ANIME SALVE. A series of photographs by Jess Kohl
ANIME SALVE
A series of photographs by Jess Kohl
11-27 settembre 2020
PAN - Palazzo delle Arti Napoli, Via dei Mille, 60, 80121 Napoli (NA), Italy
PAN is open from 9:30 am to 7:30 pm every day except Tuesdays Sunday: 9:30 AM to 2:30 pm, free of charge.
Access is permitted upon reservation at http://ingressi.comune.napoli.it
Collettivo Zero is pleased to invite you to the photographic exhibition Anime Salve, British photographer and director Jess Kohl's first solo presentation in Italy, a project by ShowDesk, curated by Collettivo Zero, in collaboration with Comune di Napoli, promoted by Assessorato alla Cultura e Turismo di Napoli and by PAN - Palazzo delle Arti di Napoli.
These images introduce part of an ongoing project that will culminate in Kohl's first feature documentary, extending and developing the filmmaker’s anthropological interest in gender identity and society's fringes. Taken over the last two years, including during a residency with ShowDesk, Anime Salve presents an intimate exploration of gender non-conformity in a city where spirituality, gender and sexuality have co-existed for generations. The infamous suburban landscape of Scampia provides a backdrop for a series that emblematises an area undergoing extraordinary transformation.
At first drawn to the region for its historically liberal attitudes towards queerness, Kohl’s work traces how the figure of the ‘femminielli’ - a word used to describe an effeminate man, traditionally seen as bringing good luck - has bled into modern society in Neapolitan culture.
The exhibition follows the lives of five individuals, many of them living in Scampia, with intimate portraits often taken at home. Alessia is pictured living with her elderly mother, Amalia. Tenderly intertwined, the two women’s lives shift and change along with the city that surrounds them: in March 2020, the destruction of one of four remaining ‘Sails’ began. Built in the 70’s as a social housing prototype, The Sails quickly fell into disrepair. Neglected by the state, the north western suburb became a playground for the Camorra - a criminal organisation originating in the region, dating back to the 17th century. Known locally as ‘The Monsters’, The Sails are seen as symbols of Scampia’s traumatic past.
Documenting her subjects over a period of multiple years, enables Kohl to provide an authentic representation of marginalised individuals experiencing going through change. Titled ANIME SALVE, (the title of a famous album by Fabrizio De André which literally means “solitary spirits”) the exhibition begins with monochromatic photographs, which document the architectural and developmental modifications the Scampian urban landscape has undergone over the last three years. Kohl then begins to introduce different local characters who embody an intersection between queerness and Catholicism, between Napoli and Scampia. Religious symbolism repeats and reverberates throughout the series. One room has been transformed to resemble a sanctuary, where Kohl has included images of homemade shrines, drenched in neon light and scattered across the city as a sign of protection and to remember the dead.
Drawing connection between the traditions of the femminielli and modern day trans lives, Kohl includes images taken at the Matrimonio de la Zeza, an annual ancient ritual that takes place in the town of Pagani, Campania. This is a farcical wedding between two men, celebrated passionately by the local residents.
The exhibition closes with two screens side by side, showing super 8 portraits taken in Naples and also Koovagam, India. Including the latter, an ancient religious festival in India where trans women gather, encourages the viewer to draw a comparison between these two uniquely similar cultures, despite their geographical distance. Both of these cultures' histories include liberal attitudes towards queerness, yet over time, those not prescribing to gender norms have been pushed to the margins seeking solace through community and spirituality.
Jess Kohl (b. 1989 London) is an award-winning filmmaker and photographer. Her work marries a raw, intimate style with a focus on queerness and marginalised communities. In 2015 she graduated from Central St Martins with a BA in Moving Image. In 2017 she completed an MA at Goldsmiths in Cinematography. After graduating, she quickly carved a niche creating strong emotional narratives that tell the stories of those existing on the fringes of society. Whether documenting the UK queer Jewish underground in her film ‘Buttmitzvah, following a group of rebel Filipino punks living under president Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ in her film ‘Anarchy in the Philippines, or highlighting the contrast between Indian and western queerness in her award winning ‘Nirvana’, Jess’ work seeks to authentically document those searching for acceptance in their communities, religions, races and culture’s.
