An ancient Egyptian mummy forgotten in storage turns out to be a sacred bird often sacrificed to Thoth
An ancient Egyptian mummy forgotten in storage turns out to be a sacred bird often sacrificed to Thoth An ancient Egyptian bird mummy, long forgotten in storage and mislabeled as a hawk, is finally getting its due now that researchers have digitally peered inside its wrappings. The 1,500-year-old mummy, scientists learned, is not a hawk …
Ancient DNA Sheds New Light on the Biblical Philistines
Ancient DNA Sheds New Light on the Biblical Philistines An international team, led by scientists from the Max Planck Insтιтute for the Science of Human History and the Leon Levy Expedition, retrieved and analyzed, for the first time, genome-wide data from people who lived during the Bronze and Iron Ages (~3,600-2,800 years ago) in the …
The earliest evidence of the Maya divination calendar was discovered in an ancient temple
The earliest evidence of the Maya divination calendar was discovered in an ancient temple Archaeologists in Guatemala have discovered the oldest evidence of the Maya calendar on record: two mural fragments that, when pieced together, reveal a notation known as “7 deer,” a new study finds. The two “7 deer” fragments date to between 300 …
Ancient ritual bloodletting may have been performed at carvings found in Mexico
Ancient ritual bloodletting may have been performed at carvings found in Mexico Archaeologists in southern Mexico have discovered 30 carvings depicting capital I-shaped ballcourts cut into rocks. These carvings may have been used in ceremonies involving water and “ritual bloodletting,” new research finds. The carvings, in the ancient settlement of Quiechapa, are badly weathered, but …
3-D PH๏τogrammetry Reveals 1,000-Year-Old Etchings in Alabama
3-D PH๏τogrammetry Reveals 1,000-Year-Old Etchings in Alabama Deep in a damp cave in northern Alabama, archaeologists have made a giant discovery. On a subterranean ceiling just half a meter high, researchers have uncovered the largest cave art discovered in North America: intricate etchings of humanlike figures and a serpent, carved by Native Americans more than …
New research reveals how the black rat colonized Europe in the Roman and Medieval periods
New research reveals how the black rat colonized Europe in the Roman and Medieval periods New ancient DNA analysis has shed light on how the black rat, blamed for spreading Black Death, dispersed across Europe – revealing that the rodent colonized the continent on two occasions in the Roman and Medieval periods. The study – …
Defiant message discovered in Cuban Missile Crisis bunker
Defiant message discovered in Cuban Missile Crisis bunker Sixty years ago during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a defiant individual — likely a Cuban soldier — wrote a message in a system of bunkers and trenches on the Cuban coast declaring that surrender was not in the cards, new research finds. Archaeologists discovered the graffiti while …
First-ever portrait of Jesus found in 1 of 70 ancient books?
First-ever portrait of Jesus found in 1 of 70 ancient books? The image is eerily familiar: a bearded young man with flowing curly hair. After lying for nearly 2,000 years hidden in a cave in the Holy Land, the fine detail is difficult to determine. But in a certain light, it is not difficult to …
Tests Indicate Bronze Age Daggers Had a Practical Purpose
Tests Indicate Bronze Age Daggers Had a Practical Purpose Analysis of Bronze Age daggers has shown that they were used for processing animal carcᴀsses and not as non-functional symbols of idenтιтy and status, as previously thought. This is a significant breakthrough as the new method enables the analysis of a wide variety of copper-alloy tools …
A new study tells Stonehenge was ‘built on land inhabited by deer, elk and wild boar’
A new study tells Stonehenge was ‘built on land inhabited by deer, elk and wild boar’ Red deer, elk and wild boar would have roamed opened woodland and meadow-like clearings in the area of Stonehenge 4,000 years before the iconic standing stones were constructed, according to new research. Scientists from the University of Southampton have examined Blick Mead, …