King Solomon’s Mines Found

Thomas Levy of UC San Diego and Mohammad Najjar of Jordan's Friends of Archaeology announced, on Oct. 28^th, that their dig at a large-scale copper works, called Khirbat en-Nahas (Arabic for “ruins of copper”), in the biblical land of Edom is three hundred years older than previously thought. This readjusted timeline would place the extensive copper-smelting site squarely in the hypothesized reign of King Solomon, around 900 BC. Also, the dating challenges the long held assertion that Edom didn’t enter the Iron Age until 600 BC.

The three-stratum site has been dug down through 20 feet of slag and smelting waste to virgin soil. Egyptian artifacts found on the site leads Levy and Najjar to identify the source of the foreign goods as the military campaign of Pharaoh Sheshonq I, who’s vast campaign sought to control Egypt’s neighbors to the North, specifically Israel and Judah after the death of Solomon. The middle layer, from which the Egyptian artifacts were found, dates to 910 BC and identifies a pause in copper production.

The problem with the association of King Solomon is that there is uncertainty of his existence and the existence of his father King David. If one was to go into the field with a trowel and a Bible, the Bible is not going to explain everything one would find. The Bible has an overt message extolling the supremacy of the Israelites, if the text matches with the archaeological record or agrees with extra-biblical sources it would be assumed to be correct, but one cannot take everything for face value. Given the glorious reigns attributed to David and Solomon, in the Bible, one would notice that the kingdom of Israel is surprisingly absent from the records of neighboring states.

According to Israeli archaeologist Israel Finkelstein, "Taking the biblical description of King Solomon literally means ignoring two centuries of biblical research." What Finkelstein is referring to, is the evidence from the archaeological record so far and the scholarly analysis of the Bible. The biblical scholastic consensus is that Torah (first five books of the Hebrew Bible) and the histories (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles) are a compilation of various different sources, and written well after the events that they portray. In addition to the scholarly reasoning, it is also a question of to what level the Bible is taken literally, which varies between archaeologists. Levy maintains, "We're not answering the question" of Solomon’s existence. "But we've brought empirical data that shows we have to reevaluate those questions.” So, the argument between the biblical maximalists and the biblical minimalists continues, but with the expansion of archaeology and a site in Jerusalem being excavated by Dr. Eilat Mazar, perhaps the controversy will be solved within this millennium.

Related Sites:

Biblical Archeology Review

ScienceDaily: King Solomon's Copper Mines?

Los Angles Times: Copper ruins in Jordan bolster biblical record of King Solomon

What is Evolution?

Seed Magazine recently published an article on recent human evolution that was prompted by a scholarly article by John Hawks, Gregory Cochran, Eric Wang, Henry Harpending, and Robert Moyzis. Recent Acceleration of Human Adaptive Evolution was published in December of 2007 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science vol. 104 no. 52. Seed raises some interesting points in the course of their article but before I discuss those I’d like to talk a little bit about the basics of evolution. The American Heritage Dictionary defines evolution in biology as, “a gradual change in the characteristics of a population of animals or plants over successive generations.” What does that mean though? It means that evolution is more than believing we share a common ancestor with chimpanzees. The theory of evolution is far more complex and subtle than that. I will focus on evolution as observable changes in populations over time. The fact of evolution is evidence that we can see; it is the change in trait ratios over observable periods of time. It is the observable evidence for evolution that leads scientists to speculate about long-term changes. It might be helpful to think of evolution as biological change since the term evolution has come to be so associated with “progress,” “improvement,” and “advancement.” This change is not inherently good or bad in the long run. Instead it is good or bad for certain circumstances or environments that exist in a particular place or time. Whether or not a change is good or bad can change over time as the environment changes. Typically the processes of evolution (mutation, migration, genetic drift, and natural selection) will produce changes that benefit an organism’s ability to reproduce and pass on its genes to future generations.

Scientists have discovered that genes mutate randomly at a predictable rate over time Mutations can be caused by gene copying errors, UV or radiation exposure, chemicals, or viruses. When several of these mutations occur to affect the same gene, a new variation of the gene is created. If a mutation becomes common enough in a population then the likelihood of the mutation occurring in the majority of the population over time increases. An example of this is the development of blue eyes. Scientists believe that blue eyes originated in a single individual in the Black sea region between 6,000 – 10,000 years ago. The trait was passed onto the individual’s children and eventually became common enough that 20-40% of all Europeans today have blue eyes.

