December 2011, Daily News

Archaeology News for the Week of May 1st, 2011

Sun, May 01, 2011

May 7th, 2011

China archaeologists uncover more Great Wall ruins

Chinese archaeologists have uncovered previously unknown Great Wall ruins in a mountainous area in northeast China, state media reported Saturday. The bricks and stones that once formed a section of the wall were found in mountains in Suizhong County in Liaoning province, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a report by provincial relics and mapping authorities. The section of walls was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty from 1368-1644, but substantial parts had disappeared or eroded after years of neglect, the report said. (Yahoo News)

Archaeologists find new Viking site in Temple Bar

A VIKING SETTLEMENT has been uncovered in Temple Bar during building work to build a retractable canopy over Meeting House Square. The settlement is believed to have been originally situated on what would have been an island in the middle of the River Poddle but would have been destroyed by flood waters in the 10th or 11th century. (TheJournal.IE)

Lost Sounds Orchestra: How the Web Has Allowed Us to Resurrect Ancient Music

The Lost Sounds Orchestra is a music ensemble that exists to play only music that has been long lost from the collective memory of our cultures. It seems like a contradiction in terms. But the LSO is an outgrowth of the ASTRA Project, a group which has developed a computer modelling system that allows researchers to generate the sounds that ancient instruments made. So if an archaeologist finds a battered ancient instrument, ASTRA can figure out how it sounded and Lost Sounds can make it sing again. (ReadWriteWeb.com)

May 6th, 2011

Infanticide Common in Roman Empire

Infanticide, the killing of unwanted babies, was common throughout the Roman Empire and other parts of the ancient world, according to a new study. The study, which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Archaeological Science, explains that "until recently, (infanticide) was a practice that was widely tolerated in human societies around the world. Prior to modern methods of contraception, it was one of the few ways of limiting family size that was both safe for the mother and effective."Based on archaeological finds, the practice appears to have been particularly widespread in the Roman Empire. (Discovery News)

Filipino scientist discovers rice's ancient origins

Prof. Michael Purugganan of New York University has co-authored a study that indicates that all of the world's domesticated rice varieties may have originated from just a single place in China thousands of years ago. Previously, it had been thought that domesticated rice may have come from India as well as China. (GMA News)

Mysterious New Human Coexisted with Neanderthals

Neanderthals shared Europe with a mysterious member of our genus that may represent an entirely new species of human, suggests a paper accepted for publication in the Journal of Human Evolution (Discovery News Photos)

More than 1,000 Year-Old Archaeological Pieces from Palenque Studied and Restored

rchaeological pieces created more than 1000 years ago, found at the ancient city of Palenque, Chiapas, such as the tableau of the Temple of the Cross (Templo de la Cruz), the mask of the Red Queen (Reina Roja) and a group of figurines that represent members of the Palenque dynasty, have been restored or studied parting from their display at the exhibition Six Ancient Cities of Mesoamerica at the National Museum of Anthropology, already visited by 33,400 persons (ArtDaily)

May 5th, 2011

'Bog butter' from 3,000 BC found in ancient underground store

Over 100 pounds of "bog butter" have been discovered in Tullamore, County Offaly. This ancient food substance, thought to been buried as a form of refrigeration, is thought to be 5,000 years old, dating from the Iron Age. Brian Clancy and his uncle Joe were cutting turf in Ballard Bog when they made the discovery. Joe explained "We were cutting turf and I found what looked like a huge piece of timber...We took it out with a spade and it turned out to be bog butter." Speaking to the Irish Times he said "It looked like a keg or an urn with two handles and a lid carved from a solid piece of wood." (Irish Central)

Ancient slingers added insult to injury, researcher says

Centuries before Allied bomber crews would send gleefully personalised ordnance to Adolf Hitler, ancient skirmishers mastered the art of enemy taunts by slingshot, according to a researcher.Sling bullets recovered from the battlefields of Egypt, Greece and Rome often carry inscriptions designed to add insult to injury, archaeologist Amanda Kelly told an Irish Institute of Hellenic Studies lecture. (MilTech)

Aerial surveys of Viking shipyard on Skye

Aerial surveys are being carried out over Skye to help archaeologists investigate a 12th Century Viking shipbuilding site. Boat timbers, a stone-built quay and a canal have already been uncovered at Loch na h-Airde on Skye's Rubh an Dunain peninsula. (BBC News)