ANIME SALVE. A series of photographs by Jess Kohl
11-27 settembre 2020
Collettivo Zero is pleased to invite you to the photographic exhibition Anime Salve, a first italian solo show by the British photographer and director Jess Kohl.
Works on display take place from the artist residency in Naples thanks to the collaboration with the association ShowDesk, which is involved for a long time in the organization for artist residencies, students, curators, gallerists and keen on art.
The British artist presents her latest project made between Scampia’s buildings, showing us the most intimate sides of the Neapolitan “femminielli”community, strongly tied to a territory rich in contradictions where gender non-conformity has met the sacred, becoming tradition.
The exhibition promoted by the city of Naples will be located at the PAN - Palazzo delle arti Napoli -, from 11 to 27 September 2020 and will be open from Monday to Saturday: h 10:00 - h 19:00 (last entry h 18:00); Sunday: h 10:00 - 14:00 (last entry h 13:00).
Access is permitted upon reservation at http://
It is allowed to book for max 4 visitors per email address. Each address can make up to 1 reservation per week. At the time of the visit, the confirmation code given on the booking form must be provided in paper or electronic form. After checking availability it is possible to book even before accessing the PAN, by connecting to the link and registering in the way indicated.
In order to ensure the best possible protection for the visitors and to minimise the risk of infection, the necessary safety measures for the containment of COVID-19 have been activated.
Access to the PAN is facilitated by the presence of specific signs, including directional signs.
In addition:
- during the visit, for the whole period of stay within the structure it is necessary to always maintain the interpersonal safety distance (2 meters), avoiding crowds;
- the use of the mask is compulsory;
- hygienic gel dispensers will be placed at the entrance of the facility;
- access to exhibition halls is subject to a fixed number.
Press release and pictures from Collettivo Zero
Highest award from China's government for outstanding PhD research into ancient Chinese musical chime stones
A MUSIC archaeological study of ancient Chinese chime stones dating back to 2400BC to 8AD conducted by a PhD graduate from the University of Huddersfield has been deemed a remarkable achievement by the Chinese Government and has been conferred a coveted award.
Dr Xueyang Fang, from the city of Tianjin in north-eastern China, graduated this year with a PhD in music. Her extensive research, the first comprehensive study of its kind, has earned her the ‘Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad’ from the China Scholarship Council.
The award was set up in 2003 to honour overseas Chinese students with outstanding academic accomplishments and is the highest award Chinese Government can give to graduate students studying outside China. An estimated half a million Chinese students leave China to study abroad each year, making this prestigious award highly competitive.
“Only those with outstanding performance in their PhD studies are considered by the award selection panel and each year no more than 500 young talented researchers are granted this annual award,” said the China Scholarship Council’s Secretary-General, Sheng Jianxue.
“Xueyang Fang stood out from the competition and I would like to express my sincere gratitude for Professor Rupert Till’s support and conscientious supervision, which have contributed to her remarkable achievements,” he added.
A comprehensive and exhaustive analysis
Dr Fang’s thesis, supervised by Professor Rupert Till from the University’s Department of Music and Drama, is the first significant study of Chinese chime stones to be published in English and has created a new taxonomy, as well as collecting previous research published largely in Chinese.
On top of the comprehensive and exhaustive analysis of hundreds of specimens of chime stones, including their archaeological sites, periods and multiple categories of co-existent discoveries, Dr Fang’s fieldwork has produced a large amount of data that can be used for future research. This includes materials from Chinese museums and original sound recordings for analysis.
