World's largest bead collection found in 5,000-year-old Spanish tomb in Montelirio Tholo
The Montelirio Tholos, a 39-meter-wide subterranean tomb constructed around 3000 BCE, was excavated between 2007 and 2010 by a team led by Leonardo García Sanjuan from the University of Seville.
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The tomb, part of the Valencina-Castilleja necropolis, contained the remains of at least 25 individuals, likely high-status members of a Copper Age community, alongside an unprecedented array of grave goods, the Science Journal website states.
It further adds that 270,000 beads, primarily made from shell, amber, calcite, and greenstone, some strung together, were discovered. These beads range from 1 to 10 millimeters in diameter.
'A small group of 90 beads was found in the upper level of the second chamber (Structure 10.049), in connection with a rock crystal blade dagger, of whose ivory handle the beads are believed to have been a decoration,' the blog reads.
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The study said that among the remains found in the Montelirio tomb, 15 of the 20 identified individuals were women.
The Montelirio Tholos, dated to 2875–2700 BCE via radiocarbon analysis, aligns with the Copper Age's transition to complex societies, Science Journal states.
'A multi-analytical study undertaken over the past 5 years—including a meticulous quantification of the collection, the characterization of the raw materials, radiocarbon dating and chronometric statistical modeling, morphometric analysis, phytolith analysis, experimental work and contextual analysis—reveals several previously unidentified aspects of these remarkable creations. This includes the role of the attires as sumptuary attributes heavily loaded of symbolism, used by a selected group of women of high social significance.'
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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
From South America to India, how the humble potato swept the world
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'Just 100 gm of potato provides nearly half the minimum daily requirement of vitamin C…,' notes author John Reader in Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent (2009). Potatoes are also rich in B-Complex vitamins, calcium, iron, and potassium. According to Reader, the most primitive living relative of the tuber-bearing potato is a small epiphyte called Solanum morelliforme. The plant has leaves, flowers, and small berries and is found growing on the branches of oak trees in southern Mexico. Scholars suggest that ancestors resembling these wild species were present in the south-west United States and Mexico 40 million years ago, and migrated into South America when the Isthmus of Panama was formed 3.5 million years ago. Reader notes, 'Their history thereafter was one of botanical diversification and geographical expansion as the potato advanced and adapted to thrive in the host of ecological niches that South America had to offer.' Many root plants are still grown commercially in South America, but S. tuberosum, the common potato, is globally known. In Potato: A Global History (2020), academic Andrew F. Smith reckons that the domestication of S. tuberosum began around 10,000 BCE by Andean farmers in the Lake Titicaca basin. 'In one of the world's most inhospitable terrains for agriculture, the potato became the chief food of the people,' says Smith. The potato was well suited to the summer heat, which made possible the growth of the above-ground plant, while cooler nights encouraged the growth of the tuber. Once harvested, potatoes last only a few months before they sprout and eventually succumb to mold. Indigenous South Americans, interestingly, developed a method to preserve them in ways that they can be stored for years. The advent of the Inca Empire around 1430, initially a small tribe living around Cuzco, Peru, changed the fate of the potato. The Inca Empire was conquered by the Spanish around 1532. Smith argues that after the conquest, the Spanish encouraged the cultivation of the potato, and to collect taxes in the form of chuno—a freeze-dried potato—which they used to feed construction workers. Historians such as William H McNeill suggest that potatoes paid for Spain's military conquests and political power in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Smith notes, '…and thus the potato, which fed the workers, had radically changed world history.' Potatoes, consumed by the masses in mid-eighteenth-century Europe, led to massive population growth. 'And it was this massive rise in population [in Northern Europe],' argues Smith, 'that permitted Western European nations to colonize the world.' The potato arrives in Europe The potato arrived in Europe around the 1570s. 'What is unclear is precisely where these potatoes came from,' writes Smith. 'Potatoes were ideal for feeding sailors on long voyages, but when the ships arrived in Spain, excess provisions would have been jettisoned. So it's not surprising that the first record of S. tuberosum outside of South America appears in the Canary Islands [in Spain], a stopping point for ships sailing to and from the Americas,' he adds. Potatoes from Spain were sent to Italy, where they were at first called taratouffli (truffles). When the Spanish engaged in war in the Low Countries (modern-day Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg), they developed a line of supply beginning from Spain through northern Italy, south-western Germany, and south-eastern France. 