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Archaeology

Ancient Islamic tombs cluster like galaxies

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Sudanese Islamic burial sites are distributed according to large-scale environmental factors and small-scale social factors, creating a galaxy-like distribution pattern, according to a study published July 7, 2021 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Stefano Costanzo of the University of Naples “L’Orientale” in Italy and colleagues.

The Kassala region of eastern Sudan is home to a vast array of funerary monuments, from the Islamic tombs of modern Beja people to ancient burial mounds thousands of years old.

Archaeologists don’t expect these monuments are randomly placed; their distribution is likely influenced by geological and social factors. Unraveling the patterns of the funerary landscape can provide insight into ancient cultural practices of the people who built them. [Read more…] about Ancient Islamic tombs cluster like galaxies

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    Population dynamics and the rise of empires in Inner AsiaFrom the late Bronze Age until the Middle Ages, the eastern Eurasian Steppe was home to a series of organized and highly influential nomadic empires. The Xiongnu (209 BCE - 98 CE) and Mongol (916-1125 CE) empires that bookend this period had especially large impacts on the demographics and geopolitics…
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Dinosaurs were in decline before the end, according to new study

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The death of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago was caused by the impact of a huge asteroid on the Earth. However, palaeontologists have continued to debate whether they were already in decline or not before the impact.

In a new study, published today in the journal Nature Communications, an international team of scientists, which includes the University of Bristol, show that they were already in decline for as much as ten million years before the final death blow.

Lead author, Fabien Condamine, a CNRS researcher from the Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier (France), said: “We looked at the six most abundant dinosaur families through the whole of the Cretaceous, spanning from 150 to 66 million years ago, and found that they were all evolving and expanding and clearly being successful. [Read more…] about Dinosaurs were in decline before the end, according to new study

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    Early Earth was bombarded by series of city-sized asteroidsScientists know that the Earth was bombarded by huge impactors in distant time, but a new analysis suggest that the number of these impacts may have been x10 higher than previously thought. This translates into a barrage of collisions, similar in scale to that of the asteroid strike which wiped…
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New fossil discovery from Israel points to complicated evolutionary process

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Analysis of recently discovered fossils found in Israel suggest that interactions between different human species were more complex than previously believed, according to a team of researchers including Binghamton University anthropology professor Rolf Quam.

The research team, led by Israel Hershkovitz from Tel Aviv University, published their findings in Science, describing recently discovered fossils from the site of Nesher Ramla in Israel. The Nesher Ramla site dates to about 120,000-140,000 years ago, towards the very end of the Middle Pleistocene time period.

The human fossils were found by Dr. Zaidner of the Hebrew University during salvage excavations at the Nesher Ramla prehistoric site, near the city of Ramla. [Read more…] about New fossil discovery from Israel points to complicated evolutionary process

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  • New study identifies Neanderthal ancestry in African populations and describes its origin
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    New study identifies Neanderthal ancestry in African populations and describes its originWhen the first Neanderthal genome was sequenced, using DNA collected from ancient bones, it was accompanied by the discovery that modern humans in Asia, Europe and America inherited approximately 2 percent of their DNA from Neanderthals – proving humans and Neanderthals had interbred after humans left Africa. Since that study,…
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  • Fossil trees on Peru's Central Andean Plateau tell a tale of dramatic environmental change
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    Fossil trees on Peru's Central Andean Plateau tell a tale of dramatic environmental changeOn an expedition to the Central Andean Plateau, researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and colleagues were astounded to find a huge fossil-tree buried in the cold, grassy plain. The plant fossil record from this high-altitude site in southern Peru contains dramatic reminders that the environment in the…
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Did the ancient Maya have parks?

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The ancient Maya city of Tikal was a bustling metropolis and home to tens of thousands of people.

The city comprised roads, paved plazas, towering pyramids, temples and palaces and thousands of homes for its residents, all supported by agriculture.

Now researchers at the University of Cincinnati say Tikal’s reservoirs – critical sources of city drinking water – were lined with trees and wild vegetation that would have provided scenic natural beauty in the heart of the busy city. [Read more…] about Did the ancient Maya have parks?

