ASB222 Notes.rtf

ASB222 - Buried Cities and Lost Tribes January 22, 2009 Pompeii - Mount Vesuvius and Herculaneum. Near Napoli. Vesuvius - Active Volcano. Last Erupted in 1944. Most catastrophic eruption happened in 79 AD. Was thought to be dormant at the time Last erupted before that around 1200 BC. Is prone to catastrophic eruptions with little to no warning. Meeting of African and Eurasian Plates. Pompeii - Large Roman town, mentioned in a few Roman sources. Population probably around 20,000. Somewhat wealthy. Center for trade. 5 miles southeast of the volcano. Herculaneum - Smaller than Pompeii. Eruption Timeline February 5, 62 AD - Small earthquake. 64AD - Suetonius, in his De Vita Casearum, described another small earthquake while Emperor Nero was visiting. Pliny the Younger - Roman author and nephew of Pliny the Elder, a well known author. Wrote account of eruption from Misenum to Tascitus. August 20, 79AD - Series of earthquakes that happened until the volcano erupted, increasing in frequency. Springs dried up. Not considered a big deal because earthquakes were common. 1:00pm August 24, 79AD - Vesuvius erupted. The eruption came in two phases. Pliny the Younger's First Letter - "The cloud looked like a pine tree." "Dark patches of dirt and ash." "Ash was falling onto the ship." "The sea is a shoal." Describing Phase 1. Phase 1 - Lasted 18-20 hours. Acidic magma exploded out of volcano, mixing with air. Plinian eruption. Ash Cloud - A dense rain of ash and pumice fell, mostly to the southeast of the volcano, covering some areas with 2-3 meters. Pliny the Elder - Commander of fleet at Misenum. Heard word that a close friend was in Pompeii. Set out on ships to rescue her - forced to land at Stabiae because of some sort of tsunami he describes. Phase 2 - Consisted of the collapse of the magma dome, which resulted in huge pyroclastic flows, which started dawn on August 25. Pliny the Younger's Second Letter - "Dangling between hope and fear." Pyroclastic Flow - Cloud of superheated gas. Original temperature of cloud - 1560 degrees F by the time it made it to Pompeii cooled to 662 F Desolation - Pompeii was covered in 10ft of ash. Domenico Fontana - Italian architect. Built the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome after Michelangelo's plans. Discovered Pompeii while digging a ditch for an aqueduct in 1592. Reburied what he dug and location remained unknown. Emmanuel d'Elbeuf - Commander of cavalry corps. Married daughter of Duke of Napoli. Moved out of town to country. Discovery - Local mason tries to sell colored marble slabs to him that were found in a dried up well. Mason sent down into well, finds intact and broken statues. Exploitation - Well directly above the theatre of Herculaneum. D'Elbeuf stripped the theatre of marble, statues, and other valuables. IN 1714, moved away from Napoli to assume Dukedom of his father, had tunnels sealed. Spanish Rule - By 1736, Napoli was in Spanish Possesion. Charles III was not yet king, was sent by his father to oversee Kingdom of Napoli along with his mother, Elisabetta Farnese. Elisabetta Farnese - Italian. Just inherited a large number of Roman antiquities. Ordered a summer palace where she would house inheritance. Captain Rocque Joachim Alcubierre - Spanish artillery engineer. Hired to build the palace, La Reggia. Ordered d'Elboeuf's tunnels reopened and ransacked it to be displayed in palace. Rise of Antiquarianism - Charles III and his court waned buried treasure. Imported slaves from North Africa to excavate. Discovery included in the institution called the "Grand Tour" Rediscovery of Pompeii - Alcubierre opens trenches in other places. April 1748 - begins excavation in empty field known locally as "Civita." Hit roof tiles 10ft. below ground, found Pompeii. Excavation of both sites continued until recently. Giuseppe Fiorelli - In charge of excavations during mid-lat 1800s. Developed numbering system to map areas and body casting. Have found 1150 bodies so far in Pompeii, many were lost. 32 percent of these people died in the first phase of the eruption. 62 percent died from the pyroclastic flow and everyone in Herculaneum died in the flow. Vesuvius: Future Threat? Tuesday, January 27, 2009 Napolean and the Discovery of Egypt Ancient Texts - Ancient Greeks fascinated with Egypt. Herodotus, known as the father of history, visited Egypt and wrote an extensive account of Egypt and its people. Called it the "Gift of the Nile." Egypt is one of the most fertile places in the world because the Nile floods every year. Compiled a list of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. Early Christian Pilgrims - Often stopped in Egypt on pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Dominican Friar Felix Fabri traveled to Egypt in 1480 and wrote a description. John Greaves - Wrote Pyramidographia in 1646, contained first accurate drawings of the pyramids. Pietro della Valle - Lived from 1586-1632. Began searching for mummies in Egypt and resulted in the rise of the mummy trade in Europe. People would grind up mummies and take them as medicine or make paint. Mummy Trade - curiosity and fascination in Europe. Would have mummy unwrapping parties. Claude Sicard - First European to travel as far as Aswan in Egypt 1707. He arrived at Thebes. Frederick Ludvig Norden - Danish naval captain sent by King of Denmark to produce and account of Egypt. Wrote Travels in Egypt 1751. First person to try and really accurately portray everything. James Bruce - 1768. Embarked on Grand Tour, and included parts of the Middle East into his travels. Explored the Valley of the Kings and opened the tomb of Ramses III. Wrote Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile. His drawings weren't quite so accurate, more European. Napoleon Bonaparte - Emperor of France. Interested in cutting Britain off from India. Planned to capture Egypt and dig a canal across the isthmus of Suez. May 19, 1798 - French warships departed from Toulon with 34,000 men aboard with official objective to free Egypt from the Ottoman Empire. Commission on the Sciences and the Arts - 167 of them. They went with Napoleon and were charged with recording the antiquities of Ancient Egypt. Vivant Denon - Head of the Commission and accomplished artist. July 2 - Napoleon lands his troops at Alexandria, which soon surrendered. Forced his troops to march 114 miles towards Cairo. Nine miles from the Pyramids at Giza, the French came up against Egyptian forces. Battle of the Pyramids - Army of 24,000 French up against 21,000 Mamluks, 15,000 of which were their legendary cavalry. Napoleon addresses his troops and said "Soldiers! 40 centuries look down upon you!" Resounding win for the French. Commission begins work - much more accurate drawings. Measurements were taken and drawings were made. Napoleon enters the Great Pyramid alone and came out pale and shaken. Napoleon advances to Cairo - Gets there July 25 and founds the Istitut de L'Egypte. Most of Commission is based here and continues to study everything Egytian. Admiral Nelson - Napoleon's nemesis. Head of the British Fleet and finds Napoleon's army at Abukir. Battle of the Nile - Decisive British victory that leaves only two French ships and the French stranded. French Headed South - Ottoman Empire hears of the defeat and prepares an invasion force to attack Cairo. Napoleon leaves Egypt with 13,000 to Syria. Denon's Drawings - Along the way, sketches everything he could. Many temples and buildings he sketched no longer exist. July 1799 - French army captain, overseeing construction in the city of Rosetta, unearths a stone with 3 different writings on it; ancient heiroglyphs, ....., ancient Greek. Rosetta Stone - Copied in great detail by the artists at the Istitut, but couldn't decipher. Meanwhile...- Napoleon defeated the Ottoman invasion force, the last victory being at Abukir on July 25, 1799. Instability forced him back to France in August. Commission stayed behind. British Treaty of Alexandria, 1801 - French soldiers given safe passage back to France. French forced to hand over ALL objects and notes they had acquired. French refused and British said they could keep notes, but not objects. Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte - Published by Denon in 1802. Book of etchings based on his drawings while in Egypt and instant best seller. Napoleon appointed him the first director of the Louve. Descrition de l'Egypte - Accumulation of all the studies of the Commission. 9 volumes of text. So popular they even made cabinets to hold the volumes. Thursday, January 29, 2009 Heinrich Schliemann Unearths he Homeric World at Troy and Mycenae (Check out all maps on BlackBoard and print them to study) Homer - Greek author, but no proof he actually existed. Wrote Iliad and Odyssey and the Trojan war Date of the War - Classical sources disagree on date: Eratosthenes-1184 BCE, Herodotus-1250 BCE, Douriss-1334 BCE. All are placed towards the end of the Bronze Age. Mycenaean Civilization. Causes for the War - There was a gods and goddesses marriage and Eris was not invited. Eris, goddess of discord, marked a golden apple with words "to the fairest," Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera quarreled over it. Zeus said they had to go to Paris the Prince of Troy to decide. He is bribed by all three, but picks Aphrodite. Reward - Aphrodite rewards Paris by making Helen (most beautiful woman in the world), Queen of Sparta, fall in love with him. She leaves Menelaus and goes to Troy. Helen of Troy - daughter of Zeus and Leda, Had many suitors and adopted father refused to decide. Odysseus decided that all would vow to protect Helen. War! - Menelaus vows to liberate Helen from Troy. He gets the help of his brother, Agamemnon, and assembles all the armies of Greece. Arrival at Troy - Set up camp on the beach. Attack for ten years, but no avail. Walls of Troy said to be built by Apollo and impenitrable. Trojan Horse - Odysseus comes up with idea of Trojan horse to fool the Trojans. Trojans fall for the trick, Greeks pour out of the horse at nightfall and burn the city to the ground. After the War - Most of the Greeks angered gods in the looting of Troy and many were unable to return home quickly or at all. Agamemnon returns to find his wife Clytemnestra having an affair. She murders him in the bathtub. Legacy - They were passed down by the writings of Medieval monks. Location of Troy was forgotten. Many scholars thought it was all a myth. Heinrich Schliemann - Born January 6, 1822 in Neubukow, Germany. Father was a poor rural minister and interested in the classics. Vowed to find Troy. Only had a high school education and no money to attend university. Taught himself 13 languages and worked various jobs all over Europe. He learns his brother died in California and moves there in 1851 and started a bank in Sacramento, which bought and sold over 1,000,000 in gold dust in 6 months and also a speculator in stock market. Moved to Russia in 1852 and married Russian, Ekaterina. Went into indigo business and then a military contractor and retired in 1863 at 41 years old. World Travels - Decided to travel the world and then settle down in search for Troy. Went to Indiana so he could divorce Ekaterina. Then he went to Turkey in 1868. Landed in the Troad near the Dardanelles. Surveyed the mound of Bunarbashi using Homer as his guide. Didn't fit the description so he moved on. Hissarlik - Investigated the mound of Hissarlik which seemed to be a better fit for Homer's description. Frank Calvert - US vice-consul at the Dardanelles. Half of the mound of Hissarlik was on his family property and had begun excavating it and identified it as Troy. Second Marriage - Schliemann left Turkey for Greece, advertised for a wife, and married Sophia Engastromenos, 17yrs old, and sent her to study the classics. Return to Troy - 1870 digs a trial trench in Northwest corner of Hissarlik. Finds huge stone wall 16 feet below the surface and has to now apply for an excavation permit to government in Istanbul. Tell - Artificial mound produced by continuous human occupation in one site. Common throughout the Near East. Formed by the buildup of debris over many years. Beginning