Ashkelon's dead babies

Article Abstract:

No satisfactory explanation has been found for the infants' bones found at Ashkelon, Israel, in a sewer below a bathhouse, dating from late Roman-early Byzantine times. The remains of nearly 100 infants have been found. The infants appeared to have died soon after birth and were deposited in the drain not long afterwards. DNA testing of 19 individuals found 14 male and five female. Infanticide has been given as an explanation, but the disproportion of males is hard to explain, since female infanticide was practiced in Roman culture. Some have suggested that the infants were discarded by prostitutes, but they would have known of contraceptives.

Social aspects, Antiquities, Rome (Ancient state), Infanticide, Ashkelon, Israel

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The enlightened archaeologist

Article Abstract:

The 1988 excavation of the Rapidan Mound near Charlottesville, Virginia, situated 14 miles away from a similar Indian burial mound excavated by Thomas Jefferson, reveals the significance of Jefferson's aims and interpretations of his excavations. Jefferson chronicled his experiences in the 1850s in his book, 'Notes on the State of Virginia,' in which he indicates a continuity of Indian culture. His description of the excavation of the mound forms the basis for the Rapidan mound excavations.

Research, Excavations (Archaeology), Native American history, Jefferson, Thomas

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Writing collaborative history; how the Monacan Nation and archaeologists worked together to enrich our understanding of Virginia's native peoples

Article Abstract:

The founding of Virginia's Monacan Ancestral Museum, prompted by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, is discussed. The prejudices of colonial narratives obscured Monacan history.

Virginia, Native North Americans

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