Rituals and Remains

Posted on September 21, 2015 by chcongo

To an archaeologist, human remains can be considered a treasure chest of information. Human remains do not just simply tell archaeologists about the death of the individual, they can also reveal much of the life story, such as age, sex, height, genetic ancestry, if they had any illness/disease, types of food they ate, past injuries and how they were treated, any deliberate body modifications, and so much more. An individual’s remains can explain a little bit about their life, but a burial ground(or lack thereof) can explain much about the surrounding culture of the people as a whole.

In 1908, two archaeologists, known as the Bouyssonie brothers, discovered a site in La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France and immediately hypothesized the possibility of these remains being intentionally buried; however, at that time, they did not have enough information, nor the appropriate technology to reach this conclusion.

Reconstruction of Neanderthal Burial in La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France

After a 13 year reexamination of the site, archaeologists were able to conclude that there was at least partial modifications the area to create a grave. This conclusion forces a reevaluation of the idea of the neanderthal and its culture. The findings from the site showed that Neanderthals were not the ignorant, barbarian-like characters that modern humans perceive them to be. Archaeologists found that the Neanderthals were more similar to modern humans than they had previously thought. Neanderthals had actually decorated themselves with pigments and wore jewelry made from feathered and colored shells. They also cared for their sick and elderly. The skeleton discovered in the La Chapelle site showed that the deceased suffered from hip and back problems that would have made movement without assistance extremely difficult. These findings serve as evidence that the Neanderthals had developed complex thought and culture.

Decorative shell ornament worn by Neanderthals on jewelry

Death may be one of the most important topics in archaeology, as how the living treat the dead reveal a lot about the culture and thought process of the living.The findings of the La Chapelle site helped to clarify much about the culture of Neanderthals; however, this also raises many questions that will likely be left unanswered due to the lack of written records in Neanderthal history. Archaeologists are left to wonder if the burial was ceremonial or if it was simply for practical purposes. Also, there was also the possibility that the Neanderthals were not the first to bury the dead and that they simply adopted the practice from some other species. In the future, there may be more discoveries that can answer these lingering questions behind the Neanderthal burial ground; however, the discovery is still remarkable.

Further Reading

http://news.discovery.com/human/neanderthal-graveyard-found-131216.htm

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/dec/17/science/la-sci-sn-neanderthals-buried-dead-20131217

Sources

http://www.helsinki.fi/teol/tdk/pdf/opiskelu/Laitokset/hyel/Kletter2/1%20Ucko-1969-World-Archaeology%201-262-280.pdf

http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/anthro/jadar/pearson.pdf

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131216-la-chapelle-neanderthal-burials-graves/

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122466430

Social Archeology and The Minoan Civilization

Posted on September 20, 2015 by almckenzie

The past is a place full of wonder, mystery, and most importantly, the answers to the lives of our ancestors. Social Archeology is the study of past societies that instead of focusing on the individual focuses on the society as a whole. By doing so, archeologists are able to explore the culture and the systems of living within past societies and ultimately shed light on societies who have been lost in history.

The Minoan Civilization, who rose during the Bronze Age, was discovered on the Mediterranean Island of Crete and dates from 2600 B.C to 1150 B.C. It was first discovered by Sir Arthur Evans in 1900 during an excavation of Knossos, an ancient Minoan palace. His findings within the palace led him to believe that there was a possible ancient civilization on Crete which was the home to the legendary King Minos, hence why he named the Civilization Minoan.

Knossos Palace as would’ve appeared during the Neopalatial Period (1700 B.C-1400 B.C)

Most of the artifacts found upon excavation originated during the Propatial Period (1900 -1700 B.C) and Neopalitial Period (1700-1400 B.C). It was also during these periods that the Minoans built their four principal palaces: Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, and Zakros. The grandeur of these palaces reflected how sophisticated and advanced the Minoan Civilization was. Through archeological finds, it was concluded that these palaces served as central structures of trade, politics, and religion. Within these palaces archeologist found remains to suggest that materials such as wines, oil, grain, and ceramics were stored there. Archeologists also found swords, arrow heads, armors and helmets as well as fortified towns and settlements. These all suggest that the Minoan Civilization was so massive they needed central structures for food storages as well as means to defend themselves against neighboring attacks. Another major find was the discovery of one of the first examples of writing in the Aeagan world, Linear A.