of Excavations - September 1871 permit granted (has to give half of what he finds to government). Excavation begins October 11 and hires villagers. Homeric Troy? - Schliemann identified 7 successive cities. Identified Troy II to be Trojan War city. Priam's Treasure - One day in June 1877, the workman found gold artifacts. He sent everyone home. Collected it in Sophia's shawl, smuggled it out, and hid it in a shed in Greece. He dressed up his wife in the treasure (picture). Eventually went to the museum in Berlin until 1945 and then went missing and then was later found in a museum in Moscow. Includes a copper shield, copper cauldron, 8,750 gold rings and small objects, electrum cup, etc. Controversy - No witnesses to him taking treasure out of the ground so not sure if it is valid stuff. Violation of excavation permit, excavation praised by British, but not by Germans. Greece - In order to convince his detractors, he decides to excavate Mycenae. Mycenae - Location already known, large stone walls and some structures were visible. Main goal of Schliemann to find the tomb of Agamemnon and his family using info from Pausanias. Pausanias - Lived in the second century AD. Greek geographer and wrote Description of Greece. Described the site of Agamemnon's Tomb. Schliemann begins excavations in 1874 and discovers many things described by Pausanias (Lion's Gate, a bathtub, Grave Circle A) Finds - At Grave Circle A, 5 graves were found with 15 skeletons, all laid with gold. Richest archaeological find up until King Tut in 1992. (Most famous "find" is what is called the Death Mask of Agamemnon, not sure if it is even real and is in a different style, could be a fake.) Reaction - Discoveries at Mycenae redeemed him in the eyes of many, some remained suspicious. Resulted in a settlement with the Turkish government, allowed to return to excavate at Troy. Schliemann's Death - 1890 received treatment for a chronic ear infection. Infection returned and died in Naples on December 26, 1890. Buried in Athens. He was a controversial figure with a brazen excavation style. Almost an antiquarian because he did basically stole. Further Excavation at Troy - Has undergone sporadic excavations since he stopped digging in 1879. Two more cities have been found and now Troy VII has been identified as Homeric Troy. Built in mid 13th Century BCE and destroyed around 1190 BCE. Tuesday, February 3, 2009 Sir Arthur Evans, The Minoans, and the Question of Lost Continents Mythological Background Europa, beautiful Phoenician princess, Zeus falls in love with her and she has Rhadamanthus, Sarpedon, and Minos. King Minos - Became King of Crete, with his palace at Knossos. Conflicts with brothers and the accession to the throne was disputed. Minos prayed to Poseidon for a sign and he sends a white bull to be sacrificed. Minotaur - Minos was struck by the beauty of the bull and refuses to sacrifice. As punishment, Poseidon causes Minos' wife to fall in love with the bull and she get pregnant, has Minotaur. Labyrinth - Minos consults oracle at Delphi. Orders his expert architect, Daedalos to build a labyrinth to contain the Minotaur. Conflict with Athens - Androgeus, son of Minos, murdered by Athenians. Minos declares war, prays to Zeus, who strikes Athens with plague and famine. Athenians consult oracle, who tells them to meet any of Minos' demands. Minos demands seven youths and seven maidens to be sent to Crete every seven years to be sacrificed to the Minotaur. Theseus - son of King Aegeus of Athens. Raised in Troezen, land of his mother. On third shipment of young Athenians to Crete, Theseus decides to join as one of seven youths. Theseus is stripped of his weapons. Ariadne, daughter of Minos, falls in love with Theseus and gives him a sword and ball of string. He kills the Minotaur and saves 13 other captives and takes Ariadne with him from Crete. He forgets to change the sails white and his father thinks he is dead and jumps into the sea, Aegean Sea. Arthur Evans - Born July 8, 1851 in Nash Mills, England. Son of a successful and educated paper mill owner, John Evans, who was also an archaeologist. Well educated and graduated from Oxford in 1874. Did some graduate work at University of Gottingen and travelled throughout the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Ashmolean Museum - Appointed Director of Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. Revitalized the museum, adding new collections, and moved museum to its current building. Crete - Schliemann had planned to excavate Knossos, but died before he had the chance. Evans was in Crete in 1894 examining seal stones, and first visited Knossos, which had already been discovered by a local merchant/antiquarian in 1878. Knossos - In 1900, Evans began excavation assisted by Duncan Mackenzie. Careful excavation and documentation of artifacts. Most of site was uncovered by 1903. Determines the site to be older than Mycenae and names the civilization "Minoan." In addition to excavating the site, Evans decided to reconstruct parts of the palace to what he thought they might have looked like, very controversial. Lots of Frescoes were found. Minoan Language - Defined three scripts; Linear A, Linear B, and Hieroglyphic. Unsuccessful in deciphering. Said that Phoenician alphabet came from Cretian hieroglyph, but he was wrong. Linear A has not been deciphered, but seems to be similar to Linear B. Linear B has been deciphered and seems to resemble Ancient Greek when spoken. Hieroglyphs have not been deciphered. Myth vs. Reality - Evans was not motivated by mythology. Did not use his discovery of Knossos as proof of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Rather, it may reflect the passing down of old traditions, that became distorted with the passage of time. For example, story of Minotaur is likely to be a remembrance of bull-worship at Knossos. Labyrinth, Labrys is Ancient Greek for double-axe. Sheer size and number of rooms in palace may have been known to some degree to later Greeks. Myth of Theseus a mainlang Greek, killing the Minotaur may be a metaphor for the destruction of Minoan civilization by mainland Greeks. Mycenaeans took over Crete after the decline of Minoan Civilization, 1450 BCE. Plato - Athenian philosopher, 428-347 BCE. Was a student of Socrates and wrote Timaeus and Critias. Timaeus introduces a land which was an example of a corrupt society that was punished by the gods. Critias goes into more detail. Atlantis - allegedly first heard by Solon, leader of Athens, when he went to visit Egypt. Myth of Atlantis - When gods divided up lands, Poseidon chose Atlantis. He fell in love with Cleito, who bears him five sets of twins. Eldest, Atlas, is granted rule over Atlantis. 9000 years before Solon, Atlantis rules a huge empire and subjected dominions to cruelty and slavery. Supposed to have been located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Because of the cruelty, Plato describes the gods destroying Atlantis through a series of earthquakes and floods, leaving virtually nothing behind. Myth or Reality? - No evidence exists for a lost continent as Plato describes it. There are, however, a number of theories which may describe an exaggerated event. Thera (Santorini) - Island in the Aegean sea, Active volcano, last erupted around 1500 BCE. Eruption - The eruption tore the island apart creating the fractured appearance it has today. One of the largest eruptions in the past 5000 years. Created a tsunami that reached Crete and devastated costal towns. Akrotiri - City located on the island and buried in ash from the eruption. No human remains found, but frescoes were. Parallels - Swift drowning of an island. Downfall of a civilization (Minoans). Possible mistranslations by Greeks from Egyptian (9000 or 900 years?). Thursday, February 5, 2009 Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie: Father of Scientific Archaeology State of Egyptian Archaeology after Napoleon's Expedition - Egyptomania gripped Europe, Antiquarian expeditions to Egypt increased, More sites excavated and more publications appear in Europe, Museums in Europe begin to fill up with Egyptian artifacts. August Mariette - 1821-1881. Appointed conservator of Egyptian Monuments. Obtained government funds to set up the first Egyptian Museum. Used dynamite to excavate. Gaston Maspero - Handpicked by Mariette. 1846-1916. Made attempts to curtail looting and export of monuments and artifacts; made a fifty-fifty deal with excavators. Founded the new Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Also founded a network of smaller, regional museums. Amelia Edwards - 1831-1892. English novelist and antiquarian. Journeyed to Egypt in 1873-1874. Visited many of the monuments of Egypt and was appalled at their state due to tourists and antiquarians. Became a staunch advocate for the preservation of Egyptian monuments. Egypt Exploration Fund - Founded by Amelia Edwards and Reginald Poole in 1882. MIssion: to excavate and preserve the sites of Egypt. Edouard Naville - 1844-1926. Well known Egyptologist. Primarily a linguist. Asked to b first director of excavations for EEF. Tell el Maskhuta - First excavated by Naville a director, 1883. Identified as the Biblical city of Pithom, but Naville disagrees with attribution. Dug here for a year and excavated everything they could. A year later, EEF asks Naville to begin excavations at Tanis, but he declines because he is too busy and resigns his directorship. William Matthew Flinders Petrie - Born June 3, 1853 in Charlton, England. Father was a surveyor for coast of Australia. Had no formal education, home schooled by his mother and a governess. Had an acute mind for science and math. Early Work - Began collection of Greek and Roman coins; hired by British Museum by age 15. Surveyed ancient buildings and mounds in the countryside of Britain, often with instruments of his own invention. Surveyed and measured Stone Henge in 1877 and were most accurate measurements at the time. Petrie Goes to Egypt - Father becomes interested in the theories of Piazzi Smyth, a family friend, regarding the Great Pyramid of Giza. Petrie and his father come up with a plan to test Smyth's theories, More accurate measurements needed. Petrie goes to Egypt and his father stays behind. Petrie spends six months working at the Great Pyramid, measuring and surveying. Disproved Smyth's theories. Became familiar with Egypt's monuments and is disgusted with the destruction of the monuments. Ran around in pink underwear and lived inside an old looted tomb, at night wore nothing to investigate the tombs. Described the tombs as on fire because of their poor state and said current investigations/destructions were barbaric. Augustus Pitt-Rivers - British army officer and early ethnologist. Inherited an estate on which Roman remains were found. Excavated site methodically and insisted that all artifacts be catalogued and collected. Meeting with Edwards - In late 1880, Petrie returns to Egypt and befriend Amelia. Published Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh in 1883. Edwards and Poole are impressed with his thorough approach and appoint him director of EEF. Tanis - Excavation began in 1884. Paid 250 pounds a month to cover excavation expenses. Employed 170 workers. Personally oversaw excavation. Agreed with Maspero to give all materials to Egyptian Museum, but Petrie would get all publication rights. Important Advances in Archaeology - Petrie noted and examined all types of artifacts, not just luxury items and pieces of art. Believed that these everyday items, such as sherds of pottery, would give more information on the lives of people in ancient times. Security and Controls - Petrie instituted a system of Bakshish or "tipping" whereby workers were paid for what they found. Helped to curb looting, which was rampant on Egyptian excavations. Falling out with EEF - EEF did not agree with his methods and Petrie was left without funding. Amelia Edwards referred Petrie to two of her rich friends, who helped him out. Palestine - In 1890, the Palestine Exploration Fund invites Petrie to excavate a site of his choosing. He picks Tell el Hesy. Excavates a section of the mound and provides