Archeologists unearth new information on origins of Maya civilization

The Maya civilization is well-known for its elaborate temples, sophisticated writing system, and mathematical and astronomical developments, yet the civilization's origins remain something of a mystery.

A new University of Arizona study to be published in the journal Science challenges the two prevailing theories on how the ancient civilization began, suggesting its origins are more complex than previously thought.

Anthropologists typically fall into one of two competing camps with regard to the origins of Maya civilization. The first camp believes that it developed almost entirely on its own in the jungles of what is now Guatemala and southern Mexico. The second believes that the Maya civilization developed as the result of direct influences from the older Olmec civilization and its center of La Venta.

It's likely that neither of those theories tells the full story, according to findings by a team of archaeologists led by UA husband-and-wife anthropologists Takeshi Inomata and Daniela Triadan.

"We really focused on the beginning of this civilization and how this remarkable civilization developed," said Inomata, UA professor of anthropology and the study's lead author.

In their excavations at Ceibal, an ancient Maya site in Guatemala, researchers found that Ceibal actually predates the growth of La Venta as a major center by as much as 200 years, suggesting that La Venta could not have been the prevailing influence over early Mayan development.

That does not make the Maya civilization older than the Olmec civilization – since Olmec had another center prior to La Venta – nor does it prove that the Maya civilization developed entirely independently, researchers say.

What it does indicate, they say, is that both Ceibal and La Venta probably participated in a broader cultural shift taking place in the period between 1,150-800 B.C.

"We're saying that the scenario of early Maya culture is really more complex than we thought," said UA anthropology graduate student Victor Castillo, who co-authored the paper with Inomata and Triadan.

"We have this idea of the origin of Maya civilization as an indigenous development, and we have this other idea that it was an external influence that triggered the social complexity of Maya civilization. We're now thinking it's not actually black and white," Castillo said.

There is no denying the striking similarities between Ceibal and La Venta, such as evidence of similar ritual practices and the presence of similar architecture – namely the pyramids that would come to be the hallmark of Mesoamerican civilization but did not exist at the earlier Olmec center of San Lorenzo.

However, researchers don't think this is the case of simply one site mimicking the other. Rather, they suspect that both the Maya site of Ceibal and the Olmec site of La Venta were parts of a more geographically far-reaching cultural shift that occurred around 1,000 B.C., about the time when the Olmec center was transitioning from San Lorenzo to La Venta.

"Basically, there was a major social change happening from the southern Maya lowlands to possibly the coast of Chiapas and the southern Gulf Coast, and this site of Ceibal was a part of that broader social change," Inomata said. "The emergence of a new form of society – with new architecture, with new rituals – became really the important basis for all later Mesoamerican civilizations."

The Science paper, titled "Early Ceremonial Constructions at Ceibal, Guatemala, and the Origins of Lowland Maya Civilization," is based on seven years of excavations at Ceibal.

Additional authors of the paper include Japanese researchers Kazuo Aoyama of the University of Ibaraki, Mito and Hitoshi Yonenobu of the Naruto University of Education, Tokushima.

"We were looking at the emergence of specific cultural traits that were shared by many of those Mesoamerican centers, particularly the form of rituals and the construction of the pyramids," Inomata said. "This gives us a new idea about the beginning of Maya civilization, and it also tells us about how common traits shared by many different Mesoamerican civilizations emerged during that time."

Source: UA News

Archaeology News: April 22, 2013

Story of Baum's Bridge begins in prehistoric times

The Kankakee River along southern Porter County has long been known for its prehistoric and historic human activity. The spot surrounding the Collier Lodge at Baum's Bridge was especially active and has had numerous archaeological investigations.

Roman-Era 'Cosmetics' May Have Treated Eye Chlamydia

Roman-era toiletry sets consisting of tweezers, scrapers and other artifacts have long been interpreted as beauty aids. But it's possible the tools had a more gruesome use: to treat a type of Chlamydia that infects the eye.