Clay tablet inscribed on both sides with the undeciphered script Linear A

Artifacts have been found with the writing which suggests that the Minoans used the writing system for religious and authoritative functions. The Minoans were intelligent enough to produce their own form of written history though it is still in the process of being deciphered. Also, artifacts found in the city of Gournia such as clay pots, copper, bronze, stone vases suggest to archeologist that Minoan citizens were gifted in the skills of pottery making and metal working since they found similar items on settlements throughout the civilization.

By simple excavating several sites Archeologists have been able to slowly piece together the lives of those who inhabited the Minoan Civilization as well as the main means of commerce and sustainability. Unfortunately, Minoan Crete is a civilization wrapped in speculation. Archeologists are unclear of how and why the civilization disappeared from history and there is still debate on how it met its fateful end. Though we may not know all the answers, the site still continues to tell the story of people who were able to create one of the most complex civilizations in Greek history.

My Sources:

http://archaeology.org/issues/174-1505/features/3145-crete-minoans-gournia-excavations#art_page6

http://www.ancient.eu/Minoan_Civilization/

Minoan Art

North Chattanooga and the Misplaced Cemetery

Posted on September 20, 2015 by memelo

Each artifact holds its own story. Our issue is, the artifact cannot directly share it like a living person or document can, it is only shared through clues that were left behind. These clues are hidden within in its structure, fragmented or whole, and hidden in the artifact’s surroundings. Archaeologists are the storytellers of artifacts, piecing together the clues left for them to find. It is their job to interpret these clues correctly, for it can be fatal to interpret a piece of history incorrectly. The story is the key to its society’s culture and how we can understand it. False interpretations lead to false analogies. Many techniques are used to avoid this from happening.

This gravestone has much to tell. This poor woman’s name was not even listed on her own grave.

Throughout history, stories have been told through the graves of others. It is can tell us through gravestone inscriptions- the relation the deceased had with others and the impact they had, depending on how long they lived and where the grave is placed. The deceased leave behind clues of their life and of their society in ways that an average person may not spot. For example, a woman’s grave could give away- if they were considered a possession of their husband by being referenced as “wife of (insert-name-here),” even after death. Besides individual gravestones, the cemetery as a whole can be its own story.
One story brings us to North Chattanooga, TN. About a month ago, August 2015, contractors uncovered (about) century-old graves. In this town, it had been common knowledge that there was an old black cemetery in the area, but Beck Knob Cemetery was thought to be in the woods. Town maps had falsely marked that all graves had been in the woods after finding a few graves there. Thinking it was safe, they gave permission for a nearby construction site on Dartmouth Street to be developed to cut a drainage ditch. Mid- construction, the graves were uncovered.

The construction site where the graves had been disturbed, on Dartmouth Street in North Chattanooga, TN.

They had reached a lower layer of soil, which had been concealed for about a hundred years. While many of these graves had been unmarked in this uncovered territory, one grave amongst them, held a date of death- July of 1920. This information confirmed the new idea of this territory being the actual cemetery or a possible extension of the one in the woods, whose dates range from the 1890s to the 1940s.

Map of North Chattanooga 2015

False interpretations and recordings can be fatal to history, as shown in the error in the town’s map. By the time the contractors realized it was a cemetery, the burial site was already disturbed and dozens upon dozens of unmarked graves could have already been destroyed. As a result, stories that had been left untold will forever remain untold.

