Welcome back, everybody!  This is Rick Pettigrew, and I bring you our four top news stories from this past week of Archaeologica.  Send us feedback on The Archaeology Channel Facebook page or post a message on our social networking site, ArchaeoSeek!

A cuneiform tablet recovered from a Bronze Age site in central Turkey documents the oldest-known formation of a commercial company.  Two skulls from ancient Egypt remarkably reveal clear signs of cancer surgery.  A study of thousands of burial mounds from a 4000-year span in Central Europe shows an overall increase in inequality among the upper class.  And excavators at an ancient temple in Mexico City came across a large ceremonial offering sealed in a stone box.

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And now, here’s Laura Kennedy with the Audio News from Archaeologica!  We hope you find this to be a valuable part of your day!

Welcome to the Audio News from Archaeologica!  I’m Laura Kennedy, and these are the headlines in archaeological and historical news for the week of May 26th through June 1st, 2024.

We begin this week in central Turkey, where a 4,000-year-old cuneiform tablet has illuminated the nature of commerce in Anatolia.  This is also the period when writing first started in Anatolia.

As reported by ArkeoNews, the tablet revealed the story of the region’s first company.  It all started when twelve people collectively invested 15 kilograms of gold.  The tablet is currently on exhibit in the Kayseri [KAY-sree] Museum.

These twelve entrusted the management of their investment to Amur Ishtar, a merchant who oversaw the company’s finances for 12 years.  They also distributed the profits during this time with one-third of it being shared among the partners.  All of the transactions were written down and sealed with witnesses present.  Part of the guidelines also stated that if any investor wanted to withdraw any share of the investment before the due date, he would take a loss.  He would be given 4 kilos of silver instead of 1 kilo of gold.

The tablet was recovered at Kültepe [KYOOL-tay-pay], an archaeological site located near the present-day central city of Kayseri.  The city was a major site of commercial activity during the Middle Bronze Age, acting as one of the essential trade centers for the Assyrians.

Archaeologists have been conducting excavations in the city for 75 years, recovering more than 20,000 cuneiform tablets.  Many of these tablets have detailed records of financial transactions, expenditures, loans, and debts.

Other tablets contain social and legal records, including marriage contracts, divorces, inheritance documents, notary procedures, and discussions of women’s rights.  One tablet even notes the first known diagnosis of infertility.

According to Dr. Fikri Kulakoğlu, head of the excavations at Kültepe, these tablets are pivotal in shaping our understanding of the era’s social and economic dynamics.  They reveal that this was a declaration of the first company in Anatolia.  In modern language, it was a company deed.  

Next, we head to Egypt, where a study of two skulls thousands of years old indicates that ancient Egyptians may have worked to treat brain tumors.

As reported by Cosmos Magazine, archaeologists from Spain and Germany examined two skulls bearing cut marks.  The incisions may have been from attempts to operate on the individuals during their lifetimes or post-mortem studies on excessive tissue growth.

The first skull and mandible belong to a male who died in his early to mid-thirties.  Located at Giza, the remains date between 2687 and 2345 BC, during Egypt’s Old Kingdom.  This was near the time that Pharaoh Khufu ordered the construction of the largest pyramid in the region.

Micro-CT imaging of his skull showed a large lesion, likely from a neoplasm, or excessive tissue destruction. Thirty small, round metastasized lesions — and a number of cut marks around them — were also present.

The second skull was from a female who was older than 50.  She died sometime between 663 and 343 BC. This was during ancient Egypt’s Late Period, between its 26th and 30th dynasties.

Similar lesions were present on her skull, consistent with a cancerous tumor that destroyed bone. Archaeologists also found a couple of healed traumatic injuries and may have received treatment for them.

According to study co-author Albert Isidro, these marks were likely the result of surgery to target cancerous cells, supporting the interpretation that ancient Egyptian physicians were conducting experimental treatments and medical explorations to address the disease.

The ancient Egyptians held advanced medical knowledge and skills.  Surviving records note their diagnoses and treatment plans for illnesses and traumatic injuries, including the creation of prosthetics and dental fillings.

Despite cancer currently being the second leading cause of death worldwide, these findings indicate that the disease’s severity may not be the sole result of modern factors, such as environmental issues and an older populace.

