Aug 4, 2019 07:27 PM
Who were the mysterious Neolithic people that enabled the rise of ancient Egypt? Here's what we've learned on our digs
https://theconversation.com/who-were-the...igs-121070
EXCERPT: To many, ancient Egypt is [...] the Dynastic period starting about 3,100BC. Yet long before that, about 9,300-4,000BC, enigmatic Neolithic peoples flourished. Indeed, it was the lifestyles and cultural innovations of these peoples that provided the very foundation for the advanced civilisations to come. But who were they? As it turns out, they haven’t actually been studied much, at least relative to their successors. But our excavations of six burial sites – with some of the analyses recently published – have now provided important insights into their mysterious ways of life.
One reason why we know so little about Neolithic Egypt is that the sites are often inaccessible, lying beneath the Nile’s former flood plain or in outlying deserts. With permission from Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) we – members of the Combined Prehistoric Expedition – explore Neolithic sites in Egypt’s western desert. The sites we are currently excavating lie along the former shores of an extinct seasonal lake near a place called Gebel Ramlah.
[...] The graves were full of artefacts ... pottery ... jewellery ... also elaborate cosmetic tools for women and stone weapons for men. [...] We learned that these people enjoyed low childhood mortality, tall stature and long life. Men averaged 170cm, while women were about 160cm. Most men and women lived beyond 40 years, with some into their 50s – a long time in those days.
Strangely, in 2009-2016, we dug two more cemeteries that were very different. After analysing another 130 skeletons, we discovered that few artefacts accompanied them, and that they suffered from higher childhood mortality as well as shorter lives and stature. We’re talking several centimetres shorter and perhaps ten years younger for adults of both sexes. Astonishingly, the largest of these two cemeteries had a separate burial area for children under three years of age, but mostly infants including late-term foetuses. Three women buried with infants were also found, so perhaps they died in childbirth. In fact, this is the world’s earliest known infant cemetery. [...] why were there such differences between the two grave sites? ... perhaps they imply variation by status – with one graveyard being for the elite and the other for workers. This is the earliest such evidence in Egypt.
[...] The overall sex ratio across all cemeteries is three women to each man, which may indicate polygamy. However [...evidence suggests...] these were extended family cemeteries. We also believe that attainment of “personhood” – the age children are socialised into being “people” – was from three years, given their inclusion in adult cemeteries. [...] These behavioural indicators, together with the seemingly innovative technological and ceremonial architecture mentioned earlier, such as the calendar circles and shrines, imply a level of sophistication well beyond that of simple herders. Taken together, the findings provide a glimpse of things yet to come in Ancient Egypt. (MORE - details)
5 Famous People Whose Entire Personality Was An Act
https://www.cracked.com/article_26485_5-...s-act.html
INTRO: A lot of actors become famous for seemingly "playing themselves." Christopher Walken may go by many names in his films, but in every universe, he's definitely still Christopher Walken. But how authentic are these personae to their true personalities? Way more celebrities than you may think have turned their existences into lifelong performances that'd make Andy Kaufman envious. Everything you know about your favorite singer, actor, or comedian could well be the very opposite of the truth. And you might prefer it that way. (MORE - details)
INCLUDES:
(5) John Wayne Was Overcompensating For Avoiding Service In WWII
(4) Robert Frost Was Insecure And Insanely Vindictive
(3) Joe Strummer Was An Insincere, Privileged Snob
(2) Humphrey Bogart's "Tough Guy" Persona Was Constructed By Warner Bros.
(1) America's Friendliest Talk Show Host (Johnny Carson) Was A Miserable SOB Who Hated Everybody
https://theconversation.com/who-were-the...igs-121070
EXCERPT: To many, ancient Egypt is [...] the Dynastic period starting about 3,100BC. Yet long before that, about 9,300-4,000BC, enigmatic Neolithic peoples flourished. Indeed, it was the lifestyles and cultural innovations of these peoples that provided the very foundation for the advanced civilisations to come. But who were they? As it turns out, they haven’t actually been studied much, at least relative to their successors. But our excavations of six burial sites – with some of the analyses recently published – have now provided important insights into their mysterious ways of life.
One reason why we know so little about Neolithic Egypt is that the sites are often inaccessible, lying beneath the Nile’s former flood plain or in outlying deserts. With permission from Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) we – members of the Combined Prehistoric Expedition – explore Neolithic sites in Egypt’s western desert. The sites we are currently excavating lie along the former shores of an extinct seasonal lake near a place called Gebel Ramlah.
[...] The graves were full of artefacts ... pottery ... jewellery ... also elaborate cosmetic tools for women and stone weapons for men. [...] We learned that these people enjoyed low childhood mortality, tall stature and long life. Men averaged 170cm, while women were about 160cm. Most men and women lived beyond 40 years, with some into their 50s – a long time in those days.
Strangely, in 2009-2016, we dug two more cemeteries that were very different. After analysing another 130 skeletons, we discovered that few artefacts accompanied them, and that they suffered from higher childhood mortality as well as shorter lives and stature. We’re talking several centimetres shorter and perhaps ten years younger for adults of both sexes. Astonishingly, the largest of these two cemeteries had a separate burial area for children under three years of age, but mostly infants including late-term foetuses. Three women buried with infants were also found, so perhaps they died in childbirth. In fact, this is the world’s earliest known infant cemetery. [...] why were there such differences between the two grave sites? ... perhaps they imply variation by status – with one graveyard being for the elite and the other for workers. This is the earliest such evidence in Egypt.
[...] The overall sex ratio across all cemeteries is three women to each man, which may indicate polygamy. However [...evidence suggests...] these were extended family cemeteries. We also believe that attainment of “personhood” – the age children are socialised into being “people” – was from three years, given their inclusion in adult cemeteries. [...] These behavioural indicators, together with the seemingly innovative technological and ceremonial architecture mentioned earlier, such as the calendar circles and shrines, imply a level of sophistication well beyond that of simple herders. Taken together, the findings provide a glimpse of things yet to come in Ancient Egypt. (MORE - details)
5 Famous People Whose Entire Personality Was An Act
https://www.cracked.com/article_26485_5-...s-act.html
INTRO: A lot of actors become famous for seemingly "playing themselves." Christopher Walken may go by many names in his films, but in every universe, he's definitely still Christopher Walken. But how authentic are these personae to their true personalities? Way more celebrities than you may think have turned their existences into lifelong performances that'd make Andy Kaufman envious. Everything you know about your favorite singer, actor, or comedian could well be the very opposite of the truth. And you might prefer it that way. (MORE - details)
INCLUDES:
(5) John Wayne Was Overcompensating For Avoiding Service In WWII
(4) Robert Frost Was Insecure And Insanely Vindictive
(3) Joe Strummer Was An Insincere, Privileged Snob
(2) Humphrey Bogart's "Tough Guy" Persona Was Constructed By Warner Bros.
(1) America's Friendliest Talk Show Host (Johnny Carson) Was A Miserable SOB Who Hated Everybody