December 2011, Daily News

Archaeology News for the Week of November 20th, 2011

Thu, Nov 24, 2011

November 26th, 2011

Genetic study confirms: First dogs came from East Asia

Researchers at Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology say they have found further proof that the wolf ancestors of today's domesticated dogs can be traced to southern East Asia -- findings that run counter to theories placing the cradle of the canine line in the Middle East. Dr Peter Savolainen, KTH researcher in evolutionary genetics, says a new study released Nov. 23 confirms that an Asian region south of the Yangtze River was the principal and probably sole region where wolves were domesticated by humans. (Genetic Archaeology)

Alderney ruin found to be Roman fort

An overgrown site on Alderney has been found to be one of the best-preserved Roman military structures in the world. Island tradition had long suggested the site, known as the Nunnery, dated back to Roman times, although excavations since the 1930s had always proved inconclusive. (BBC News)

Dakota County plans bike path near burial ground

Dakota County is carefully planning to build part of a 27-mile bike path in the Spring Lake Park Reserve near ancient American Indian burial mounds, but before it settles on an exact route, a state archaeologist will help identify the grounds to ensure they are not disturbed. (Independent Southwest Minnesota's Daily Newspaper)

Archaeologists unearth ancient Chinese tomb

A tomb dating back to 475-221 B.C. has been unearthed in northeast China. It lies about five meters underground and covers an area of 72 sq. meters in Dongdazhangzi village of Liaoning province. (JordanNews.net)

New reference to 2012 'apocalypse'

Mexico's archaeology institute, which downplays theories that the ancient Mayas predicted some sort of apocalypse would occur in 2012, has admitted that a second reference to the date exists on a carved fragment found at a southern Mexico ruin site. (Independent.ie)

November 25th, 2011

Old coins force re-think on Jerusalem's Western Wall

Israeli archaeologists on Wednesday said they had found ancient coins that overturned widely-held beliefs about the origins of Jerusalem's Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites. For centuries, many thought the wall was built by King Herod - also infamous, in the Christian tradition, for his efforts to hunt down the baby Jesus in the original Christmas story. (Reuters)

Skeleton found of man killed by arrowhead 1,000 years ago

THE SKELETON of a young man killed 1,000 years ago by an iron arrowhead found in his skull has been unearthed by archaeologists in east Galway. The shallow grave with the man’s body was discovered by a farmer during recent quarrying work near Newcastle village. During further examination, the iron arrowhead which claimed his life was retrieved from inside his skull. (IrishTimes.com)

WWII Wrecks Discovered Off Maui

Off the southern shore of Maui, 70-year-old war relics hid beneath the ocean surface, unknown except to local divers. This year, however, the sites of six historic World War II wrecks have been uncovered and recorded for posterity by a team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and students from UH Manoa. (Honolulu News & Opinion)

Shock as builders unearth 1,400-year-old burial ground in back garden

The shocked couple were in the middle of having an extension built when workmen alerted them to the grisly find under their patio. But fortunately for the pair, there was no foul play involved – the bones were part of an ancient burial ground dating back more than 1,000 years. (Metro.co.uk)

Burial mound aged 5000 demolished in Azerbaijan

5000-year-old burial mound in Hindarkh village of Agjabadi region has been destroyed by the local residents. (News.Az)

November 24th, 2011

Early Humans Were Skilled Deep-Sea Fishers 42,000 Years Ago

According to these researchers, archaic human sailors of East Timor knew what they were doing when it came to catching fish in the ocean deep. (Popular Archaeology)

Moreton-in-Marsh Stone Age axe find leads to seaside theory

A Stone Age hand axe which was found on a building site could help prove part of Gloucestershire was once "almost on the seaside", experts have said. Archaeologists uncovered the finely-worked stone tool, which may be about 100,000 years old, on a housing development in Moreton-in-Marsh. (BBC News)

2,000 years old tomb found in China

A tomb that is more than 2,000 years old has been excavated in northeast China's Liaoning province. The tomb, part of cluster that archaeologists began excavating in 1999, lies 5.5 meters underground and covers an area of 72 square metres in Dongdazhangzi village. (SouthKoreanew.net)

Important Findings at Pafos Excavations Unearthed

Findings which provide invaluable insight into the urban layout of the ancient capital city of the island and will become important archaeological tourist attractions for Pafos in the future were unearthed by the Australian Archaeological Mission to Nea Pafos in 2011. (Greek Greece Reporter)

Ancient bone weapon sheds light on human origins

Recent reexamination of a Manis site — excavated bones of a mastodon — in Washington State has sparked reevaluation of when the first humans inhabited the Americas. Using current technology, researchers were able to put the site's controversial age ambiguity, which has been contested since the late 1970s, to rest. (The Battalion Online, Texas A & M)

November 23rd, 2011

Ancestral Apache use of Otero Mesa

The ancestral Apache and contemporaneous mobile peoples used Otero Mesa and the surrounding basins and mountain ranges throughout the late prehistoric and historic periods. Because of its remote location, the mesa represents a special part of the Apachean landscape. Otero Mesa possesses some of the most unusual feature types known for these groups because of its geographic placement. The sites and features identified here have been instrumental in understanding the early presence of Apache in the southern Southwest, in identifying new uniquely Apache feature types, and isolating changes in rock art through time. (Alamogordo Daily News)

Bones Found in Gulf County Came From Indian Burial Site

After finding human bones in Lake Wimico earlier this month, experts have now officially determined the items discovered are part of an Indian burial ground. An archaeologist studied the site last week and made the determination after a family discovered the bones, pottery and other items on the lake's shores in Gulf County north of Port St. Joe (WJHG.com)

Bodies found under Warwickshire patio are Anglo Saxon

WHEN Ratley couple Stephen and Nicky West were having their house extended the last thing they expected to find was bodies under the patio. Builders uncovered the bones beneath the couple’s garden near Edgehill but the age of the remains meant the couple - both keen historians - called in archaeologists from Warwickshire County Council. (The Courier. Leamington Spa)

New find sheds light on ancient site in Jerusalem

Newly found coins underneath Jerusalem's Western Wall could change the accepted belief about the construction of one of the world's most sacred sites two millennia ago, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday. It was long thought that the compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary was built in its entirety by Herod, a Jewish ruler who died in 4 B.C. The compound replaced and expanded a much older Jewish temple complex on the same site. (The Bellingham Herald)

November 22nd, 2011

Marcahuamachuco, the new Machu Picchu?

