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Bronze Age

All articles tagged with #bronze age

Nebra sky disc: Bronze Age sky almanac and the oldest known cosmos image
science7 days ago

Nebra sky disc: Bronze Age sky almanac and the oldest known cosmos image

The Nebra sky disc, a 32 cm Bronze Age bronze-and-gold disk with a sun, crescent, and 32 gold dots (including a seven-star cluster likely the Pleiades), is regarded by researchers as the world’s oldest concrete depiction of astronomical phenomena. Found by looters in Germany in 1999 and recovered in a 2002 Basel/Rhine sting, it now rests in Halle and was added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World. Dating relies on indirect evidence due to looting (no soil layers were recorded), with a central debate: whether it dates to about 1600 BC (Bronze Age) or possibly the first millennium BC (Iron Age). Its meaning is also debated—whether it’s a precise star map or a symbolic sky-almanac used to track solar and lunar cycles.

via Space Daily|
#archaeology#astronomy#bronze-age
Face of a Bronze Age Mycenaean Woman Recast: Sister, Not Wife, in a Royal Tomb
science1 month ago

Face of a Bronze Age Mycenaean Woman Recast: Sister, Not Wife, in a Royal Tomb

DNA analysis and a digital facial reconstruction of a 3,500-year-old Mycenaean burial reveal the woman buried beside a man with three swords was his sister, not his wife. The reconstruction shows a young woman; bone and artifact evidence suggest she wielded or owned weapons and endured labor, prompting a rethink of gender roles in Late Bronze Age Mycenae.

via The Daily Galaxy|
#bronze-age#dna-analysis#facial-reconstruction
Ancient Iberian Hoard Uncovers Meteorite Iron Forged Before Iron Age
science1 month ago

Ancient Iberian Hoard Uncovers Meteorite Iron Forged Before Iron Age

Researchers analyzing two corroded iron pieces from the 3,000-year-old Treasure of Villena in Spain determined they are meteoritic iron, making them the first such objects identified on the Iberian Peninsula and evidence of iron from space centuries before terrestrial iron smelting began. Nickel-rich signatures and other chemical markers support a extraterrestrial origin despite heavy corrosion; researchers caution that non-invasive follow-up is needed to strengthen the findings.

via The Daily Galaxy|
#archaeology#bronze-age#iberian-peninsula
Bronze Age Iberia Unearths Meteoric Iron in Treasure of Villena
archaeology1 month ago

Bronze Age Iberia Unearths Meteoric Iron in Treasure of Villena

Testing two ferrous-looking pieces from Spain's Treasure of Villena (c. 1400–1200 BCE) indicates they were made from meteoritic iron, inferred from elevated nickel content measured by mass spectrometry; this places meteoritic iron among Iberian Bronze Age metalwork and suggests ironworking began earlier in Iberia than previously thought, though corrosion limits conclusive proof and further non-invasive analyses are planned.

via ScienceAlert|
#archaeology#bronze-age#iberian-peninsula
Roadside Find Reveals 3,000-Year-Old Bronze Age Rock Carvings Near Oslo
science2 months ago

Roadside Find Reveals 3,000-Year-Old Bronze Age Rock Carvings Near Oslo

A father and daughter discovered a sandstone panel near Oslo containing Bronze Age carvings—ships, human figures, a footprint, and an unusual broad-handed print—estimated to be about 3,000 years old. Unlike typical granite Nordic panels, the sandstone site preserves clearer tool marks and fewer densely carved details, suggesting a different carving technique. The find, at Kolsatoppen hill in Bærum, adds to evidence that many coastal-art sites remain undocumented and underscores the importance of terrain- and sea-level-based searching in discovering ancient rock art.

via The Daily Galaxy|
#archaeology#bronze-age#norway
Bronze Age Caucasus Reveals Everyday Diet: Dairy, Grapes, and Millet
archaeology2 months ago

