Posted on 02/04/2020 1:46:16 PM PST by SunkenCiv
A Bronze Age painting on a Greek island shows a monkey from thousands of kilometres away in Asia. The finding suggests that ancient cultures separated by great distances were trading and exchanging ideas.
The artwork is one of several wall paintings in a building at Akrotiri on the Greek island of Thera (Santorini) in the Aegean Sea. Akrotiri was a settlement of the Minoan civilisation in Bronze Age Greece that was buried by ash from a volcanic eruption in around 1600 BC.
Many of the paintings show monkeys, yet there were no monkeys in Greece at the time. Most of the monkeys have been identified as Egyptian species like olive baboons. This makes sense because Egypt was in contact with the Minoan civilisation, which was spread across several Aegean islands. However, others were harder to identify.
Marie Nicole Pareja at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia teamed up with primatologists to re-examine the mystery monkey paintings. One stood out. "When they looked at this wall painting, they all straight away unambiguously said ëthat's a langur'," says Pareja.
The team has identified the monkey as a grey langur (Semnopithecus). As well as its distinctive fur, the monkey was depicted holding its tail in a characteristic S shape.
Grey langurs live in southern Asia in what is now Nepal, Bhutan and India -- and particularly in the Indus Valley. During the Bronze Age, the region was home to the Indus Valley Civilisation, one of the most important societies of that time. Although it was past its peak, the Indus Valley Civilisation was still advanced for its time, with large cities and elaborate water supply systems.
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
Looks like parts of Brownsville
:^) It’s “widely”, ya dev’. ;^)
LOL
Where’s Moe Howard when I need him? ;^)
[sigh]
I’m not sure, I may just be corroded with jealousy for not having thought of that first.
All the folks ‘round there say that’s crazy.
“IOW”
I have a down-syndrome-niece that loves using contractions like this, but it’s sad because most people don’t respond to her attempts at conversation.
Looks like they are playing ball.
This is a very interesting find. However, given the magnitude of Magna Graecia and the other Greek colonies it’s pretty obvious the Greeks really got around.
1 Kings 10:22
The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
Tell her Contractions contract conversations. :)
Yes, he really got around, one of the amazing people of history — but lived after this fresco was painted. :^)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+10%3A22&version=KJV
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3759206/posts?page=4#4
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