BHR-25
Brit-Am Historical Reports
16 December 29 Kislev 5770
Contents:
1. Celtic Influence in Germanic Areas and in the Netherlands
2. Archaeology: Brit-Am Version of Explorator 12.34
3. Was there an International Cannibal Center in Stone Age Germany ?
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1. Celtic Influence in Germanic Areas and in the Netherlands
From: authun
Subject: [Germanic-L] Re: The Dutch are Celtic? WTF!!!!!!!!!!!
Germanic-L@yahoogroups.com
Koch's book, An Atlas for Celtic Studies, makes the point that whatever map one draws for the celtic wotrld, personal names, placenames, pottery styles, coins, art styles, sword and knife types etc etc, no two maps have the same boundaries.
> >
> > Consequently, there are several boundaries in the low countries, depending on what one is looking at. The Rhine Scheldt border is an approximation, a synthesis of several possible borders.
I refer to different maps for several aspects of celtic culture, placenames, artefacts etc. Each map shows a different area.
The interpretation of why one area may have a celtic place name or why it should contain a sword type for example, is not the issue. It is up to the researcher to offer an explanation. Most maps show the Rhine Scheldt as the limit, though some isolated items do exist north of this line.
In summary:
Reputedly celtic tribal names, Morini, Menapi, Ambivarti etc. exist in modern day Belgium with placenames of possible celtic derivation such as Lugudunum, Noviomagus, Carvium reaching as far as the Rhine in the north.
This also represents the most northerly find of a Halstatt C wagon burial in the area.
Gaulish sanctuaries have been identified in Belgium as far north as the modern day dutch/belgian border, but not as far north as the Rhine.
12th - 8th cent. Armorican socketed axes predominant in Britain, Gaul and Switzerland are numerous in Belgium and are found nearly as far north as the Rhine.
Carp's tongue swords (10th - 8th cent. BC), predominant in Gaul, Britain and Iberia are found around the Rhine border in the north.
A 9th - 7th cent. BC antenna hilted sword, common in northern Iberia, Britain, Gaul, the southern part of east germany, the south Baltic and the danish islands, is found near Groeningen.
An iron G ?ndlingen sword, common throughout the northern celtic world is found in north holland with several clustering on the Rhine border.
Pfahlbau and west baltic spearheads (late bronze age) are found in numbers Switzerland and, to a lesser extent in the Ardennes but throughout Germany and on the southern shores of the baltic with isolated finds in Jutland and the netherlands. The large cluster in Switzerland is interesting as Phatten knives (12th - 8th cent BC), also found in Switzerland and eastern Gaul are predominant on the danish islands and in eastern germany.
Late bronze age horse gear and Cimmerian bridles predonimate in Jutland, the danish islands, the southern baltic shore, southern germany, switzerland and eastern gaul.
Late bronze age irish gold hair rings which predominate in Ireland and southern Britain are found Belgium, somewhat to the south of the Rhine Border.
The point about a study such as this is that by studying certain celtic aretfacts only, or place names only, we get conflicting pictures of the celtic world. By mapping non celtic items in the celtic world, we get a better idea of how goods were traded.
The low countries as far north as the Rhine show many aspects of the celtic world, but as frequencies much lower than other parts of the celtic world. Only a handful of celtic items are common to all parts of the celtic world.
North of the Rhine in the low countries, there is a paucity of celtic placenames or artefacts, but there is a paucity of other items as well and what items there are are probably strays.
To my untrained eye, Belgium is influenced by Britain and Gaul and some aspects of this influence extends upto the Rhine Border. There appears to be considerable contact between the Celtic world and the Germanic world but the Netherlands, north of the Rhine appears to have been bypassed. It is a relative desert for bronze age or iron age goods that are found in other parts of europe.
