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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 34m

What is currently being explored in the field of maritime #archaeology? How can we practically investigate submerged landscapes? Can we identify pirates in the archaeological record? Find out in the latest #NewBookChronicle 🏺

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Covers of the four books reviewed, with the text 'New Book Chronicle'.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 2h

Millet and wheat grains from Neolithic Xinjiang #NationalBakingWeek
When millet was introduced to Central Asia from China, people didn't adopt the Chinese practice of boiling and steaming it, instead baking it into bread as they did with other grains.

(£) doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology

Grains of common millet and bread wheat exposed beneath one of the bodies at Xiaohe cemetery, Xinjiang. Credit: Wenying Li.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 2h

Indeed, the Lion was possibly even sent back to Venice by Niccolò and Maffeo Polo after their visit to the Mongol court.

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Reposted by Antiquity Journal

Dr Anke Ghost of the Marsh 👻👻🎃🎃 @ankemarsh.bsky.social · 16h

Great to see #Geoarchaeology at the forefront here. Lots of cores (61! - wow!) and 40 OSL dates plus ceramic dating. Always lots of ideas of why sites are where they were, their palaeoenvironments, etc, cool to see a paper test ideas and associate it with culture/belief systems

🏺#Sediments

Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 17h

Ancient Egyptian creation myths reference the 'primeval mound': high ground rising from primordial waters #FolkloreThursday
Geoarchaeology found the temple complex of Karnak was built on a fluvial terrace surrounded by river channels, possibly recalling the myth.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺

Palaeolandscape reconstruction at Karnak: a) beginning of the Middle Kingdom (MK); b) end of the Middle Kingdom; c) start of the New Kingdom (NK); d) middle of the New Kingdom; e) end of the Third Intermediate Period (TIP); f) end of the Macedonian/Ptolemaic period (PP) (figure by authors).

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 15h

A real globe-trotting cat for #GlobalCatDay 🐈

Isotope analysis of the Winged Lion sculpture in St Mark’s Square, Venice suggests it began life as a tomb guardian in Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907) China, travelling to the floating city via the Silk Roads.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 17h

Ancient Egyptian creation myths reference the 'primeval mound': high ground rising from primordial waters #FolkloreThursday
Geoarchaeology found the temple complex of Karnak was built on a fluvial terrace surrounded by river channels, possibly recalling the myth.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 20h

The mausoleum of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, is best-known for the terracotta warriors, but analysis of charred timbers here sheds light on the sophisticated logistical planning and resource mobilisation of the Qin Dynasty.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 21h

What was everyday life like in ancient West Africa?

Excavation at the c. AD 1456–1661 Yoruba town of Orile-Owu, Nigeria sheds light on diet, food processing, medicinal practices and daily routines during a period of sociopolitical change.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology

Map of mid-15th to mid17th century AD South-Western Nigeria, divided into states and pinpointing the locations of capitals of major Yoruba kingdoms.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

Want to learn more about the impressive #RockArt at Koonalda Cave? Read Walshe & Nowell's research article on it in Antiquity 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Rising up: digital traces and performative Indigenous culture in Australian rock art | Antiquity | Cambridge Core

Rising up: digital traces and performative Indigenous culture in Australian rock art - Volume 99 Issue 405

doi.org

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

📰 Koonalda Cave, South Australia has played a pivotal role in the understanding of Aboriginal occupation.

Antiquity authors Keryn Walshe and April Nowell, alongside Clem Lawrie, explore the history of research there in @world-archaeology.bsky.social 🏺

www.world-archaeology.com/features/koo...

Koonalda Cave - World Archaeology

Far below the Nullarbor Plain in Australia lies an extraordinary gallery of rock art. Exploration and research in Koonalda Cave has revealed much about these ancient markings, as well as mining and…

www.world-archaeology.com

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

Read the original research in Antiquity 🆓 Qin structural timbers and the First Emperor’s Mausoleum (Xi’an, China) - Ying Yang, Dorian Q Fuller, Andrew Bevan, Xiuzhen Li, Wenbin Shao & Yin Xia
doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
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Title, authors and abstract of the article.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

Overall, these findings indicate that, even over 2000 years ago, high-intensity wood exploitation had a concentrated anthropogenic impact on the ecology of mountainous areas—an impact that may even continue to affect species distributions today 11/12

A view, looking south, of the current vegetation of Mount Li (photograph by Q.W. Zhang).

