Category Archives: AFRICA

AFRICA, MOROCCO, WORLD

7-foot-long arthropods commanded the sea 470 million years ago, ‘exquisite’ fossils show

7-foot-long arthropods commanded the sea 470 million years ago, ‘exquisite’ fossils show

7-foot-long arthropods commanded the sea 470 million years ago, 'exquisite' fossils show
Fossils from the Fezouata Shale. From left to right, a non-mineralized arthropod (Marrellomorpha), a palaeoscolecid worm and a trilobites.

Exquisitely preserved fossils in Morocco suggest that some of the earliest arthropods were nearly 7 feet (2 meters) long — gigantic in comparison with the shrimps, insects, and spiders that are descendants of these early invertebrates, according to a new study.

Researchers made the discovery while exploring the site, known as Taichoute, which is part of the Fezouata Shale, a swath of fossil deposits dating to the Lower Ordovician period (485 million to 470 million years ago) that was discovered in 2017.

Now part of the Moroccan desert, Taichoute was completely undersea millions of years ago.

Prior to the exploration of Taichoute, the closest Moroccan fossil sites were near Zagora, a town 50 miles (80 kilometers) away, where giant arthropods make up roughly 1% to 2% of the total fossil material.

At Taichoute, nearly half of the fossils are of these jumbo creatures, according to the study.

“All of our previous knowledge on the Fezouata Shale was solely based on fossil sites near the Zagora region,” Farid Saleh, the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, told Live Science in an email.

“The dominance of large arthropods in Taichoute is unique. You can possibly find [many specimens] in one day.”

“These arthropods were active swimmers and dominated this area 470 million years ago,” Saleh said. “Some of these arthropods were described before, but there’s a good number of new species.”

While researchers are currently identifying the roughly 70 specimens collected from the fossil beds during the dig, they unearthed multiple examples of Aegirocassis, an extinct genus of filter-feeding arthropods. They were also “free-swimmers and could move any way they wanted to in the water,” Saleh said.

Being entombed in the mud-caked fossil beds for millions of years has led to the “exquisite preservation of [the] fossils,” Saleh said. In some cases, even soft parts of the animals, including their internal organs, were preserved.

While the upper portions of their external shells were well preserved overall, “they’ve been fragmented to some extent, because they were transported by underwater landslides prior to their preservation.”

Researchers think they have barely scratched the surface of what could be lurking in the Fezouata Shale.

“There’s a lot to do in Taichoute,” Saleh said, “and more fieldwork will bring a lot more in the future.” 

The findings were published Dec. 13 in the journal Scientific Reports.

AFRICA, CHINA, WORLD

Skeletons of 5,000-year-old Chinese ‘giants’ discovered by archaeologists

Skeletons of 5,000-year-old Chinese ‘giants’ discovered by archaeologists

Skeletons of 5,000-year-old Chinese ‘giants’ discovered by archaeologists
The tallest of the skeletons uncovered measured at 1.9m (YouTube)

Archaeologists in eastern China have found 5,000-year-old skeletons of people experts say would have been unusually tall and strong.

According to the measurements of bones in the graves at the site in Shandong province, a number of the people would have measured at 1.8m or taller, with one man estimated to have been 1.9m, Xinhua news agency reported.

Although not particularly unusual by 21st-century Western standards, it is thought their height would have seen them tower over many of their contemporaries.

“This is just based on bone structure. If he was a living person, his height would certainly exceed 1.9m,” Fang Hui, head of Shandong University’s school of history and culture, told the agency.

Locals in Shandong see their height as a defining characteristic. A study conducted in 2015 found the average height of 18 men to be 1.753m, compared to the country’s national average of 1.72m.

Confucius, who was born in what is now the Shandong province, was reportedly 1.9m tall.

The excavation site in the village of Jiaojia, near Jinan City, has been found to hold 104 houses, 205 graves and 20 sacrificial pits. A number of colourful pots and jade articles were also recovered.

Archaeologists have been uncovering artefacts and bones from the late Neolithic people since last year, who are understood to have lived mostly off pigs and millet.

The people living in the region 5,000 years ago are believed to have had relatively comfortable lives; the rows of houses that have been excavated suggested their living quarters had separate bedrooms and kitchens, according to China Daily.

Colourful pots were also found in the graves (YouTube)

The area is also believed to have been the political, cultural and economic centre of the Chinese region.

