Weekly Roundup of Archaeology and History November 18-Dec 8

Here are some posts I enjoyed the last three weeks (I’m not up to full power these days as I get through cancer treatment, so “weekly roundup” is going to be a relative term…):

A haunting face from ancient Phoenicians (You’ll have to click through because the newly excavated item is depicted in a photo I don’t have the rights to). Archaeologists found in Tel Achziv, Israel an intact mold for the distinctive clay masks that have been found wherever Phoenicians sailed—Israel to Spain. The placement of the mold with other clay dishes indicates they might have been used in funerals, to give the dead an eternal “face.” Previously they hadn’t had enough context for a good guess at their function. They don’t seem to be specific to the actual appearance of the dead (unlike, say, the gorgeous paintings on late Roman-Egyptian burials). Click here for Archaeology Magazine “Artifact Phoenician Mask”

Ancient Greek music (choral with instrument accompaniment) as reconstructed and performed by classicists at Oxford. Definitely intriguing, especially for the musicians out there. Click through to listen on Youtube “Rediscovering Ancient Greek Music”

It’s certainly a current issue: how men and women split up the work that needs to be done. A study of Neolithic women’s bones, compared to modern athletes and bones from later ancient periods and medieval show that, counter what has been previously thought, Neolithic women did heavy agricultural work. People assumed women did only domestic labor, but the stresses and bends in the bones indicate the muscles needed to dig, hoe, carry, etc as farm work would have required. So, apparently the superwoman who does it all goes way back. I hope that makes those of you juggling a fulltime job, a fulltime family and everything that a household requires feel better. At least you have company from the Neolithic age… Click here for Science Magazine “Strong Women did a lot of heavy lifting in ancient agrarian societies”