What's New - Random Roundup Archives Page 1

September 7, 2008

Ancient gold treasure found in northern Greece puzzles archeologists Aug 29, 2008 ATHENS, Greece — A priceless gold wreath has been unearthed in an ancient city in northern Greece, buried with human bones in a large copper vase that workers initially took for a landmine.

French-Afghan team unearths Buddha`s headThursday August 28, 2008 (2127 PST)
(Quqnoos) - FRENCH and Afghan archaeologists have unearthed the head of a Buddha statue and a precious coin in the province of Bamiyan

Stonehenge investigations continue
ARCHAEOLOGISTS from around the country are investigating Stonehenge and the surrounding areas in, and visitors are being invited to come along to see history brought to life.

Stonehenge 'was hidden from lower classes'
Archeologists have uncovered the remains of what they believe to be a 20ft fence designed to screen Stonehenge from the view of unworthy Stone Age Britons

Physics is a changing tide for games development
Keith Stuart - The Guardian, Thursday August 28 2008
The future is about games in which emergent behaviour is as much a part of the scenery as well as the enemy AI and the sand box design structure. This is the point at which dead worlds come alive.

Flashback !!
Joseph Needham on Chinese Physics and Chess

PDF (1.88 Mb) Ch. 26 Physics - the Chinese orientation to chess - Ch. 26 Physics, (8) The Magnet, Divination, and Chess, pp. 314-334.

The Mysterious Trypilian Culture of Ukraine: November 29, 2008 - March 2, 2009. The Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is hosting a rare showing of artifacts from the Trypilian (Ukraine) culture (5400 - 2700 BCE). Other Neolithic cultures, such as the Halaf, from what is now known as northern Syria and south-eastern Turkey (6500 - 5500 BCE), and the Vinca from what is now known as modern Serbia, demonstrate their artistic legacies having much in common.

Trypilian "model houses". Based on her evaluation of the excavated contents of an actual, near identical full-scale Cucuteni building, Marija Gimbutas believed it represents a temple. Hmmm, is there a resemblance to last month's (July 13, 2008) house shrine excavated at Tel Rehov, Israel half way up the Jordan Valley between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee), dating from 10th-9th centuries BCE, several thousands of years later?

(You can find more information on the Tel Rehov house shrine under July 13, 2008 Archive of "What's New" at Goddesschess)

Model for the Oscar?

From The Museum of Cycladic Art
Stone
Early Cycladic II period - Syros phase
2800-2300 BC
H.: 30.7 cm
From Attica (?)

Description
While the greatest number of Early Bronze Age female figurines with folded arms have been produced in the Cyclades, the type was clearly known throughout the Aegean world, as several examples have been found in Mainland Greece, Crete and Asia Minor. The material used to sculpt this figure - a greenish stone instead of the far more common white marble - may point to a provenance outside the Cyclades, possibly in Attica. The seven creases across the abdomen are usually interpreted as post-partum wrinkles, a theory strengthened by the existence of figurines with swollen abdomens, taken to indicate pregnancy.

Flashback It's long, rambling, almost incoherent - gets to the point and some how misses it. Chessoid Goes Hollywood... Scroll to the very bottom to get the punchline. A fitting conclusion might have been: Ptah as Oscar and Sothis as his partner symbolize a North-South (Ptah as "omphalaos" or "linga") East-West (Sothis as lateral compliment or "yoni") co-axial integration. Also, it has been remarked that both Ptah and Sothis frequently appear as transgendered figures. Thus they appear as complimentary aspects of a "complete" "male-female" compass and corresponding world view. (DMc - Sept. 7, 2008)

August 31, 2008
We're digging up the future - again...

"The Prittlewell Prince": Review of excavation and photos of artifacts. In October 2003 the Museum of London Archaeology Service (MoLAS) began an archaeological investigation at Prittlewell in south-east Essex. The work was part of a proposed road improvement on the site of a known Anglo-Saxon cemetery. Within a short time the archaeologists had discovered a burial that was clearly extraordinary. Among the precious artifacts recovered from the grave were 57 bone gaming pieces and two dice. Guardian newspaper article from April 9, 2004.

