South American Mummies Were Brutally Murdered, CT Scans Reveal One secret of the past that can be revealed through the study of skulls and skeletons is how frequent violence was amongst our ancestors. However, with their preserved soft tissues, mummified remains can be an even more telling indicator than bones alone. That brings us to …

Ancient DNA gives new insights into the ‘lost’ Indigenous people of Uruguay The first whole-genome sequences of the ancient people of Uruguay provide a genetic snapsH๏τ of Indigenous populations of the region before they were decimated by a series of European military campaigns. PNAS Nexus published the research, led by anthropologists at Emory University and …

Analysis Links the Origins of the Maya and Corn Cultivation In Maya creation myths, the gods created humans out of corn. Now, a new study from a site in Belize suggests corn really was important in the origin of the ancient Maya: More than half of their ancestry can be traced to migrants who arrived …

How Was Tuberculosis Transmitted in South America? Nearly one-quarter of the world’s population is suspected to have been exposed to the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis, a disease that accounts for the highest global mortality from a bacterial infection. TB’s global distribution was once viewed as support for its emergence deep in our past, where it …

How Old Is the Rock Art at La Lindosa? More than 12,000 years ago, South America was teeming with an astonishing array of ice age beasts — giant ground sloths the size of a car, elephantine herbivores and a deerlike animal with an elongated snout. These extinct giants are among many animals immortalized in an 8-mile-long …

Amazon rainforest rock art ‘depicts giant Ice Age creatures’ This huge collection of ancient cliff art paints a dramatic picture of early humans and giant beasts in the Amazon. Early inhabitants worshipped and hunted elephant-like mastodons and giant horses – alongside other Ice Age animals – back when the lush rainforest was a parched savannah. …

Amazing Heart-Shaped Amethyst Geode Discovered by Miners in Uruguay Beautiful gemstones that have been transformed to take on different shapes adorn several items of jewelry. However, the natural amethyst geode discovered by these miners did not need any processing. That’s because it already seems to be fine! In its latest Santa Rosa mine near the …

30 Million-Year-Old Praying Mantis Is Preserved in Pristine Piece of Amber Inside a clear piece of amber, there is a small prayer mantis, frozen forever in time. The piece, which measures just slightly over one inch tall, was sold via Heritage Auctions for $6,000 in 2016. The pristine piece of amber, which comes from the …

Babies Buried Wearing ‘Helmets’ Made of Skulls of Other Children Discovered in Ecuador While the head of humans is a powerful symbol in many cultures in South America, archeologists at a site in Ecuador were surprised to find that two babies buried with “helmet” made from the skulls of other kids.  The Salango ritual complex on …