Taller men were found buried in larger graves, which could be due to them having a higher status and having access to better food.

Archaeologists have been uncovering artefacts and bones from the late Neolithic people since last 2016 (YouTube)
AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

Egypt reveals 59 ancient coffins found near Saqqara pyramids

Egypt reveals 59 ancient coffins found near Saqqara pyramids

Khalid el-Anany, Egypt’s tourism and antiquities minister, right, and Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the country’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, left, stand over a sarcophagus at the Saqqara archaeological site, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. El-Anany says at least 59 sealed sarcophagi with mummies inside were found in three wells at the vast necropolis, believed to have been buried there more than 2,600 years ago.

Egypt’s tourism and antiquities minister said on Saturday archaeologists have unearthed dozens of ancient coffins in a vast necropolis south of Cairo. Khalid el-Anany said at least 59 sealed sarcophagi, with mummies inside most of them, were found that had been buried in three wells more than 2,600 years ago.

“I consider this is the beginning of a big discovery,” el-Anany said, adding that there is an unknown number of coffins that have yet to be unearthed in the same area.

He spoke at a news conference at the famed Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara where the coffins were found. The sarcophagi have been displayed and one of them was opened before reporters to show the mummy inside. Several foreign diplomats attended the announcement ceremony.

The Saqqara plateau hosts at least 11 pyramids, including the Step Pyramid, along with hundreds of tombs of ancient officials and other sites that range from the 1st Dynasty (2920 B.C.-2770 B.C.) to the Coptic period (395-642).

Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said initial studies show that the decorated coffins were made for priests, top officials and elites from the Pharaonic Late Period (664-525 B.C.).

A sarcophagus is shown at the Saqqara archaeological site, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020, one of dozens that the government says archaeologists have unearthed from a vast necropolis there. Egypt’s ministry of antiquities and tourism says at least 59 sealed sarcophagi with mummies inside were found that had been buried in three wells more than 2,600 years ago.
Relief sculptures from a tomb at the Saqqara archaeological site is shown, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. Egypt’s ministry of antiquities and tourism says at least 59 sealed sarcophagi with mummies inside were found that had been buried in three wells more than 2,600 years ago at the vast necropolis.
An Egyptian archaeological team opens a sarcophagus at the Saqqara archaeological site, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, on Oct. 3, 2020. Egypt’s ministry of antiquities and tourism says at least 59 sealed sarcophagi with mummies inside were found in three wells, and are believed to have been buried there more than 2,600 years ago.
Several sarcophagi are displayed inside a tomb at the Saqqara archaeological site, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. Egypt’s ministry of antiquities and tourism says at least 59 sealed sarcophagi with mummies inside were found in three wells, and are believed to have been buried there more than 2,600 years ago.
A sarcophagus is shown at the Saqqara archaeological site, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020, one of dozens that the government says archaeologists have unearthed from a vast necropolis there. Egypt’s ministry of antiquities and tourism says at least 59 sealed sarcophagi with mummies inside were found that had been buried in three wells more than 2,600 years ago.
Egypt reveals 59 ancient coffins found near Saqqara pyramids
An archaeology worker opens a sarcophagus at the Saqqara archaeological site, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020, in the presence of journalists and officials. Egypt’s ministry of antiquities and tourism says at least 59 sealed sarcophagi with mummies inside were found that had been buried in three wells more than 2,600 years ago.
Ancient coffins are displayed at the Saqqara archaeological site, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. Egypt’s ministry of antiquities and tourism says at least 59 sealed sarcophagi with mummies inside were found that had been buried in three wells more than 2,600 years ago.

He said archaeologists also found a total of 28 statuettes of Ptah-Soker the main god of the Saqqara necropolis, and a beautifully carved 35 cm tall bronze statuette of god Nefertum, inlaid with precious stones. The name of its owner, Priest Badi-Amun, is written on its base, he said.

Egyptian antiquities officials had announced the discovery of the first batch coffins last month, when archaeologists found 13 of the containers in a newly discovered 11 meter-deep (36 feet) well.

The Saqqara site is part of the necropolis of Egypt’s ancient capital of Memphis that includes the famed Giza Pyramids, as well as smaller pyramids at Abu Sir, Dahshur and Abu Ruwaysh. The ruins of Memphis were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1970s.

