Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Prehistoric wine discovered in inaccessible caves forces a rethink of ancient Sicilian culture
The Conversation US (Creative Commons license) ^ | February 13, 2018 | Davide Tanasi

Posted on 06/21/2018 12:08:22 AM PDT by SunkenCiv

Monte Kronio rises 1,300 feet above the geothermally active landscape of southwestern Sicily. Hidden in its bowels is a labyrinthine system of caves, filled with hot sulfuric vapors. At lower levels, these caves average 99 degrees Fahrenheit and 100 percent humidity. Human sweat cannot evaporate and heat stroke can result in less than 20 minutes of exposure to these underground conditions. Nonetheless, people have been visiting the caves of Monte Kronio since as far back as 8,000 years ago. They’ve left behind vessels from the Copper Age (early sixth to early third millennium B.C.) as well as various sizes of ceramic storage jars, jugs and basins. In the deepest cavities of the mountain these artifacts sometimes lie with human skeletons... At the end of 2017, research similar to ours using Neolithic ceramic samples from Georgia pushed back the discovery of trace of pure grape wine even further, to 6,000-5,800 B.C... From an economic standpoint, the evidence of wine implies that people at [Monte Kronio] were cultivating grapevines. Viticulture requires specific terrains, climates and irrigation systems. Archaeologists hadn’t, up to this point, included all these agricultural strategies in their theories about settlement patterns in these Copper Age Sicilian communities... Sicily completely lacks metal ores. But the discovery of little copper artifacts -- things like daggers, chisels and pins had been found at several sites -- shows that Sicilians somehow developed metallurgy by the Copper Age... The lure of wine, though, might have been what brought the Aegeans to Sicily... the discovery of wine remnants near gaseous crevices deep inside Monte Kronio adds more support to the hypothesis that the mountain was a sort of prehistoric sanctuary where purification or oracular practices were carried out...

(Excerpt) Read more at theconversation.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ancientnavigation; caves; copperage; godsgravesglyphs; grapes; montekronio; navigation; neolithic; oenology; sicily; viticulture; wine; zymurgy
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-33 last
To: Chickensoup

Yeah BC. That was good. Wiley with the peg leg. I had a best of collection of them back in the 60s.


21 posted on 06/21/2018 4:01:07 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

If finding one thing forces a “rethink,” then they had based their knowledge on very poor evidence.


22 posted on 06/21/2018 4:31:14 AM PDT by I want the USA back (Liberalism is the denial of human nature.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: P.O.E.

23 posted on 06/21/2018 4:33:29 AM PDT by ETL (Obama-Hillary, REAL Russia collusion! Uranium-One Deal, Missile Defense, Iran Deal, Nukes: Click ETL)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv
If they found artifacts in an inaccessible cave, I guess it was only mostly inaccessible.
24 posted on 06/21/2018 4:35:36 AM PDT by Flag_This (Liberals are locusts.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Flag_This

Flag_This wrote: “If they found artifacts in an inaccessible cave, I guess it was only mostly inaccessible.”

I had the same thought. Then I saw the accompanying photo of the archeologists in the jacket and long sleeves looking fairly comfortable in the 99F temperature and 100% humidity cave mentioned in the article. Human sweat, it said, won’t even evaporate.

Still, all in all, an interesting article, even with the disconnects.


25 posted on 06/21/2018 5:39:41 AM PDT by oldplayer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

I love Sicily! Such a wonderful and tragic history.

I was stationed there in the mid-70’s. A great time for a young sailor.

Still working on my dream to open a Krispy Kreme store in Taormina, Sicily.


26 posted on 06/21/2018 5:46:16 AM PDT by moovova
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv
...these caves average 99 degrees Fahrenheit and 100 percent humidity.

Oh, you mean like Summer in Alabama?

That was about what it was yesterday at my place.

27 posted on 06/21/2018 5:55:29 AM PDT by Alas Babylon! (MAGAMarchOnWashington.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Beowulf9; SunkenCiv

I concur. :)


28 posted on 06/21/2018 6:24:12 AM PDT by dubyagee ("I can't complain, but sometimes I still do.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Alas Babylon!
Oh, you mean like Summer in Alabama? That was about what it was yesterday at my place.

That was spring.

29 posted on 06/21/2018 6:38:26 AM PDT by Rinnwald
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: txnativegop

By coincidence, I’m sitting here finishing some spaghetti bolognese and drinking some ‘Etna Rosso’ from Sicily. My wife’s family is from Palermo.


30 posted on 06/21/2018 10:32:05 AM PDT by nobamanomore
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: I want the USA back
No, it means they based their knowledge on evidence, instead of relying on old campfire stories.

31 posted on 06/21/2018 12:57:27 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: Bob434

It belongs to that skeleton over in the corner. ;^)


32 posted on 06/21/2018 1:01:10 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Beowulf9; dubyagee
Thanks, wholeheartedly!

33 posted on 06/21/2018 5:16:25 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-33 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson