In 1061, two men, Pedro Díaz and Munio Vandilaz, signed a legal agreement in which they undertook to share the management of the house and church of Santa María de Ordes—most likely the current parish of the same name in the Ourense municipality of Rairiz de Veiga, in Northwestern Spain. Judging by their surnames, the men were not relatives but rather, as we will see, friends.

An everyday document

It was also unremarkable that two laymen who were not family decided what to do with assets that, today, we would define as ecclesiastical. Churches and monasteries were often part of the assets of the wealthiest families, who were completely free to decide what to do with them. At this time, the Church also lacked the power or the ability to unilaterally manage all of its material goods.

The text that details the agreement in question is preserved in the cartulary of the monastery of El Salvador de Celanova, one of the most important historical archives of the Hispanic world in the High Middle Ages, with a particularly rich and interesting number of documents. It specifies that both men were equal owners of the church.

It goes on to list the functions they were to share, a fairly standard inventory of the various tasks and duties carried out in the monasteries of early medieval Europe: looking after guests; directing, feeding and clothing servants; cultivating the lands and orchard. Lastly, and perhaps in reference to the horizontal aspirations of monastic societies, it is specified that both men should have the same rights to food, drink and clothing.

‘Throughout all days and nights, forever’

This is the point where the document begins to stray from what might be considered usual. Less usual but not for that reason unusual, since this text still fits within what has come to be defined as artificial kinship, a legal construct that has been documented throughout much of the early medieval European world.

This structure allowed people who were not related to agree to consider one another siblings, in order to defend each other or share property. Shared ownership and management are present in the case of Pedro Díaz and Munio Vandilaz, but it also specifies that this is to be done as “good friends, full of faithfulness and truth, throughout all days and nights, forever.”

This emotional passage, which goes far beyond the simple needs of documenting an agreement, has led some historians to see this as more than just another example of artificial kinship.

The first to open up this avenue of research was the American medievalist John Boswell (1947-1994). In his work “The Marriage of Likeness: Same Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe“—which covered same-sex unions from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages—he chose this document as one of those which, according to his hypothesis, concealed a loving, marital union between two men.

Spanish legal historian Eduardo de Hinojosa, who lived between the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, had previously commented on this document as an example of artificial kinship. Hinojosa’s interpretation differed from Boswell’s, which is not surprising, since the academic and cultural standards of his time were not favorable for delving into a history of emotions, sex or homosexuality.

Difficult to define

Boswell’s interpretation has been followed up by other contemporary historians, notably the Galician philologist and historian Carlos Callón. In his work “Amigos e sodomitas,” (“Friends and Sodomites”) this document forms a cornerstone of Callón’s argument regarding the existence of romantic relationships between people of the same sex which were consensual and publicly recognized during the Middle Ages.

Although the task of interpreting the original document is not easy, what is certain is that the Middle Ages are far from the dark, backwards and savage era that some continue to imagine. It is important to remember that in the the Middle Ages there was even homoerotic literature, a fact that reveals a certain permissive attitude and recognition of loving and sexual relations between people of the same sex.

This document may therefore be a factual, non-literary example of a recognized same-sex union during the Medieval period.

https://phys.org/news/2024-08-11th-century-sex-marriage-medieval.html

By Kristina Killgrove

The stone-lined tomb could provide an unprecedented look at life in Bronze Age England.

Archaeologists excavate the Bronze Age stone tomb in Dartmoor National Park, England. (Image credit: © Alec Collyer)

A “stunning” tomb found on an isolated moor in southwest England could help archaeologists understand what life was like 4,000 years ago in the Bronze Age.

Originally discovered in May, the burial chamber began eroding out of the peat at Dartmoor National Park and was excavated in August, according to a statement from the park. The tomb, which measures about 3.3 feet (1 meter) square, was covered with three large, granite stones. This cist-type burial was likely used around 1800 B.C., based on the radiocarbon dating of charcoal from inside the tomb.

Archaeologists lifted the granite stones and discovered numerous pieces of well-preserved wood, as well as an additional 12 inches (30 centimeters) of fill. The team managed to move the entire tomb to a laboratory, where painstaking micro-excavation will reveal the complete contents of the grave.

