Discoveries That Rewrote History - Essay Sample

Introduction

Patrick Hunt is a well-known Stamford archeologist who has spent part of his years trying to unravel the mystery behind how Hannibal, the great military leader, crossed the Alps during 218 BCE with over 25,000 soldiers and elephants (Ten Discoveries That Rewrote History, 2007). On account of his travels around the world Patrick Hunt through his book titled ‘Ten Discoveries That Rewrote History’ assembles ten of his best discoveries and describes the various ways each discovery has further supplemented our knowledge in human history and how they have changed the way we look at the world (Ten Discoveries That Rewrote History, 2007).

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The ten discoveries serve as a travel guide to the world's global wonders and as an introduction to the ancient world history (Ten Discoveries That Rewrote History, 2007). The ten discoveries include The Rosetta Stone, Troy, Nineveh’s Assyrian Library, Olduvai Gorge, the Tomb of 10,000 Warriors, Machu Pichu, Pompeii, Akrotiri on Thera, King Tut's Tomb, and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Hunt, 2007).

The paper seeks to determine which of the ten discoveries was the most significant in its contribution to world history and discuss the least considerable discovery in its contribution to world history. The paper will further go ahead and describe the short-term and long-term impact of both the least and most important discoveries on the world's history.

Olduvai Gorge

The Olduvai Gorge is a world heritage site located in Tanzania that holds one of the earliest evidence of human descendants (Owuor, 2019). Paleoanthropologists have discovered hundreds of bones and stone crafts in the site dating back to millions of years, establishing Africa as humankind's cradle. Olduvai's name comes from a misspelled word from the Maasai for sisal that grows naturally in the area (Owuor, 2019). The Olduvai Gorge formed some 30,000 years ago as a result of ferocious geological activity. The gorge is currently situated in the Great Rift Valley between the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater (Owuor, 2019). The gorge is also close to Laetoli, another site 30 miles from Olduvai that is also rich in fossils (Owuor, 2019).

The Leakey family is perhaps considered the initial family of paleontology. Their lives and later that of their children was basically orbited around the Olduvai Gorge (Yanes, 2017). Louis Leakey, born in Kenya in 1903 after his studies in England, joined a fossil-finding mission to Tanzania, which later generated his interest in human origins. Louis and Mary met in England and briefly worked at Olduvai Gorge before being married in England (Yanes, 2017).

During then 1930's the Leakey discovered stone tools in Olduvai Gorge, and perhaps one of their prominent findings was the rare 25 million-year-old Proconsul Primate Ape skull and several extinct vertebrates (Hunt, 2007). In 1959 Mary Leakey, on a solo expedition, discovered fossilized parts of a skull and upper dentine of a type of hominin that earlier had not been identified (Hunt, 2007). Later the Leakey's unearthed over 400 parts of an almost complete skull, which held a resemblance to the ones discovered in South Africa by Raymond Dart and Robert Broom in 1924 and 1936, respectively (Hunt, 2007). The Leakey's nonetheless categorized their discovery under a new hominin group, naming it Zinjanthropus boisei (Yanes, 2017). The discovery was not of direct relation to humankind, but it sparked public interest in studying human origins. The Leakey’s dated their find back to 1.75 million years ago, making it the oldest ever discovered human fossil (Hunt, 2007). However, the discoveries made by Darts and Broom were not determined due to a lack of fossil dating technology back in their time of discovery.

During the 1960s, Mary Leakey, who was in charge of the expeditions, made discoveries an untouched fossil foot that possessed arches, supporting the theory that the hominins walked upright (Hunt, 2007). Consequently, Mary Leakey and her son Jonathan uncovered another fossil dated 2 million years old, which they dubbed Homo habilis, meaning "handy man" since it was established that he was able to use tools (Hunt, 2007). In 1972 Richard Leakey, another son to the Leakey's family, unearthed another Homo habilis, which proved the earlier theory proposed by Louis Leakey that several lines of hominins developed concurrently and that the homo genus did not develop as a result of Australopithecus (Hunt, 2007).

In 1968 Peter Nzube, a member of the Leakey's expedition crew, discovered a 1.8 million-year-old skull, which was dubbed Twiggy after a slim British model (Zimmermann, 2014). The skull had to be reconstructed from several pieces since it was compressed. Twiggy was believed to have died an adult since her third set of molars had erupted out (Zimmermann, 2014).

Although the Leakey family made tremendous contributions with the findings in Olduvai Gorge, most scientist term the most crucial and vital discovery in Olduvai Gorge was in 1986 (Zimmermann, 2014). In 1986 an expedition crew comprising Tanzanian and American archeologists uncovered 302 bones and teeth belonging to a female and was believed to be about 1.8 million years old (Zimmermann, 2014). The amalgamation of the Leakey's findings, Dart and Broom made a convincing argument that Africa is indeed the cradle of humankind (Zimmermann, 2014).

