Ancient History

In December 2018, the looting of an Iron II rock-cut burial cave in the village of Abu Ghosh was spotted, subsequently leading to a salvage excavation carried out by the Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit and the Jerusalem Regional Office of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Among the finds from the extensively disturbed tomb were the remains of at least ten individuals, two of which were analyzed by ancient DNA methods.

This study analyzes the inner conflicts experienced by the characters in the novel Mata Penakluk. The theory used is Sigmund Freud's theory to examine the psychological condition of the characters described in the novel Mata Penakluk. In addition, it also examines educational values. The aims of this study are to (1) describe the mental turmoil experienced by Abdurrahman Wahid's character in the novel Mata Penakluk by Abdullah Wong, a review of literary psychology; (2) describe and imitate the values ??of character education contained in the novel Mata Penakluk by Abdullah Wong. The type of research used in this research is descriptive qualitative research. The object of this research is the novel Mata Penakluk by Abdullah Wong published by PT Mizan Publica. Data collection techniques in this study used library, listen, and note-taking techniques. Data validity uses data triangulation. The data analysis technique uses flow analysis techniques, namely data reduction, data pre...

The problematics of medieval baths in Prague is very comprehensive, for understanding we have to begin in ancient history spa, the evolution of barber guild and complete hierarchy of this handicraft. In all history are barbers standing on the edge of society, and they tried to change it. Very important role of barbers was they role as healers. Most informations about baths and spa are from illustrations, which shows us also the equipment of public spa. Part of this equipment is also in archeological sources. One of possible public baths could be on the Vltava river bank in Novomlýnská street. Keywords bath; 14th century; 15th century; archaeology; illumination; surgery; Prague; chronicle

Within Sophocles' Ajax, Menelaus is generally regarded as an unsympathetic, authoritarian, and typically Spartan character. Indeed, scholars have often treated him as a common despotic ruler who, despite his wise words about civic order, was inevitably hated by the audience. The first part of this paper contextualises Menelaus' speech on the principles of fear of and respect for the law within the πόλις, suggesting it was actually a rather legitimate statement which included universally shared (i.e. Panhellenic) political views paralleled by several fifth-and fourth-century BC historical, philosophical and literary sources. While appreciating Sophocles' technique in portraying 'negative' mythological figures and assigning 'positive' features, the second part of this discussion analyses the resulting conflict between the particular situation of the tragic world and the universal principle of fearing and respecting the law, which may have led the audience to wonder about the possible injustices ensuing from the creation of a world governed by such an extreme and prevailing principle theorised by Menelaus.

The Linearbandkeramik (LBK) Neolithic communities were the first to spread farming across large parts of central Europe, settling fertile regions from Ukraine to France during the second half of the 6th millennium BCE. The LBK had a high degree of material culture uniformity, albeit with regional differences in settlement patterns, subsistence, and mortuary practices. To date, ancient DNA data from LBK individuals have been generated for a limited number of locations and often in small sample sizes, making it challenging to study variation within and across sites. We report genome-wide data for 178 LBK individuals, from the Alföld Linearbankeramik Culture (ALPC) eastern LBK site of Polgár-Ferenci-hát in Hungary, the western LBK site of Nitra in Slovakia, and the enclosed western LBK settlement and massacre site of Schletz in Austria, as well as 42 LBK individuals from 18 other sites. We also report genome-wide data for 28 Early Neolithic Körös and Starčevo individuals from 13 sites,...

Modern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years1,2. Our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers is however limited, owing to the scarceness and poor molecular preservation of human remains from that period3. Here we analyse 356 ancient hunter-gatherer genomes, including new genomic data for 116 individuals from 14 countries in western and central Eurasia, spanning between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago. We identify a genetic ancestry profile in individuals associated with Upper Palaeolithic Gravettian assemblages from western Europe that is distinct from contemporaneous groups related to this archaeological culture in central and southern Europe4, but resembles that of preceding individuals associated with the Aurignacian culture. This ancestry profile survived during the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) in human populations from southwestern Europe associated with the Solutrean culture, and with the following Magdal...

The Neolithic and Bronze Ages were highly transformative periods for the genetic history of Europe but for the Aegean—a region fundamental to Europe’s prehistory—the biological dimensions of cultural transitions have been elucidated only to a limited extent so far. We have analysed newly generated genome-wide data from 102 ancient individuals from Crete, the Greek mainland and the Aegean Islands, spanning from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. We found that the early farmers from Crete shared the same ancestry as other contemporaneous Neolithic Aegeans. In contrast, the end of the Neolithic period and the following Early Bronze Age were marked by ‘eastern’ gene flow, which was predominantly of Anatolian origin in Crete. Confirming previous findings for additional Central/Eastern European ancestry in the Greek mainland by the Middle Bronze Age, we additionally show that such genetic signatures appeared in Crete gradually from the seventeenth to twelfth centuries bc, a period when the in...

