All posts by Archaeology World Team

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Was Stonehenge an ancient calendar? A new study says no

Was Stonehenge an ancient calendar? A new study says no

Was Stonehenge an ancient calendar? A new study says no
A new paper reports that Stonehenge wasn’t a prehistoric calendar but a part of a prehistoric ceremonial landscape built in memory of the ancestral dead, a new paper reports.

Stonehenge wasn’t a prehistoric solar calendar but served mainly as a memorial to the dead, according to new research by scientists who study ancient astronomy.

The first stones at Stonehenge were emplaced in southern England about 5,000 years ago, and the monument was constructed in stages over roughly 1,000 years. But researchers have debated its purpose for centuries. The new study, published March 23 in the journal Antiquity, disputes claims made last year that it functioned as a solar calendar with 356.25 days — almost exactly the measurement used for the solar calendar today, according to that study’s author, Timothy Darvill, a professor of archaeology and Stonehenge expert at Bournemouth University in the U.K. 

Darvill’s interpretation has been rejected by two scientists — mathematician Giulio Magli of the Polytechnic of Milan and astronomer Juan Antonio Belmonteof the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands — who say Stonehenge wasn’t accurate enough to serve as a solar calendar.

Darvill told Live Science in an email that he still stands by the interpretation. But Magli and Belmonte say in their latest study that last year’s finding is “based … on “a series of forced interpretations, numerology, and unsupported analogies with other cultures.”

“From a symbolic point of view, Stonehenge is of course related to celestial phenomena,” Magli told Live Science, noting its celebrated alignments with the midwinter and midsummer solstices. But “this is far from saying it was used as a giant calendar,” he said.

The first stone megaliths at Stonehenge were placed about 5,000 years ago.

Ancient stones

In his March 2022 study in the journal Antiquity, Darvill wrote that the ring of giant “sarsen” stones (derived from the medieval English word “saracen,” meaning “pagan”) emplaced at Stonehenge in about 2500 B.C. may have functioned as a solar calendar, perhaps for determining feast days or for reinforcing political power by demonstrating a “control” of the cosmos.

For example, archaeologists think there were originally 30 standing stones in the main circle at Stonehenge — although only 17 now remain — and Darvill argued they could have corresponded to a “month” of 30 days; while the inner five “trilithons” — two standing stones capped by a lintel stone — may have represented the five days of each year left over after counting off 12 months.

The design of Stonehenge could have been influenced by solar calendars used at that time in the Near East — the ancient Egyptian calendar among them — which would imply a cultural connection between them, perhaps by long-distance travelers, Darvill added.

But Magli and Belmonte argue that the circle of standing stones wasn’t accurate enough to determine the length of the year; that nothing at Stonehenge embodies the 12 months of the year; and that there is no evidence of a cultural exchange between ancient Britain and the ancient Near East.

Archaeologist Michael Parker Pearson of University College London, a Stonehenge expert who wasn’t involved in the research, agrees with the authors of the latest study that there’s no good evidence of cultural connections between Stonehenge and ancient solar cults in the Near East. “Ideas like this about long-distance links have been around for over a century [but] are not taken seriously anymore,” he told Live Science in an email. 

Megalithic monument

Archaeologists now think Stonehenge’s main purpose was as part of a prehistoric ceremonial landscape built in memory of ancestral dead; excavations show that many different parts of the vast megalithic complex were used for burials for hundreds of years. Magli said this may explain its alignment with the winter solstice, which seems to have been an important annual date relating to the dead in some prehistoric religions. But while the annual solstice alignment is evident, the relatively low number of stones and their imprecision meant Stonehenge would have been too inaccurate to use as a calendar, he said.

Darvill said that the latest criticisms do not refute the suggestions made in his 2022 paper.

“What they say does not undermine the essential model of the sarsen structures at Stonehenge being constructed as a manifestation of a perpetual solar calendar,” he told Live Science in an email.