best
authun
2. Archaeology. Brit-Am version of Explorator 12.34
From: david meadows <rogueclassicist@gmail.com>
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explorator 12.34 December 13, 2009
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AFRICA
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A study of ostrich eggshell beads:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/sicp-aso120609.php
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ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT
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Nice feature on some Assyrian cuneiform tablets:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091209-ancient-tablets-decoded.html
Evidence that the Hasmonean sphere of influence extended to the Negev:
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel+beyond+politics/Hasmonean-rule-extended-to-Negev-10-Dec-2009.htm
http://www.antiquities.org.il/about_eng.asp?Modul_id=14
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260447411204&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/12/10/1009654/hasmoneans-ruled-in-negev-new-dig-finds
The 'real story' of the Maccabees:
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/12/10/1009663/heroes-or-rabble-rousers-the-real-story-of-the-maccabees
A Chanukah primer:
http://www.rightsidenews.com/200912127743/editorial/chanukah-2009-guide-for-the-perplexed.html
... and we have a revisitation of the Heliodorus Stele too:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260447409000&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260447412570&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
... and we might as well put the Hannukah in Hungary piece here too:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/arts/09iht-GRUBER.html
Remember that mosaic found at a prison in Israel a while back? It might
become a tourist site after all:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=1133294
In case you've missed some of the recent finds in Jerusalem (and don't
get hung up on typos and the like):
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=27325
Review of some books of semi-touristy/historical ANE interest:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=1132808
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ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)
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More on Hollywood messing with the ancient world:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/13/hollywood-classical-european-culture
but cf:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-greek13-2009dec13,0,1214238.story
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EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland)
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Feature on a student's experiences digging a Celtic/Iron Age site
in Spain:
http://www.retrieverweekly.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=5158&format=html
Using the homeless to dig a site in Bristol:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/8402213.stm
Evidence from sites in Sweden suggest the Polar Ice cap during the last
Ice Age might not have been as extensive as previously thought:
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/International/nyhetssidor/artikel.asp?ProgramID=2054&format=1&artikel=3270787
An Iron Age dump on Skye is threatened by erosion:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8403563.stm
(Much) more on Neolithic cannibalism in Germany:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,665824,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8394802.stm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/6746198/Archaeologists-find-evidence-of-cannibalism-at-neolithic-site-in-Germany.html
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/298016,archeologists-discover-signs-of-mass-cannibalism-at-german-site.html
http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-5439.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1233667/Cannibalism-uncovered-Ancient-human-burial-site-shows-evidence-slaves-skinned-butchered-like-animals.html
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1795426/evidence_of_mass_cannibalism_at_ancient_site/index.html?source=r_science
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2009/12/07/eat-or-be-eaten-cannibalism-in-neolithic-germany.aspx
http://www.centralchronicle.com/viewnews.asp?articleID=21074
http://www.physorg.com/news179393799.html
More on the 'French' bringing farming to Britain:
http://www.physorg.com/news179515605.html
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NORTH AMERICA
On the impact of the diffusion of maize in the southwestern US:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/wuis-tio120809.php
http://www.physorg.com/news179511725.html
http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/15214.html
Not sure if we mentioned this Spanish fort find before or not:
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20091209/BLACKMOUNTAINNEWS01/912090308/1119
On the last hanging in New York City:
http://fort-greene.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/the-hangmans-final-bow/
OpEd on Roosevelt:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/opinion/06bradley.html
Review of John Cooper Jr., *Woodrow Wilson*:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/books/review/Gage-t.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/books/excerpt-woodrow-wilson.html
Review of Woody Holton, *Abigail Adams*:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/books/review/Anderson-t.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/books/excerpt-abigail-adams.html
Review of Louis Begley, *Why the Dreyfus Affair Matters*:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/books/review/Scurr-t.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/books/excerpt-why-the-dreyfus-affair-matters.html
Review of *Baseball Americana*:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/books/review/Taylor-t.html
Review of Gordon Wood, *Empire of Liberty*:
http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2414/31/
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CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
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Challenging recent claims about the cause of the collapse of the Maya:
http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=2144
http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report_ancient-mayans-were-nature-lovers-not-destroyers_1322922
http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-9836.html
Evidence of a 'previously unknown' civilization are emerging in a
deforested area of the Amazon on the Brazil/Bolivia border:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427383.800-ancient-amazon-civilisation-laid-bare-by-felled-forest.html
Feature on "Peruvian Civilization":
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2009/12/135_57062.html
More on Peruvian stress:
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1797188/ancient_peruvian_hair_answers_questions_about_stress/index.html?source=r_science
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091209114150.htm
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20091210/Historical-study-reveals-stress-was-a-apart-of-ancient-Peruvians-daily-lives.aspx
http://www.physorg.com/news179583199.html
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OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
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Linguistically-fingerprinting authors:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/science/nature/8404025.stm
On the history of Darwinian medicine:
http://www.physorg.com/news179686563.html
... a reviewish sort of thing of Assassin's Creed II:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/arts/television/08assassin.html
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TOURISTY THINGS
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America's Stonehenge:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/travel/escapes/11stonehenge.html
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OBITUARIES
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Yosef Yerushalmi:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/nyregion/11yerushalmi.html
3. Was there an International Cannibal Center in Stone Age Germany ?
Stone Age Mystery
German Excavation Reveals Signs of Mass Cannibalism
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,665824,00.html
By Angelika Franz
Was it mass cannibalism, ritual slaughter or both? Archaeologists who unearthed the remains of 500 Stone Age corpses in the German town of Herxheim say the meat was cut off their bones as if they were livestock. One conclusion is that the people were eaten -- after volunteering to be sacrificed.
