Journal of Global Archaeology

Routes of interaction across northern central Tigray (Ethiopia) between 2nd and 1st millennium BCE

2023-08-09T08:08:19+00:00

We present the results of geographic-archaeological surveys and soundings that have been carried out in the Rama area of northern central Tigray between 2018 and 2019. This area so far received little attention despite its possible connecting function between the prominent pre-Aksumite sites of Yeha and its surroundings in Tigray and, e.g., the Sudanese Gash and Middle Nile regions. The special geographical setting and promising initial finds provided the base to investigate into forms of mobility and routes of interaction between the highland cultures of the northern Horn of Africa and the cultures of the middle Nile River, the northeastern Sudanese Gash Delta as well as parts of Egypt, especially between the 2nd and early 1st millennium BCE.

A Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus from an Uyghur well in Karabalgasun (Ordu-Baliq), Central Mongolia

2023-08-09T08:17:56+00:00

A partial skeleton of a female Gyrfalcon, dated at 1044–1214 AD, was excavated in an abandoned well in Karabalgasun, Central Mongolia. Karabalgasun lies in the Orkhon Valley, a landscape of special symbolic, political and spiritual significance in the age of the Turk, Uyghur and Mongol empires. The falcon was interred during the reign of the Khitan (Liao) dynasty. The vertebral ribs show healed fractures, a sign that the bird was nursed in captivity. For falconry was an important element at the imperial court, the presence of the Gyrfalcon indicates the importance of the Orkhon Valley as a place of annual hunting rituals and as a sacred landscape during the reign of the Liao dynasty. The lack of wings, tail and clawed feet of the falcon carcass points towards a post-mortem decorative or ritual use of these body parts. Since Gyrfalcons do not naturally occur in Mongolia, this individual bird may have been a particular symbol of status.

Kauṇḍinya in Southeast Asia revisited

2023-06-12T13:50:41+00:00

This paper revises earlier interpretations of the history of the figure of Kauṇḍinya and his spouse Somā in South-east Asia. While it was assumed so far – also by the author of this contribution – that the Kauṇḍinya mentioned in the inscription C. 96 was a figure from mythical ages, in this contribution a different reading of the sources is proposed. It is argued, that the inscription relates the pair in question to Bhavapura, the capital of Bhavavarman I and that chronologically, they must have been contemporaries of Īśānavarman (the king who ruled between ca. 616 to ca. 637 in Northern Cambodia) as it was their son Candravarman who was married to the granddaughter of the latter. The occurrence of the name Kauṇḍinya in other historical contexts is also examined in detail, highlighting the need for a more critical reading of the sources.

A Khmer Temple on Khon Island in South Laos

2023-06-27T12:20:21+00:00

The remains of a small Khmer temple hidden within the compound of Wat Ban Khon Tai on Don Khon in South Laos were thoroughly investigated. Although these remains are in a poor state of preservation, the archaeological evaluation together with the special geographical situation at the Mekong cataract waterfall could indicate the former existence of a multi-towered temple or even a quincunx. The true quincunx is an exception in Khmer architecture and was essentially reserved for a small number of large monuments at Angkor. Beyond Angkor it occurs only at a few other sites of the Khmer empire but of more modest dimensions. The arrangement of five towers mirrors not only the Indian cosmogony focused on Mount Meru but also the pañcāyatana concept. Together with the stepped pyramid of indigenous origin the Khmer finally created an amalgam of Indian and local architectural perceptions culminating in the state temple-mountains of Angkor.

Automated analysis of pottery by QEM-EDS

2023-03-30T06:20:41+00:00

The analysis of raw materials and manufacturing techniques is central to the investigation of pottery assemblages. While various analytical techniques exists, petrography generally remains the go-to method to analyse the fabric of pottery. It combines relatively cheap and simple sample preparation protocol with the ability to yield very detailed information related to provenance and manufacturing technique. Here, we test the utility of performing QEM-EDS on archaeological pottery from the Mansiri site, Sulawesi, to complement petrographic observations. We identify the main non-plastic inclusions as plagioclase, quartz, calcic amphibole, iron oxides and volcanic rock fragments, consistent with the pottery being made locally. Quantitative analysis of inclusion size and direction suggests that the non-plastic inclusions were not manually added, and that in contrast to other Neolithic Sulawesi sites, coiling with beating/paddle and anvil was used to manufacture the pots.

Occupation money

2023-02-22T14:13:25+00:00

An 11^th century coin hoard of almost 7,000 Æ kācu (all of the same type) struck in the name of the South Indian sovereign Rājarāja I Coḷa and discovered on the west coast of Śrī Laṅkā has been examined thoroughly by the author. Numismatic issues as well as those of monetary and political history are touched. Based on the new numismatic evidence and on the critical evaluation of already published material the results of the investigation are in several parts contradictory to the communis opinio. So, for example, the disputed crucial question for the mint and the minting authority can now be answered definitely in favour of Rājarāja I Coḷa alone and South Indian Tañjāvūr; and the sheer mass of well-preserved coins allows sound metrological calculations. Observed die-links touch the monetary history of the two countries involved especially the monetisation of the island by the South Indian occupying power holding sway over a large part of the island for c. 70 years. Finally, the hoard is contextualised with the two, perhaps three only cursory reported finds of the same kind from Śrī Laṅkā in order to shed some more light on the events in the course of the upheaval and final expulsion of the South Indian occupants in AD 1070. As “discards” the change over from the South Indian occupation money to the first original Śrī Laṅkān coinage initiated by Vijayabāhu I, AD 1055–1111 is outlined. An elaborate appendix lists all reported Rājarāja I Coḷa coins discovered in Śrī Laṅkā, published and from the private Biddell documents.

A neighbor of Gonoa

2022-11-24T09:59:39+00:00

This article presents the rock art site of Bunige in northern Tibesti (Republic of Chad). Bunige is located barely ten kilometers from the rock art site of Gonoa and, except for a short mention in a French article from 1966, does not seem to have been explored in any detail. In addition to engravings of cattle, wild animals, and round devices, there is an almost man-sized depiction of an archer. Such large depictions of humans are very rare in the Tibesti, which makes this ‘Man of Bunige’ in close proximity to the famous ‘Man of Gonoa’ all the more significant. For this reason, the present article describes the rock art site of Bunige in detail. Assuming that the ‘Man of Bunige’ represents a hunter, particular attention will be payed to representations of game and traps at this site. In fact, Bunige, due to its abundance of water, may have attracted wild animals and therefore may have been of particular interest to hunters.