Genetic drift is one of the most difficult concepts within evolution to understand. Genetic drift is a random change in the frequency of alleles within a population. That is to say, at any given point in time an allele that has a high frequency within a population may not actually confer any fitness benefits to individuals who possess the allele; rather the allele’s high frequency may be due to chance. The University of California – Berkley has a great example of how genetic drift can change allele frequency in a population. Say you have a group of beetles that is made up of 3 green beetles and 5 brown beetles. Here there are nearly equal numbers of green and brown beetles. However, if a person walked through the middle of the group of beetles and happened to step on two of the green beetles then the frequency of the brown allele will go up in relation to the whole population. The next generation of beetles in this case would be much more likely to be mostly brown because there is only one green beetle left, not because being brown helps a beetle’s fitness. Fitness here is an organism’s ability to reproduce and pass on its genes to future generations.

Natural selection is far less random than genetic drift. For natural selection to occur there must be diversity within a population. Diversity is a byproduct of gene mutation because it produces many different variations of alleles. An allele is a variation of a gene that serves the same basic function as another variation for the same gene. For example, eye color in humans is determined by allele variations. In a simplified version, each human has two alleles for eye color encoded in their DNA – one from each parent. If a baby’s mom and dad have green and brown eyes respectively then the baby will get one “brown” allele and one “green” allele. Thus, the baby could have either brown or green eyes depending on which allele is dominant. When the baby grows up he/she could pass on either the brown or green allele no matter which color the baby’s eyes actually are. Natural selection comes into play if one allele has a fitness benefit that the other alleles for the same gene don’t have.

To explain this I’ll go back to the beetle example. Say we have a population of 3 green beetles and 3 brown beetles. If the beetles live on trees that have brown bark, the brown beetles aren’t as visible to predators that eat beetles. If birds eat all the green beetles, then the next generation will get mostly brown alleles because being brown kept some beetles alive by camouflaging them against predators. On the flip side, if the beetles live in the grass then the brown ones might be more likely targets for hungry birds. Thus we can see that whether or not a certain allele confers a benefit to an organism is highly dependant on the organism’s environment. Another example of natural selection can be found in the bright colors of a male peacock’s feathers. Female peacocks are attracted to brighter color displays on a male’s feathers. This means that a male with very colorful feathers will get more mates than a male with less colorful feathers – which means his genes are more likely to be passed on to the next generation. In this sense natural selection can also be determined by sex appeal – whether or not an individual looks healthy or attractive to the opposite sex.

Migration is the last major mechanism for evolutionary change. Allele frequency can be changed in a population if enough members of the population that have one gene variation leave the population. The same is true of incoming members to a population. For example, if we start with a group of 4 green and 4 brown beetles and 3 of the brown beetles leave to go live with another group then the brown allele frequency of the original group has dropped significantly. If the 3 brown beetles that left the first group join another group that has 2 brown beetles and 3 green beetles to start with then the frequency of brown beetles in the second group will go up significantly.

These mechanisms of evolutionary change are always at work and can have drastic impacts on a population over time. This change is not necessarily good or bad overall; it just tends to represent a successful solution to the present environmental circumstances that exist at any given time. Of course evolution and the mechanisms of evolution tend to be much more complicated than how I’ve represented them here I hope that this post helps clear up some of the basic confusions of evolution so that we can go more in depth next time. In my next post I plan to discuss some of the issues raised in the Seeds article, “How We Evolve.”

As usual, here are some extra links to sites that you might find interesting or helpful for further clarification on the topic of Evolution:

University of California – Berkley, Evolution 101:

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/index.shtml

How are human eye colors inherited?:

http://www.athro.com/evo/gen/inherit1.html

PNAS: Darwin’s greatest discovery – Design without designer:

http://www.pnas.org/content/104/suppl.1/8567.full

Link Dump

It's been a long time since our last posts, so I figured I'd take it upon myself to give you all an update on what's been going on in the lab. Whether you like it or not. And, since there have been a lot of really interesting archaeological finds in the last few weeks I'll wrap up things with a nice collection of stories to check out.