Dead Sea Scrolls to Go Online: Over the next two years, the Israel Antiquities Authority will digitally photograph and scan every bit of crumbling parchment and papyrus that makes up the scrolls, which include the oldest written record of the Bible's Old Testament. The images eventually will be posted on the Internet for anyone to see.

From The Biblical Archaelogical Review: Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations, by Georgina Howell, (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007), 512 pp., 16 pp. illus., $27.50 US (hardcover)). Reviewed by Julia M. Asher-Greve

Two mummified fetuses found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun will undergo DNA testing to determine their relation to the famous pharaoh.

Four Headless Sphinxes discovered in Egypt on a road between Luxor and Karnak, date back to the reign of King Nekhtnebef who founded the 30th Pharaonic dynasty (363-380 BC).

From Elliott Avedon Museum & Archives of Games
An Egyptian Game in Assyria C.J. Gadd on "58 Holes" - "Being thus known in Egypt, Palestine, and Elam, it would be surprising if this game had not been played also by the Babylonians and Assyrians. It is proposed to quote or illustrate here several examples of the same kind of 'board' from these regions, which prove that there also it was familiar."

Explore the octad with Antothy Blake's neatly organized research site and while there check out Systematics (!?) - "the understanding of experience by use of number-term systems"

Cowboys and Curators?

Georgia Albert sends us this recent pic of Ulrich. curator of the Swiss Museum of Games, riding the Las Vegas range...

Americanopoly : A review of Americanopoly—America as Seen Through its Games is the latest book by games historian and researcher Bruce Whitehill, whose first work, Games: American Games and Their Makers, 1822-1992, was considered the benchmark in its field. Americanopoly shows the history of the United States from the 1840s through the present using commercially manufactured American games to tell the story.

Ed. Note: Each of us at Goddesschess were delighted to receive a copy of Americanopoly from our good friend Ulrich Schadler. The Swiss Museum of Games, where he is curator, recently hosted a special exhibition featuring Americanopoly.

August 24, 2008
Baubles, bangles, bright, shiny beads . . .

Bling from the past!
Credit payments into the future...

From the land of the Golden Fleece, incredibly delicate, intricate and beautiful earrings from circa 400 BCE. Georgian National Museum, image from Biblical Archaelogical Review "Artifacts from the Land of the Golden Fleece."

It's the sort of classic jewellery favoured by modern women except these earrings were worn 2,500 years ago. Bulgarian archaeologist Georgi Kitov discovered gold earrings, a ring and other funeral gifts dating back to the 5th century B.C. while excavating a Thracian tomb near the village of Kushare, about 280km from Sofia, Bulgaria.

Rare copper pendant found at Fort James in Jamestown, Virginia: A copper pendant found buried in the early fort-period cellar excavated earlier this year could be the profile of a Powhatan Indian. Bly Straube, Senior Curator at Historic Jamestowne, notes that the pendant may have been a type of identification badge for an Indian entering the fort. If it is indeed the likeness of a Powhatan Indian, it is one of only four known to exist outside of the 1580s drawings made by John White of the Roanoke (N.C.) colony.

Bling at the Blog! For more bling see at Jan Xena's sparkling Goddesschess blog

So how does one acquire expensive bling? As any treasure hoarding dragon knows, coins with monsters are one possibilty

- OR - one learns to play Monopoly!

Monopoly...and its ex-chequered past... Ed note: As kids we played this game endlessly - so often in fact, we began calling it "Monotony". What were we really learning from that game? Perhaps not all we bargained for. A recent look at the new Global Monopoly hints at a hidden history.

But first a word from the London markets!

Hall, Hubert: The Antiquities and Curiosities of the Exchequer. London, 1898
Contents: "The Ancient Treasury of the Kings of England;" "Treasure and Records;" "The Exchequer House;" "the Officers of the Exchequer;" "The Chess Game;" "Exchequer Problems;" "The Making of the Budget." On line Google Book source for Hall's chess analogies

And now, for the American round up ...

