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Popularly known as the site where archaeologists recently excavated an ancient jug containing a silver hoard, it sits near the border between modern day Israel and Lebanon to the north, in an area that brings to mind the political and military tensions that have so often plagued the border areas of these neighboring countries. Even thousands of years ago, this area figured prominently in conflicts and disputes among ancient players. 

Today the location is known as Tel Abel Beth Maacah, an archaeological site that has been identified by biblical scholars as the likely location of an ancient city that, at one time, may have had important Aramean connections. It is mentioned a number of times in the biblical account, including the battle related to the revolt against David by Sheba ben Bichri. In the early 19th century BCE it was conquered by Ben-hadad of Damascus, and by the Neo-Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III in 733 BCE. Scholars suggest that it may have been at one time the capital of the Aramean kingdom of Maacah.

The site is historically important for its strategic location, controlling the roads leading north to the Lebanese Beq‘a, northeast to inner and northern Syria and into Mesopotamia, and also west to the Lebanese/ Phoenician coast. But despite this location and the prominence of the imposing mound containing its remains, the site has never been excavated until now. Early surveys were conducted in 1973 by William G. Dever of the University of Arizona, yielding evidence that suggested that the site was occupied from Early Bronze Age (third millennium BCE) up to the time when the city was destroyed by the Neo-Assyrian monarch Tiglath-pileser III in 733-32 BCE, but pottery from the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman-Byzantine, Arabic, and Ottoman periods was also found. A small Arab village occupied the site until 1948, and its remains can still be seen today.

Archaeologists finally returned to the site in May 2012, when a team led by Robert Mullins of Azusa Pacific University near Los Angeles, California and Nava Panitz-Cohen of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem conducted a survey to lay the foundation and select areas for the very first full-scale excavations of the site in 2013. 

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Above: This Iron Age I ring flask was recovered along with other finds during the 2012 survey. Photo by Moshe Cohen. 

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The 2013 excavations were not disappointing. “We conducted a four-week season in June and July,” reported Mullins and Panitz-Cohen in a recent article.  “We focused on two areas – ‘Area F’ on the southern end of the lower mound and ‘Area A’ on the eastern end of the connection between the upper and lower mounds.” What they found was a significant Iron Age I (1200 – 1000 BCE) domestic occupation in Area A, including a plethora of collared-rim jar fragments, and a structure in Area F built of massive stones, which they suggest could be the partial remains of a tower. The date of the structure is not yet known. “But our prize find in Area F,” they continued, “was a small jug containing a silver hoard that sat on a floor abutting the structure. We have tentatively attributed this to very late Late Bronze-early Iron Age I (1300 – 1200 BCE).”* Following meticulous treatment by conservator Mimi Lavi of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the hoard was found to consist of “five complete earrings, three earring fragments, three ingots and one twisted piece that might also have been an earring.”**

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A general view of Area A looking south containing remains of houses from Iron Age I (11th century BCE). Photo by Robert Mullins, Abel Beth Maacah Excavations.

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A general view of excavation activity in Area F. Photo courtesy Abel Beth Maacah Excavations.

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Smashed collared-rim jar in Area F, which dates to Iron Age I (12th-11th centuries BCE). Photo by Robert Mullins, Abel Beth Maacah Excavations. 

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The jug containing the hoard in situ in Area F. Photo by Robert Mullins, Abel Beth Maacah Excavations. 

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Jug that contained the hoard and close-up of hoard before conservation. Photo by Gabi Laron, Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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The hoard after conservation work, showing complete earrings, earring fragments, and an ingot. These artifacts would be dated to the Late Bronze Age, based on the earring style. Photo by Gabi Laron.

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Going forward, Mullins and Panitz-Cohen emphasize that much more work needs to be done before they can achieve their ultimate objective, which is to help fill in the many gaps of knowledge that still exist about the northern region of Israel during the Bronze and Iron Ages.  “Our understanding of this region has been based largely on an important, but limited data set from Dan and Hazor [two other major archaeological sites in northern Israel],” they maintain.*** They point out that other major nearby sites that would shed light on this, such as Damascus in Syria and Tyre in Lebanon, have not been investigated because they are overlayed with modern settlements, or for other reasons. 

Returning again in 2014, they hope to uncover more finds that will help them answer their questions and inch closer to re-constructing a picture of the Bronze Age and Iron Age Levant in this region. Excavations are slated to begin in late June. More information about the efforts and how one can participate can be obtained at the project website. (See video below)

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 Directors Robert Mullins and Nava Panitz Cohen at the excavation site. Photo courtesy Abel Beth Maacah Excavations.

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*Mullins, Robert and Panitz-Cohen, Nava, Breaking Ground at Tel Abel Beth Maacah – Why Dig at the Gateway to the Arameans, ASOR Blog, 18 March 2014.  

**http://www.abel-beth-maacah.org/index.php/the-silver-hoard

***http://www.abel-beth-maacah.org/index.php/about

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Archaeologists have found the oldest complete example in the world of a human with metastatic cancer in a 3,000 year-old skeleton. 

The findings are reported in the academic journal PLOS ONE today (17 March, 2014).

The finding came from a skeleton of a young adult male found by a Durham University PhD student in a tomb in modern Sudan in 2013. Dating back to 1200 BCE, it was estimated to be between 25-35 years old when he died and was found at the archaeological site of Amara West in northern Sudan, situated on the Nile, 750 km downstream of the country’s modern capital, Khartoum. It was buried extended on his back, within a badly deteriorated painted wooden coffin, and provided with a glazed faience amulet as a grave good.

The skeleton was examined by experts at Durham University and the British Museum using radiography and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) which resulted in clear imaging of the lesions on the bones. It showed cancer metastasized on the collar bones, shoulder blades, upper arms, vertebrae, ribs, pelvis and thigh bones. It is the oldest convincing complete example of metastatic cancer in the archaeological record.

Lead author, Michaela Binder, a PhD student in the Department of Archaeology at Durham University, excavated and examined the skeleton. She said: “Our analysis showed that the shape of the small lesions on the bones can only have been caused by a soft tissue cancer even though the exact origin is impossible to determine through the bones alone.”

“Insights gained from archaeological human remains like these can really help us to understand the evolution and history of modern diseases,” she added. “Very little is known about the antiquity, epidemiology and evolution of cancer in past human populations apart from some textual references and a small number of skeletons with signs of cancer.”

The cause of the cancer can only be speculative but the researchers say it could be as a result of environmental carcinogens such as smoke from wood fires, through genetic factors, or from infectious diseases such as schistosomiasis which is caused by parasites. 

They say that an underlying schistosomiasis infection seems a plausible explanation for the cancer in this individual as the disease had plagued inhabitants of Egypt and Nubia since at least 1500 BCE, and is now recognised as a cause of bladder cancer and breast cancer in men.

The researchers from Durham University and the British Museum say the discovery will help to explore underlying causes of cancer in ancient populations and provide insights into the evolution of cancer in the past. Ancient DNA analysis of skeletons and mummies with evidence of cancer can be used to detect mutations in specific genes that are known to be associated with particular types of cancer.

Even though cancer is one of the world’s leading causes of death today, it remains almost absent from the archaeological record compared to other pathological conditions, giving rise to the conclusion that the disease is mainly a product of modern living and increased longevity. These findings suggest that cancer is not only a modern disease but was already present in the Nile Valley in ancient times.