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

Cypress grows at lower elevations than dark conifers. It is possible that, after years of cypress exploitation, lower altitude trees could no longer meet supply requirements, forcing a shift to increasingly distant and higher-elevation sources 10/12

Digital elevation model of the region surrounding the mausoleum and a schematic showing vertical distribution of different tree species in Shaanxi Province.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

All of these trees were associated with nobility in ancient Chinese texts, indicating the decision to switch from cypress to dark conifers was not a decision based on symbolism or the perceived status of specific wood types. There is likely a more pragmatic reason 9/12

Microscopic images of anatomical features of trees (cypress and cinnamomum).

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

Importantly, the types of wood in the mausoleum changed over time. Whilst earlier structures were largely made from cypress wood, later ones were predominantly 'dark conifers' (fir, spruce and hemlock) 8/12

Microscopic images of anatomical features of trees (fir, spruce and hemlock).

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

Even before Chinese unification, the Qin state had developed an efficient logistical system to mobilise resources for its frequent military campaigns. This was strengthened under their centralised authority following unification and was almost certainly used in timber supply 7/12

📷SY / CC BY-SA 4.0

Map of China during the Warring States Period, separated into seven states. Arrows show Qin expansion from the Qin state to unify China, annotated with the relevant years of their military campaigns.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

Conifers grow in mountainous areas with high elevations. They must have been sourced from mountains relatively distant from the mausoleum, indicating sophisticated logistical planning and resource mobilisation 6/12

Several trees of the genera identified. A–C) dark coniferous species: Abies, Picea and Tsuga; D–F) conifers from lower elevations: Pinus, Platycladus and Cupressus; G–K) broadleaved trees: Cinnamomum, Phoebe, Quercus, Toona and Ulmus (images from the Plant Photo Bank of China with permission; photographs by G.M. Li, Z.C. Xue, Z.R. Yang, R.B. Zhu, J.W. Xi, A. Liu, Y.P. Zeng, J. Wang, Z.C. Liu, J.J. Zhou & M. Li).

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

They found that 94% of the samples were of coniferous trees, indicating a strong preference for conifer wood. Specifically, fir, spruce and hemlock account for the vast majority, with cypress also making up a significant percentage 5/12

Table showing the different taxa of trees and the number of timbers of different types made from them.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

To correct this, researchers collected 657 samples of charred timbers from various structures in the mausoleum and analysed them microscopically to observe their features 4/12

Plans of pits from which wood was sampled, highlighting the locations and shapes of the timbers.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

Much of the wood used in the mausoleum's construction was deliberately burned, preserving the timbers and providing evidence for the use and supply of wood resources. Despite this, no systematic survey of the wood remains had been performed 3/12

Plan of the mausoleum: rectangular area containing and surrounded by a burial mound and several tombs. Insert: map of eastern China showing the location of the Qin capital city of Xianyang (star), the modern city of Xi’an (circle) and the mausoleum site (triangle) in relation to the Yellow, Wei and Yangtze Rivers and the Qinling and Daba mountain ranges.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

The mausoleum in Xi’an, famous for its iconic terracotta warriors, belongs to Emperor Qin Shihuang (Ying Zheng 嬴政), who founded the first united and centralised empire in China c. 221 BC 2/12

📷 xiquinhosilva / CC BY 2.0

Several rows of earthwork pits containing columns of terracotta statues of soldiers and horses.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

NEW How advanced were the resource networks of ancient China?
Analysis of timber from the mausoleum of the first emperor indicates sophisticated logistical planning and resource mobilisation even at the beginning of the Qin Dynasty.

🧵 #AntiquityThread 1/12

🏺 #Archaeology

Excavation within the mausoleum, annotated with different preserved wooden features identified.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

Archaeologists investigating the seafloor off the southern coast of Belize found the earliest evidence of ancient #Maya salt production, dating from AD 250–550. It was likely produced on a household level, suggesting long-distance salt trade came later 🏺 #Archaeology

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Two archaeologists in the sea, performing water screening.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

Pre-Inca civilisations in the Andes, the earliest occupations of Uruguay, and how textiles reveal invisible cultural identities. Explore all this and more in our South American #archaeology collection 🏺 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Machu Picchu with text overlaid reading 'South American Archaeology: Antiquity'.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 1d

Read the original research in Antiquity 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Aldborough and the metals economy of northern England, c. AD 345–1700: a new post-Roman narrative

Increasing interdisciplinary analysis of geoarchaeological records, including sediment and ice cores, permits finer-scale contextual interpretation of the history of anthropogenic environmental impacts. In an interdisciplinary approach to economic history, the authors examine metal pollutants in a sediment core from the Roman metal-producing centre of Aldborough, North Yorkshire, combining this record with textual and archaeological evidence from the region. Finding that fluctuations in pollution correspond with sociopolitical events, pandemics and recorded trends in British metal production c. AD 1100–1700, the authors extend the analysis to earlier periods that lack written records, providing a new post-Roman economic narrative for northern England.

doi.org

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