Mount Mazama and Archaeological Dating

Posted on September 19, 2015 by sagaston

Some 250 miles south of Portland, Oregon, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States. However, it did not start this way. It was once the top of Mount Mazama, a supervolcano in the Cascade Range that towered over 12,000 feet above sea level. The transition from enormous mountain to the caldera it is today was explosive: about 7,700 years ago Mount Mazama erupted, emptying twelve cubic miles of lava and enormous amounts of pumice out of its magma chamber in mere days, during an eruption forty times as powerful as the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The magma chamber then collapsed in on itself, forming the caldera, which filled to form Crater Lake.

Extent of Mount Mazama Ash Cloud Sedimentation

During this explosion, Mount Mazama also erupted an enormous ash plume.This is where archaeology ties in. The ash cloud was so immense that it stretched over nearly the entire northwest, as far north as Alberta, Canada. This ash layer, which soon cooled to a solid, remains an easily visible lighter layer of sediment throughout this whole area, providing archaeologists studying much of the Pacific Northwest with a definitive time stamp for relative dating. This method of dating uses stratifigraphy, which analyzes sedimentary layers and the finds contained within them to determine their dates in relation to each other and learn what the environment was like at the time the layer formed.

The ash layer is visibly lighter in color compared to the surrounding sediment layers

This and other kinds of archaeological survey and dating, mostly Potassium-Argon dating of igneous rocks, have also provided evidence on how Mount Mazama evolved and its development since its most recent eruption. The oldest lava flows from Mount Mazama are 400,000 to 420,000 years old, and in between then and now there are lava flows of varying ages. Mount Mazama itself is made up of many smaller shield volcanoes and stratovolcanoes that, through time, eruptions, and glaciation merged into one supervolcano before its ultimate eruption and collapse. Remnants of the cones of these other volcanoes remain, and geologists and archaeologists can date the lava they erupted to find how Mount Mazama itself evolved.

A diagram of the sediment layers at Mount Bachelor, 100 miles from Crater Lake, shows the extent of sedimentation from Mount Mazama ash

A diagram of the sediment layers at Mount Bachelor, 100 miles from Crater Lake, shows the stratigraphy of Mount Mazama ash

Studying the volcano itself gives archaeologist valuable context for understanding the cultures of this area. For the Klamath people of Northern California and Southern Oregon, Mount Mazama and Crater Lake are central to their cultural identity and history. They had lived in the area for thousands of years before the most recent catastrophic eruption, and believed Mount Mazama and the region’s other volcanoes to be the home of spirits. In their cultural belief, the eruption happened when the spirit of the underworld broke out, and their culture’s spirit chief forced him back, thus trapping him in the collapsed volcano. The rain that then came to put out the fires filled the crater to form Crater Lake, a sacred site which they kept secret from outsiders until a white settler accidentally discovered it in 1852. For archaeologists, understanding Mount Mazama is critical to understanding their cultural history.

Sources

http://www.craterlakeinstitute.com/crater-lake-news/how-crater-lake-came-to-be.htm

http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/mt_mazama/#.Vftf14b3arX