Burrup Peninsula rock art among world's oldest

Research into the rate of erosion of Pilbara rocks has put an upper limit on the possible age of up to a million ancient Aboriginal engravings in the Burrup Peninsula of Western Australia.

The peninsula and surrounding Dampier Archipelago have the highest concentration of rock art in the world. The carvings, called petroglyphs, include depictions of human-like figures, human faces and animals that no longer inhabited the region, including the Tasmanian tiger.

Brain size points to origins of 'hobbit'

A new study of fossil skulls has weighed into the debate on the identity of the ancestor of the so-called 'hobbit'. Japanese researchers argue today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B that Homo erectus is the most likely predecessor of the famously diminuitive creature known as H. floresiensis.

"We conclude that evolution from early Javanese H. erectus to H. floresiensis was possible in terms of brain size," say Dr Yousuke Kaifu and colleagues, from the University of Tokyo and the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo.

Oldest European Medieval Cookbook Found

A 12th-century manuscript contains the oldest known European Medieval food recipes, according to new research.

The recipes, which include both food and medical ointment concoctions, were compiled and written in Latin. Someone jotted them down at Durham Cathedral’s monastery in the year 1140.

It was essentially a health book, so the meals were meant to improve a person’s health or to cure certain afflictions. The other earliest known such recipes dated to 1290.

Richard III may have gone through painful medical treatments to ‘cure’ his scoliosis

Dr Mary Ann Lund, of the University’s School of English, has carried out research into the kinds of scoliosis treatments available at the time Richard III was alive.

The remains of Richard III discovered by University of Leicester scientists revealed that the King suffered from severe scoliosis, which he probably developed in early adolescence.

Sex and the Sun Temple in Konarak, India

Imagining the erotic images and sculptures that drape the ancient temples of India causes us to question the actual meaning and message behind them. Like the ancients in Pompeii, sex was never just sex. Sex  in Pompeii was a completely normal and fulfilling experiencing, much like India, and most of what we know about the eroticism that took place in both of these places was left on the walls.

What is the Sun Temple at Konarak?

© dracozlat

The Sun Temple is a 13th century Hindu temple, created to honor the deity Surya, the Sun God. The temple is a pristine example of Orisssan architecture, but unfortunately the temple continues to crumple. The Sun Temple was said to be created by King Narasimha of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. Although legend says that the temple was constructed by Samba, the son of Lord Krishna, there is more plausible evidence to support construction during Narasimha's reign. The reliefs on Konarak depict secular events, and one in particular, is a clear celebration of the military victory of Narasimha over the Muslims.

In 1931, the Earl of Ronaldshay remarked on the Sun Temple,

"One of the most stupendous building....a pile of overwhelming grandeur even in it's decay".

The Architecture of Konarak

Like many of the holy temples in India, Konarak is raised off the ground on a plinth. The superstructure and roof of the sanctuary collapsed sometime during the 19th century, however the main entrance still retains its pyramidal roof. Residents and tourists alike cannot enter the building regardless, as the entire structure was filled with sand and stone to keep it from collapsing.

In total, there are three sections that make up the Sun Temple. The main shrine connects to a prayer hall and the entrance to the temple. The pillared dance hall is separated from the main shrine, and is located in front of the main shrine. On of the most fascinating sections of the Sun Temple, in my opinion at least, are the twelve large wheels. It is said that the wheels are meant to represent the chariot of Surya.

Sculptures

Originally, there were seven horses that stood in front of the chariot, however only one remains intact. According to Hamshitha Acharya (2012) , "the spokes of these wheels serve as sundials, and the shadows formed by these can give the exact time of the day. Some says that the wheels represent the 24 hours of the day and others says the 12 months in its concept, where as the seven horses dragging the temple makes up the seven days of the week".

© India Mike

There are several friezes of couples between the wheels, and nymphs, deities, musicians, and also dancers that can be found on the lower section of the Sun Temple. Lively carvings of birds and animals, mythological creatures, and geometrical carvings can be found interspersed throughout the temple.

