Prehistoric Cultural Ecology in Southern Jordan

In the southern regions of Jordan, a country in the Middle East, surveys have shown an abundance of archaeological sites which date from the Palaeolithic to the Chalcolithic periods. These have been crucial in our understanding of cultural evolution; such was the emergence of horticulture, pastoralism and other modern behaviours. These sites have been able to give us a history of Jordan that spanned 700,000 years.

For areas was studied in by scholars between 1979 1988, spanning a total area of around 32 square kilometres. Apart from fall, each of the 109 sites was limited to a particular period. Numerous sites contained stratified occupations and controlled surface collections were performed at 35 sites. 32 sites were used as test sites and excavations were performed at six, from the Middle Palaeolithic, the Upper Palaeolithic, the Epipaleolithic and Chalcolithic occupations.

Archaeologists found over 167,430 chipped stone artefacts belonging to eight industries and 11 complexes. “Classification of assemblages into larger unit constructs was viewed as fundamental to (i) identifying pre-historical behavioural systems (that is, cultures) at some scale; (ii) linking such systems to environmental, economic and demographic data; (iii) establishing the variability within such systems (for example, site types); and (iv) examining diachronic changes within such systems in attempt to trace cultural evolution”.

When looking at the information yielded, there is much we can learn about the cultural ecologies in Southern Jordan. For example, in the Epipaleolithic, the Hamran-Natufian sequences occur over 6000 years. Site distributions and synchronous radiometric dates suggest that there was contact and socialisation between the neighbouring populations, but it is artefacts found that actually confirm this.

For example, in the Early Natufian period, the people used a specific geometric microlith that was later adopted by later Madamaghan groups. Again, the people from the Madamaghan period also adopted a distinct technological innovation, known as the microburin technique, from the Late and Final Hamran groups.

Climate change also contributed to the cultural evolution in prehistoric Jordan. The prehistoric people, in the harsh winters, would make their bases at elevations that would protect them from the freezing conditions during the night. In addition to this, the transition from hunter gathering to agriculture “incorporated into their annual ranges resource zones that were seasonally marginal. Although the resources in these zones were less abundant and predictable than those in the zones selected for intensive exploitation in the winter, wet season, their seasonal use would have relieved pressure on the optimum resource zones”.

The prehistoric cultural ecology of Southern Jordan allows us to understand the transition from time to time, from period to period, from people to people more fully and to gain a deeper insight into their lives.

Bibliography:

Henry, Donald O. (1994) Prehistoric Cultural Ecology in Southern Jordan, Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The History of the Gravettian Culture

During the Upper Palaeolithic period in Europe, the continent saw the rise and fall of many different regionally distinct groups known in archaeology as ‘cultures’. These cultures are usually named after the location where tools or buildings were first found for a new culture. The Gravettian culture is named after the site of La Gravette in the Dordogne in France.

A general techno-complex, scholars are unclear on the origins of the Gravettian culture. It is thought that they may have originated outside Europe and then spread with the more modern human population. Some scholars believe that the Gravettian culture originated within the later native Aurignacian, in all probability in central Europe.

This culture lasted from at least 29,000 years ago to around 21,000 years ago. In some parts, it survived to a much later date, down to around 14,000 years ago when it is known as the Epigravettian.

When the Gravettian culture first appeared, it did so after the severe conditions of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) came to an end. It was at this time when there was a rise of behavioural innovations, “such as semi-sedentism, elaborate burial, and projectile technology, which separate it from the early Upper Palaeolithic Aurignacian”.

The Gravettian culture represents subsistence innovations, burial customs, landscape organisation, the beginnings of art, projectile technology and other non-utilitarian elements of human behaviour. It has been suggested as a golden age. The Gravettian had developed prismatic blade technology as well as an array of points, many bearing steep backing (blunting) to assist in hafting. Due to finds of small dimensioned weapon tips, some scholars believe that the bow and arrow may have been invented at this time (although it should be stressed that this is still unproven).

There are a number of locations throughout Europe which may be recognised as to belonging to the Gravettian, especially in the Middle Upper Palaeolithic era. This seems to suggest large-scale population movements due to environmental changes. Southwest France has yielded many rich Gravettian sites.

In central Europe, especially Moravia (in the Czech Republic) and Slovakia, archaeologists have discovered many early Gravettian settlements. These are found along such rivers as the Dyje, where they were occupied for a number of months of the year. At site complexes such as Pavlov and Dolni Vestonice I and II in Moravia “have yielded hundreds of bones of mammoth, bison, and reindeer, and complex patterning of artefacts suggestive of highly organised campsites. At both site complexes, simple firing of loess (silt) obtained from the banks of the Dyje, either deliberately, or accidently, has left us impressions of sophisticated cordage, basketry, and textiles dating to as early as 27,000 years ago”.

Mobiliary art (mobile art produced during the Upper Palaeolithic era) has been found in abundance throughout Europe, suggesting that it was important for this activity in the context of climatic deterioration towards the LGM. Cave paintings and engravings continued at this time and more importantly, the iconic ‘Venus’ figurines which may depict the earliest portrayal of a deity or Mother Goddess, were produced.

