December 2011, Daily News

Archaeology News for the Week of May 15th, 2011

Sun, May 15, 2011

May 21st, 2011

Mizzou Archeologist Discovers Oldest Statue in Western Hemisphere

On a recent dig in the Andes Mountains, about 30 miles north of Lima, Peru, University of Missouri anthropology professor emeritus Robert Benfer discovered a 4,000-year-old mud plaster bust of a figure blowing a trumpet, which, along with another mask-like figure flanked by foxes, may give anthropologists some insight into ancient Andean religious and agricultural rites. As an extra bonus, if the trumpet-blower is as old as Benfer thinks it is, it's the oldest statue ever found in the Western Hemisphere, which gives Benfer -- and Mizzou -- significant bragging rights. (DailyRFT)

Archaeologists uncover oldest mine in the Americas

Archaeologists have discovered a 12,000-year-old iron oxide mine in Chile that marks the oldest evidence of organized mining ever found in the Americas, according to a report in the June issue of Current Anthropology. A team of researchers led by Diego Salazar of the Universidad de Chile found the 40-meter trench near the coastal town of Taltal in northern Chile. It was dug by the Huentelauquen people—the first settlers in the region—who used iron oxide as pigment for painted stone and bone instruments, and probably also for clothing and body paint, the researchers say. (EurekaAlert)

Iron Age dolman discovered in Srikakulam

An interesting archaeological structure dating back to 1000 and 500 BC has been discovered at Dannanapeta and Pandavulametta in Amudalavalasa of Srikakulam district. Archaeology department director P Chenna Reddy said on Thursday that the huge dolmen (a pre-historic megalith) representing the Iron Age sepulchral structure was noticed by Kadiyala Venkatesvara Rao, a retired deputy director of Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh. (The Times of India)

Stone Age cold case baffles scientists

Cupids Cove plantation designated historic site

Cupids Cove Plantation has been officially designated a provincial historic site. Discovered by archaeologist Bill Gilbert in 1995, the site dates back to 1610 when Bristol merchant John Guy arrived at Cupers Cove (now Cupids) with a group of colonists. By 1613, the group had built about 16 structures, including a fort, sawmill, gristmill and brew house. More than 150,000 artifacts have been found at the Cupids Cove Plantation, a number of them dated from the late 1500s and early 1600s. (The Telegram)

May 20th, 2011

Treasures from Ancient Egypt Showcase its Gateway to Eternal Life

The Smithsonian Institution is giving the public a sneak peek at an upcoming exhibition of an array of artifacts that tell the story and the science behind the ancient Egyptians' vision and anticipation of the afterlife. The preview affords a tantalizing look at the elaborate preparations and craft behind their vision of eternal life, a life that ensured that their pharaohs and ruling elite and aristocracy received nothing less than first class treatment in the eternities. (Popular Archaeology)

Rise of Freedom: Ground Zero From The Ground Up

For archaeologists overseeing the massive dig at the World Trade Center site, it was a groundbreaking discovery. A centuries-old ship was uncovered by workers excavating land at the WTC complex last July. "We noticed a curved piece of timber that was dislodged by the backhoe and immediately thought, 'Oh my god, that looks like a piece of a ship,'" said AKRF archaeologist Molly McDonald. It was evidence there was once zero ground... at Ground Zero. "This entire excavation site originally would have been under the Hudson River," McDonald said. (Fox News)

Dig finds Jewish ritual bath

Archaeologists peeling back layers of history beneath a historic synagogue in Baltimore have uncovered what is believed to be the oldest Jewish ritual bath complex in the United States. (NorthJersey.com)

Egypt's man from the past who insists he has a future

Zahi Hawass, appointed by Hosni Mubarak to oversee Egypt's cultural riches, is the great survivor of the revolution. he 63-year-old headed Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) from 2002 onwards. Like so many other Mubarak-era public figures he is struggling to carve out a role in post-uprising Egypt. (Guardian.co.uk)

Largest excavation in history launched at Peking Man site

The protective excavation of the No.1 site at the Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site was launched on May 16. This is the largest protective excavation since the Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site was first excavated in 1921. (People's Daily Online)

