History News: Human sacrifices, hidden colours

[Brian G Turner]

Ceiltic human sacrifice

What's missing from the above image? That's right, the sacrificial bodies.

The image is of a reconstructed henge, discovered near the village of Pömmelte, Germany. Dated to around 2,000 BC, archaeological excavations have only taken place since its discovery in 1991 - but one of the more recent finds is of a number of bodies, apparently sacrificial victims: 'German Stonehenge' Yields Grisly Evidence of Sacrificed Women and Children

This brings to mind discoveries of apparent human sacrifices around UK henge sites - and begs the question of whether Julius Caesar really was correct in his claims of druids conducting routine human sacrifice.


Mesopotamian human sacrifice

It's not just in Western Europe that we find evidence of ritualistic human sacrifice - excavations at Başur Höyük, a Mesopotamian site in Western Turkey, have found evidence of human sacrifice from around 3,000BC - just before the early states start to take form: Human Sacrifices Surround Ancient Mesopotamian Tomb

This may not be too surprising to those familiar with the story of Abraham.


Bronze age hair dyes

Still on the theme of death, research on funerary sites in Menorca from around 3,000 BC have found that some of the dead had previously dyed their hair - with red being an apparent favourite: 3,000 year old funeral rituals show earliest evidence of human hair dye


Viking colour palette

Research on the use of colour among Vikings has led to a reconstruction of a typical palette, which would have been used in their linseed oil paints: Here’s how to decorate like a Viking


Roman god lends hand to victory

Meanwhile, a bronze hand has been discovered near a ritual site along Hadrian's Wall in Britain - apparently giving thanks for the Emperor Septimus Severus's campaign against Scottish tribes: Ancient Roman ‘hand of god’ discovered near Hadrian’s Wall

Presumably it wasn't for him dropping dead at York - the 1st of two Roman Emperors to die in that city. Bonus points to anyone who can name the 2nd?


Hunt like a Neanderthal

Neanderthal's just keep getting smarter and smarter - apparently not content with sailing around the Mediterranean, they were also hunting in organized groups, according to the latest research: Popular Archeology - Scientists present new evidence for Neanderthal close-range hunting


Let love rule

And, finally, though Nazi Germany actively persecuted gay men, there remains little documentation on Nazi attitudes to lesbians. However, a recent study found 4 cases of criminal investigations from a Kriminalpolizei archive discovered in 2015: Nazi Germany and its curious treatment of lesbians

The results? No offence was committed against the German state, and the women could go about their business.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

All those other hominins with their own branches on our tree of life are now being looked upon as all being the same kind of leaves as we ourselves are. The only thing we got over them is that we're the last man standing, a dubious position. Careful with that axe, Eugene.

 

[Brian G Turner]

As an interesting addendum to that, it appears that four separate groups of primates have entered the Stone age: Some monkeys in Panama may have just stumbled into the Stone Age

Although the full article requires a subscription, the opening paragraphs at least name the groups.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

Welcome to the party.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

When one considers that half the world's bacteria is sacrificed not by their own doings every other day but by phages, so that the bacteria doesn't clog up the system (swimming through slime comes to mind) and instantly becomes nourishment for the present generations, the idea that this is a planet built on sacrifice is not far off.

 

[Graymalkin]

When one considers that half the world's bacteria is sacrificed not by their own doings every other day but by phages, so that the bacteria doesn't clog up the system (swimming through slime comes to mind) and instantly becomes nourishment for the present generations, the idea that this is a planet built on sacrifice is not far off.

A powerful and poignant idea. Sacrifice = treaty or binding agreement.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

I suppose one could extrapolate the sacrifice = treaty/binding agreement with the position that animals, people, countries with thin or non existent bankrolls agree not to object in an uncivilized manner when they encounter a severe problem that they have little or no control over, that money can fix but they don't have enough or no one will give them any to fix their problem.

 

[Parson]

I suppose one could extrapolate the sacrifice = treaty/binding agreement with the position that animals, people,

This idea approaches certainty. In the Abram/Abraham story in the Bible Abram enter into a covenant and the covenant is "cut" Abram and the deity pass through a series of animals cut in half. Even if this is pure legend the idea had to come from somewhere or something.

 

[Brian G Turner]

On the issue of bronze hands, interesting to see another one discovered - this one much, much older: 3,500-Year-Old Hand is Europe’s Earliest Metal Body Part

 

[Parson]

It's frustrating that so many of the truly great archeology finds come from treasure hunters and not archeologists. At least in this case the find could be documented.