Archaeology News for the Week of May 22nd, 2011

December 2011, Daily News

Sun, May 22, 2011

May 27th, 2011

Mayan Funerary Offering Found Inside Mexican Sinkhole Cave Read more

Mexican archaeologists exploring a sinkhole cave, or "cenote," in the Yucatan Peninsula pre-Columbian site of Chichen Itza discovered a funerary offering consisting of six human bones as well as vessels, jade beads, knives and other artifacts. "According to experts, the offering was made as a rain-invoking ritual in the 9th and 10th centuries, when the Maya had suffered two periods of drought," the National Institute of Anthropology and History, or INAH, said in a statement. (Fox News Latino)

PYRAMID-EXPLORING ROBOT REVEALS HIDDEN HIEROGLYPHS

A robot explorer sent through the Great Pyramid of Giza has begun to unveil some of the secrets behind the 4,500-year-old pharaonic mausoleum as it transmitted the first images behind one of its mysterious doors. (Discovery News)

Castle defenders 'met violent end'

Medieval residents of a Scottish castle suffered "brutally violent" deaths, new research has shown. New tests were carried out on nine skeletons discovered at Stirling Castle in the 1990s. They were buried underneath a lost royal chapel dating from the 12th century. Using radiocarbon dating, it was found that the people probably died in a series of incidents between the 13th century and around 1450. New tests have shown that at least five of them met bloody ends. (The Fraserburgh Herald)

Iowa State physicists explain the long, useful lifetime of carbon-14

The long, slow decay of carbon-14 allows archaeologists to accurately date the relics of history back to 60,000 years. And while the carbon dating technique is well known and understood (the ratio of carbon-14 to other carbon isotopes is measured to determine the age of objects containing the remnants of any living thing), the reason for carbon-14's slow decay has not been understood. Why, exactly, does carbon-14 have a half-life of nearly 6,000 years while other light atomic nuclei have half-lives of minutes or seconds? (Half-life is the time it takes for the nuclei in a sample to decay to half the original amount.) (EurekAlert)

A Stonehenge under Lake Michigan [?]

While scanning underneath the waters of Lake Michigan for shipwrecks, archeologists found something a lot more interesting than they bargained for, as they discovered a boulder with a prehistoric carving of a mastodon, as well as a series of stones arranged in a Stonehenge-like manner. (ZMEscience)

A civilisation as old as Indus valley?

Did the coastline of the Konkan, from Shrivardhan in Raigad to Vengurla in Sindhudurg, have human habitation around 8,000 years ago? Did that population have well-developed engineering skills? Was there a unique Konkan culture in existence in 6,000BC? The latest discovery in the field of archaeology, below the sea waters of Konkan coast, could answer these questions with a big resounding‘Yes!’ (Daily News & Analysis)

From lost city of the Incas to tourist trap in 100 years

As Hiram Bingham hacked his way through remote Andean cloudforests in search of a lost Inca citadel in 1911, little could the American adventurer have known of the tourism juggernaut that his archaeological expedition would unleash – or how it might threaten his breathtaking find. (The Independent)

May 26th, 2011

Researchers replicate rare cuneiform tablets using 3-D scanning and printing

Today's Assyriology scholars study Sumerian and Babylonian cuneiform tablets with the help of digital photographs or handwritten copies of the texts, but ideally, they visit collections to see the tablets firsthand. Technology could introduce a new way to connect researchers to these precious, unique artifacts by creating exact replicas. Such an effort is under way at Cornell in the lab of Hod Lipson, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, who specializes in the burgeoning field of 3-D scanning and printing of everyday objects. Natasha Gangjee '12, a student in Lipson's lab, worked with six cuneiform tablets to try and replicate them exactly using optical scanning and layer-by-layer printing technology. A former student of Lipson's, Evan Malone, made an initial prototype. (Cornell Chronicle Online)

Anchor retrieval delayed for shipwreck

The retrieval of a 3,000-pound anchor from the shipwreck site believed to be the flagship of the infamous pirate Blackbeard has been delayed at least a day due to unfavorable weather conditions, state officials said. (ENCToday.com)

