Archaeology Magazine - December 1954 - 62

Professor Ludwig Bachhofer of the
Universityof Chicagowho adds: "The
general impressionI get from the photo
is that the statuette is rather early. . . .
A great deal may depend on the two
upright remnants stickingout from the
shoulders. I take it thàt they are the
fragments of earrings. The necklace
and girdle seem to be made of chains.
This, and the eccentricarrangement of
the loin cloth, point to the date I have
mentioned."
Great importance is attached to this
figurine since it is the first certain import from India yet found in South
Arabia. Commercialrelations between
these two areas would seem to have
From South Arabia
been inevitable in view of their geoof
an
owe
the
graphic proximity, and this statuette
(We
followingreport
interesting find made in South Arabia provides a small but significant fragto Professor W. F. Albright of Johns ment of evidence in support of this
view. Merchant ships laden with prodHopkins University.)
A bronze statuette of an Indian girl ucts from India must have called at
was recoveredrecentlyby Frank P. Al- Arabian ports like SMR. Although the
bright while excavating in Oman, site has a good harbor, it is not listed by
South Arabia. The site in which the Ptolemy and has not been known prespecimenwas found is the ancient for- viously. Inscriptionsfound in the gatetress and port city SMR (the vocaliza- way of the city relate that it was
tion of the name is unknown), located founded by Eleazos Yalit in the first
at Khor Rori about thirty miles east of century A.D.Evidencerecovered in the
excavations shows that occupation at
Salalah in Zofar, Oman.
The figure, about 3Vi inches in the site cameto an end before the beginheight, portrays a girl dancing and pre- ning of Islam.
The presentexcavationat SMR is the
sumablyplaying a flute. The head, feet
and left arm are missing. It has been fourth in a series of campaigns spondated in the second century A.D.by sored by the American Foundation for
the Study of Man under the leadership
of Wendell Phillips. It is hoped that
further excavationwill shed more light
on ancient relations between Arabia
and India.

field work. In 1953 the work was conducted jointly by the Illinois State
Museum, the University of Chicago
and the Wenner-Gren Foundation.
John Buettner-Janusch and Howard
Winters were in charge.
Carbon samples collectedat the site
by Dr. FrederickR. Matson were subjected to Carbon 14 tests by Dr. Willard Libby of the Institute of Nuclear
Studies of the University of Chicago.
Those from a depth of twenty-sixfeet
- the deepest level ever excavatedin
Illinois- were dated at 8697 B.c.,plus
or minus 650 years. This is contemporaneous with the Folsomperiod of the
southwesternUnited States. The depth
of the deposits and the type of artifacts
found, chipped flint, spearheads,drills,
scrapers,ground stone axes,shell beads
and hearths, indicated that the site was
one of major importance but its full
significancewas not realized until the
dates were released by Dr. Libby. It
was originally thought to be about'
7,000 years old. Other approximate
dates of carbon samples found on the
site were 6597 B.c. at twenty-twofeet
and 4001 B.c. at sixteen feet. The culture at all dated levels is palaeolithic
and in the United States is commonly
known as Archaic.
The Illinois State Museum's program for the summer of 1954was the
excavation of an Archaic village site
and mound in Hardin County. This
site is considered particularly interesting becauseit seems to be of the same
period as the upper levelsof the Modoc
rock shelter and has alreadyyieldednumerous types of polished stones called
"ceremonials"or "banner stones."

Palaeolithic in Illinois
Excavations in a rock shelter near
Modoc, Randolph County, in southern
Illinois, have resulted in the discovery
of the oldest Indian site- nearly 11,000
years old- yet found east of the Mississippl. The site is located at the base of
an eighty-two foot bluff near the Mississippi River. First discoveredseveral
years ago by highway crews taking dirt
from the site to fill in roadbeds in the
area, it was reported by Irvin Peithman
of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. The first archaeologicalwork
was undertaken in 1952 under the
supervision of Dr. Thorne Deuel, Director of the Illinois State Museum,
with Melvin L. Fowler, Curator of Archaeology at the Museum, directing

"Archaeology as a Career"
Great interest has already been
shown in this article by ProfessorJohn
H. Rowe. Notices published in Antiquity and The BiblicalArchaeologist
have produced many large orders for
reprints from societies,museumsand
universities in the United States and
other countries. We regret that it may
no longer be possibleto fill largeorders
but readers wishing single copiesor a
small number of copiesmay write after
January 1, 1955 to the BusinessManager, Archaeology, Andover Hall,
Cambridge 38, Mass. A few orders
from institutions can be acceptedat
$3.00 plus postage for 50 copiesand
$5.00 plus postage for 100 copies.

9 Rivercourt Road, London, W.6, the
Hon. Secretary of the Parkes Weber
Prize Committee.
Competitorsfor the prize may be of
any nationality but must be under the
age of twenty-threeon the final day of
entry, August 31st. The award will
be announcedin Decemberof the same
year. No award will be made to a
candidate who has won it previously
and the Council of the Royal Numismatic Societyreserves the right to advise that no award be made in any
given year if entries are not of sufficiently high standard.

254

Archaeology Magazine - December 1954

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