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Aerial view over the north-eastern cemetery area at Amara West with the Nile and the ancient settlement in the background. © Trustees of the British Museum   

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Nubian-style burial mound marking the grave on the surface. © Trustees of the British Museum

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The skeleton in its original burial position in the western chamber. The insert shows faience amulet found associated with the individual from both sides. The Egyptian god Bes (right side) is depicted on the reverse side. © Trustees of the British Museum

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The skeleton of the adult male excavated from Amara West. The skeleton shows signs of metastatic carcinoma. © Trustees of the British Museum 

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Previously, there has only been one convincing, and two tentative, examples of metastatic cancer predating the 1^st millennium BC reported in human remains. However, because the remains derived from early 20th century excavations, only the skulls were retained, thus making a full re-analysis of each skeleton, to generate differential (possible) diagnoses, impossible.

Co-author, Dr Neal Spencer from the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum, said: “From footprints left on wet mud floors, to the healed fractures of many ancient inhabitants, Amara West offers a unique insight into what it was like to live there – and die – in Egyptian-ruled Upper Nubia 3200 years ago.”

Michaela Binder added: “Through taking an evolutionary approach to cancer, information from ancient human remains may prove a vital element in finding ways to address one of the world’s major health problems.”

The tomb, where the skeleton was found, appears to have been used for high-status individuals from the town, but not the ruling elite, based on the tomb architecture and aspects of funerary ritual.

The tomb’s architecture is evidence of a hybrid culture blending Pharaonic elements (burial goods, painted coffins) with Nubian culture (a low mound to mark the tomb). 

The well preserved pottery recovered from the tomb provides a date within the 20th Dynasty (1187-1064 BCE), a period when Egypt ruled Upper Nubia, endured conflicts with Libya and while pharaohs such as Ramses III were being buried in the Valley of the Kings.

The research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust and the Institute of Bioarchaeology Amara West Field School, with the permission of the National Corporation of Antiquities and Museums in Sudan.

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Edited from a press release from the Durham University Media Relations Office.

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Subscription Price: A very affordable $5.75 for those who are not already premium subscribers of Popular Archaeology Magazine (It is FREE for premium subscribers to Popular Archaeology). Premium subscribers should email [email protected] and request the special coupon code. Or, for the e-Book version, it can be purchased for only $3.99 at Amazon.com. 

If you have European ancestry and you’re fairly light-skinned with light hair and light-colored eyes, there is now new scientific data to help explain why you are the way you are.

A recent DNA study supports the suggestion that strong selection factors for those phenotypes (physical characteristics) acted upon pigmentation genes over the last 5,000 years. Sandra Wilde of Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, along with her colleagues, developed estimates of selection acting on functional alleles of three pigmentation-related genes from Eneolithic, Bronze Age, and modern eastern European humans by using computer simulation techniques. 

Reports Wilde, et. al: “Our results provide direct evidence that strong selection favoring lighter skin, hair, and eye pigmentation has been operating in European populations over the last 5,000 years……….In sum, a combination of selective pressures associated with living in northern latitudes, the adoption of an agriculturalist diet, and assortative mating may sufficiently explain the observed change from a darker phenotype during the Eneolithic/Early Bronze Age to a generally lighter one in modern Eastern Europeans…….”  However, Wilde, et. al, caution that while this may be true, “other selective factors cannot be discounted.”*

The article detailing the study has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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*Article #13-16513: “Direct evidence for positive selection of skin, hair, and eye pigmentation in Europeans during the last 5,000 y,” by Sandra Wilde et al.  at www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1316513111

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Read about the most fascinating discoveries with a premium subscription to Popular Archaeology Magazine.  Find out what Popular Archaeology Magazine is all about.  AND MORE:

On the go? Purchase the mobile version of the current issue of Popular Archaeology Magazine here for only $2.99.

And, Popular Archaeology’s annual Discovery edition is a selection of the best stories published in Popular Archaeology Magazine in past issues, with an emphasis on some of the most significant, groundbreaking, or fascinating discoveries in the fields of archaeology and paleoanthropology and related fields. At least some of the articles have been updated or revised specifically for the Discovery edition.  We can confidently say that there is no other single issue of an archaeology-related magazine, paper print or online, that contains as much major feature article content as this one. The latest issue, volume 2, has just been released. Go to the Discovery edition page for more information.

Subscription Price: A very affordable $5.75 for those who are not already premium subscribers of Popular Archaeology Magazine (It is FREE for premium subscribers to Popular Archaeology). Premium subscribers should email [email protected] and request the special coupon code. Or, for the e-Book version, it can be purchased for only $3.99 at Amazon.com. 

* Sicoli MA, Holton G (2014) Linguistic Phylogenies Support Back-Migration from Beringia to Asia. PLoS ONE 9(3): e91722. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091722.

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Cover Photo, Top Left: Map showing greatest extent of Beringia.

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Read about the most fascinating discoveries with a premium subscription to Popular Archaeology Magazine.  Find out what Popular Archaeology Magazine is all about.  AND MORE:

On the go? Purchase the mobile version of the current issue of Popular Archaeology Magazine here for only $2.99.

And, Popular Archaeology’s annual Discovery edition is a selection of the best stories published in Popular Archaeology Magazine in past issues, with an emphasis on some of the most significant, groundbreaking, or fascinating discoveries in the fields of archaeology and paleoanthropology and related fields. At least some of the articles have been updated or revised specifically for the Discovery edition.  We can confidently say that there is no other single issue of an archaeology-related magazine, paper print or online, that contains as much major feature article content as this one. The latest issue, volume 2, has just been released. Go to the Discovery edition page for more information.

Subscription Price: A very affordable $5.75 for those who are not already premium subscribers of Popular Archaeology Magazine (It is FREE for premium subscribers to Popular Archaeology). Premium subscribers should email [email protected] and request the special coupon code. Or, for the e-Book version, it can be purchased for only $3.99 at Amazon.com. 

March 9th, 2014

Finding Answers to New Mysteries at Cahokia

During the summer of 2014, archaeologists will be investigating the remains of a 900-year-old Native American ceremonial center site located in Illinois. Known as Emerald Mound in Lebanon, IL, about 25 miles east of the Cahokia mounds, the site is thought to be culturally associated with the well-known Cahokia mounds of the Pre-Columbian Mississipian culture, an advanced society that spread across the present-day Southeastern United States centuries before European contact. (Popular Archaeology)

Archaeologists found bones of a Stone Age child and an adult in tiny cave

Archaeologists at IT Sligo have found bones of a Stone Age child and an adult in a tiny cave high on Knocknarea mountain near the town. Radiocarbon dating has shown that they are some 5,500 years old, which makes them among the earliest human bones found in the county. The find represents important fresh evidence of Knocknarea’s Neolithic (Stone Age) links and a prehistoric practice known as “excarnation”. Researchers discovered a total of 13 small bones and bone fragments in an almost inaccessible cave last November. (Irish Mirror)

Archaeologists will soon start dig at the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park

Another page may be added to St. Augustine’s historical legacy this spring once archaeologists explore an uncharted area of the nation’s oldest colony. Archaeologists start their dig at the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in a week. The site is regularly excavated by researchers who piece together the lives of America’s earliest Spanish settlers and the Native Americans who lived nearby. (The Saint Augustine Record)