Importance of Olduvai Gorge Discoveries to History

Olduvai Gorge forms part of the World Heritage Site and serves as an important fossil site. The site is responsible for discovering hundreds of fossils that date back to millions of years that have resulted in the conclusion that, indeed, Africa is the cradle of humanity (Hunt, 2007). The discoveries have also provided evidence to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution that suggests humanity's evolution that dates back over millions of years. The discoveries made at the site have unearthed a lot of information regarding past human development in terms of the physique, such as how human upright posture came about, way of life such as hunting and scavenging, and the development of tools over time from simple tools to complex devices.

Troy

Until its discovery, Troy was majorly considered a legend; however, not everyone agreed to this line of thought, and the nonconformists set out an expedition to uncover the truth (Calvo, 2020). The exact location of the city for a large part of history had been part of debates and suppositions, with some suggesting that Anatolia, due to its name, strongly inferring to Troy's location. In contrast, others believed the exact location to be the Troad peninsula (Calvo, 2020).

In the 19th century, a German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann was in Turkey on a strange expedition. In a site known as Hissarlik that as only known to a few specialists, Schliemann was excavating an artificial mound that was used to cover abandoned settlements (Martinez, 2018). While excavating, Schliemann was hopeful in uncovering Troy's renowned city that was based in classical literature (Martinez, 2018). The Greek poet Homer in the work The Iliad and The Odyssey popularized the Trojans and the city by describing the decade long war between Greece and Troy (Hunt, 2007). In the Iliad, Homer covers 54 days of the development of the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon (Martinez, 2018).

According to Schliemann's autobiography, he got to know about Troy from his father, and he was immediately fascinated by Homer's world (Marjorie, 1960). The need for self-support disrupted Schliemann's schooling; nevertheless, he continued studying and even taught himself 18 languages (Marjorie, 1960). Schliemann engaged in business and was very successful. At the age of 41, he was ready to retire and pursue his dream in archeology, particularly in uncovering Troy's city (Marjorie, 1960).

In his tour to the Aegean using Homer's descriptions as a guide, Schliemann was convinced that the ancient city of Troy was located in modern Turkey on the hill of Hissarlik (Marjorie, 1960). The government took almost two years to grant him the permit to excavate on the condition that he finance the excavation, to leave any remains in the initial state he found them, and finally turn half of his discoveries to the Turkish museum (Herve, 1996).

When the exaction began in 1871, the field of archeology mainly comprised treasure hunting, and hence after ruins were unearthed, Schliemann thought that the city would be deep under, and after a year, he realized that he had gone too far (Herve, 1996). In 1873 while digging up a new layer, he discovered a palace, paved road, and a sacrificial altar that led to him believing that he had found Troy's actual city (Hunt, 2007). The discoveries were given little attention due to questions of Schliemann's credibility (Herve, 1996). It was not until Schliemann unearthed silver and gold jewelry, a shield, plates, and vessels made of gold and copper, which he named "Priam's treasure," that ignited public interest and made him a renowned archeologist (Herve, 1996). Schliemann smuggled the discoveries out of Turkey and displayed them in his house in Athens, but eventually, he released them to the Berlin Museum (Trail, 1995).

The Less Importance of the Discovery of Troy

Heinrich Schliemann, one of Troy's earliest excavators though controversially being credited as the "father of archeology," his techniques formed the basis of archeology research. Troy's discovery and excavation in 1870 were only used to prove the myth that was based in the Greek literature by a poet known as Homer. The discovery proved that the historical site had real people living and fighting in the wars described in Homer's Greek literature. Hence in the ten discoveries, a book by Patrick Hunt, I believe Troy's discovery was the less important as it was only used to establish the truth that was thought to be mythical, thus had less impact on the history of the world.

References

Calvo, S. C. (2020, October 03). The Discovery of Troy. Encyclopedia. https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedia-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/discovery-troy

Herve, D. (1996). Golden Treasures of Troy: The Dream of Heinrich Schliemann. New York: Abrams.

Hunt, P. (2007). Ten Discoveries That Rewrote History. Plume Books.

Lotha, G. (2019, May 17). Mary Douglas Leakey: Kenyan archeologist. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Douglas-Leakey

Marjorie, B. (1960). The Walls of Windy Troy: A Biography of Heinrich Schliemann. New York: Harcourt Brace.

Martinez, O. (2018, November 14). How archeologists found the lost city of Troy. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2015/12/the-lost-city-of-troy/