The Landlord's Game
The Landlord's Game is a board game patented in 1904 by Elizabeth Magie. It is a realty and taxation game, similar to Monopoly. Though many similar home-made games were played at the beginning of the 20th century and some predate The Landlord's Game, it is the first of its kind to have an attested patent. Large illustration of the game board and its miscellaneous parts...

Real Board Game History
By Mary Bellis - Anti-Monopoly! In investigating the history of the world's best selling board game, I discovered a trail of controversy surrounding Monopoly beginning in 1936. This was the year Parker brothers introduced Monopoly ® after purchasing the rights from Charles Darrow.

Monopoly and Landlord's Game - a Historical Review At Gameslist - a large selection of variants, excellent graphics and commentary on the history of monopoly and Landlords games; popular myths vs. historical facts...

Americanopoly : A review of Americanopoly—America as Seen Through its Games is the latest book by games historian and researcher Bruce Whitehill, whose first work, Games: American Games and Their Makers, 1822-1992, was considered the benchmark in its field. Americanopoly shows the history of the United States from the 1840s through the present using commercially manufactured American games to tell the story.

Ed. Note: Each of us at Goddesschess were delighted to receive a copy of Americanopoly from our good friend Ulrich Schadler. The Swiss Museum of Games, where he is curator, recently hosted a special exhibition featuring Americanopoly.

Stock Ticker:
Stock Ticker is a now out of print board game (graphic) that was popular upon its release and is still played today. It was released by Copp-Clark Publishing, a venerable Canadian publisher.

Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition

In this photo provided by Hasbro, "Mr. Monopoly" stands on a large version of the global game board of the new "Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition" after it was unveiled on the CBS Early Show in New York, Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Hasbro Website:
Makers of the game...

Montreal Gazette News Article:
"In Monopoly, players compete to get rich by owning, renting, trading and selling properties and public services.

The winner forces all other players to go bankrupt."

" Montreal will be represented on the board by a picture of St. Joseph's Oratory and players will have to shell out $4 million to start developing property and taking out mortgages on the site."

Somehow, I seriously doubt Brother Andre or Elizabeth Magie would approve ...

August 17, 2008

Roving our planet with the quick, the quicker, and other footloose ancestors... some dearly departed amongst 'em!!

• Around Africa in a Phoenician Boat: A crew of 20 to set sail in an attempt to recreate historic voyage referenced in Herodotus.

• The Viking replica longship Sea Stallion returns to home waters in Roskilde after a 2,800 nautical-mile round trip between Denmark and Ireland.

• Thracian Chariot Burial Uncovered in Bulgaria: The skeletons of two riding horses apparently sacrificed during the funeral of the nobleman, along with well preserved bronze and leather objects, some believed to horse harnesses, were unearthed in a separate pit. Finds date to approximately 100 CE.

• Ancient Ships in Art History: The Ceremonial Uses of Ships in ancient Egypt and Egyptian art...

• Bronze age remains 'may be tribal chieftain.' The discovery of the middle-aged man's remains and burial casket, or cisk, was made by an amateur archaeologist, Trevor Renals, as walked on Constantine Island, North Cornwall. It is believed the man was from the middle bronze age, between 1380 and 1100BC.

• Stone Age Cemetery Found in Sahara (Niger) reveals a mystery - where did the Tenerians come from? The Kiffians and the Tenerians, successively occupied the area of the "Green Sahara" over a stretch of several thousand years. The Kiffians, some of whom stood up to six feet tall, both men and women, lived there during the Sahara’s wettest period, between 10,000 and 8,000 years ago. Ceramics with wavy lines and zigzag patterns were identified as Kiffian, a culture associated with northern Africa. Pots bearing a pointillistic pattern were linked to the Ténérians, a people named for the Ténéré desert, a stretch of the Sahara known to Tuareg nomads as a “desert within a desert.” Christopher M. Stojanowski, an archaeologist at Arizona State University, said the two cultures were “biologically distinct groups.” The bones and teeth showed that in contrast to the robust Kiffians, the Ténérians were typically short and lean and apparently led less rigorous lives. The shapes of the Ténérian skulls are puzzling, researchers said, because they resemble those of Mediterranean people, not other nearby groups.