How do you carve up a cow? First you cut the meat off the bones. You start by severing the muscles from the joints with a sharp knife. The fibrous meat can then easily be scraped off, from top to bottom. After you've removed the flesh there's still a lot of goodness left. Deep in the long bones and vertebrae lies the marrow. To get at this delicacy you smash the bones and scrape out the marrow or simply boil it out in water. What's left is a pile of naked bones with traces of scratching and scraping as well as the small debris of bone that contained marrow.
Archaeologists found just such a pile -- a huge one -- when they were excavating a Stone Age settlement in the small town of Herxheim in south-western Germany. The only difference is that the bones aren't from cattle. Researchers found the carefully scraped remains of some 500 humans, and they haven't even excavated half the site. "We expect the number of dead to be twice as high," said Andrea Zeeb-Lanz, project leader of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
That's a lot of corpses for a tiny Stone Age village. There were 10 buildings at most here in the last phase of the Linear Pottery culture of the European Neolithic Age around 5,000 to 4,950 years BC. The corpses weren't native to this area, researchers have discovered. They came from all over Europe -- from the area of what is now Paris, from the Moselle River 100 kilometers to the northwest and even from the Elbe River valley some 400 kilometers away. The broken bits of pottery lying between their ribs reveal their origin. It's the so-called Linear Pottery that gave the entire population group its name: decorated with linear patterns pressed into the moist clay while it was being made.
Butchered by Experts
The strangers brought only the finest pottery from their home regions -- in many cases even more beautiful than the pottery they placed inside the graves of their own dead at home. But the pottery was smashed to pieces and scattered over the bones, along with brand new millstones and stone blades. Everything was hacked to pieces, broken up, mixed together and poured into pits.
The anthropolgist Bruno Boulestin conducted a close examination of the bone fragments. He published his findings from one pit eight meters long in the latest edition of Antiquity magazine. The pit contained a total of 1,906 bone fragments from at least 10 people. Two of them were infants or still-born children, one was a fetus in the 34th to 36th week of pregnancy, there were two children aged six and 15 and six adults, at least one of whom was male.
All of them -- babies, children, adults -- were butchered by expert hands while the bones were still fresh, as the breaks and cuts show. Boulestin concluded that the human bones bore the same marks as those of slaughtered livestock, and that the dead of Herxheim were prepared as meals. He believes that marks on the bones indicate that body parts were cooked on skewers. His conclusions contradict other researchers who believe the meat was taken off the bones as part of a burial ritual, and wasn't eaten.
No Signs of Battle Wounds
Who were the dead? Conquered enemies perhaps? Probably not, because the bones showed no signs of battle wounds. None of the skulls found was smashed, and there were no arrow heads between the ribs. The dead of Herxheim appear to have been in good health when they died. Their joints weren't worn down, their teeth were in exceptionally good condition and there was no sign of malnutrition.
The theory of conquered enemies also seems unlikely given that the small group of Herxheim villagers is unlikely to have vanquished people hundreds of kilometers away and dragged 1,000 of them back to their little hamlet in the space of just 50 years. "One could also imagine that people volunteered to come here and be ritually sacrificed," Zeeb-Lanz told SPIEGEL ONLINE.
So what happed in Herxheim at the start of the fifth millennium BC? It's clear that the hamlet quickly came to fame. It had been a sleepy, uneventful place since the so-called Flomborn Phase around 5,300 years BC. But around the turn of the millennium something happened that caused people from all over Europe to make pilgrimages to this place -- a sensational feat of logistics and communication for that age.
Only 50 Years of Fame
But it didn't last long. By 4,950 BC everything was over. After that there were no more deaths in Herxheim because the settlement ceased to exist. It's a puzzling phenomenon for archaeologists because 50 years is an extremely short time for a place of such significance. "And 50 year is the maximum," says Zeeb-Lanz. "It could all have happened in just two years or even five weeks."
It's clear that it wasn't hunger that drove the inhabitants of this mysterious hamlet to carve up humans. What they did with their victims was part of a ritual, a religious ceremony. This includes the mysterious treatment of human skulls. First the skin was peeled off them. All it took was a cut across the length of the head and the skin could be peeled off the sides. Then a blow to the face at the front and the base of the neck at the back, and two blows each at the sides -- the result looks like a drinking vessel.
"But probably nobody drank from them. The edges are still so sharp today that one would cut one's lips on them," says Zeeb-Lanz. Archeologists found these prepared skulls piled together in one place. "The more research conduct, the more mysterious this place becomes."
But did the Herxheimers really devour the dead? It's impossible to prove that archaeologically. Boulestin is sure they did, but not all members of the excavation team agree with him. Project leader Zeeb-Lanz is careful too: "We mustn't forget that this was no giant settlement. Who is supposed to have eaten all this?"
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