Archaeologists find 3,000-year-old graves in Cusco, Peru

Excavators working in the city of Cusco have discovered a burial site containing five individuals from the Marcavalle culture, a pre-Inca society. Andina news agency reports that the skeletal remains date back to around 1,000 BC. The burial site, which contained two double graves and one single grave, was found on land owned by a Cusco center for juvenile rehabilitation. Three of the individuals found at the site were adults at the time of their deaths, while one was a child and the other an adolescent. (Peru this Week)

Ancient secrets of the sand unveiled

A DOG walker took a step back in time during his routine stroll, finding footprints thought to be 7,000 years old. Archaeologist Barry Mead was walking his dog Peedie on the beach near his Cresswell home when he came across a newly-exposed inter-tidal peat bed. The find, at the southern end of Druridge Bay, included footprints dating back thousands of years, which are the first of their kind to be found at that part of the beach. (Morpeth Herald)

Executed Vikings were inexperienced raiders who oozed smelly pus, say archaeologists

The bony discovery of 50 young male skeletons, decapitated and lumped in an old quarry pit before being found by diggers on an Olympic relief road in Weymouth five years ago, became an even more gripping story following scientific examinations revealing that this mass grave carried executed Vikings. David Score, of excavators Oxford Archaeology, called the test results “thrilling”, while Angus Campbell, the then-leader of Dorset County Council who is now the county’s Lord Lieutenant, admitted organisers “never would have dreamed of finding a Viking war grave.” (Culture24)

Great Gouda! World’s oldest cheese found – on mummies

Vintage Gouda may be aged for five years, some cheddar for a decade. They’re both under-ripe youngsters compared with yellowish clumps – found on the necks and chests of Chinese mummies – now revealed to be the world’s oldest cheese. The Chinese cheese dates back as early as 1615 BC, making it by far the most ancient ever discovered. Thanks to the quick decay of most dairy products, there isn’t even a runner-up. (USA Today)

Bronze Age rock art uncovered in Brecon Beacons

Rare, prehistoric rock art which could be more than 4,000 years old has been discovered in the Brecon Beacons. The Bronze Age discovery was made late last year by national park geologist Alan Bowring. Experts claim the stone probably served as a way marker for farming communities. Similar stones have been found in other parts of Britain but they are thought to be rare in mid Wales. (BBC News)

Statue of pharaoh’s daughter unearthed in Egypt

A statue of the daughter of King Amenhotep III, grandfather of Tutankhamen and ruler of Egypt around 3,350 years ago, has been unearthed by a team of Egyptian and European archaeologists. The statue of Princess Iset was discovered at the temple of her pharaoh father on the western bank of the Nile in the southern city of Luxor, the Egyptian antiquities ministry said on Friday. (Reuters)

During the summer of 2014, archaeologists will be investigating the remains of a 900-year-old Native American ceremonial center site located in Illinois. Known as  Emerald Mound in Lebanon, IL, about 25 miles east of the Cahokia mounds, the site is thought to be culturally associated with the well-known Cahokia mounds of the Pre-Columbian Mississipian culture, an advanced society that spread across the present-day Southeastern United States centuries before European contact.

Under the leadership of Timothy R. Pauketat of the University of Illinois and in conjunction with Indiana University, the effort will field crews of researchers and students to excavate a significant portion of what is thought to be a complex consisting of structures and other archaeological features such as houses and storage pits related to a principal 6-meter-high earthen platform. Investigations will also include geophysical exploration and mapping.

Read about the most fascinating discoveries with a premium subscription to Popular Archaeology Magazine.  Find out what Popular Archaeology Magazine is all about.  AND MORE:

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And, Popular Archaeology’s annual Discovery edition is a selection of the best stories published in Popular Archaeology Magazine in past issues, with an emphasis on some of the most significant, groundbreaking, or fascinating discoveries in the fields of archaeology and paleoanthropology and related fields. At least some of the articles have been updated or revised specifically for the Discovery edition.  We can confidently say that there is no other single issue of an archaeology-related magazine, paper print or online, that contains as much major feature article content as this one. The latest issue, volume 2, has just been released. Go to the Discovery edition page for more information.

Subscription Price: A very affordable $5.75 for those who are not already premium subscribers of Popular Archaeology Magazine (It is FREE for premium subscribers to Popular Archaeology). Premium subscribers should email [email protected] and request the special coupon code. Or, for the e-Book version, it can be purchased for only $3.99 at Amazon.com.

Since their discoveries, the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, those hapless victims of the Mt. Vesuvius eruptions of AD 79, have captured the public’s imagination and have thus commanded the attention of both the academic community and the general public. The recent exhibition at the British Museum that highlighted Pompeii and Herculaneum, coupled with the release of the major motion picture, Pompeii, have popularized the ancient cities all the more. There is, however, another story along the northern slopes of Vesuvius that tells of a people who lived and died on the “other side” of the better-known setting. Archaeologists have recently uncovered evidence of the people who lived and died on what has been termed “the dark side of Vesuvius”, the northern slopes of the volcano and the adjoining ancient territories of Nola and Neapolis. It is a story that may encompass not just the well-known AD 79 eruption, but multiple past eruptions as well. Known as the Apolline Project, teams of archaeologists, other scientists, students and volunteers have been slowly piecing together what remains of the ancient settlements that survived and were dramatically affected by these cataclysms. 

The Northern Territories 

The fertile landscape around Mount Vesuvius has always made it an idyllic and desirable setting for human occupation. Rich in minerals, rivers, and hot springs, this fertile volcanic landscape is as inviting as it is precarious, yielding a wealth of foodstuffs such as olives, hazelnuts, shellfish, figs, and grapes, to name a few. Archaeologists have now discovered evidence of ancient ploughed fields, orchards, vineyards, and Roman centuriation grids, demonstrating that in antiquity the region was thoroughly exploited through the cultivation of a wide variety of crops, as it is today. Considering this abundance and variety of natural resources, from foodstuffs and fuel to natural building materials, the northern territories of Nola and Neapolis were well placed to become centers of mass industrial activity. Ancient literary sources testify to this; for example, Strabo described the area as “dotted all around with cities, buildings, and plantations, so thoroughly intertwined that it resembles closely a metropolis”. Wine, in particular, was a valuable export for this prosperous region, supporting trade connections as far as Britannia and India. Understanding the exact nature of the communications and exchange processes within this region both before and after AD 79 has become the principal pursuit of the Project, which seeks to understand not only the people who lived during these times, but the nature of the economic and industrial landscape as well.

But the archaeologists face a challenge not uncommon in the field. The region of Campania, which today contains the traces of this area, has been intensively settled and urbanized and as a result, only a small percentage of its vast history has been brought to light. It presents a real obstacle to archaeologists who are attempting to reconstruct an image of the ancient landscape and its settlements. Nevertheless, the accessible sites lying on the northern slope of Vesuvius have provided them with a window with long spans of occupation featuring multiple stages of post-eruption recovery and repopulation that provide clear, rich stratigraphies, allowing for the creation of extended chronologies and timelines.

The Finds at Pollena Trocchia

Key to the efforts on the northern slope has been the discovery of a Roman bath and villa site located in the town of Pollena Trocchia. Since 2005, most of the baths have been unearthed, revealing evidence to suggest that it was part of a larger villa complex now buried underneath an adjacent modern block of flats. The discovery of the volcanic material deposited by the AD 79 eruption indicated that the villa complex, or the baths at least, were built in the years after the eruption. As a result, the insight that the finds have provided in terms of both the inhabitants and their impetus to settle there has been extraordinary. The discovery of a brick stamp imprinted onto a tile lining the bath’s hypocaust, for example, shows the distinct mark of the Domitii brothers, a prosperous family from Rome who produced this stamp between AD 75 and AD 95. This connection with Rome, along with the many lavish finds, suggests that the inhabitants of this site were very affluent and settled there soon after the eruption, perhaps tempted by the fertile earth left by the volcano.

