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Unearthed! Summer 2023, Part 1
Stuff You Missed in History Class
The Benin Bronzes
Baltow's DNA was collected from his preserved remains, which are on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Research published in plus one in April looked at where the metal used to create some of these pieces may have come from. Geochemical analysis identified one source as brass mined in Germany. This was likely introduced to West Africa as brass rings that were known as manillas during the transatlantic slave trade.
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Transcript
Episode notes
This installation of literally and figuratively unearthed items includes updates to previous podcast topics, edibles and potables, shipwrecks, and some surprises -- including items that turned out to be surprisingly valuable.
Research:
- “Archaeologists unearth 4,000-year-old ‘Stonehenge of the Netherlands’.” The Guardian. 6/21/2023. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/21/archaeologists-unearth-stonehenge-netherlands
- Alberge, Dalya. “’ Startling’ new evidence reveals gladiators fought in Roman Britain.” The Guardian. 3/4/2023. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/mar/04/evidence-reveals-gladiators-fought-in-roman-britain
- Anderson, Abigail et al. “The Myth of Man the Hunter: Women’s contribution to the hunt across ethnographic contexts.” PLOS One. 6/28/2023. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0287101
- “Norse Greenlanders found to have imported timber from North America.” Phys.org. 4/18/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-norse-greenlanders-imported-timber-north.html
- “Olmec Sculpture Will Return to Mexico.” 4/4/2023. https://www.archaeology.org/news/11325-230404-mexico-repatriation-olmec
- ArtNet News. “A Roman-Era Vase, Once Considered a Cremation Vessel, Turns Out to Be an Early Form of Sports Memorabilia for a Gladiator Fan.” 4/13/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/colchester-vase-sports-memorabilia-2270088
- Artnet News. “A Woman Bought Four Ceramic Plates at a Salvation Army for $8. They Turned Out to Be Original Picassos and Worth Over $40,000.” 5/17/2023. https://news.artnet.com/market/salvation-army-picasso-plates-2303661
- Associated Press. “A Hebrew Bible that is 1,100 years old sells for $38 million at an auction.” 5/18/2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/18/1176805209/a-hebrew-bible-that-is-1-100-years-old-sells-for-38-million-at-an-auction
- Associated Press. “Italy returns ancient stele, illegally exported, to Turkey.” 4/28/2023. https://apnews.com/article/italy-turkey-archaeology-stele-ancient-greece-6fd526892963aa5b0e240289c4d222f7
- Benzine, Vittoria. “An 8-Year-Old Schoolgirl Found a Rare Stone-Age Dagger on a Playground in Norway.” Artnet. 5/17/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/an-8-year-old-schoolgirl-found-a-rare-stone-age-dagger-on-a-playground-in-norway-2302958
- Blondel, Francois et al. “Mummy Labels: A Witness to the Use and Processing of Wood in Roman Egypt.” International Journal of Wood Culture. https://brill.com/view/journals/ijwc/3/1-3/article-p192_10.xml
- Borreggine, Marisa, Sea-level rise in Southwest Greenland as a contributor to Viking abandonment, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2209615120.