'The Spanish armies brought potatoes with them, and farmers along the supply line grew potatoes to sell to the military formations and supply trains as they passed by,' Smith notes. He observes that potatoes were grown in Italy by the 1570s, in Germany by 1581, and in Switzerland and France soon after. Smith concludes, 'By the seventeenth century the potato was cultivated as an agricultural crop, especially as a substitute for rye'. However, not all European herbalists were fond of the tuber. Some believed potatoes were poisonous and caused leprosy and other diseases. Some French provincial governments, in fact, forbade their cultivation. Not until the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) did the potato become an essential item. 'This war produced one of the worst famines in European history, and peasants and soldiers alike adopted the potato without hesitation,' writes Smith. When potatoes reached England is debatable. English explorer Francis Drake is believed to have introduced potatoes from Chile into England in 1578. According to Smith, 'In England, Scotland and Ireland, potatoes were mainly grown in gardens until the late seventeenth century.' Although used as horse fodder in England, Scotland and Ireland grew it for human consumption. When the aloo came to India 'The chronology of the potato's early spread across the Indian subcontinent is no clearer than that of its dissemination across Europe,' writes historian Rebecca Earle in Feeding The People: The Politics Of The Potato (2020). By the mid-sixteenth century, Portuguese vessels were sailing regularly to Indian ports and had established themselves in Cochin on India's western coast. 'Edward Terry, who served as a chaplain for the East India Company in the early seventeenth century, reported seeing 'potatoes excellently well dressed' at a banquet in Rajasthan hosted by the Mughal statesman Asaf Khan in 1615,' Earle adds. Later, the British East India Company sent potatoes along its trade routes into the Himalayas, where Sherpas called them 'English potatoes'. Buddhist monks are said to have begun cultivating potatoes in Bhutan and Nepal in the 1700s. Reader points out that 'just as in Europe, the new and prolific food source set the population rising dramatically.' Earle finds that when nutritionists in Europe were denouncing the potato as inferior to bread, Indian nutritionists such as Baneswar Singha called it superior to rice. She adds, 'Potatoes therefore formed part of a larger programme to strengthen the nationalist movement by strengthening Indian bodies'. The potato that the British viewed as a symbol of superiority, according to Earle, became a symbol of protest for the colonised. While colonialism brought the potato to India, Earle says, '…these forces alone did not determine the roles it now plays in Indian culture'. Today, the potato has become an indispensable part of Indian cuisine, and India is the world's second-largest producer and consumer of the starchy staple. Nikita writes for the Research Section of focusing on the intersections between colonial history and contemporary issues, especially in gender, culture, and sport. For suggestions, feedback, or an insider's guide to exploring Calcutta, feel free to reach out to her at ... Read More
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
COMBAT dengue: India-EU science alliance takes aim at dengue in global health push
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Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
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Sometimes, the most unexpected surprises come up in the most simple and unimaginable forms, hiding in plain sight. As the world is filled with stories of lost artifacts and priceless finds, one such story has come to light that sounds almost too unbelievable to be true. For decades, a Romanian woman unknowingly used an incredible and exceptionally rare piece of amber, a fossilised tree resin, as a doorstop in her home. The 3.5-kilogram stone, which she had picked up from a stream bed in southeastern Romania, turned out to be one of the largest intact amber stones ever found, with a value estimated at $1.1 million or 96,327,888.80 INR, according to El País. What makes this Amber special? The amber was identified as rumanite, which is a variety of this fossilised piece known for its rich red tones. While amber is common in parts of Romania, especially around the village of Colti, where mining has taken place since the 1920s, this particular piece is exceptionally rare. After the woman passed away in 1991, a relative recognized that the simple looking doorstop might be something special and alerted the authorities. The stone was handed over to the Provincial Museum of Buzau, and later analyzed by experts at the Museum of History in Krakow, Poland, which has a dedicated section for studying semi-precious stones. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like SRM Online MBA | India's top ranked institute SRM Online Learn More Undo The Polish specialists confirmed that the amber is genuine and estimated its age to be between 38.5 and 70 million years. Daniel Costache, director of the Buzau museum, described the discovery as deeply significant, "Its discovery represents a great significance both at a scientific level and at a museum level," he told El País, a Spanish news platform. He further added that the amber chunk is 'one of the largest pieces in the world and the largest of its kind.' Surprisingly, despite multiple thefts at the lady's home by jewel thieves over the years, the stone remained untouched, simply because no one realized its true value. It silently served its purpose as a doorstop for years, only gaining fame after the woman's death. What is Amber Rumanite and why is it special Rumanite is a rare and beautiful type of amber found mainly in Romania. It is special because of its deep reddish-orange colour and its exceptional age, estimated to be between 38 and 70 million years old. Unlike the more common yellow Baltic amber, rumanite is much harder to find and is considered one of the rarest forms in the world. Its unique chemical composition and beautiful appearance make it valuable to scientists and collectors.