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/stunning-bronze-age-burial-chamber-discovered-on-the-english-moor

ARHUS, DENMARK—The Associated Press reports that a metal detectorist unearthed seven silver arm rings in an area of a known Viking-era settlement near Denmark’s eastern coastline. In all, the jewelry weighs about one pound and has been dated to A.D. 800. “The find emphasizes that Aarhus was a central hub in the Viking world,” said Kasper H. Andersen of the Moesgaard Museum, who explained that the Vikings used silver in transactions as a means of payment. One of the armlets is in a style known to have originated in Viking settlements in what are now Russia and Ukraine; three of the rings are in a style that was common in southern Scandinavia; and the remaining three armlets were crafted without ornamentation, perhaps in Scandinavia or England. For more, go to “Hoards of the Vikings.

Archaeologists have unearthed a well-preserved mosaic, dating back nearly 2,000 years, at Wroxeter Roman City in Shropshire, England.

This ancient site, originally known as Viroconium Cornoviorum during Roman times, was once the fourth-largest settlement in Roman Britain, rivaling the size of Italy’s Pompeii. The city, established in the 1st century CE, was strategically located to protect the River Severn valley and served as a crucial frontier post during the Roman campaigns led by General Publius Ostorius Scapula.

The mosaic, which vividly depicts dolphins and fish in striking white, red, blue, and yellow colors, was found during recent excavations led by English Heritage, in collaboration with the University of Birmingham, Vianova Archaeology & Heritage Services, and Albion Archaeology. The discovery was made in a high-status townhouse along Wroxeter’s main road, where archaeologists also uncovered a large civic building and a shrine or mausoleum.

Win Scutt, senior properties curator at English Heritage stated, “Our excavations were in hope of discovering the walls of this building, but we never suspected we would find a beautiful and intact mosaic, which had lain hidden for thousands of years. It’s always an astonishing moment when you uncover a fragment of beauty hiding just below the ground.”

View the video here (link)

The Persian Constitutional Revolution, also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar dynasty. The revolution led to the establishment of a parliament in Persia, and has been called an “epoch-making episode in the modern history of Persia

BOLOGNA, ITALY—Newsweek reports that a grave dated to the seventh century B.C. has been discovered in central Italy’s Corinaldo Necropolis by researchers from the University of Bologna. The grave consists of a quadrangular pit measuring about 12 feet long by seven feet wide surrounded by a large circular ditch measuring about 100 feet in diameter. More than 150 artifacts have been recovered from the pit, including a two-wheeled chariot, a bronze helmet, a bronze cauldron, and a set of bronze containers. An iron ax for processing meat and pottery for serving food were also recovered. The tomb is thought to have belonged to a celebrated member of the Picene artistocracy, who occupied the region. This is the second tomb linked to the Picene aristocracy to be found in the Corinaldo Necropolis. The first was discovered in 2018. To read about that other Picene tomb, go to “Fit for a Prince.”

PURPOSE: By the resolution 45/216 since 1989, The World Population Day is observed every year on 11 July, The Day seeks to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues, including their relations to the environment and development. A population and housing census is among the most complex and massive peacetime exercises a nation can undertake. It requires careful planning, resourcing and implementation – from mapping an entire country, mobilizing and training large numbers of enumerators, and conducting major public awareness campaigns, to canvassing all households, carefully monitoring census activities, and analysing, disseminating and using the resulting data. The United Nations Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs conducts demographic research, supports intergovernmental processes at the United Nations in the area of population data, population development, and assists countries in developing their capacity to produce and analyse population data and information.

FORUM: “Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities.” World Population Day 2023. Women and girls make up 49.7% of the global population, yet women and girls are often ignored in discussions on demographics, with their rights violated in population policies. This pervasive injustice keeps women and girls out of school, the workforce and leadership positions; limits their agency and ability to make decisions about their health and sexual and reproductive lives; and heightens their vulnerability to violence, harmful practices and preventable maternal death, with a woman dying every two minutes due to pregnancy or childbirth. We must advance gender equality to create a more just, resilient and sustainable world. The creativity, ingenuity, resources and power of women and girls are fundamental to addressing demographic and other challenges that threaten our future, including climate change and conflict. When women and girls are empowered by societies to exert autonomy over their lives and bodies, they and their families thrive. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #womenandgirls, #WorldPopulationDay; #11July; #HarnessingOpportunities, #Infinitepossibilities.

EVENTS: On July 11th; to mark the World Population Day 2023, the UNFPA and the Specialized agencies will highlight the need support women and girls around the world, and to advance gender equality to help realize the dreams of all 8 billion of us on our planet. This World Population Day is a reminder that we can achieve the prosperous, peaceful and sustainable future envisioned by the ICPD and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development if we harness the power of every human being on the planet. When we unlock the full potential of women and girls – encouraging and nurturing their desires for their lives, their families and their careers – we galvanize half the leadership, ideas, innovation, and creativity to better society.