Moreover, the rich data from the site at Pollena Trocchia obtained through charcoal analysis of carbonized plant remains has revealed the exact species of vegetation and offers insight into how they were cultivated to shape the Roman landscape. For example, evidence of chestnut (a known construction timber used by the Romans) suggests that the late antique woodland on the north slope may have been partially and purposefully composed of chestnut trees. In fact, the plethora of woodland that blanketed Mount Vesuvius in Roman times was also required in vast quantities for fueling industries such as pottery-making and iron-smithing. It also played a more domestic role in cooking and in the heating of Roman baths. By identifying evidence of activities that would have incorporated wood, as well as the remains of wood itself, archaeologists and palaeobotanists alike are investigating the transportation and management of ancient forests, and whether the woodland of Vesuvius was enough to satisfy the enormous demand for timber.

The researchers have found that not all archaeological finds, however, are as easily comprehensible. A few years ago, the remains of two children were discovered buried in two small amphorae. Amphorae are large pottery vessels that were usually used for transporting wine and other foodstuffs, but they were also occasionally used for infant burials. Thus far, the tale surrounding these children, possibly twins, remains a mystery.

The occupation of this site may have ended the way it began, with a volcanic eruption. This eruption struck on November 6^th, AD 472, the site itself being destroyed by lahars. The lahars were produced by the eruption, creating an atmospheric disturbance that caused severe downpours of rain, which then flowed rapidly down the mountainsides, picking up literally tons of ash and mud on their way. As devastating as this event was, the stratigraphy it left behind has been indispensable to the archaeological research.

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 Overview of the excavated remains of the Pollena Trocchia bath complex. © Girolamo F. De Simone. 

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Excavating volcanic ash under the heat of the midday sun is no easy feat, but these archaeologists are determined to make a discovery. © Girolamo F. De Simone.

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Although the volcano leveled these baths, many walls are still so high that it remains a walk-in complex.  © Girolamo F. De Simone.

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Stunning preservation of mosaic floors bring the baths to life. © Girolamo F. De Simone. 

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A splash of water reveals the hidden maker’s mark of the Domitii Brothers on this flooring brick stamp.  © Girolamo F. De Simone. 

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The imprints of carbonized vegetation have led palaeobotanists to determine exactly what trees and plants the Roman inhabitants were using in their daily lives. © Girolamo F. De Simone.

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Pollena Trocchia is not the only site that has shed light on the area. For example, the grand villa complex at Somma Vesuviana boasts a long and mysterious history, with speculation about its ownership and function. Around the time of its discovery, it was thought to have been owned by the Emperor Augustus himself. Originally a luxurious stately home, the function of the building changed after the AD 79 eruption, and there are strong indications that it might have been an industrial center for the mass production of wine. During excavations by the University of Tokyo, a plethora of Dionysiac imagery and motifs have been found throughout the structure, strongly conveying Dionysus, the Roman God of wine and merriment, as the patron diety. One beautiful, well-preserved, marble statue particularly evokes this: it features the god holding a panther cub, a very rare pose. Due to the size and discoveries made at this site, it is well known within the field of Roman archaeology. It is this scale of attention that Apolline Project researchers hope to achieve for the Pollena excavations. In addition, the Villa of Lauro, also in this region, has had its fair share of archaeological attention. Abandoned after the AD 472 eruption, these Roman baths are thought to have belonged to a larger villa complex, much like those at Pollena Trocchia. Thanks to an extraordinary fresco found in Lancellotti Castle nearby, researchers have deduced that much of this villa was removed to construct the church of San Giovanni del Palco. The Villa of Laura baths are most noted for their decoration. Also known as ‘The Blue Baths’, the walls, flooring, and stone furnishings are studded with bold blue tesserae, shells and other decorative materials. The surviving mosaics depict detailed scenes involving various birds, plant life, and deer hunting.

Combining secondary sources such as maps and literary accounts with results of the actual excavations, the Project has constructed local archaeological maps of the area around Nola and Neapolis, thus giving back to the modern day residents a sense of their history and identity. Project staff have also engaged with local landowners and enthusiasts to give the community an active role in the search for their heritage, a quest that is expected to continue for generations.

For more information on the work of the Apolline Project and how to participate, go to the website at http://www.apollineproject.org/.

Interested readers may also contact the project’s director, Girolamo Ferdinando De Simone at [email protected].

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Read about the most fascinating discoveries with a premium subscription to Popular Archaeology Magazine.  Find out what Popular Archaeology Magazine is all about.  

Effective March 1, 2014, Popular Archaeology Magazine publishes its 14th issue as an ongoing, quarterly online publication specializing in archaeology and anthropology-related topics and discoveries. As in past issues, the March issue contains content written by journalists and leading experts in their fields, often about pioneering research or recent discoveries. Some of the articles, such as the piece related to the million-year-old ancient human footprints uncovered in the UK and the Staffordshire Hoard, touch on discoveries that made recent headlines. Others, though less visible in the popular press, present stories that feature equally fascinating discoveries and events.  

Among the new articles published in this issue are the following:

The Mountain Temple of Angkor

Straddling a long-disputed border area, Cambodia’s remote ancient Preah Vihear temple slowly reveals its secrets.

A Taste for Wine

The evidence shows that wine was king in ancient Rome.

The Sea Peoples of the Transjordan

An archaeological site in Jordan yields significant signs of an ancient Mediterranean influence.

Drawing from the Past

Author and scholar Carolyn Boyd relates the discovery and meaning of the incredible rock art of the Lower Pecos Canyonlands.

Footprints in the Silt

The startling discovery of million-year-old human footprints on a beach in the United Kingdom have scientists jumping.

Seeking Answers to an Ancient Mystery

Combining genetic and genealogical research, a young woman relates in her own words her remarkable personal journey through time to rediscover her ancient ancestry.

The Phaistos Disk: A New Approach, Part 6

What does this artifact, unearthed in Crete, have to do with Solomon’s Temple?

Conserving the Staffordshire Hoard

Conservators are unlocking the secrets of the incredible craftsmanship of an unprecedented Anglo-Saxon treasure.

Unearthing the Opulence

A recapture of the historic excavation of America’s iconic 18th century Governor’s Palace at Colonial Williamsburg.

Archaeologists are intensely engaged at an archaeological site known as Maryport on the northwest coast of England. Touted as the largest known Roman period civilian settlement along the Hadrian’s Wall frontier, geophysical surveys have revealed detailed information about the site, including lines of buildings, perhaps used as houses and shops, on either side of the excavated main street running from the north east gate of the ancient Roman fort.

In 2013, a team of archaeologists, students and volunteers excavated a section of the Roman road in the settlement, as well as buildings. They uncovered the outline of a building with a shop at the front and several rooms behind. They found various items including whetstones for sharpening blades and tools, glass beads and remains of pots for processing food. There is evidence pointing to a second floor, “probably where the shopkeeper and his family lived,” report the investigative team leadership. They plan to continue the excavations in 2014. 