But some archaeologists share some of the reservations of Magli and Belmonte and are unconvinced by Darvill’s idea.

Matt Leivers, a consultant archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology in the U.K., has studied Stonehenge for decades but wasn’t involved in either study. “All this really shows is how easy it is to read calendrical divisions into Stonehenge’s architecture, and how unprovable any of it is,” he told Live Science in an email.

SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Genomic study reveals signs of tuberculosis adaptation in ancient Andeans

Genomic study reveals signs of tuberculosis adaptation in ancient Andeans

Genomic study reveals signs of tuberculosis adaptation in ancient Andeans
Graphical Abstract.

People have inhabited the Andes mountains of South America for more than 9,000 years, adapting to the scarce oxygen available at high altitudes, along with cold temperatures and intense ultraviolet radiation.

A new genomic study published in the journal iScience suggests that Indigenous populations in present-day Ecuador also adapted to the tuberculosis bacterium, thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans.

The study was led by scientists at Emory University.

“We found that selection for genes involved in TB-response pathways started to uptick a little over 3,000 years ago,” says Sophie Joseph, first author of the paper. “That’s an interesting time because it was when agriculture began proliferating in the region.

The development of agriculture leads to more densely populated societies that are better at spreading a respiratory pathogen like TB.”

The investigators had originally set out to investigate how the Indigenous people of Ecuador adapted to living at high altitude.

“We were surprised to find that the strongest genetic signals of positive selection were not associated with high altitude but for the immune response to tuberculosis,” says John Lindo, senior author of the study. “Our results bring up more questions regarding the prevalence of tuberculosis in the Andes prior to European contact.”

Previously published research found evidence of the tuberculosis bacterium in the skeletal material of 1,400-year-old Andean mummies, contradicting some theories that TB did not exist in South America until the arrival of Europeans 500 years ago.

The current paper provides the first evidence for a human immune-system response to TB in ancient Andeans and gives clues to when and how their genomes may have adapted to that exposure.

“Human-pathogen co-evolution is an understudied area that has a huge bearing on modern-day public health,” Joseph says. “Understanding how pathogens and humans have been linked and affecting each other over time may give insights into novel treatments for any number of infectious diseases.”

The researchers sequenced whole genomes using blood samples from 15 present-day Indigenous individuals living at altitudes above 2,500 meters in several different Ecuadorian provinces.

They performed a series of scans to look for signatures of positive selection for genes in their ancestral past.

“Computational techniques for sequencing genomes and modeling ancestral selection keep improving,” Joseph says. “The genomes of people living today give us a window into the past.”

MEXICO, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

83 ancient Mexican artifacts returned from Italy, Germany, France

83 ancient Mexican artifacts returned from Italy, Germany, France

A pre-Hispanic carving of a bird recently returned by German authorities to the Mexican government.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) has announced the return of 40 historical artifacts from Italy, as well as another 40 from Germany and three from France.

Some of the artifacts are nearly 1,700 years old.

Culture Minister Alejandra Frausto telling reporters about the recovery of 83 pre-Hispanic artifacts returned to Mexico by Italian, German and French authorities.

The artifacts arrived safely back in Mexico thanks to Aeromexico, who collected them in Rome, Culture Minister Alejandra Frausto reported during President López Obrador’s daily press conference on Tuesday.

Frausto traveled to Rome to repatriate the articles in person. 

“There was joy, applause, and a lot of pride,” amongst the team on the return journey, she said. Videos on Twitter showed the group jubilantly celebrating the loading of the items into the aircraft in Rome.

“Not only do we announce the recovery of heritage but also the recovery of dignity in this country,” she told the assembled press.

Forty of the artifacts being repatriated on an Aeromexico flight from Rome.

The artifacts were confiscated in 2021 by the Carabinieri group for the Protection of Cultural Heritage — and Italian enforcement agency tasked with identifying cultural items that may have been removed without permission from their countries of origin. 

