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Enigmatic Anglo-Saxon ivory rings discovered in elite burials came from African elephants 4,000 miles away
Live Science ^
| late June 2023
| Tom Metcalfe
Posted on 07/15/2023 7:24:05 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Enigmatic "ivory rings" found in dozens of Anglo-Saxon burials in England have long baffled archaeologists, who weren't sure of the rings' origin and which animal they came from — elephants, walruses or mammoths. But now, scientific techniques have revealed that these rings likely came from African elephants living about 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) away, a new study finds.
The finding indicates a trading network brought the objects from eastern Africa and across post-Roman Europe to England...
The researchers analyzed one of seven so-called "bag rings" found in graves at an early Anglo-Saxon cemetery, dated to between the late fifth and early sixth centuries A.D., near the village of Scremby, about 65 miles (110 km) east of Sheffield.
After analyzing the ivory's collagen protein, the team found that the ring was made from the tusk of an African elephant (genus Loxodonta) and radiocarbon analysis revealed the pachyderm lived around the fifth century A.D...
The researchers also measured the ivory's ratio of strontium isotopes (forms of the element with different neutron counts). These ratios indicate the geology of a region. The results showed that the elephant grew up in an area with geologically young volcanic rocks — probably the Rift Valley region of East Africa, Willmott said.
The lack of finds of ivory workings in Anglo-Saxon England suggests the rings were crafted in Africa — probably in Aksum, a center for ivory working at that time — and then traded until they reached England, he said. It's possible that the few bag rings found in continental Europe may be evidence of that trade.
Finds show the ivory rings were popular among Anglo-Saxons for at least 100 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: africa; ancientnavigation; anglosaxon; anglosaxons; burials; byzantineempire; england; godsgravesglyphs; ivory; middleages
1
posted on
07/15/2023 7:24:05 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...
2
posted on
07/15/2023 7:24:59 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
To: SunkenCiv
It’s called trade....cool
3
posted on
07/15/2023 7:31:14 AM PDT
by
Sacajaweau
( )
To: SunkenCiv
Trade routes extended even further than that. The Roman Empire had quite a reach, and what they did not come in contact with, the Phoenicians and later the Arabian sailors penetrated much of Africa beyond the Sahara and the equator.
Trade routes would have survived the fall of the western Roman Empire, as Norsemen reached into Spain and even parts of northern Africa, and when they got over the first fever of piracy, they too settled into relatively peaceful trading.
4
posted on
07/15/2023 7:35:39 AM PDT
by
alloysteel
(Take back the rainbow. Its use by LGBTQ is cultural misappropriation.)
To: SunkenCiv
some kind of crown for your hair
5
posted on
07/15/2023 7:44:49 AM PDT
by
Sacajaweau
( )
To: alloysteel
I wholeheartedly agree. The ancientnavigation keyword has a number of topics pertaining (at least in part) to both Roman and Byzantine trade, both of which were widespread. These two links are to topic postings that have 100 chrono-sorted topics from that keyword:
6
posted on
07/15/2023 7:45:17 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
The more recent ancientnavigation keyword additions, sorted:
- LEGENDS OF NORSE SETTLERS DROVE DENMARK TOWARDS GREENLAND [07/12/2023]
- Pendants made from giant sloths suggest earlier arrival of people in the Americas [07/12/2023]
- Did Ancient Phoenicia Really Exist? [07/04/2023]
- 135-yr-old National Geographic magazine lays off its last 19 staff writers, may go off newsstands [06/29/2023]
- Medieval gaming piece with runic inscription discovered in Norway [06/27/2023]
- Asians in early America [06/27/2023]
- 4,000-Year-Old Stonehenge-like Sanctuary Unearthed in the Netherlands [06/22/2023]
- Irish Origins | The Genetic History of Ireland [06/21/2023]
- Seeking the origin of Indigenous languages in South America [06/20/2023]
- Divers Are About to Pull a 3,000-Year-Old Shipwreck From the Depths [Croatia] [06/18/2023]
- 86,000-Year-Old Human Remains Uncovered, Challenging Dominant Migration Hypothesis [06/14/2023]