These skulls reveal that cancer was also an issue for early societies.  Ancient Greek doctors such as Hippocrates and Galen [GAY-len] considered the disease to be incurable, and Roman physician Celsus recorded its removal and subsequent return.

Publication of the study was in Frontiers in Medicine.  According to lead author Edgard Camarós, although more research will be needed to untangle how ancient societies handled cancer, the study provides an encouraging foundation for future research.    

Next, we make our way to Central Europe, where an analysis of prehistoric graves from the first four millennia BC provides insight into inequality among society’s upper class.

As reported by Phys.org, the team of archaeologists and economists from Kiel University gathered data from 5,000 single-funeral burial mounds.  The researchers used the structure and volume of each mound as an indication of the individual’s relative wealth.

According to Dr. Julian Laabs, the study’s co-lead author, the relative size of each mound also indicated the strength of its inhabitant’s social network.  Those with larger mounds than their neighbors likely had more relationships and influence within the community, giving them the ability to mobilize both people and resources.

To estimate the size of the upper societal segment in relation to the entire population, the authors looked at data on the number of people buried in flat and collective graves.  Based on the team’s analysis of the data, the degree of inequality among the buried individuals was high.  It did, however, fluctuate over time.

According to Dr. Laabs, the team worked to connect those fluctuation points to specific technological, climate, population, and socio-political changes in the region.

Within society’s upper class specifically, the trend was toward increasing inequality.

While the study did not look at inequality throughout all of society’s levels, the study’s other co-lead author, Johannes Marzian, emphasized that stratification and the resulting tension within the upper societal segment could have impacted the entire society. 

Considering their work to be a starting point for further study, the authors suggested that future research should look at an analysis of other regions, the relationship between violent events and shifts in inequality, and an extended time frame for the dataset. 

Doing so with an eye toward prehistoric and ancient societies may provide us with unique insights that can help us to address the inequalities of today.  Reducing inequalities between countries and individuals is also one of the sustainability goals of the United Nations.

This study appeared in the journal, Nature.

Finally, we head to Mexico City, where an excavation has uncovered a rare set of ceremonial offering items that date between AD 1375 and 1418.

As reported by Heritage Daily, archaeologists from the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History carried out the excavations. The discovery marks the 80th anniversary of work at the Tlatelolco [TLAH -teh-LOL-coh] Archaeological Zone.

The find consists of a stone box containing ceremonial offerings within Temple “I,” which is also known as the Great Basement.  The box contained 59 pocket knives, 7 obsidian knives, and blocks of copal [ko-PAHL].  The Tlatelolca priests and high-ranking officials used these objects for self-sacrifice.

The discovery provides invaluable insights into the ceremonial practices of the Tlatelolco people in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries.  The discovery is also very timely.  The 80th anniversary of the Tlatelolco Archaeological Zone is almost here, and it’s situated in the center of modern-day Mexico City.

The archaeological team came across the offering as they investigated a crack in the Great Basement’s central altar.  According to leads Francisco Javier Laue Padilla and Paola Silva Álvarez, the box was placed to consecrate an architectural extension of the temple.

The space was dedicated to the Black Tezcatlipoca [tez-caht-lee-POH-kah], the god of providence, the invisible and darkness, lord of the night, and ruler of the North.  He was also associated with obsidian and conflict.

This significant discovery is part of the Tlatelolco Project’s conservation efforts.  The project led by archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma  began in 1987.  The project aims to use archaeological remains to compare Tlatelolco with its sister city, Tenochtitlan [ten-ohch-teet-LAHN].

The Mexica city-state of Tlatelolco was founded in 1338 when a group broke away from Tenochtitlan and settled on an island to the north.  The Tlatelolco people inhabited this area and were Mexica Nahuatl-speaking, as were the Aztecs.  They originally settled in the region during the 13th century.  Once a pre-Columbian city-state, this area remained independent until 1473 when conflict forced dependence on Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire.

That wraps up the news for this week!

For more stories and daily news updates, visit Archaeologica on the World Wide Web at www.archaeologica.org where all the news is history! Also, be sure to check out our new subscription platform, Heritage Broadcasting Service, at heritagetac.org!

I’m Laura Kennedy and I’ll see you next week!