Some of the pieces in question were in private hands at the time of the seizure.

It is not the first time Italy has returned missing cultural artifacts to Mexico: as recently as July, it returned 30 artifacts found by Italian authorities being offered for sale online and at auction. At the time, Mexico gave Italy custody of 1,271 documents in its possession that were connected to the Italian sculptor Ettore Ferrari in exchange. 

83 ancient Mexican artifacts returned from Italy, Germany, France
Italy has returned to Mexico at least 70 pre-Hispanic artifacts confiscated in its nation in less than a year. These three were returned to Mexico in July.

The Italian government has been directly advising Mexico on how to create a similar cultural protection enforcement organization that could further recover more missing items and has sent an attaché to Mexico to assist.

The recovery of historical artifacts has been a key element of foreign policy under the López Obrador government, and foreign embassies have been instructed to advertise repatriation services. 

“Binational cooperation is experiencing a happy moment,” said Giorgio Silli, the Italian Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs.

President López Obrador has prioritized the recovery of pre-Hispanic artifacts, and through the Culture Ministry, launched an education campaign aiming at getting owners to repatriate such items. In this tweet, pre-Hispanic items being offered for sale outside Mexico are highlighted.

In addition to the artifacts recovered from Italy, INAH says that a further 40 pieces have been returned by Germany, as well as 3 from France, several of which date from 400 B.C. 

The French pieces were part of a private inheritance that had been delivered to an auction house. According to the newspaper El Pais, the owner delisted and returned the objects to the Mexican embassy in Paris after learning of the government repatriation scheme, according to El País.

The Mexican government is now targeting the return of 83 Olmec artifacts from France that are set to be sold at a private auction on April 3. Frausto has slammed the auction of these pre-Hispanic pieces and at the press event, she challenged people who would buy such artifacts to appreciate works being made by modern artisans throughout Mexico.

“They are put up for sale as if they were a luxury item to decorate a house as if they were merchandise. This is not only illegal but it is also immoral…

“We call for potential buyers to set their eyes on the art in towns today. There are extraordinary pieces that may be adorning the most luxurious houses in the world. Contemporary art in Mexico is also a power. Visit and see this art that is being created right now,” she said. 

INAH reports that a total of 11,505 archaeological pieces have now been repatriated under President López Obrador’s government.

EUROPE, SCOTLAND, WORLD

Tartan Recovered From Scottish Bog Dated to the 16th Century

Tartan Recovered From Scottish Bog Dated to the 16th Century

Tartan Recovered From Scottish Bog Dated to the 16th Century
The Glen Affric tartan will be exhibited for the first time at V&A Dundee’s Tartan exhibition from 1 April

A scrap of fabric found in a Highland peat bog 40 years ago is likely to be the oldest tartan ever discovered in Scotland, new tests have established.

The fabric is believed to have been created in about the 16th Century, making it more than 400 years old. It was found in a Glen Affric peat bog, in the Highlands, in the early 1980s.

The Scottish Tartans Authority (STA) commissioned dye analysis and radiocarbon testing of the textile to prove its age. Using high-resolution digital microscopy, four initial colours of green, brown and possibly red and yellow were identified.

The dye analysis confirmed the use of indigo or woad in the green but was inconclusive for the other colours, probably due to the dyestuff having degraded.

No artificial or semi-synthetic dyestuffs were involved in the making of the tartan, leading researchers to believe it predates the 1750s.

Experts have said the tartan was more than likely worn as an “outdoor working garment” and would not have been worn by royalty.

The STA said the textile was created somewhere between 1500 and 1655, but the period of 1500 to 1600 was most probable.

This makes it the oldest known piece of true tartan discovered in Scotland.

Four initial colours of green, brown and possibly red and yellow were identified in the tartan

Peter MacDonald, head of research and collections at the STA, said the testing process took nearly six months but that the organisation was “thrilled with the results”.