An Ancient Watery Underworld

How could these ancient buildings withstand such forces of nature? They have survived many natural challenges since the Maya abandoned them by A.D. 900. This got me thinking about resiliency — regarding not the sites, but the Maya. (The New York Times)

Ancient village ruins found in southwest China

Archeologists said Wednesday they have unearthed the ruins of an ancient village that dated back at least 2,500 years at an excavation site in the southwestern Yunnan Province. (English.xinhuanet.com)

May 25th, 2011

Egyptian pyramids found by infra-red satellite images

Seventeen lost pyramids are among the buildings identified in a new satellite survey of Egypt. More than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements were also revealed by looking at infra-red images which show up underground buildings. Initial excavations have already confirmed some of the findings, including two suspected pyramids. The work has been pioneered at the University of Alabama in Birmingham by US Egyptologist Dr Sarah Parcak. (BBC News)

Lasers make light work of mapping Iron Age site

ABU DHABI // Heritage experts are using laser technology to document an ancient site in Al Ain that dates back to the Iron Age. The site, Hili-17, includes three excavated mud huts and is said to date to about 1,000BC. The laser survey has built a detailed digital model of the huts on the north-western side of Hili garden. The method involved exposing surfaces to a laser beam to create three-dimensional images. (The National)

Dozens of Inca Mummies Discovered Buried in Peru

Dozens of exquisitely preserved Inca mummies are being recovered from a barren hillside on the outskirts of Peru's bustling capital city, Lima. In a matter of months a highway will roar past the ancient cemetery. (National Geographic News)

African burial ground reclaimed

A portion of the property is believed to contain one of the nation's oldest municipal cemeteries for enslaved and free blacks. The site, used as a burial ground from about 1750 to 1816, has been a parking lot since the 1970s. It was purchased by VCU in 2008. An archaeologist will be at the site in case any artifacts are unearthed, but Jones said he does not believe it's necessary to pursue soil tests to determine the location of the burial ground. (Richmond Times Dispatch)

Population genetics reveals shared ancestries

More than just a tool for predicting health, modern genetics is upending long-held assumptions about who we are. A new study by Harvard researchers casts new light on the intermingling and migration of European, Middle Eastern and African and populations since ancient times. (Genetic Archaeology)

Were mounds originally built to protect Native Americans from floods?

The mounds of the Southeastern Indians were generally associated with major rivers. All of these rivers at least occasionally flooded. Could it be that mounds were originally built to provide a safe haven for villages during a flood, and later were constructed to keep the temples and elite’s houses above water during floods?(Examiner.com)

May 24th, 2011

Archaeologists Uncovering Ceremonial Center of Ancient Pre-Incan Civilization in Ecuador

Archaeologists are researching an archaeological site near Quito, Ecuador, that reveals remains of an ancient civilization that pre-dated the Inca and produced monumental architecture and a sophisticated system of trade and communication routes that fed a flourishing culture from 800 until 1660 A.D. Renewed excavations at the site are set to begin during the summer of 2011. (Popular Archaeology)

Ancient DNA points to Maori feather trade

Kiwi DNA preserved in Maori cloaks reveals the origins and history of the revered textiles. (NatureNews)

Egypt opens 7 newly renovated tombs in New Kingdom Cemetery for tourists

The tombs of seven men, including several who served King Tutankhamen and his father, the pharaoh Akhenaten, were opened to tourists on Monday after restoration. (The Canadian Press)

East Zhou dynasty site excavated in Beijing

Archaeological workers conduct an archeological excavation at the Hujiaying archaeological site in Zhangshanying Town, Yanqing County of Beijing on May 20, 2011. It is a settlement site that dates back to the East Zhou dynasty. (People's Daily Online)

Mummies tell history of a 'modern' plague

Analysis of ancient Nubian-era mummies finds new evidence that disease spread from altering environment Mummies from along the Nile are revealing how age-old irrigation techniques may have boosted the plague of schistosomiasis, a water-borne parasitic disease that infects an estimated 200 million people today. (EuerkAlert)