Erotic Sculptures

The temple is famous for its erotic sculptures, which can be found primarily on the second level of the porch structure. Although it's unclear as to what these erotic art forms represent, we can postulate that they could have been used as amulets to avert evil. Of course, I like to think that that they meant a great deal more than what most people assume. The sculptures on the Sun Temple are lyrical and romantic, majestic and serene, and they all represent a realism that reflects a revolving circle of life.

Source

Acharya, H. (2012 ). Sun temple – konark, a source of sculptural beauty . Retrieved from http://indianmonumentsattractions.wordpress.com/2012/08/31/sun-temple-konark-a-source-of-sculptural-beauty/

King Khufu's harbour disocovered in Egypt

A French-Egyptian archaeological mission from the French Institute for Archaeological Studies may have discovered the oldest harbour ever found in Egypt, situated on the Red Sea shore at Wadi Al-Jarf area along the Suez-Zaafarana road

The harbour goes back to the reign of the fourth dynasty King Khufu, the owner of the Great Pyramid in Giza Plateau. The harbour is considered one of the most important commercial harbours where trading trips to export copper and other minerals from Sinai were launched.

A collection of vessel anchors carved in stone was also discovered as well as the harbours different docks.

Minister of State for Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim announced that a collection of 40 papyri, showing details of daily life of ancient Egyptians during the 27th year of King Khufu’s reign, was also unearthed during excavation work carried out.

“These are the oldest papyri ever found in Egypt,” asserted Ibrahim.

He also stated that these papyri are very important because it reveals more information on the ancient Egyptians’ daily life, as it includes monthly reports of the number of labours working in the harbour and details of their lives.

The papyri have been transferred to the Suez Museum for study and documentation.

French Egyptologist Pierre Tallet, director of the archaeological mission, pointed out that it is very important to carefully study the information in these papyri because it will introduce plenty of information about this period. The papyri will also show the nature of life that the ancient Egyptians once lived, their rights and duties, which we know little about, Tallet added.

The mission has also succeeded in discovering remains of workers’ houses, which reveals the importance of this harbour and area commercially whether among the different cities of Egypt or abroad, said Adel Hussein, head of the Ancient Egyptian Sector at the Ministry of State for Antiquities.

A collection of 30 caves were also discovered along with the stone blocks used to block their entrances, inscribed with King Khufu’s cartouche written in red ink. Ship ropes and stone tools used to cut ropes and wooden remains were discovered as well.

Archaeology News: April 16, 2013

Archaeologists in Fermanagh discover 600-year-old murder mystery beneath controversial crannog

Archaeologists excavating the crannog site in County Fermanagh believe a 600-year-old skeleton was the victim of an ancient murder mystery.

Experts working on the Drumclay Crannóg at Enniskillen believe the woman’s remains which date back to the 15th or 16th century were buried in an “irregular” way. Investigators also found that the woman’s skull was damaged, however it is not known if this happened after death.

---

Muslim Perspectives on the Military Orders during the Crusades

On July 4, 1187, the armies of Saladin, sultan of Egypt and Syria, surrounded thousands of Crusaders surmounting the Horns of Hattin near Tiberias in Galilee. Exhausted by heat, thirst, and days of marching and fighting, the Crusaders were forced to surrender. Thousands of the resulting prisoners were sold into slavery, but not all. While King Guy and the Frankish aristocrats who had led their followers to disaster were allowed for the most part to ransom themselves, the knights of Military Orders faced a different fate. After his triumphant victory, Saladin singled out the captive Templar and Hospitallers for execution.

La Tene Warriors Uncovered

A team of Inrap archaeologists recently uncovered an exceptionally preserved necropolis dating to the 4th – 3rd centuries BC in Buchères, north central France.

