Tag: Research

The Prehistory of Compassion: Neanderthals Cared Too

New research by archaeologists at the University of York suggests that it is beyond reasonable doubt Neanderthals often misrepresented as furry, primitive caveman hobbling about had a deep seated sense of compassion.

Dr Penny Spikins, Andy Needham and Holly Rutherford from the universitys Department of Archaeology examined the archaeological record in search for evidence for compassionate acts in early humans. These illustrate the way emotions began to emerge in our ancestors six million years ago,which developed into the idea of ‘compassion’ we know today.

We have traditionally paid a lot of attention to how early humans thought about each other, but it may well be time to pay rather more attention to whether or not they ‘cared’, said Dr Spikins.

From Hominity to Humanity

Nowadays, ‘compassion’ which literally means ‘to suffer together’ is considered a great virtue by numerous philosophies and all the major religious traditions. But when did start to grow a desire to soother others’ distress? In the study ‘From hominity to humanity: Compassion from the earliest archaic to modern humans’, the researchers took on the unique challenge of charting key stages in the evolutionearly human’s emotional motivation to help others. They proposea four stage model for the development of human compassion:

Compassion is perhaps the most fundamental human emotion. It binds us together and can inspire us but it is also fragile and elusive

Stage 1 – It begins six million years ago when the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees experienced the first awakenings of an empathy for others and motivation to help them, perhaps with a gesture of comfort or moving a branch to allow them to pass.

Stage 2 – The second stage from 1.8 million years ago sees compassion in Homo erectus beginning to be regulated as an emotion integrated with rational thought. Care of sick individuals represented an extensive compassionate investment while the emergence of special treatment of the dead suggested grief at the loss of a loved one and a desire to soothe others feelings.

Stage 3 – In Europe between around 500,000 and 40,000 years ago, early humans such as Homo heidelbergensis and Neanderthals developed deep-seated commitments to the welfare of others illustrated by a long adolescence and a dependence on hunting together.

There is evidence of the routine care of the injured or infirm over extended periods. These include the remains of a child with a congenital brain abnormality who was not abandoned but lived until five or six years old millennia later, the Spartans would have acted differently. A Neanderthal with a withered arm, deformed feet and blindness in one eye must have been cared for, perhaps for as long as twenty years.

Stage 4 – In modern humans starting 120,000 years ago, compassion was extended to strangers, animals, objects and abstract concepts.

Dr Penny Spikins, lead author of the study, said that new research developments, such as neuro-imaging, have enabled archaeologists to attempt a scientific explanation of what were once intangible feelings of ancient humans and that the research was only the first step in a much needed prehistoric archaeology of compassion.

Compassion is perhaps the most fundamental human emotion. It binds us together and can inspire us but it is also fragile and elusive, said Dr Spikins.

This apparent fragility makes addressing the evidence for the development of compassion in our most ancient ancestors a unique challenge, yet the archaeological record has an important story to tell about the prehistory of compassion.

Dr Spikins will give a free lecture, ‘Neanderthals in love: What can archaeology tell us about the feelings of ancient humans’, about the research at the University of York on Tuesday 19 October.

‘From hominity to humanity: Compassion from the earliest archaic to modern humans’ by Dr Penny Spikins, Andy Needham and Holly Rutherford is published in the journal Time and Mind. The study is also available as a book, ‘The Prehistory of Compassion’, available for purchase online.

One Step Closer to Understanding Neanderthal Locomotion

LABO Neanderthal Walk A new research project from the Universit Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) takes us one step further as it comes to understanding Neanderthal locomotion. The Laboratory of Anatomy, Biomechanics and Organogenesis’ (LABO for short) project created a 3D virtual reconstruction of a pair of Neanderthal lower limbs.

The skeleton shows the Neanderthals had the same moves as we do and between 5% and 20% more leverage than us.