dates for some Palestinian pottery types based on Egyptian types found alongside them. Returned to Egypt in 1892. Decides to excavated Tell el-Amarna. Finds a glass factory and other interesting things. Professorship - While excavating at Tell el-Amarna, Petrie learns of the death of Amelia Edwards. In her will wants a professorship to be set up for excavations and wants Petrie to fill first position. Students - Train students in excavation techniques during the winter in Egypt. Egypt Research Account formed to fund students and excavations/ Famous students: J.B. Quibbell, Howard Carter (finds tomb of Tutankhamen). Trained a generation of British Egyptologists. Naqada - Petrie returned to Egypt in 1895 with his first student, J.B. Quibbell. Excavated a cemetery which dates to the Pre-Dynastic Period. Petrie devises a method to date artifacts without the use of historical records. Seriation - Method used by Petrie to date by style. Essentially, styles start out slowly, become more popular, and then fade in popularity, to be replaced by newer styles. Style changes over time can be traced. Thebes - Excavation at Thebes in 1896 produced what Petrie describes as his most important find. Merenptah Stele - Dates to roughly 1213-1203 BCE. Contains earliest mention of the "People of Israel." Caused a sensation in Europe and America when it was discovered. Marriage - Petrie married Hilda Urlin in 1897. She accompanied him on most of his excavations. Continued Work - Excavating many major sites such as Memphs, Giza, Heliopolis, Abydos, and Meidum. World War I - Petrie remains in England during the war. Returns to Egypt in 1919. New regulations difficult to deal with. Decides to leave work in Egypt and goes to Palestine. Palestine - Petrie worked at three major sites: Tell el-Ajjul, Tel Farah, Tell Jemmeh. Palestine does not agree with his methods, says they are better suited for Egypt, and kicks him out. Later Life - Knighted in 1928. Retired form University in 1933. Moves to Jerusalem and gave up excavation in 1939. Died on July 29, 1942. Donated his head to the Royal College of Surgeons in England. Legacy - Trained a generation of archaeologists in a more scientific careful approach to archaeology. Invented a number of methods which are still used today. Emphasis on small everyday items rather than art or objects of value. Tuesday, February 10, 2009 Sir Leonard Woolley and the "Death Pit" of Ur Mesopotamia - The Fertile Crescent. It is literally the Land between two rivers, The Tigris in the north and the Euphrates to the south. Known as the "Cradle of Civilization." Greek sources and the Bible talk about places here; Nineveh, Babylon, and Ur. Babylon - Mentioned by Heredotus and the Hanging Gardens was one of the Seven Wonders of the World and the Ishtar Gate was one of them until the Pharos Lighthouse in Alexandria replaced it. Bible: Jewish exile in Babylon from King Nebenkenezer. Also, possibly the Tower of Babel. Location: In the middle of Mesopotamia, between the two rivers. Nineveh - Bible: Mentioned in book of Jonah, Jonah went to the Assyrians to warn them to change their evil ways. Capital of Assyrian Empire (700-600 BCE). Not really discussed by Greeks. Location: In the north, near the Tigris River. Ur - Bible: Known as the birthplace of Abraham. People from these area called "Ur of the Chaldees." Inhabited by the Sumerians who were the first people to build cities. Location: In the south, near the Euphrates river. Middle Ages to the 18th Century - Muslim scholars were aware of ancient civilizations that preceded them. Some encouraged more scientific study of the remains, others were treasure hunters. In Qu'ran, also says that learning about predecessors is important. 19th Century - Europeans become interested in Middle East as a land route to India. Claudius James Rich, 1811, visits site of Babylon and writes Narrative of a Journey to the Site of Babylon 1811. Later the Prism of Sennacherib is found which records a series of conquests of King Sennacherib of Assyria. It supports the biblical story. Paul-Emile Botta (1802-1870) - French Consul in Mosul in 1842. Excavated Nineveh and found little so decided there was no way it could be the actual Nineveh so moved to Khorsabad and found a lot and decided that must be the real Nineveh. Had findings shipped to the Louve. Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817-1894) - Born to a family of civil servants, father is a lawyer in Ceylon in Sri Lanka, Layard decides to go to Ceylon and start his own law firm, is prone to seasickness so decides to take a land route. He stops in Assyria and becomes fascinated with antiquities in Mesopotamia and decides to stay. Communicated with Botta, who sent him drawings of Khorsabad, Layard was not entirely convinced that this was Nineveh. Nimrud - Layard goes here and finds remnants of a large city, Palace of King Assurnasirpal II (800 BCE). He had to be sneaky about digging here because of Botta. He sent all of his findings to the British Museum. Nineveh - Layard later returned to mound known as Kuyundjik convinced it was Nineveh, even though Botta had found nothing, 1846-1847, he found many things and he was correct, it was Nineveh. The circumference of the city walls is about seven miles. Library of Ashurbanipa II - was the most important find of Layard's, he found tablets that tell of everyday life. Cuneiform - a wedge-shaped writing system used throughout Mesopotamian history, it is not a language, but a writing form, stuff has been found in Ancient Persian and other languages. Symbols are formed by pressing a reed stylus into soft clay. Preserved when buildings are destroyed by fire. End of Layard's Excavations - 1848, looks around Iraq, gets sick in 1851 and goes back to England, becomes politician. Robert Koldewey (1855-1925) - German architect and archaeologist, first large scale excavation of Babylon in 1899, more careful like Petrie. Almost everything in Mesopotamia was made out of mudbrick, which is hard to find archaeologically because it crumbles, he recognized this and because of his careful expeditions he found more. Ishtar Gate - Koldewey finds the gate and sends it to a museum in Berlin, Germany, still there today. Made out of glazed bricks. Sadaam Hussein rebuilt much of Babylon, he thought he was descended from King Nebekenezer. Sir Leonard Woolley (1880-1960) - Last real famous archaeology, son of a clergyman, educated at Oxford. In 1905, Assistant Director of Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Recommended by Sir Arthur Evans to direct work at Roman site in Britain. He learned and refined archaeological methods. In 1912-1914, excavated Carchemesh with aid of T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), which is in modern day Turkey. Still sort of large scale excavations, but a little more careful. Ur - Partially excavated in 19th century and one part of the ziggurat was uncovered. Woolley appointed director of joint expedition to Ur with the University of Penn and British museum. The excavations started in 1922 and ended in 1934. Woolley concentrated on the cemetery, excavated 1850 tombs, the tombs were from approximately 3000 BCE, most were simple tombs with body wrapped in reed mats or placed in coffins and put into a shaft, but 16 or 17 were much more impressive; "King's Tomb" not really sure if it was a queen, tomb number 789, 63 adult skeletons were found, 6 were guards, 2 wagons, 6 oxen skeletons, first evidence of human sacrifice in Mesopotamia, the tomb had been completely raided. "Puabi's Tomb" found this name on writings inside the tomb, it was next to the "King's Tomb" and has more evidence of sacrifice, 74 human bodies, 4 musicians, 64 women, 6 guards. Headdress found on the body of the queen, harp was also found, the tomb was not looted. These two tombs were the only evidence of human sacrifice in Mesopotamia. After Ur - Woolley stops excavation of Ur in 1934, works at some sites in Mesopotamia, and in WWII stops excavation, resumes in 1946, but stops 1949 and dies in 1960. Thursday, February 12, 2009 Archaeology and the Scientific Method Summary of Archaeology before WWII - Europeans interested in ancient world because of increasing literacy and travel. People interested in the past were antiquarians, and thus more interested in objects for their artistic/monetary value. Late 19th-20th centuries - Archaeologists become more meticulous during excavations and examine more classes of artifacts then were previously studied. Start to take longer excavating sites and focus on actual people. V. Gordon Childe (1892-1857) - Australian, son of a minister. Studied at University of Sydney, as well as Oxford. First Professor of Prehistory at Edinburgh University, 1927-1946. Excavated a number of sites in Britain, most famously at Skara Brae, Orkney. Known more for his analysis and theories, rather than what he found. Work - Childe preferred to examine the results of already published excavations, and attempt to tie the results together in a more regional approach. Studied artifacts and where they were found to establish chronologies. Also concerned with the origins of artifacts and people. Cultural Diffusion - He didn't come up with this theory, but was one of the most known for getting the word out. Roughly defined as the spread of cultural aspects from one place to others. Often was taken to the extreme at the time to say that civilization started in one place and spread to the rest of the world from there. Childe argued against these theories, saying that "development" can happen indigenously. Popularization of Archaeology - Childe wrote a number of books which were aimed at the general public and brought a wider perspective of archaeology to a wider audience; What Happened in History 1942 and Man Makes Himself 1951. Cultural Evolution - Idea that all societies goes through certain stages of development, in which society is fundamentally different in each stage. Childe was a strong proponent and popularized the idea. Revolutions - Through his study of archaeology, Childe concluded that the history of mankind is punctuated by a variety of "revolutions." Where all of a sudden a society will start doing something different. Neolithic Revolution - AKA Agricultural Revolution. Time when people begin to use agriculture as preferred method of food production, live in permanent settlements, animals and plants are domesticated. Urban Revolution - Period of time when people start to live in large cities. Increasing specialization of craft production, increasing political and social hierarchies, increasing population. Dame Kathleen Kenyon (1906-1978) - First real major female archaeologist. Daughter of British biblical scholar. First archaeological experience is as a photographer at Great Zimbabwe. Studied lost of sites in Britain. Verulamium - Roman site in Britain. Directed by Sir Mortimer Wheeler who excavated the site in a grid pattern, very revolutionary. Kenyon studied this. Samaria - Kenyon directed an excavation here in Palestine 1931-1934. Dug a section through the tell and through analysis of the strata refined the ceramic chronology of the later periods of the area. Jericho - After end of WWII, Kenyon invited to dig at Jericho. Already had been excavated, a large wall and tower had been found, and Garstang argued to be proof of the events in the book of Joshua. Kenyon's Conclusions - Due to her carfule stratigraphic methods and ceramin chronologies concluded that Garstang was wrong, walls were 7000 or 8000 years too old. Jericho, according to Kenyon, dated to the Neolithic period (8350-7350 BCE). She was a pioneer of Neolithic Archaeology. She found plastered skulls in this area. They tended to bury their dead beneath the floor and with the skull they would plaster it, put shell as eyes and put in on the mantle. Wheeler-Kenyon Method - Uncovers the dimension of time in an archaeological site, by digging through many layers allowing archaeologist to trace through time. Very important method. Lewis Binford (1930) - American archaeologist. PhD from University of Michigan. Transformed the way archaeology was conceived and practiced. Culture History - Archaeologists up till