May 23rd, 2011

Early Bronze Age battle site found on German river bank

Fractured human remains found on a German river bank could provide the first compelling evidence of a major Bronze Age battle. Archaeological excavations of the Tollense Valley in northern Germany unearthed fractured skulls, wooden clubs and horse remains dating from around 1200 BC. The injuries to the skulls suggest face-to-face combat in a battle perhaps fought between warring tribes, say the researchers.\ The paper, published in the journal Antiquity, is based primarily on an investigation begun in 2008 of the Tollense Valley site, which involved both ground excavations and surveys of the riverbed by divers. (BBC News)

Underwater ancient tomb resurfaces due to drought

Several submerged sections of a tomb built for the ancestors of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) founder Zhu Yuanzhang recently resurfaced in east China's Jiangsu Province as the result of a severe drought that is still affecting the region. Located on the west bank of Jiangsu's Hongze Lake, the tomb was built by Ming Dynasty emperor Zhu Yuanzhang in AD 1386 to honor his ancestors. (China.org.cn)

Inca success in Peruvian Andes 'thanks to llama dung'

According to a study published in archaeological review Antiquity, llama droppings provided the basis for the growth of Inca society. Llamas have left their mark - literally - on history It was the switch from hunter-gathering to agriculture 2,700 years ago that first led the Incas to settle and flourish in the Cuzco area where Machu Picchu sits, according to the study's author Alex Chepstow-Lusty. (BBC News)

900-year-old Quran manuscript 'written on Papyrus' found in Pakistan

A Pakistani archaeologist has found a 900-year-old manuscript of the Quran. Archaeologist Ghulam Akbar Malik found the valuable manuscript of the Quran, dating back to the 12th century, during an excavation trip to the Pakistani city of Jhelum. The salt range and its adjacent territory have been home to many archaeological discoveries, and Malik incidentally came across this valuable scripture there. (SoutheastAsiaNews.net)

Scientists Fight University of California to Study Rare Ancient Skeletons

Two ancient skeletons uncovered in 1976 on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, during construction at the home of a University of California chancellor, may be among the most valuable for genetic analysis in the continental United States. Dated between 9,000 and 9,600 years old, the exceptionally preserved bones could potentially produce the oldest complete human genome from the continent.But only if scientists aren't barred from studying them. (WiredScience)

Housing excavation uncovers remains of medieval village

Construction work on a new housing development in Runcorn has unearthed what are thought to be the final remains of the medieval village of Norton. Around 80 archaeological features have been found at the site near Lodge Farm, off Highgate Close, Norton village, since excavation began at the end of April. (24dash.com)

Archaeologists move in on site of new council offices

ARCHAEOLOGISTS will this week start delving for hidden history beneath the site which is to become York's new council HQ. A Roman bath complex and a Medieval friary are among the treasures which may be discovered as a part of York's railway heritage is transformed into the city's civic flagship. (ThePress)

May 22nd, 2011

Ancient Egyptian Princess Now Known to Be First Person in Human History With Diagnosed Coronary Artery Disease

The Egyptian princess Ahmose-Meryet-Amon, who lived in Thebes (Luxor) between 1580 and 1550 BC and who is now known to be first person in human history with diagnosed coronary artery disease, lived on a diet rich in vegetables, fruit and a limited amount of meat from domesticated (but not fattened) animals. Wheat and barley were grown along the banks of the Nile, making bread and beer the dietary staples of this period of ancient Egypt. Tobacco and trans-fats were unknown, and lifestyle was likely to have been active. (Science Daily)

WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE Brownsville archaeological dig unearthing past of

Dee Dee Snook, shovel in hand, makes note of several tile shards unearthed by a small band of volunteer archaeologists at Brownsville property that once contained a riverboat captain's house in the mid-1800s. (Observer-Reporter.com)

Sacred and Secret: The GTA's hidden burial sites

As archaeological sites go, Torontos Baby Point has little of the allure of Giza or Pompeii. But buried beneath this cluster of million-dollar homes, on a promontory overlooking the Humber River, rests a fascinating and dark story to rival any in the old world. (thestar.com)

Detention centre hits Aboriginal heritage snag

A $15 million immigration detention centre planned for north of Hobart has hit a snag, with an ongoing Aboriginal heritage battle delaying its construction. (ABC News)

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