hum and whistle simultaneously?

Someone enlighten me.

Or better yet, record a cricket impersonation! That would be two kinds of awesome….slash weird.

LOST AND FOUND...AGAIN!

Remember that time when I lost the Temple of Jordania* and I started freaking out, searching high and low and in the middle only to find it stuffed down under the seat of the couch?

No?....Okay, just trying to create an analogy.
Here’s the story.

Once upon a time, in a mystical land of sand and spice, a young and handsome**
Swedish Egyptologist named Karl Piehl discovered a tomb.

On his hands and knees
Karl painstakingly removed grain after grain of sand using only a toothbrush and
a dustpan*** from an excavation site at the city of Luxor, to uncover beautiful
tomb.

Karl soon realised that it was not just any old tomb; no
he had found the tomb belonging to deputy seal bearer of Tuthmosis
III.

“WHOOPIE!” said Karl.****
But Karl was so excited about his discovery that whilst doing his victory dance he didn’t even notice the tomb sink beneath the golden sands, to be lost to all for over a century.

But fear not my beautiful people, the tomb has been rediscovered! Yes, a Belgium team has rediscovered the tomb and all is right again! Unfortunately, the inscriptions on the walls of the tomb have been damaged, leading archaeologists to believe that the tomb has been plundered, probably sometime during the early 19th century.

Now, I’d like to think that on occasion I do raise some kind of valid, if not quirky point about archaeology and the state of the world. With that in mind, I ask you, oh humble readers, HOW DO YOU LOSE A TOMB?!

Car keys, bobby pins and loose change I can understand, but a tomb?! That’s a pretty big target. Do I smell a conspiracy here?

Please enlighten me.

*Figment of my imagination.
**I don’t know if Karl was indeed young or handsome…well obviously he was young at one stage (or was he? [Insert dramatic music here]), but I don’t know about the handsome part. But I just thought I’d put in a good word.
***Probably used more than just a toothbrush and dustpan.
****Probably didn’t say this at all.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090301/science/science_egypt_tomb_1
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090301/sc_nm/us_archaeology_egypt_tomb;_ylt=AmYptKSqZBAdoUVnurApOnEhANEA

FOOTPRINTS

When I first read this story I tried to imagine who among my small group of close friends would be silly…I mean willing to demonstrate the hypothesised walking gait of Homo erectus (courtesy of the new footprint finds) in comparison to other hominids, chimps and modern humans.

I made the mistake of saying I would record this act, upload the footage on YouTube and place right here on this very blog…yeah, really kicked myself in the head there didn’t I? So needless to say, none of my friends opted for the experience, not even George. Next time I’ll just strategically place a few hidden cameras…yes, it is all very big brotheresque around here.

So, new footprints in Kenya! Yay!!!

Studies of the new finds suggest that the individuals who left them were morphologically very similar to modern humans. Standing approximately 5 foot 9 inches high, with a size 9 arched feet indicating better bipedal mobility, anthropologists believe that the prints, dated to 1.5MYA probably belonged to Homo erectus.

Researchers suggest that this provides further credit to claims that the evolution of the feet for bipedal purposes was an essential element to “becoming human” (and let’s not nit pick at that useless term either). So, yes, these are the earliest footprints in existence belonging to a species of the Homo genus (probably, anyway), but are by no means the earliest fossilised hominid footprints recovered from the fossil record. Laetoli still holds that crown, believed to have been left by Australopithecus afarensis, some 3.6 million years old.

What would you say?

At a recent gathering, a friend of mine brought to my attention a slightly morbid, but still fun website that I’d like to share.

“Dying Words” by Corsinet has recorded the last words of many famous people in history. I’m not sure as to how accurate the site is, but it is still really fun! And it makes you think “Hmm, what are my last words going to be?”

Well? What would you say?

Here are a few of my personal favourites:

I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.~~ Humphrey
Bogart,
actor, d. January 14, 1957

I am still
alive! Stabbed to death by his own guards - (as reported by
Roman
historian Tacitus)~~ Gaius Caligula, Roman Emperor, d.41 AD

I've
never felt better.~~ Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., actor, d. December
12,
1939

I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring.~~ Richard Feynman,
physicist, d.
1988

I know you have come to kill me. Shoot coward,
you are only going to
kill a man.
Facing his assassin,
Mario Teran, a Bolivian soldier.~~
Ernesto "Che" Guevara, d. October
9, 1967

Too late for fruit, too soon for flowers.~~ Walter De La
Mare, writer,
d. 1956

Go on, get out - last words are for fools
who haven't said
enough.
To his housekeeper, who urged
him to tell her his last words
so she could write them down for
posterity.~~ Karl Marx, revolutionary,
d. 1883

I
knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room - and God damn
it - died in a hotel
room.~~ Eugene O'Neill, writer, d. November 27,
1953

Here am I, dying of a hundred good symptoms.~~ Alexander Pope,
writer, d. May 30, 1744

They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist. . . .
Killed in battle during US Civil War.~~ General John
Sedgwick,
Union Commander, d. 1864

I've had eighteen straight whiskies, I
think that's the record . . .~~ Dylan Thomas, poet, d.
1953

Either that wallpaper goes, or I do.~~ Oscar
Wilde, writer, d.
November 30, 1900

For more of these little charmers, or to get some ideas for your own, you can find the site here.