Homonids (that includes all forms of the human lineage, be it extinct or living) started bipedal locomotion (moving by means of your two rear limbs or, in our case, legs) some 6 million years ago. When you compare our ‘modern man’ gait to that of our fellow hominids, man takes giant steps. But what about the Neanderthals? To which degree is their locomotion comparable to ours?

In the early twentieth century it was believed that Neanderthals were furry (and dumb) creatures, hobbling about. These ideas persisted until the late ’50s, when a more objective analysis of Neanderthal fossils led to the realisation they weren’t that dissimilar to humans. (Thatearly humans thought it ‘not done’ to have sex with those ‘hairy caveman’ was only revised recently.)

Today, it is assumed that the skeletal morphology of the Neanderthals allowed them to walk the same way we do. However, there is little quantifiable data to substantiate this hypothesis. The Homo neanderthalensis has been extinct for some 20,000 years now (sorry to break the news), making direct observation of their walking capabilities impossible.

Another major problem when trying to trace the Neanderthal’s steps, is the lack of fossil record. To date, no complete Neanderthal skeleton has been found, and scientists don’t even have a sufficient number of bones to reconstruct an entire limb.

Neanderthal joint architecture is mechanically compatible with modern human locomotion.

So LABO’s first objective was to compose a 3D model of Neanderthal lower limbs using fossils found at three different sites the remains used to belong to individuals known as Spy II (discovered in Belgium), Kebara 2 (Israel) and Neanderthal 1 (Germany). To make this ‘virtual assembly’ possible, the researchers had to ‘scale’ the different virtual fragments, taking into account the estimated size of the three Neanderthal individuals.

To determine if the characteristics of the skeleton are consistent with ‘modern locomotion’, the team then merged the 3D reconstruction with movement data obtained from (human) volunteers. The resulting model showed no indication that Neanderthals did not show the same range of motion as humans; Neanderthal joint architecture is mechanically compatible with modern human locomotion.

However, it needs to be noted, walking isn’t just about bones, joints and muscles. Movement is monitored by the brain, and unfortunately data on the Neanderthal brain remains too fragmentary to say whether it was capable of controlling and monitoring of such movements.

Next, information relating to the lower limb muscle was added to the model, as to answer a second question relating to Neanderthal physiology: when compared to our skeletons, how much mechanical advantage did the Neanderthal’s more robust skeleton give to the attached muscles?

The researchers found that at an equal size the reconstructed Neanderthal muscoloskeletal system shows a strength larger than that of modern humans. The Neanderthal’s mechanical advantage is estimated to be 5% to 20% morethan ours. The research (to be published in the journal Palevol under the title Reconstruction virtuelle des membres infrieurs Nandertaliens et estimation des bras de levier des muscle ischio-jambiers) confirms the idea that their big-boned morphology allowed the Neanderthals to be more effective in a hostile environment where increased mobility was likely synonymous with a greater chance of survival.

In cooperation with the Belgian Royal Institute of Natural Science, the LABO is currently working on a more detailed, and complete, virtual model of the Neanderthal skeleton found at Spy. The final model will be used to generate a 3D skeleton (much like was done to Tutankhamen’s mummy?) and a hyper-realistic 3D reconstruction by artists Adrie and Alfons Kennis. Both will be presented at the new ‘Spy Man’ exhibition in the spring of 2011.

Isotope analysis: Prehistoric Stonehenge visitors came from the Mediterranean and the Alps

The 'Mediterranean' Boy with the Amber Necklace burial, at Boscombe Down, about 3 kilometres south-east of Stonehenge. - BGSNERC The links between the Stonehenge area and the Mediterranean have been debated for years.

Recent research suggest that some of the people buried in the area duringthe Bronze Age were not local. Rather, they came from both the snow of the Alps and the heat of the Mediterranean to visit Stonehenge.

The analysis of the teeth from two males provides new evidence that one dubbed the Boy with the Amber necklace had come from the Mediterranean area, whilst it confirms the Amesbury Archer had come from the Alps.