Mayan archaeological sites, graves found in southeastern Mexico

Mexican experts have discovered seven new Mayan archaeological sites and an "important concentration" of pre-Columbian graves in the southeastern state of Yucatan, the National Institute of Anthropology and History, or INAH, said. (Fox News Latino)

Golden Cap: Archaeologists to excavate burial mounds

ARCHAEOLOGISTS are to excavate historic burial mounds at Golden Cap before they are lost to the sea. A team from the National Trust is holding a dig at the Bronze Age monument on the cliff top. They will probe the three of the five earthworks – which are 4000 years old – amid fears that they will fall victim to landslips. (Bidport News)

Ruins of forgotten castle discovered by volunteers

THE ruins of a forgotten castle that once provided the gateway to the Bishop of Durham's park have been uncovered by a team of archaeologists. Fifty volunteers from the North Pennines AONB Partnership's Altogether Archaeology project discovered the remains of Westgate Castle, in Weardale, County Durham, which was used as offices for the Bishop's extensive estate from the 13th Century through to the early 17th Century. (The Northern Echo)

NOAA and partners explore the hidden world of the maritime Maya

NOAA-sponsored explorers are searching a wild, largely unexplored and forgotten coastline for evidence and artifacts of one of the greatest seafaring traditions of the ancient New World, where Maya traders once paddled massive dugout canoes filled with trade goods from across Mexico and Central America. One exploration goal is to discover the remains of a Maya trading canoe, described in A.D. 1502 by Christopher Columbus' son Ferdinand, as holding 25 paddlers plus cargo and passengers. (NOAA)

Surprise Archeological Find from Iceland's Settlement

Archeological remains that were found during an excavation in Urridakot in Gardabaer, a neighboring town of Reykjavík, were much older than archeologists had assumed. They date back to the settlement of Iceland in the 9th century AD while Urridakot is first mentioned in written sources from the 16th century. (Iceland Review)

May 19th, 2011

Bipedalism Made Ancestral Humans More Powerful Fighters, Study Suggests

A study completed by scientists at the University of Utah shows that men can strike objects with greater power while standing, as opposed to kneeling or being down on all four limbs, and that downward thrusts are more forceful than lateral or upward thrusts. It provides additional support for the hypothesis that bipedalism was essential to the survival and evolutionary ascent of humans, and that fighting advantage was a key. (Popular Archaeology)

Human arrival 'wiped out' Hawaii's unique crabs

Land crabs unique to Hawaii, as big as a human fist and able to travel huge distances inland, were wiped out by the first human colonists around 1,000 years ago, scientists have deduced. Fossils have been found at altitudes of 1,000m (3,000ft) - unusual for a crab. (BBC News)

CFCC, UNCW to help in search for Blackbeard's booty

Pirates and their folklore have international appeal. Now a local group of archaeologists is partnering with UNCW and CFCC to dig into a wreck close to home. Blackbeard's prized Queen Anne's Revenge is just 80 miles up the coast from Wilmington. (WWAY3TV)

Excavation to spring more archaeological surprises

Excavation of a number of archaeological sites of global importance in the Kingdom would be announced soon. It was revealed in St. Petersburg by Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities. He was addressing a press conference after opening a Saudi heritage exhibition at Hermitage Museum along with Russian Minister of Culture Alexander Avdeyev. (ArabNews.com)

May 18th, 2011

Clues to Neanderthal hunting tactics hidden in reindeer teeth

Reindeer and caribou are nowadays restricted to the northernmost regions of Eurasia and America. But many thousands of years ago, large reindeer herds roamed throughout Europe and were hunted by the Neanderthal people. Kate Britton, an archaeologist now at the University of Aberdeen, and her colleagues were part of a team at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, that studied the Jonzac Neanderthal site in France - a rock shelter believed to have been used over a long period of time as a hunting camp. The Jonzac site has many layers of flints from stone-tools and the bones of butchered animals riddled with cut marks. One of the oldest layers, from about 70,000 years ago, is exceptionally rich in adult reindeer bones. Britton wanted to find out more about these reindeer and their migratory behaviour to understand Neanderthal hunting strategies better. And the way to do that is to look at the teeth and their chemical composition. (PhysOrg.com)

'Waqf Temple Mount excavation damaged archaeological relics'