Tomb containing two burials and a sword, dating to 4th century BCE. © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
The team uncovered fifteen spectacular funerary enclosures, quadrangular, circular and horseshoe in shape dating from both the pre Celtic Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

‘Citizen archaeologists’ needed for Orkney’s eroding coastal heritage

If you enjoy the coast, know about your local heritage – or want to explore it further, you could make a real contribution to a national project which is being run by The SCAPE Trust and the University of St Andrews.

The Scotland’s Coastal Heritage at Risk project is looking for volunteers who can visit threatened coastal archaeological and historical sites in their local areas to take photographs, record their current condition and contribute information to a national database of coastal archaeological sites.

Horse-related artifacts unearthed in London dig

Several fascinating horse-related objects are among a treasure trove of 10,000 Roman objects unearthed during an archaeological dig in London. Many of the finds contain obscene imagery, such as a 1st century AD Roman pendant. It would have been used by cavalry and features a copper-alloy fist and phallus. It is believed to have had a pair of clappers to make a jingling sound as the horse moved.

Their finds include a padded and stitched piece of leather with an image of a gladiator fighting mythical animals. The leather has been elaborately worked by its creator. Archaeologists say it is one of the most puzzling finds at the site to date. They suspect it may have come from a chariot, but can only guess because nothing similar has ever been found.

Research Reveals How Australopithecus sediba Walked, Chewed, Moved

New research appearing in six papers in the journal Science describes how the hominid Australopithecus sediba walked, chewed, and moved around 2 million years ago. The research offers a comprehensive depiction of some of the most complete early human ancestral remains ever discovered.

Pottery cooked from the start

Ancient leftovers indicate that the earliest pottery was used by hunter-gatherers for cooking, thousands of years before farming communities began heating their food in vessels.

Chemical analyses of charred food clinging to pottery fragments from sites across Japan indicate that hunter-gatherers who lived there between 15,300 and 11,200 years ago cooked freshwater or marine animals in ceramic vessels, say bioarchaeologist Oliver Craig of the University of York in England and his colleagues.

Anthropology student finds excitement in the mundane

As a 38-year-old graduate student watches volunteers go through archeological materials from the Leonis Adobe site in Calabasas, she becomes excited with mundane objects like a nail, a marble and broken pieces of ceramic.

Ann Stansell, a second-year anthropology graduate student, works in CSUN’s Anthropological Research Institute once a week where she recently started overseeing undergraduate anthropology students who volunteered to help. The university has acquired much archaeological material since the 1960s and the inventory has never been properly organized.

12,000 Year-old Intact Giant Mammoth Uncovered Near Mexico City

Mexican archaeologists associated with the country’s National Institute of Anthrolopology and History have uncovered the intact skeleton remains of a giant mammoth.

The discovery was made near Mexico City in the town of Santa Ana Tlacotenco. The giant mammoth, which is nearly uncovered, is thought to have existed some 10,000-to-14,000 thousand years ago. This mammoth is estimated to have weighted 10 tons and be 17 feet tall.

Photo: Giant Mammoth, Mexico City, McClathchy

The skeleton was found in what was once a ditch; it is believed the mammoth fell in after experiencing a volcanic eruption. Mexican experts do not believe their find is the fabled woolly mammoth but rather a ‘Mammuthus columbi’. The ‘mammuthus’ is an extinct species of elephants that lived in Texas and Mexico where they were very common thousands of years ago.

The skeletal remains have stayed in tact in great part to the mammoth being buried in hot ash until its discovery in March.

Last year the well-preserved skeletal remains of a mammoth that lived between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago were discovered in the central Mexican state of Queretaro.

Source: Latino Daily News

Carbon-14 dating links Maya Long Count calendar and European calendar

The Maya are famous for their complex, intertwined calendric systems, and now one calendar, the Maya Long Count, is empirically calibrated to the modern European calendar, according to an international team of researchers.

"The Long Count calendar fell into disuse before European contact in the Maya area," said Douglas J. Kennett, professor of environmental archaeology, Penn State.

"Methods of tying the Long Count to the modern European calendar used known historical and astronomical events, but when looking at how climate affects the rise and fall of the Maya, I began to question how accurately the two calendars correlated using those methods."