Bronze Age Caucasus Reveals Everyday Diet: Dairy, Grapes, and Millet

Archaeologists analyzing 52 ceramic vessels from the Kura-Araxes culture in Qaraçinar (Azerbaijan) reveal a surprisingly diverse Bronze Age diet, including dairy products transformed into cheese, grape-based drinks, fruits, plant oils, and millet, with evidence of cooking and resin flavoring. The presence of millet points to long-distance trade, while pottery types suggest distinct cooking versus consumption roles, highlighting a sophisticated, widespread culinary culture rather than a simplistic ancient diet.

via Indian Defence Review|
#archaeology#bronze-age#grape-based-beverages
Ancient genomes reveal a rapid wave of human adaptation after farming
science2 months ago

Ancient genomes reveal a rapid wave of human adaptation after farming

An analysis of 15,836 ancient genomes from western Eurasia identifies 479 gene variants under directional selection since the rise of farming, indicating an accelerated pace of human evolution—especially during the Bronze Age. The shifts touch immunity, skin pigmentation, and traits like baldness, with examples such as variants linked to multiple sclerosis risk, tuberculosis susceptibility, and HIV resistance; researchers distinguished genuine selection from drift by looking for variants that changed consistently across time and groups.

via Nature|
#ancient-dna#bronze-age#evolution
Gigantic Underwater Cairn Stuns Archaeologists in the Sea of Galilee
science3 months ago

Gigantic Underwater Cairn Stuns Archaeologists in the Sea of Galilee

Divers found a 60,000-ton, cone-shaped cairn of unworked basalt stones beneath the Sea of Galilee, about 10 m tall and 70 m in diameter. First detected in 2003, the structure appears human-made with no signs of cutting or walls, suggesting a ceremonial site or ramp. Its age is uncertain, potentially dating to the Bronze Age (third millennium B.C.), and no underwater excavation has taken place due to cost and logistics, leaving researchers to debate its function and origin.

via The Daily Galaxy|
#archaeology#bronze-age#megalith
Barn Renovation in Czech Village Reveals Bronze Age Spearhead Mold
science4 months ago

Barn Renovation in Czech Village Reveals Bronze Age Spearhead Mold

A man in Morkuvky, Czech Republic, during a barn renovation, found a nine-inch stone mold made of volcanic rhyolite tuff used to cast Bronze Age bronze spearheads over 3,000 years ago. Archaeologists from the Moravian Museum confirmed it as a matrix for hollow-based spearheads, highlighting advanced Bronze Age metallurgy and suggesting long-distance trade in raw materials (origin likely from northern Hungary or southeastern Slovakia). The artifact, linked to the Urnfield culture, appears to have been redeposited in the village long after its creation.

via The Daily Galaxy|
#archaeology#bronze-age#czech-republic
Backyard find reveals Bronze Age spearhead mold and ancient trade links
archaeology4 months ago

Backyard find reveals Bronze Age spearhead mold and ancient trade links

A Czech homeowner unearthed a nearly 9-inch stone mold used for casting Bronze Age spearheads, dating to about 1350 B.C. The rhyolite tuff mold, likely imported from northern Hungary, shows signs of repeated use and serial production, suggesting broader trade and production networks in Central Europe. The artifact was found in 2007, studied in detail by researchers and published in 2025, highlighting how such molds facilitated bronze casting and offering a glimpse into Urnfield-era metallurgy and exchange.

via Live Science|
#archaeology#bronze-age#mold
Meteoric Iron Rewrites Iberian Bronze Age Metalwork
science5 months ago

Meteoric Iron Rewrites Iberian Bronze Age Metalwork

Testing two ferrous-looking items from the Villena Treasure—the hollow iron hemisphere and a bracelet—found evidence they are made of meteoritic iron, indicated by nickel content measured despite heavy corrosion. Dating places them around 1400–1200 BCE, earlier than the Iberian Iron Age’s terrestrial iron production (~850 BCE), suggesting advanced metallurgical skills in Iberia over 3,000 years ago. While the results are not conclusive due to corrosion, non-invasive methods could further confirm the meteoritic origin and timing.

via ScienceAlert|
#bronze-age#iberian-peninsula#meteoritic-iron