• Tunnel Excavation Reveals Ancient Remains: Human skeletons, which experts say could be more than 8,000 years old, were found in four prehistoric graves recently unearthed at the Marmaray tunnel excavation site in the Yenikap? district of Istanbul. The graves might date back to between 6,400 B.C. and 6,200 B.C. The human skeletons were the oldest skeletons unearthed so far during the Marmaray project, which will be the first underwater tube to connect Europe and Asia beneath the Bosporus.

New Discoveries
Changing times - changing paradigms

The idea that the Chinese may have reached the New World at least 500 years before the Vikings and 1,000 years before Columbus is as tantalizing as it is controversial. In Liang-shu (Records of the Liang Dynasty), set down almost 1,500 years ago, the story is told of an itinerant monk named Hui Shen who set sail with his four Buddhist companions on a four-decade-long, trans-Pacific odyssey with the intention of introducing their religion to the peoples they encountered across the “Great Eastern Sea”.

When other researchers reported that New Mexico’s Zuni Native blood types, religion, and language have unmistakable Japanese links, or that old Mayan had common linguistic roots with old Sino-Tibetan—and that these Asian influences appear to have arrived abruptly within the past 1,500 years—it was a sign the iconoclasts of Asian dispersal had overwhelmed the bastion of American uniqueness. Gavin Menzies' "1421: The Year China Discovered the World" about a global circumnavigation accomplished by Chinese Admiral Zheng He is nothing to Hui Shen!

August 10, 2008

A mixed black bag of marbles containing mummies, jade, nard and other interesting items ...

• An Egyptian archeological mission has unearthed a 5,000-year-old royal burial ground in southern Egypt, the official MENA news agency reported on Saturday.

• Saqqara yields Late Period Treasures: While removing surface sand, archaeologists from the university stumbled upon a part of the tomb of Wadj-Mes, overseer of the guards during the reign of Pharaoh Rameses II (1304-1237 BC), as well as a number of burial shafts on the tomb's eastern side.

• The secret of Maya green The blue-green colour of veszelyite seems to have been chosen to blend in with and even imitate jade

• Eight perfectly preserved mummies, believed to be some 4,500 year old, were found by workers engaged in a restoration project in Chile's far north, Spain's EFE news agency reported on Saturday quoting media report. "These mummies date back to between 2,000 BC and 5,000 BC." archaeologist Calogero Santoro told the daily El Mercurio.

• Pond digging leads to rare statue: A rare 10th century CE basalt sculpture of the God Vishnu was discovered during pond dredging at an estate in Bangladesh. Antiquities smugglers made their bid for the artifact and were rebuffed; two museums are now vying for custody of the sculpture. How soon before it disappears into the nether-world of illegally traded antiquities?

• Tell Edfu reveals "workaday world" of ancient Egyptians: Archaeologists are now concentrating on ruins of ancient towns and cities that were previously ignored in the rush to excavate "glorious finds," and uncovering a wealth of information in the process.

• Of Nubians and Nabateans: Implications of research on neglected dimensions of ancient world history - by Jesse Benjamin - Journal of Asian and African Studies, Nov 2001 v36 i4 p361(22) Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2001 E.J. Brill

• Nabataeans in Africa
During the reign of Philadelphos Ptolemey, the Zenon Papyri tell us of the relations between his agents and the Nabataeans as Zenon bought various aromatics in Palestine.

• Daaim Shabazz of The Chess Drum Blog reports: ChessBase has just made reference to an interesting article by TIME magazine who conducted an interview with Viswanathan Anand on the origins of chess. Guess where he says chess was invented… one guess. Anand is even talking “B.C.” See also: The Indian Defense

• Nard Anyone? Follow the royal trail of perfumes and incense...