Understanding and studying the Gravettian culture is an important task for historians, anthropologists and archaeologists, for it is this time when modern man began to come into his own and help establish the great cultures found all across Europe and the world.

Bibliography:

Pettitt, Paul (2005) The Human Past – The Rise of Modern Humans, Thames & Hudson, London.

The God Aizen Myoo in Mythology and History

Japanese mythology is a tangled knot of Buddhism and Shintoism, so that it is not always clear whether a particular deity is from Shinto or Buddhist. Buddhism spread into Japan around the 6^th century CE and it quickly establish itself as a complement to Shintoism. Due to this overlap, Japanese religion and mythology had its own distinct flavour.

Aizen Myoo is one of the most popular deities in the Japanese pantheon. He is the god of love, a deity of both physical and intellectual desire and represents love transformed through the desire for enlightenment. The translation of his name reads “King of Esoteric Knowledge [called] Tinted by Love (or: Lust)".

Unlike many deities, Aizen Myoo is not an ancient deity taken over from the Indian pantheon, Buddhist or Hindu, into the vast crowd of East Asian Mikkyo divinities. The roots of this particular deity have no connection in India, Buddhism or in Tibet. It is under question whether Aizen Myoo has roots in Tang China instead. According to the Mikkyo ideology, Aizen also should not be regarded as an isolated single deity, but as a “manifestation (hen) or transformation (keshin) of another figure of the pantheon situated as the so-called Fundamental Aspect (honji)in a ‘higher’ position”.

In art, Aizen Myoo was commonly depicted in a frightening appearance; sculptures of the deity were generally painted him red, as red is the primarily colour which expresses emotion or excitement; it is the tint of blood which rushes into the veins and gives the face a hue of joy and happiness. A quote from the Kakuzen-sho states, “Just as with a mother who is overwhelmed by compassion for her only child, so blood is flowing out of all pores in the skin [of Aizen] and tints his body red”.

In addition to this, the famous monk Ichijo (884 – 947 CE) stated that Aizen Myoo’s original colour was white. “Aizen-o is actually of white colour. But since he has compassion for the living beings and, since his spirit of compassion breaks through the structure of his bones so that tears of compassion flow through his whole body, his skin is tinted and he becomes red”.

Within art, the god is usually shown with a ’blazing circle’ that envelops his halo and the upper part of the lotus seat which he sits upon. This ‘blazing circle’ is commonly known as the Moon Disk, and is usually believed to represent the burning disk of the sun (nichirin) although there are some sources which state it is the moon (gachirin).

Aizen Myoo is usually depicted as having three eyes. In Buddhist iconography, three eyes are the typical paraphernalia of protective and fierce deities, with the third eye sitting vertically in the middle of the forehead. Additionally, the three eyes symbolise the Three Virtues (santoku) of the Absolute Body (hosshin) together with Transcendental Wisdom (hannya) and Liberation (gedatsu).

His eyes are usually described as fierce, but his seemingly wrathful look is, in reality, the apex of his compassion to help mankind overcome their difficulties on their way to salvation. It is here that one of the basic Buddhist conceptions, the interchangeability of opposites, can be seen in this deity.

The god’s hair is usually standing on end, emphasising his frightful appearance. This style of hair is characteristic of wrathful deities. With his hair in this style, it looks as though the deity had been shocked with an electric charge and is symbolic of his ecstatic emotion.

Like with many Tantric deities, Aizen Myoo has several arms in his main form. The main arms in front hold a bell and Vajra and are symbolic of the Appeasing Rites (sokusai-ho). The second pair grasping bow and arrow aptly symbolizes the Subduing Rites (keiai-ho) over which Aizen presides as Master. The third and upper pair, holding "that" and brandishing a lotus flower, hints at the exorcistic Terrible Rites (gobuku-ho).The bell is the symbol for stimulation, used to awaken the living beings from their sleep-like unawareness and to stimulate the Mind of Enlightenment (bodaishin) enclosed in a dormant position within each living being.

It is unclear to when in history Aizen Myoo materialized into a singular deity or even where he emerged from. The dating of the Yugi-kyo, our main source for his rituals and iconographic details, is still under debate. It is believed that Aizen Myoo had materialised in and around the 9^th century CE, since the priest Kukai (774 – 835 CE) returned from China to Japan with a copy of Yugi-kyo.

In spite of Kukai bringing home the Yugi-kyo, no early Chinese sculptures or painting depict Aizen Myoo, even among the many Tang bronzes. It has been suggested by scholars the Aizen Myoo emerged from Chinese priests in the late 8^th century from a composition of such deities as Ragaraja, Takki-raja or 'Dod-rgyal dmar-po from the lower strata of the Buddhist religion, since no direct or indirect counterpart can be found in either Indian or Tibetan Buddhism.

Bibliography:

Goepper, Rodger (1993) Aizen Myoo: The Esoteric King of Lust: An Iconographical Study, Artibus Asiae, Artibus Asiae Publishers.