So, students came back from Fall Break last Thursday, midterms a faint memory, but research papers a growing fear on the horizon. Thankfully, they all come back to the lab no worse for wear. Right now there are 3 students working on displays, all using objects from our ethnographic collections. We've got one student working on re-classifying artifacts from a really cool, multi-component site in Clayton County; 3 students working on research/blog posts; 2 students digitizing audio cassettes; 1 student scanning our documents; and 4 students cataloging artifacts from a historic site in Van Buren county. That's what we've got going up here in a nutshell. Now on to the links...


Der Spiegel has a really detailed article about Martin Luther. Apparently archaeologists have discovered some pretty interesting artifacts associated with the theologian. There is also a lot of enlightening information about Luther's life and thinking. You'll never guess where the author think Luther came upon some of his inspiration. Der Spiegel. (photo to the right from Getty Images)


Does cooking make us human? A Harvard professor thinks this may be the key to human evolution. Boston Globe


Scott Ortman is applying a four field approach to the study of the people of the Southwest,specifically the ancient peoples of the Mesa Verde region and modern Puebloan peoples, with really amazing results. Although the news release is a little short on findings or specifics, its great to see what's possible and how each field can inform and enrich the larger picture. ASU News.

Rhode Island's Narangasett Bay is apparently rich with maritime archaeological sites. The Providence Journal.

Future of Native American Traditions in Doubt. NPR.

Are Un-contacted tribes fleeing Peru Logging? National Geographic News.

The Debate Surrounding Virginity Testing

In September, a news article emerged discussing how the Zulu in South Africa continue to practice virginity testing even though it is currently banned by the government. Last year, the South African government banned virginity testing for women under the age of 16, a practice which still causes much debate and which continues to be practiced by many in the country. Every year an annual ceremony is held where adolescent girls are inspected by a group of elderly women before receiving a certificate proclaiming her virginity. This is considered a high honor followed by a celebratory dance for the Zulu king. The Zulus believe that by continuing to perform virginity tests, it is helping to curb teenage pregnancy and the spread of AIDS. They say that it also encourages abstinence, which can prevent a variety of deadly diseases. However, many opponents of virginity testing assert that these tests subject girls to degrading public spectacles and those girls who do not pass can face emotional scarring. They also say that it does not prevent the spread of AIDS because it is still acceptable for the Zulu men to engage in sexual intercourse before marriage.

Another country that has had a similar debate in the past few years is Zimbabwe. Here women are also subjected to a physical examination by a group of elders before they get married. The situation is also similar with proponents of testing saying that it curbs the spread of AIDS and opponents believing that it is degrading and a double standard. An interesting aspect of virginity testing in this country can be seen on the eastern border of Zimbabwe where men must take a test proving they are not HIV positive before they can get married. Although it is not the same thing as a virginity test it is an attempt of trying to reduce the spread of AIDS.

In addition to physical examinations, it is common for many cultures around the world to hold a ceremony after the wedding night to determine if the woman was a virgin by observing whether the wedding sheet had been bloodied or not. This practice was formerly performed in countries such as China, Kenya and the French territory of Mayotte in addition to many others. In China, failure of this test could have been used as grounds for dismissal, divorce or reclamation of bride price. Mayotte and the city of Mombasa in Kenya had similar practices in that there was an intensive ceremony the night of the wedding and the morning after, with many songs and dances celebrating the girl’s virginity. The bride’s mother or grandmother would often display the wedding sheet the following morning accompanied by specific songs and dances. This practice was especially common before the 1970s and has since reduced in popularity.

Another country that has recently had discussions about virginity testing is Indonesia. Last August, a video surfaced at an Indonesian school of two students having sex. The principal of the school proposed having virginity tests for the school’s female students with the belief that it would curb pre-marital sex. However, since many parents viewed the testing as a violation of human rights the proposition was dropped.

Turkey is another country that in the past 15 years has had to confront their practice of virginity testing. In 1992, there were two suicides by high school girls who were forced to get virginity exams. In Turkey, virginity is highly valued and is considered a matter of family honor. It was not uncommon for government officials to force women of all ages to be subjected to virginity exams, especially hospital patients, students and prisoners. When this story became widely known in the early 1990s, there was a great public outcry from around the world for the termination of this practice stating that it was a violation of human rights. After much debate and discussion, Turkey passed a law in February 2002, banning virginity testing.