A journal article, written by Dr Fang in collaboration with Professor Till, explained how chime stones were often used in Royal court music performances, which were usually a combination of chime bells and other musical instruments and often represented high-ranking status in ancient Chinese society, especially in pre-imperial China.
Their cultural and ritual significance
In China, chime stones have important cultural and ritual significance and were significant enough to be buried with ruling people and so were a core symbol for social rank and authority.
“Burying these stones with this individual was clearly a significant act,” said Dr Fang, when referring to an excavation of nine chime stones found in an Eastern Zhou Tomb in Hebi, China between 2009 and 2010.
“Returning these stones to the ground has perhaps extra poignancy, in the knowledge that they have remained intact and indeed in tune, while their owner’s body has decomposed,” she added.
The European Music Archaeology Project (EMAP)
Dr Fang was initially prompted to pursue advanced study in the UK after reading numerous articles written by Professor Till, an affiliate of the European Music Archaeology Project (EMAP) and the Associate Dean International for the School of Music, Humanities and Media.
For the EMAP series, Professor Till recorded a wide range of ancient European instruments and investigated the acoustics of the places where they were once played. These included the Tombs of the Kings, a World Heritage Site in Cyprus and the Isturitz caves in France, where artefacts discovered included a pre-historic bone flute.
As a result of his research, she began to explore the journey of music archaeology with profound interest and says deciding to carry out her PhD at the University of Huddersfield, under Professor Till’s supervision, was the best decision she ever made.
Throughout her doctoral research Professor Till encouraged Dr Fang to take part in several international conferences, such as the 10th Symposium of the International Study Group for Music Archaeology (ISGMA) held in Wuhan, China, the University of New York’s 14th Music Iconography Conference and the 15th Symposium of the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) Study Group on Music Archaeology in Slovenia.
“Through participation of these conferences, not only did my experience and self-confidence increase, but I also gained greater interdisciplinary knowledge during my periods of study,” she said.
“To anyone who is wondering whether to come and study here at the University, I want to implore that my Alma Mater will provide the platform you need to succeed, whatever your plans for the future. I strongly recommend the University of Huddersfield for those who want to further their studies.”
Press release from the University of Huddersfield on the outstanding PhD research into ancient Chinese musical chime stones.
Earliest art in British Isles discovered in Jersey
Earliest art in British Isles discovered in Jersey
Prehistoric societies in the British Isles were creating artistic designs on rock as long ago as the late Ice Age, archaeologists have confirmed.
Rare evidence
The plaquettes provide the earliest evidence of artistic expression discovered in the British IslesFor the first time, archaeologists have analysed the ancient markings made on a group of flat stones, known as plaquettes, uncovered at Les Varines, Jersey, and believe they date from the late ice age – some 15,000 years ago.
Ten fragments of stone plaquettes extensively engraved with abstract designs were uncovered at Les Varines, Jersey, between 2014 and 2018. Since then, a team of archaeologists led by Newcastle University, working with the Natural History Museum, have been analysing the prehistoric markings and believe they represent the earliest evidence of artistic expression discovered in the British Isles.
The plaquettes are believed to have been made by the Magdalenians, an early hunter gatherer culture dating from between 23,000 and 14,000 years ago. The Magdalenian era saw a flourishing of early art, from cave art and the decoration of tools and weapons to the engraving of stones and bones.
Examples of etched Magdalenian plaquettes have previously been discovered at sites in France, Spain and Portugal. Although Magdalenian settlements are known to have existed as far north-west as Britain, no similar examples of artistic expression have previously been discovered in the British Isles of such an early date. The engraved fragments represent the first evidence of engraved stone plaquettes found in the British Isles and Ireland, seemingly predating cave art and engraved bone found previously at Creswell Crags, Derbyshire.
The research and excavation team, which also included experts from the UCL Institute of Archaeology, the universities of St. Andrews, Strathclyde, Liverpool, Wales Trinity St David, and York, as well as the British Museum, analysed the stones for traces of how the markings were made.
