Ancient World Review

Ancient Mehrgarh: A Treasure In Ruins

"Mehrgarh is an archaeological site situated in the Balochistan, in the southwestern part of Pakistan. In the native Balochi language, ‘mehr’ is said to mean ‘love’, and ‘garh’ means heaven. Thus, the name of the site may be taken to mean ‘the heaven of love’." Source: Ancient Origins.

"Mehrgarh is considered one of the most important Neolithic sites in South Asia, with some of the earliest evidence of agriculture discovered there. Thus, Mehrgarh is sometimes referred to as the earliest farming settlement in South Asia. Additionally, Mehrgarh is a precursor to the Indus Valley Civilization, one of the cradles of civilization . Archaeologists have divided the occupation of Mehrgarh into seven chronological periods, which provides a picture of how the site developed over the millennia."

Views of the archaeological site begin at 4:57.

"Mehrgarh is a classic tell site , a tell being an artificial mound created over time. As the occupants of the site built new structures over the ruins of old ones, the mound gradually increased in height, and, after many generations, forms a tell."

More videos of Mehrgarh can be found on YouTube, but most of them aren't in English. This very ancient site has apparently been seriously damaged by tribal warfare, looting, official indifference and politically-motivated vandalism:

"Despite its significance, the site of Mehrgarh is in a sorry state today." (Ancient Origins) "..."In 2002, the site became an unfortunate victim of a tribal feud between the Raisani and Rind tribes. Rockets fired by both tribes badly damaged the site. Additionally, although the site was under the control of the Raisani, the Rind also had claims over it. Not content with the way things were, the latter decided simply to bulldoze the site.

"In addition to local problems, Mehrgarh faces international ones as well. In October 2014, the Italian authorities confiscated antiquities in Rome that were stolen from Mehrgarh. In a 2015 article, it was reported that the objects have not been repatriated yet due to bureaucratic red tape and the lack of interest from Pakistani authorities."

The Belitung Shipwreck

Notes: "The Belitung shipwreck (also called the Tang shipwreck or Batu Hitam shipwreck) is the wreck of an Arabian dhow which sailed a route from Africa to China around 830 AD. The ship completed the outward journey, but sank on the return journey, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) off the coast of Belitung Island, Indonesia." Source: Wikipedia.

The Belitung shipwreck, along with two other ships discovered in the area, "turned out to be an undersea treasure trove of such massive historical significance that Shanghai, Singapore and Doha in Qatar are vying with each other to buy the cargo," according to The Independent (2011) .

"The treasure was part of a huge cargo of eighth-century porcelain that traders from the Chinese Tang dynasty had put aboard an Arab dhow for export to Malaysia, India and what is now Saudi Arabia. The dhow's remains, found among the treasure, suggest the ship was wrecked on the treacherous underwater reefs of Indonesia's Karimata straits on its outward voyage through the Java sea." (The Independent)

Related: Controversies surrounding the Belitung shipwreck

Oldest Miniaturized Stone Toolkits In Eurasia Found In Sri Lanka

Video from 2017. Views of the cave begin at 0.47.

"Microliths - small stone tools - are often interpreted as being part of composite tools, including projectile weapons, and essential to efficient hunting strategies of Homo sapiens. In Europe and Africa, the earliest appearance of these lithic toolkits are linked to hunting medium and large-sized animals in grassland or woodland settings, or as adaptations to risky environments during periods of climatic change. Yet the presence of small, quartz stone tools in Sri Lanka suggests the existence of more diverse ecological contexts for the development and use of these technologies by some of the earliest members of our species migrating out of Africa." Source: Archaeology News Network.

This report describes microliths discovered at the "cave site of Fa-Hien Lena (1) in the tropical evergreen rainforests of Sri Lanka." These stone tools "have been dated to between 48,000 and 45,000 years ago. This is as early, or earlier, than the well-known 'Upper Palaeolithic' technologies of Europe associated with Homo sapiens, and highlights that these sophisticated toolkits were a key part of our species' ecological flexibility as it colonized the Eurasian continent."

