archaeology

Introduction

The Great Sphinx of Giza belongs to the Giza necropolis west of Cairo. The site is a plateau containing the three great pyramids of Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaura, together with the Sphinx and a number of smaller pyramids, temples, and tombs.

The Giza structures were built by 4th Dynasty kings at the height of the Old Kingdom. (Scholars divide ancient Egyptian civilization into:

• the Predynastic (the ten centuries before 3050 BCE),
• the Archaic or Early Dynastic (3050-2575 BCE),
• the Old Kingdom (2575-2150 BCE),
• the Middle Kingdom (2040-1783 BCE),
• the New Kingdom (1550-1070 BCE),
• and the Late Dynastic (1070-332 BCE).

So-called intermediate periods followed the Old and Middle Kingdoms.)

The Sphinx is the oldest and longest stone sculpture from the Old Kingdom. During the eighteenth dynasty, it was called "Horus of the Horizon" and "Horus of the Necropolis", the sun god that stands above the horizon.

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The Age of Sphinx Controversy

Writer John Anthony West and Boston University geologist Robert Schoch contend that weathering of the Member II  layers indicates that the Sphinx was built between 5000 and 7000 BC.

A problem with the age of the Sphinx may be dated to the report of a photogrammetric survey conducted in 1979 by Dr. Mark Lehner, director of the American Research Center in Egypt in the 1980s, and Dr. K. Lal Gauri, director of the Stone Conservation Laboratory at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. With the help of an archaeological photographer, Lehner and Gauri identified and recorded the exposed surface of the monument and the stone blocks that still faced it. Lehner’s 1980 report noted an anomaly about the main body on pp. 17-18:

"Except for the prominent boss on the chest, we have nowhere observed any kind of working marks on the core-body, either in the way of tool marks or of surfaces that would seem to have been left by rough quarrying activity. Neither have we found any profile on the core that would appear to be of finished sculpture. This might easily be explained by saying that the part of the core-body now showing - almost entirely of the very soft Bed 2 stone - has been eroded so badly that all such traces have disappeared. Even so, in the cross-sections showing through the successive layers of masonry added to the core, one would expect such traces to show under the earliest level of stonework had it been added soon after the core was formed, thereafter protecting the profile of the parent rock. But on the face and profile of the core in such cases (Figs. 3,4) [supplied in original report] there are no observable indications of parts of a finished profile or of working marks. Rather, the profile of the core seems in all cases to be one of severe erosion, leaving the softer yellowish bands and harder intermediate strata showing a profile of successive rolls and undulations. These considerations would seem to indicate that the core-body of the Sphinx was already severely eroded when the earliest level of large-block masonry was added to it."

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Research Memorandum GD-54

Written by: Rainer Fremdling
Groningen Growth and Development Centre, August 2002

1. Introduction
Hardly any other innovation symbolises and embodies the process of industrialisation during the 19th century as the railway does. The very symbol of rapid progress combined central innovations and materials of the first phase of industrialisation in Europe: The steam engine placed on iron wheels consumed coal and drew its load on iron and later steel rails. These rails had been rolled from wrought iron, which in turn was refined pig iron smelted in a coal-consuming blast furnace. The genesis of this new mode of transportation is traced back to the first industrial nation, namely Britain. Here, the points were switched for the path-breaking innovation of the railway for other countries as well. Hence it seems logical to discuss its coming into being in the country of origin.

2.1 England
Track dependent vehicles existed long before the locomotive was invented. The wooden tracks in German mines during the 16th century very often are considered as the forerunner of the railway. In the same century, they had been introduced to English coalmines. In the 17th century, wooden rails were also used on the surface in order to haul the coal from the mine to the river. As these wooden rails easily were damaged they increasingly were plated with iron sheets. During the last third of the 18th century, British engineers tinkered with different versions of cast iron rails. Fixed on wooden or stone sleepers, cast iron rails with a high profile and a head-like widening became very common. The wagons were still drawn by horses. Faster and cheaper than hitherto, they hauled heavy loads of coal over land. Due to the nature of cast iron the rails easily broke. The molten pig iron could be cast into the desired shape without major difficulties; the finished product was brittle, though. Not before the early 19th century, after a long process of trial and error, were English iron masters able to roll tough rails from wrought iron . Finally these wrought iron rails were rolled in a shape with a mushroom cross-section. For the Stockton-Darlington line (opened 1825) and the Liverpool-Manchester line (opened 1830) these rails were fixed with cast iron chairs on sleepers from wood or stone. Substituting the tough wrought iron rails for the brittle cast iron rails was an important precondition for the heavy steam locomotive to run on the tracks.