The analysis revealed that the plaquettes are engraved with groups of fine lines, thought to have been purposefully made using stone tools. The geometric designs are made up of a combination of straight lines more or less parallel to each other and longer, curved incisions. The research team say that the two types of marks are likely to have been produced using the same tools, possibly by the same engraver and in short succession, giving new insight into the processes used to create the ancient designs.
Dr Chantal Conneller, Senior Lecturer, Newcastle University, said: “These engraved stone fragments provide exciting and rare evidence of artistic expression at what was the farthest edge of the Magdalenian world.”
The designs were only briefly viewed by their makers. Engraving soft stone creates a powder within the incisions that makes them visible. This swiftly disperses, meaning that the engravings are only clear at the moment of their making. “In this context, the act or moment of engraving, was more meaningful than the object itself,” explained Dr Conneller.
Purposeful artistic direction
Dr Silvia Bello, Researcher at the Natural History Museum, London, added: “Microscopic analysis indicates that many of the lines, including the curved, concentric designs, appear to have been made through layered or repeated incisions, suggesting that it is unlikely that they resulted from the stones being used for a functional purpose. The majority of the designs are purely abstract, but others could depict basic forms such as animals, landscapes or people. This strongly suggests that the plaquettes at Les Varines were engraved for purposeful artistic decoration.”
The stones discovered at Les Varines, in the south east of Jersey, were found in an area thought to have been used as a hearth. Three of the fragments had been recovered from an area of granite slabs which may have served as paving, highlighting that the plaquettes were engraved in a domestic context.
Dr Ed Blinkhorn, Senior Geoarchaeologist at University College London and director of excavations at the site, said: "The plaquettes were tricky to pick apart from the natural geology at the site - every stone needed turning. Their discovery amongst hearths, pits, paving, specialist tools, and thousands of flints shows that creating art was an important part of the Magdalenian pioneer toolkit, as much at camp as within caves."
“The engraved stones are firmly domestic art - this may have been important as people moved back into northern Europe towards the end of the last Ice Age,” added Dr Conneller. “The people at Les Varines are likely to have been pioneer colonisers of the region and creating engraved objects at new settlements may have been a way of creating symbolic relationships with new places.”
The research took place as part of the Ice Age Island project, funded by Jersey Heritage, the British Academy, the Society of Antiquaries and the British Museum and the ‘Human behaviour in 3D’ project funded by the Calleva Fundation and is published in PLOS ONE.
Reference: “Artists on the edge of the world: An integrated approach to the study of Magdalenian engraved stone plaquettes from Jersey (Channel Islands)” by Silvia M. Bello, Edward Blinkhorn, Andrew Needham, Martin Bates, Sarah Duffy, Aimée Little, Matt Pope, Beccy Scott, Andrew Shaw, Mark D. Welch, Tim Kinnaird, Lisa Millar, Ruth Robinson, Chantal Conneller. PLOS ONE https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0236875
Press release from the Newcastle University on the prehistoric markings that represent the earliest evidence of art discovered in the British Isles
Cremation in the Middle East dates as far back as 7,000 B.C.
The gender of the human remains found inside a cremation pyre pit in Beisamoun, Israel remains unknown. What is known is that the individual was a young adult injured by a flint projectile several months prior to their death in spring some 9,000 years ago. Preserved due to it being buried, the pit represents the oldest proof of direct (1) cremation in the Middle East.
© mission Beisamoun
An international team lead by CNRS archaeo-anthropologist Fanny Bocquentin (2)with aid from PhD candidate Marie Anton and several experts in animal, plant, and mineral remains, discovered and studied the bones found inside the pyre. An analysis of the clay used to coat the inside of the pit showed the 355 bone fragments, some of which were burnt, were exposed to temperatures reaching 700°C. The position of the bones and the preserved joints seem to indicate the body was placed seated onto the pyre and was not moved during or after cremation.