El-Anany said the Saqqara coffins would join 30 ancient wooden coffins that were discovered in October in the southern city of Luxor, and will be showcased at the new Grand Egyptian Museum, which Egypt is building near the Giza Pyramids.

The Saqqara discovery is the latest in a series of archeological finds that Egypt has sought to publicize in an effort to revive its key tourism sector, which was badly hit by the turmoil that followed the 2011 uprising.

The sector was also dealt a further blow this year by the global coronavirus pandemic.

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

Crocodile heads — buried 4,000 years ago — uncovered in tombs in Egypt, photos show

Crocodile heads — buried 4,000 years ago — uncovered in tombs in Egypt, photos show

Photo from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, M. Jawornicki, P. Chudzik, and U. Iwaszczcuk via Science in Poland

A pair of ancient nobles died thousands of years ago and were buried in nearby tombs in Egypt. Excavations of these graves revealed the first-of-its-kind discovery.

Archaeologists in Luxor excavated two tombs near the temple of Hatshepsut, Science in Poland said in a news release Tuesday, Dec. 20.

One grave belonged to Chancellor Cheti, an important official to the Pharaoh Mentuhotep II, and the other belonged to an anonymous vizier, comparable to the Pharaoh’s Prime Minister.

Inside the 4,000-year-old burial, researchers found nine crocodile heads, the release said. The heads were found wrapped in fabric and discarded in heaps left by earlier researchers.

Remains of the crocodile skin and fabric. Photo from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, M. Jawornicki, P. Chudzik, and U. Iwaszczcuk via Science in Poland

The skulls came from young and adult crocodiles, archaeologists said. While alive, the crocodiles were anywhere from 6 feet long to 13 feet long.

Crocodile heads — buried 4,000 years ago — uncovered in tombs in Egypt, photos show
Crocodile jaw fragments found at the tombs. Photo from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, M. Jawornicki, P. Chudzik, and U. Iwaszczcuk via Science in Poland

Although mummified crocodiles have been found in temples, no such crocodiles had been found in ancient Egyptian graves — until now, Patryk Chudzik, head of research at the Center of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw told Science in Poland.

These crocodile heads were likely buried to help the deceased on their journey to the afterlife, researchers said.

In tombs with crocodile heads, the soul of the deceased would be protected by the ancient Egyptian god Sobek, a figure commonly depicted as either a crocodile or a man with a crocodile head, Chudzik explained.

Crocodile heads may have been more common in the richest ancient tombs and simply discarded by previous researchers who focused on burial goods such as jewelry, gold, or pottery, experts said.

The temple of Hatshepsut is located in Luxor, about 400 miles south of Cairo.

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

Late Period Tombs Excavated in Northern Egypt

Late Period Tombs Excavated in Northern Egypt

The Egyptian archaeological mission affiliated with the Supreme Council of Antiquities has been working at Tell al-Deir ruins in the new city of Damietta.

Together they discovered 20 tombs dating back to the Late Period of ancient Egypt, while completing the excavation work it is conducting at the site, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, said.

He also pointed out the importance of this discovery in rewriting the history of Damietta Governorate.

He added that the discovered tombs varied between tombs made of mud bricks and simple pits.

The mud brick tombs may date back to the Sawi era, specifically the 26th Dynasty, as the architectural planning of the discovery tombs was a widespread and well-known model in the late period.

There are also the technical features and pottery vessels discovered inside it, Ayman Ashmawy, head of the Egyptian antiquities sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said.

The mission also discovered golden chips that covered the remains of human burials.

These are embodying the deities Isis, Heqet, and Bastet, as well as the embodiment of the protective eye of Horus (Udjat), and Horus in the form of a falcon while spreading his wings.

Many funerary amulets of different shapes, sizes, and stones, such as scarabs, the headrest, the two feathers of Amun, and many deities: including Isis, Nephthys, Djehuty, and Taweret, were also discovered, Qotb Fawzy, head of the Central Department of Antiquities of Lower Egypt and Sinai and head of the archaeological mission, stated.

The miniature models of canopic vessels for preserving the viscera of the deceased during the mummification process, and statues of the four sons of Horus were also found.

The mission is continuing its excavation work at the site in order to uncover the secrets of the Tell Al-Deir necropolis, Reda Salih, Director of the Damietta Antiquities District, said.