© Museum der Kulturen

The researchers found that the new measurements mirrored the most popular method in use, the Goodman-Martinez-Thompson (GMT) correlation, initially put forth by Joseph Goodman in 1905 and subsequently modified by others. In the 1950s scientists tested this correlation using early radiocarbon dating, but the large error range left open the validity of GMT.

"With only a few dissenting voices, the GMT correlation is widely accepted and used, but it must remain provisional without some form of independent corroboration," the researchers report in today's (April 11) issue of Scientific Reports.

A combination of high-resolution accelerator mass spectrometry carbon-14 dates and a calibration using tree growth rates showed the GMT correlation is correct.

The Long Count counts days from a mythological starting point. The date is comprised of five components that combine a multiplier times 144,000 days – Bak'tun, 7,200 days – K'atun, 360 days – Tun, 20 days – Winal, and 1 day – K'in separated, in standard notation, by dots.

Archaeologists want to place the Long Count dates into the European calendar so there is an understanding of when things happened in the Maya world relative to historic events elsewhere. Correlation also allows the rich historical record of the Maya to be compared with other sources of environmental, climate and archaeological data calibrated using the European calendar.

The samples came from an elaborately carved wooden lintel or ceiling from a temple in the ancient Maya city of Tikal, Guatemala, that carries a carving and dedication date in the Maya calendar. This same lintel was one of three analyzed in the previous carbon-14 study.

Researchers measured tree growth by tracking annual changes in calcium uptake by the trees, which is greater during the rainy season.

The amount of carbon-14 in the atmosphere is incorporated into a tree's incremental growth. Atmospheric carbon-14 changes through time, and during the Classic Maya period oscillated up and down.

The researchers took four samples from the lintel and used annually fluctuating calcium concentrations evident in the incremental growth of the tree to determine the true time distance between each by counting the number of elapsed rainy seasons. The researchers used this information to fit the four radiocarbon dates to the wiggles in the calibration curve. Wiggle-matching the carbon-14 dates provided a more accurate age for linking the Maya and Long Count dates to the European calendars.

These calculations were further complicated by known differences in the atmospheric radiocarbon content between northern and southern hemisphere.

"The complication is that radiocarbon concentrations differ between the southern and northern hemisphere," said Kennett. "The Maya area lies on the boundary, and the atmosphere is a mixture of the southern and northern hemispheres that changes seasonally. We had to factor that into the analysis."

The researchers results mirror the GMT European date correlations indicating that the GMT was on the right track for linking the Long Count and European calendars.

Events recorded in various Maya locations "can now be harmonized with greater assurance to other environmental, climatic and archaeological datasets from this and adjacent regions and suggest that climate change played an important role in the development and demise of this complex civilization," the researchers wrote.

[Eureka Alert]

Archaeology News: April 10, 2013

Thracian exhibit at archaeological museum in Sofia

The archaeological museum in Bulgarian capital city Sofia is exhibiting several pieces of weaponry and armour attributed to Thracian king Seuthes III, discovered by archaeologist Georgi Kitov near Kazanluk in 2004.

---

China reports top 10 archaeological finds in 2012

Chinese authorities on Tuesday announced the top 10 archaeological discoveries made in 2012, with the earliest dating back to the Paleolithic era. Among the most significant discoveries was the ruins of a small city, the largest of its kind in neolithic China, discovered in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

---

8,000 artefacts and rising: City dig pronounced the 'most important ever' in London

When archaeologists were called to a site in the City of London where an ugly office block and a bar once stood, they were sceptical that it held any secrets. Yet six months into the dig on Bloomberg Place, a three-acre site close to Mansion House tube station, experts believed they have stumbled across the most important find of Roman London artefacts in recent memory and have dubbed it the “Pompeii of the north”.