http://www.siskiyous.edu/class/geol0830/mazamaguide2013.pdf

http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/crater-lake

Context and Great ZImbabwe

Posted on September 14, 2015 by dalord

Context is very important to Archaeology. Context is the relationship between artifacts. By looking at the relationships between artifacts, Archaeologists are able to learn about the history and recreate past events. Without context, it is impossible for archaeologists to create an accurate picture of the past. The history of Great Zimbabwe and its people is an example of the need of context to create accurate representations of the past using artifacts.
Great Zimbabwe is the ruins of a city located in the southeastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwe. Great Zimbabwe was a city that existed approximately between the 12TH AND 15TH AD. It acted as the capital of the kingdom of Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe civilization was one of the most significant civilizations that existed during the medieval period. The ruins are all that is left of a great trading civilization that existed in the interior of Africa. Zimbabwe controlled most trade throughout southern Africa. The city of Great Zimbabwe acted as a center for the trade of gold and ivory. The site began declining during the 15th century prior to being abandoned around 1450 AD.
The remains of Great Zimbabwe were first excavated by J. Theodore Bent and Cecil Rhodes. When Great Zimbabwe was first discovered, archaeologists did not understand what great Zimbabwe was or why it was abandoned. It was believed that the civilization of great Zimbabwe simply disappeared without a trace. As time passed, more information was discovered about Great Zimbabwe and archaeologists understood the context behind Great Zimbabwe. With more context Archaeologists about Great Zimbabwe, such understanding its role as the capital of the Zimbabwe empire and as a center of trade, it has become possible to develop educated theories about the decline and abandonment of Great Zimbabwe. With context, archaeologists have developed multiple theories explain the reason for the decline and abandonment of great Zimbabwe. Some theorists believed that changes in climate caused the abandonment of Great Zimbabwe. Another theory is that a decline in the abundance of gold and ivory in the area caused a decline in trade, this made Great Zimbabwe less viable as a place for the population to live. Some archaeologists believe that the decline of Great Zimbabwe was caused by the arrival of Europeans in the African continent disrupting trade.

This Is an aerial view of the Great ZImbabwe Ruins
In the past it was thought that the inhabitants of Great Zimbabwe disappeared and that there was no traces remaining of the civilization other than the Great Zimbabwe ruins. Archaeologists did not conduct studies into populations that lived near the ruins of Great Zimbabwe. When archaeologists began studying the Shona population near the Great Zimbabwe ruins, they discovered that the population knew about the Great Zimbabwe ruins and were actually the descendants of the Great Zimbabwe civilization.

Shona People. Believed to be the descendants of Great Zimbabwe civilization

Great Zimbabwe is an example of the important role context plays in archaeology. Without context, it is impossible to create accurate depictions of the past. Context is what allows archaeologists to turn artifacts into theories about the past.

Further Reading:

http://archive.archaeology.org/9807/abstracts/africa.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/mysteries-of-great-zimbabwe.html

Sources:

http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/great-zimbabwe-case-study
http://www.manuampim.com/ZIMBABWE.html
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m7a/activity4.php
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/10chapter1.shtml

Cultural Ecology and the Anthropocene

Posted on September 13, 2015 by clpomper

“Cultural Ecology” is the anthropological study of how a group of humans adapted and how societies developed in the context of their environment; weather patterns, climate, native flora and fauna, available materials, and so on. “Environment” is divisible into three categories; abiotic, biotic, and cultural. The abiotic environment of a society includes land, water, minerals, and climate, while the biotic environment is the living things within the environment, such as plants and animals. The cultural environment focuses on the interactions of human beings and the development of societies. Cultural ecology is capable of examining both the effect of environment on a human society, and the effect of human society on its environment.

A woman in the Caribbean tending the fields.

Haiti now has only 2% forest cover.

Archaeological techniques allow us to infer what life in a society is or might have been; in the context of an environment one might infer how a society affected its environment, or why a certain society adapted in a specific way. Though this is largely used to study societies, it can also allow researchers to see how an environment, itself, has changed. For example, the changes in Haitian culture and environment. We may discern that Haiti was once lush and forested, and assume that the natives adapted accordingly. However, after the colonization of Haiti by the Europeans, the forests were razed to clear land for sugar plantations, and slaves from many African nations were brought to work the fields. Today, Haitian culture is comprised of the various cultural traditions brought by slaves from many different nations. As for the environment of Haiti, Haiti now has only 2% forest cover, and has lost virtually all of its topsoil, making it impossible to grow food, and causing widespread drought. As such, a staple of Haitian culture has become its dependence on imports for 93% of its food, and Haiti’s resultant poverty.

The changes of environment as a result of human interaction is the distinguishing attribute of the Anthropocene Era, a geological era in which humans have become so great a geological force as to cause changes in the natural environment on a global scale. Cultural ecology, in its study of human environments, gives us insight into what environments may have been like in the past, as in the case of the once-verdant Haiti. This enables members of many disciplines, archaeological and ecological, to study how an environment has changed, and determine how human action may have led to such changes. It also allows us insight into a society’s reaction to the changing environment—did they flee, adapt, or die out? Did they recognize the change as the result of human activity? Did they attempt to fix the changes? Cultural ecology can be used to study both the changes in an environment, and the societal reactions, allowing archaeologists and ecologists alike to study the development of the Anthropocene as a human-powered geologic era.

