Archive for the ‘Ancient Europe’ Category
By: The Scribe on November, 2007
In a quarry about 200 miles east from Frankfurt, Germany, archaeologists discovered the fossilized claw of what would have been an 8-foot long sea scorpion during its lifetime approximately 390 million years ago. The claw was 46 centimeters long – nearly half a meter! – and it is fairly certain that the ancient creature would have spent its time paddling along in rivers or swamps.
That isn’t to say that it couldn’t walk on land. According to the Biology Letters journal which published the report on the claw, the ‘Jaekelopterus rhenaniae’ probably only lived in water because it was easier to get around that way, considering the construction of its body – an arthropod of this size probably had some trouble walking effectively on land.
Considering the size of the claw and its resultant comparison – the sea scorpion would have been larger than a human being – researchers are now more convinced than ever that creatures such as spiders, crabs, insects, and other living things that are tiny in today’s modern world were much, much larger in the past. At the very least, this ancient sea scorpion exceeds the record for known arthropods by nearly a half meter.
These ancient sea scorpions existed during a time in the history of earth when the atmosphere’s oxygen levels were significantly higher than they are today – and some scientists believe that as a result, this helped creatures such as the giant arthropod and other invertebrates to develop super-sized bodies.
However, over time as vertebrate predators made their way into the main sphere, larger creatures such as these would have been seen as prey – for plenty of predators, bigger prey is better, which likely resulted in all the larger creatures being killed off first, and the smaller specimens surviving. By the time humans came on the scene, these large creatures had been dwindled down to a much smaller size, which continued until there were only the tiny specimens that are known today.
Although the fossilized claw of this sea scorpion dates to approximately 390 million years old, it is believed that the species actually made its land debut approximately 450 million years ago.
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Tomorrow: More Ancient Standard
By: The Scribe on November, 2007
At the Plocnik archaeological site in southern Serbia, several female figurines have been uncovered that point toward a rather extensive history of feminine concern with fashion. The site was once occupied by the Vinca culture, Europe’s largest prehistoric civilization, and it appears that they were somewhat more advanced than previously assumed – finds from the site point to a well-developed and sophisticated metropolis with a flare for art and fashion.
According to the figurines, the young women who lived at this site were dressed similar to the modern young women of today – wearing short, decorative tops, miniskirts, and jewelry like bracelets around their arms. Unlike many early cultures whose figurines were highly similar one to the next, the group of Vinca who lived here created over 60 different styles of pottery and figurines – and surprisingly, they weren’t all made to depict deities! Plenty of the figurines appear to have been created just for fun, for the pure enjoyment of creating art.
The pursuit of beauty isn’t something that has normally been associated with prehistoric cultures, but humans have been occupied with creating beautiful things since, seemingly, time began. The culture here had a rather advanced form of labor division and social organization, with things like stoves, special trash holes in the ground, wool and fur mats to sleep on, and leather, wool or flax clothing. Even a thermal well nearby to the settlement may be evidence of the first European spa!
Plenty of animal toys and clay rattles, as well as awkward clay pots created by children – the equivalent of today’s finger-painting efforts, perhaps – show that children were also a large component in the community. Specialized areas in the homes also point to the keeping of certain kinds of animals as pets.
The discovery of a metal workshop at the site has also been extremely important in potentially pushing back the date of the Chalcolithic period, or Copper Age, in Europe to having begun nearly 500 years earlier than previously thought. The Vinca are now thought to have been the first culture with metalworking capabilities in Europe – and considering their high interest in fashion and art and specific focus on children and community, it seems that the people of prehistory are not so far removed from modern society as some might think.
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Tomorrow: Life is a kelp highway! What?
By: The Scribe on November, 2007
It was only after one of the bloodiest battles of the entire Middle Ages – The Battle of Anchialos – that the Bulgarians were able to rightfully settle in the area of territory known today as the country of Bulgaria. Initially, the area was known as the First Bulgarian Empire, and the first capital city was established by the Bulgarians’ ruler – Khan Asparukh.