© mission Beisamoun
Whether used as fuel, as ornamentation, or as a scent, siliceous traces indicated the presence of flowering plants, which made it possible to identify the season the person died. In addition to the exceptional pyre pit, the cremated remains of five other adults were discovered at the site. They dated back to the same period as burials whose traces were discovered among the ruins of abandoned dwellings.
The use of cremation indicates an evolution of the relationship to death in the region. The veneration of ancestors and lengthy funerary practices seem to have given way to shorter rituals. This could be evidence of a transition phase because, some two to three centuries later, the dead were no longer buried inside or near villages and their traces are much more difficult to find.
The study is based on joint archaeological digs completed between 2007-2016 by the CNRS, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Israel Antiquities Authority.
© mission Beisamoun
Emergence of corpse cremation during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the Southern Levant: A multidisciplinary study of a pyre-pit burial, Fanny Bocquentin, Marie Anton, Francesco Berna, Arlene Rosen, Hamoudi Khalaily, Harris Greenberg, Thomas C. Hart, Omri Lernau, Liora Kolska Horwitz. PLOS ONE, 12 August 2020. DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0235386
Notes
(1) The body was cremated directly, as opposed to other practices where dried exhumed bones were burnt.
(2) Member of the Prehistoric ethnology team at the Archéologies et sciences de l'Antiquité laboratory (CNRS/Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne/Université Paris Nanterre/French Ministry of Culture). This study also involved a PhD candidate from the Eco-anthropologie laboratory (CNRS/Museum national d’Histoire naturelle) with support from the Centre de recherche français à Jérusalem (CNRS/French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs/Aix-Marseille Université).
Press release from CNRS on the cremation pyre pit in Beisamoun, Israel, Middle East.
The Temple of Augustus: an artificial landscape in Surrey
The Temple of Augustus: How ruins from Libya became the focal point of an artificial landscape in Surrey
Walking around the artificial lake of Virginia Water, past the artificial cascade, you come across the ‘Temple of Augustus’, another artificial addition to the royal landscapes of Surrey. But how did these Libyan ruins come to make up part of the grounds of Windsor Great Park?
The city of Leptis Magna was founded in the 7th Century BC and rose to prominence in 193 AD under Emperor Septimius Severus who initiated a programme of enhancement through the provision of incredible docks, and a huge basilica complete with classical style columns. After his death in 211 the city began to decline, with the destructive tsunami of 365 and the invasion of the Vandals in the 5th Century.
1816, Hanmer Warrington arrived in Leptis Magna with friend, Augustus Earle. Only a few years earlier, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin had been hailed a hero by the British government on return from Greece with the stripped marble of the Parthenon, a response Warrington hoped to achieve with his presentation of the Leptis Magna ruins.
Louis XIV had taken 600 columns from the site and installed them in his palace in Versailles in the 17th century, whilst Rouen Cathedral and Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Preps in Paris also sported Leptis columns.
Upon commissioning ships and creating an agreement with the Local Governor, Warrington came across resistance of the local Libyan people. Not a conservation effort, but a local quarrying issue, they defied the removal of the ruins. Cut stone had often been collected from these sites to aid building work whilst round columns were used as mill stones. They took to destroying the collected ruins as they were being loaded onto ships, leading to 3 columns still lying on the beach, having been abandoned by Warrington’s team.
After the destruction was accounted for, Warrington collected a vast collection made up of 25 pedestals, 15 marble columns, 22 granite columns, 10 capitals, 5 inscribed slabs and fragments of stone and sculpture. On arrival in Britain he was met with an unenthusiastic government who it is said were not ‘at all impressed or convinced of the value, either aesthetic or intrinsic, of the cargo.’
Having sat in the forecourt of the British Museum for 8 years, King George IV’s architect, Jeffry Wyatville expressed an interest in using them to create a folly in the grounds of Windsor Castle, which then stretched as far as Virginia Water.