The Amesbury Archer was discovered around five kilometres from Stonehenge. His is the richest Copper Age (2450 2300 BC) grave found in Britain and it contained some of Britains earliest gold and copper objects a pair of gold hair clasps and three copper daggers.

The Boy with the Amber necklace, whose grave was found on Boscombe Down, about 3 kilometres south-east of Stonehenge, is from a more recent time the end of the Early Bronze Age. His skeleton has been radiocarbon dated to around 1550 BC. The teenager, aged 14 or 15 years when he died, was buried wearing a necklace of around 90 amber beads.

Amber Beads, found at the 'Boy with the Amber Necklace' burial site at Boscombe. - Image BGS (copyright) NERC “The amber may have been brought to Wessex from the Baltic, perhaps Denmark, as lumps of raw material before being turned into the tiny beads,” writes Wessex Archaeology.

Isotope analysis of tooth enamel from both these people shows that the two individuals provide a contrast in origin, which highlights the diversity of people who came to Stonehenge from across Europe, said Professor Jane Evans, Head of Archaeological Science at the British Geological Survey (BGS).

Strontium isotopes in teeth provide information on the geological setting of a persons childhood and the oxygen isotopes tell us about the climate in which they were raised (explained in this video of ‘CSIViking Dorset’). The combined techniques provide a tool to compare the information about childhood origin preserved in their teeth, with reference data for the place in which they are found.

A match between the tooth and reference data supports a local origin whereas a mismatch shows their burial area was not the same as their childhood location. The data can then be used to point to likely regions in which they were raised.

The isotope composition of the Amesbury Archers teeth shows that he was raised in a colder climate than that found in Britain.

The combination of his strontium and oxygen isotope composition suggest that the most likely childhood origin for this person was in the Alpine foothills region of Germany.

In contrast, the Boy with the Amber necklace likely spent his childhood in a warm climate typical of Iberia or the Mediterranean.

Such warm oxygen values are theoretically possible in the British Isles but are only found on the extreme west coast of SW England, western Ireland and the Outer Hebrides, said Professor Evans. These areas can be excluded as likely childhood origins of his on the basis of the strontium isotope composition of his teeth.

Other people who had visited Stonehenge from afar include individuals from a collective Bronze Age grave, theBoscombe Bowmen and a man buried beside the Amesbury Archer – called the Archers Companion.

Evidence of ‘Upper Class’ Africans Living in Roman York

Skull of the Ivory Bangle lady found in a grave from Sycamore Terrace, York, by Gareth Buddo, copyright the Yorkshire Museum 2.jpg Skull of the Ivory Bangle lady found in a grave from Sycamore Terrace, York, by Gareth Buddo, copyright the Yorkshire Museum Using the latest techniques in forensic archaeology, the University of Reading has revealed a new image of multi-cultural Roman Britain. New research demonstrates that 4th century ADYork had individuals of North African descent moving in the highest social circles.

The research conducted by the University of Reading’s Department of Archaeology used modern forensic ancestry assessment and isotope (oxygen and strontium) analysis of Romano-British skeletal remains such as the Ivory Bangle Lady’, in conjunction with evidence from grave goods buried with her.

The ancestry assessment suggests a mixture of ‘black’ and ‘white’ ancestral traits, and the isotope signature indicates that she may have come from somewhere slightly warmer than the UK.

Taken together with the evidence of an unusual burial rite and grave goods, the evidence all points to the Ivory Bangle Lady’s high status in Roman York. It seems likely that she is of North African descent, and may have migrated to York from somewhere warmer, possibly the Mediterranean.

Dr Hella Eckardt, Senior Lecturer at the University of Reading, said: “Multi-cultural Britain is not just a phenomenon of more modern times. Analysis of the Ivory Bangle Lady’, and others like her, contradicts common popular assumptions about the makeup of Roman-British populations as well as the view that African immigrants in Roman Britain were of low status, male and likely to have been slaves.”

Ivory Bangle Lady copyright Aaron Watson University of Reading

The research helps paint a picture of a Roman York – or Eboracum as it was known – that was hugely diverse and which included among its population, men, women and children of high status from Romanised North Africa and elsewhere in the Mediterranean.