---

4,000-year-old stone tools, earthenware unearthed from banks of river Narmada in Bhopal

Archaeologists have found 4,000-year-old stone tools and earthenware in a remote village on the banks of river Narmada in Harda district of Bhopal. The treasures that have emerged could change our whole understanding of how evolution of mankind began along the Narmada. These priceless relics belonging to Chalcolithic Age are probably the most important archaeological discovery ever made in the region.

---

Severe damage done to Nazca Lines

According to reports from the Peruvian newspaper El Comercio, serious damage to elements of the outer boundary of the world famous Nazca lines has been caused by heavy machinery belonging to a quarry firm removing limestone from the area.

---

The damaged lines are located near the Panamericana Sur Highway and an adjacent area has also been affected. There are hundreds if not thousands of these lines and trapezoids on the Nazca plain with many of the most famous geogylphs such as the spider, hummingbird and monkey, etc. all undamaged.

---

New Research Holds Fascinating Revelations About an Ancient Society’s Water Conservation and Purification

University of Cincinnati research at the ancient Maya site of Medicinal Trail in northwestern Belize is revealing how populations in more remote areas – the hinterland societies – built reservoirs to conserve water and turned to nature to purify their water supply. Jeffrey Brewer, a doctoral student in the University of Cincinnati’s Department of Geography, will present his findings on April 11, at the Association of American Geographers’ annual meeting in Los Angeles.

---

Traces of Norman Castle Found

The remains of a building from Northampton’s Medieval castle have been found on the site of the town’s railway station. Archaeologists working on the site ahead of the development of a new station, have found three 12th Century walls from a stone building just feet underneath the station’s car park.

Archaeologist Tim Upson-Smith said: “We certainly weren’t expecting to find a stone building this well preserved and this close to the surface.”

---

Food Cans Exonerated in Franklin Expedition Deaths

A long-standing Arctic mystery has become even more baffling with research that appears to debunk a common theory about the demise of the Franklin expedition.

Chemists at the University of Western Ontario used an array of the latest analytic techniques to conclude that poorly made cans of food were not responsible for the lead that poisoned the officers and crew of the doomed 19th-century voyage to explore the Arctic.

Archaeology News: April 8, 2013

Djehuty Project discovers significant evidence of the 17th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt

The Djehuty Project, led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), has discovered on the hill of Dra Abu el-Naga in Luxor (ancient Thebes), the burials of four personages belonging to the elite of the 17th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, who lived about 3.550 years ago. These findings, discovered during the 12th campaign of archeological excavations of the project, shed light on a little-known historical period in which Thebes becomes the capital of the kingdom and the empire's foundations become established with the dominance of Egypt over Palestine and Syria to the north, and over Nubia to the south.

Sharjah museum marks 20 years, archaeological ‘gems’ go on show

Over 100 items pertaining to archaeological discoveries will be on display at the Sharjah Archaeology Museum, which is marking its 20th anniversary.

The 7-month-long exhibition, starting April 7, is titled “Our Monuments Narrate Our History” and includes findings unearthed since the first local archaeological excavation mission in 1993.

Israeli Archaeologists Find Rare Artifacts near Ashkelon

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have unearthed a huge wine press and a ceramic model of a church dating back to the early-Byzantine period (5th – 6th centuries CE).

Stanbury Hill Project unearths Bingley Moor history

A team of archaeologists have unearthed evidence which suggests Bingley Moor used to be as warm as the South of France. The Stanbury Hill Project, a community archaeology venture, has been investigating a prehistoric 50,000 square metre site since 2008 and will share its findings with the public later this month.

Sunken Ancient Egyptian Port-City Reveals Some Of Its Secrets

The ancient Egyptian sunken port-city of Thonis-Heracleion is now having some of its secrets revealed thanks to new research from the University of Oxford. The port-city served as the obligatory gateway to Egypt sometime around the first millennium BC, being the place where incoming cargo from other regions was inventoried and taxed, before being transferred to Egyptian ships for transport down the Nile.