Binford were concerned with constructing histories. Binford believed this was not scientific and proposed a different paradigm. Culture Process - Archaeologists should be concerned with the processes that were going on in society and how they changed societies and what was going on rather than constructing histories. Should be concerned with explaining rather than describing. Paradigm called Processual Archaeology New Archaeology - Processual with scientific approach. Employed more scientific techniques. Conclusions should be based on a logical framework of argument rather than a person's authority. New Methods - Statistical Analysis, Scientific Dating Methods, Ethnographic Analogy, Project Design, Scientific Method. Binford's Work - Interpreting a Middle Palaeolithic site (180,000-40,000 years ago) in France. Decided that by studying modern hunter-gatherers he would get a better idea of what mechanisms were involved in some bones he found for meat processing. So went to study an Inuit group of hunter-gatherers. Findings - Found that there was a specific pattern in the discard patters of bones during food processing. Applied findings to his own site and was able to estimate about how many people lived at the site as well as for how long. Baron Colin Renfrew of Kaimsthorn (1937) - British Archaeologist. Excavations - Excavated at Phylakopi on island of Melos in Aegean Sea Obsidian Sourcing - Used scientific sourcing methods to determine source of obsidian found on Melos in Mesolithic (20,000-10,000 BCE) levels. Determined that it came from mainland Greece. Other Work - Published extensively on development of societies in Europe and Near East, Strong opponent of looting. Granted a Lordship in 1991 for his work. Ian Hodder (1948) - British. PhD Cambridge 1974, Teaches at Stanford. Chief pioneer of the critique of processual archaeology. Post-Processualism - Archaeology cannot be purely objective, will always be inherent biases. Processualism leaves out individual people living in society. More interpretive approach. Can never really reconstruct the past. Excavations - Excavated Catal Huyyuk in 1960's by James Mellaart, further excavation by Hodder has been slower and even more meticulous. Employs a great number of specialists. Important Neolithic site. Start to find stuff that look like bull heads, possible evidence for bull worship, but no real way to test religion. Lots of art found here. Neither Processualism nor Post-Processualists won debate. Most borrow from both methods. Archaeology is increasingly more scientific in its methods and questions and more relevant toward modern life than ever. Tuesday, February 24, 2009 Archaeological Evidence and Inference Types of Archaeological evidence - Artifacts, Ecofacts, Features, and Sites. Context - A find's immediate matrix, provenience, and its association with other finds. Matrix is the surrounding soil and deposits. Provenience is the position of the find in 3 dimensional space. Crucially important for interpreting and understanding the archaeological record. Artifacts - Objects whose form is modified by human activity in some way. Basic units of material culture. In order to analyze and make conclusions about artifacts, one must understand their context. Life of Artifacts - When considering artifacts, one must consider a number of stages in order to completely understand their significance. Four stages are acquisition, manufacture, use, and deposition. Acquisition is the process of obtaining necessary raw materials to make the object. Manufacture is the altering of the raw materials into an object to be used. The use is the method by which the artifact was used as its intended purposes and unintended purposes. Deposition is the process by which the artifact becomes a part of the archaeological record. Major artifact types studied by archaeologists are ceramics and lithics (ground stone, chipped or flaked stone). Ceramics - Pottery. Allows for construction of chronologies through change in style. Study of style of shapes and decorations can suggest connections to other cultures. Scientific analysis can determine the source of the clay used, firing technologies, and the contents of the vessel. Sherds - Broken pieces of pottery. Most common artifact found at archaeological sites (during periods in which pottery was made). Lithics - Stone tools. Two types of lithic materials; ground stone and chipped or flaked stone. Give information on food production activities, as well as warfare and other aspects of society. Ground stone are stone objects that are often ground down to a certain shape to be used as tools and are often found intact, but can also be broken. Chipped or flaked stone are cutting instruments that are commonly made of chert, flint, or obsidian. Cores are the body of stone from which the chipped stone tools were made. Debitage is the waste left over from the manufacture of chipped stone tools. Other artifacts the are often examined are metals, bone, antler, and terracotta. Taphonomy - Study of what happens to artifacts after their deposition. Different at every site. Archaeologists need to determine why they have found what they found and not other artifacts as well. Preservation - Some environments are better suited for preserving archaeological remans than others. Tropical Climates - the worst for preservation. Heavy rains, erosion, acidic soils. Major root damage and major damage from animals. Temperate Climates - variable temperature and fluctuating rainfall contribute to decay. Dry Climates - good for preservation. Lack of water prohibits survival of microorganisms responsible for decay. Cold environments - Good for preservation. Stops the action of microorganisms. Wet environments - Good for preservation, as long as remains are continually waterlogged from the time of deposition. Anaerobic environment prevents action of microorganisms. Features - Immobile artifacts. Cannot be moved from original locations without altering or destroying their original form. Examples include hearths, storage pits, glass-making furnaces, pyramids, roads. Ecofacts - Material remains not directly modified by human activity. Can provide information about society, especially when considering their association with artifacts. Faunal remains are animal remains, typically bone, but can also be antlers, shells, or teeth and can give info on diet and food procurement. Paleobotanical remains are the remains of ancient plants, often found in carbonized form (burnt) and can give info on seasonality, environment, diet, and food procurement strategies. Site - spatial cluster of artifacts, features, and or ecofacts. It can be obvious or ephemeral. Thursday, February 26, 2009 Archaeological Field Methods - Four phases Research Design - Not to collect artifacts. Purpose is to answer a question about ancient society. Often includes a question, which can be very specific or very broad. Tuesday, March 3, 2009 Dating Methods - Excavating artifacts does not give you a certain date for when things occurred. There are a number of methods: Historical, Relative, and Absolute Historical - Determining dates using historical records. Important: different people used different systems for measuring time. Reconciling these systems with our own system can be challenging. Often, time is counted either backwards or forwards from a known date. For example can use reigns of kings. Egyptian Chronology - Single most important historical chronology in the ancient Near East. Chronologies of other regions are tied to Egyptian dates. Constructed through the use of Kings Lists: lists of the names of the rulers of Egypt and how long they ruled. Manetho - Writing in the Third Century BC, wrote a list of all kings of Egypt known to him as well as listing their reigns. Counting backwards from Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt in 332 BC, the list gives rough dates for the kings of Egypt going back to 3000 BC. Problems - Other kings lists have been found, Manetho's list is incomplete. Kings Lists: Temple of Karnak, Temple of Seti I, Turin Papyrus, Palermo stone. No list has all of the kings listed, and no two completely match each other. Slides showing Seti I king list and Palermo stone and Turin Papyrus Importance for other regions - With the dates for certain pharaohs generally known, when artifacts bearing their names are found in other parts of the Near East, we can then determine a terminus post quem Terminus post quem - Latin for limit after which. The EARLIEST point in time in which something could have been made. Used a lot with coins. Terminus ante quem - Latin for limit before which. LATEST point in time something may have happened. For instance, datable natural disasters like Pompeii Problems with historical dates - Historical documents are not always accurate-ommissions and additions can be made to suit the authors agenda. Certain historical facts may be forgotten. Other methods are needed to date objects. Historical documents are not available for all time periods. Scientific Dating - There are two forms of scientific dating: Relative and Absolute. Relative - Relative dating methods do not produce a specific point in time in which something happened. They do not tell you what year. They help to determine chronologies by ordering artifacts in relation to one another. Stratigraphy and Law of Superposition - Crucially important for relative dating. Essential for coming up with seriation techniques. Superposition - Tells you that the first innermost layer came first. Seriation - Invented by Petrie. Ordering of artifacts by style or form into chronological order. Style changed through time in the ancient world, just as it does in the modern world. Drawbacks - Seriation allows a sequence to be made, but no accurate dimension of time. Can tell which came first, but gives no information as to how long the change took. Seriation should be used with other dating methods, or synched up with other sites to get a more accurate idea of the time dimension. Absolute Dating Methods - Provide a specific year in which something happened. Dendrochronology, Radio carbon Dendochronology - Also known as Tree ring dating. Trees grow in a predictable fashion, with rings of varying size each year, based on environmental conditions. Coring - look at modern trees and drill a core through a tree so you don't have to cut it down. Constructing a sequence - A sequence of tree rings must be constructed through time, starting with currently living trees. Sections of old wood can then be examined for any overlap, which can extend the sequence further back in time. Wooden Artifacts - when wooden artifacts are found, they can contribute to tree-ring data, if they are well preserved. Slide with picture of a log from Thera (Santorini) Radiocarbon Dating - one of the most important and widely used absolute dating techniques. Measures the percentage of Carbon-14 in organic materials. Isotopes - Atoms of the same chemical element that have different atomic mass. Atomic Mass is the number of neutrons and protons in the nucleus. Look at slide with Carbon-14 Process. Radioactive Decay - Radioactive isotopes are unstable and due to this they give off particles at a predictable rate and change into different isotopes which may or may not be radioactive. This is called radioactive decay. Measured in half-lives. Half-life is the amount of time it takes half of the isotopes to decay. Carbon-14 - Half-life is 5730 years. Dates - Years are given in BP (Before Present) rather than BC as a result of radiocarbon dating. Dates are given with a range for example 3500 BP+ or - 35. Present is considered 1950 because of nuclear testing and the influx of Carbon-14 in atmosphere. Calibration - Testing of radiocarbon dates on tree rings has determined that the Carbon-14 levels in the atmosphere has not remained constant through time. Radiocarbon dates thus need to be calibrated. What can be tested? - Any organic material. Wood, textiles, charcoal, seeds, animal remains, plant remains, human remains. Limitations - Radiocarbon dating provides the date the organism died, and artifacts made from organic materials may have been used long afterwards. Radiocarbon