December 2011, Daily News

Archaeology News for the Week of November 27th, 2011

Sun, Nov 27, 2011

December 3rd, 2011

Wallingford's archaeological dig at mid-point

Amateur archaeologists have reached the halfway point in a project to chart the 1,200 year history of an Oxfordshire town. Volunteers are attempting to dig 100 pits in gardens across Wallingford. (BBC News)

'New' ancient monuments come to light at Knowth

Excavations unearth new features from Neolithic period One of the wall stones with a finely carved spiral uncovered by archaeologists at Knowth. Photo: Kevin O'Brien, OPW New and exciting archaeological finds have been made at the Knowth tumulus over the last few months, according to archaeologists working on the site. (The Meath Chronicle)

Digging up history at old Transbay Terminal

When most people ponder the past at the Transbay Terminal construction site, they imagine the hustle and bustle of gray-suited commuters swarming in and out of the Art Deco-style train depot in the mid-20th century. But archaeologists working at the site during demolition of the dingy old terminal last winter and construction of its grand replacement have unearthed artifacts that help reveal what it must have been like to live in the Irish working-class neighborhood that existed in that part of the South of Market in the mid- to late 1800s. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Lapita find opens new chapter of Pacific history

A huge treasure trove of artefacts including thousands of fragments of pottery provides the first evidence that the sea-faring Lapita people settled in mainland Papua New Guinea. The discovery, by a group of archaeologists from Australia and Papua New Guinea led by Dr Bruno David and Professor Ian McNiven from Monash University, may also give clues about the origin of Torres Strait Islanders. (ABC Science)

Volcanic destruction? Not always

For many, the story of Pompeii defines what happens when a volcano erupts: It destroys everything in its path and kills everyone who cannot escape. But nearly a millennium ago, a very different scenario played out just north of the modern-day city of Flagstaff in the Arizona desert. Here, the local Sinagua peoples survived the eruption of the powerful Sunset Crater volcano and adapted to a changed landscape to forge a more complex society and higher standard of living. (Physorg.com)

December 2nd, 2011

Archaeologists Find New Evidence of Animals Being Introduced to Prehistoric Caribbean

An archaeological research team from North Carolina State University, the University of Washington and University of Florida has found one of the most diverse collections of prehistoric non-native animal remains in the Caribbean, on the tiny island of Carriacou. The find contributes to our understanding of culture in the region before the arrival of Columbus, and suggests Carriacou may have been more important than previously thought. (Science Daily)

SEARCH FOR LOST DA VINCI GETS DESPERATE

After 35 years of non-invasive research, art experts have turned to rather drastic methods to solve a longstanding Leonardo da Vinci mystery. Putting aside the state-of-the-art technologies employed in the past decades, the researchers have simply drilled a hole into a frescoed wall which they believe hides a long lost da Vinci masterpiece known as the "Battle of Anghiari." (Discovery News)

Yale: Art find in Egypt 15,000 years old

The words "ancient Egyptian art" brings to mind the popular tomb art found in the region of the Upper Nile, created between 5000 BC and about 300 AD. As ancient as those works are, they're almost contemporary compared to what a Yale University professor and a team of Belgian scientists found in Qurta, Egypt -- rock carvings dating back to between 15,000 and 23,000 years ago. They are the oldest Egyptian works of art known to exist and are among the oldest art found anywhere. (Conneticut Post)

Roman sites in Libya survived the war mostly unscathed, initial reports show

The recent fighting in Libya that toppled Gaddafi destroyed many lives and laid waste to many neighborhoods. Now that the country is beginning to rebuild, Libyans are taking stock of other effects of the war. Libya's beautiful Roman remains, it appears, got off easy. Earlier this week, the Guardian reported that the Roman cities of Lepcis Magna and Sabratha both survived the war without any significant damage. (Gadling)

Graves found under Jeffersonville softball field

Since the 1920s, the swatch of green near the intersection of Chestnut and Mulberry streets in Jeffersonville has been a city park, a place where hundreds of people have played softball. On Thursday, officials disclosed that those games apparently were taking place on long-forgotten graves, including some that may have dated to the Civil War. (Courier-journal.com)

