21 - 22 NOVEMBRE 2010
- 22 NOVEMBRE :
- SENEGAL - Le Sénégal ne compte que 10 archéologues en activité, là où une province de la Chine comme le Yunnan en a 700, a indiqué Moustapha Sall, archéologue et enseignant au département d’histoire de l’Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar. ‘’On forme des étudiants jusqu’en en mémoire de maitrise en archéologie. Après, ils choisissent de faire le concours de la FASTEF pour devenir des professeurs d’histoire’’, a noté le chercheur. Ce choix est dû au ‘’problème de perspectives, de débouchés, car les études de thèses en archéologie coûtent extrêmement cher’’, a-t-il expliqué, soulignant que c’est ça qui explique le fait qu’une ’’bonne partie de nos étudiants, soit 80 %, deviennent des professeurs d’histoire’’. ’’Mais avec la réforme du Système licence-master-doctorat (LMD), a-t-il indiqué, nous allons inverser cette tendance’’. A ce propos, il a assuré ‘’ qu’il y a un master II qu’on appelle archéologie et gestion du patrimoine (AGEP) qui va entrer en vigueur dès cette année scolaire 2010-2011’’. Ce master II sera un master professionnel, a-t-il précisé. ’’Avec la réforme du LMD, on va former des archéologues professionels. On a de nouvelles opportunités et l’archéologie est en pointe pour les années à venir’’, a-t-il dit.
http://www.aps.sn/aps.php?page=articles&id_article=73489
- ISRAËL : 
Mer Morte - Scientists in Israel are drilling into the murky depths of the Dead Sea in hopes of unearthing scientific treasures hidden in 500,000 years worth of mud and sediment. The unique setting of the Dead Sea — the lowest place on earth at 1,385 feet (422 meters) below sea level — should present researchers with distinctly stratified sedimentation that may answer scientific questions in fields ranging from geology to archaeology and could lead to new insight into climate change.
Researchers say the core that will be pulled out from 1,640 feet (500 meters) below the seabed could open the door to years of research as every stratum could inspire a new hypothesis. Where the sediment layers don't line up, there was likely an earthquake. Beyond new knowledge this may provide seismologists, archaeologists studying biblical temblors will be able to match up their findings with the timeline presented by the broken lines of the Dead Sea core. Anthropologists researching the migrations of early man — many of whom are believed to have passed through the Dead Sea basin area — could find new information to support theories.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/sns-ap-ml-israel-dead-sea-treasures,0,6502307.story
- CHINE : 
Xuchang - On Nov. 21, the archeological team from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage discovered two ostrich eggshells with stone-drilled holes that date back 20,000 years ago at the Xuchang primitive ruins.Experts from the team said that the two ostrich eggshells were the earliest artificially stone-drilled specimens that were ever found in Henan Province and the best-preserved specimens found in China over the age of 10,000 years, which showed that the primitive craftsmanship had developed to a quite high level even at that time.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90783/91300/7207127.html
- UKRAINE : 
Khortytsia - Marine archeologists of the Khortytsia National Reserve in Zaporizhia have raised an ancient Cossack warship, a Cossack oak vessel, which had been lying beneath the waters of the reserve for some three centuries. the 18-meter long Cossack "oak"-type vessel is a "veteran" of the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-1739. The ancient vessel was discovered in waters near Khortytsia Island in 1999. But it was impossible to lift it due to the lack of assets. Over this time the unique archeological find, which remained lying at a depth of six meters in the waters of the Khortytsia beach zone, started decaying and needed to be urgently lift from the bottom and preserved. Some 80% of the ancient warship was preserved for three centuries due to sand and mud covering it on the bottom of the Dnipro River. The Cossack "oak" vessel was constructed in the 18th century in keeping with the best traditions of Zaporizhia Cossacks' shipbuilding. Despite its hull being made of oak, it is light and maneuverable, and is thought to be a prototype of modern warships. Using "oaks" the Cossacks successfully countered the Ottoman navy in the Black Sea.
