#artifacts

#artifacts

Archaeologists Find Ancient Comb With Inscription About LiceIf you’ve ever wondered what one of the oldest recorded sentences in the world would sound like, well, these archaeologists got you covered. The results may shock you, though.A group of Israeli archaeologists found the oldest known full sentence written in the Canaanite alphabetical script. The Canaanite alphabet was invented around 1800 B.C., and its creation kick-started the rise of other systems such as Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Latin, and Cyrillic. The statement was inscribed in an ancient comb that was estimated to be dated around 3,700 years ago. The ancient sentence tells people to comb their hair to get rid of lice. With 17 letters, the statement read: “May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard.”While it isn’t that grand in terms of meaning, it’s actually nice to catch a glimpse of what people prioritize in terms of grooming. While the ancient statement may not contain grand messages of peace or tranquility, we think that it’s nice that even back then, people still care the most about their hygiene and preventing any issues with their hair. It also implies that people didn’t really change and that lice issues were very serious, even back then.Additionally, the comb also tells experts that only the rich were able to read and write during that period. This is because the sentence was found on an ivory comb in the ancient city’s palace and temple district. The archaeologists consider the comb’s inscription to be the first and oldest sentence in Canaanite to be discovered as it is the only complete sentence they have discovered. We’d like to note that there are other phrases and words that have been discovered that predated the “ancient lice statement.” Image credit: Dafna Gazit, Israel Antiquities Authority via AP#archaeology #comb #finds #artifacts #Canaanite #scripts #alphabets

Over 6,000 Silver Coins From the Middle Ages Discovered During a Renovation Project in AustriaA museum in Upper Austria has obtained a set of silver coins from the late Middle Ages. More than 6,000 coins were discovered during a renovation in Rainbach, Upper Austria. The old currency was wrapped in fabric and hidden inside a clay pot, according to the OÖ Lande-Kultur GmbH museum.The hidden stash contained different kinds of coinage, which are the following: -‘halves,’ which pfennigs and their half-pieces, -‘Prague groschen,’ larger coins from Bohemia -‘snake groschen,’ also known as Milanese pegioni-Tiroler Kreuzer, a type of coin of high qualityBoth the owner and the total value of the coins remain unknown and will be the subject of scientific study.Image credit: Michael Maritsch/Zenger#Coin #Currency #AncientCurrency #MiddleAges #Artifacts #UpperAustria 

What is the Oldest Archaeological Site?What is the oldest-known archaeological site in the world? Archaeology is the study of human artifacts, as opposed to paleontology, which is the study of bone fossils, so an archaeological site is one in which there is evidence of humans, or human ancestors, and also evidence of the objects they altered or used. There are two current candidates for the oldest archaeological site, both containing stone tools, both in Africa, both dating back long before Homo sapiens. Lomekwi 3 in West Turkana, Kenya, has yielded stone tools estimated to be 3.3 million years old, used by Australopithecus afarensis. However, this find is relatively new, and there are arguments over the artifacts' exact age. Gona in Afar, Ethiopia, has stone tools that are 2.6 million years old, made by Australopithecus garhi. The evidence there has held up under decades of academic scrutiny. Another archaeological site nearby has evidence of hominins from 2.8 million years ago. Read up on the evidence found in both sites and the controversy over their dates at LiveScience. -via Strange CompanyPS: In looking up the definition of archaeology, it appears there are some differences of opinion regarding the definition of "human." Some would call the study of artifacts in species before Homo sapiens paleoarchaeology. A layman might find this article helpful, or at least humorous. #archaeology #artifacts

5,500-Year-Old Polished Stone Balls found in Neolithic Scottish Tomb may be both Weapons and Symbols of PowerA team of archaeologists found two polished, 5,500-year-old stone balls in one of Scotland’s oldest known monuments. The items were found in Tresness, a chambered cairn on the Orkney island of Sanday that dates to around 3500 B.C.E.The discovery was a ‘cracking find from the tomb,’ according to senior curator of prehistory at the National Museum of ScotlandHugo Anderson-Whymark. Only a few Neolithic stone balls were found in Orkney, and the new finds can now be added to the limited roster of this type of artifact. Researchers believe that the stones were probably used as a weapon and as a symbol of power. This assumption was made from the remains of different people found in Orkney that showed signs of blunt force skull injuries possibly caused by such tools.Image credit: Mike Lawlor#StoneBalls #Artifacts #PolishedStoneBalls #NeolithicPeriod #Tresness #Scotland #Archaeology #Orkney #AncientTools

Incredibly Preserved 2,000-Year-Old Wicker Baskets Filled with Fruit Recovered from the Ruins of a Sunken Egyptian CityUndisturbed wicker baskets filled with fruit have been discovered in the submerged ruins of Thonis-Heracleion, a near-legendary city off the coast of Egypt. The city was Egypt’s largest port on the Mediterranean before the establishment of Alexandria. The wicker baskets were found to be filled with doum (a sacred fruit of an African palm tree) and grape seeds. French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio was surprised with the discovery of the artifacts, and that the baskets were untouched for more than 2,000 years. “Nothing was disturbed,” Goddio said to The Guardian. “It was very striking to see baskets of fruits.”Goddio pointed out that a possible explanation for the preservation of the baskets and their contents is that they were placed within an underground room.Photograph: Christoph Gerigk/Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation#WickerBaskets #Archaeology #Finds #Egypt #MiddleEast #Heritage #Artifacts