Classical Studies 2700B

Stone #2: Megaliths and Dating Techniques.

The Bow and Arrow: no firm evidence prior to c. 10,000 BC, though may be much earlier, since Upper Paleolithic techniques well suited to production of flint arrowheads.

Moving on towards Neolithic (New Stone) Age (please refer again to Introductory Notes): often subdivided into a transitional phase (Mesolithic-Middle Stone) before Neolithic “proper”. Mesolithic in E. Mediterranean/ Middle East area starts as early as 14,000 BC; normally ends with introduction of food production (cultivation of crops and domestication of animals)—between 9,000 and 8,000 BC in Near East, but in W. Europe Mesolithic begins c. 7,500 BC and Neolithic c. 4,000 BC; so this a v. flexible term.

In stone technology main innovation is introduction of “grinding and polishing”; really simpler than flint-knapping, but slow and laborious; hard stones worked and heavy durable items produced. Some exx.: mortar and pestle (with variants). Same techniques used to produce axe-heads, sometimes in imitation of metal objects. Another substance of great importance is obsidian—a kind of black or gray volcanic glass: quite rare, but traded extensively. Importance of this. Use spectrographic analysis or refractive index [=ratio of speed of light in a given medium to speed of light in a vacuum] to determine origin.

Megaliths

Pyramids of Egypt are NOT the oldest large stone structures in the world. Older examples in “barbarian” areas of Europe. Old “diffusionist” theory concerning such structures shown to be wrong after invention of radio-carbon dating—first suggested by Willard Libby (Univ. of Chicago) in 1949. Based on fact that cosmic rays (subatomic particles) from outer space bombard earth’s atmosphere constantly. They can produce radioactive carbon atoms-Carbon-14 - a little heavier than regular carbon atoms (Carbon-12) and they combine with oxygen to form a radioactive version of carbon dioxide (not C O2, but C14 O2), which, though rare, is evenly distributed in the earth’s atmosphere and is absorbed, like regular C O2, by all living things. However, when the living thing dies, it ceases to absorb radio-carbon and, since all radioactive materials decay over time, the amount of decay in the radiocarbon in the organic material can be determined and will indicate how much time has passed since the organism died. Specifically in C-14, 28 molecules disintegrate per minute at the time of death; after 5,730 years, there are 14 molecular disintegrations per minute: this is called the half life of C 14. (And after another 5,370 years there are only 7 disintegrations per minute—and so on.) This discovery was hailed by archaeologists as a great breakthrough in dating techniques.

But problems arose almost as soon as method began to be widely used: especially, dates before 1000BC seemed to be “off”. Reasons suggested for this. Solution was tree ring counting-Dendrochronology (dendron is Grk word for “tree”)-devised at the Univ. of Arizona at Flagstaff. Really old dates using this technique come from Bristlecone Pine in White Mts of E. California: oldest living tree known is 4,600 years old. Rings are counted and material from single ring can be radiocarbon dated as well (tree rings absorb C 14 only in year of initial growth). Results are that C 14 indicated date of 2,000 BC should be 2,500; and C 14 date of 2,500 BC should be 3,200 BC, and so on.

Results for age of constructions in stone are therefore changed: megaliths in Brittany begin c. 4,500 BC and some stone temples in Malta (starting c. 4,100 BC) are among the oldest free-standing stone structures in the world. This brings us to Stonehenge.

Site is in S.W. England, on Salisbury Plain. Monument was constructed in Four Phases between c. 2775 and c.1500 BC (so began earlier than the Pyramids). [Henges are circular Neolithic monuments, ranging from c. 45 to c. 520m in diameter, and found only in Britain.] Main elements of Stonehenge.: Heel Stone, chalk embankment with double ditch, Aubrey Holes, bluestones, Sarsen blocks (type of v. hard sandstone) with large circle and trilithon arrangements, gateposts. Construction theories and conception of “megalithic yard” (= 2.72 feet).

For an additional file with details of the construction of Stonehenge, click here.