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Part of the excavated Roman road. Courtesy Hadrian’s Wall Trust and the Roman Settlement Project.

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Remains of the settlement building viewed from the east. Courtesy Hadrian’s Wall Trust and the Roman Settlement Project.

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Said Nigel Mills of Hadrian’s Wall Trust: “We know very little about these civilian settlements because archaeologists have previously focused on the military aspects of the Roman frontier, excavating forts, milecastles and turrets.

“At Maryport we have an opportunity to look at what went on outside the fort and how soldiers and civilians interacted.  We aim to excavate a complete building from where it fronted the main road through the settlement to the yards and work areas at the back. This year’s excavation will uncover more of the building and hopefully enable us to understand what it was used for.” 

Later in the year the Senhouse Museum Trust and Newcastle University Roman Temples Project dig will take place at a different part of the site.

The Hadrian’s Wall frontier zone is part of the first transnational world heritage site – Frontiers of the Roman Empire – which includes the Antonine Wall in Scotland and the German Limes.  This represents the borderline of the Roman Empire at its furthest extent in the 2nd century AD.  It stretched from the west coast of northern Britain, through Europe to the Black Sea, and from there to the Red Sea and across North Africa to the Atlantic coast.

There were over 30 forts on the 150 mile Roman frontier across the north of England, including 16 along the line of the 73 mile wall itself plus coastal, outpost and supply forts. Along the wall there were around 80 milecastles and 160 turrets, a ditch to the north and the great defensive vallum earthwork to the south.

The excavations are an important step toward the establishment of a long-term program of archaeological research at Maryport, which is a key element in the development of Roman Maryport under a partnership between the Hadrian’s Wall Trust and the Senhouse Museum Trust.

For more information about becoming a volunteer on the settlement project dig contact Stephen Rowland [email protected].

Arrangements for schools and visitors to the excavations will be posted on the Hadrian’s Wall Trust’s website www.visithadrianswall.co.uk .

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Adapted and edited from a press release by Hadrian’s Wall Trust.
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Known as the “Beringia Standstill” theory, it was first suggested by two Latin American geneticists in 1997 and then refined or corroborated by a University of Tartu research team in Estonia in 2007. From a sampling of mitrochondrial DNA from more than 600 Native Americans, they found that mutations in the DNA pointed to the likelihood that a group of their direct ancestors from Siberia was isolated from their Siberian origins for at least several thousand years, during the time period from 25,000 (if not earlier) to 15,000 years ago (when ice-free corridors developed), before their descendants moved into the Americas. Evidence from recent paleo-ecological research suggested that this isolation most likely occurred in Beringia, a land mass that once covered the present-day Bering Strait between northeast Asia and Alaska. 

“A number of supporting pieces have fallen in place during the last decade, including new evidence that central Beringia supported a shrub-tundra region with some trees during the last glacial maximum and was characterized by surprisingly mild temperatures, given the high latitude,” said John Hoffecker of CU-Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, who is the lead author of a Perspective article appearing in the Feb. 28 issue of Science magazine. 

This is an important aspect within the overall geographic context of the area, as the last glacial maximum reached its peak about 21,000 years ago with the development of massive ice sheets across North America and Europe, essentially blocking access to North America from northeast Asia until about 15,000 years ago. Thus the ice sheet barrier, along with distance from Siberia, would have created a geographic basis for the gap suggested by the genetic data.

But combining the genetics with the recent paleoecological research, which involved analyzing fossil pollen, plant and insect material taken from sample sediment cores from the now submerged landscape, has been the key.

“The genetic record has been very clear for several years that the Native American genome must have arisen in an isolated population at least by 25,000 years ago, and the bulk of the migrants to the Americas really didn’t arrive south of the ice sheets until nearly 15,000 years ago,” said co-author and University of Utah anthropologist Dennis O’Rourke. “The paleoecological data, which I think most geneticists have not been familiar with, indicate that Beringia was not a uniform environment, and there was a shrub-tundra region, or refugium, that likely provided habitats conducive to continuous human habitation.” 

Scott Elias, an article co-author and a professor with the the Department of Geography at Royal Holloway, elaborated: “We believe that these ancestors survived on the shrub tundra of the Bering Land Bridge because this was the only region of the Arctic where any woody plants were growing. They needed the wood for fuel to make camp fires in this bitterly cold region of the world. They would have used dwarf shrub wood to get a small fire going, then placed large mammal bones on top of the fire, to ignite the fats inside the bones. Once burning, large leg bones of ice-age mammals would have burned for hours, keeping people alive through Arctic winter nights.”

On the genetic side of things, the theory that humans inhabited Beringia for as much as 10,000 years “helps explain how a Native American genome (genetic blueprint) became separate from its Asian ancestor,” said O’Rourke.

“At some point, the genetic blueprint that defines Native American populations had to become distinct from that Asian ancestry,” he explains. “The only way to do that was for the population to be isolated. Most of us don’t believe that isolation took place in Siberia because we don’t see a place where a population could be sufficiently isolated. It would always have been in contact with other Asian groups on its periphery.”

“But if there were these shrub-tundra refugia in central Beringia, that [would have] provided a place where isolation could occur” due to distance from Siberia, O’Rourke says.

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This map shows the outlines of modern Siberia (left) and Alaska (right) with dashed lines. The broader area in darker green (now covered by ocean) represents the Bering land bridge near the end of the last glacial maximum, a period that lasted from 28,000 to 18,000 years ago when sea levels were low and ice sheets extended south into what is now the northern part of the lower 48 states. University of Utah anthropologist Dennis O’Rourke argues in the Feb. 28 issue of the journal Science that the ancestors of Native Americans migrated from Asia onto the Bering land bridge or “Beringia” some 25,000 years ago and spent 10,000 years there until they began moving into the Americas 15,000 years ago as the ice sheets melted. Credit: Wlliam Manley, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado.

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In contrast to the genetic and paleoenvironmental evidence, however, the archaeological record has been lacking. This would be explained by the suggestion that, according to a number of scholars, the archaeological evidence was drowned under the rising sea levels that resulted in today’s geography of the region. “These shrub-tundra areas were likely refugia for a population that would be invisible archaeologically, since the former Beringian lowlands are now submerged,” maintains O’Rourke. The suggestion that rising sea levels subsequently covered the evidence of human migration into the Americas has also been a long-standing theory among researchers studying the model that advances the notion that early Native Americans moved south along the Pacific coast as the glaciers receded and sea levels rose. 

In addition, Hoffecker suggests that the Beringia inhabitants during the last glacial maximum could have made successful hunting forays into the uninhabited steppe-tundra region to both the east and west of central Beringia, where drier conditions and more grass supported a plentiful array of large grazing animals, including steppe bison, horse and mammoth.

There is now solid evidence for humans in Beringia before the last glacial maximum, as geneticists first predicted in 1997, according to Hoffecker. After the maximum, there are two sets of archaeological remains dating to less than 15,000 years ago. “One represents a late migration from Asia into Alaska at that time,” he said. “The other has no obvious source outside Beringia and may represent the people who are thought to have sheltered on the land bridge during the glacial maximum. If we are looking for a place to put all of these people during the last glacial maximum, Beringia may be the only realistic option.”

Hoffecker, O’Rourke and colleagues say new archaeological sites must be found in Beringia if the long human layover there is to be confirmed. Although most such sites are presumed to be underwater, they are hopeful that some evidence of human habitation in shrub-tundra areas might remain above sea level in low-lying portions of Alaska and eastern Chukotka (in Russia).