6 and 26

Archaeologists in Egypt have found that a pyramid containing a mummy from the 6th dynasty also houses the remains of 30 other mummified individuals from the 26th dynasty.

The 2600 year old tomb, which the LAT suggests belonged to an individual named Sennedjem, is located inside the necropolis at Saqqara. A niche in the tomb holding 30 bodies has been described by Zahi Hawass as a “Mummy Warehouse”.

Eight of the individuals were incased in stone sarcophagi, while the rest where laid to rest in caches along the walls. Dating suggests that the remains in the “warehouse” are from the 26th dynasty – the last independent Egyptian rule before the Persian invasion.

Why?

The Ancient Egyptians were in many ways obsessed with death, even in life, one would be constantly thinking about the life after death and immortality. Why then, would you recycle a tomb?

The most probable answer is that rulers during the 26th dynasty could not recruit the manpower or muster the resources required to construct a funerary complex as extravagant as those from earlier periods.

Research is ongoing.

Not that I support the Barney Phenomenon but....

On of the biggest misconceptions about archaeology involves one of my favourite things – DINOSAURS! Screw raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, Dinosaurs totally win, hands down!
That being said, when someone asks you what you do for a living and you say “well actually, I’m an archaeologist” the most common response after “wow!”, “good lord, why?” or “really?!” is “so, how many dinosaurs have you found?”
Or something along that sort of line anyway, then you do a little slightly annoyed laugh and clarify what it is that you actually do – play in shell middens, dig up stone tools, work in mass graves or what have you.

Anyway, I realise that what I’m about to do will provide further support for the ‘Barney Phenomena’, but I’m going to do it anyway…because I’m a rebel and I listen to rock music. Yeah, that’s right!

So, first of all TRICERATOPS!



If there was a rockstar among dinosaurs, then Triceratops would be it!

Isn’t it just the cutest little thing! They’re definitely one of my favourite dinosaurs.



Palaeontologists have a huge fascination with horned/ frilled dinosaurs. Theories behind the features stretched from comparisons with species still present on earth today. So essentially deer, elk, moose…and no, not the chocolate variety.

Some believe that the unusual features were used for display purposes, to attract a mate and such. Now don’t tell me you can’t see a male triceratops eyeing off a passing female with a smirk as he’d say “Heya babe! You ever seen one this big?”….wow, that took quite a sordid turn didn’t it, my most humble apologies.

Ahem.

Continuing along the analogy line, deer, elk and non-chocolate moose fight. Yes, they fight with their horns, probably trying to impress a female no doubt. Motivations aside, it has been theorised that perhaps the triceratops also used their horns for fighting, and that if that was so, could there be evidence of this left on fossil remains?

Research indicates yes. Sort of.

Palaeontologists suggest that although far from a definitive conclusion on the exact purpose of horns and frills, for the triceratops, it is likely that they may have been used for fighting. But why are they fighting? One must wonder:

"…if some specimens might have had significantly more injuries than
others, and if so, whether this might suggest that they were males?
Alternatively, if the incidence of injuries significantly increased at a certain
size, would this suggest the onset of sexual maturity and mate competition?"

It should be noted that the used for horns and frills on dinosaurs may have been different for every species. While evidence suggests that the triceratops may have used their horns for fighting, for other species like the Centrosaurs and Pachyrhinosaurs, it may be used as more of a sexual display. Randy little sex fiends!

Not Bitter

*

I don’t usually like to talk about stone tools that often, mainly because it’s not my interest area….and if we’re being honest, because I can’t make a decent flake to save my life. But its okay, I’m not bitter and twisted about it or anything. See, I’m even blogging about tools!

Recent excavations in Malaysia have uncovered STONE TOOLS! But not just any stones tools, no, these are stone axes**. Pretty cool right? It gets better!
It has been reported that the seven tools, found in Perak, have been dated by a lab in Tokyo to be 1.83 million years old! Well, 1.83ish – give or take about 610 000 years or so.

Relevance? If the dates are correct-ish, the tools are the oldest axes in the world. Yes, we do have stone tools occurring in Africa quite early on in the piece, but we haven’t seen axes until about 1.6ish million years old.

Basically, this is just reinforcement of the idea the archaeology in South East Asia is a pain in the proverbial ass. Wait! Don’t get all judgemental and disgruntled about it. I mean it in the nicest way possible. The archaeology of the region is extremely complex even in itself; things get far messier when we look at the bigger picture of the human story.

If tools are indicative of a cultural presence, then we have possible habitation of Malaysia by hominins 1.8MYA. The oldest remains found in the area connected to the tools were dated to 10 000 years. Is it simply a case of poor preservation preventing the recovery of a larger and unequivocally important part of the human story?

The study still needs to be looked at by other researchers, but if rocks get your socks off, keep watch on this one.

*Not one of the tools in question

**No, I can’t make axes either…..shut up.