Eboracum was both an imperial fortress (it was the last base of the famous Ninth Legion) and civilian settlement, and ultimately became the capital of Britannia Inferior. York was also visited by two Emperors, the North-African-born Emperor Septimius Severus, and later Constantius I (both of whom died in York). All these factors provide potential circumstances for immigration to York, and for the foundation of a multicultural and diverse community.

Ivory and Jet bangles found in a grave from Sycamore Terrace, York, by Gareth Buddo, copyright the Yorkshire Museum “To date, we have had to rely on evidence of such foreigners in Roman Britain from inscriptions. However, by analysing the facial features of the Ivory Bangle Lady and measuring her skull compared to reference populations, analysing the chemical signature of the food and drink she consumed, as well as evaluating the evidence from the burial site, we are now able to establish a clear profile of her ancestry and social status,” adds Dr Eckardt.

The Ivory Bangle Lady was a high status young woman who was buried in Sycamore Terrace, York. Dated to the second half of the fourth century, her grave contains jet and elephant ivory bracelets, earrings, pendants, beads, a blue glass jug and a glass mirror. The most famous object from this burial is a rectangular openwork mount of bone, possibly from an unrecorded wooden casket, which reads “Hail, sister, may you live in God”, signaling possible Christian beliefs.

The research was funded by the AHRCand conducted by the University of Reading’s Department of Archaeology, working with the Yorkshire Museum‘s collections. The museum will open in August 2010 following a major 2 million refurbishment. The skeleton and grave goods will be part of the museum’s exhibition entitled Roman York: Meet the People of the Empire, which aims to show Roman York in a new, cosmopolitan light, with inhabitants from Africa, Spain, France and every corner of the vast Roman Empire.

King Tut Further Unwrapped – The Family of Tutankhamun Project

It’s only 24 hours since all Tut broke lose, and additional information is still gradually being released (confirming my theory that the main bulk of the information was leaked too early ahead of the press conference). That, or it took the released information a while to percolate through my brain. The following bits are new or extra info (to me) from the official SCApress release.

My grey mass failed to process the fact that this study is part of the ‘Family of Tutankhamun Project’ rather than the ‘Egyptian Mummy Project’. Somehow, limiting the scope does make sense, despite the Onion’s report on the extinction of the Egyptian mummies*. The other half of that same grey mass neglected to apprehend that rather than the protozoan Plasmodium falciparum being observed in King Tut’s DNA, traces of the malaria parasite’s DNA were discovered in Tut.

The SCA release states that:

“Two types of DNA analysis were performed on samples taken (see how they do this, red) from the bones of these mummies: analysis of specific nuclear DNA sequences from the Y chromosome, which is passed directly from father to son, to study the paternal line; and genetic fingerprinting from the autosomal DNA of the nuclear genome that does not directly decide a persons sex. To authenticate the DNA results, the analyses were repeated and independently replicated in a newly equipped ancient DNA laboratory staffed by a separate group of personnel.”

I’m glad to see the ‘separate group of personnel’ written here, as that wasn’t explicitly mentioned in previous reports (which were thoroughly processed by said grey mass). The neural structure does wonder:”If we have thoroughly tested the 18th dynasty’s DNA, then why absolutely no mentioning of any ethnic ancestries? At least some data must have been found?”

A special award goes to the person that decided on the use of the words ‘conclusively’ (putting an end to doubt or question) and definitely (known for certain). The report claims absolutely that:

The mummy found in KV55 is Tutankhamun‘s father** (Even though his age at death is now estimated to be between 45 and 55, rather than 20 to 25, it is only ‘almost certain’ that this was Akhenaten. I guess it also can ‘almost certainly’ not be Smenkhkare any more)
The ‘Elder Lady’ from KV35 is Queen Tiye, who is Yuya and Thuya‘s daughter.