Named the ‘Temple of Augustus’, possibly as a reference to the King’s full name, George Augustus Frederick, the site consisted of the 15 columns arranged in a semi-circle, and 2 parallel colonnades. Down the centre of the ruins ran a carriage road, allowing King George IV to pass under the road to Ascot. Wyatville placed fragments of cornices along the bridge mimicking an arch in a city wall.
Knowledge of the classics was important in high society, and the introduction of follies, ornamental ruins built to serve purely as landscape features, showed a level of class and sophistication. As William Gilpin, contemporary architect, noted about the importance of a fake authenticity, “if the ivy refuses to mantle over your buttress… you may as well write over the gate, Built in the year 1772.”
All pictures taken by Scout Newby.
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Bovill, E.W., ‘Colonel Warrington’, The Geographical Journal, Vol.131 (1965), pp.161-166.
Chambers, G.E., ‘The Ruins at Virginia Water’, Berkshire Archaeological Journal, Vol.54 (1954), pp.39-52.
Cooper, P., ‘How Ancient Roman Ruins Ended up 2,000 Miles Away in a British Garden’, The Atlantic, 10th January 2018.
Earle, A., ‘Watercolour of The Ruins at Lebida (Leptis Magna), near Tripoli’, (1793-1838), RCIN 917055 <rct.uk/collection> [accessed 23rd July 2020].
Gilpin, W., Observations on Several Parts of England relative chiefly to Picturesque Beauty (London; Strahan and Prefton, 1808), pp.69-75.
‘Sham Ruins’, Foll-e, Vol.45 (2012), pp.1-4.
Unknown, ‘The Leptis Magna ruins, Virginia Water’, (c.1865), RCIN 2923207 <rct.uk/collection> [accessed 22nd July 2020]
The Temple of Augustus (2019) <odddaysout.co.uk> [accessed 20th July 2020].
Lane, A., ‘The Ruins of Virginia Water’, Libyan Studies (Cambridge; Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp.67-94.
The recovery of fluted points from America and Arabia provides example of independent invention
An Iconic Native American Stone Tool Technology Discovered in Arabia
The recovery of distinctive fluted points from both America and Arabia provides one of the best examples of ‘independent invention’ across continents
A new study led by archaeologists from the CNRS, the Inrap, the Ohio State University and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, reports on fluted points from the archaeological sites of Manayzah in Yemen and Ad-Dahariz in Oman. Fluted stone tools are a distinctive, technologically advanced form of projectile points, including spearheads and arrowheads. Fluting is a specific technique that involves the extraction of an elongated flake along the length of a projectile point, leaving a distinctive groove or depression at the base of the spearhead or arrowhead.
Fluting is a distinct technological tradition invented by early human cultures that spread across the Americas. Fluted point technology is very well known in North America, evidenced by finds across the continent dating from 13,000 to 10,000 years ago. As lead author Dr. Rémy Crassard of the CNRS notes, "Until the early 2000s, these fluted points were unknown elsewhere on the planet. When the first isolated examples of these objects were recognized in Yemen, and more recently in Oman, we recognized that there could be huge implications."
The sites of Manayzah and Ad-Dahariz yielded dozens of fluted points. The Arabian examples date to the Neolithic period, about 8,000 to 7,000 years ago, at least two thousand years later than the American examples. As Professor Petraglia of the Max Planck explains, "Given their age and the fact that the fluted points from America and Arabia are separated by thousands of kilometers, there is no possible cultural connection between them. This is then a clear and excellent example of cultural convergence, or independent invention in human history."
The new PLOS ONE article carefully examines the fluted points found in south Arabia. Detailed technological analysis, backed up by stone tool experiments and replication by an expert modern flintknapper, illustrate the similarities between the American and Arabian fluting procedures.