One of the earliest known examples of math homework

In the early 20th century, German researchers found several clay tablets at the site of Šuruppak. (Today, that's basically the Iraqi city of Tell Fara.) Some of the tablets appear to be the remains of math instruction, including two different tablets that are working the same story problem. (boingboing)

December 1st, 2011

Expert: Mexico glyphs don't predict apocalypse

The end is not near. At least that's according to a German expert who says his decoding of a Mayan tablet with a reference to a 2012 date denotes a transition to a new era and not a possible end of the world as others have read it. The interpretation of the hieroglyphs by Sven Gronemeyer of La Trobe University in Australia was presented for the first time Wednesday at the archaeological site of Palenque in southern Mexico. (www.klfy.com)

Human bones unearthed at Woodland, groups say

Human bones have been found on the site of the former Mohawk Institute, according to the Mohawk Nation. And a spokesman says the bones belong to First Nations children who were students at the residential school, which operated there until 1970.(The Exposieory that ritual human sacrifice was practiced during paganism in Iceland. (Iceland Review Online)

Man faces jail for demolishing ancient ring fort

A CAUSEWAY man is facing a possible five-year jail term after he was prosecuted for demolishing an ancient ring fort on land belonging to his family. In the first case of its kind to be heard in an Irish Court, John O'mahony with an address at Clashmealcon, Causeway appeared at Tralee Circuit Criminal Court last where he pleaded guilty to carrying out unauthorised work near a monument on his family's farmland in Causeway in 2008. (Kerryman.ie)

Evidence found in Bunbury ship dig

WOODEN fragments and iron structures have began to emerge as archeologists excavate the likely resting places of whaling ships the Samuel Wright and North America. The Bunbury Mail broke the story in August. The eight-day dig started on Monday at a carpark on Koombana Drive. (Bunburry Mail)

Papyrus research provides insight into job training, prayer and more in the ancient world

Education, jobs, religion and even the cultural effects of bilingualism were as topical in the ancient world as they are today. All of these topics and more are featured in translations of ancient papyrus in the University of Cincinnati-based journal, Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists, due out Dec. 2. The annually produced journal, edited since 2006 by Peter van Minnen, UC associate professor and head of classics, features the most prestigious global research on papyri, a field of study known as papyrology. (Papyrology is formally known as the study of texts on papyrus and other materials, mainly from ancient Egypt and mainly from the period of Greek and Roman rule.) (EurekAlert.com)

November 30th, 2011

Finds in Oman Push Back Date of Modern Human Exodus Out of Africa

Stone tool finds challenge long-held theories about early human migration out of Africa. (Popular Archaeology)

Did Neanderthal man die out because he was too smart for his own good?

We like to think our superior brainpower led to their demise. But it seems the real reason the Neanderthals died out may be because they were too clever for their own good. Researchers say that rather than being outwitted by the superior intellect of modern man, our caveman cousins were every bit as sophisticated.Their brains and charms led to them being sought as mates by our ancestors, who, due to simple numbers, soon began to rule the roost. Arizona State University academics came up with the theory after running data about life in Europe and Asia during the last Ice Age through a computer program. (DailyMail.co.uk)

Santa's tomb is found off Turkey: Academics claim to have found where St Nicholas was buried.

HISTORIANS believe they have found the original tomb of Santa Claus (Father Christmas) - on an island off the coast of Turkey. A team of academics who were searching the Mediterranean island of Gemile near Fethiye for traces of ancient environmental damage stumbled instead upon the ruins of an early Christian pilgrimage centre. (The Independent)

Distance learning lets kids see Civil War shipwrecks

Early this morning, a group of underwater archaeologists went looking for a Civil War shipwreck in the Hillsborough River. The group has already uncovered two ships including the Scottish Chief, which was sunk by Union troops in 1863. But today's expedition was unique because 150 middle school students were along for the trip watching in real time from the Florida Aquarium, even talking with the divers while they were underwater. (WTSP.com)

