Archaeology
A Study Of Ancient Mesopotamian Foundations
This study focuses on a particular aspect of Ancient Mesopotamian architecture: the foundations of buildings and walls. The purpose is to delineate the kinds of foundations the Ancient Mesopotamians used and to try to discern the practical--and perhaps also the conceptual--reasons for building them. The method followed is to examine the archaeological evidence from the Neolothic (ca. seventh millennium) through the Early Dynastic period (Part I); and then to study the occurrences of nine Sumerian words in texts from the Early Dynastic through the Old Babylonian period (Part II). The Sumerian words are im-dub-ba, temen, ur, us/uru, ki-sa, dub-la, ki-gal and suhus.
Scythian Treasures (video)
The Pectoral is one of the most famous finds in the history of Ukrainian archaeology. It is believed to have once graced the breast of a Scythian king. Every figure, every tiny detail, every curvature of this superb piece of ancient craftsmanship bears witness to the vivid imagination and great skill of its creator. It is an outstanding work of art indeed, created twenty five hundred years ago.
Nomads of the Eurasian Steppes in the Early Iron Age
This anthology focuses on the Scythian, Sauromatian, Sarmatian, and Saka Iron Age nomads who inhabited the Eurasian steppes in the first millennium BC. Written by ten of the foremost archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, the material presents a survey of archaeology of nomadic burials from 1960 to1990. The majority of the material, including many illustrations, has never been published in English before this volume.
Ancient Egyptian grain-based pregnancy test
The earliest recorded pregnancy test has been found by archaeologists examining ancient Egyptian medical training documents using barley and wheat grains/seeds. The test dates from around 1350 B.C.E. Archaeologists found a hieroglyphic document that when translated described how to find out whether someone is pregnant. The woman who thinks she may be pregnant urinates on wheat and barley whole grains/seeds.
Late prehistoric exploitation of the Eurasian steppe
The authors present their individual current research examining the use of steppe lands and the impact of their populations upon each other. Using archaeological evidence from previous excavations, the authors address topics that have for decades confronted and confused archaeological interpretations of the Eurasian steppes. Foremost under consideration are assumptions concerning the domestication of the horse, the realities of warrior invasions from the east, and the emergence of a true mobile pastoralism.
Kurgans, Ritual Sites, and Settlements
This richly illustrated volume will add immensely to the small, yet growing, corpus of Eurasian Archaeology published in the English language. Comprised of thirty articles, the authors have focused on the Bronze Age beginning in the third millennium BC to ca., continuing to include the first millennium BC Early Iron Age, with a terminus of ca. AD 500. The geographic range extends from the far western great Hungarian plains, north to Fennoscandia and its relationship with Siberia, south to include northern Afghanistan and the Kalmyk steppes, and east to the Altai Mountains in western Mongolia.