this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2024
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Archaeology

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Archaeology or archeology[a] is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes.

Archaeology has various goals, which range from understanding culture history to reconstructing past lifeways to documenting and explaining changes in human societies through time.

The discipline involves surveying, excavation, and eventually analysis of data collected, to learn more about the past. In broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. Read more...

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[–] AbouBenAdhem 18 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

So they say this study is in Praehistorische Zeitschrift, but they don’t link to it, or give the issue, or the date, or the title of the paper, or the names of the authors? And they don’t ask any other historians or archeologists for an opinion?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago

Finally someone who cares for journalist integrity

[–] 5190tent 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/pz-2024-2017/html?srsltid=AfmBOop4bYqn5BhUClAYyvICkeuID7a9Tqh7YZyf9JKnKAJyNQhgt0zS

The title of the study is "In a narcotic trance, or stimulants in Germanic communities of the Roman period"

Its literally the first result if you Google "Praehistorische Zeitschrift Stimulants". It's pretty easy to find.

[–] AbouBenAdhem 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Thanks—I made the mistake of going directly to the journal’s site and searching there.

Some impressions after quickly reading the paper:

  • They start with the assumption that iron-age warriors took stimulants before battle (based on a comparison to other selected cultures, rather than any direct evidence) and look for any possible relevant artifacts, rather than starting with the artifacts and trying to deduce their use from the context of the finds

  • They present no corroborating evidence like chemical residues or association with containers that might have held stimulants. They do mention a type of wooden box found in other graves, but no suggestion that the occurrences are correlated; they also mention metal containers found in female graves—but since the spoonlike artifacts are only found with male burials, there’s clearly a negative correlation.

  • If stimulant use were as widespread as the prevalence of the artifacts suggests, you’d expect some mention by contemporary Romans or Greeks (especially given the famous description of cannabis use among the Scythians by Herodotus, and the fondness of later historians for imitating him), or some survival into medieval practice or folklore

  • They mention a number of psychoactive plants based on their potential availability, not evidence of actual use—and not all of them are stimulants, or appropriate for inhalation.

  • There’s no suggestion that the spoons were a standard size, as would be expected if they were intended for measuring drug doses.

In short, the paper seems a lot more speculative than the Newsweek article implies.

[–] captainlezbian 13 points 1 week ago (2 children)

So Persians? Gauls? Romans? Latins? Goths?…

Barbarians are one of the most non specific groups

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago

no like the rpg class /s

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Transalpine riffraff, the lot of em

[–] captainlezbian 3 points 1 week ago

Are you deigning to tell me that the cisalpine Gauls are civilized?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago

Rhabarberbarbarabarbarbarenbartbarbierbier?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

small spoon-like objects

Did they also find needles and rubber tubing? 🤔

[–] frankenswine 9 points 1 week ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It's hard to shoot up in a back alley when back alleys aren't a thing yet.

[–] Blue_Morpho 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I think you solved the mystery of ancient Newgrange

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

Yeah that looks like a good place to shoot up heroin.

[–] Maalus 2 points 1 week ago

They used torches for that.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago

If spoons are suggesting things too you, maybe you are already on drugs.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

Modern ones do too, quite often.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

Well yeah, Schwarzenegger has admitted to being on steroids as they were legal at the time.