State Comptroller's report finds that the Muslim religious trust carried out works without permits and used heavy equipment damaging the Jerusalem holy site. (HAARETZ.com)

Bulgarian Archaeologists Uncover Sanctuary of Greek Goddess Demeter

A temple of Ancient Greek goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone has been discovered by a team of Bulgarian archaeologists near the town of Sozopol on the Black Sea. The archaeological team of Prof. Krastina Panayotova found the Ancient Greek temple Tuesday during excavations on the Skamniy Cape where the archaeologists are exploring a fortress wall and a church that were part of a Byzantine imperial monastery. (novinite.com)

Archeologist disputes native High Park claims

An archeologist is disputing a claim by a First Nations group that a section of Toronto's High Park currently in use as a BMX track is an ancient native burial site. Ronald Williamson's company Archaeological Services conducted a study of the site for the city in 2009 that found no evidence the site was ever used for native burials. "These are not burial grounds at all," Williamson told CBC's Kimberly Gale. "These are hills, natural features. There's no evidence at all that any of these hills were used for burial. (The First Perspective)

Floods Threaten Historic Sites, Not Tourist Favorites

Major tourist attractions and historic sites seem likely to be spared, including a necklace of antebellum-era plantations along the Great River Road. A few, including the white-pillared Nottoway Plantation, posted assurances of their dryness online, along with photos of nearby levees keeping water contained. But what's good for Plantation Country and the Big Easy has required sacrifice in the rural, swampy area west of the Mississippi. And the toll includes not just homes, displaced residents and the swamping of vast acres of cropland. It also includes historic and archaeological sites that are likely to be underwater for weeks to come. And state officials are bracing for damage that the diverted water could wreak on those sites. (wNYC)

Shipwreck dive scheduled to get underway

As moviegoers catch a glimpse of Blackbeard in the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, state underwater archaeologists will be on a real pirate adventure as they dive on the shipwreck presumed to be the Queen Anne's Revenge.The wreck of the flagship of the infamous pirate rests approximately 20 feet below water in Beaufort Inlet where it ran aground nearly 300 years ago. (ENCToday.com)

May 17th, 2011

Comet Theory Comes Crashing to Earth

It seemed like such an elegant answer to an age-old mystery: the disappearance of what are arguably North America's first people. A speeding comet nearly 13,000 years ago was the culprit, the theory goes, spraying ice and rocks across the continent, killing the Clovis people and the mammoths they fed on, and plunging the region into a deep chill. The idea so captivated the public that three movies describing the catastrophe were produced. But now, four years after the purportedly supportive evidence was reported, a host of scientific authorities systematically have made the case that the comet theory is "bogus." (Miller McCune)

Scots site may hold the key to Arthurian mystery

IT is a mystery that has baffled generations of historians, but the secrets of King Arthur's round table could finally be laid bare thanks to modern technology. A circular earthen mound near Stirling Castle has been linked variously to the legendary king, to British aristocrats and to Roman invaders, but its origins remain shrouded in history. (HeraldScotland)

Patterns of Ancient Croplands Give Insight Into Early Hawaiian Society, Research Shows

A pattern of earthen berms, spread across a northern peninsula of the big island of Hawaii, is providing archeologists with clues to exactly how residents farmed in paradise long before Europeans arrived at the islands. (ScienceDaily)

Secrets of the Dead, The Silver Pharoah

The royal tomb of Pharaoh Psusennes I is one of the most spectacular of all the ancient Egyptian treasures - even more remarkable than that of Tutankhamen. So why hasn't the world heard about it? What mysteries does it contain? And what does it reveal about ancient Egypt? (WyomingPBS) (This film can be viewed now at Popular Archaeology - see the home page lead article)

Puzzling ancient rock carvings found in Sudan

An archaeological team in the Bayuda Desert in northern Sudan has discovered dozens of new rock art drawings, some of which were etched more than 5,000 years ago and reveal scenes that scientists can't explain. (msnbc)

Amateur archaeologist discovers Copper Age items in Rajasthan

It''s not every day that you walk at a mound on a river bank and come across items and relics dating back to the Copper Age. But for Bundi-based amateur archaeologist Om Prakash Sharma, a three-hour walk at a site on the banks of Banas river in southern Rajasthan brought out interesting discoveries that may date back to 4,000 years. (msn news)

