This is a fragment of the book by Vladimir А. Safronov "Indo-European homelands" (Chapter 14), which summarizes the views we expressed earlier on the Maikop phenomenon in the following articles : Nikolaeva N.A., Safronov V.A., 1974 -... more
This is a fragment of the book by Vladimir А. Safronov "Indo-European homelands" (Chapter 14), which summarizes the views we expressed earlier on the Maikop phenomenon in the following articles : Nikolaeva N.A., Safronov V.A., 1974 - Origin of the Novobosvodnaya dolmen culture; Nikolaeva, Safronov 1982 - Chronology of monuments of theBronze Age of the North Caucasus. These conclusions were subsequently supplemented and developed in my article in 2008. « The problem of historical reconstruction in archeology, thecalibrated dates and a new solution to the Maikop problem»
Recent research has shed light on one of the most spectacular collections within the British Museum—the discoveries made by Sir Leonard Woolley at the Royal Cemetery of Ur. The city of Ur lies in southern Iraq and was excavated between... more
Recent research has shed light on one of the most spectacular collections within the British Museum—the discoveries made by Sir Leonard Woolley at the Royal Cemetery of Ur. The city of Ur lies in southern Iraq and was excavated between 1922 and 1934. Its cemetery contained a group of extremely rich graves dating to around 2500 BCE. Fragile artifacts, such as bone, within these so-called Royal tombs were carefully preserved in wax to ensure their safe recovery and transport. Although the wax has ensured the stability of these objects, it also obscures much of their surface detail, particularly where it has blackened with age. A program of radiography was therefore initiated in order to reassess a variety of objects from the Royal Cemetery in a nondestructive manner. This yielded some extremely surprising results as supposed skeletal remains proved to be two stunning gold, silver and lapis lazuli headdresses.
Download at https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02054801v1 During the Early Dynastic III Period, we find in Mesopotamia uncommon ceramic forms with supposedly ritual function, called stemmed dishes and high stands. They are respectively... more
During the Early Dynastic III Period, we find in Mesopotamia uncommon ceramic forms with supposedly ritual function, called stemmed dishes and high stands. They are respectively occurring in tombs (for the stemmed dishes) and temples (for the high stands). In the same period, there are rare iconographic mentions and a few metallic examples inside the Ur city royal cemetery. These two categories are therefore grouped under the name of offering stands. We present here a synthesis of the latest testimonies for these potteries and their significant absences in the archaeological reference contexts of the middle and lower Mesopotamia of the last third of the IIIrd millennium BC. The pottery examples had likely disappeared before the Ur III period (2100 BC), but the representations of these objects or equivalents not having reached us (especially in precious metals) are continuing for at least three centuries. We then show how it is possible to both partially fill and interpret the sudden absence of these ceramic forms on a regional scale. This local disappearance is related to the particular constraints posed by these objects on the processing chaîne opératoire and to the evolution of the political systems and their impact on the ceramic production methods.