Student discovers new virus in ancient cave mud

Adventurous 20-year-old Purdue University student was exploring an ancient glacial cave, untouched since the last ice age, when she made the discovery.(Mother Nature Network)

25,000-year-old cave paintings discovered in Spain

Paintings depicting horses and human hands made by prehistoric humans around 25,000 years ago have been discovered in a cave in northern Spain, regional officials said on Wednesday.(Q13Fox.com)

Ohio's mounds are works of art

For many people, the mounds of eastern North America are nothing like the architectural wonders of Europe and Asia. Compared with the Parthenon in Athens or Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Ohio's Newark Earthworks and Fort Ancient might seem like piles of dirt. (The Columbus Dispatch)

May 4th, 2011

Heidelberg Man Links Humans, Neanderthals

The last common ancestor of humans and Neanderthals was a tall, well-traveled species called Heidelberg Man, according to a new PLoS One study. The determination is based on the remains of a single Heidelberg Man (Homo heidelbergensis) known as "Ceprano," named after the town near Rome, Italy, where his fossil -- a partial cranium -- was found. Previously, this 400,000-year-old fossil was thought to represent a new species of human, Homo cepranensis. The latest study, however, identifies Ceprano as being an archaic member of Homo heidelbergensis. The finding may shed light on what the species that gave rise to both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens looked like. (Discovery News)

First Buildings May Have Been Community Centers

Nearly 12,000 years ago, the world's first villages began to spring up in the Near East. Until recently, archaeologists assumed that the stone and mud-brick buildings that made up these small settlements were the houses of the first farmers, who had begun to give up the hunting and gathering lifestyle. But the discovery of a large, amphitheater-like building at a site in southern Jordan, reported today, adds to growing evidence that the earliest permanent buildings might not have been homes, but community centers. (Science)  

Ketavaram rock paintings losing sheen

The pre-historic rock paintings at Ketavaram near Kurnool have been under stress due to weathering. People visiting the place at regular intervals have been noticing loss of shine and visibility year after year. The rainwater washing down over paintings caused erosion.Over 100 figures were drawn on the flat surface of basalt rocks, possibly with acidic pen or iron red oxide. Several archaeologists who visited the site grouped them as the art of Mesolithic to megalithic period ranging from 6,000 BC to 200 AD. (The Hindu)

From Beneath, A Smithsonian Shipwreck Controversy

To the average person, treasure-hunting on shipwrecks sounds like an adventure; but to marine archaeologists, it's a serious science — and one that's all too susceptible to looting. Now, the stories of looting and profit that surround an ancient shipwreck discovered off the coast of Indonesia are putting Washington, D.C.'s Smithsonian Institution under fire. (NPR)

Archaeology on the Peninsula

Who lived on the Hill before red-tiled roofs and golf courses? Lots of people, it turns out. Parts of the Palos Verdes Peninsula were inhabited up to 7,000 years ago—that's before Stonehenge or the pyramids were built. (RanchoPalosVerdePatch)

May 3rd, 2011

Princess sheds new light on early Celts

German experts are carefully taking apart a complete Celtic grave in the hope of finding out more about the Celts' way of life, 2,600 years ago, in their Danube heartland. It wasn't the most glorious final journey for an aristocratic Celtic lady who, in life, clearly had a bit of style. She died just over 2,600 years ago and rested in peace until a few months ago when her grave was dug up in its entirety - all 80 tonnes of it - and transported on the back of a truck through countless German towns  In the grave, too, was a child, presumed to be hers. Their last inglorious journey ended in the back yard of the offices of the archaeological service of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. When the truck arrived, the grave encased almost entirely in concrete, was unloaded and a tent constructed around it. (BBC News)

St Albans clock tower reopens ahead of schedule

One of St Albans' oldest monuments has reopened after being renovated. Vital repairs to the 600-year-old Grade I-listed clock tower have taken about 10 weeks. The district council replaced ageing wooden louvre window slats and re-pointed much of the ancient brickwork. A full survey of the medieval building, which was built between 1403 and 1412, was also carried out to secure its long-term future. (BBC News)