“In Scotland, surviving examples of old textiles are rare as the soil is not conducive to their survival,” he added.

“The piece was buried in peat, meaning it had no exposure to air and it was therefore preserved.”

He said that because the tartan contains several colours, with multiple stripes, it corresponds to what would be considered a true tartan.

Mr MacDonald said: “Although we can theorise about the Glen Affric tartan, it’s important that we don’t construct history around it.

“Although Clan Chisholm controlled that area, we cannot attribute the tartan to them as we don’t know who owned it.”

Historical significance

He also said that the potential presence of red, a colour that Gaels consider a status symbol, is interesting because the cloth had a rustic background.

“This piece is not something you would associate with a king or someone of high status, it is more likely to be an outdoor working garment,” he added.

John McLeish, chair of the STA, said the tartan’s “historical significance” likely dates to the reigns of King James V, Mary Queen of Scots or King James VI/I – between 1513 and 1625.

Due to where it was found, the piece of fabric has been named the Glen Affric tartan and measures about 55cm by 43cm (approximately 22 by 17 inches).

It will go on public display at the V&A Dundee design museum from 1 April until 14 January next year.

James Wylie, the curator at V&A Dundee, said: “We knew the Scottish Tartans Authority had a tremendous archive of material and we initially approached them to ask if them if they knew of any examples of ‘proto-tartans’ that could be loaned to the exhibition.

“I’m delighted the exhibition has encouraged further exploration into this plaid portion and very thankful for the Scottish Tartans Authority’s backing and support for uncovering such a historic find.”

He added that it was “immensely important” to be able to exhibit the Glen Affric tartan and said he was sure visitors would appreciate seeing the textile on public display for the first time.

ASIA, ISRAEL, WORLD

6,000-Year-Old Copper Fishhook Unearthed in Israel

6,000-Year-Old Copper Fishhook Unearthed in Israel

The copper fishing hook recently unearthed at a site near Ashkelon in Israel.

Shark was likely on the menu around 6,000 years ago in what is now Israel, according to researchers who uncovered a large copper fishing hook in a previously unknown ancient village.

Archaeologists unearthed the “shark hook” during a 2018 survey along the Mediterranean coast on the outskirts of Ashkelon, a city that was built on top of an ancient seaport of the same name and dates back as far as ancient Egypt.

Byzantine and Roman structures had previously been discovered at the site, which sits around 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) from the sea. But the new excavations revealed parts of a village that date back around 6,000 years to the Chalcolithic period, also known as the “Copper Age,” which lasted between 4500 B.C. and 3500 B.C. in the region.

The hook is around 2.5 inches (6.5 centimeters) long and 1.6 inches (4 cm) wide, which is big enough to reel in sharks between 6.5 and 10 feet (2 and 3 meters) long, such as dusky sharks (Carcharhinus obscurus) and sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus), or large fish such as tuna, all of which are local to the Mediterranean.

However, given what marine biologists know about the deep-sea ecosystems in the region, sharks were a more likely target, according to The Times of Israel.

Dusky sharks (Carcharhinus obscurus) could have been reeled in using the newly discovered fishing hook.

The discovery is a “unique find” because most other fishing hooks uncovered from this time period are smaller and made from bone, Yael Abadi-Reiss, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority who co-led the excavation, said in a statement.

It’s possible that this is one of the first metal variants that people created in the region, considering copper was a relatively new material at the time, she added.

The village, which is not yet fully excavated, was large for its time period. As such, the residents likely had enough resources to have individuals who were dedicated to metalwork and fishing, Abadi-Reiss said.

However, other finds at the site, such as domesticated animal remains, suggest that the village’s main source of income and food would have been traditional agriculture.

“The rare fishhook tells the story of the village fishermen who sailed out to sea in their boats and cast the newly invented copper fishhook into the water, hoping to add coastal sharks to the menu,” Abadi-Reiss said.

The oldest fishing hooks ever discovered were made of bone and date back to around 42,000 years ago.