Chemical Analysis Leads to New Discoveries in Archaeological Research

Gathered together at the 245th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in New Orleans on April 8, 2013, a body of scientists revealed the advances and discoveries that have been made in recent years using chemical and biological analysis on archaeological finds, and how they have helped elucidate the human past. Of note was a presentation by Joseph G. Barabe, a senior research microscopist at McCrone Associates, who helped verify the authenticity of the much-publicized and controversial "Gospel of Judas", the ancient 3rd century AD manuscript that related a Gnostic gospel written in Egyptian Coptic and whose content consists of conversations between the Apostle Judas Iscariot and Jesus Christ.

UR Project confirms massive building complaex in Southern Iraq

The Ur Region Archaeology Project has put together a team of Iraqi and international expertise to begin a new age of discovery, using the latest techniques to unveil and interpret a shared heritage. The team, directed by Professor Stuart Campbell, Dr Jane Moon and Robert Killick, has already discovered a remarkable new structure. First spotted from satellite remote sensed images, the building complex is thought to be an administrative centre serving one of the world’s earliest cities.

Archaeology News: April 4, 2013

Bronze warship ram reveals secrets

Known as the Belgammel Ram, the 20kg artefact was discovered by a group of British divers off the coast of Libya near Tobruk in 1964. The ram is from a small Greek or Roman warship – a “tesseraria”. These ships were equipped with massive bronze rams on the bow at the waterline and were used for ramming the side timbers of enemy ships. At 65cm long, the Belgammel Ram is smaller in size and would have been sited on the upper level on the bow. This second ram is known as a proembolion, which strengthened the bow and also served to break the oars of an enemy ship.

Anthropology students conduct live field work

A couple of weeks ago, anthropology students spent their Saturday combing through soil in an attempt to find artifacts from prehistoric people at Camp Tyler. The first discovery happened shortly after they arrived when a group of students uncovered a pottery sherd they believe could be more than a thousand years old.

Archaeologists Explore Ancient Sumerian Settlement Site in Iraq

Tell Khaiber, as the site is called, is playing host to one of the first major archaeological projects with extensive participation by foreign scientists since the hiatus caused by the political situation and hostilities of the Iraqi war. Consisting of an international mix of six British archaeologists representing four UK institutions and four Iraqi archaeologists from the State Board for Antiquities and Heritage of Iraq, the team expects to uncover not just monumental buildings, but evidence that may shed new light on the environment and lifeways of the people who inhabited the site.

Guarding the legacy of emperors

A dedicated few in Beijing's suburbs keep a lookout for tomb raiders, day and night. It was a clear day in March, and the air was still cold on this morning of early spring in Beijing. Li Jianzhong, a 54-year-old keeper of the Yongling Mausoleum, was walking along a path as usual, checking to see if there was any problem or threat in the mausoleum.

The mausoleum, in which Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and his three empresses were buried, was empty, except for several researchers - college students guided by their archeology professor. Like most of other tombs of the Royal Mausoleum of Ming, Yongling Mausoleum is not open to the public.

Gate to Hell Discovered

Italian scientists have announced the discovery in Pumakkale, Turkey, of the ruins of what was known in ancient times as Pluto’s Gate, or Plutonium, in Latin.

Thought by the ancients to be the gateway to Hell, it was described by the Greek geographer, Strabo, who lived between about 64 B.C. and 24 A.D., during the time of Julius Caesar. According to Strabo, Pluto’s Gate was an orifice in the hillside that filled up with a thick mist that was immediately lethal to anyone who entered.

Spielberg Double Feature: Indiana Jones, Always, And How Death Defines Us

Aside from their shared release year, what do Steven Spielberg's double-dips have in common? This was the question we here at the Cinema Blend looked to discover in this investigative series. In 1989, Spielberg released the third film of his Indiana Jones adventures, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, as well as the largely forgotten fantasy-drama Always. It had be years since I'd watched Last Crusade, and aside from recognizing its title from Audrey Hepburn's filmography, I'd never heard of Always. Much to my surprise, both films have some stark similarities in their heroes and the crucial decision each must face, though the lesson lands better in the former.