An impressive Peruvian archeological site, Marcahuamachuco, might become the new Machu Picchu relieving pressure on the hugely popular ruins. It was the most important city in the Peruvian Andes before the Incas, probably constructed between 400 and 1200 AD. Today international organizations are working with the local government to make the site one of Peru’s stellar tourist attractions. (Yahoo News)

Ancient Remains of Child Sacrifices Unearthed in Peru

In yet another find in Peru, researchers have discovered a mass burial of children who were sacrificed in the fourteenth century during the pre-Inca times. Archaeologist Eduardo Arisaca announced on Sunday that remains of 200 people, including 44 children, were discovered near a stone funeral tower at Sillustani archeological site, the local media reported. (International Business Times)

Over 1,000-year-old Maya royal kitchen found in Mexico

Archaeologists on Thursday were still digesting this week’s announcement of the discovery of a royal kitchen from the time of the Mayas in the Kabah archaeological area, in the southeastern Mexican state of Yucatan. (BostonHerald.com)

ICE MUMMY MAY HAVE SMASHED EYE IN FALL

A sharp incision in his right eye may have contributed to the rapid demise of Ötzi the Iceman, the famous mummy who died in the Italian Alps more than 5,000 years ago. Twenty years after two hikers stumbled upon the Iceman in a melting glacier, new analyses have revealed that a deep cut likely led to heavy bleeding in the man's eye. In the cold, high-altitude conditions where he was found, that kind of injury would have been tough to recover from. (Discovery News)

November 21, 2011

Evidence Suggests Violent Interhuman Encounter May Have Occurred 126,000 Years Ago

Middle Pleistocene period human cranium shows evidence of having been struck by a blunt instrument, concludes a research study. (Popular Archaeology)

Temple of Aphrodite to be Buried by Urban Progress?

A 6th century BC temple to Aphrodite, the godess of love, may end up buried beneath new construction indefinitely, leaving it invisible to future generations. (Popular Archaeology)

Napoleonic soldiers' remains found in northern Poland

Archaeologists believe that the remains of soldiers who died after Napoleon's doomed march on Moscow have been found during the creation of a new bypass at Olecko, north east Poland. (News from Poland)

CLIMATE CHANGE MAY HAVE DOOMED NEANDERTHALS

When climate took a turn toward the cold tens of thousands of years ago, both Neanderthals and early humans started traveling further distances to find food, found a new study. As a result, the two groups encountered each other often.. And a consequent boom in inter-species liaisons eventually led to the extinction of Neanderthals. (Discovery News)

Bones kill myth of happy Harappa - Study shows gender discrimination

A study of human bones from the ruins of Harappa has revealed signs of lethal interpersonal violence and challenged current thinking that the ancient Indus civilisation was an exceptionally peaceful realm for its inhabitants. An American bioarchaeologist has said that her analysis of skeletal remains from Harappa kept at the Anthropological Survey of India, Calcutta, suggests that women, children and individuals with visible infectious diseases were at a high risk of facing violence. (The Telegraph, Calcutta, India)

Historic archaeology: Depleted Texas lakes expose ghost towns, graves

Johnny C. Parks died two days before his first birthday more than a century ago. His grave slipped from sight along with the rest of the tiny town of Bluffton when Lake Buchanan was filled 55 years later. Now, the cracked marble tombstone engraved with the date Oct. 15, 1882, which is normally covered by 20 to 30 feet of water, has been eerily exposed as a yearlong drought shrinks one of Texas’ largest lakes. (StatesmanJournal.com)

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November 20th, 2011

Revealed for first time: The real Great Escape tunnel

Gordie King stands head bowed, gazing down at a dark and dusty opening into wartime history... his eyes filling with tears. The hole in the ground before him is the entrance to the Great Escape tunnel, unearthed by ­archaeologists for the first time since the Second World War. And one fateful night 66 years ago, Gordie was down there, ­playing his part in the most ­famous break-out ever staged by British PoWs. (Mirror.co.uk)

Maya: Secrets of their Ancient World in original exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum

The Royal Ontario Museum has premiered Maya: Secrets of their Ancient World on Saturday, November 19, 2011. On display in the ROM’s Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall until Monday, April 9, 2012, this original exhibition vibrantly brings to life the Classic Period (250 - 900 CE) of this ancient Mesoamerican culture. (artdaily.org)

Guatemala reveals treasures from underwater Mayan ruins

Archaeologists in Guatemala show off Mayan artefacts salvaged from the ruins of an ancient ceremonial site located in the depths of Lake Atitlan. Archaeologists in Guatemala have retrieved artefacts from ancient Mayan ruins submerged in picturesque Lake Atitlan that officials estimate could be more than 2,000 years old. (NTN24News.com)

Long-forgotten Canadian find shakes up understanding of ancient humans

A Canadian archeologist is being credited — nearly 50 years after the fact — with discovering a prehistoric petroglyph site in southern Egypt that is now being described as a "Lascaux-on-the-Nile" because of its similarity in age and style to France's world-famous, cave-wall gallery of Stone Age cattle, deer and horses. (The Vancouver Sun)