dating is only effective until about 45,000 years old. Potassium Argon Dating - Potassium-40 is a radioactive isotope, can decay into either Calcium-40 or Argon-40. Argon is a gas, which typically diffuses into the atmosphere. Sometimes it is unable to escape from the body of rock. Provides a date for when the rock solidified. How is this dating method useful for archaeology? - K-Ar dating can only be used on volcanic rocks. Use is important for dating very old deposits of volcanic materials. Used frequently in dating volcanic deposits above and below archaeological finds, to give either a terminus ante quem or a terminus post quem. Thermoluminescence - Materials such as clay contain radioactive materials. Some of the particles emitted during radioactive decay do not escape the material. These particles excite electrons, which become trapped in an excited state. When heated Testing of Ceramics - Firing of clay in production of Ceramics starts the process over again. Ceramic artifacts can be heated quickly to over 932 degrees F to measure how long Limitations - Not always as accurate Chronologies - Best chronologies are made using numb Stone Age - Usually divided into three parts: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic. Thursday, March 5, 2009 Designing Archaeological Research: The Search for the Tomb of Tutankhamun New Kingdom - Period of time where many of the most important Pharaohs of Egypt were buried - Thutmose III, Hatshesut, Rameses II, Seti I. Egypt had a large empire that reached all the way to the Euphrates River. It was a very wealthy period. Valley of the Kings - Important location. Located on the west bank of the Nile. Egyptian Pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings from around 1550 BC-1069 BC. Tombs - Dug into the Valley of the Kings to hide from tomb robbers. Place specifically chosen because of its natural "pyramid." Workers for the tombs lived in a separate, secluded village- Deir el-Medina. Valley guarded by trusted guards and priests. Badly Kept Secret - Even in antiquity, some or most of the tombs were robbed. Strabo (1st century AD) says that 47 tombs existed, 17 of which remained intact. Ancient graffiti has been found in several languages. Rediscovery of the Valley - European travelers of 18th century first to reach Valley of the Kings. 19th century antiquarians drew tombs and rediscovered some, but all were already plundered. Theodore Davis - American Lawyer from New York. Wealthy, pursued archaeological interests during winter months. Granted commission to work in Valley of Kings. Discovered a number of tombs in the Valley including the Tomb of Yuya and Tuya (Tutankhamun's great grandparents), some furniture, etc. Also discovered KV54 the "Amarna Cache" which had pottery, flowers, a strip of linen with writing saying something; these all had Tutankhamun's name on it. End of Davis' Tenure - Davis dies in 1914, leaving excavation permit up for grabs. Before his death, Davis declared that KV54 was tomb of Tutankhamun and declared "I fear that the Valley of the Tombs has been exhausted." Excavation permit awarded to Lord Carnarvon. Lord Carnarvon 1866-1923 - English aristocrat. Reckless driver and in 1901 bad accident and was disabled for the rest of his life. Became interested in Egyptology and began funding excavations in 1907. Howard Carter b. 1874 - English Archaeologist. Interested in archaeology from an early age. Student of Flinders Petrie. 1900-1904 was the Inspector-General of Monuments of Upper Egypt, appointed by Maspero. 1904 he was the Inspector-General of Monuments of Lower Egypt. Work in the Valley of the Kings - With Carnarvon's permit and money, Carter began to excavate in the V of K in 1914. Not convinced that TutanKhamun's tomb had been found. Limited excavatons at first, full-fledged excavations in 1917. Search for the Tomb - Carter identified a portion of the Valley that Davis had not explored. Proceeded to clear the sand and soil down to the bedrock. Found very little; pieces of limestone written on by quarrymen and a few calcite jars. 1922 - Carnarvon tells Carter he no longer wants to fund the search. Carter tells Carnarvon there is one last spot he wants to look and he'll fund it. Carnarvon says fine, I'll give you one more year and I'll fund it. Discovery! - Saturday, November 4, 1922. A step was discovered in the bedrock; by the next afternoon 12 steps had been discovered. Sealed Tomb - Top of plaster sealing wall was found, though without a name. Carter sends telegram to Carnarvon. November 24, Carnarvon arrives and work continues. When wall was completely cleared, name of king had been found near the bottom. Tutahkhamun! - Work proceeded, the plaster sealing wall was removed, and a descending corridor was found, filled with chips of limestone. At the end of the corridor, another door stood, with intact seals. Wonderful Things - Carter, with Carnarvon at his side, makes a small hole in the wall and inserts a candle and says "Yes it's wonderful." Finds in the Tomb - Over 5,000 objects were found within the tomb. Carter, being a student of Petrie, carefully documented and photographed each artifact in its original context. Labs, Storage, and Photography - Nearby tombs were used as labs, for storage, as darkrooms, and photo studios for the excavation. Layout of the Tomb - Found to contain four rooms: Antechamber, Annex, Burial Chamber, and Treasury. All rooms were found with stuff. Not found intact completely, had been plundered twice in antiquity. Antechamber - Cleared from 1922-Feb. 1923. Storeroom for various grave goods, couches, food, chariots, furniture, etc. Doorway to the burial chamber removed. Study of the objects continued through to the following year. Death of Carnarvon - Bitten by a mosquito, which became infected and died on April 6, 1923. When he died the electricity in Cairo went out. Beginning of the "Curse of the Mummy." Burial Chamber - Mostly filled with a giant gilded shrine. Artifacts were placed around int. 1924-1925 photography and removal of objects from around the shrine. Shrine dismantled and like a Russian nesting doll and inside a sarcophagus. Sarcophagus - Stone coffin. Common in many cultures. Particularly elaborate in Egypt. Opening of Sarcophagus - Lid removed and linen shroud covering a large gilded coffin was found. 3 coffins found, the third being of solid gold. Discovery of the Pharaoh - 1925-1926. Mummy found in third coffin in a solid gold mask. Under each layer of wrapping found different artifacts. Treasury - Annex - found off of the Antechamber. Severely gone through. Carter's Excavation Work - Continued until 1932. Careful excavation preserved artifacts as well as provide availability for modern methods of analysis. Extensive notes and photography document the tomb in its original condition. Further Investigation in the V of K - thought to be empty again KV63 - On March 10, 2005 a new "tomb" discovered near Tutankhamun. Filled with supplies for mummification. KV64 and 65 - KV64 discovered as part of ground penetrating radar survey of area which also led to KV63. Believed to be the Tomb of Rameses VIII. KV65 discovered during excavations of KV64 and may be undisturbed. Go to www.kv64.info Thursday, March 19, 2009 Domestication and the Origins of Agriculture Hunter-Gatherers/Foragers - For the majority of human existence, humans relied on this subsistence strategy. Mobile population, egalitarian social system, kinship affiliations. Why change? - Many theories throughout history. Agriculture was discovered and then spread. Climatic conditions. Growing population. Pleistocene Climate - During this time period, the last glaciation was at its height around 18,000 years ago. Near Eastern climate was colder and drier. Around 14,000 to 15,000 years ago, glaciers retreat, and climate becomes warmer and wetter. Carrying Capacity - the size of a population the landscape can support. Changes with climate and technology. Greater carrying capacity equals better climatic conditions equals more food equals greater population. Consequences for foraging peoples of the Levant - During glaciation fewer people living in area. After glaciers melt and climate improves population grows. Referred to as the Kebaran culture in the Levant. Younger Dryas - Around 11,000 to 9,000 BCE climate suddenly became colder and drier again. Carrying capacity is too low to support the population that has already established itself. Needed to find a new strategy. Small Scale Farming - People began to plant their own crops, usually the seeds of wild grasses. Begin to see first signs of people settling down and living in one area-sedentism. Natufian Period - For the first time people were sedentary or at least semi. Small scale farming practiced. Production of surplus necessary for farming and sedentism. Sickle Blades - Stone tools which were hafted onto antler or wood handles, used for the harvesting of planted wild grasses. Repeated cutting of these plants leaves residue on the blades called silica sheen. Domestication - Genetic modification of plants or animals to make them dependent on humans. Process that takes many generations to produce through selective breeding. Essential to develop agriculture from small-scale farming. Earliest domesticate - Dog, uncertainty as to when but best estimate is 15,000 BCE in East Asia from wolves. Wheat - Emmer and Einkorn wheat were the first domesticates. Different from wild counterparts in that they were less likely to fall of the stalk and larger seeds. First domesticated in the Levant around 9000 BCE. Barley - Domesticated around the same time in the Levant. Sheep - Domesticated in Western Iran around 9000 BCE. Originally domesticated for meat. Goats - Western Iran around 9000 BCE Pig - People in Turkey and China independently domesticated the pig around 9000 BCE. Cattle - 8000 BCE developed independently for a wild Orux (now extinct) in India and Near East Chicken - 6000 BCE in Southeast Asia from Jungle Fowl. Rice - Southeast Asia and Southern China in 6500 BCE. Cat - earliest evidence from Cyprus around 7500 BCE. Don't know too much about this domestication. Neolithic (9000-6000 BCE) - Period where we first see development of domestication and more complex farming Craft Specialization - Not everyone needed to farm for their own food. Allowed for people to produce other things which could then be traded for food. Systems of trading. Authority over surplus. Secondary Products Revolution - Occurs at the beginning of the Bronze Age (5000 BCE in NEar East). Animals and in some plants begin to be used for other products besides their meat. Facilitates even greater level of production, intensive agriculture, and greater trade. New period of domestication. Beginnings of intensive agriculture. Oxen - Castrated Bulls. 