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Source: Adapted and edited from press releases of the University of Colorado, Boulder, the University of Utah, and the University of London.

Cover Photo, Top Left: A photo of Alaska’s shrub tundra environment today showing birch shrubs in the foreground and spruce trees scattered around Eight Mile Lake, located in the foothills of the Alaska Range. Credit: Nancy Bigelow, University of Alaska Fairbanks.

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Subscription Price: A very affordable $5.75 for those who are not already premium subscribers of Popular Archaeology Magazine (It is FREE for premium subscribers to Popular Archaeology). Premium subscribers should email [email protected] and request the special coupon code. Or, for the e-Book version, it can be purchased for only $3.99 at Amazon.com. 

Foraging patterns of modern human hunter-gatherers may provide clues to how ancient hominin (early human) ancestors foraged for food sources. One such modern pattern may have allowed these early hominins to explore further.

Called the “Lévy walk” pattern, it is characterized by mostly short steps with occasional long travels. Many animals also forage for food in this pattern. It facilitates finding unevenly-located resources without advance knowledge of resource distribution. David A. Raichlen and colleagues studied the behavior by observing 44 individuals of the Hadza hunter-gatherer people of Tanzania. They equipped them with GPS units and tracked their movements over 342 foraging activities from two camps through both dry and rainy seasons. What they found was that 42% of the foraging events resembled distributions of Lévy step lengths, or the distance traveled before pausing or turning more than 40 degrees. It confirms that some humans today follow the same foraging patterns when searching for food resources of unknown distribution.

Reports Raichlen, et. al, “Lévy walks may have become common early in our genus when hunting and gathering arose as a major foraging strategy, playing an important role in the evolution of human mobility.”*

Their research study has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Hadza hunter-gatherers survey the Tanzanian landscape. Credit: Image courtesy of Brian Wood.

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Cover Photo, Top Left: Hadza hunter-gatherers during a foraging bout. Credit: Image courtesy of Brian Wood.

*Research Article: “Evidence of Lévy walk foraging patterns in human hunter–gatherers,” by David A. Raichlen et al.

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Subscription Price: A very affordable $5.75 for those who are not already premium subscribers of Popular Archaeology Magazine (It is FREE for premium subscribers to Popular Archaeology). Premium subscribers should email [email protected] and request the special coupon code. Or, for the e-Book version, it can be purchased for only $3.99 at Amazon.com. 

February 23rd, 2014

 New Evidence Suggests That Neandertals Buried Their Dead

Around 60,000 years ago, in a small limestone cave in what is now central France, Neandertals dug a grave and laid an elderly member of their clan to rest. That is the picture emerging from the archaeological site that yielded the famous La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neandertal skeleton in 1908, and it has important implications for understanding the behavior and cognitive capacity of our closest evolutionary relatives. Some archaeologists have long argued that a number of Neandertal sites preserve evidence of burials, a practice considered to be a key feature of modern human behavior. But critics have countered that the sites were excavated long ago using outmoded techniques that obscure the facts. (Scientific American)

Researchers Claim Discovery of America’s Oldest Fort

In an announcement likely to rewrite the book on early colonization of the New World, two researchers today said they have discovered the oldest fortified settlement ever found in North America. Speaking at an international conference on France at Florida State University, the pair announced that they have located Fort Caroline, a long-sought fort built by the French in 1564. (Heritage Daily)

Picture Gallery: Skulls, tools and cremations from 9,000 years of London archaeology

More than 50 archaeological finds, including skulls from Roman London, a Roman cremation pot, flint used by Londoners 9,000 years ago and items found in a suspected Black Death Plague burial ground are about to go on show at Crossrail’s site at Tottenham Court Road in London. (Culture 24)

Experts unearth ancient murder victim in East Lothian

Archaeologists have discovered a 900-year-old murder victim during a dig at the Scottish Seabird Centre in East Lothian. They found the skeleton of a young man dating from the 12th or 13th Centuries while investigating Kirk Ness, which was the site of a North Berwick church. Analysis revealed he was fatally stabbed four times in the back, twice in the left shoulder and in the ribs. The archaeologists said he was over the age of 20. (BBC News)

Quake-hit ancient city of Tralleis being restored

Robbed of its place in the annals of history by a series of earthquakes, the ancient city of Tralleis is set to regain some of its former glory with a number of restorations that are expected to bring in tourists. (Hurriyet Daily News)

Richard III DNA tests to reveal hair, eyes and diseases of the King

Otzi the Iceman, Neanderthal specimens, a Denisovan and a Greenlandic Inuit and a hunter gatherer from Spain make up the small and ancient cast to have had their genomes sequenced. Now Richard III will join them, with Dr Turi King, of the Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester, set to analyse the hair, eyes and genetic fallibilities of the king found under a car park. (Culture24)

Dating refined for Atapuerca site where Homo antecessor appeared

One of the issues of the Atapuerca sites that generates the most scientific debate is the dating of the strata where the fossils are found. A study has clarified that the sediment of Gran Dolina, where the first remains of Homo antecessor were discovered in 1994, is 900,000 years old. The findings at the Lower Palaeolithic cave site of Gran Dolina, in the Sierra de Atapuerca mountain range (Burgos), have led to major advancements in our knowledge of human evolution and occupation of Eurasia. (Science Daily)

February 19th, 2014

Do We Never Learn?

As natural climatic shocks strike the world over, both historically and recently, the human reaction has followed an old pattern. Over and over again, according to a new study, disaster management efforts related to food shortages caused by climate shocks result in returning the conditions back to the way they were before the shortage, rather than addressing root causes or vulnerabilities. (Popular Archaeology)

2,300-year-old village discovered near ‘Burma Road’

The remnants of a rural settlement that was occupied for approximately two centuries during the Second Temple Period have been uncovered. The find was made during an Israel Antiquities Authority archaeological salvage excavation, before the start of work on a natural gas pipeline to Jerusalem as part of a national project directed by Israel Natural Gas Lines (INGL). (Heritage Daily)

Ancient dog burial site found in Mexico

ARCHAEOLOGISTS say they have discovered “an exceptional” burial site under an apartment building in Mexico City containing the remains of 12 dogs, animals that had a major religious and symbolic significance to the Aztec peoples of central Mexico.Experts with Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, or INAH, said in a statement on Friday that this is the first time a group of dogs has been found buried together.They have been found accompanying human remains or as part of an offering in a monument. (CourierMail)

Ancient Viking code deciphered for the first time

An ancient Norse code which has been puzzling experts for years has been cracked by a Norwegian runologist – to discover the Viking equivalent of playful text messages. The mysterious jötunvillur code, which dates to 12th or 13th-century Scandinavia, has been unravelled by K Jonas Nordby from the University of Oslo, after he studied a 13th-century stick on which two men, Sigurd and Lavrans, had carved their name in both code and in standard runes. The jötunvillur code is found on only nine inscriptions, from different parts of Scandinavia, and has never been interpreted before. (The Guardian)

Archaeology: Spanish mission finds tomb from 1600 BC

A tomb dating back to 1600 BC of a man called Neb, which is practically intact, sheds new light on the XVII dynasty of ancient Egypt. It is the important finding made by researchers with the Djehuty project, led by the Spanish superior council of scientific research (Csic) and carried out far north in the Dra Abu el-Naga necropolis in Luxor, ancient Thebes, sources with Csic told ANSAmed. (ANSAmed)

‘Graffiti’ in Mingary Castle thought to be 700 years old

Archaeologists believe that markings scratched into the walls of a Scottish castle could be 700 years old. A team carrying out preservation work at Mingary Castle, on the Ardnamurchan peninsula, discovered the “graffiti” on plastered walls of the chapel. Some of the simple markings are thought to represent a ship and the first letter of someone’s name. (BBC News)

Hidden New England Landscape Comes to Life

Assistant professor of geography and geosciences William Ouimet and Ph.D. student Katharine Johnson have successfully combined state-of-the-art remote sensing technology with their mutual appreciation of New England’s rich and varied history to uncover long-lost features beneath the forest canopy that covers the region. (UCONN)

As natural climatic shocks strike the world over, both historically and recently, the human reaction has followed an old pattern. Over and over again, according to a new study, disaster management efforts related to food shortages caused by climate shocks result in returning the conditions back to the way they were before the shortage, rather than addressing root causes or vulnerabilities.

