May/June 2023 Issue

VIETNAM: A 13-inch-long piece of antler found 30 years ago at the site of Go O Chua in the Mekong Delta may be part of the oldest stringed instrument discovered in Southeast Asia. The 2,000-year-old antler, either from a sambar deer or an Indian hog deer, was originally thought to be just a well-preserved ancient organic object. However, recent analysis revealed an unusual round hole at one end. The small aperture was made deliberately and likely once held a peg used to tune the single string of what is known as a chordophone instrument.

CHINA: The ruins of the sprawling ancient palace at Yueyang in the city of Xi’an attest to the lavish life its royal residents led when the city was an important capital during the late Qin and early Han Dynasties, between 2,400 and 2,200 years ago. The residents also seem to have had an extravagant luxury item: a flushing toilet, among the oldest ever discovered. The indoor lavatory was connected to the palace’s exterior with a pipe so the toilet could be flushed by servants pouring water through it.

ZIMBABWE: One mystery surrounding the earliest city in southern Africa appears to have been solved. Great Zimbabwe, from which the modern country takes its name, flourished from the 12th to 15th century A.D. as the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe. Given the area’s susceptibility to drought, scholars have wondered how the city’s inhabitants were able to obtain enough water to sustain themselves. A new survey uncovered a series of depressions outside the city called dhaka pits that were used to store water in the dry season as part of an ingenious water management system.