(1) I'm not sure about this, but I think that the Fa-Hien Lena cave mentioned in this article is the same as the Fa-Hien or Pahiyangala cave shown in the video above. According to Wikipedia, human remains found in the cave date back to "the same period as European Cro-Magnon man and other Late Pleistocene hominids in the Eastern Hemisphere."

The discovery of these stone tools provides yet more evidence that early humans migrated into the region much earlier than previously believed:

"...In the last decade, growing archaeological evidence has documented the use of tropical rainforest resources by Homo sapiens in several locations in South Asia, South East Asia, and Melanesia between 45,000 and 36,000 years ago. This is much earlier than previously considered, especially given stereotypes that these environments were 'barriers' to human migration, with disease, dangerous animals, and limited resources all posing challenges."

The Dark Lords Of Hattusha

"Hattusha [Hattusa] exerted dominating influence upon the civilizations of the 2nd and 1st millennia BC in Anatolia and northern Syria. The palaces, temples, trading quarters and necropolis of this political and religious metropolis provide a comprehensive picture of a capital and bear a unique testimony to the disappeared Hittite civilization." Source: UNESCO World Heritage.

According to the Oxford Classical Dictionary (3rd ed. revised),  "the site [of Hattusa] has been under excavation by German archaeologists since 1906 (1), and besides the massive Hittite occupation has produced pre- and post-Hittite levels. Among the principle finds has been the royal archives of thousands of cuneiform clay tablets."

(1) I'm not sure if the Germans were still excavating the site when the war broke out in Syria. If so, I assume that their work was interrupted.

"Hattusa is a site full of treasures, which is mentioned in history books due to the rich correspondence between the Hittite king and other rulers like the pharaohs of Egypt. The site contains many important places, including the pre-Hittite royal tombs, dating to 3,000 B.C., and have yielded stunning artifacts such as weapons, gold and silver containers and jewelry, animal sculptures made of bronze and clay, chairs, gold brooches, belt buckles, and gold leaf-covered figures." Source: Ancient Origins (2016).

Next video shows the Yer Kapi tunnel under Hattusa.

"The Hittite Empire began its decline around the middle of the 13th century BC," according to Ancient Origins, "mainly due to the rise of their eastern neighbors, the Assyrians. Moreover, raids by hostile forces, such as the Sea Peoples and the Kaska further weakened the Hittite Empire, finally resulting in its collapse during the first half of the 12th century BC. In 1190 BC, the Kaskas managed to capture Hattusa, which they then sacked and burned."

According to Wikipedia, "[e]xcavations suggest that Hattusa was gradually abandoned over a period of several decades as the Hittite empire disintegrated. The site was subsequently abandoned until 800 BC, when a modest Phrygian settlement appeared in the area."

Microscopic Study Yields Ancient Denisovan Secrets

"Fossil animal droppings, charcoal from ancient fires and bone fragments litter the ground of one of the world's most important human evolution sites, new research reveals. A team of scientists have used modern geoarchaeological techniques to unearth new details of day-to-day life in the famous Denisova Cave complex in Siberia's Altai Mountains." Source: Science Daily.

"...The latest evidence from southern Siberia shows that large cave-dwelling carnivores once dominated the landscape, competing for more than 300,000 years with ancient tribes for prime space in cave shelters."

13th-Century Death Pit Reveals Family Murdered In The "City Drowned In Blood"

Video from 2012.

"When Mongol soldiers swept through the Russian town of Yaroslavl in 1238, a bloodbath followed. Hundreds of people died horrific and violent deaths during the city's capture, and DNA evidence has now revealed a tragic glimpse of a family of victims spanning three generations." Source: Live Science.

Note: "During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Yaroslavl was a city largely built from wood, as a result of which it often found itself plagued by disastrous fires, which in some cases almost destroyed the entire city, a good example of which would be that which took place just before the transfer of power in the city to Vsevolod on 1221. Another constant source of danger for the city and for the many Russian princes of the time came from the East and the many foreign invaders, usually from the Mongol Horde. A particularly successful attack took place in 1257, when troops from the Golden Horde under Möngke Khan overran the Principality of Yaroslavl and murdered both the larger population of the area and the prince's close family. On the site of that unfortunate event, on the right bank of the Kotorosl, there is now a memorial church and cross." (Wikipedia)

Also see: 13th century mass graves filled with victims of Mongol invaders found in Russia. According to this Archaeology News Network story, the massacre in question was probably carried out by Genghis Khan's grandson, Batu Khan, but the dates are apparently uncertain. 