PUBLICATIONS: Read the World Population Propects and the 2023 State of World Population report.

STATEMENTS: Read the statements from the United Nations Secretary-General on World Population Day 2023; July 11th and the Statement from the UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on World Population Day 2023; July 11th.

Siena, and Bologna analyzed the cultural remains left by groups of early Homo sapiens at Grotta di Castelcivita in southern Italy, dating back to before the major eruption known as the Campanian Ignimbrite.

This explosive event, originating in the still-active Phlegraean Fields about 40,000 years ago, is considered the most powerful volcanic eruption ever recorded in the Mediterranean. Crucially, Grotta di Castelcivita is one of the rare archaeological sites where volcanic ash has sealed a high-resolution archaeological sequence.

By employing a set of cutting-edge methodologies to meticulously reconstruct the methods used in crafting stone tools—the most enduring artifacts unearthed in prehistoric excavations—the researchers demonstrated that cultural development at Castelcivita predates both the deposition of the volcanic layers and the sub-contemporaneous cold climate phase known as Heinrich Stadial 4, which lasted for about 2 millennia.

Examples of material culture remains discovered in the uppermost layers of Grotta di Castelcivita, before the definitive sealing of the archaeological sequence by the volcanic eruption. The micro-points (a) were extracted from cores (b) that bear the negatives of these removals. In addition to stone tools, over a hundred marine shells of different species were collected from the Mediterranean shores and perforated for decorative purposes (c). On the right, one of the micro-points is shown on top of a fingertip. Credit: University of Tübingen

The most remarkable cultural innovation recorded at the site is the production of miniaturized stone points from rocks collected near the cave with the most suitable fracture properties. These micro-tools were likely intended to be hafted into multi-component projectile weapons.

This discovery challenges long-held speculations that natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions and cooling events, were crucial drivers of major changes in the lifeways of hunter-gatherers throughout human prehistory.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, hypothesizes instead that cultural innovations among early Homo sapiens originated from mechanisms of cultural transmission and the establishment of large-scale networks that extended beyond the Alps.

Overall, this research represents a significant step towards understanding how Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherer societies developed sophisticated strategies to thrive in changing environments.

Grotta di Castelcivita is one of the most important prehistoric deposits in Europe, containing a high-resolution stratigraphic sequence with evidence for the replacement of Neanderthals by early Homo sapiens groups about 43,000 years ago.

Excavations and research at this site are conducted with permission from the Italian Ministry of Culture by the Research Unit of Prehistory and Anthropology, Department of Physical Sciences, Earth, and Environment at the University of Siena, under the direction of Adriana Moroni.

Journal information: Scientific Reports 

Provided by University of Tübingen 

To date, little has been known about people living in north-western Saudi Arabia during the Neolithic—the period traditionally defined by the shift to humans controlling food production and settling into communities with agriculture and domesticated animals.

The piecemeal evidence available hinted traditional ideas—of small struggling groups constantly on the move across the barren lands—needed to be revisited.

Now, an Australian-led team has released new research in the journal Levant on monumental buildings we call “standing stone circles.” The findings are helping to rewrite what we know about the people who lived on this land between 6,500 and 8,000 years ago.

Our evidence reveals what they ate, what tools they used and even the jewelry they wore. It leads us to think these people weren’t struggling so much after all, but rather had found complex and strategic ways to thrive on the land for millennia.

The project

Over the past five years, our team of researchers has studied 431 standing stone circles in the AlUla and Khaybar regions of north-west Saudi Arabia, as part of an ongoing project sponsored by the Royal Commission for AlUla. Of the 431 structures, 52 have been surveyed in detail and 11 excavated.

Our latest findings come from a selection of buildings found on the Harrat ‘Uwayrid—a volcanic plateau formed over millennia. The dense clusters of standing stone circles on the harrat show us how complex these mobile pastoralist communities actually were. We also recovered remnants left behind by the people who lived in these buildings for more than 1,000 years.

We used a range of modern and traditional techniques to tackle the practical limitations of working in such a remote and rugged landscape. Aerial survey by helicopter helped us identify examples of the dwellings across 40,000 square kilometers of basalt and sandy desert. Drones were also used to make plans of the sites, some almost three hectares in size.