Considerations about size and scale have always played a central role within Greek and Roman visual culture, deeply affecting sculptural production. Both Greeks and Romans, in particular, had a clear notion of “colossality” and were able to fully exploit its implications with sculpture in many different areas of social, cultural and religious life. Instead, despite their ubiquitous presence, an equal and contrary categorization for small size statues does not seem to have existed in Greek and Roman culture, leading one to wonder what were the ancient ways of conceptualizing sculptural representations in a format markedly smaller than “life-size.” Even in the context of modern scholarship on Classical Art, few notions appear to be as elusive as that of “small sculpture”, often treated with a certain degree of diffidence well summarized in the formula Klein, aber Kunst? In fact, a large and heterogeneous variety of objects corresponds to this definition: all kinds of small sculpture, from statuettes to miniatures, in a variety of materials including stone, bronze, and terracotta, associated with a great array of functions and contexts, and with extremely different levels of manufacture and patronage. It would be a major misunderstanding to think of these small sculptures in general as nothing more than a cheap and simplified alternative to larger scale statues. Compared with those, their peculiar format allowed for a wider range of choices, in terms, for example, of use of either cheap or extremely valuable materials (not only marble and bronze, but also gold and silver, ivory, hard stones, among others), methods of production (combining seriality and variation), modes of fruition (such as involving a degree of intimacy with the beholder, rather than staging an illusion of “presence”). Furthermore, their pervasive presence in both private and public spaces at many levels of Greek and Roman society presents us with a privileged point of view on the visual literacy of a large and varied public. Although very different in many respects, small-sized sculptures entertained often a rather ambivalent relationship with their larger counterparts, drawing from them at the same time schemes, forms and iconographies. By offering a fresh, new analysis of archaeological evidence and literary sources, through a variety of disciplinary approaches, this volume helps to illuminate this rather complex dynamic and aims to contribute to a better understanding of the status of Greek and Roman small size sculpture within the general development of ancient art.

Clarifying the geographic, environmental and behavioural contexts in which the emergence of anatomically modern Homo sapiens occurred has proved difficult, particularly because Africa lacked adequate geochronological, palaeontological and archaeological evidence. The discovery of anatomically modern Homo sapiens fossils at Herto, Ethiopia, changes this. Here we report on stratigraphically associated Late Middle Pleistocene artefacts and fossils from fluvial and lake margin sandstones of the Upper Herto Member of the Bouri Formation, Middle Awash, Afar Rift, Ethiopia. The fossils and artefacts are dated between 160,000 and 154,000 years ago by precise age determinations using the 40Ar/39Ar method. The archaeological assemblages contain elements of both Acheulean and Middle Stone Age technocomplexes. Associated faunal remains indicate repeated, systematic butchery of hippopotamus carcasses. Contemporary adult and juvenile Homo sapiens fossil crania manifest bone modifications indicati...

Programme mondial de diffusion scientifique francoPhone en réseau Politique éditoriale Synergies Italie fait partie des revues du réseau mondial de diffusion scientifique GERFLINT (Groupe d'Études et de Recherches pour le Français Langue Internationale). Le principe fondateur de ce groupe est la défense de la recherche scientifique francophone dans l'ensemble des Sciences Humaines. Il a pour vocation de promouvoir le dialogue entre les disciplines, les langues et les cultures. Comme les autres publications analogues du réseau, Synergies Italie est ouverte à la communauté scientifique, particulièrement aux jeunes chercheurs, mais aussi à l'ensemble des intellectuels souhaitant apporter une réflexion sur les thématiques proposées.

The human occupation history of Southeast Asia (SEA) remains heavily debated. Current evidence suggests that SEA was occupied by Hòabìnhian hunter-gatherers until ~4000 years ago, when farming economies developed and expanded, restricting foraging groups to remote habitats. Some argue that agricultural development was indigenous; others favor the "two-layer" hypothesis that posits a southward expansion of farmers giving rise to present-day Southeast Asian genetic diversity. By sequencing 26 ancient human genomes (25 from SEA, 1 Japanese Jōmon), we show that neither interpretation fits the complexity of Southeast Asian history: Both Hòabìnhian hunter-gatherers and East Asian farmers contributed to current Southeast Asian diversity, with further migrations affecting island SEA and Vietnam. Our results help resolve one of the long-standing controversies in Southeast Asian prehistory.

The extent to which pre-Columbian societies altered Amazonian landscapes is hotly debated. We performed a basin-wide analysis of pre-Columbian impacts on Amazonian forests by overlaying known archaeological sites in Amazonia with the distributions and abundances of 85 woody species domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples. Domesticated species are five times more likely than nondomesticated species to be hyperdominant. Across the basin, the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species increase in forests on and around archaeological sites. In southwestern and eastern Amazonia, distance to archaeological sites strongly influences the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species. Our analyses indicate that modern tree communities in Amazonia are structured to an important extent by a long history of plant domestication by Amazonian peoples.

