Ancient World Review

History Of Roman Coins

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"Smoking Gun" Ancient Coins Are Being Looted From Excavations

"Millions of ancient looted coins from archaeological excavations enter the black market yearly, and a researcher who has seen plundered sites likens the thefts to stealing 'smoking guns' from crime scenes. But those who collect and study coins have been far too reluctant to condemn the unregulated trade, he says." Source: Science Daily (June 2014)

Note: The traffic in looted antiquities is a multibillion dollar business these days. In the case of looted coins, removing them from their original site destroys their historical context, but "[s]ome scholars and collectors may be hesitant to question a coin's background for fear of alienating dealers or other collectors." In other words, even if they're "concerned" about the looting, they don't want to do anything to jeopardize their supply.

Crusader's Coins Discovered In Israel (2012)

Ancient Treasure Discovered In University Library Archives

"A collection of ancient Greek and Roman coins includes an incredibly rare aureus of the Roman emperor Otho, who reigned for a mere three months. The Greek coins were struck by some of the most powerful city-states and rulers of the ancient world, such as Athens, Corinth and Alexander the Great." Source: Science Daily.

Note: The coins, discovered by a classics professor in the archives of the University of Buffalo library, had been apparently lying around unnoticed for something like 40 years.

"'Libraries are becoming museums,' says Michael Basinski, curator of the UB Libraries Special Collections. 'Everything is going digital, but we remain tied to the physical objects.'"

Ancient Coins Found In Chinese Farmer's Field

"Two full pots of antique coins, weighing more than 130 kilograms, were unearthed in a township in South China's Hainan province ..," according to the Archaeology News Network.

Note: "All the coins are copper money that date back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279)."

Blood And Flowers - In Search Of The Aztecs (2012)

Geopolitics In The Age Of The Aztec Empire

"New findings ... highlight the complexity of geopolitics in Aztec era Mesoamerica and illustrate how the relationships among ancient states extended beyond warfare and diplomacy to issues concerning trade and the flow of goods." Source: Science Daily.

Note: "The researchers focused on an independent republic called Tlaxcallan [Tlaxcala] in what is now central Mexico, about 75 miles east of modern Mexico City. Tlaxcallan was founded in the mid-13th century and, by 1500, was effectively surrounded by the Aztec Empire -- but never lost its independence. In fact, Tlaxcallan supported Cortés and played a critical role in the Spanish Conquest of Mexico in the 16th century."

Comment: The Aztec empire only lasted for around 200 years. (Its capital city Technochtitlan was founded in 1325 and the empire was defeated by the Spanish and their local allies in 1521). Following a pattern common in the ancient, medieval and modern worlds, the Aztecs didn't seem to understand (or didn't care) that they were destabilizing themselves by creating so many enemies with their harsh rule.

How To Butcher A Deer Using Stone Age Tools

Humans In Madrid Ate Elephant's Meat And Bone Marrow 80,000 Years Ago

"Humans that populated the banks of the river Manzanares during the Middle Palaeolithic fed themselves on pachyderm meat and bone marrow. This is what a new study shows and has found percussion and cut marks on elephant remains in the site of Preresa." Source: Science Daily (2012)

Related: In The Elephant, Everything Is Good: Carcass Use And Re-Use At Castel di Guido (Italy). Close the download dialog box to read article online.

Early Human Hunters Had Fewer Meat-Sharing Rituals (2009)

"An anthropologist has discovered that humans living at a Paleolithic cave site in central Israel between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago were as successful at big-game hunting as were later stone-age hunters at the site, but that the earlier humans shared meat differently." Source: Science Daily (2009)