Developing Beirut under archaeologists' scrutiny

Amid the towering building projects dotting the cityscape of Beirut, that ancient city where Poseidon was worshiped millennia ago, a battle rages between the guardians of the past and the developers for the future. A number of the capital's real estate developers, all anxious to get their projects up and running as soon as possible, are voicing their frustration over the delays brought on by protracted excavations by archaeologists at sites planned for development. (The Daily Star)

May 2nd, 2011

Ancient "Nutcracker Man" Had No Taste For Nuts

It turns out that ancient "Nutcracker Man" ate grass, not nuts. So concludes researchers in a recent study on the dietary habits of Paranthropus boisei (popularly known as "Nutcracker Man"), a "cousin" species to prehistoric humans that lived from 2.3 to 1.2 million years ago in East Africa. The findings overturn long-held views about what this species ate and may challenge the conventional wisdom about what was on the table for other pre-human or hominid species in the human evolutionary family tree. (Popular Archaeology)

Utah's little known Danger Cave

Mysteries abound in Utah's west desert.Take, for example, a 400-acre piece of land near Wendover's bustling casinos, next to the famous Bonneville Salt Flats Speedway and within sight of Interstate 80. It's a state park not often found on Utah road maps or in tourist literature. Signs of the oldest humans to inhabit Utah dating back 11,300 years ago were found here. It was the site of one of the most famous archaeological studies in the U.S. And World War II soldiers stationed in Wendover to work on the Manhattan Project often held dances here. If you haven't heard of Danger Cave State Park, chances are you are not alone. (The Salt Lake Tribune)

Ancient Caithness site 'occupied for 1,000 years'

The site of one of Scotland's most important mainland broch settlements may have been home to early people for up to 1,000 years, evidence suggests. Archaeologists and volunteers have uncovered what could be the remains of walls dating back to 700 to 500 BC at Nybster in Caithness. (BBC News)

Ramesh seeks archaeological survey of Gujarat forest

Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh has urged Gujarat to undertake a thorough archaeological survey of the Girnar reserve forest, which is home to the Asiatic lion, as it could contain historical relics. (newKerala.com)

Caving with the ancients

Werner Herzog's new film, "Cave of Forgotten Dreams," is his most incredible journey yet, traveling 32,000 years back in time to document what he calls "the birth of the human soul." The setting is the Chauvet cave in southwestern France, home to the oldest known art on Earth. The cave is a vast amoeba of limestone grottos and corridors that was sealed by an ancient landslide until 1994. (StarTribune)

May 1st, 2011

In the Eye of Jerusalem’s Archaeological Storm

Archaeological activity in Jerusalem has been sucked into a whirlwind of conflicting political agendas, and the site commonly referred to as “the City of David” is in the eye of the storm. At issue is a place of seminal importance for the Jewish people and indeed for anyone who cherishes the heritage of Western civilization. When dealing with archaeology in Jerusalem, one must first know the facts. Otherwise it is easy to be led astray by unfounded historical interpretations or to succumb to misinformation from those pursuing their own political agendas. (The Jewish Daily)

Mexico returns archaeological piece to Egypt

Mexico has returned a priceless archaeological piece from the Aswan region that dates back to the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC) to the Egyptian government, officials said. The anthropomorphic piece, which shows a head in profile, was handed over on Tuesday to the Egyptian Embassy in Mexico City, the National Anthropology and History Institute, or INAH, and the Attorney General's Office said. (Fox News Latino)

Museum promotes 'Indiana Jones' archeology

Presented by the National Geographic Society with the support of Lucasfilm, "Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology: The Exhibition" takes visitors on a virtual tour of sites depicted in the series of adventure movies. It aims to shed light on such historical myths as the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail, sought in the films by the title character played by American actor Harrison Ford. (France International)

Gungywamp: A Window To State's Ancient Settlers?

If you think there's little mystery in a place as long, and thickly, settled as Connecticut, then you haven't been to Gungywamp. Situated in the northern reaches of Groton just a few miles from I-95, more than 100 acres of densely forested and bony land beckons with a startling collection of unusual stone structures. Among the ledges and trees hard by a swamp are low rows of standing stones, subterranean stone chambers, rock mounds and a double circle of quarried stones about a dozen feet in diameter. (Courant.com)

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