May 16th, 2011

Digging Up the Secrets of the Great Dismal Swamp

He is young, a plantation slave in early 19th century Virginia. A slave since birth, he has suffered a life replete with the physical drudgery and limitations that any slave during the era could expect. But his body showed the scars of an unusually cruel and violent master. He finally finds his chance to escape his plantation prison under the darkness of night. He knows where to go, but the path won't be easy. A secret community awaits him with open arms within the murky world of a great swamp......... (Popular Archaeology)

Conjuring Peru's Lost Empire

This July will be exactly 100 years since the discovery of Machu Picchu. The man who discovered it, Hiram Bingham, would go on to write books, to have children. He would go on to be a governor and a senator. But what he will be remembered for is the fact that he came up a hill one afternoon and saw walls, foundations, stairways, all buried in grass. For those outside of Peru, it is hard to understand the emotional significance of Machu Picchu to the Peruvians. What it means has a lot to do with shame. When the Spaniards made contact with the Incas in the early 1500s, what they found was a civilization that was tottering, partially from the smallpox that the Spaniards had also brought and which had swept ahead of them. (Newsweek)

Archaeologists in Syria discover Byzantine mosaic

Just when you thought all news coming out of Syria was bad, an archaeology team has discovered a Byzantine mosaic in a medieval church. The mosaic was discovered last week at the Deir Sounbol Church on al-Zawieh Mountain. Syrian investigators say the mosaic measures 4x5 meters (13x16 ft.). While portions are damaged or missing, floral and geometric shapes are clearly visible and there are inscriptions in Greek. (Gadling)

May 15th, 2011

Rhode Island archaeologist follows the money -- 1772 style

Did a wad of cash carve a path toward the Declaration of Independence in 1776? D.K. Abbass, director of the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project, says she may have solved one mystery of the Gaspee Incident, the 1772 boarding and destruction of a British warship stranded on a sandbar in Narragansett Bay, an early and literally incendiary stepping stone toward the Revolutionary War. Abbass said she was poring through the family papers of Providence merchant brothers John and Moses Brown at the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University recently when she ran across a mention of 250 pounds sterling being carried by the Hannah, a sloop bound for Providence that had refused a signal from the schooner Gaspee off Conanicut Island to halt and submit to a search for contraband. (projo.com)

Basketmaker

Researchers at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center have embarked on a new field project aimed at gathering information on one of the most overlooked periods in the history of the Pueblo people. The new project, titled Basketmaker Communities Project: Early Pueblo Society in the Mesa Verde Region, is designed to answer a series of questions regarding the Basketmaker III period. (CortezJournal.com)

Archaeologists: Byzantine Mosaic Unearthed in Syria

Excavation Department at Idleb Antiquities Directorate unearthed a mosaic painting dating back to the Byzantine Era at Deir Sounbol Church in al-Zawieh Mountain in Syria according to SANA. (GlobalArabNetwork)

Rigs vs. digs: Historic sites deserve protection from drilling

The environmental impact of Marcellus Shale drilling gets all the headlines, but clean water isn't the only potential casualty of extracting natural gas through hydrofracking. Archaeologists and other scientists are concerned that repositories of Pennsylvania's pre-history could be compromised or destroyed as drilling sites proliferate around the state, according to a story in last Sunday's Post-Gazette by David Templeton. (post-gazette.com)

Stone Age Cold Case Baffles Scientists

In Asia’s northern hinterlands not far from the Arctic Circle, Stone Age toolmakers left an evolutionary calling card that’s hard to read. Artifacts found in this desolate region imply that the toolmakers adapted to frigid temperatures and dark winters, says a team led by archaeologist Ludovic Slimak of the University of Toulouse, France. Around that time, modern human groups in Europe and southwestern Asia underwent pivotal cultural changes. Some groups even reached Arctic spots near the new finds and left behind artifacts associated with that human cultural transition. (USNews)

Pre-Christian gravesite discovered

Builders assigned to construct a new railroad in Carinthia found what is believed to be an ancient gravesite. Federal Railways (ÖBB) said today (Fri) four skeletons and funerary objects such as chains and various trinkets were discovered in the town of Kühnsdorf. (austriantimes)

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