5000 BCE in Near East. Donkey - Domesticated in Egypt around 5000 BCE. Grapes - Levant around 5000 BCE for wine. Olives - Levant around 5000 BCE olive oil. Orchard Fruits - Also around 5000 BCE throughout Near East; pomegrantes, figs, dates, etc. Flax - Around 5000 BCE in Near East. Cotton - Domesticated in India between 5000-4000 BCE. Horse - Domesticated on the steppes of central Asia around 4000 BCE. Camel - Domesticated around Arabia around 4000 BCE, but not widely used elsewhere until around 1000 BCE. Silkworm - Domesticated in China around 3000 BCE. Intensive Agriculture - Increase labor output into agricultural practices for greater output from the same batch of land. Allows for increased population and greater hierarchy. Irrigation - Transportation of water away from rivers or other sources to field. Irrigation not necessary for all places, but some soil becomes extremely fertile, when it is introduced. Terracing - "Steps" cut into hillside to make greater surface area for planting crops. Negative Effects of Agriculture - The switch to agriculture was not obvious choice. Brought a whole suit of problems to early farmers that were non-existent to foraging groups. Hea lth Effects - Early agriculturalists tend to have a poorer diet than foragers. Focus on a few main sources of food. Sanitation. Hard labor leads to more degenerative bone disease. Increased spread of disease. Mortality rates increase. Mental Effects - Studies have shown that foragers spend about 8 hours a week procuring food. Agriculturalists typically spend 8 hours or more a day to produce food. Much more recreational time for foragers. Higher level of stress on agriculturalists. Environmental Effects - Changes the landscape. Monocropping-focus on one particular crop, when crop fails, famine ensues. Overfarming-when farmed over consecutive years, farmland loses nutrients, and becomes infertile if it is not left fallow. Why do we think people settled down to farm? - While we don't know the motivations of the first people, we can make inferences. Population pressure due to the Younger Dryas. Perhaps thought the benefits outweighed the costs. Tuesday, March 24, 2009 The Origins of Writing Background to the Origin of Writing - As a result of increasingly intensive agricultural practices, social hierarchies become more established, craft specialization increases, and trade and exchange becomes more widespread. People start to live in large nucleated settlements that for the first time can be called cities. Important: some people definitely have more control over resources than others. Mesopotamia - During the Neolithic, dating to 8000 BCE onward, tokens are found at sites throughout Mesopotamia. Small stone, clay, or bone objects that are carved into different shapes. Become more elaborate through time. Believed to have been part of an accounting system used for the trading of grain. Bullae - By the beginning of the 4th Millennium BCE, tokens were being contained in "envelopes" of clay called bullae (singular Bulla). Used for transactions between people, in order to assure the contents of the transaction were correct. Cylinder Seals - Pieces of stone, which contained the carving of a representational device that was unique to an individual. Left an impression when rolled across soft clay; sometimes bullae. Impressions - Later in the 4th Millennium, tokens were impressed into the bullae in which they would be contained, to further insure the integrity of the transaction. Tokens become more complex to reflect a wider range of goods. Eventually tokens are no longer included in the bullae, just the impressions. Writing! - Manufacture of tokens for impressions is abandoned and the first writing appears in SUmer around 3500 BCE; the Kish Tablet. Sumerian Pictographic writing system. Derived directly from the shapes of tokens. Cuneiform - Eventually Sumerian Pictographic writing becomes more abstract, and becomes written with a wedge-shaped reed stylus. Cuneiform writing is a system that was used throughout Mesopotamian history from its invention around 3100 BCE until 75 CE. Function of Early Writing in Mesopotamia - Trade Documents: lists, accounting of transactions. Educational Documents: lexical lists, writing exercises. Egypt - Development of writing in Egypt is less well-understood than it is in Mesopotamia. For many years the earliest example of writing was thought to be the Narmer Palette, documenting the unification of Egypt, dating to around 3000 BCE. Garzean Pottery - Type of pottery known in Egypt around 3600 BCE. Extensively illustrated. Some of the images anticipate later Egyptian writing. Some have thought that this is where Egyptian writing may have started. Excavations at Abydos - German excavations at a cemetery dating to 3100 BCE. Thought to have findings of earliest writing in Egypt. Bone Tags - Tags made of bone were found associated with jars and other objects in the Tomb of U-j, thought to belong to King Scorpion. Inscribed on the tags were names and places. Probably denoted ownership or identity of the donor-to help ensure place in the afterlife. Development of Full Egyptian Writing System - Thought to have evolved out of a logographic system where symbols represent what they depict. By the time the tags appear, "rebus principle" is being used; symbols represent the sound, not just what is being shown. Already lhistorical texts appear by 2950 BCE. Economic records appear later. China - Writing develops independently in China around 1500 BCE (Shang Dynasty ). Origins of Chinese writing less understood, some indications that it may be earlier. Earliest evidence appears to have been connected with the practice of scapulomancy. Scapulomancy - Use of scapulae (shoulder blades) of animals, typically cattle, to predict the future; sometimes turtle shells too. Scapula thrown into a fire, the bone would crack, and the pattern of cracks would be interpreted as a prophecy, then the prophecy would be written on the bone. Why Does this Lead to Writing - Texts often tell what the specific prophecy is. They also record the actual result. Important for making sure the original prophecy is recorded and not changed. Where Does our Writing System Come From - By tracing cultural contacts as well as the morphology of specific symbols used in different writing systems, development of systems can be traced through time to different places, where some cultures that did not develop writing independently and adopted from other cultures. Egyptian Hieroglyphs - Independently developed in Egypt. Very elaborate and complex system of writing. The oldest type that our writing today is thought to draw from. Used more for official writing. Hieratic - Cursive form of hieroglyphs and was developed in Egypt shortly after the invention of Hieroglyphs. Used for more everyday writing and both were used simultaneously. Important to Note! - These two are not alphabets! Symbols can represent sounds, consonants, Serabit el-Khadim - In Sinai peninsula that was a source of turquoise for the Egyptians. Egyptian texts discuss the use of prisoners of war to work the mines, who were from Canaan and spoke a Western Semitic language. Proto-Sinaitic - Prisoners developed their own system of writing from what they saw from the Egyptians writing in hieratic. Egyptians would write the first letter of someone's name on documents when handing out rations. Prisoners learned all of the symbols related to the sounds in their language and invented the first alphabet. M st alphabetic writing systems used throughout history were descended from this. Proto-Canaanite - Direct descendant of Proto-Sinaitic. Used from 1500-1050 BCE primarily in the Levant. Abjad system-vowels are not included. Alphabetic system. Phoenician - Direct continuation of Proto-Canaanite. Used from 1050-1st Century BCE. PHonecians people who lived in the area of modern day Lebanon, who were renowned traders. Greek - Was adapted from the Phoenician alphabet, with some changes; vowels added. Adoption around 770 BCE. Transmission presereved in the myth of Cadmus. Alphabet called Cadium Letters. Etruscan - The Etruscans were a group of people that lived in Italy before the rise of ROme. Greeks had intensively colonized Southern Italy SIgnificance of Writing for Archaeologists - Written records provide a unique insight into the lives and mids of ancient peoples. Chronologies, reconstruction of events, and other aspects of culture and history can be discussed. Periods But Wait! - Many ancient scripts were no longer used by the time archaeologists began to find them. Writing systems need to be deciphered before they can be read. Tuesday, April 7, 2009 Hassuna Culture (7000-6300 BCE) - Small scale agriculturalists, living in northern Mesopotamia. Pottery first appears in Mesopotamia. Practiced dry farming. Samarran Culture (63000-53000 BCE) - People move into southernmost reaches of dry farming areas of Mesopotamia. Distinctive pottery style from Hassuna. Overlaps with Hassuna which it eventually displaces. Halaf Culture (6500-5500 BCE) - Develops in northern Mesopotamia. Extensive trade networks. Ubaid Culture (6200-4000 BCE) - Seems to develop from Samarran culture. People begin to move into southern Mesopotamia. Begin performing irrigation. Ubaid Temples - Every sizeable Ubaid settlement had a temple structure. Used for redistribution of agricultural produce. Eridu - Ubaid settlement in southern Mesopotamia. Founded around 5400 BCE. FIRST CITY IN THE WORLD!!! Sumerians - The periods immediately following the Ubaid period are called "Sumerian" based on the use of later historical documents which trace early kingship to these periods. Uruk Period (4000-3100 BCE) - Named after the site of Uruk. Huge population growth, expansion of trade networks, development of writing-tokens and bullae. Uruk - The largest of the early cities. Population of around 10,000 people. Temples became larger and larger-developed into Ziggurats. Ziggurat - platform on which a temple is built to raise it above the level of the city's structures. Easily visible on the landscape. Bevel-rimmed bowls - Bowls found at sites throughout Mesopotamia, all of the same size and shape. Proto-Cuneiform symbol for "ration" Early Dynastic Period (3100-2300 BCE) - Sumer divided into city-states. Rise of hereditary kingship. Royal Tombs of Ur (2550-2450 BCE). Akkadian Empire (2350-2160 BCE) - FIrst major empire in world history. Most of Mesopotamia conquered and united. Sargon of Akkad - Founder of the Akkadian Empire. Unknown origins-later texts disagree as to the circumstances of his rise to power. Successors - Three generations of Akkadian kings ruled Mesopotamia, though the empire gradually weakened. Naram-Sin, grandson of Sargon, was first Mesopotamian ruler to declare himself a god. Third Dynasty of Ur (2100-2000 BCE) - Revival of Sumerian Culture. FOunded by Ur-Nammu. Flowering of Sumerian culture, great building achievements. Development of first known law codes. Old Assyrian Period (2000-1800 BCE) - Assyria, in northern Mesopotamia, gains power for a short time. Known for extensive trade contacts. Forms network of trading colonies extending into central Anatolia (Turkey). Old Babylonian Empire (1800-1595 BCE) - Babylon was one of small city-states. Hammurabi was first ing of Old Babylonian Empire. Reunited Mesopotamia under one ruler. Quickly disintegrated after his death. Law Code of Hammurabi - Earliest complete law code that we have. Specific cases decided by the king that set precedence. Religion - Basically stays the same during this time. May have different names, but relatively similar representations. Mitanni Empire (1650-1350) - Hurrian speaking people, ruled part of northern Mesopotamia. Known for fighting many wars with the Egyptians and Hittites. Capital, Washshukkani, undiscovered. Kassite Babylonia (1595-1160 BCE) - Hittites from Central Anatolia conquered Babylon in 1595 ending the dynasty of Hammurabi. Upon Hittite withdrawal Kassites from the east moved in and established themselves as rulers of Babylonia. Few written records, apparently a peaceful time for Babylonia. Assyrian Empire (1365-1077 BCE) - Threw off Mittanian control of Assyria and asserted Assyrian power throughout northern Mesopotamia. 