magicalannapanda:

Petroglyphs in Hidden Valley near Moab, Utah

newcynegetics:

The rock art sleuthing continues, this time from Torqua Cave on Catalina (aka Pimungna). Anthropomorph, ochre sea star, or both?

eastafricaart:

Sidamo, Ethiopia

Section of large panel of (mainly) bas relief engravings of domestic cows and calves(?). Bodies of most animals have been polished and have udders. Pecked engravings of animals (usually lacking bas relief) generally lack udders and polishing on bodies. Whole panel contains 18 large cows and nine small animals (calves? Or bulls?), all facing right.

Source: Trust for African Rock Art (TARA)

archaeologicalnews:

NANAIMO, B.C. — Members of a Nanaimo First Nations group are outraged after crews contracted by BC Hydro damaged a documented ancient rock art site during work last week.

Douglas White, chief of the Snuneymuxw First Nation said the damage is disrespectful of native heritage and he doesn’t…

ancientart:

Petroglyphs in the National Park Gobustan in Azerbaijan. These ancient rock carvings date back to 10,000 BC and indicate a thriving culture. 

Photo courtesy & taken by Azeria

(via workman)

archaeologicalnews:

A nearly 1,000 year-old rune stone has been rediscovered at Bogesunds brygga west of Vaxholm in Sweden.

The rune stone was found during an excursion which was part of a course in landscape archaeology at Stockholm University. The stone has previously been known, but had been missing since…

moonratus:

Cave paintings of prehistoric cattle. Source: Stories from Somaliland

Read “Ancient art in Somaliland in Limbo” by clicking here

my new look s/s 2013

ancientart:

Bison in the prehistoric La Covaciella cave, Spain.

Photo courtesy & taken by José Manuel Benito

(via multipletrees)

theolduvaigorge:

Who Were the First Australians, and How Many Were There?

• by Traci Watson

“Some 40,000 to 50,000 years ago, a band of intrepid Southeast Asians became the first humans to reach Australia, and without a single glance at a GPS unit. Now new research suggests that perhaps 3000 people—many more than previously thought—made that foray into the unknown to become the continent’s founding population and the ancestors of Australia’s aboriginal people.

The study is among the first to specify just how many adventurers weathered the trip to become the original Aussies, although researchers are divided on whether the new numbers are accurate. The study has also stirred debate on exactly when and why the aboriginal population ballooned to hundreds of thousands of individuals.

“People remained at low levels, we believe, for 40,000 years and suddenly, for no apparent reason, we see … their numbers start to build,” says study author and archaeologist Alan Williams, a graduate student at the Australian National University in Canberra. “We need to ask what changed.”

To determine the head count in Australia’s founding population, Williams compiled the most complete estimate to date of the continent’s prehistoric population. He turned to a database of 5000 cooking pits, human burials, shell heaps, and charcoal deposits. All were from Australian archaeological sites, and all had been assigned a date using radiocarbon dating methods. As the human population grows, the number of archaeological sites and artifacts available for radiocarbon dating grows, too. That makes radiocarbon dates a yardstick of population, or so think Williams and some other researchers who employ this technique” (read more).

(Source: Science)

archaeologicalnews:

MEXICO CITY.- Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) are registering and investigating a group of petroglyphs that were found at the foot of Cerro del Sombrete, municipality of Alamo-Temapache, in the northern part of Veracruz, among which the…