Archive for the ‘Ancient Europe’ Category
By: The Scribe on August, 2007
The city of Varna in Bulgaria is one of the oldest cities in Europe, with a history dating as far back as 4600 BC during the Chalcolithic period. The people who lived in Varna at this time have been simply called the ‘Varna Culture’, and the majority of information about this culture comes from the Varna Necropolis.
The Necropolis was accidentally discovered in 1972, and the enormous extent of the site has resulted in around 30% of the area still remaining unexcavated. There are 294 documented graves, many containing highly sophisticated pieces of gold and copper jewelry, gold-painted pottery, high-quality obsidian blades, stone beads, and shells. In total, the amount of artifacts from the excavated graves numbers over 4000 items – which represents an incredible amount of wealth to have been buried for any civilization, not to mention one which lived over 6,000 years ago!
The burials themselves vary, as it appears that bodies were either placed in a crouched or extended position – or in some cases, there was no body at all… only grave gifts! And oddly enough, those graves that didn’t contain a body were the ones that held more gold artifacts than any others. Out of all the goods that were found, 3000 of these were gold, weighing around 6 kilograms in total – these people were not lacking for finances! In fact, Grave 43 itself contained more gold in that one burial than has been found in the entire rest of the world from the Chalcolithic period.
Based on the artifacts and burial goods from Varna, it is likely that the Varna culture traded extensively with people from the lower area of Volga in Russia, as well as with groups living in the Greek Cyclades. Copper from the artifacts also seems to have come from a mine in south-central Bulgaria, while the shells have been identified as Mediterranean Spondylus mollusks – evidently, these people were experienced travelers!
Although little else is known about the Varna culture’s society, the burials do give some indication of a social hierarchy at least during some period of the culture’s existence. Grave 43, the oldest known burial in the Necropolis, was of a male who must have been part of the society’s elite: not only did it have more gold than any other graves, but he was also buried holding a war mace and wearing a gold sheath on his penis. In addition, small golden bull-shaped platelets from the grave suggest a common prehistoric association between bulls, warfare and male virility.
The culture seems to have come to a dramatic and immediate end around 4100 BC, and this has commonly been ascribed to a sudden climate change in the region. While it can be said for certain that the Varna culture was very concerned with the afterlife, as evidenced through the care and wealth they put into the Necropolis burials, the rest of their history will likely remain mysteriously hidden for the rest of time.
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Tomorrow: Beware of the mummy’s…toe?
By: The Scribe on July, 2007
According to the archaeological record, humans came to the British Isles 700,000 years ago – which is approximately 200,000 years earlier than anyone had thought. However, it was only about 10,000 BC that permanent settlements began to be established. How is that possible, if humans were in the area thousands of years before that?
Essentially, the ancient humans who tried to make their home on the British Isles were foiled by the weather – and it happened seven times! On eight different occasions, human migration from Europe to Britain was attempted as the climate became warmer. As the increasing warmth caused the land’s ice sheets to retreat northward, the humans were able to take advantage of the lower sea level before the ice completely melted, enabling them to cross to Britain via land bridges that are now underneath parts of the North Sea.
The problem was, the temperature of the area refused to remain constant, causing the ice sheets to return several thousand years later and forcing humans out of UK. In fact, it appears that in many cases, the ice sheets traveled as far south as London, pushing the humans south and east – which explains the wide selection of ancient tools and artifacts found along Britain’s east coast.
The earliest evidence for human occupation was found at the site of Pakefield on the east coast, where over 30 flint tools were discovered, along with a selection of plant and animal fossils. These fossils actually show that the climate in this region was more like the Mediterranean than anything else, and the natural fauna actually included animals like hippopotamuses and lions! These humans would have been very early hunter-gatherers.
The second wave of humans had tools that were slightly more complex, such as hand axes. A number of these tools, along with hundreds of butchered animal bones, placed this east coast site at about 500,000 years old. Again, these people were pushed out when another glacial period began – and the pattern repeated several more times over.
Then around 60,000 years ago, a species of human known as the Neanderthal lived on the British Isles by hunting big game – and while there is a good amount of evidence for their highly successful hunting and subsisting practices, they were not good at tolerating cold weather. Eventually, the cold climate returned and forced the Neanderthals out for yet another ice age.