The History of Easter Island

Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, is the most famous of the Oceanic Islands with its iconic stone statues (moai). However, the history of the island and their people are more than just the Easter Island statues.

Easter Island is situated 2000 miles west of Valparaiso in Chile, and 2000 miles east of Tahiti and the Tuamatou archipelago. Its only neighbour is Sala y Gomez, a tiny, uninhabited barren rock, 200 miles to the east. The island is triangular in shape, with an extinct volcano at each corner, and low hills inland. The island is about twelve miles in diameter, roughly half the size of the Isle of Wight in the UK.

The island was first settled around 900 CE, and offers one of the best known examples of social collapse in Pacific pre-history (Bellwood & Hiscock, p.294). Thor Heyerdahl claimed in 1952 that “two separate waves of South American settlers had arrived on Easter Island, the later of which erected the stone statues, which were carved after 1100 CE” (Bellwood & Hiscock, p.296). In 1997, five years before his death, Heyerdahl still retained these views with little modification to this view.

It is believed by the Rapanui that the first coloniser was the chief Hotu Matua, roughly about 500 years ago. When Hotu Matua first came to Easter Island, he arrived with his people in two large primitive vessels, and is said to have come from Hiva (Beighton, p.350). However, there is considerable uncertainty about the validity of this claim amongst scholars today.

The moai statues are one of the most famous landmarks in the world. They were carved from volcanic agglomerate, from quarries in the steep inner and outer crater walls of the extinct volcano, Rano Raraku (the volcano is a mile wide, five hundred feet deep, and contains a marshy lake). They were transported and erected on raised stone platforms named ‘ahu’ in rows facing inland. How they were transported, however, is still uncertain at this point in time.

The largest statue measures 38ft high and measures nearly 100 tonnes. All the statues are carved as busts above the waist with their hands clasped together at the navel. Apart from one statue, all the statues are male, which has been suggested that this reflects the social order of the time.

The first European to visit the island was the Dutchman Roggeveen, in 1722. He was followed by the Spanish in 1770. They erected three crosses on the volcano Poike, sang the Ave Maria, and formally took possession of the island in the name of King Charles of Spain. They then sailed away, never to return. The great English circumnavigator Captain Cook landed during his voyage a few years later. He was followed by the French privateer La Perouse (Beighton, p.349).

In ancient days the Polynesians knew it as 'Te Pito o te Henua'-the Navel of the World. Today, it has been named the 'loneliest place on Earth'. Despite its isolation, Easter Island and its magnificent statues inspire people and can offer us great insight into the history and culture of its people.

Bibliography:

Beighton, Pater (1966) East Island People, The Geographical Journal, Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the Royal Geographical Society.

Bellwood, Peter & Hiscock, Peter (2005) The Human Past – Australia and the Austroneasians, Thames & Hudson, London.

Who Were the Parni?

The Parni were a race of people from the ancient Middle East from the south-east region of the Caspian Sea who went on to found the Parthian Empire. They were one of the three tribes in the Dahae Confederacy and most of our knowledge of them comes from Classical Greek and Roman sources.

There is much of the Parni tribe from before the foundation of the Parthian Empire that we still do not know much about. There have been many names which have been applied to them, including Sparni, Apartani, the Eparnoi or Asparioi. However it should be stressed that these names could be applied to other tribes in the area – we simply do not know if these names applied to the Parni or not.

The majority of our information of the Parni comes from Classical Greek sources and concerns the rise of Parthian Empire. This came about due to Arsaces and his brother Tiridates. They were leaders of the Parni tribe who invaded Persia from the north. They set about creating a revolt made up of the Parthians against Syria. This allowed them to establish an independent new kingdom out of Iran and part of Mesopotamia. This empire, known as the Parthian Empire, and the Arsacid dynasty, lasted from c. 250 BCE to 226 CE, despite its many troubles with the Romans.

The Parni adopted many of the administration practices from their neighbours, the Seleucid Empire. Before the Parni overtook this region, the area was heavily influenced by the Greeks and immediately after their conquest, the Parni discarded the Greek institutions. It is probably this that the following Greek quote was so heavily critical of the Parni leaders. “A coarse, rude and semi-barbarian character attached always even to the most advanced part of the nation, to the king the court and nobles generally, a character which, despite a certain I varnish of civilisation, was constantly showing itself i1i their dealings with each other and with foreign nations”.

As stated earlier, much of our knowledge comes from Greek sources and archaeological evidence for this race is sparse. We know that they were a nomadic people and according to scholars they shared cultural traditions with the Saka-Scythian tribal societies of South Russia and Central Asia. They spoke related Iranian languages and Pliny himself claimed they lived on equal terms with each other.

Bibliography:

Coyne, John J. A. (1912) Hellenism and the Oriental Reaction, Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, Irish Province of the Society of Jesus.

Hansman, John & Stronach, David & Bailey, Harold (1970) Excavations at Shahr-I Qumis, 1967, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Robinson, David M. (1927) A Graeco-Parthian Portrait Head of Mithradates I, American Journal of Archaeology, Archaeological Institute of America.