The Games of Chess and Backgammon in Sasanian Persia By: Professor Touraj Daryaee
California State University, Fullerton

Getting on the CAIS Case ...

An explanation from CAIS posted at The Chess Drum Blog. (Scroll down their page for the complete gist...)

Re: CHESS; Iranian or Indian Invention?
Edited by Shapour Suren-Pahlav 1998

Unfortunately sometime ago by a simple mistake
the above mentioned article (CHESS, Iranian or
Indian Invention? By Shapour Suren-Pahlav)
and “The Origin of Chess: SOME FACTS TO THINK
ABOUT” by Ricardo Calvo were confused with each
other upon publication by our website. Although
both titles were correct, the body of texts were
published in the wrong pages - i.e. Ricardo Cavalo’s
body of text was published in Suren-Pahlav’s page,
and vice-versa.

The mistake was later rectified but unfortunately
“Iran Society” and one or two other Iranian websites
have obtained a copy from our site before the
correction in early 2000. Iran society and others are
now being informed of the mistake and asked for it
to be rectified.

My Sincere apologies for any confusion.

Kind regards
Jennifer Schneider
CAIS Webmaster

August 3, 2008

The infallible armies of ancient empires
associated with board game cultures

The Egyptian army
Until the takeover of Lower Egypt by the Hyksos, most conflicts the Egyptians had fought had been civil wars, where mainly armies of conscripted peasants and artisans led by noblemen opposed each other, or relatively short campaigns south into Nubia extending the southern borders of the realm, or east and west into the desert regions.

The Early Achaemenid Persian Army
A History Resource by Mark Drury
The Persian army was very multicultural in its make up. It consisted of trained regular units of Persian and Median infantry and cavalry supplemented by conscripts from subject nations within the empire and well as hired mercenaries or garrison troops from within or from outside the empire.

Ancient Chinese Military and Warfare
This website focuses on a brief history of Chinese military, weapons, and warfare strategies.

Ancient Chinese military thoughts
Based on the reasonable understanding of wars and military problems in the slavery and feudalism societies, ancient Chinese military thoughts experienced a consistent development in the past thousands of years with the advancement of the society.

Ancient Greek War Technology
A science is said to be useful if its development tends to accentuate the existing inequalities in the distribution of wealth, or more directly promotes the destruction of human life. Godfrey Harold Hardy (1877-1947) A Mathematician’s Apology

(Above graphic) A war elephant used by the Kings of Pergamon against a Gaul, Louvre

Military History Of Ancient India By Gorkhali, 2006; Revised
Category: South and Southeast Asia: Military History

"The Persians are famed for their archers, the Turks for their horsemen, and India for its armies." - Arab proverb

India is one of the oldest civilizations on earth, going back more than 7,000 years...

Hindu military science recognizes two kinds of warfare - the dharmayuddha and the kutayuddha. Dharmayuddha is war carried on the principles of dharma, meaning here the Ksatradharma or the law of Kings and Warriors. In other words, it was a just and righteous war which had the approval of society...

“The ancient Hindus could navigate the air, and not only navigate it, but fight battles in it like so many war-eagles combating for the domination of the clouds."

(Col. Henry S Olcott (1832 – 1907) American author, attorney, philosopher, and cofounder of the Theosophical Society in a lecture in Allahabad, in 1881.)

For more Vimana (??!) intrigues - we mirthfully suggest you go here or here! (keeping in mind, of course that aliens like the flavour of chessboards ...)

Sumerian Warfare?
The Sumerians had never been very warlike, and they had only a citizen army, called to arms in time of danger. In about 2340 BC King Sargon of Akkad conquered them and went on to build an empire that stretched westward to the Mediterranean Sea. The empire, though short-lived, fostered art and literature.