1200 BCE Hitties and Egypt weakened by the "Sea Peoples" of Assyria Neo-Assyrian Empire (911-612 BCE) - Assurnasirpal II extended Assyrian power to the Mediterranean and throughout Mesopotamia. Tiglath-Pileser II (747-727 BCE) conquered Babylonia and built roads Sennacherib (704-681 BCE) - Rebuilt city of Nineveh to be capital of Assyrian Empire. Captured Jerusalem. Later Great Kings of Assuria - Esarhaddon(680-669 BCE) first to conquer Egypt. Assurbanipal (668-627 BCE) fought numerous rebellions throughout the empire and left a library of records in Nineveh. Library at Nineveh- 20,000 cuneiform tablets. Single most important find of Mesopotamian documents ever found. Nature of Empires and Rule in Mesopotamia - Coquered lands were often left under the rule of native kings, as long as they pledged allegiance to the ruler of the empire. Troublesome peoples were often forcibly removed from their homelands and resettled elsewhere. Fall of Assyrian Empire - Nabopolassar, Chaldean governor of Babylon, rebelled against the empire in 626 BCE. Fought agains Assyria for eleven years forming an alliance with the Medians. Medians and CHaldeans invade Assyria and burn Assur in 614 BCE and Nineveh in 612 BCE. Assyrians were brutally massacred and sold into slavery. Neo-Babylonian Empire (612-539 BCE) - Nabopolasser founds empire. Nebuchadnezzar II son of him in charge of army brings about final defeat Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BCE) - Conquered lands from the border of Egypt to the Persian Gulf. Determined to restore Babylon as the preeminent city in Mesopotamia. Ishtar Gate built. Etemenanki ziggurat built; supposedly the biggest ever built plus a stone bridge; perhaps story of tower of Babel. Hanging Gardens attributed to him by Greek authors, but no Babylonian evidence. Fall of Babylon - Kng Nabonidas(556-539 BCE) not of royal house. Tried to realign Babylonian religion toward the moon god Sin. Left son Belshazzar as regent, left for NW Arabia to live in an oasis for ten years. Meanwhile, Persians have been gaining power in Iran-Babylon surrendered without a fight to Persian king Cyrus in 539 BCE. Mesopotamian Themes - Continuity of Religion. Cycle of fragmentation and Empire. Continuity of writing and language. Nature of evidence for different periods. Tuesday, April 14, 2009 End of the Amarna Period - Tutankhamun, probable son of Akhnaten, returns the old gods to their status. Horemheb, former general under Akhnaten, comes to power and attempts to destroy all memory of Akhnaten. Ramesside Period (19-20th Dynasties) - Rameses I establishes 19th Dynasty. Reconstitution of Egyptian Empire. Rameses II (the Great) - Started massive building projects throughout Egypt. Reconquered many of the lands that had once been part of the Egyptian Empire. Battle of Quadesh-Treaty with the Hittites. Had red hair and somewhere around 100 kids, died at about 90 something years old. Rameses III - Fought the Sea Peoples from west in first recorded naval battle in history. Recorded on Temple at Medinet Habu. Last real great Egyptian Pharaoh. End of New Kingdom - Sea Peoples, though defeated, weakened Egypt so much that it entered a period of decline through the rest of the 20th Dynasty. Rameses IV-XI increasing decentralization. Third Intermediate Period (1069-664 BC) - 21st Dynasty, High Priest of Amun take over. Egypt divided 22-25th Dynasties overlap. 25th Dynasty is a Nubian Dynasty. Late Period: 26th-30th Dynasties (664-332 BC) - Egypt reunified in 26th Dynasty, Saite restoration. Older traditions of art and religion become less conservative, more outside influences apparent. Egypt ruled by Libyans, Assyrians, Persians. Ptolemaic Egypt (332-30 BC) - Persian rule of Egypt thrown off by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. Alexander's general Ptolemy takes over as Pharaoh of Egypt. Greek descendants rule Egypt, capital at Alexandria. Thirteen Ptolemy rulers after him, all his descendants. End of Pharaonic Egypt - Cleopatra VII is the last Egyptian pharaoh and committed suicide in 30 BC. Egypt becomes part of Roman Empire. Thursday, April 16, 2009 Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilization East India Railway Company - British Company. Led by engineers John and William Brunton. Dismantled site of "Brahminabad" for ballast(stuff that levels tracks). Mehrgarh Phase - 6000-3500 BC. Early farming, domesticates adopted from Mesopotamia. Shows early evidence of town planning. Agriculture includes wheat, barley, sheep, goats, and cattle. Practiced dentistry. Bead Industry - Hard stones available in nearby regions; lapis lazuli, carnelian. Early Harappan (3500-2500) - Settlements expand in the lowlands. Intensive irrigation systems. Main site is Kot Diji. Further development of Agriculture; cotton first developed to feed cattle and rice and sorghum. Trade - Highlands: metal and semi-precious stones. Lowlands: agricultural products, textiles. Mature Harappan (2500-2050 BC) - Urban centers appear. Most important Mohenjo Daro and Harappa. Mohenjo Daro - Citadel, Sanitation, lots of wells, multi storied houses with stairs. Buildings in Indus Valley were all built out of kiln-fired bricks. All same sized so standardized measurement. Harappa - Some of it dismantled to build railroad. Lothal - Early example of a man-made harbor. We know from Sumerian texts that there was trade going from the Indus Valley to Mesopotamia. Seals - Where most of the writing we have are from seals and they are undeciphered. Political System - Haven't found any palaces or any large temples. Only thing that they have is a small statue that was found in Mohenjo Daro that might have been a sort of priest king. Late Harappan (2050-1900 BC) - Cities gradually abandoned. Originally connected to Aryan invasions described in Rigveda . This is questionable because it was written over a thousand years after. Saraswati River - Geological evidence suggests the Saraswati River was diverted at this time. Headwaters now flow to the east, into Ganges River basin. Post-Harappan South Asia - Vedic Period 1900-500 BC. People originally adopt a more pastoral lifestyle. Around 600 BC Mahanjanapadas 16 kingdoms and republics. Western areas are incorporated into Persian Empire and later conquered by Alexander the Great. Early Origins of Hinduism in Harappan Culture? - For example the Great Bath in Mohenjo Daro is an emphasis on cleanliness and sanitation. Cow is present in a lot of seals. Stone idols that are very similar for ones for worship to Shiba. Thursday, April 23, 2009 Persia - No real big rivers or streams in Iran, which is where Persia was, so that is probably why we don't see huge development in the early period. Early Iran - Sheep/Goat domestication in Zagros Mts (9000 BCE). Textual reference to kingdoms on plateau during Bronze Age (3000-1050 BCE). Susa is the earliest city in Iran, founded around 4200 BCE. Proto-Elamite (3200-2700 BCE) - COntemporary with Sumerian Civilization. Culture diverging from that of Mesopotamia. Undeciphered writing system. Elamite (2700-1400 BCE) - CLosely linked to historical events in Mesopotamia, but remains culturally distinct. Chogha Zanbul - Ziggurat in Elam. No large grand staircases like in Mesopotamia, but still a large platform. Best preserved ziggurat in Persia and in Mesopotamia. Neo-Elamite (1100-539 BCE) - Return of indigenous power in Elam. When we first start to hear about even more historical records going on in the area. Medes - Originally nomadic people from Central Asia. Settled in northwestern plateau. Median Empire - Know from historical texts that the Medians during the Iron Age were allied with the Babylonians against the Assyrian Empire. Helped to conquer and raze Nineveh to ground. Decided how to divide land, thus expanding the Median Empire. First real Iranian Empire that appear in the ancient world. Persians - Nomadic people, arrived in Iran similarly to Medians. Settled in "Parsa," Southern Iran, one of the more fertile parts of Iran. Achaemenid Dynasty (559-330 BCE) - Ruled over Persian Empire. Distinguished from other Persian Empires. Cyrus the Great (559-530 BCE when he reigned) - Rebelled against Medians and united Persia and Media in 550 BCE. Established new capital at Ecbatana, old capital at Pasargadae. Tradition of multiple capitals. Expanded Empire into what is now Khasakstan. Pasargadae - bunch of palaces found. Cambyses (530-522 BCE) - Son of Cyrus. Included Egypt in Empire. The Lost Army of Cambyses, story of him wanting to go further west into Egypt and all died in the desert. Darius (522-486 BCE) - The most or the second most important Persian Emperor that we see. Working on expanding empire. Ionian revolt happened. Ionian Revolt - Western coast of Turkey that Cyrus had taken over. A bunch of Greek city-states that were highly independent and did not like foreigners and viewed them as barbarians and uncivilized. Staged a revolt around 499 BCE. Darius tried to disperse revolt and settle it down. Successful initially, but mainland Greeks sent supplies to Ionians. That made Darius mad and so he started to invade Greece and was the first Asian Emperor to have territory in Europe. Sailed down toward Athens with the intent to conquer them. Battle of Marathon (490 BCE) - Persians landed here. 10,000 Athenians against way over 25,000 Persians. Greeks decided to attack the Persians before the calvary could get off the boat. They won. Pheidippides - This man ran from Marathon back to Athens (26 miles), said they had won, and died on the spot. That is why a marathon is 26 miles. Empire of Darius - Gave up on Greece. Persians would let a conquered nation continue ruling themselves and retain religion and culture. This fostered economic wealth during the Empire. Darius started the first long range highway ever built "The Royal Road." This helped to facilitate trade. Xerces (486-465 BCE) - Darius dies, this is his son. Interested in getting back at the Greeks, or so the Greeks say, probably just wanted to expand the Empire. Decides to mount his own campaign against Greece. Planned a land and sea invasion of Greece. Marching his army down Greece, when he gets to Thermopylae. Narrow strip of land that they would have to go through to get to Athens and Sparta. The Battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE) - 200,000 or so Persians against 10,000 Greeks (not 300). A Greek betrayed and told Persians about the mountain path. The Persians surrounded Greeks. Some Greeks fled to make a stand elsewhere. 300 Spartans stayed behind to make a stand with Leonidus. Persians win. Immortals - 10,000 strong and main fighting force of Persians. 1000 out of this number were personal guard of Persian Emperor. Battle of Salamis - Burned Athens on the way and came to Island of Salamis. Greeks defeat Persians with tactics. 1207 Persian ships, 368 Greek. Greeks went into closed off area so Persians could not use the advantage of their numbers. Empire in Decline - European territories and Egypt soon rebelled and were lost. Throughout most of empire, economic stability was insured by imperial control. Alexander - Invades Persian Empire from Greece, ultimately conquers all of the empire. Burns Persepolis to the ground in April of 330 BCE. Persepolis - one of the most known sites. Not all has been completely reconstructed, most was just lying on the ground and was just put back up. Darius began construction and Xerxes finished it. Nearby are the tombs of Darius, Xerxes, and Xerxes' son, looted in antiquity. Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Greece Mesolithic (8500-7000 BCE) - No evidence that islands were ever connected to the mainland since humans have inhabited Europe. From very early on there is evidence of trading between islands and mainland. No one practicing farming during this time, but still trade. Bronze Age Greece (3200-1050 BCE) - Chronology: Minoan, Helladic, Cycladic (Each broken into Early, Middle, and Late). Minoan is on island of Crete. Cycladic is found on all of islands, but mainly Cycladies islands. Helladic is on the mainland. All happening at the same time, just different places. Distinct in materials and culture. Also broken up into Palatial Periods. Uses appearance of palaces as a chronological marker. Early Helladic (3200-2100 BCE) - at a site called Lerna there is a place called the House of Tiles, a two story house with lots of terracotta roof tiles found around it. First evidence of collected wealth. A lot of stamp seals also found, tend to be used for administrative purposes, used for signatures in trade, and ownership. Early Cycladic (3200-2100 BCE) - Known for distinct marble figurines. The islands have the sources for the marble found in the large temples later on. Extent of Minoan Culture - evidence for interaction with Cycladic, interpreted to mean that the Minoans had some sort of rule over the islands, we don't really buy into this. Palaces more economic centers than political. Find Minoan frescos on the islands and in Egypt. Perhaps artisans being commissioned to paint in other places. Evidence of trading between Minoans (called Keftu or Kafto by the Egyptians) and the Egyptians or Israel and Palestine areas. Mycenaean Greece/Late Helladic (1600-1050 BCE) - Start to see Mycenaean Culture. Megaron is Mycenaean's own distinct type of palace. Tholos or beehive tombs are also found in this era, most were looted in antiquity. Mycenaean Pottery is very decorated and distinctive and was a hot commodity, has been studied to death. Mycenaean Warfare was very common. End of Mycenaean