pot, the famous Malian pot of 9400BCE (discovered about five years ago by Swiss archeologists)
was already 3,400 years old.
The ancient Nubian Kingdom of Kerma would emerge about 3000 years later- about two thousand
three hundred years before Ancient Rome.
The South Africans of Blombos were fishing and decorating themselves with
cosmetics about 90,000 years before then, and Ethiopian stone tools were about
2.6 million years old------- 8000 years ago.
Gloria Emeagwali
www.africahistory.net
-----Original Message-----
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Tracy Flemming
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 11:40 AM
To: USA Africa Dialogue Series
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Human Skulls Mounted on Stakes Found at Stone Age Burial Site
Published: September 20, 2011 - By History.com Staff
Human Skulls Mounted on Stakes Found at Stone Age Burial Site
Stone Age hunter-gatherers in southeast Sweden mounted the skulls of
their dead on stakes and buried them in a lake, according to a team of
archaeologists. The researchers unearthed remains and artifacts
estimated to be 8,000 years old-including the skulls of 11 individuals-
at a site thought to have served as a ceremonial gathering place.
Stone Age hunter-gatherers in southeast Sweden mounted the skulls of
their dead on stakes and buried them in a lake, according to a team of
archaeologists. The researchers unearthed remains and artifacts
estimated to be 8,000 years old-including the skulls of 11 individuals-
at a site thought to have served as a ceremonial gathering place.
Two years ago, archaeologists found what they believed to be a Stone
Age settlement near what was once a shallow lake in Motala, a town in
southeast Sweden. Conducted to pave the way for a new railway line,
the excavation took an unexpected turn when the researchers discovered
skulls and skull fragments from 11 individuals, including men, women,
children and infants. Recent carbon dating determined that the items
unearthed at the site, which is known as Kanaljorden, are roughly
8,000 years old.
"We found that the former lake was the locus for extensive ritual
deposits, mainly human skulls but also bones from other parts of the
body as well as animal bones and tools made of bone, antler and
stone," said Fredrik Hallgren, head of excavation for the heritage
foundation Stiftelsen Kulturmiljövård Mälardalen. "The ritual deposits
were laid out on a large stone packing [a type of mass grave encased
in stone] constructed on the bottom of the lake."
Most intriguingly, two of the human skulls were pierced with wooden
stakes-one fully intact and the other broken in half-that protruded
from holes in the base of the cranium. Some of the others showed signs
that they too had been mounted in this manner, said Hallgren, who
believes the Kanaljorden site contains the only known example of this
practice from the Mesolithic era. "Most historical examples pertain to
colonial representatives mounting the skulls of murdered natives," he
explained. "There are also examples of indigenous people using skulls
in various rituals, including both burial rituals and the display of
trophies."
The site yielded another surprising find that adds to the mystery
surrounding these ancient Swedes' unconventional entombment
techniques: a female skull with another woman's temporal bone stuffed
inside it. "Could it be that they are close relatives-perhaps a mother
and daughter?" Hallgren wondered. "We hope DNA analysis will give us
the answer to this." Other noteworthy discoveries from the site
include an elaborately decorated pickaxe made from an antler, bone
points studded with flint and animal remains that likely had symbolic
value.
The stakes could have been used for secondary burial rites, in which
individuals' bones were removed from their graves and reinterred after
their bodies decomposed, Hallgren said. At least one other Mesolithic
site in Sweden bears traces of this tradition. "We believe the stakes
were used for mounting, with the aim to display the skulls better
during the complex ritual," said Hallgren. "The intact stake has a
pointed end and was probably thrust into the ground-or possibly a bed
of embers, since there are slight traces of fire-during a part of the
ritual. The skulls were subsequently laid to rest at the bottom of the
lake."
Another hypothesis about this macabre practice holds that the skulls
belonged to enemies killed in combat, not departed loved ones whose
mourners gave them two funerals. Perhaps, Hallgren said, victorious
Stone Age warriors mounted the heads of their foes on stakes and
carried them home from battle as war trophies. The researchers believe
laboratory analysis of the remains might support or rule out this
scenario. "Sulphur and strontium isotopes in the bones will give
information on whether the skulls represent locals or come from a
distant place, and DNA analysis will hopefully elucidate if the
interred individuals are related or unrelated strangers," said
Hallgren. "These data will give clues to if the depositions represent
secondary burial rituals or trophies of defeated enemies."
Hallgren and his colleagues believe that nomadic bands of Mesolithic
Swedes roamed the region's forests and shores 8,000 years ago, moving
on a seasonal basis between summer and winter camps. "They were
hunters and gatherers, and not least fishermen," he said. "The
laboratory analysis of nitrogen and carbon isotopes in the human bones
show that fish formed an important part of their diet. From the animal
bones found at the site we know that they also hunted big forest game
like wild boar, read deer, elk and brown bear."
For this far-flung population, Kanaljorden likely served as a sacred
meeting spot, Hallgren said. "We interpret the site as a ritual place
used by a group of hunter-gatherers that lived dispersed in the
surrounding landscape for large parts of the year, but gathered at the
rapids of the nearby river Motala Ström for communal fishing of
spawning fish during shorter periods," he explained. "Such gatherings
were, we believe, the time for social interaction like arranging
marriages, making offerings and burying the dead."
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