Modern Archaeology and Cancer

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Cancer research is a hot topic in today’s medical community. Many of society’s best and brightest work tirelessly to eradicate cancer from world, developing new drugs, surgical techniques, and prevention methods. Curing cancer, however, is largely contingent on pinpointing its causes. This is where archaeology plays a role. Is cancer strictly a result of modern lifestyle, or was it present in ancient times? If it was, what were the rates at which cancer was contracted in different areas over different periods of time? Is there any overlap between the causes of cancer in the modern world and in the past? These are all questions archaeologists can answer.

Two colleagues at Manchester University, Rosalie David and Michael Zimmerman, have done extensive research on cancer in the past. They have searched for references to the disease in classical literature, looked for evidence in the fossil record and in mummified bodies, and even gathered data about other pathologies contracted in ancient times to establish a frame of reference with respect to modern times.^[3] Their findings: cancer is man-made. In the journal Nature Reviews: Cancer, the two archaeologists reported a “striking rarity of malignancies in ancient physical remains” that might “indicate that cancer was rare in antiquity”^[1][2]. Said Professor David, “There is nothing in the natural environment that can cause cancer. So it has to be a man-made disease, down to pollution and changes to our diet and lifestyle”^[3].

Many disagree with the above viewpoint. According to Cancer researcher Dr. Robert A. Weinberg, “There is no reason to think cancer is a new disease. In former times, it was less common because people were struck down midlife by other things.” Furthermore, the scarcity of evidence for cancer in David and Zimmerman’s research can be accounted for by a number of factors.

Mummified remains often retain soft tissue, and are promising prospects for evidence of ancient cancer

Cancer generally develops in soft tissue, which tends to disappear before archaeologists can find it. Additionally, there are large gaps in archaeological records. For a long time, archaeologists only collected skulls. There is no telling what sort of cancer evidence was present in discarded skeletons^[1]. Recent findings, such as a 4,200-Year-Old case of breast cancer^[4] and a skeleton with cancer from 3000 years ago,^[5] suggest even further that cancer is not a modern phenomenon.

Figure 2 An X-ray of an early medieval man exhibiting signs of metastatic carcinoma–a cancer that begins in soft tissue but then spreads to bones

So is cancer a disease brought about by modern lifestyle choices? It appears as if the answer is both yes and no. As research continues to be done, it appears as if cancer was less prevalent in ancient times. While modernity has increased the incidence of cancer, it cannot be blamed entirely; says Dr. Weinberg, “Cancer is an inevitability once you create complex multicellular organisms and give the individual cells license to proliferate. If we lived long enough, sooner or later we would all get cancer.”^[1] It appears as if archaeology has provided us with the following conclusion: cancer is not strictly a result of modern living, but there are still common lifestyle changes that need to be made in order to reduce its presence.

References

¹http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/28/health/28cancer.html

²http://www.nature.com/nrc/journal/v10/n10/abs/nrc2914.html

³http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1320507/Cancer-purely-man-say-scientists-finding-trace-disease-Egyptian-mummies.html

⁴http://www.archaeology.org/news/3114-150325-egypt-breast-cancer

⁵http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140318112207.htm

Further Reading

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancerbasics/thehistoryofcancer/the-history-of-cancer-what-is-cancer

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2015/03/31/ancient-cancer/

New Early Human Species Discovered in South Africa

Posted on September 13, 2015 by chbillups

This is a reconstruction of Homo naledi built following 700 hours of work by paleoartist John Gurche.

