Cultural Beginnings #6

It had been thought that wheeled transportation in China went back only to the early Shang Dynasty (1600 - 1100BC). However recent excavations at the site of Erlitou have uncovered parallel wheel tracks dating back to the Xia Dynasty (2100 - 1600 BC). Until I read this AFP feed, I had no idea that Erlitou was the largest settlement in East Asia 4,000 years ago.

Of about the same age are the remains of what is being called the world's oldest toy. Found on the southern Italian island of Pantelleria, the doll's head is four centimetres long, with carved facial features and a curly head of hair.

"Miniature pots and plates were found close to the doll's head, possibly the utensils of an ancient toy kitchen. "The playing habits of children have barely changed in 4,000 years," said one of archaeology team."

Previously in this series, I have discussed discoveries showing the earliest viniculture to have occured in the Middle East some 8-10,000 years ago. Now, there is evidence that the first wines in Europe were developed in Sardinia about half as long ago. This is proving a shock to the status-conscious growers of northern Italy who have always looked down on the products of the island.

"The hypothesis we are trying to prove is not only that the most ancient wine in the Mediterranean was produced in Sardinia but also that vines were cultivated on the island at the time that civilisation exploded into life in Mesopotamia and then in Egypt," Mr Labra said ... An earlier study has already shown that the cannonau variety of Sardinian grape thought to have been imported from Spain was native to the island. "It was thought that this grape was Iberian, imported from Spain toward the end of the medieval period," Fabrizio Grassi, of Milan's state university, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper. "Instead, analysis that has been carried out in Spain shows a very high probability that cannonau could be the Mediterranean's oldest wine."

It may be wondered how, in those long ago times, news of various products was transmitted to distant regions. Well, not quite as old as the Sardinian wine, but still very early, Iranian archaeologists have discovered what appear to be ancient advertisements.

"During the latest season of excavations of the northern gate of Takht-e Suleiman, an ancient Zoroastrian fire temple located in northwestern Iran, the stamps of two seals were discovered which indicate that objects entered Takht-e Suleiman from other regions with special tags attached to them which seem to be advertisements. They signify that an early form of advertising was being practiced during the Sassanid era (224-642 C.E.), Yusef Moradi, the head of the excavation team, said on Friday."

Finally, there are reports out of Morocco that an ancient Berber town under the sands in the Western Sahara may be 15,000 years old. The Berber civilizatiion is generally thought to be but 9,000 years old. The age of 15,000 ya seems very early -- but very exciting if true -- and so I'll be looking forward to more information as it becomes available.