Roma İmparatorluk tarihinde ecelleriyle ölen ve “Evlat Edinilen veya İyi İmparatorlar” olarak anılan Nerva, Traianus, Hadrianus, Antoninus Pius ve Marcus Aurelius’un ardından Commodus’un (MS 180-193) iktidarı başlamıştır. Commodus’un devlet idaresini danışmanlarının eline bırakması başarısız bir yönetim sürmesine ve bu sebeple suikasta kurban gitmesine neden olmuştur. Commodus’un ölümüyle başlayan ve Septimius Severus’un iktidarına kadar devam eden dört yıllık kaotik süreci “II. Yüzyıl Krizi” olarak adlandırmaktayız. Commodus’un ölümünden sonra praetor muhafızları tarafından iktidara getirilen Pertinax, üç ay içerisinde tekrar onlar tarafından tahttan indirilmiştir. Pertinax’ın ölümünden sonra, Roma tahtı tarihinde ilk kez ordu tarafından müzayedeye çıkarılmış ve Didius Iulianus tarafından satın alınmıştır. Yaşanan bu olayın ardından farklı bölgelerdeki askerler ayaklanarak kendi komutanlarını imparator olarak selamlamışlardır. Bunun sonucunda Didius Iulianus, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus ile Septimius Severus arasında yaklaşık dört yıl süren iktidar mücadelesinin sebep olduğu bir kriz meydana gelmiştir. Bu dönemde devam eden salgın hastalıklar ve ekonomik kriz istikrarsızlığın artmasına neden olmuştur. Bu esnada imparatorluğun temel taşı olan Senatus, askerlerin karşısında güç kaybetmiş, imparator tercihini yaparken askerlerin seçimini onaylamak zorunda kalmıştır. Dört yıllık bu süreçte ordunun öne çıkması, Senatusun güç kaybetmesi ve siyasi istikrarsızlık Roma tahtına geçiş sistemini etkileyerek daha uzun sürecek olan “III. Yüzyıl Krizi” nin habercisi olmuştur. Bu çalışmanın amacı MS 193-197 yılları arasında yaşanan kriz döneminin sebep ve sonuçlarını ele alarak Roma İmparatorluk tarihine etkisini ortaya koymaktır.

With the conquest of ancient Macedonia by the Romans, the first stage of the Roman expansion in the Balkans came to an end. A period of lull followed, which was briefly interrupted by a new advance of the expansion between 149 and 146 BC. The subsequent establishment of the provinces of Macedonia and Achaea launched a new phase of Roman policy in the region, which was aimed at strengthening the conquered positions and at a temporary cessation of the Roman expansion in the Balkans. A detailed analysis of the causes and events related to the preparation and development of an uprising led by Andriscus is important, because it will make it possible to trace the attitude of the Romans towards these events, this person and the actions taken by him, which in turn allows to detect trends and dynamics in them in terms of the goals and methods followed by the Romans in their expansion in the Balkans during the period under review.

This report presents a summary account of two surveys undertaken by the authors to determine and interpret the alignments of the western and eastern passage tombs at Knowth, Co. Meath. The findings indicate that contrary to earlier suggestions, the eastern passage and the western passage (inner and outer) are not aligned towards sunrise and sunset respectively at the period of the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.

Dating Cave Paintings A number of caves in Europe contain exquisite ancient art. Most of the art has been thought to be produced during the time of last glaciation by recently arrived modern humans, but dating of the art has been problematic because the art contains only minimal amounts of carbon for radiocarbon dating. Pike et al. (p. 1409 ; see the cover; see the Perspective by Hellstrom ) have now obtained U-series dates on the calcite crusts that formed over the art from 11 caves in northwestern Spain. The ages from three caves are older than 35,000 years ago, and one dates to nearly 41,000 years ago. The earliest art used primarily red and was relatively formless; animal depictions appeared later. This dating is near the time of the arrival of modern humans and, because Neandertals were also present, complicates identifying the artists.

During the first 1.5 millennia of the Common Era (c. 100-1500 CE), the multiple cultural geographies constituting the contemporary nation-state of Afghanistan were collectively a place of significant and enduring encounters among traditions and lifeways from across Eurasia. Just as migrating and settling populations contributed new ways of believing and making to Afghanistan's already rich socio-religious tapestry, objects that arrived through trade and pilgrimage also acted as conveyors of ideas originating elsewhere, often combining with existing traditions and resulting in innovative iconographies (visual content) and styles (methods of depiction, visual languages). An examination of Afghanistan through its objects and their material cultures during these centuries is especially rewarding, as this approach illustrates the multidirectional connections between Afghanistan and its Eurasian neighbors near and far. In turn, these transregional connections came to shape religions, languages, political systems, and other cultural aspects not only of Afghanistan but also of other contiguous areas throughout the first 2 millennia CE.

In current research, military victories are regarded as an important means of legitimizing ancient monarchies. Although a necessarily bellicose orientation of monarchical action is often assumed a priori, the aspect of victoriousness in the context of monarchical self-representation must be weighted accordingly. This volume explores the central question of whether war is primarily conceptualized as a means of establishing peace or as a way of appropriating material resources. For this purpose, leading international experts on ancient monarchy do not look at political practice itself, but at its representation and reflection in various media and texts. The monarchical traditions of the Near East, Hellenistic kingship, Roman emperorship, and the transformation of Late Antiquity into the Middle Ages will be examined. In addition to a descriptive and analytical part, the contributions contain a collection of central sources, which will provide an indispensable basis for the future study of the topic of peace in antiquity.