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    Ancient Maya built sophisticated water filtersAncient Maya in the once-bustling city of Tikal built sophisticated water filters using natural materials they imported from miles away, according to the University of Cincinnati. UC researchers discovered evidence of a filter system at the Corriental reservoir, an important source of drinking water for the ancient Maya in what…
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Tradition of keeping mementos in memory of loved ones dates back at least 2,000 years

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Holding onto everyday items as keepsakes when a loved one dies was as commonplace in prehistory as it is today, a new study suggests.

The study from the University of York suggests mundane items like spoons and grinding stones were kept by Iron Age people as an emotional reminder and a ‘continuing bond’ with the deceased – a practice which is replicated in societies across the globe today.

The research focused on “problematic stuff”: everyday items used or owned by a deceased person that relatives might not want to reuse but which they are unable to simply throw away. [Read more…] about Tradition of keeping mementos in memory of loved ones dates back at least 2,000 years

Light in darkness: an experimental look at Paleolithic cave lighting

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A recreation of three common types of Paleolithic lighting systems (torches, grease lamps, and fireplaces) illuminates how Paleolithic cave dwellers might have traveled, lived, and created in the depths of their caves, according to a study published June 16, 2021 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Mª Ángeles Medina-Alcaide from the University of Cantabria, Spain, and colleagues.

Humans need light to access the deepest areas of caves – and these visits also depend on the type of light available, as light intensity and duration, area of illumination, and color temperature all determine how the cave environment can be used.

In this study, Medina-Alcaide and colleagues use archaeological evidence of lighting remains found across several Paleolithic caves featuring cave art in Southwest Europe to experimentally replicate the artificial lighting systems presumably used by the original human cave dwellers, allowing immediate empirical observations. [Read more…] about Light in darkness: an experimental look at Paleolithic cave lighting

Five million years of climate change preserved in one place

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Five million years of climate change have been preserved in one place.

Paleo researcher Charlotte Prud’homme, who until recently worked at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and is now a researcher at the Université Lausanne, explains: “The 80-meter-thick sedimentary sequence we found at Charyn Canyon in southeast Kazakhstan provides us with a virtually continuous record of five million years of climate change.

“This is a very rare occurrence on land!” [Read more…] about Five million years of climate change preserved in one place

Oldest human traces from the southern Tibetan Plateau in a new light

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Stone tools have been made by humans and their ancestors for millions of years. For archaeologists these rocky remnants – lithic artefacts and flakes – are of key importance.

They are among the most common findings in archaeological excavations because of their high preservation potential.

Worldwide, numerical dating of these lithic artefacts, especially when they occur as surface findings, remains a major challenge. Usually, stone tools cannot be dated directly, but only when they are embedded in sediment layers together with, for example, organic material. [Read more…] about Oldest human traces from the southern Tibetan Plateau in a new light

Provenance: How an object’s origin can facilitate authentic, inclusive storytelling

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Passports are a tangible way of showing where one has traveled, as the stamps provide a chronological order that traces an individual’s journey across international borders. When an object’s origins are not readily apparent, a variety of sources can be relied upon to learn more, which might include labels, sales receipts, foreign translations, oral histories, GPS coordinates and itemized personal possessions.

That documentation is an example of provenance, or the origins of an object and where it has traveled throughout history. Sarah Buchanan, an assistant professor in the University of Missouri’s College of Education, is an archivist, a professional who assesses, collects and preserves various artifacts and archives them to better understand their origin and cultural heritage.

With a three-year grant, Buchanan is investigating ways to conduct provenance research more efficiently, inclusively and transparently, both on MU’s campus and abroad. In a recently published study, Buchanan collaborated with Sara Mohr, a doctoral student at Brown University who reads and translates Assyrian, to create an online bibliography and corresponding map of ancient tablets located in universities throughout the United States, including six tablets inside MU’s Ellis Library. [Read more…] about Provenance: How an object’s origin can facilitate authentic, inclusive storytelling

When Chauvet Cave artists created their artwork, the Pont d’Arc was already there

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The Chauvet Cave, which lies by the entrance to the Gorges of the Ardèche, is home to the world’s oldest cave paintings, dating back 36,000 years.

Their state of preservation and aesthetic qualities earned them a spot on the World Heritage List in 2014, 20 years after their discovery.

The location of the cavern – surrounded by a remarkable landscape, next to the Pont d’Arc natural archway – raises the question of whether the people who executed these artworks looked and walked out upon the same landscape as today. [Read more…] about When Chauvet Cave artists created their artwork, the Pont d’Arc was already there