The concept of virginity testing is not new; it has been practiced for thousands of years by cultures all over the world. However, there is little scientific evidence about the accuracy of these tests. Essentially when testing for virginity, people act on the belief that the woman’s hymen is still intact. The problem with this is that a woman’s hymen can be torn in many ways, and not just by sexual intercourse. Also, it is not universally common for a woman to bleed the first time she has intercourse. Some cultures even use fake blood to give the appearance that the woman was a virgin on her wedding night. Therefore, this is basically a cultural practice and has little, if any, scientific basis. Today this practice is viewed by many to be a violation of human rights, causing conflicts between those who wish to end the practice and those who want to continue the tradition.

References:

Engel, John W. “Marriage in the People's Republic of China: Analysis of a New Law”. Journal of Marriage and the Family, Vol. 46, No. 4 (Nov., 1984), pp. 955-961

Lambek, Michael. “Virgin Marriage and the Autonomy of Women in Mayotte”. Signs, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Winter, 1983), pp. 264-281

Topan, Farouk M. “Vugo: A Virginity Celebration Ceremony among the Swahili of Mombasa”. African Languages and Cultures, Vol. 8, No. 1 (1995), pp. 87-107

Alexandria's Proposed Underwater Museum

An Underwater Archaeology Museum?

One aspect of archaeology that we don’t often hear about in the land-locked state of Iowa is underwater archaeology. A few weeks ago in the weekly online publication from Cairo, Al-Ahram, there was an article speculating about the possible development of an underwater archaeology museum in Alexandria. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about this project: UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, held an expert meeting back in 2006 to discuss the project’s feasibility. Prior to that, the idea was discussed at an UNESCO international workshop held in 1998 on Submarine Archaeology and Coastal Management. The overall consensus of these endeavors seem to be that the construction of an underwater archaeology museum in Alexandria has great potential to boost the economy of the area, provide access to great cultural treasures, and promote further research in the area. This is an exciting move for museums in general because it would expand the realm of museum’s public education to beneath the sea. To my knowledge no one has ever attempted to build an archaeological museum under water before so there is no past precedent. That means it could be quite a while before we see the proposed museum because the feasibility study being funded by UNESCO will have to take every aspect of the design, construction, and implementation into consideration before moving forward.

(Jacques Rougerie Architect – Illustration)

What is so special about Alexandria?

The bay of Alexandria, the proposed site of the underwater museum, is unusually rich in artifacts because so much of the city has collapsed into the ocean because of earthquakes since the 4^thcentury AD. Alexander the Great first founded the city of Alexandria in 331 BCE as the capital of Egypt. The archaeological history of the site goes back even farther because prior to this there had been a smaller settlement on the site. Many of the important archaeological finds relating to Alexandria have been at the bottom of the harbor. Most notably is the palace of Cleopatra, which was consumed by the sea as the result of ancient earthquakes, has been discovered on the harbor floor. Also on the floor of Alexandria’s harbor are pieces of what may be Pharos, the legendary lighthouse that was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. These archaeological remains include statues, pieces of buildings and streets, jewelry, and hieroglyphic inscriptions. Much of the ancient city actually crumbled into the sea and has only recently been rediscovered by archaeologists.

(Stéphane Compoint\ Smithsonian.com)

Wouldn't it just be easier to bring artifacts to the surface?

In 2001 UNESCO had a convention on the preservation of underwater cultural heritage. At this convention it was decided that for discoveries of underwater cultural heritage, “all traces of human existence having a cultural, historical or archaeological character which have been partially or totally under water, periodically or continuously, for at least 100 years,” states’ parties should explore preservation in situ as the first plan of action. Due to this decision many artifacts discovered by underwater archaeology often remain in situ unless doing so would be detrimental to their state of preservation. If these objects must remain underwater then the general public will likely never be able to see them. “Design of the Times”, one of the many news articles covering UNESCO’s decision to support the feasibility study for the museum says that the idea behind the museum is: “if the artifacts won't go to the museum, let the museum go to the artifacts.”

What else is going on beneath the waves?