Beer Prehistory: Celtic Beer from France

While France may be best-known for its wines these days, in the Iron Age, they were making plenty of beer—and now we have a reasonably good idea of what that process looked like (at least for one archaeological site). The site of Roquepertuse lies in Provence, just inland from France's southeastern Mediterranean coast. From the Late Bronze Age (c. 1400-750 BC) to the Late Iron Age (c. 450-25 BC), the local inhabitants cultivated barley, as well as millet and emmer—all grains used in ancient beer brewing, although of course barley is the most recognizable to us today. (Drinks.seriouseats.com)

Experts: Deficit Threatens Ancient Italian Treasures

Each year roughly 2.5 million tourists visit Pompeii. Described by archaeologists as the world’s most important window on the ancient world, the bustling Roman Empire town was buried under metres of ash when the nearby volcano, Mount Vesuvius, erupted in AD 79. The buried ruins were discovered by accident 17 centuries later, with many villas, workshops and bathhouses found largely intact. (Voice of America)

November 29th, 2011

Child's Remains and Other Bones Identified at Canada's Oldest Indian Residential School in Brantford, Ontario

Archaeological surveys and test digs authorized by we, elders of the Kanien'keha:ka Nation, have been conducted at the former Mohawk Institute Indian residential school since October 1. This past week, while on the grounds of the school, our researchers along with Kevin Annett -Rawennatshani, who acts with our approval, have unearthed what has been described as human remains. One bone among sixteen uncovered has been identified, through preliminary visual examination by a competent archaeologist, as that of a young child. This bone sample is described by the same archaeologist as “definitely human”. (www.Salem-News.com)

Soybeans May Have Fed Asia Earlier Than Thought

It's funny how the birthplace of one little bean can stir up a world of passions. But when it's the soybean, maybe it's not such a shocker. Soy plays an outsized role in human history, serving as the primary source of protein in Asia for millennia. That can slip by people in the United States, where — until very recently — the super-nutritious bean was relegated to animal feed. But soybean pride has led to a long-running dispute between China and Korea for bragging rights to the birthplace of soy. But new research suggests they may have to share the credit.  (NPR News)

NY historic site's skeletons still hold mystery

They ranged in age from 20 to 45, stood between just over 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, and most of them were male and intact, except for the one missing its skull. Five years after human skeletons were uncovered on a historic island in the upper Hudson River by a husband-and-wife team of amateur archaeologists, New York state officials are revealing what professional archaeologists learned from the remains. (WSTCWNLK.com)

Survey: Addicts looters of U.S. archaeological sites

Among archaeologists who report rampant thefts of antiquities from their dig sites worldwide, U.S. archaeologists are unique in reporting run-ins with methamphetamine addicts bent on looting dig sites. (USA Today)

Archaeology: Remains of medieval church discovered in Bulgaria’s Sozopol

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a medieval church, said to date from some time in the 12th to 14th centuries, and the front gate of the ancient city on the location of today’s Sozopol, on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. (The Sofia Echo)

Ancient Egyptian Chariot Leather Pieces Rediscovered

The beautifully preserved leather trappings of an ancient Egyptian chariot have been rediscovered in a storeroom of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Researchers say that the find, which includes intact harnesses, gauntlets and a bow case, is unique, and will help them to reconstruct how such chariots were made and used. (Scientific American)

Purdue professor studies copper's role in native culture

How did ancient copper lumps in Alaska become tools and move between different native communities? That is what a Purdue University anthropologist hopes to discover during a three-year study. H. Kory Cooper is focusing on tools made from native copper in south central Alaska and southwestern Yukon. (www.JcOnline.com)

November 28th, 2011

Excavations in Serbia Raising New Questions About Early Humans in Europe

Excavations in the caves of the Sicevo Gorge in Serbia may be shedding new light on what is becoming a more complex tapestry of early human presence and migration in Ice Age Europe. (Popular Archaeology)

Was "Stereo" Born 400 Years Ago in Venice?