In addition to the similarities, the authors of the new study also investigated the contrasts between the technologies of the two regions. Technological differences were apparent in the nature and location of the flute. The authors emphasize that the 'fluting method' was likely a mental conceptualization of stone tool manufacture, more than just a technical way to produce a projectile and hafting zone. Whereas the apparent function of fluting in the Americas is to facilitate hafting, or attaching the point to a shaft, most of the Arabian fluted points do not have hafting as a functional final aim. The fluting concept and the method itself are the same in both American and Arabia, yet the final aim of fluting appears to be different.
Arabian and American fluted point technologies were highly specialized stone tool production methods. The PLOS ONE study of Arabian fluting technology demonstrates that similar innovations and inventions were developed under different circumstances and that such highly-skilled and convergent production methods can have different anthropological implications. As discussed in the article, Professor McCorriston argues that "fluting in Arabia was used as a display of skill, rather than serving a purely functional purpose such as hafting, as is more widely accepted in the Americas."
In Arabian prehistory, southern Arabia experienced developments of local origin, with multiple examples of inventions and innovations not culturally transmitted by outside traditions. The fluting method is then a hallmark of this indigenous development in the south Arabian Neolithic.
Publication
Rémy Crassard, Vincent Charpentier, Joy McCorriston, Jérémie Vosges, Sofiane Bouzid, Michael Petraglia: Fluted-point technology in Neolithic Arabia: An independent invention far from the Americas, PLOS ONE
Press release from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
In ancient Arabia, some tools were created to show off skills
Fluted projectile points were used like a “peacock’s feathers”
People living in southern Arabia some 8,000 years ago created intricate stone weapons that were not just useful, but designed to “show off” their tool-making skills, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), The Ohio State University and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History excavated and examined projectile points – such as spearheads and arrowheads – created during the Neolithic period in what is now Yemen and Oman.
They found that the Arabians independently invented a process to create projectile points – called fluting – that was first used by people living in North America thousands of years earlier.
But there was one key difference between fluting as it was used in North America and the way it was used in Arabia, said Joy McCorriston, co-author of the study and professor of anthropology at Ohio State.
In North America, fluting was used just to make the arrowhead or spearhead more functional. But in Arabia, people also used it to demonstrate their technical skills.
“It was like a peacock’s feathers – it was all for appearance. They used fluting to show just how skilled they were at using this very difficult technology, with its heightened risk of failure,” McCorriston said.
The study was published today (Aug. 5, 2020) in the journal PLOS ONE.
The scientists studied projectile points from two archaeological sites: Manayzah, in Yemen, and Ad-Dahariz, in Oman. McCorriston and a team from Ohio State oversaw the excavation in Manayzah, which lasted from 2004 to 2008.
Finding fluted points outside of North America was an important discovery, said Rémy Crassard of CNRS, lead author of the study.
“These fluted points were, until recently, unknown elsewhere on the planet. This was until the early 2000s, when the first isolated examples of these objects were recognized in Yemen, and more recently in Oman,” Crassard said.
Fluting involves a highly skilled process of chipping off flakes from a stone to create a distinctive channel. It is difficult and takes much practice to perfect, McCorriston said.
In North America, almost all fluting on projectile points was done near the base, so that the implement could be attached with string to the arrow or spear shaft. In other words, it had a practical application, she said.
But in this study, the researchers found some Arabian points with fluting that appeared to have no useful purpose, such as near the tip.
As part of the study, the researchers had a master technician in flintknapping – the shaping of stones – attempt to create projectile points in a way similar to how researchers believe the ancient Arabians did.
“He made hundreds of attempts to learn how to do this. It is difficult and a flintknapper breaks a lot of these points trying to learn how to do it right,” McCorriston said.
The question, then, is why would these Neolithic people do this when it was so costly and time-consuming and didn’t make the points more useful? In addition, they only used fluting on some points.
“Of course, we can’t say for sure, but we think this was a way for skilled toolmakers to signal something to others, perhaps that one is a good hunter, a quick study, or dexterous with one’s hands,” she said.