The architect for the proposed Alexandria underwater museum, Jacques Rougerie, has several other underwater designs posted on his website. His designs are for everything from underwater living spaces for scientists who want to study underwater ecosystems to underwater cultural centers like the proposed museum. Although I couldn’t find any other news stories about his other underwater architectural projects, this does seem to be a growing trend in the tourism industry. There are efforts being made to create an underwater resort in Fiji, to open in early 2010, called Poseidon Underwater Resort.

(Peter Bollinger)

Another underwater resort is being designed in Dubai called Crescent Hyropolis Resort.

(Crescent-Hydropolis)

(/http://archrecord.construction.com/news/OnTheBoards/0708underwater.asp)

The tourism industry is always looking for new ways to attract visitors. In some ways museums are much the same, although usually not with quite as much funding. For a city like Alexandria that already attracts a large number of tourists annually with more than 11 million tourists visiting Egypt each year, the only way to keep boosting numbers and attracting new visitors is to keep up with the technological advances of the tourism industry. In this case architectural breakthroughs in underwater architecture are allowing for structures to be built underwater for the general public. However, this is still a relatively new direction and is still much more expensive than building on land so any tourism endeavors in the underwater sector will remain pricy for visitors for quite some time – this will likely include admission to the underwater archaeology museum in Alexandria as well when and if it opens.

For more information about the history of Alexandria, the proposed building of the underwater museum, or UNESCO’s involvement here are some links:

UNESCO 2006 News release

http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=36741&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

UNESCO meeting 2006

http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=36833&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html

Raising Alexandria Article

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/alexandria.html?c=y&page=1

National Geographic News – Underwater Museum Planned for Egypt’s Alexandria

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/09/080916-underwater-museum.html

UNESCO Moscow Office - UNESCO Assists Underwater Museum Project in Alexandria

http://www.unesco.ru/eng/articles/2004/Edward08092008110529.php

Mississippian Blues

Recently, Cahokia Mounds has been receiving much necessary attention as citizens and academics ponder the uncertainty of its future. The state’s Historic Preservation Agency, which oversees the park, was ordered to cut $3 million from its budget – which led to the reduction of staff across the state and the elimination of four positions at Cahokia Mounds. These cuts have led concerned citizens to call for the National Park system to take control of Cahokia Mounds. Cahokia Mounds is an UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Site, one of seven in the United States and the only currently not under the supervision of the National Park Service.

Cahokia Mounds, an Illinois state park, is situated just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis (you can see the arch from atop Monk’s Mound). Its location on the fertile floodplains of the Mississippi put it in the center of a vast area of fertile croplands and wildlife resources. The site, approximately 40 acres in size, contains a complex of earthen mounds, plazas, henges, and dwelling sites. At the height of its power, between 1050 and 1200 CE, the Mississippian peoples who inhabited Cahokia, and its surrounding, outlying farming villages, numbered near 30,000 people, comprising the largest prehistoric population north of Mexico.

While I fundamentally agree with the growing murmurs to nationalize Cahokia Mounds, I think the timing is slightly off, with the United States facing economic uncertainty and the fact that the State of Illinois says they can handle the situation. For all the fuss, there have been no discussions between the state and federal governments. Compared to the historical events that have occurred at Cahokia Mounds, this budget concern is only a small blip. Consider that the Mounds were abandoned long before the arrival of Europeans and have survived the efforts of settlers to homestead the land, the site has remained remarkably intact. Monk’s Mound, the largest earthen construction on the site (and in North America) is named for the failed establishment of a Trappist monastery on its slopes. The site was also once home to a drive-in movie theatre in the 1950’s and a housing development that destroyed several outlying mounds. Cahokia Mounds is in no emanate danger, unless state preservation laws change or Mother Nature brings bounteous erosion.

If you want to help support Cahokia Mounds, I suggest you go visit the site, which includes an amazing looking museum and interpretive center in addition to the mounds. After all the key to preservation is knowledge. The park has no entrance fee, but donations are accepted. I intend to visit next time I’m at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

Related Links:

“Let’s ‘nationalize’ Cahokia Mounds – Daily Herald

Is it Time to “nationalize” Cahokia Mounds? – TMCnet

Metropolitan Life on the Mississippi – Washington Post.com

Legends of America: Cahokia Mounds