On Thursday September 10, 2015 a group of scientists excavating a cave system in South Africa released their findings claiming that they may have made an important discovery about human evolution. In late 2013 and early 2014 the scientists discovered fifteen nearly-complete skeletons in a nearly-inaccessible chamber, now called the Dinaledi Chamber, and are now classifying them as a new species of hominin called the Homo naledi. The species warranted classification in the homo genus because of surprising human-like features, such as teeth and skull features similar to other members of the genus, and hand shapes that suggested tool-using capabilities. It also appears to be one of the genus’s most primitive members because it possesses a much smaller brain, shoulders shaped like those of apes, and extremely curved fingers demonstrating climbing capabilities.

The most significant finding of the expedition was that Homo naledi may have practiced a form of behavior previously thought to be unique only to humans. The isolation of the chamber and presence of few other animal bones led the team of scientists to believe that the bodies had been intentionally left there, perhaps as a burial ritual. The deposition of bodies in the same location is generally a cultural practice, and it appears that burials were repeatedly carried out in that specific location over the course of many years. The location was so incredibly isolated that when the team first discovered the chamber, bones lied directly on the surface, as they had not been affected by erosion, scavengers, or other climate conditions.

This is a map of the archaeological site, showing the complexity of the cave system and location of the fossil site.

The isolation of the archaeological site posed significant challenges for the team of researchers. The first expedition lasted 21 days during November 2013 and consisted of tedious extraction of the bones by carefully using toothpicks and brushes to gently remove the fossils and transport them up to the surface through a 7.5-inch chute. Sixty cavers and scientists were working on the excavation site, which also trained six women to be “underground astronauts” to fit through the narrow 18-centimeter cave opening. The depth of the cave made full excavation impractical, so the scientists were forced to finish removing the bones during a week-long expedition in early 2014.

Exploration of human origins has made significant strides as more remains of ancestors are being found. However there had been a million-year-long gap in the fossil record in which lies the beginning of mankind. The origin of the homo genus has been shrouded in mystery, but this discovery may help to fill in the pieces of the puzzle and uncover the true origin of mankind.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34192447

The Creation and Discovery of Skara Brae – The Power of Storms

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Glynnis

The now-archaeological-site, once-village of Skara Brae on the coast of the Orkney Islands of Scotland was subjected to huge storm during the late Neolithic period – burying its structures deep under a layer of sand, which acted as a preservative for the buildings and their contents for multiple millennia – four to be exact. The protective quality of the sand kept the structures and everything within them shockingly intact since around 3200 – 2200 BC. The very gradual drift of sand after the storm embedded the village of Skara Brae into the earth, making it uninhabitable for the original Stone Age villagers.

So, was it the storm alone that drove away the native inhabitants of Skara Brae? Not exactly. “The fall” of Skara Brae as a society and abandonment of it as a geographical location was actually due to long term erosion along the coast and changes in the society’s needs, not only the single event of the storm (though the storm did intensify and speed up erosion) (Orkneyjar). Even before the major storm, island conditions such as the spray of salt water and sand probably made the land virtually unworkable and unfit for food production. While that may have been okay for a while, eventually people moved away to more productive areas where they could get a more constant supply of food. The few who remained most likely finished out their lives in Skara Brae without repopulating the area.

Outside view of a Skara Brae building, separated from others by a passage.

But how was Skara Brae found if it was under a massive layer of sand? Well, another natural disaster occurred 4,000 year later in 1850, a violent storm “whose winds and extremely high tides” ripped up the earth and grass from Skerrabra – a large mound on the island (Orkneyjar). Foundations, walls, and remains of stone buildings and houses were discovered underneath the mound, to the surprise of those living there at the time. But 75 years later, in 1925, another storm came around, damaging the excavated ancient structures. Accordingly, preservation efforts were put in place through the construction of a sea wall (an embankment erected to prevent the sea from encroaching on an area of land), which actually exposed even more stone buildings! During this time period, most archaeologists believed the settlement to be from the Iron Age – around 500 BC. But finally, as we know now thanks to radiocarbon dating in the 1970s, the buildings were proved to be from the late Neolithic period and inhabited for 600 years.