“Exposures to climate challenges and other environmental risks are not the sole causes of disasters,”  says Margaret Nelson, an ASU President’s Professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. “People have unintentionally built vulnerabilities through decisions and actions in social, political and economic realms.”

Nelson made the comment at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago on February 16 as part of a team of four Arizona State University archaeologists. They are researching this as part of an international team examining how people can be most resilient to climate change when it comes to food security.

The research team used long-term archaeological and historical data from the North Atlantic Islands and the U.S. Southwest to form the basis of their understanding of changing dynamics in these areas. Each case in their study included information on evolving social, political and economic conditions over centuries, as well as climate data.

The extended timeframe and global scope allowed them to observe changes in the context of vulnerabilities and climate challenges on a broad scale. “The pattern is so consistent across different regions of the world experiencing substantially different climate shocks, that the role of vulnerability cannot be ignored,” she added.

Their findings support the argument for focusing on reducing vulnerabilities to climate shocks to boost resilience, which will ultimately lead to fewer required recovery efforts when crises occur. 

Other ASU archaeologists involved in the study are professors Keith Kintigh, Michelle Hegmon and Kate Spielmann, all of the School of Human Evolution and Social Change in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

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Source: Adapted and edited from a Arizona State University press release.

Cover Photo, Top Left: World globe map, Wikimedia Commons

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Called ‘Globetrotter’, the powerful technique has produced an interactive genetic roadmap to understanding how human population interbreeding has illucidated our ancestral connections and even uncovered human events previously undocumented in history. 

Led by Dr. Garrett Hellenthal of the University College London Genetics Institute, a team of researchers has reconstructed the genetic mixing between each of 95 populations spanning Europe, Africa, Asia and South America over the last four thousand years. They did this by developing and applying a sophisticated statistical algorithmic approach to analyze the genomes (DNA) of 1,490 individuals in 95 populations around the world. The method relies on the fact that sections of DNA unique to a population “shrink” over time the farther one gets from the original breeding event; in other words, the smaller the DNA trace, the more ancient the admixture, or breeding event. With this method, Hellenthal and colleagues were able to identify as many as 100 admixture events across 160 generations over the last four millenia. 

“DNA really has the power to tell stories and uncover details of humanity’s past,” said Dr Simon Myers of Oxford University’s Department of Statistics and Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, co-senior author of the study. The researchers were able to associate some of the admixture events with key historical periods and events, such as the rule of Alexander the Great. It has also shed light on ancient events and how humans were interacting during times and in places where there is currently no historical record of the interaction. 

“Because our approach uses only genetic data, it provides information independent from other sources. Many of our genetic observations match historical events, and we also see evidence of previously unrecorded genetic mixing. For example, the DNA of the Tu people in modern China suggests that in around 1200 C.E., Europeans similar to modern Greeks mixed with an otherwise Chinese-like population. Plausibly, the source of this European-like DNA might be merchants travelling the nearby Silk Road.”

Throughout history, populations intermixed as groups of people migrated and empires and civilizations expanded. But until now, the actual timing of the interbreeding events that contributed to the genetic makeup of humans today has not been clear. 

“What amazes me most is simply how well our technique works,” said Hellenthal. “Although individual mutations carry only weak signals about where a person is from, by adding information across the whole genome we can reconstruct these mixing events. Sometimes individuals sampled from nearby regions can have surprisingly different sources of mixing.”

“For example, we identify distinct events happening at different times among groups sampled within Pakistan, with some inheriting DNA from sub-Saharan Africa, perhaps related to the Arab Slave Trade, others from East Asia, and yet another from ancient Europe,” added Hellenthal. “Nearly all our populations show mixing events, so they are very common throughout recent history and often involve people migrating over large distances.”

“Each population has a particular genetic palette,” said Dr Daniel Falush of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, co-senior author of the study. “If you were to paint the genomes of people in modern-day Maya, for example, you would use a mixed palette with colours from Spanish-like, West African and Native American DNA. This mix dates back to around 1670 C.E., consistent with historical accounts describing Spanish and West African people entering the Americas around that time. Though we can’t directly sample DNA from the groups that mixed in the past, we can capture much of the DNA of these original groups as persisting, within a mixed palette of modern-day groups. This is a very exciting development.”

The detailed report is published in the 14 February 2014 issue of Science. Science is published by AAAS, the nonprofit science society.

See the interactive map for more information about specific populations.

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The research was funded by the Oxford University John Fell Fund, the National Institutes of Health (USA), the Wellcome Trust, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the joint Royal Society/Wellcome Trust Sir Henry Dale Fellowship.

Edited and adapted from the University College London press release, Interactive map of human genetic history revealed.

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Genetic adaptations for life at high elevations found in residents of the Tibetan plateau likely originated around 30,000 years ago in peoples related to contemporary Sherpa. These genes were passed on to more recent migrants from lower elevations via population mixing, and then amplified by natural selection in the modern Tibetan gene pool, according to a new study by scientists from the University of Chicago and Case Western Reserve University, published in Nature Communications on Feb. 10.    

The transfer of beneficial mutations between human populations and selective enrichment of these genes in descendent generations represents a novel mechanism for adaptation to new environments.

“The Tibetan genome appears to arise from a mixture of two ancestral gene pools,” said Anna Di Rienzo, PhD, professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago and corresponding author of the study. “One migrated early to high altitude and adapted to this environment. The other, which migrated more recently from low altitudes, acquired the advantageous alleles from the resident high-altitude population by interbreeding and forming what we refer to today as Tibetans.”

High elevations are challenging for humans because of low oxygen levels but Tibetans are well adapted to life above 13,000 feet. Due to physiological traits such as relatively low hemoglobin concentrations at altitude, Tibetans have lower risk of complications, such as thrombosis, compared to short-term visitors from low altitude. Unique to Tibetans are variants of the EGLN1 and EPAS1 genes, key genes in the oxygen homeostasis system at all altitudes. These variants were hypothesized to have evolved around 3,000 years ago, a date which conflicts with much older archaeological evidence of human settlement in Tibet.

To shed light on the evolutionary origins of these gene variants, Di Rienzo and her team, led by first author Choongwon Jeong, graduate student at the University of Chicago, obtained genome-wide data from 69 Nepalese Sherpa, an ethnic group related to Tibetans. These were analyzed together with the genomes of 96 unrelated individuals from high-altitude regions of the Tibetan plateau, worldwide genomes from HapMap3 and the Human Genome Diversity Panel, as well as data from Indian, Central Asian and two Siberian populations, through multiple statistical methods and sophisticated software.