Civilization - Lots of ideas why the downfall. Heredotus thought maybe a Dorian Invasion, ancestor of Athenians. Maybe the Sea Peoples? Failure of palace system? Some indication of climatic troubles, maybe droughts, caused stress, and more issues with trade and redistribution. Geometric Period (1050-750 BCE) - Greek "Dark Ages" Named for designs on pottery. Perhaps lower populations, agriculture may not be the main focus. Towards the end is the first appearance of the Greek alphabet. Homer starts to be written down. Archaic Period (750-480 BCE) - Start to see the appearance of cities again. Greece is starting to interact with surrounding civilizations. Polis city-states become prominent. Crete isn't as important as it once was. Greek colonies are starting to be formed so much that there are actually more Greeks living outside of Greece. Probably had something to do with trade. Olympia - Olympic games. Sacred to the god Zeus. Every four years the different city-states, would send their athletes, if they were at war, they would call a truce for the games. Only free men who spoke Greek were allowed to compete. Last games that we know of were around 390 CE when Christianity declared it pagan. Oracle at Delphi - Located at the temple of Apollo. Believed by the Greeks to be the naval or belly button of the world. Go here with a question and ask it and get an answer. Think the Oracle was probably high at the time because two faults meet at this point and nocious gases come up. Pythia Classical Period (480-323 BCE) - Most important was probably when the Persians were coming and she said to hide behind a wooden wall, they took that to mean ships and beat the Persians, but the Persians burnt Athens to the ground. Starts off Classical Period and rivalry between Athens and Sparta. Pretty much all city-states were allied with one or the other. Athens - Important temple are located on a hill in the center of the city or Acropolis. Large naval power. They built long walls to connect Athens to the city of Piraes so they could use the harbor. Very wealthy. Parthenon is seen as the pinnacle of doric architecture; sacred to goddess Athena. Built by Fideus, very famous. Actually brightly painted, not just pure white marble. Erechteion was the most sacred place in Athens. Believed by Greeks that at this spot could see marks of trident of Poseidon. Thursday, April 30, 2009 Athens Temple of Athena Nike - Nike means victory. Agora - Acropolis is the religious center while the Agora is the economic and political. It means marketplace and was like a Roman forum. Had a large area where all male land-owning citizens of Athens could come here and vote on anything. Ostraca (singular is Ostracon) - Found with names on people on them. Upset voters could come to the center and write the name of the leaders they wanted out and depending on the count that person would be thrown out and exiled for 15 years. Attika - Area that hold Athens. Densely populated peninsula. Sparta - originally encompassed the area of Laconia. Lots of agricultural land. Conquered about 3/5 of the peninsula area that it resides on. Athenians tell us a lot about them, but the Spartans didn't write much about themselves. They were usually at war with each other. Had an Acropolis. Through the ancient and classical period they did not have huge fortifications, mostly protected by the huge mountains around them. Not very well preserved, mostly wood, some marble. No real evidence of huge city, mostly just grouping of small villages around a center. Peloponnesian Wars - Athens didn't really conquer places, just blackmailed to force places to pledge allegiance to them. Spartans and Athenians at war all over. Spartans attack Athens. Athens are all walled up in the city and the Plague of Athens (typhoid fever). Later Spartans and Athenians fight another place and this is the beginning of the end of Athens. Disorganization of Greece. Rise of Macedonia - Gain in power, number of kings, one important was Phillip II. Started fighting Persians, got into part of Greece and sent threats to lower Greece. Most submitted, except for Sparta. He threatened Sparta again, they refused, he never invaded them. Vergina - site in Macedonia. Golden box with head inside it. Had only one eye so it was Phillip II. He had been assasinated and his son, Alexander III or the Great took over. Alexander invaded everywhere. Invasion of Persia - Alexander the Great. Battle of Tyre - Was a city that was on an island just off the coast. Heavily fortified. Alexander didn't have means to battle at sea so he built a bridge across the straight and took it over. Egypt-Siwa Oasis - In Egypt, he was greeted as a liberator. He went on a trek to the Siwa Oasis to see an oracle there and the oracle told him he was the son of the Gods. His ego explodes and this legitimizes him for the Egyptians as a pharaoh. He leaves Egypt and goes all over. Eight years of constant military activity. Alexander still planning on invading Arabia, goes back to Babylon to plan, gets sick, and dies; we don't know why and his body has never been found. Death and Succession - After his death, his generals split the empire apart. Hellenistic Period: 323 BC on (ends at different times in different places) - Greek culture is being spread because of Alexander the great. "Hellenization." End of Greek Independence - Once again disorganization. Roman Empire is coming up and wants Greece. Mithridatic Alliance; Mithridates from Turkey is trying to counter Rome, but was defeated and Greece became part of the Empire. Tuesday, May 5, 2009 Rome Etruria is the modern area of Tuscany where the Etruscans lived. Villanovan Period (900-700) - Sedentary culture living in Italy. Cremated their dead, had lots of sculptures. Early period of the Etruscan civilization. Orientalizing Period (700-600) - Means becoming more like the east and adopting techniques from the near and far east. Interacting with Greece. Etruscan Writing - looks a lot like the Greek alphabet. We know how to say the words based on the Greek-like writing, but we don't know what they mean because Etruscan language was unlike any other. We know a few words but a lot is unknown. Archaic and Classical Periods (600-400 BCE) - start to see artifacts that you can tell that some of the inspiration have come from other places like Greece, but have a unique style too. Rome - On the Tiber River in a very hilly location with some expanses of flatter land with a little bit of marsh around it. Most of the settlements that would later turn into Rome are located on each of the numerous hills, most notably the Palatine Hill. Aenius - escaped from the Trojan war and had two twins Romulus and Remus who were adopted by a she-wolf. They grow up and Romulus kills Remus and becomes emperor. Roman Kingdom - Etruscans take over Rome. Expansion of the city and through time and military conquests, Rome will grow to contain all of the Etruscan and Boot area. Section of city wall that was built during the Roman Kingdom is still standing. Roman Republic (510-31 BCE) - overthrow of kings of Rome and set up of Roman Republic at the time that Rome had most of peninsula. Ruled mostly by the people. Senate in Rome that makes a lot of decisions, two people called consuls are kind of in charge. Senate - Building is still preserved. Located in the Forum. Forum - A lot like the Athenian Agora. People making speeches, selling things, hanging out, etc. Place for political gathering, for people to exchange goods, big town square, marketplace, place for lobbying. Some differences in Greek and Roman - Different styles; comparison between architecture, in greek columns go all around, roman backside is built in. Romans used travertine and greeks used imported high quality marble. Romans invented concrete. Punic Wars - Rome has taken over and now has to contend with another growing power in Carthage. Phoenicians - Carthagenians came from these people after they set up colonies in Carthage, became most prosperous of colonies. FIrst Punic War (264-241 BCE) - Rome wanted to expand empire further into Sicily where Carthage owned. Punic comes from term that Romans used for Carthagenians. Rome wins and takes over Corsica, Sicily, and Sardenia. Second Punic War (218-201 BCE) - Dispute over allegiance of Spain to Rome, Carthage is mad. Famous war because of Hannibal. Known for bringing elephants over the Alps to attack Italy. Carthage still lost and was cripple to Rome. They were forced to pay tribute to them through a treaty and could not wage any war. Third Punic War - Carthage thought treaty was over and invaded one of Rome's allies. Rome said no, no, no and destroyed them. Carthage - story goes that Rome destroyed it and salted all grounds so nothing would grow, not really true. Julius Caesar - towards the end of the Republic, the Roman consuls were gaining in power and this culminated with Caesar. Used some emergency powers that the consul was supposed to have and become dictator and would have power over the senate without checks. Know for expanding the empire up into Gaul. Famously the senate was not very pleased with his power and he was murdered on the floor of the senate on the 15th of March. CIvil War - argument over who would be consul, Marc Antony or Octavius. Marc Antony wanted east part of empire and went to Egypt with Cleopatra. East is wealthiest part of empire. Battle of Actium (31 BCE) - Octavius defeated Marc Antony's fleet. Marc Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide under a misunderstanding and as default Octavius became princeps or first among equals, most important of all senators, emperor and changed his name to Augustus. Pax Romana (26 BCE - 180 AD) - Relative peace and prosperity. Romanization - Roadways built, conquered people adopt roman culture. Concerted effort to make other places roman. Gladiators - slaves that were selected to be used as entertainment for Roman citizens. Colosseum - made mostly out of concrete and travertine and used for gladiatorial games. The games were used to keep masses happy and maintain power over people through events and circuses. Every month or so government would also hand out free rations of bread in Rome. Colosseum was built so that it could also be flooded and they would have ship battle games as well. Aqueducts - Romans known for these. Brought water from far away. Baths - public bath houses. Had cold and hot bath rooms. Caldarium - Hot bath room. Hadrian's Wall - Wall built across Britain, still seen today. Antonine Wall - further up into Scotland, not as famous, or as well preserved. Commerce - lots of sea traffic because it is cheaper to move something from Spain to other side of Mediterranean by sea than land. Wine, olive oil, garum or fermented fish oil for food, etc. SCST stamp on lots of items and owned an important vineyard, early branding. Egypt was supplying a lot of food for Rome. Splitting of the Empire (285 CE) - Some guy decided that the best thing to do was split empire in half. Rome still capitol, but a lot of things are done in near east. Constantine the Great (272-337 CE) - Issued the Edict of Milan, which said that it was no longer legal to persecute Christians. Constantinople - Constantine moved the capitol from Rome to here. Important city because it is on the route between Black Sea and Mediterranean. Byzantine Empire (330-1453 CE) - developed from Roman Empire. "Fall" of the (Western) Roman Empire - no real specific point where you can say it happened because eastern empire went on to rule for another thousand years. Reasons include migrations of peoples in Europe. Huns upset people across Asia and those people were pushed to the borders of Rome and kept building. Timeline of Events - 330 AD - Constatninople Founded 379-395 AD - Theodosius reunites Easter and Western EMpires and makes Christianity state religion 410 AD - Sack of ROme by Visigoths 434-453 AD - Invasions of Huns led by Attila 455 AD - Rome sacked by Vandals 476 AD - Romulus Augustus Last Roman Emperor deposed by Odoacer, Germanic general 493 AD formation of Kingdom of Ostrogoths After 603 AD - Roman Senate is dissolved. It existed all throughout this time amazingly. END OF ANCIENT WORLD!!!!