Excavation of a Skara Brae home, complete with artifacts and features such as furniture and drains.

While so far storms seem to have acted in an oddly beneficial way for the archaeological preservation and exposure of Skara Brae’s long-hidden cultural artifacts and features, an increase in erosion rates have posed an environmental and archaeological threat. Steps are being taken to minimize the effects of this accelerated erosion due to natural and human causes.

For Further Reading on Skara Brae:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/08/neolithic-orkney/smith-text

http://www.ancient.eu/Skara_Brae/

References:

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/skarabrae/

Renfrew, Colin, and Paul G. Bahn. Archaeology Essentials: Theories, Methods, and Practice. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2010. Print.

http://www.culture24.org.uk/am15888

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1298318/Ten-greatest-British-heritage-sites.html

What Coffee Says About Us

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Figure 1: Ancestral Pubeloan mug from the Mesa Verde region (de Pastino).

Imagine going to your local Starbucks and ordering a coffee. Once you’re done with your coffee, you throw out the cup in the garbage can outside of the Starbucks or at your office. What will happen to that cup 500 years in the future, or even 1,000 years? What if it is in a landfill, still trying to decompose, and a garbologist from another civilization is performing an archeological search and they find this? Well, when they examine the contents, they will find traces of cacao. This is where context matters. Taking a look at our location, they will come to the conclusion that we did not have the adequate environment to grow cocoa beans in our backyards or at any facilities nearby, and the closest place with optimum conditions would be Hawaii, nearly 5,000 miles away. What can they deduce from this? Well, from the sheer volume of cups and mugs with cacao traces, they will deduce that our civilization was highly advanced because it had a complex trading system with other locations and carried items across vast distances very efficiently.

A recent a study has found traces of cacao, across the prehistoric Southwest, in ceramic cups. And context here, too, is important. The study looked at a region spanning from Colorado to Chihuahua. This region, too, did not have suitable conditions to grow cocoa beans for caffeinated drinks. The study looked at 177 pottery samples, with 40 of them, or 22%, containing traces of cacao. While 22% does not seem high to us now, it was surely significant back then because it meant that they had a steady supply and traded with people from other regions, much like us now. Additionally, the study found that there were traces of other plants in these pottery samples that had high amounts of caffeine, which means that they were well-aware of the beneficial effects that caffeine has on the brain (or at the very least, the person). And, as the author of the article puts it,

“It was a striking reminder of the great economic reach of the Ancestral Puebloans, whose sites had already turned up other Mesoamerican items, like copper bells and remains of scarlet macaws.” (De Pastino)

Figure 2: Image of cacao (Cacao-pic).

The juxtaposition of the modern day person and a person from the prehistoric Southwest shows that there are a vast number of similarities between civilizations, despite a large difference in the times that these civilizations emerged and became prominent. One can only speculate as to what cacao was really used for in the past, for it is difficult to get into the mind of our ancestors. However, it is entirely possible for it to be for the same reason as us: a medicine for fatigue or waking oneself (which they may have taken to be spiritually). Needless to say, we still resorted to the same resolution to our problem, which in itself is amazing to think of. Perhaps a civilization from the future will come to the same resolution and drink coffee as they study their ancestors, who were drinking coffee while studying their ancestors.
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References

De Pastino, Blake. “Cocoa, Caffeinated ‘Black Drink’ Were Widespread in Pre-Contact Southwest, Study Finds.” Western Digs (2015): n. pag. Web. 9 Sept. 2015. .

Cacao-pic. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. .

Real Archaeology

ANTH 100 searches for the truth

Category Archives: Fall 2015

Rituals and Remains

Social Archeology and The Minoan Civilization

North Chattanooga and the Misplaced Cemetery

Mount Mazama and Archaeological Dating

Context and Great ZImbabwe

Cultural Ecology and the Anthropocene

Modern Archaeology and Cancer

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New Early Human Species Discovered in South Africa

The Creation and Discovery of Skara Brae – The Power of Storms

What Coffee Says About Us

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