The capital of Pliska was constructed in an area of 23 square kilometers, and had a moat and ramparts surrounding the outer walls. Refusing to take any chances against Byzantine invaders, even the inner walls of the capital were over 2.5 meters thick, and were built to about 12 meters high! The careful attention to stability, longevity, and strategic detail when it was built have caused the city to still be considered as one of the most impressive monuments of early Medieval architecture today.
Pliska was ahead of the neighbors in plenty of ways – the city had a functioning sewage system that was modeled on Roman sewers, and the heating systems throughout the entire city ensured that the people were kept safe and warm throughout the harsh winters. Fortress walls surrounded the city, both inner and outer, and at each corner there was a cylindrical-shaped tower for lookouts and nightly watchmen.
The interior of the city contained a palace for a later ruler, the Khan Omurtag, and this ‘Grand Palace’ contained a throne room and an adjacent Small Palace which served as the private residence of the Khans while they were in power.
In 811 AD, the city was sacked by the Byzantine army – but the Khan Krum was able to rid the city of its invaders after a short period. In an effort to help improve the city after its brief attack – and to maintain morale among the people – the next Khan actually hired and brought in several hundred artisans and craftsmen for the sole purpose of improving the city!
Pliska would see changes in its governmental structure, and in 865 AD, Christianity was adopted as the primary religion under Prince Boris. He constructed the Grand Basilica as a place of worship for the public, and in 886 AD, he established the Pliska Literary School in order to help ensure that the people were intelligent and well educated! However in 892 AD, the king’s son Vladimir revolted against the established changes, attempting to re-establish paganism as the official religion of Bulgaria.
Naturally, he was punished by his father – Vladimir’s eyes were “put out”, ie. blinded – and his younger brother Simeon was made ruler of Bulgaria. The period which followed has often been referred to by Medieval historians as the “Golden Age” in Bulgaria’s history. However, since the population and territory was growing – not to mention that Pliska still seemed to have deep-rooted pagan influences – Simeon soon moved Bulgaria’s capital from Pliska to Preslav, which was another fortified town in the same general area.
The importance of Pliska in the Bulgarian Empire gradually waned over the course of the 10th century, as Preslav saw a concentration of resources and governmental power. Two attacks by Byzantine raiders in 969 and 972 AD destroyed many portions of Pliska, and due to the shift of power into Preslav, the city was not rebuilt after the second raid.
Although the ancient Bulgarian capital is in ruins today, the city of Pliska is still greatly admired by historians as an example of some of the finest early Medieval architecture ever created.
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Tomorrow: More Ancient Standard
By: The Scribe on November, 2007
In October 2007, 75-year-old hobby historian doing research in the German town of Weimar stumbled across something rather unexpected – as he paged through the town’s archives, he noticed something written inside a heavy tome of parchment that appeared to have been inscribed with pen and ink.
The contents of the inscription? A 600-year-old recipe for the German sausage commonly referred to as Thuringian bratwurst! The inscription dates back to 1432, and actually presents guidelines for Thuringian sausage makers – it turns out that only the purest and unspoiled meat could be used for the sausages, and anyone who broke the guidelines would be slapped with a fine of 24 pfennigs, the equivalent of a day’s wages.
Although it was known that Medieval town markets in Germany often formed committees to be in charge of monitoring produce quality, these sausage regulations confirm the strict commitment to consumer protection laws during the Middle Ages. It is perhaps this adherence to quality that allowed the Thuringian bratwurst to become one of the most ubiquitous symbols of German’s cultural heritage!
Prior to this discovery, the oldest known recipe for bratwurst dated back to 1613 and was also kept in the Weimar State Archive. A smoked variety of the sausage was mentioned in a document from 1797, though the oldest known reference to bratwurst – without listing any details on the production process – comes from a transcript of a bill from an Arnstadt convent in 1404. Undoubtedly, the bratwurst’s history dates back even further, but unfortunately, there are no surviving grocery lists or trade records in Ye Olde High German that mention this strictly regulated meat product.
The 1432 bratwurst recipe is scheduled to be kept on display in the historic Bratwurst Museum in the capital of Thuringia.
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Tomorrow: The king even Roman Emperors feared.
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