11 AOUT 2021 NEWS

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TURQUIE – Troie Troie -  Zrchaeologists excavating the site of the city of Troy on the hills of Hisarlik have discovered a large wooden structure that they believe are the remains of the famous Trojan Horse. These excavations include dozens of fir planks and beams up to 15 meters (49 feet) long, assembled in a strange form. The wooden structure was found inside the walls of the ancient city of Troy. The carbon dating tests and other analyses have all suggested that the wooden pieces and other artifacts date from the 12th or 11th centuries BC. This matches the dates cited for the Trojan War, by many ancient historians like Eratosthenes or Proclus. The Trojan Horse is associated with the Trojan War, written about by Homer in his epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Iliad closes right before the war ends, so it does not feature the legendary horse. The Trojan Horse was used to seize Troy and win the war. The story was prominently featured in the Aeneid by Virgil. Historians have suggested that the horse was an analogy for a war machine or natural disaster. Archaeologists also discovered a damaged bronze plate with the inscription, “For their return home, the Greeks dedicate this offering to Athena.” Quintus Smyrnaeus refers to this plate in his epis poem "Posthomerica." 

https://www.jpost.com/international/did-archaeologists-just-find-the-trojan-horse-676349

ROYAUME UNI– Archaeologists reveal Dorstone - Archaeologists from the Universities of Manchester and Cardiff have discovered the origins of Arthur's Stone, one of the UK's most famous Stone Age monuments. Dating to the Neolithic period in 3700BC, Arthur's Stone is located on a lonely hilltop outside of the village of Dorstone, facing the Black Mountains in south Wales. Archaeologists always assumed that its massive capstone raised on a series of supporting stones and lesser chamber with a right-angled passage had stood within a wedge-shaped stone cairn, similar to those found in the Cotswolds and South Wales. However, Professor Thomas and Cardiff's Prof Keith Ray showed the monument originally extended into a field immediately to the south of the tomb. They found that the tomb had first been a long mound composed of stacked turf, retained by a palisade of upright posts set in a narrow palisade surrounding the mound. However, when the posts rotted away and the mound had collapsed, an avenue of larger posts were added, leading toward the mound from the Golden Valley below. However the later avenue of posts, together with the two stone chambers and an upright stone located immediately in front of them, align on the far horizon in the gap between Skirrid and Garway Hill to the south-east. "The different orientations of the two phase of construction are significant because our excavations on Dorstone Hill in 2011-19 revealed three long mounds similar in construction to that now known to represent the first stage of Arthur's Stone," added Professor Thomas. "Each of these three turf mounds had been built on the footprint of a large timber building that had been deliberately burnt down. So Arthur's Stone has now been identified as being closely connected with these nearby 'halls of the dead'

https://phys.org/news/2021-08-archaeologists-reveal-famous-stone-age.html
ESPAGNE – Foto2  Cova Gran de Santa Linya  - According to a statement released by Spain’s National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), sediments from a modern human burial in northeastern Spain’s Cova Gran de Santa Linya have been radiocarbon dated to 14,000 years ago. The remains include a pelvis, thought to have belonged to a woman; two femurs, one of which is still attached to the pelvis; other arm and leg bones; and bones from the hands and feet. The skull, vertebrae, and ribs were poorly preserved. Dubbed “Linya, the La Noguera woman,” the remains are the first to have been recovered from the site, where artifacts ranging in age from 45,000 to 4,000 years old have been found, explained research team member Alfonso Benito Calvo. The bones were discovered in a natural receptacle formed when several large blocks fell from the roof of the cave. Analysis of soil recovered from the receptacle could reveal if the body was covered with animal skins or plants, Calvo added. 

https://www.cenieh.es/en/press/news/upper-paleolithic-human-remains-are-found-cova-gran-de-santa-linya-site

ISRAEL – Davidson center jerusalem archaeological park the western wall img 6044 880x495 Jerusalem - Archeologists have uncovered in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem the first evidence of the capital being hit with an earthquake that was mentioned in the Bible, reported i24News. According to the first verse of the book of Amos, the earthquake occurred during the time of the Kingdom of Judah in the eighth century BCE. Archeologists from the IAA found a layer of destroyed artifacts, including containers, bowls, lamps, kitchen utensils and storage jars, which were broken during the collapse of a building in the City of David. Researchers found no signs of fire in the destruction, leading them to believe that the building was not damaged due to conquest or a violent act, but collapsed because of an earthquake.

https://www.jns.org/archeologists-find-evidence-of-jerusalem-earthquake-described-in-bible/