- Brockell, Gillian. “MLK’s Famous Criticism of Malcolm X was a ‘Fraud’, Author Finds.” 5/10/2023. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2023/05/10/mlk-malcolm-x-playboy-alex-haley/
- Chow, Vivienne. “Nigeria Has Transferred Ownership of the Benin Bronzes to Its Royal Leader, Creating a ‘Better Environment’ for Future Restitution.” Artnet. 4/27/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/benin-bronze-oba-ownership-2291586
- Chun, Alex. “Bought for $6,000, Grime-Covered Windows Are Actually Tiffany—and Worth Up to $250,000 Each.” Smithsonian. 5/17/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tiffany-glass-windows-philadelphia-180982193/
- Dafoe, Taylor. “An Ancient Roman Bust Purchased for $35 at a Texas Thrift Store Is Now Being Repatriated to Germany.” Artnet. 4/18/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ancient-roman-bust-texas-goodwill-repatriation-germany-2287242
- Dafoe, Taylor. “Austria Will Return Two Small Parthenon Marbles to Greece. Officials Hope the Move Will Encourage Britain to Follow Suit.” Artnet. 5/3/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/austria-reptriates-two-small-parthenon-marbles-to-greece-2294596
- Dafoe, Taylor. “Japan Has Repatriated a Nazi-Looted Baroque Painting to Poland After Authorities Yanked It From a Tokyo Auction Block.” 6/2/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/japan-repatriated-looted-baroque-painting-poland-2313856
- Dafoe, Taylor. “Stolen Ancient Tomb Carvings Sat in Storage at the Met Museum for Decades. Now, They’ve Been Returned to China.” Artnet. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/stolen-ancient-tomb-carvings-storage-met-repatriated-2299182
- Dzirutwe, Macdonald. “Return of Benin Bronzes delayed after Nigerian president's decree.” Reuters. 5/10/2023. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/return-benin-bronzes-delayed-after-nigerian-presidents-decree-2023-05-10/
- Fine Books & Collections. “Thomas Cromwell’s Holbein Portrait Book of Hours Discovered.” 6/8/2023. https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-news/thomas-cromwells-holbein-portrait-book-hours-discovered
- Foody, Kathleen. “Michigan researchers find 1914 shipwrecks in Lake Superior.” Associated Press. 4/12/2023. https://apnews.com/article/lake-superior-shipwrecks-1914-2e0b4a2a8b5c2ebae589c964cadfe7c9
- Global Times. “2,000-year-old traditional rice dumpling Zongzi unearthed in C.China’s Henan, being oldest excavated.” 6/24/2023. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202306/1293063.shtml
- “Medieval cannon turns up in garden rockery – and it could blow up bidding at auction.” 6/13/2023. https://hansonsauctioneers.co.uk/medieval-cannon-turns-up-in-garden-rockery-and-it-could-blow-up-bidding-at-auction/
- Heritage Daily. “Etruscan Tomb Discovered in Ruins of Ancient Vulci.” https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/04/etruscan-tomb-discovered-in-ruins-of-ancient-vulci/146815
- Higgins, Charlotte. “Lavish ancient Roman winery found at ruins of Villa of the Quintilii near Rome.” The Guardian. 4/17/2023. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/17/ancient-roman-winery-found-ruins-villa-of-quintilii-rome
- Hokkaido University. “Chicken breeding in Japan dates back to fourth century BCE.” Phys.org. 4/20/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-chicken-japan-dates-fourth-century.html
- Jarus, Owen. “1st-century Buddha statue from ancient Egypt indicates Buddhists lived there in Roman times.” Live Science. 5/2/2023. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/ancient-egyptians/1st-century-buddha-statue-from-ancient-egypt-indicates-buddhists-lived-there-in-roman-times
- Kent State University. “Despite the dangers, early humans risked life-threatening flintknapping injuries.” Phys.org. 5/25/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-dangers-early-humans-life-threatening-flintknapping.html
- Killgrove, Kristina. “Ancient 'urine flasks' for smelling (and tasting) pee uncovered in trash dump at Caesar's forum in Rome.” LiveScience. 5/1/2023. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/ancient-urine-flasks-for-smelling-and-tasting-pee-uncovered-in-trash-dump-at-caesars-forum-in-rome
- Kuta, Sarah. “Ancient DNA Reveals Who Wore This 20,000-Year-Old Pendant.” Smithsonian Magazine. 5/8/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-dna-pendant-new-research-180982129/
- Kuta, Sarah. “Divers Are About to Pull a 3,000-Year-Old Shipwreck From the Depths.” 6/16/2013. Smithsonian. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/handsewn-shipwreck-recovered-180982389/
- Kuta, Sarah. “Lost for 50 Years, Mysterious Australian Shipwreck Has Finally Been Found.” Smithsonian. 5/31/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/blythe-star-shipwreck-found-180982269/