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Left. Black and White photo by Abbott of bridge with water flowing under it [SPEC]

The earliest visitors to Sabino Canyon are believed to be hunter-gatherers of the Clovis culture. [Guide, p.2] They hunted big game, such as bison, Columbian mammoth, and other large mammals that lived in southern Arizona when the climate was cooler and more moist. Later, as the climate changed, the Cochise culture became dominant. The Cochise hunted small game and gathered edible plants. With the climate warming and water becoming less plentiful, the mountain canyon would have been an attractive place to see food and shelter. Archaeologists believe that they have correctly identified flat grindstones, called metates, stone points and other tools left behind in Lower Sabino Canyon by these people. [Lazaroff, p.80] The Clovis hunters could have come to the canyon as early as 12000 to 15000 years ago. The Cochise were most likely visitors closer to 8000 B.C.

The Hohokam became the predominant people in this area after the Cochise. The peak of their culture occurred around 1100 AD. [Guide, p.2] We are not sure where the Hohokam came from, whether they were descendants of the Cochise, or were migrants who came to Southern Arizona from Central America. The Hohokam were farmers, known for their use of irrigation systems to maintain their crops. The Hohokam built villages along Tucson’s rivers and foothills. Archaeologists have found evidence of small dams west of the canyon. [Lazaroff, p.80-1] These check dams caught rainwater and soil. On the canyon floor there are indentations worn in the rock where the Hohokam ground beans. Hohokam pot sherds have also been found. By 1300 the population of the Tucson basin began to decrease, leading to the collapse of the Hohokam culture around AD 1450. No one is certain what caused the disappearance of this group: climatic changes, disease, social problems.

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Hanuman (Sanskrit: Hanumat; nominative singular Hanumān), known also as ‘Anjaneya’, is one of the most important personalities in the Indian epic, the Ramayana. He is a vanara who aided Lord Rama (an avatar of Vishnu) in rescuing his wife, Sita from the Rakshasa king Ravana.

Biography

Birth

Hanuman was born in the Treta Yuga, to Anjana, a female Vanara. Anjana was actually an apsara or a celestial being, named Punjiksthala, who, due to a curse, was born on the earth as a female vanara. The curse was to be removed upon her giving birth to an incarnation of Shiva. Anjana was the wife of Kesari, a strong vanara who once killed a mighty elephant that was troubling sages and hermits. He therefore got the name "Kesari", meaning lion, and is also called Kunjara Südana, the elephant killer. The combination of Vanara and the celestial give Hanuman strength, divinity and quick wits – his main characteristics.

Along with Kesari, Anjana performed intense prayers to Lord Shiva to beget Him as her Child. Pleased with their devotion, Shiva granted them the boon they sought.[1] (more…)

Het het vervoersysteem is van Indonesië gestalte gegeven over tijd door de economische middelbasis van een archipielago met duizenden eilanden, en de distributie van zijn meer dan 220 milionmensen die hoogst op één enkel eiland wordt geconcentreerd.

Alle vervoerwijzen spelen een rol in het het vervoersysteem van het land en zijn over het algemeen complementair eerder dan concurrerend. Het wegvervoer is de overheersende wijze met een totale lengte van 370.500 km in 2003. Het spoorwegsysteem heeft vier afgekoppelde netwerken in Java en Sumatra hoofdzakelijk specifiek om bulkgoederen en reizigersvervoer over lange afstand te vervoeren. Het overzeese vervoer is uiterst belangrijk voor economische integratie en voor binnenlandse en buitenlandse handel; en goed ontwikkeld, met elk van de belangrijkste eilanden die minstens één significante havenstad hebben. De rol van binnenwateren is vrij minder belangrijk en is beperkt tot bepaalde gebieden van Eastern Sumatra en Kalimantan. De functie van luchtvervoer is significant, in het bijzonder waar land of water het vervoer ontoereikend of onbestaand is; en reeds gevestigd, gebaseerd op een uitgebreid binnenlands luchtvaartlijnnetwerk waar alle belangrijke steden door passagiersvliegtuig kunnen worden bereikt.

