Origins of the Avar elite elucidated with ancient DNA
Less known than Attila’s Huns, the Avars were their more successful successors. They ruled much of Central and Eastern Europe for almost 250 years. They came from Central Asia in the 6th C AD, but their provenance was debated. In a new study, a multidisciplinary team analysed 66 individuals from the Carpathian Basin, covering the entire Avar period as well as the preceding era. The study included the eight richest Avar graves ever discovered, overflowing with golden objects.
mpg.de/18495750/0330-…

Seshat History of the Axial Age is out!

Fairness and equity, universal rights, freedoms, representative, democratic governance, the notion that no one is above the law—these are ideas many of us cherish in the modern world. But where did they come from?

amazon.com/dp/0996139567 Co-editors Daniel Hoyer and Jenny Reddish paired some of the world’s leading historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists with members of the #Seshat team. The chapters survey developments in regions previously neglected in Axial Age discussions.

Researchers analysed 23 modified crania from the Republic of Georgia,
Hungary, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria and Crimea, all dating from the Great Migration peiod (4th-7th C AD). Deformed skulls were symbols of belonging. cosmosmagazine.com/archaeology/de… The results showed that methods of cranial modification varied by
region, indicating that the results signified membership of different
cultures.
Left to right: A heavily modified Hun skull, a moderately modified German skull, and an unmodified reference skull.

At #Seshat, one of the things we study is the way religious figures and institutions have acted to strengthen the moral foundations of society, e.g. by providing ethical guidance to rulers. Today's example comes from 9th-century CE Karnataka, India. (1/7) seshatdatabank.info/data/deccan.ht… Jinasena, a Jain Acharya (head monastic) at the court of Amoghavarsha Rashtrakuta, India, wrote the ADIPURANA, a poem about rulership informed by Jain ethics. (2/7) #Seshat (Pictured: sculpture of Acharya KundaKunda, Karnataka)

Early bureaucracies used informal methods for recruiting officials. Positions were filled with eunuchs, passed from father to son, or were bought and sold. When did societies start implementing examination systems for selecting bureaucrats? Here's a survey of #Seshat data (1/9) The roots of the Chinese imperial examination system go to the Qin Dynasty (225-207 BCE), and a crude system with a yearly exam was in place in the Han period (202 BCE-219CE). #Seshat seshatdatabank.info/data/polities/…* (2/9)

The emergence of written records can lead to the development of complex social and economic structures. Written records also create more physical evidence for historians and archaeologists. Our databank shows when written records first evolved across the world. #Seshat
(1/9) Ancient Mesoamerican civilizations wrote using hieroglyphs. In Oaxaca, the Zapotec writing system dates back to 600 BCE. Archaeologists have found about 350 inscribed stones dating to Monte Alban I and II (500 BCE-199 CE) seshatdatabank.info/data/polities/…. #Seshat (2/9)

Clothing and accessories of a Yakut shaman. Lithograph book plate. Printed in Germany, 1897. #Seshat Fedor Poligus, shaman of the Evenks, with a collection of shamanic objects, including images of helper spirits. Eastern Siberia, Russia. 1907-1908 #Seshat

A Bronze Age figurine of a bird of prey. Faience, gold, plaster (modern). BMAC (Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex). Late 3rd -mid 2nd millenium BC. Found: the royal necropolis at Gonur Depe, Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan State Museum, Ashgabat © Herlinde Koelbl. Serene Oxus Lady also known as Ligabue Venus. Green steatite, cream calcite. BMAC (Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex). Late 3rd -mid 2nd millenium BC. @ligabuefoundation #Seshat