- Kuta, Sarah. “Searchers Find WWII Ship That Sank With More Than 1,000 Allied POWs Aboard.” Smithsonian. 4/26/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/searchers-find-ss-montevideo-maru-180982053/
- Langley, Michelle. “Who owned this Stone Age jewellery? New forensic tools offer an unprecedented answer.” Phys.org. 5/6/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-stone-age-jewellery-forensic-tools.html
- Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “A BBC True Crime Podcast Is Asking Museums for Help Locating a Murder Victim’s Remains to Solve a Cold Case.” Artnet. 5/4/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/true-crime-podcasters-invite-museums-solve-cold-case-2295029
- Luzer, Daniel. “German researchers figure out how lager first developed in Bavaria.” EurekAlert. 4/27/2023. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/987496
- Manhattan District Attorney. “D.A. Bragg Announces Three Antiquities Repatriated to Yemen.” 4/28/2023. https://manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-announces-three-antiquities-repatriated-to-yemen/
- Martin, Samantha. “New insight into the mystery of ancient Gaza wine.”EurekAlert. 4/26/2023. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/987388
- McCaffrey, Kate. “A Book Fit for Two Queens.” The Morgan Library & Musuem. 5/28/2021. https://www.themorgan.org/blog/book-fit-two-queens
- Metcalfe, Tom. “1,000-year-old wall in Peru was built to protect against El Niño floods, research suggests.” LiveScience. 6/26/2023. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/1000-year-old-wall-in-peru-was-built-to-protect-against-el-nino-floods-research-suggests
- Metcalfe, Tom. “2,300-year-old Buddhist elephant statue from India is one of the oldest known.” LiveScience. 6/6/2023. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/2300-year-old-buddhist-elephant-statue-from-india-is-one-of-the-oldest-known
- Metcalfe, Tom. “Ancient Romans sacrificed birds to the goddess Isis, burnt bones in Pompeii reveal.” LiveScience. 5/16/2023. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/ancient-romans-sacrificed-birds-to-the-goddess-isis-burnt-bones-in-pompeii-reveal
- Metcalfe, Tom. “Top-secret special-ops submarine from World War II discovered after 20-year search.” LiveScience. 6/13/2023. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/top-secret-special-ops-submarine-from-world-war-ii-discovered-after-20-year-search
- Mexico News Daily. “Rare statue of Mayan god K’awiil discovered on Maya Train route.” 4/28/2023. https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/rare-statue-mayan-god-kawiil-found-maya-train/
- Moon, Katherine L. et al. “Comparative genomics of Balto, a famous historic dog, captures lost diversity of 1920s sled dogs.” Science. 4/28/2023. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn5887?adobe_mc=MCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1682688995
- Nalewicki, Jennifer. “12,000-year-old flutes carved of bone are some of the oldest in the world and sound like birds of prey.” Live Science. June 9, 2023. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/12000-year-old-flutes-carved-of-bone-are-some-of-the-oldest-in-the-world-and-sound-like-birds-of-prey
- National Park Service. “National Park archeologists find remains of an underwater hospital and cemetery at Dry Tortugas.” 5/1/2023. https://www.nps.gov/drto/learn/news/underwater-hospital-and-cemetery.htm
- Niazi, Asaad and Guillaume Decamme. “Iraq's ancient treasures sand-blasted by climate change.” 4/16/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-iraq-ancient-treasures-sand-blasted-climate.html
- Niccum, Jon. “Puzzling rings may be finger loops from prehistoric weapon systems, research finds.” Phys.org. 5/24/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-puzzling-finger-loops-prehistoric-weapon.html
- Nowakowski, Teresa. “Archaeologists Find 3,000-Year-Old Sword So Well Preserved It ‘Almost Still Shines’.” Smithsonian. 6/21/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/bronze-age-sword-germany-180982399/
- Nowakowski, Teresa. “Germany Returns Sacred Wooden Masks to Colombia.” 6/23/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/germany-sacred-masks-colombia-180982419/
- Nowakowski, Teresa. “Small Dog Wearing Red Bow Found Hidden in Picasso Painting.” Smithsonian. 5/18/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/picasso-small-dog-discovered-180982198/
- Nowakowski, Teresa. “Van Gogh Painting Gets a New Name Thanks to an Eagle-Eyed Chef.” Smithsonian. 5/11/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/van-gogh-red-cabbages-onions-garlic-180982155/