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Archaeological studies in the 1970s: Project "Archaeology of the Ramayana Sites"

Though results were not reported in that period, between 1975 and 1985 an archaeological project was carried out in Ayodhya [a] to examine some sites that were connected to the Ramayana story. The Babri Mosque site was one of the fourteen sites examined during this project. After a gap of many years since the ecavations the BB Lal led ASI team claimed in the Rashtriya Swayam-sevak Sangh (RSS) magazine Manthan in October 1990 of having found the pillar-bases of what may have been a temple at the site which must have belonged to a larger building than the Babri Mosque.

The team of archaeologists of the ASI, led by B.B. Lal, found rows of pillar-bases which must have belonged to a larger building than the Babri Mosque.

Accordingly, archaeological findings of burnt bases of pillars made of brick, a few metres from the mosque indicated that a large temple stood in alignment with the Babri Mosque since the 11th century.[1] In a trench at a distance of four metres south of the mosque, parallel rows of pillar-foundations made of brick-bats and stones were found.[2]

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By M. S. M. Saifullah, Muhammad Ghoniem, `Abd al-Rahman Robert Squires & Mansur Ahmed

Assalamu-`alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu:

1. Introduction

In this paper, we will discuss a contentious theory on the Muslim Qiblah, or the direction of prayer, of the first mosques in the earliest period of Islamic history. A small, defiant, and largely discredited group of Orientalists have argued that the early mosques were not oriented toward Makkah, but somewhere in northern Arabia or even Jerusalem, a theory that challenges the Muslim belief that the earliest mosques were directed toward the Ka`bah. The notion that early mosques were oriented toward northern Arabia/Jerusalem insidiously suggests the possibilities that the earliest Muslims did not pray toward Makkah and that the Islamic traditon of a Qiblah facing Ka`bah was a later development, hidden from history by some sort of a conspiracy. The divisive appeal behind such a theory is rather obvious when we consider that it has been chiefly propagated by such polemical orientalists as Patricia Crone and Michael Cook. Dutifully parroting this theory is an amateur Joseph Smith, an assiduous Christian missionary whose anti-Islamic propaganda is largely restricted to the internet. (more…)

By M. S. M. Saifullah & Muhammad Ghoniem

Assalamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu:

1. Introduction

The Shi`ite historian al-Ya`qubi writing in his Tarikh made an interesting allegation that the Umayyad caliph `Abd al-Malik built Dome of the Rock to divert the Hajj from Makkah to Jerusalem to outdo his rival `Abdullah b. al-Zubayr. He said:

`Abd al-Malik prevented the people of Sham from the hajj and this is because Ibn al-Zubayr was taking the pledge of allegience from the pilgrims. When `Abd al-Malik had found out about this, he prevented them from setting out to Makkah. But the people protested and said: "Do you prevent us from doing the pilgrimage to the Sacred House of Allah while it is a duty from Allah upon us ?" He said: "Here is Ibn Shihabuddin al-Zuhri narrating to you that the Messenger of Allah said: "The caravans should not be set out except for three mosques, the Sacred Mosque, my present Mosque and the Mosque of Jerusalem" [which] stands for the Sacred Mosque for you. And here is the Rock on [which] it is narrated that the Prophet set his foot before ascending to the heavens, it stands for the Ka`bah. Then he built a Dome on the Rock, suspended silk curtains on it and appointed servants for it. And told the people to revolve around it like they revolve around the Ka`bah and so it was during the rule of Bani Umayyah.[1]

In the passage of his Muhammedanische Studien, Goldziher puts forward in detail the theory that Umayyad caliph `Abd al-Malik, by erecting the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, intended to outsmart his rival `Abdallah b. al-Zubayr, who exploited the holiness of Makkah, his capital, for his own political ends. Using al-Ya`qubi’s material Goldziher wrote: (more…)

[Before AD100] PRE-FUNAN TIMES:

PEOPLES OF INDO-CHINA:
At the end of the ice age (c. 12,000BC) the Indo-Chinese region is firstly inhabited by Australoid peoples. The land bridges between Malaya, the Indonesian islands and Australia are submerged. Various population groups migrate through southeast Asia. The Mon-Khmer people gradually settle in the lands which later become the kingdoms of Funan and Chenla and they become the dominant tribes in the area.