“It showed one was good at what one did. This could improve one’s social standing in the community.”
The findings suggested that while there were many similarities between the American and Arabian fluted points, there were also differences. The way that people performed the fluting in the two places was different, which is not surprising since they were separated by thousands of miles and thousands of years, McCorriston said.
Finding the fluted points in Arabia provides one of the best examples of “independent invention” across continents, said co-author Michael Petraglia of the Max Planck Institute.
“Given their age, and the fact that the fluted points from America and Arabia are separated by thousands of kilometers, there is no possible cultural connection between them,” Petraglia said.
“This is a clear and excellent example of cultural convergence, or independent invention, in human history.”
This study is part of the larger Roots of Agriculture in Southern Arabia (RASA) project, co-led by McCorriston. The project, which included 12 years of field work in Yemen, explored the first use of domesticated animals in Arabia and the societies that developed around them.
Their work is featured in a new book co-edited by McCorriston, Landscape History of Hadramawt: The Roots of Agriculture in Southern Arabia (RASA Project 1998-2008). The book won The Jo Anne Stolaroff Cotsen Prize, which honors outstanding studies in archaeology.
Press release from the Ohio State University
Native American stone tool technology found in Arabia
Stone fluted points dating back some 8,000 to 7,000 years ago, were discovered on archaeological sites in Manayzah, Yemen and Ad-Dahariz, Oman. Spearheads and arrowheads were found among these distinctive and technologically advanced projectile points. Until now, the prehistoric technique of fluting had been uncovered only on 13,000 to 10,000-year-old Native American sites. According to a study led by an international team of archaeologists from the CNRS(1), Inrap, Ohio State University and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, the difference in age and geographic location implies there is no connection between the populations who made them. This is therefore an example of cultural convergence for an invention which required highly-skilled expertise. And yet, despite similar fluting techniques, the final aim appears to be different. Whereas in the Americas the points were used to facilitate hafting, or attaching the point to a shaft, fluting in Arabia was possibly a mere display of knapping skills.
Notes
(1) Researchers based in France are affiliated with the Centre français de recherche de la péninsule arabique (CNRS / Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs; formerly CEFAS), the laboratoire Archéorient de la Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée (CNRS / Université Lumière Lyon 2 / AMU / ENS Lyon / Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 / Université Jean Moulin / Université Jean Monnet) and the laboratoire Archéologies et sciences de l'antiquité (CNRS / Université Panthéon-Sorbonne / Université Paris Nanterre / Ministère de la culture).
Press release from CNRS
Unprecedented 3D reconstruction of pre-Columbian crania from the Caribbean and South America
Unprecedented 3D reconstruction of pre-Columbian crania from the Caribbean and South America
Alfonso Benito Calvo, head of the Digital Mapping and 3D Analysis Laboratory at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) has participated in the 3D reconstructions of a representative selection of 13 pre-Columbian human crania specifically from Cuba and Peru, which are part of the osteological collection of the The Montané Anthropological Museum in Cuba.
The sample studied comprised crania with tabular oblique artificial deformation, annular deformation, and undeformed specimens. The 3D models generated were used to produce prints and 3D animated videos.
The deformed and undeformed crania were digitized with the Artec Space Spider structured blue light scanner, which created three-dimensional models based on the real samples. The resulting 3D models were used to produce 3D printed replicas and animated videos. “These 3D models of the Cuban pre-Columbian skulls have been made with microns precision,” says Alfonso Benito.
The 3D reconstruction of the crania will allow its precise systematic investigation and dissemination in different audiovisual media and online platforms, and they are also a perfect means to publicize the associated intangible resources, such as the experiences, rites and stories that surround these crania.
This study lead by Gizéh Rangel-de Lázaro (Natural History Museum in London and IPHES-URV) is published in the journal Virtual Archaeology Review, with the collaboration of researchers from CENIEH, University of Valladolid and The Montané Anthropological Museum in Cuba.