- Parker, Christopher. “Buckingham Palace Refuses to Repatriate Remains of Ethiopian Prince.” Smithsonian. 5/25/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/prince-dejatch-alemayehu-ethiopia-england-repatriation-180982239/
- Parker, Christopher. “Eight-Year-Old Norwegian Girl Discovers Neolithic Dagger at School Playground.” Smithsonian. 5/11/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-schoolgirl-in-norway-found-a-3700-year-old-dagger-buried-at-her-schoo-180982163/
- Paterson, Alistair et al. “The Unlucky Voyage: Batavia’s (1629) Landscape of Survival on the Houtman Abrolhos Islands in Western Australia.” Historical Archaeology. 5/4/2023. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41636-023-00396-1
- Platt, Tevah. “Digesta: An overlooked source of Ice Age carbs.” University of Michigan. 4/24/2023. https://news.umich.edu/digesta-an-overlooked-source-of-ice-age-carbs/
- Py-Lieberman, Beth. “The Smithsonian’s Historic Carousel Undergoes Restoration.” Smithsonian. 5/5/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/smithsonian-historic-carousel-undergoes-restoration-14274606/
- “Spain to begin exhumation of 128 Civil War victims from burial complex, el Pais reports.” 6/11/2023. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-begin-exhumation-128-civil-war-victims-burial-complex-media-2023-06-11/
- Shahar, Noga. “Genetic link between two modern varieties of red and white grapes and grape varieties cultivated over 1100 years ago.” EurekAlert. 5/3/2023. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/988090
- Skowronek, Tobias B. et al. “German brass for Benin Bronzes: Geochemical analysis insights into the early Atlantic trade.” PLOS One. 4/5/2013. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0283415
- Solon, Zach. “Ancient Native American canoe brought to surface from beneath Lake Waccamaw.” WECT. 4/12/2023. https://www.wect.com/2023/04/12/ancient-native-american-canoe-brought-surface-beneath-lake-waccamaw/?fbclid=IwAR0dMNcSQQPDCdKMbM-VHU6HIxEraYZLX0yqGkWHeOlEhvtz0Bpq4DwYnl0
- Sullivan, Will. “Humans May Have Eaten Giant Snails 170,000 Years Ago.” Smithsonian. 4/5/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/humans-may-have-eaten-giant-snails-170000-years-ago-180981929/
- Swiss National Science Foundation. “Mummies provide the key to reconstruct the climate of the ancient Mediterranean.” Phys.org. 4/4/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-mummies-key-reconstruct-climate-ancient.html
- Szotek, Andrzej. “New discoveries in Old Dongola. Protection for Tungul: new, unique wall paintings discovered in Old Dongola, Sudan.” University of Warsaw. 4/5/2023. https://pcma.uw.edu.pl/en/2023/04/05/new-discoveries-in-old-dongola-protection-for-tungul-new-unique-wall-paintings-discovered-in-old-dongola-sudan/
- The History Blog. “1,000-year-old Native American canoe raised.” 4/19/2023. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/67045
- The History Blog. “1st c. surgeon buried with his tools found in Hungary.” 4/27/2023. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/67108
- The History Blog. “Intact Etruscan tomb with last meal found in Vulci.” 4/8/2023. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/66946
- The History Blog. “Ming Dynasty shipwrecks laden with porcelain, wood found in South China Sea.” 5/24/2023. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/67334
- The History Blog. “Neolithic ritual axe with tiger engraving found in China.” Via JSTOR. 4/5/2023. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/66918
- “The National Museum of Denmark to Donate Rare Feather Cape to Brazil.” 6/27/2023. https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelelse/the-national-museum-of-denmark-to-donate-rare-feather-cape-to-brazil?publisherId=13560791&releaseId=13700505&lang=en
- University of Cambridge. “Unique 'bawdy bard' act discovered, revealing 15th-century roots of British comedy.” Phys.org. 5/30/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-unique-bawdy-bard-revealing-15th-century.html
- Whiddington, Richard. “Archaeologists Digging in the Deserts of Oman Have Discovered a Mysterious Monument They’re Calling ‘Arabian Stonehenge’.” Artnet. 5/5/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/archaeologists-digging-in-the-deserts-of-oman-have-discovered-a-mysterious-monument-theyre-calling-arabian-stonehenge-2291997
- Zdziebłowski, Szymon. “Armenia/ Large amounts of flour residue discovered in 3,000 years old building.” Science in Poland. 5/21/2023. https://scienceinpoland.pl/en/news/news%2C96541%2Carmenia-large-amounts-flour-residue-discovered-3000-years-old-building.html
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