Sometimes archaeology has to get visual. Here's a collection of wphoto essays of recent investigations and artifact studies.
Shell Beads and Behavioral Modernity
Image courtesy of Drs. Marian Vanhaeren and Francesco d'Errico
This photo essay of shell beads recovered from ancient Homo sapiens sites illustrates how shel beads are a key piece of evidence about the transition between the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, and addresses some of the issues of behavioral modernity, and ultimately what it means to be human.
The Herbal Wines of Ancient Egypt and the Near East
Photograph courtesy of German Institute of Archaeology, Cairo.
In the 1990s, a multi-chambered tomb was discovered at Abydos on the middle Nile River in Upper Egypt. The tomb, called U-j, has been attributed to one of the earliest of Egyptian kings, Scorpion I, from Dynasty 0. This photo essay explores the evidence for the importation of wines from the Levant, found in hundreds of jars buried with Scorpion I.
Lifestyles of a Reindeer Herder
Photo credit © Andrei Kilmov
The documentary film Waking the Baby Mammoth contains a fascinating glimpse into life in a Nenets reindeer herding family. These photos were provided by the National Geographic Society in conjunction with the release of their documentary in April 2009.
Lyuba the Baby Mammoth
Photo credit © Florent Herry
In May 2007, a baby woolly mammoth was discovered exposed on the Yuribei River in Yamal Peninsula of Russia, by a nomadic reindeer herder named Yuri Khudi. This photo essay discusses some of the intensive research and questions surrounding this momentous discovery.
Indus Seals and the Indus Civilization Script
Image courtesy of J.M. Kenoyer / Harappa.com
This photo essay will provide some context of that argument, as well as an excuse to look at pretty pictures of Indus seals, provided to Science and us by researcher J.N. Kenoyer of the University of Wisconsin and Harappa.com.
Human Migrations in Africa
Image courtesy Sarah Tishkoff
The results of ten years of nuclear DNA research on Africans, collected by University of Maryland professor Sarah Tishkoff and colleagues, and intended to learn about the origins and migration patterns of all of us, were presented in an article in Science on May 1, 2009. This photo essay looks at some of the results already revealed, and discusses some of the potential for this massive study.
19th Century Minnesota: Dugouts and Dugout Dwellings
Steve Culler (c) 2003
Scandinavian pioneers in the mid-19th century of cold and frosty Minnesotaknew just what to do to build a warm house--put it partly under the ground.
Along the Inca Trail
A guide to some of the architecture and facilities built by the Inca civilization along the 40,000 kilometers of the Inca Road, as it wound through the Andes Mountains of South America.
Ancient Alchemy: Islamic Lustrewares
Lustreware is a sophisticated decorative technique developed by Islamic potters beginning in the 8th century AD and used on pottery up until the last century. Ceramic vessels successfully treated with the lustre process radiate with a metallic shine.
Ancient Life in the Western Sahara Desert
Although much is known of the ancient history of the eastern fringes of the great Sahara desert in Africa, where the Egyptian civilization rose and flourished, there are vast tracts of archaeologically unexplored regions of the Sahara itself. Gobero is a site in the Tenere Desert of Niger, where archaeologists discovered evidence of a settlement when that part of the world was livable.