The most recent ice age on earth was around 20,000 years ago, and by 10,000 BC, the ice retreated – and the eighth wave of settlers ventured forth toward Britain. This was the earliest stage in the arrival of the modern British population – and presumably, it will remain habitable for several thousand years more… or at least until the next ice age comes.
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Tomorrow: Ancient fang dentures!
By: The Scribe on July, 2007
Francois Ravaillac was a man whose religious fanaticism carried him over the edge, causing him to commit the act of regicide: on May 13, 1610, he stabbed to death King Henry IV of France while the king’s carriage was stalled in traffic.
Born near Angouleme in France, Ravaillac began his life as a servant and worked his way up to become a schoolteacher of religion. Exceedingly devout, Ravaillac at one point had been admitted in the religious order called the Feuillants, but was asked to leave only six weeks later due to experiencing visions during his prayer time. In 1606, he tried to enter a Jesuit group, only to be once again rejected on the grounds of having visions – however in this case, the Jesuits were under the distinct impression that these so-called ‘visions’ were simply hallucinations.
In 1609, Ravaillac had a vision that he believed told him to convince King Henry IV to stop the spread of Protestantism and convert all Protestants to Catholicism – and when he did not, but rather supported the Edict of Nantes that allowed Protestants freedom to practice their religion, Ravaillac was furious. Henry had also decided to invade the Netherlands, which Ravaillac took as an intentional move against the Pope. Determined to put a stop to Henry’s actions, Ravaillac stabbed his own king while the king’s carriage was stuck in traffic.
After stabbing King Henry IV, Ravaillac made no attempt to flee and was immediately seized by the authorities. They were convinced Ravaillac had accomplices in his actions, but he continually denied anyone else’s involvement or even prompting to carry out the act – it was only after several days of torture, after which nearly all his leg bones were broken or crushed, that the authorities believed his assertion of acting alone.
Naturally, Ravaillac was sentenced to death – and because of the absolutely horrific and treacherous nature of his act, he was to suffer his own excruciating torture before the final execution. His right arm – the stabbing arm – was plunged into burning sulphur, while pieces of flesh from his arms, chest, and thighs were torn off with pincers. A mixture of molten lead, boiling oil and resin was poured into the wounds, which were then cauterized to keep him alive for as long as possible. Records indicate this procedure continued for about an hour before he was eventually given the official sentence for anyone who committed regicide: he was tied to four horses and was drawn and quartered.
According to those two saw the execution and recorded the event, the four pieces of Ravaillac’s body were ripped into even smaller bits by a furious mob – they had loved their king, and did everything possible to ensure the murderer’s body was completely defiled. Following the execution, the remaining members of Ravaillac’s family were exiled from the country, and the name ‘Ravaillac’ was officially banned in France.
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Tomorrow: A new series: All about Aesop!
By: The Scribe on July, 2007
According to forensic analysis of over 3,000 human skeletons from a collection in Croatia, dating from as early as 5,300 BC to as late as the mid-19th century, Europeans in ancient times had little to fear from the threat of cancer – in fact, it was an extremely rare disease. Analysis showed that there was a widespread variety of other infectious diseases that could prove fatal, however out of a sample of over 3,000 skeletons, only four ancient skeletons showed any signs of cancer’s telltale imprints.
1) Skeleton of a teenager: From a 4th-century necropolis at a former Roman colony town, tumors were found on this body’s thighbones.
2) Skull of a 50/60-year-old: From the island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea, the skull dates to the 3rd or 4th century BC and showed signs of a tumor.
3) Three or four year old child: From a Medieval cemetery near the town of Zagreb, evidence of a benign tumor was found in the bones.
4) Skeleton of a 40-year-old: From an 11th-century cemetery in Lobor, this man’s tumor was also in the thighbone.
Considering that the signs of other diseases were much more common – such as syphilis, leprosy and tuberculosis – it seems that cancer was as strange a phenomenon to ancient cultures as leprosy is to modern society.
The theory as to why this is the case simply seems to be: modern humans live longer. The average age of mortality in the bones studied from the Croatian collection was 36 years old, while the modern life expectancy in Croatia is 74 years old. Thus, it seems that the longer a person lives, the more likely it is a slow cancer will develop.
As envious as modern society may be that these ancient ancestors had little to fear when it came to cancer, the blunt truth of the matter is that something else was bound to kill them first – ending the course of their lives long before cancer ever became an issue.
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Tomorrow: Ancient Chinese secret- I mean coins.
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