These prehistoric hooks, which were discovered in Southeast Asia on the island nation of East Timor in 2005, were also used to fish for tuna-size fish in the deep sea.

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

Thousands of Mummified Ram’s Heads Uncovered in Abydos

Thousands of Mummified Ram’s Heads Uncovered in Abydos

Thousands of Mummified Ram’s Heads Uncovered in Abydos
A group of 2000 mummified heads of rams

Excavation work carried out by an American mission from New York University at the temple of Ramses II in Abydos has stumbled upon a menagerie of mummified animals that provides previously undocumented evidence of cultic worship through the ages.

The most significant find at the site is over 2,000 mummified heads of rams from the Ptolemaic period along with other mummified ewes, dogs, wild goats, cows, gazelles and mongooses, said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The mummified remains, some still in their linen wrappings, were found stored in one of the recently discovered magazines within the temple’s northern precinct, Waziri added.

Sameh Iskander, head of the mission, noted that the discovery of this large number of mummified rams, presumably as votive offerings, placed inside the temple points to an unprecedented rams’ cultic practice in Abydos during the Ptolemaic period. It indicates that the memory of Ramses II was still revered in Abydos a thousand years after his time (1303-1213 BC).

The mission also discovered a large palatial structure with an unusual architectural layout with walls about five metres thick, which appears for the first time in Abydos, and dates to the end of the Sixth Dynasty (c.2181 BC) of the Old Kingdom.

“This structure will provide important, multifaceted and spectacular information on the activities of the Old Kingdom in Abydos, opening up major new perspectives that will contribute to reestablish the sense of the ancient landscape of Abydos before the construction of the Ramses II temple,” Iskander said.

Mohamed Abdel-Badei, head of the central department of Upper Egypt Antiquities, said that the mission was also able to clear the temple’s northern enclosure walls and its various structures, which clearly defines the boundary of the temple’s domain and helps us better understand the daily life in the precinct, its administration and cultic activities.

This will lead to reconsidering the image of the temple and its details as perceived by earlier research since the temple’s discovery over 150 years ago.

The mission also recovered a number of statues, papyri, remains of ancient trees, leather garments and shoes.

The new discoveries contain a wealth of information that drastically expands our knowledge of the temple’s site, located along the Nile more than 400 kilometres south of Cairo, to a period spanning over two millennia, from the Sixth Dynasty to the Ptolemaic period.

NORTH AMERICA, U.S.A, WORLD

The secret of the mummy in the Crystal coffin found in a garage in San Francisco

The secret of the mummy in the Crystal coffin found in a garage in San Francisco

The secret of the mummy in the Crystal coffin found in a garage in San Francisco

Mysterious mummies are a symbol of ancient lost times, which we often associate with Egypt and other ancient civilizations. Therefore, the discovery of a coffin made of crystal with the body of a girl come from under the floor of a garage in San Francisco is absolutely shocking.

In 2016, while remodeling an old garage in San Francisco, California, workers found a strange object that, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a child’s coffin with an extraordinary design.

Rusted bolts held a metal object together that resembled a large shaped casket, and it was only by unscrewing the bolts that it was possible to identify what it was. Bolts fixed a sheet of metal that covered two windows made of thick glass. Looking inside the box, the workers were taken aback — inside lay the body of a small blonde girl, almost untouched by decay.

The discovery of an old coffin containing the body of a child terrified the people of San Francisco and perplexed scientists. It took them a long time to figure out the mystery of an unusual burial.

Coffin inside lay the body of a blond girl dressed in a lace dress. Her hair was decorated with lavender petals, and on her chest lay a wreath in the form of a cross of blue bindweeds. In her hands, she held a large purple nightshade flower.

There were no details inside the coffin that would help identify the body.  The body was examined, described, and photographed, after which the experts drew up a protocol, placed the metal coffin containing the child in a wooden box, and… handed it over to the garage owner.