Yet, I’m not entirely confident that ‘positively identified’ means there is no possible argument against the fact that the ‘Younger Lady’ from KV35 is Tutankhamun’s mother. The assumption that the two fetuses found hidden away in KV62 are Tut’s kids is even more hasty. But then again, that claim is just as likely as the mummy KV21Abeing the most likely mother of these likely children and thus likely Tutankhamun’s wife, making her probably (that was quite enough ‘likelies’ in one sentence) a royal mummy. At least she’s not under superstition of being male, as was Tutankhamun’s likely mother for a while. Aren’t we all looking forward to the removal of the ‘protected’ status on King Tut’s wikipedia entry, so we can start updating it?:p

What I did not fail to notice, not just in the SCA’s press release, is that the research is quite clearly sponsored by Discovery Channel. For those nagging about the big ‘hype’ factor of this and ‘King Tut Unwrapped’ (photo preview here), please know that I’m not on your side. I’m perfectly happy with this arrangement. UNESCO is not needed to help fund the research and can spend some more on errr.. what about Colchester’s Roman Circus? 😉 Taxes do not need to rise because a growing number of mummies are in need of trips to the mummy-hospital and with Discovery Channel sponsoring, the majority of the results are made freely (cost of the bandwith) accessible to all. A sweet deal altogether?

With that to ponder () I leave you, as Ihave some ‘likely’ removing to do on various Heritage Key directory pages.

*No, the grey mass did not fail to notice that the Onion is indeed one big joke.
**I thought that – although the probability is extremely high – a DNApaternity test is never 100% conclusive.

King Tut Unwrapped – Tutankhamun Mummy Forensics to Air on Discovery Channel

When I wrote that it was most likely we’d see more conlusive information on King Tut’s pedigree on TV first, I obviously was wrong, partly. Spoiler alert:yes, King Tut died at age 19 of (in order) a failing immune system, a leg fracture and malaria, but for the the fine details, and juicy imagery, you’ll need to tune in to Discovery Channel’s ‘King Tut Unwrapped’. The network – which sponsored Egypt’s ‘mummy lab’ – promises us an unprecedented forensic investigation into the life and times of King Tut that reveals the identity of Tut’s parents and grandparents, details on his cause of death and new details of his reign. Here are some more reasons to definitely watch the show.

“The life and death of King Tut continues to hold a special power and mystery for people all over the world,” said Clark Bunting, president and general manager, Discovery Channel. I would never dare disagree, and like to add that his afterlife seems to be working out pretty well! 😉

King Tut’s family tree

The road to understanding the Tut tree (18th Dynasty) begins with filling out his parents’ branches. Based on historical records and previous digs, Dr. Hawass determined King Tut’s father could be one of three great Egyptian pharaohs: the successful and popular ~~second~~ ninth king of the 18th Dynasty Amenhotep III; the radical and controversial Akhenaton aka ‘The Heretic King’, who moved Egypt into the age of monotheism, or the little-known Smenkhare who reigned just prior to Tutankhamun’s rule.

When Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon discovered King Tut’s tomb, who could have forseen that almost a century later KV62 would be the site for the cutting edge of forensic Egyptology? To effectively solve the mystery of Tut’s parentage, the team needs to test Tut’s DNA and compare this to his possible family members. Carefully, to avoid contamination, some bone marrow is extracted from the mummified leg. This first-ever DNA extraction from Tut’s mummy sets into motion a series of cross-reference studies to identify the Boy King’s family.

Specimens now abound for testing, but the expert team assembled at Discovery Channel’s DNA lab at the Cairo Museum faces challenge upon challenge in connecting the forensic dots. In order to test the ancient DNA, Dr. Carsten M. Pusch and Professor Albert Zink work with Dr. Yehia Zakaria Gad of the Department of Medical Molecular Genetics at Cairo’s National Research Center to perform, for the first time, microsatellite-based DNA-fingerprinting on familial Egyptian mummies.

