Anthropology.net

Nature has put up a little teaser book review of Amos Nur & Dawn Burgess’ new book, “Apocalypse: Earthquakes, Archaeology and the Wrath of God.” The book investigates the possibility that earthquakes are a cause for the collapse of many ancient civilizations. Nur is a geophysics professor, and my understanding is that he advised Dawn Burgess on her dissertation in the field of geology. If that’s true, both of them have adequate background to look at the archaeological and geological record for the effects of earthquakes. From the Nature piece, they ask how,

“earthquakes might be detected in the archaeological record, by analysing geological formations, faults, structural movement, human remains, the collapse of pillars and walls, and inscriptions. Nur wonders if earthquakes played a part in the collapse of ancient civilizations. Might they explain the enigmatic and quick disappearance of so many Bronze Age civilizations in the eastern Mediterranean during a mere 50 years around 1200 BC.

Most archaeologists today say that earthquakes have had little to do with historical demises. They prefer to attribute the collapse of civilizations to human agency: war, invasion, social oppression, environmental abuse and so on. The conventional explanation of the Bronze Age collapse involves maritime invasion by the mysterious Sea Peoples, whose identities have long eluded scholars…”

Nur and Burgess bring up many recent examples of how earthquakes decimated civilizations, cities, etc. They cite the destruction of the Portuguese capital of Lisbon in 1755, a 1812 earthquake that preceeded the collapse of Simón Bolívar’s Venezuelan republic, and the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923 that decimate the majority of Tokyo.

The Nature article favorably reviews the book, and primes us that it may, “deliberately irritate many archaeologists.”

Afarensis shared with us a news that 35,000 year old artifacts were found from an iron ore mine site is seen at Hope Downs, Australia. I think this is a interesting find, but it is by no means the first time artifacts of this antiquity have been found in Australia, nor is it the oldest finds. The Associated Press news article by Tanalee Smith explains this distinction.

The article doesn’t tell us how these artifacts were dated, nor does it indicate if these finds will be published in a peer reviewed journal. But it does include a photo of one of the artifacts, a chert knife.

Groundstone axes below, from the Sahul landmass (actually Bobongara) have been dated to be 38,000 years old by thermoluminescence. Thermoluminescence isn’t always accurate… A 2004 review of artifacts from more than 30 archaeological sites, recently concluded Sahul was peopled around 42–45,000 years ago. This was based off of radiocarbon dating of flakes, hearths, animal bones. Lake Mungo, in south-western New South Wales, Australia, confers this time frame as well — Mungo Lady, a partially creamted body has been also dated to around 40,000 years ago.

So while this isn’t the most significant archaeological find in understanding the details of how Australia was peopled, it does shows us that people were living in more arid parts of Australia, such as the Pilbara region, earlier than previously known and had adapted and stayed.