According to the law, if the corpse is not a criminal and the relatives are unknown, the burial duties are assigned to the owner of the land where the body was discovered.

During the paperwork, the police gave the deceased the name Eva. And the mistress of the garage, where they found the burial, named the child Miranda.

But how did the coffin with the little dead girl end up under the garage? This was not a surprising occurrence given that the structure stood on the grounds of Odd Fellows Cemetery, San Francisco’s largest cemetery. When the rapidly growing metropolis came close to the extreme graves, a large city churchyard was closed for burials in 1890.

When the cemetery started to negatively impact the neighborhood over time, it was decided to close it down in 1923. Most of the remains were exhumed and buried in common graves, while some of the bodies were taken by relatives for reburial. The coffin with the girl was obviously forgotten in the confusion and remained in the ground, which was handed over to developers.

Tissue and hair samples were taken from the deceased girl for DNA analysis. Erica Karner was busy burying Eva-Miranda while the examination was taking place. The girl’s body began to decompose after the airtight coffin was opened. It was impossible to delay the burial.

Tissue analysis revealed that the baby’s mother was born in the British Isles. Even more interesting were the results of the hair study.

“Hair DNA analysis showed that the child had a protein deficiency and severe malnutrition.

And experts said that most likely this arose due to some kind of illness or due to the amount of medication that the child used,” the lawyer said.

Volunteers explored the city archives. They found a record of the burial of a two-year-old girl who died due to severe exhaustion. Her name is Edith Howard Cook. The child died in October 1876.

The parents’ names were Horatio Nelson and Edith Skaufi Cook. Scientists have even found living relatives of the “girl from the crystal coffin.”

Thus, volunteers and scientists were able to solve the mystery surrounding the mysterious burial and give the girl’s name back who passed away nearly 150 years ago.

Sleeping Beauty.

Parents often embalmed their dead children’s bodies centuries ago. The famous mummy of a child is kept in Palermo’s Capuchin catacombs. Rosalia Lombardo, the daughter of a Sicilian official, died of pneumonia in 1920. The girl’s body was so well preserved that she was nicknamed “Sleeping Beauty”.

ASIA, CHINA, WORLD

Chinese Paleontologists discovered a 170-million-year-old flower

Chinese Paleontologists discovered a 170-million-year-old flower

Chinese Paleontologists discovered a 170-million-year-old flower

Chinese paleontologists discovered fossils of an ancient plant dating back approximately 170 million years.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology recently announced the discovery of the earliest angiosperm known in Northwest China through the reexamination of fossil specimens.

The study was jointly worked on by the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou University, Ningxia Geological Museum, and Northwest University. The findings of this study were recently published in Life, an international biological journal.

The fossil flower buds are oval, 17 millimeters in length, and 9 millimeters wide, on a 15-millimeter-long stalk. There is a larch-like structure at the bottom, which is covered with flower petals, the researchers said.

The researcher in charge of the study said that flowers and fruits are part of the angiosperm family. Angiosperms are the most evolved, diverse, widely distributed, and adaptable group of plants today. There are 300,000 species of extant angiosperms around the world.

Fruits of Qingganninginfructus formosa and contained seeds.

The research team reexamined a Jurassic plant fossil from about 170 million years ago in the Northwest of China. The plant was previously thought to be a gymnosperm, named as Drepanolepis formosa Zhang, 1998.

In the latest study, the team used micro-CT technology to scan the fossil and found that the interior contained inverted ovules, which is a key feature for determining angiosperms.

The latest study found that an inverted ovule with two integuments is enclosed in each carpel or fruit, which is a key feature for determining angiosperms, and they named the fossil plant a Qingganninginfructus formosa.

The fossil plant is the earliest evidence of angiosperms in Northwest China. Its discovery indicates that angiosperms appeared and spread widely as early as 170 million years ago, during the Middle Jurassic, and reached a certain level of prosperity.