Oldest figurative art identified
A new analysis of rock art sites on Sulawesi has identified the world’s oldest form of narrative art in Indonesia. A new dating method called laser ablation uranium series (LA-U series) imaging uses a laser to take small samples of calcium carbonate from mineral deposits on the artwork, giving rise to a new age for the rock art panels at Léant. I brought it out. Calampan is currently believed to be at least 51,200 years old. This makes the work, a red-painted scene depicting a pig and three human-like figures, the earliest example of figurative narrative art ever discovered.
ancient shell communication
Ancient Pueblo communities in the southwestern United States may have used conch shells to communicate, according to a new study. Seventeen trumpets made from conch shells were found buried at the Chaco Canyon site in New Mexico, an ancient Pueblo settlement inhabited from 850 AD to 1150 AD. Researchers used soundshed analysis to investigate how far shell sounds can be heard in five of the more than 200 surrounding Chacoan communities. They found that conch shell sounds could be heard at all five test sites, suggesting that they may have been used as a means of communication between settlements. The entire study is published in Antiquity: https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.54 (open access).
Victims of Mount Vesuvius found in Pompeii
The remains of a man and a woman who died in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD have been discovered during ongoing excavations on Island 10, Area 9 of Pompeii. The body was found in a house in the service area that was being renovated and was being used as a temporary sleeping area at the time of the disaster. The adjoining living room was filled with pumice and the two were trapped inside, where they were killed by the pyroclastic flow. The woman was found lying on a bed with valuables in her possession, including coins, gold and pearl jewelry.
Text: Rebecca Preedy / Images: AA Oktaviana, R Joannes-Boyau, B Hakim et al. (2024) Nature