- Three historical shipwrecks uncovered in the Mediterranean [06/12/2023]
- Northwest African Neolithic initiated by migrants from Iberia and Levant [06/12/2023]
- Why the Earliest Alaskans Didn't Eat Fish for 1,000 Years [06/10/2023]
- The U.S. Is Giving Away Lighthouses for Free [06/09/2023]
- 2,700-year-old petroglyphs depicting people, ships and animals discovered in Sweden [06/09/2023]
- Ancient Discovery In Greece May Completely Rewrite The Human Story [06/07/2023]
- Ancient tombs point to rich families from wealthy Cypriot community [06/11/2022]
- Turks Enraged as Ancestry.com Reveals the Truth: Most of Them Are Greeks [06/13/2021]
- Ancient 'untouched' tomb discovered on Dingle Peninsula [Bronze Age, County Kerry, Ireland] [04/20/2021]
- Ancient Irish DNA reveals incredible secrets, including Down Syndrome [09/06/2020]
- Archaeologists uncover 5,700-year-old Neolithic house in north Cork [09/01/2020]
- Archaeologists Find Evidence of Incest Among Irelands Early Elite at Newgrange Passage Tomb [06/22/2020]
- Tartessian, Europe's newest and oldest Celtic language [06/24/2019]
- Ancient bird bones redate human activity in Madagascar by 6,000 years [8500 BC] [09/15/2018]
- 5,000 year old DNA reveals the surprising origins of the Irish [11/23/2017]
- 500 year-old shipwreck loaded with gold found in Namibian desert [06/07/2016]
- A man's discovery of bones under his pub could forever change what we know about the Irish [03/21/2016]
- First ancient Irish human genomes sequenced [01/01/2016]
- Scientists sequence first ancient Irish human genomes [Book of Invasions] [12/28/2015]
- Ancient artefacts at Tullaghoge [Ireland, 5000 BC] [02/19/2015]
- Viking warriors and treasures are buried beneath Dublin [08/02/2014]
- Ancient graffiti proves Spain's Irish links [07/26/2014]
- Laois 'bog body' said to be world's oldest [08/23/2013]
- Human occupation of Madagascar pushed back 2500 years [08/16/2013]
- Blood of the Irish: DNA Proves Ancestry of the People of Ireland [07/13/2013]
- Snails Reveal Ancient Human Migration from France to Ireland [06/23/2013]
- Genes show one big European family [05/09/2013]
- Scottish people's DNA study could 'rewrite nation's history' [08/22/2012]
- Welsh people could be most ancient in UK, DNA suggests [06/20/2012]
- Gene Study Shows Ties Long Veiled in Europe [repost] [06/16/2010]
- Archeology: When did the First Settlers Come to Iceland? [the Irish] [04/17/2010]
- Clues to ancient invasion in DNA [ Scotland, Ireland, Picts, Vikings ] [04/06/2009]
- Myths Of British Ancestry [09/28/2007]
- When Irish Genes Are Smiling [03/07/2007]
- A United Kingdom? Maybe [03/05/2007]
- We're nearly all Celts under the skin [In Great Britain] [09/23/2006]
- The scale and nature of Viking settlement in Ireland from Y-chromosome admixture analysis [09/10/2006]
- Medieval Irish warlord boasts three million descendants [01/19/2006]
- Up to three million men descended from medieval Irish warlord: study [01/19/2006]
- Scientists discover most fertile Irish male [01/18/2006]
- Scientist Discover Most Fertile Irish Male [01/17/2006]
- Scientists discover most fertile Irish male [01/17/2006]
- Irish History Takes a Paternity Test [12/27/2005]
- Studies Prove People Of Madagascar Came From Borneo And Africa [07/10/2005]
- Blood Type History, Human Migrations (Blam Thread) [07/03/2005]
- DNA Shows Celtic Hero Somerled's Viking Roots [04/26/2005]
- Split Between English and Scots Older Than Thought [07/18/2004]
- Split Between English and Scots Older Than Thought [04/11/2004]
- Y Chromosomes Sketch New Outline of British History [05/27/2003]
- An Ancient Link To Africa Lives On In Bay Of Bengal [12/10/2002]
- Who Were The Celts? [09/26/2002]
- English And Welsh Are Races Apart [07/04/2002]
- A new day surfaces for deep sea archaeology [06/28/2002]
7
posted on
07/15/2023 8:38:00 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
To: SunkenCiv
Is that surprising? They probably got sold and transported several times from central Africa to England.
8
posted on
07/15/2023 10:17:55 AM PDT
by
xxqqzz
To: xxqqzz
Thanks for the nonsense response.
9
posted on
07/15/2023 10:24:57 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
To: SunkenCiv
It looks more like a hair ornament to me-maybe to put around a bun, or like a little tiara...
10
posted on
07/15/2023 11:22:53 AM PDT
by
Texan5
("You've got to saddle up your boys, you've got to draw a hard line"...)
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