The nobility of Renaissance Venice may have been among the first to hear music in stereo, according to new acoustics research. Architectural innovations in churches may have been intended to clearly separate the sounds from a split choir, audio engineers announced this week. The researchers used computer models to simulate what concerts in some of the city's churches—including tourist staples such as the Basilica of San Marco—sounded like 400 years ago. (National Geographic)

Stonehenge finds hint at rituals far more ancient than the stones

Scientists using the latest in modern boffinry to peel back the layers of time report that they have made important new discoveries at Stonehenge, hinting that the site was already a very ancient centre of ritual when the stones were erected more than 5,000 years ago. In particular, archaeologists are excited by the discovery of two pits on the ancient "Cursus" pathway near Stonehenge. (The Register)

Overlooked relics may help unearth Dead Sea Scrolls' authors

When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in caves in the Judean Desert, tattered pieces of fabric were found with them, sometimes wrapping them and sometimes stuffed into the jars in which they were found. Scholars, focusing on the scrolls, arguably the most important archaeological discovery of the 20th century, ascribed little importance to the fabric. But in recent years, Dr. Orit Shamir of the Israel Antiquitied Authority and Naama Sukenik (a relative of Eliezer Sukenik, who identified the scrolls ) of Bar-Ilan University have shone their scholarly spotlight on the crumbling cloth. (HAARETZ.com)

Fort Myers Beach site offers glimpse at 2,000 years ago

Stand still, turn toward the gumbo limbo tree and repeat after me: “Mound House.” The words bellow across the grounds, whisked away by the wind, a symbolic echo of Calusa history that’s preserved here, over 2,000 years. “We try to give the idea that their spirit is still here,” Mound House volunteer Ceel Spuhler says, stepping from the acoustically significant spot atop the Native American mound and into a cool, dark cave. (news-press.com)

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November 27th, 2011

Archaeologist traces Pocahontas wedding site

Archaeologist William Kelso is certain he's discovered the remains of the oldest Protestant church in the United States, standing between two holes he insists once held wooden posts. In 1614, Pocahontas was "married right here, I guarantee," Kelso told AFP at the Jamestown, Virginia archeological site southeast of the nation's capital. Near the James River, on May 14, 1607, a group of about a hundred men landed on commission from England to form the first colony in the Americas. (Yahoo News)

On This Day: King Tut’s Tomb Discovered

When Carter first arrived in Egypt, in 1891, as part of a British-sponsored archaeological survey, most of the ancient tombs had been discovered and plundered; it seemed unlikely that any undisturbed burial chambers remained. Carter, however, believed that the tomb of Tutankhamen, the boy king from 14th century B.C., still laid in the Valley of the Kings, on the eastern side of the Nile River. Sponsored by Lord Carnarvon, a collector of antiquities, Carter began excavating in the area in 1914. (Finding Dulcinea.com)

Scholars slam bill to change makeup of Israel Antiquities Authority

Culture Minister Limor Livnat did not approve Israel Academy of Sciences president's nominations for authority chairman, has submitted Knesset bill that would let her appoint a non-academy member. (HAARETZ.com)

Museum planned at Cold Spring foundry, but Irene diverts stream through ruins

If Abraham Lincoln showed up today to tour the West Point Foundry in Cold Spring, instead of as he did almost 150 years ago, he would need a canoe or at least a good pair of rubber boots. For the stream that once powered the production of cannons, steam engines and water pipes cut a new path through the 19th-century industrial site during Tropical Storm Irene. Foundry Brook now has two branches, one that pours into the Hudson River and another that flows through the ruins of the blacksmith shop and spreads past where Civil War artillery was hollowed out. (lohud.com)

Libyans recover looted Roman antiquities

Moammar Gadhafi's forces tried to flee Tripoli with a sack of ancient Roman artifacts in hopes of selling them abroad to help fund their doomed fight, Libya's new leaders said Saturday as they displayed the recovered objects for the first time. The director of the state antiquities department, Saleh Algabe, hailed the find of 17 pieces, mostly small stone heads, as an important recovery of national treasures. (Yahoo News)