VARIOUS POPULATION GROUPS MIGRATE TO SOUTH EAST ASIA:
The first type of population group to migrate through south east Asia were the Melanesian people. They were followed by two types of Indonesian peoples who migrated to the Indo-Chinese region. The second type of Indonesians were related to the Mongol people as well as to the Japanese.

The tribes who dominated the region during the last two millennia were all descended from these original immigrants. The Cham, Malays and Javanese were related to the Mongol-like Indonesians. The Thai and Vietnamese had a similar ancestry and bore more resemblance to the Mongol peoples. The Mon-Khmer people were thought to be a mixture of the Mongol and Melanesian peoples.

THE MON-KHMERS BECOME THE DOMINANT POLITICAL LEADERS:
The Mon-Khmers eventually became the dominant political leaders in the lands which later became Funan and Chenla. There is very little knowledge of Cambodian prehistory. It is believed that small farming settlements existed next to rivers and lakes. Rearing domestic animals and hunting with bows and arrows took place. (more…)

Aerial view of Angkor Wat

The main entrance to the temple proper, seen from the eastern end of the Naga causeway

Angkor Wat (or Angkor Vat) is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. The largest and best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre — first Hindu, dedicated to Vishnu, then Buddhist — since its foundation. The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country’s prime attraction for visitors.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temples. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the gods in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 km (2.2 miles) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. As well as for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, the temple is admired for its extensive bas-reliefs and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls. (more…)

From Sara Naumann

Introduction

When one thinks of China, two images come to mind. One is the Giant Panda and the other is the Great Wall. Any visit to China would not be complete without a trip to see the colossal structure that symbolizes China’s long and embattled history.

What is the Great Wall?

It is commonly thought that the Great Wall is one long wall that runs along the mountains north of Beijing. In fact, the Great Wall winds its way across China covering over 4,000 miles (6,700km) and is made up of a number of interconnecting walls spanning China that different dynasties and warlords constructed over the years. The Great Wall that we think of is the Ming wall, constructed after 1368 but the "Great Wall" refers to the many sections of wall that were built over 2,000 years. (more…)

The history of China is told in traditional historical records that refer as far back as the Three sovereigns and five emperors about 5,000 years ago, supplemented by archaeological records dating to the 16th century BC. China is one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations. Turtle shells with markings reminiscent of ancient Chinese writing from the Shang Dynasty have been carbon dated to around 1500 BC. Chinese civilization originated with city-states in the Yellow River valley. 221 BC is the commonly accepted year when China became unified under a large kingdom or empire. Successive dynasties in Chinese history developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the Emperor of China to control the large territory.

The foundations of Chinese as an united country were the Qin Dynasty Emperor’s imposition of a common system of writing in the 3rd century BC and the development of a state ideology based on Confucianism in the 2nd century BC. China alternated between periods of political unity and disunity, with occasionally conquests by foreign peoples, most of whom were assimilated into the Chinese population. Cultural and political influences from many parts of Asia, carried by successive waves of immigration, expansion, and assimilation, merged to create Chinese culture. (more…)

Pillage of archaeological sites and smuggling of cultural artifacts in China has become rampant in recent years despite the law enforcement efforts of the Chinese government. Artifact smuggling is a major threat to the protection of Chinese and world cultural heritage. To address this problem, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, on behalf of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, is making a request to the Government of the United States for assistance under Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention.

Cultural History and Archaeology of China

Prehistoric Period

Human history in China extends back at least 1.7 million years. Early hominid remains such as Yuanmou Homo erectus and Beijing Homo erectus mark China as one of the most important regions in the world for the study of early man. At least 1000 archaeological sites mark the Paleolithic (150,000-10,000 B.C.) throughout the country. Stone choppers and other tools are found in the early part of the period. By the late Paleolithic, many fine stone tools like needles, scrapers, and blades became popular. Finely crafted bone and horn needles and beads testify to the high level of craftsmanship during the period.

The Neolithic Period (Early, Middle, and Late) lasted from 10,000 B.C. to 2100 B.C. Pottery production is the most important aspect of material culture. It is found as early as 10,000 years ago at sites in Jiangxi Province and Hebei Province, making China an important source of study for the origin of this craft. Important early cultures include Yangshao and Majiayao. In the late period, pottery is usually dark grey in many varied shapes and purposes. By the end of the period, pottery from the Longshan culture demonstrates a highly-developed technology and command of form. Examples of this pottery are exquisite in shape, uniformly jet-black, highly polished and egg-shell thin. (more…)