The researchers found that, on a genomic level, modern Tibetans appear to descend from populations related to modern Sherpa and Han Chinese. Tibetans carry a roughly even mixture of two ancestral genomes: one a high-altitude component shared with Sherpa and the other a low-altitude component shared with lowlander East Asians. The low-altitude component is found at low to nonexistent frequencies in modern Sherpa, and the high-altitude component is uncommon in lowlanders. This strongly suggested that the ancestor populations of Tibetans interbred and exchanged genes, a process known as genetic admixture.

Tracing the history of these ancestor groups through genome analysis, the team identified a population size split between Sherpa and lowland East Asians around 20,000 to 40,000 years ago, a range consistent with proposed archaeological, mitochondria DNA and Y chromosome evidence for an initial colonization of the Tibetan plateau around 30,000 years ago.

“This is a good example of evolution as a tinkerer,” said Cynthia Beall, PhD, professor of anthropology at Case Western Reserve University and co-author on the study. “We see other examples of admixtures. Outside of Africa, most of us have Neanderthal genes—about 2 to 5 percent of our genome—and people today have some immune system genes from another ancient group called the Denisovans.”

The team also found that Tibetans shared specific high-altitude component traits with Sherpa, such as the EGLN1 and EPAS1 gene variants, despite the significant amount of genome contribution from lowland East Asians. Further analysis revealed these adaptations were disproportionally enhanced in frequency in Tibetans after admixture, strong evidence of natural selection at play. This stands in contrast to existing models that propose selection works through new advantageous mutations or on existing variants becoming beneficial in a new environment.

“The chromosomal locations that are so important for Tibetans to live at high elevations are locations that have an excess of genetic ancestry from their high-altitude ancestral gene pool,” Di Rienzo said. “This is a new tool we can use to identify advantageous alleles in Tibetans and other populations in the world that experienced this type of admixture and selection.”

This image shows the proportion of high-altitude ancestry (red) to low-altitude ancestry (green) in Sherpa, three groups of Tibetans, and lowland East Asians. Credit: Nature Communications, Anna Di Rienzo

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In addition to the EPAS1 and EGLN1 genes, the researchers discovered two other genes with a strong proportion of high-altitude genetic ancestry, HYOU1 and HMBS. The former is known to be up-regulated in response to low oxygen levels and the latter plays an important role in the production of heme, a major component of hemoglobin.

“There is a strong possibility that these genes are adaptations to high altitude,” Di Rienzo adds. “They represent an example of how the ancestry-based approach used in this study will help make new discoveries about genetic adaptations.”

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The study “Admixture-facilitated genetic adaptations to high altitude in Tibet,” was supported by the National Science Foundation. Additional authors include Gorka Alkorta-Aranburu, David B. Witonsky and Jonathan K. Pritchard from the University of Chicago, Buddha Basnyat from the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit at Patan Hospital in Nepal and Maniraj Neupane from the Mountain Medicine Society of Nepal.

The University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences is one of the nation’s leading academic medical institutions. It comprises the Pritzker School of Medicine, a top 10 medical school in the nation; the University of Chicago Biomedical Sciences Division; and the University of Chicago Medical Center, which recently opened the Center for Care and Discovery, a $700 million specialty medical facility. Twelve Nobel Prize winners in physiology or medicine have been affiliated with the University of Chicago Medicine.

Case Western Reserve University is one of the country’s leading private research institutions. Located in Cleveland, we offer a unique combination of forward-thinking educational opportunities in an inspiring cultural setting. Our leading-edge faculty engage in teaching and research in a collaborative, hands-on environment. Our nationally recognized programs include arts and sciences, dental medicine, engineering, law, management, medicine, nursing and social work. Ab

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Source: University of Chicago Medical Center Press Release 

Cover Photo: Thame village at 3,800 m in the Khumbu District of Nepal is the home of many outstanding Sherpa climbers and was a site of data collection for the present study. The yak in the foreground came from the Tibet Autonomous Region loaded with agricultural and trade goods; there is a flourishing cross-border trade in this area. Credit: Cynthia Beall

Photo first above from top, right: Sherpani is shown taking a rest along a trail at 3,800 m in the Khumbu District of Nepal and had carried loads to earn cash outside of the trekking season. Credit: Cynthia Beall

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And, Popular Archaeology’s annual Discovery edition is a selection of the best stories published in Popular Archaeology Magazine in past issues, with an emphasis on some of the most significant, groundbreaking, or fascinating discoveries in the fields of archaeology and paleoanthropology and related fields. At least some of the articles have been updated or revised specifically for the Discovery edition.  We can confidently say that there is no other single issue of an archaeology-related magazine, paper print or online, that contains as much major feature article content as this one. The latest issue, volume 2, has just been released. Go to the Discovery edition page for more information.

Subscription Price: A very affordable $5.75 for those who are not already premium subscribers of Popular Archaeology Magazine (It is FREE for premium subscribers to Popular Archaeology). Premium subscribers should email [email protected] and request the special coupon code. Or, for the e-Book version, it can be purchased for only $3.99 at Amazon.com. 

February 10th, 2014

Genetic Origins of High-Altitude Adaptations in Tibetans

Genetic adaptations for life at high elevations found in residents of the Tibetan plateau likely originated around 30,000 years ago in peoples related to contemporary Sherpa. These genes were passed on to more recent migrants from lower elevations via population mixing, and then amplified by natural selection in the modern Tibetan gene pool, according to a new study by scientists from the University of Chicago and Case Western Reserve University, published in Nature Communications on Feb. 10. (Popular Archaeology)

Gladiator Heads? Mystery of Trove of British Skulls Solved

A trove of skulls and other body parts unearthed in the heart of London may have once belonged to Roman gladiators, war captives or criminals, a new study suggests. The remains, described in the January issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science, belonged to about 40 men, mostly ages 25 to 35, and were marred by violence: cheek fractures, blunt-force trauma to the head, decapitation and injuries from sharp weapons, said study co-author Rebecca Redfern, a curator and bioarchaeologist at the Museum of London. (Live Science)

Aztalan Astronomical Observatory Linked to Sun Worship

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3D technology gives face to a centuries-old female skull

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New Dating Pushes Atapuerca Homo Antecessor to 900,000 BP

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Spanish, Egyptian Archaeologists Make Discovery That Changes Chronology of the Pharaohs

A team of Spanish and Egyptian archaeologists made a find in a southern Egyptian tomb that opens the way to a reinterpretation of Pharaonic chronology, since it could show that Amenhotep III and his son Amenhotep IV reigned together. The team, headed by Spaniard Francisco Martin Valentin and funded by Spain’s Gaselec foundation, excavated the remains of a wall and columns of the mausoleum of a minister of the 18th Pharaonic dynasty – 1569-1315 B.C. – in the province of Luxor. (Latino Daily News)

Achaemenid Inscription Found in Iran’s Perspolis

The inscription was unearthed at the Palace of Xerxes King (Khashayar Shah) reigned around 520 BCE. A team of experts is trying to attach the pieces together to decipher the text of inscription, said the team leader Professor Gian Pietro Basello of the University of Naples, Italy. Basello is a specialist in historical philology of Iranian languages of the “L’Orientale.” (Fars News)

Remains of building may be part of ancient queen’s palace

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