Origins Of Agriculture

"Taking root around 12,000 years ago, agriculture triggered such a change in society and the way in which people lived that its development has been dubbed the 'Neolithic Revolution.' Traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyles, followed by humans since their evolution, were swept aside in favor of permanent settlements and a reliable food supply. Out of agriculture, cities and civilizations grew, and because crops and animals could now be farmed to meet demand, the global population rocketed—from some five million people 10,000 years ago, to more than seven billion today." Source: National Geographic.

"The wild progenitors of crops including wheat, barley, and peas are traced to the Near East region. Cereals were grown in Syria as long as 9,000 years ago, while figs were cultivated even earlier; prehistoric seedless fruits discovered in the Jordan Valley suggest fig trees were being planted some 11,300 years ago. Though the transition from wild harvesting was gradual, the switch from a nomadic to a settled way of life is marked by the appearance of early Neolithic villages with homes equipped with grinding stones for processing grain." (National Geographic)

Part two here.

Related: The Prehistory of Rice.

Largest-Ever Ancient-DNA Study Illuminates Spread Of Agriculture And Indo-European Languages In South And Central Asia

"Researchers analyzed the genomes of 524 never before-studied ancient people, including the first genome of an individual from the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. Insights answer longstanding questions about the origins of farming and the source of Indo-European languages in South and Central Asia. The study increases the worldwide total of published ancient genomes by some 25 percent." Source: Science Daily.

Note: Ancient Anatolia (Asia Minor) seems to have been the origin for many of the population migrations which spread agriculture and Indo-European language into Asia and Europe:

"...In Europe, ancient-DNA studies have shown that agriculture arrived along with an influx of people with ancestry from Anatolia.

"The new study reveals a similar dynamic in Iran and Turan (southern Central Asia), where the researchers found that Anatolian-related ancestry and farming arrived around the same time."

The Great Wall of Gorgan In Iran

Video from 2015.

"A team of archaeologists and cultural heritage experts led by Prof. Mohammad Mortezaei has commenced new surveys to examine sections of the wall which are located in Hyrcania ..." Source: Archaeology News Network.(2017)

"Built between 420s and 530s CE, the Great Wall of Gorgan served as a defense system stretched along southeastern parts of the Caspian Sea near modern Gorgan in Golestan Province."

Next video (posted in 2016) shows a team from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, performing a geophysical survey of part of the wall. It appears that the stones from this section are entirely missing.

The Great Wall of Gorgan is 121 miles long with over 30 fortresses, making it the longest defensive wall in existence other than the Great Wall of China. (Wikipedia) According to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, "The system is remarkable not only in terms of its physical scale, but even more so in terms of its technical sophistication. In order to enable construction works, canals had to be dug along the course of the defensive barrier, to provide the water needed for brick production. These canals received their water from supplier canals, which bridged the Gorgan River via qanats [underground channels]."

From Engineering an Empire: Persia. This clip was apparently reduced to a quality of one pixel per inch before posting.

"The Great Wall of Gorgan, Golestan Province, in northern Iran was built from 420s AD to 530s AD; it is then occupied until the 7^th century. This was the time when the Persian Empire, under the Sassanian dynasty, was involved in a series of wars at its northern frontier, first against the Hephthalites or White Huns and later against the Turks. The Great Wall of Gorgan stretches for almost 200 km and is lined by 38 forts. It is the longest fort-lined ancient barrier between Central Europe and China, it is longer than Hadrian’s Wall [73 miles] and the Antonine Wall [~39 miles] put together. It is also more than three times the length of the longest late Roman defensive wall built from scratch, the Anastasian Wall west of Constantinople." (UNESCO)

Animated History Of The Ancient Near East