Historical society digs into Marco Island’s ancient past

Alongside professional archaeologists, volunteers will sift through midden — mounds of crushed shell and other remnants — at a Marco Island archaeological site starting Sunday, April 7. The ensuing five-day dig is part of The Big Sift, an effort by the city and the Marco Island Historical Society to glean physical evidence of the island’s original Calusa Indian inhabitants who arrived more than 6,000 years ago.

Oswego War of 1812 Symposium Adds Underwater Archaeologist to Roster

Dive into history at the third annual Oswego War of 1812 Symposium from Friday to Sunday at the Lake Ontario Conference and Event Center. Jonathan Moore, senior underwater archaeologist with Parks Canada, discusses the archaeological exploration of two shipwrecks from the war.

Neanderthal fossils discovered in a cave in Greece

Neanderthal fossils including bones of children and adults, have been discovered in a cave in Greece, hinting the area may have been a key crossroad for ancient humans, researchers say.

The timing of the fossils suggests Neanderthals and humans may have at least had the opportunity to interact, or cross paths, there, the researchers added.

Neanderthals are the closest extinct relatives of modern humans, apparently even occasionally interbreeding with our ancestors. Neanderthals entered Europe before modern humans did, and may have lasted there until about 35,000 years ago, although recent findings have called this date into question.

To learn more about the history of ancient humans, scientists have recently focused on Greece.

"Greece lies directly on the most likely route of dispersals of early modern humans and earlier hominins into Europe from Africa via the Near East," paleoanthropologist Katerina Harvati at the University of Tübingen in Germany told LiveScience. "It also lies at the heart of one of the three Mediterranean peninsulae of Europe, which acted as refugia for plant and animal species, including human populations, during glacial times — that is, areas where species and populations were able to survive during the worst climatic deteriorations."

"Until recently, very little was known about deep prehistory in Greece, chiefly because the archaeological research focus in the country has been on classical and other more recent periods," Harvati added.

Harvati and colleagues from Greece and France analyzed remains from a site known as Kalamakia, a cave stretching about 65 feet (20 meters) deep into limestone cliffs on the western coast of the Mani Peninsula on the mainland of Greece. They excavated the cave over the course of 13 years. [Amazing Caves: Photos Reveal Earth's Innards]

The archaeological deposits of the cave date back to between about 39,000 and 100,000 years ago to the Middle Paleolithic period. During the height of the ice age, the area still possessed a mild climate and supported a wide range of wildlife, including deer, wild boar, rabbits, elephants, weasels, foxes, wolves, leopards, bears, falcons, toads, vipers and tortoises.

In the cave, the researchers found tools such as scrapers made of flint, quartz and seashells. The stone tools were all shaped, or knapped, in a way typical of Neanderthal artifacts.

Now, the scientists reveal they discovered 14 specimens of child and adult human remains in the cave, including teeth, a small fragment of skull, a vertebra, and leg and foot bones with bite and gnaw marks on them. The teeth strongly appear to be Neanderthal, and judging by marks on the teeth, the ancient people apparently had a diet of meat and diverse plants.

"Kalamakia, together with the single human tooth from the nearby cave site of Lakonis, are the first Neanderthal remains to be identified from Greece," Harvati said. The discoveries are "confirmation of a thriving and long-standing Neanderthal population in the region."

These findings suggest "the fossil record from Greece potentially holds answers about the earliest dispersal of modern humans and earlier hominins into Europe, about possible late survival of Neanderthals and about one of the first instances where the two might have had the opportunity to interact," Harvati said.

In the future, Harvati and her colleagues will conduct new fieldwork in other areas in Greece to address mysteries such as potential coexistence and interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans, the spread of modern and extinct humans into Europe and possible seafaring capabilities of ancient humans.

"We look forward to exciting discoveries in the coming years," Harvati said.
The scientists detailed their findings online March 13 in the Journal of Human Evolution.

Source: Live Science