archaeology

The thirty first of March 2020

pigs

Domesticated pigs evolved from Eurasian wild boars, Sus scofra. About 9,000 years ago, humans selected particular traits from these boars to keep; however, domestication was a long and varied process across the world. Interestingly, pigs – perhaps like many domesticated animals, did not follow a straightforward path from wild animal to farmyard domesticate. Like goats and dogs, there are many breeds of pigs today including heirloom breeds that harken back to previous traits that were favorable for pigs, like my friend here today who I met years ago in Coffee County, Georgia at General Coffee State Park.

The eleventh of February 2019

goats

Today’s goat was photographed at an amazing place called Rakhigarhi by my partner who is currently working in Haryana, a state in northwest India. Rakhigarhi is home to two villages, Rakhi Khas and Rakhi Shapur which are situated on top of an ancient city, 4,500 years old, part of a constellation of ancient cities belonging to what archaeologists call the Indus Valley Civilization. Unlike other ancient civilizations with clear evidence of social hierarchy such as pyramids, elaborate burials or elite palaces, the Indus left behind few traces of these markers. Needless to say, the people who lived in Indus Valley cities and settlements had standardised units of measurement, a system of writing, and networks of homes and workshops within centres that appeared to be in contact with one another and as far away as Mesopotamia. Archaeological investigations in 2018 revealed a cemetery that has been the subject of much debate. However, the villages carry on farming, herding buffalo and sometimes goats, and are quite welcoming to researchers and foreigners. I had the privilege of living in Rakhigarhi for a few months in 2012, and it was one of the most transformative and wonderful experiences of my life. I am happy to share this goat with you and to reflect on my time at such a special place.

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Rakhigarhi – a 4,500 year old city and a modern village in the heart of northwest India.

The thirteenth of November 2018

goats

How long have humans and their related ancestral species created art? It is entirely impossible to know for sure, as many mediums may have not survived millennia and it is difficult to say what a person living during the Paleolithic era would have considered art. The earliest forms of art identified by archaeologists come from paintings in caves, most famously the Lascaux Caves in southwest France. Cave art is prevalent throughout France and Spain; however, recent research has identified even older examples in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Last week, a paper in Nature describe the oldest known cave art that was crafted at least 35,000 years ago in the East Kalimantan mountains of Borneo, Indonesia. The inside of the cave is said to be entirely covered in art, including animals and outlines of human hands. Of course, one of the animals that was painted onto the walls of Lubang Jeriji Saléh was indeed, a goat. As new dating methods emerge, archaeologists theorize that some cave art in Europe may be as old as 65,000 years, which means they were created by Neanderthals rather than modern humans. At any rate, the new discoveries from Borneo show that goats have always been part of the story of humans, even before their estimated date of domestication approximately 10,000 years ago.

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An image of a goat on the wall of the Lubang Jeriji Saléh Cave, painted 35,00 years ago.