Janissaries - the Ottoman Empire's Infallible Army
Guest Author - Julie L Baumler
The Janissaries and their various guises over time are an excellent example of the potential for power to cause corruption.

See also the Wikipedia article on Turkish Janissaries.

CONGRATULATIONS KELLY WANG !

winner of

With much appreciated assistance from the Quebec Chess Federation and Richard Berube, our most recent award was presented to Kelly Wang of Montreal, Canada as "the most improved" young women player participating in the 2008 Canadian Open Chess Championship, (section E) held this year in Montreal Quebec.

Since last year's Turkish Open, those who have been closely following Kelly's progress have remarked upon exceptional improvements in her overall play. Sporting an ELO of 1209, Kelly has also been chosen as this year's Canadian representative in the World Youth Under 8 category for the upcoming international tournament to be held in Vietnam. In a brief telephone interview with Kelly's sister, we learned that she had already put her prize money to good use, purchasing two books - "Sillman's Complete End Game Course" and "The Anthology of Chess Combinations". These choices leave no doubt that Kelly is quite serious about her chess and has a very promising future ahead of her.

Although it was our original intention to dedicate this award to the player who promoted the first pawn of the tournament, we believe this slight change of plan is far better suited to the special skills involved in chess play and wish to thank Richard Berube of the Quebec Chess Federation for his role in facilitating the presentation of our award to Kelly.

In fact, The Goddesschess Partnership is most appreciative of the fact that our award found its way into the hands of a young, up and coming eight year old female chess player promoting her way through the ranks of women's and international chess. It didn't work out the way we planned - but - could this be the hand of a goddess at work?

Something about Xi Wang Mu

July 13, 2008

It is not generally known ... (but maybe it is now!)

Salome Alexandra
BAR 34:04, Jul/Aug 2008 - The Salome No One Knows by Kenneth Atkinson Long-time Ruler of a Prosperous and Peaceful Judea Mentioned in Dead Sea Scrolls

"When people hear the name Salome, they immediately think of the infamous dancing girl of the Gospels. ... In antiquity there was a considerably more famous Salome, however, who was revered for centuries."

The Sirius Lore
To the earliest Egyptians, Sirius/Sothis was the home of departed souls. Assem Deif shows how the triad Osiris-Isis-Nephthys affected other cultures.

The Papyrus Path
By Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg "There were once two Jewish temples in ancient Egypt. Both were found in the last century, but one was strangely lost again."

The Lost World
Armed with a map depicting a 10,000-year-old landscape submerged beneath the North Sea and fresh evidence from nearby sites, archaeologists are realizing that early humans were more territorial than was previously thought. Laura Spinney reports.

Oops!
Famed statue of the She-Wolf suckling Romulus and Remus isn't 2,500 years old after all... A statue symbolising the mythical origins and power of Rome, long thought to have been made around 500BC, has been found to date from the 1200s.

Ring of Brodgar in Orkney,
the third-largest stone circle in the British Isles and thought to date back to 3000-2000BC, to be excavated ""Because so little is known about the Ring of Brodgar, a series of assumptions have taken the place of archaeological data. The interpretation of what is arguably the most spectacular stone circle in Scotland is therefore incomplete and unclear."

To What God?
BAR 34:04, Jul/Aug 2008 Altars and a House Shrine from Tel Rehov Puzzle Archaeologists by Amihai Mazar and Nava Panitz-Cohen

Israelite Or Pagan? although many house shrines have been found elsewhere, the one excavated at Tel rehov features a unique element: a lion with its paws extended onto the heads of two human figures. it is not clear how any of these house shrines functioned. They may have held fertility figurines or other sacred objects. it is also unclear who used this particular house shrine—Israelites or Canaanites. although Tel rehov was located in the northern kingdom of Israel, the artistic traditions reflected in rehov’s cultic objects suggest influence of pre-Israelite culture and possibly of a different place altogether (Late Bronze age Syria). What is clear is that these shrines were used in local, personal and more-obscure forms of ritual activity than the centralized, public religious-political centers in Dan and Jerusalem.