http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/90826/
- ROYAUME-UNI : 
Towton - Parts of handheld guns have been found at a North Yorkshire battlefield which saw one of the bloodiest conflicts of the War of the Roses. A metal detectorist unearthed the fragments of the guns, thought to date back to the 15th Century, at the site in Towton, near Tadcaster. The find contradicts the idea that guns were only used in that period of history to attack castles. Experts say it sheds light on the use of guns by troops in medieval battles. The unearthing of the parts of gun barrels was "incredibly important" - but possibly unlucky for the soldier who had been holding the weapon in the conflict in 1461. The reason the guns were probably not found intact was that it was not uncommon for the weapon to explode in the user's hands because of metal casting faults. The Battle of Towton saw up to 28,000 soldiers killed on a single day and has been named as one of the bloodiest battles to ever take place on English soil.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-11810487
- 21 NOVEMBRE :
- JAMAÏQUE : Valuable artefacts, which could help local archaeologists piece together more of Jamaica's past, are disappearing through the island's airports and for now, nothing is being done to stop it. That's the concern being raised by officials of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) and the Archaeological Society of Jamaica. The Trust had received reports of especially Taino artefacts being taken out of the country, but could not say how many pieces had left the island in recent times. As the organisation deals with digging and helping to preserve archaeological findings, the Archaeological Society will be kicking off a massive public education programme come April 2011. The Tainos, generally referred to as Arawaks, are recognised as the earliest recorded inhabitants of Jamaica.
- SYRIE : 
Tal El-Karkh - A number of Archaeological cemeteries with skeletons dating back to the Stone Age were duged up at Tal El-Karkh site in Idelb , northwest of Syria. A necklace of beads made of miscellaneous jewels, awls made of bones and multi-usage stone tools dating back to the late Stone Age were also discovered. The finds reflect the lifestyle prevalent at that period, the existence of pre-earthenware societies and the site's richness in cultural factors. The finds are indicators of the consecutive civilizations spanning long periods until the Byzantine era, which witnessed remarkable boom given that al-Rouj basin at which the site is located comes in the middle of trade routes.
- ROYAUME-UNI : Stonehenge - English Heritage, la fondation britannique des monuments et du patrimoine, a annoncé vendredi l'octroi d'une enveloppe de dix millions de livres sterling (11,6 millions d'euros) pour un projet d'aménagement du célèbre site. Chaque année, pour fêter l'arrivée de l'été, des milliers de personnes, notamment des druides, se rendent en pèlerinage à Stonehenge et y passent la nuit du 20 au 21 juin, la plus courte de l'année, au cours d'une fête aux allures païennes mêlant danses et percussions. La finalité originelle du monument reste un mystère. Certains experts le considèrent comme un ancien site tombal en raison de la présence de quelque 350 monticules funéraires autour de la structure. D'autres pensent que les anciens pèlerins attribuaient des vertus de guérison à ces pierres. D'autres encore y voient une forme ancienne de calendrier astronomique.
http://fr.news.yahoo.com/3/20101119/twl-gb-stonehenge-renovation-site-1be00ca.html
- U.S.A. : 
Watsonville - From stone pestles picked up by a farmer plowing his fields west of Highway 1 more than half a century ago emerges a story of people's lives and advancing technology. Native people lived here for a very long time and adapted to their environment and changed their technology over time to make it more efficient and easier. The Pajaro Valley has been inhabited for as long as 12,000 years. By 4,000 years ago, a major food source was the acorn, which had to be ground to a flour and leached before consumption. Stone bowls, or mortars, were fashioned for the grinding. The people now known as the Costanoan/Ohlone arrived in the area about 3,000 years ago, and about 1,000 years ago, they created a bottomless woven basket to serve as the sides of the mortar. Since it could be used on any flat stone, the "hopper" basket mortar had an obvious advantage. It was easier to carry from one place to another. Though the baskets used with the pestles found by Silva are long gone, their shape reveals the missing mortar. Pestles used with stone mortars have a rounded bottom from the grinding, he explained. Those used with basket mortars are flatter. The exhibit contains a "hopper" basket on loan from a Sacramento museum. The hopper-style mortars also give researchers a clue to the age of the sites where they were found. The Silva family farmed near both Struve Slough and Pleasant Valley for several generations. George Silva collected the artifacts in the 1940s and '50s and passed them onto his daughter and granddaughter, Beverly Silva Kelley and Karell Reader, who loaned them to the exhibition. Also included in the display are two large grooved stone balls that archaeologists think are anchors for small tule boats.There's also a mystery artifact, a small concave-shaped stone.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_16671624