FINLANDE - Hattula - In a peer-reviewed study in the European Journal of Archaeology, researchers analyzed DNA of the remains found in an iron grave at Suontaka Vesitorninmäki in Hattula, Finland. “The overall context of the grave indicates that it was a respected person whose gender identity may well have been nonbinary,” according to the study. Someone who is nonbinary doesn't identify exclusively as female or male. Researchers originally believed the grave belonged to a woman after they found jewelry such as oval brooches and clothing in 1968. The items led researchers to believe the person was buried in common feminine attire for the century, according to the study. They also had found hiltless sword placed on the person’s left side, which is typically a more masculine custom. Due to the feminine and masculine contents in the grave, researchers had two theories – two bodies, a man and a woman, were in the grave or the remains were evidence of two female leaders or warriors. More recent DNA testing confirmed the grave only held one person who had Klinefelter syndrome. Genetically, females have two X chromosomes while males have one X and one Y. Klinefelter syndrome results when a male is born with an extra copy of the X chromosome. The syndrome sometimes results in males developing enlarged breasts, infertility and other symptoms.  The buried individual seems to have been a highly respected member of their community. The discovery goes against the "ultramasculine environment" in the medieval Scandinavia era where men seen mixing with feminine social roles would be outcasts. Researchers theorize the person was accepted as nonbinary due to their high and secure status in society or because they were a respected shaman. 

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2021/08/10/nonbinary-leader-found-1-000-year-old-grave-finland/5550578001/

FRANCE – Image 8 Mounes-Prohencoux - Une nécropole néolithique découverte à Mounes-Prohencoux. Après un travail de débroussaillage, le mégalithe s’avérera être un dolmen anthropomorphe (de forme humaine) de très grande dimension, dont le poids est estimé entre 15 à 20 tonnes. Peu à peu, les découvertes vont se succéder. Au fil des travaux de nettoiement en surface, vont apparaître des dolmens, des statues menhirs, des tertres (tombes sous tas de terre) ou un impressionnant cairn (tombes sous tas de pierres) en trois structures imbriquées…Par recoupement avec des dolmens et menhirs déjà datés en Europe, on estime que ce lieu a été utilisé entre moins 3 800 et moins 2 800 avant Jésus-Christ. Ce site s’étend sur trois hectares car il a été utilisé sur un millénaire. Il y a eu plusieurs réaménagements, des constructions, des réparations, des ouvertures sur les failles ont été aménagées… La nécropole est bâtie sur des failles. Par grand froid, on a constaté que des vapeurs d’eau s’échappent par les ouvertures du sol… Avec d’autres éléments en notre possession, on émet l’hypothèse que ces vapeurs d’eau ont pu engendrer des croyances et que ce lieu est un cimetière mais aussi un sanctuaire. La fouille des failles devrait amener des réponses sur la sanctuarisation du lieu si, par exemple, "des dépôts cérémoniels" sont mis à jour.

https://www.midilibre.fr/2021/08/10/une-geante-necropole-neolithique-decouverte-a-mounes-prohencoux-9723678.php

FRANCE – 870x489 img 1593 Bridiers - À quelques minutes du village de Bridiers, une équipe d’archéologues a déterré cet été les vestiges de bâtiments domestiques et funéraires. Parmi les bâtiments identifiés, une surprise. Alors que l'équipe pensait être en présence d'un lieu de culte, elle y découvre un coffre funéraire. Il était malheureusement vide. Mais cette découverte remet en question la fonction de ce bâtiment. Il est possible que ce soit finalement un petit mausolée du IIème siècle  Des objets du quotidien en verre ou en céramique et du mobilier métallique ont également été récupérés. La présence d'un réseau de caniveaux a été confirmée. Cela prouve qu'il y avait un certain nombre d'aménagements d'évacuation des eaux pluviales autour des bâtiments.  Cette année est la première d'un programme de recherche à la recherche des vestiges de villes Lémovices. Dans l'Antiquité, ce peuple gaulois venu d’Europe centrale s’était installé dans la Creuse. Il a également donné son nom au Limousin ainsi qu'à Limoges. Le chantier sera rouvert l'été prochain pour poursuivre les recherches. L'enjeu sera alors de déterrer une autre partie de la parcelle. L'équipe pense y trouver un nouveau bâtiment de deux pièces, dont la plus petite ressemblerait à une cuisine.

VIDEO = https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/insolite/archeologie-en-creuse-nouvelles-decouvertes-a-bridiers-1628528313