There is triumph in the lab but that is only the start of the Tut family odyssey. With successful DNA sequencing of Tut’s father (Akhenaten, for those not following the news), Hawass is able to pursue leads that will eventually point to confirming the mummy of King Tut’s mother as well as identifying his great-grandparents Yuya and Thuya.

Tutankhamun died of…

Part two of ‘King Tut Unwrapped’ uses never-before-examined evidence from Tut’s mummy to conclude what caused his death and how that information sheds new light on his reign as a military, religious and political leader. Results from the DNAresearch and CT-scans reveal that the young pharoah suffered from various maladies and diseases, a combination of which eventually caused his demise.

Of course, no Ancient Egypt documentary would be complete without Egyptology superstar Dr. Zahi Hawass playing a leading role. From the pristine interiors and precision work of the DNA lab to dusty, unpredictable dig sites in the field, Dr. Hawass takes the viewer on an intense, deeply personal journey for the truth.

“Discovery is honoured once again to work with Dr. Zahi Hawass. Dr. Hawass’ trailblazing leadership has successfully fused traditional, methodical archeology with cutting-edge, advanced forensics. This is a new chapter in Egyptology firmly establishing Cairo as a center for innovation and scholarship,” said Clark Bunting. I wonder, did the Curse of the Mummy affect the high-tech equipment again? 😉

‘King Tut Unwrapped‘ premires Sunday, February 21 at 8pm ET in the US. Part two is on Monday, February 22 at 8pm ET. For your ‘local air dates’, check out our publication entry, or Discovery.com. For the UK, that’s March 3th & 4th 2010.

Cracking the Codex: Long Lost Roman Legal Document Discovered by Researchers at University College London

Dr Simon Corcoran and Dr Benet Salway of the history department at University College London have found fragments of an important Roman law code that previously had been thought lost forever. Its believed to be the only original evidence yet discovered of the Gregorian Codex a collection of constitutions upon which a substantial part of most modern European civil law systems are built.

They made their remarkable find by painstakingly linking 17 pieces of seemingly incomprehensible parchment. Together they form, according to Dr Salway, a page or pages from a late antique codex book rather than a scroll or a lawyers loose-leaf notes, judging by the number of abbreviations within characteristic of legal texts, and the presence of writing on both sides of the fragments.

Thought to originate from Constantinople (modern Istanbul) the page or pages bear the text of a Latin work in a clear calligraphic script, perhaps dating as far back as AD 400, Salway added.

Codebreakers

The Gregorian Codex or the Codex Gregorianus was compiled during the reigns of a string of Roman emperors, from Hadrian (117-138 AD) to Diocletian (284-305 AD). It was thought to have been published around 300 AD, but little is known about its original format and composition. The identity of its author a man by the name of Gregorius (or Gregorianus) is very shady, and no surviving copies have been found. Until now, that is.

It is ultimately from the title of this work that we use the term code in the sense of legal rulings.

These fragments are the first direct evidence of the original version of the Gregorian Code, said Dr Corcoran. Our preliminary study confirms that it was the pioneer of a long tradition that has extended down into the modern era and it is ultimately from the title of this work, and its companion volume the Codex Hermogenianus, that we use the term code in the sense of legal rulings.

Signs of Intensive Use

The fragments found by Corcoran and Salway contain sections where Roman emperors have replied to legal questions raised by members of the public. The pages have evidently been reviewed quite heavily, because various scribblings in have been added by readers around the main text. The responses are arranged chronologically and grouped into thematic chapters under highlighted headings, with corrections and readers annotations between the lines, commented Dr Salway. The notes show that this particular copy received intensive use.

There are passages within the script that are consistent with quotations of the code in other documents. Additionally, there are sections of new material never before seen in modern times that should make for fascinating and highly illuminating study.

Dr Corcoran and Dr Salways finds were made as part of Projet Volterra a ten year study of Roman law in its full social, legal and political context, funded by the UCL Arts & Humanities Research Council. Its hoped that further examination of these Gregorian Codex fragments will yield some revealing insights into the late period Roman legal system.