In previous seasons the mission uncovered many burial customs and methods of successive civilizations on the land of Egypt in the Greco-Roman era, at Tel Al-Deir.

AFRICA, WORLD

Archaeologists have unearthed two early Aksumite Churches in Africa

Archaeologists have unearthed two early Aksumite Churches in Africa

New discoveries in the port city of Adulis on Eritrea’s Red Sea coast show that two ancient churches discovered more than a century ago were built during the reign of the legendary Kingdom of Aksum, which ruled Northeast Africa for the entire first millennium AD.

The two ancient religious structures have finally been dated to the mid-1st millennium AD, thanks to a detailed analysis performed by a team of archaeologists from the Vatican-sponsored Pontificio Instituto di Archeologia Cristiana, with dates of construction beginning no later than the 6th and 7th centuries, respectively.

The Aksumite Kingdom arose in the former territories of the fallen D’mt Kingdom in the mid-first century AD.

From an early stage, the kingdom played an important role in the transcontinental trade route between Rome and India, rising to become one of the most powerful empires of late antiquity.

Archaeologists excavating at Adulis’ port discovered two churches built after the kingdom’s conversion to Christianity in the 4th century AD. One of the churches is a large cathedral with the remains of a baptistry, while the other is smaller but has a ring of columns that supports a dome roof.

Excavation of one of the early churches found in Adulis, which likely served as the city’s cathedral.

Like their Mediterranean neighbor, the Aksumite leader—King Ezana—converted to Christianity in the 4th century AD but securely dated churches from this period are rare.

The churches incorporate elements from a variety of traditions, reflecting the various influences on the kingdom’s conversion. The domed church is one of a kind in the Aksumite Kingdom, and it appears to be inspired by Byzantine architecture. Meanwhile, the cathedral is built on a large platform in the Aksumite tradition.

To accurately date the structures, the researchers used modern scientific methods such as radiocarbon dating on materials recovered from both sites.

Adulis sector 4 – eastern church

“This study provides one of the first examples of Aksumite churches excavated with modern methods and chronological data coming from modern dating methods,” said Dr. Gabriele Castiglia.

In a study published in the journal Antiquity, the cathedral was built between AD 400 and 535, while the domed church was built between AD 480 and 625. Both structures are some of the earliest Christian churches from the Aksumite Kingdom, and the oldest known outside the capital’s heartlands.

From this vantage point, the construction of these two striking and ambitious structures in a port city far from the Aksumite capital suggests that Christianity spread relatively quickly throughout the kingdom.

Work on the first of the two structures may have begun less than a century after King Ezana’s conversion, indicating that the people of the region were open to new spiritual belief systems.

Excavations at the domed church, revealed a room near the entrance.

With the arrival of Islam, the churches fell into decline and disuse; however, they were later re-appropriated as a Muslim burial ground, indicating that the region’s conversion to Islam was also a multicultural phenomenon, with local customs mixed with the new religion.

“This is one of the first times we have the material evidence of the re-appropriation of a Christian sacred space by the Islamic community,” said Dr. Castiglia.

AFRICA, NIGERIA, WORLD

Cambridge University Will Repatriate Benin Bronzes

Cambridge University Will Repatriate Benin Bronzes

Cambridge University Will Repatriate Benin Bronzes
The university said it was “working with the commission to finalise next steps” regarding the return of the objects

The Charity Commission has granted consent for the University of Cambridge to return 116 artefacts to Nigeria.

The objects, known as the Benin Bronzes, were taken by British armed forces during the sacking of Benin City in 1897, the university said.

The legal ownership of the items will be transferred to the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments. The Charity Commission concluded the university was “under a moral obligation” to return the artefacts.

A spokesperson for the university said it was “working with the commission to finalise next steps regarding these Benin Bronzes”.

The university said some items would remain in Cambridge on loan

The university said the 1897 attack was “mounted by Britain in response to a violent trade dispute”.

“British forces burned the city’s palace and exiled Benin’s Oba, or king,” the university said.

“Several thousand brasses and other artefacts – collectively known as the ‘Benin Bronzes’ – were taken by the British, and subsequently sold off in London to recoup the costs of the military mission.”

The artefacts ended up dispersed across many museums in the UK, the rest of Europe, and the US.

The university said 116 of the items were at its Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Prof Nicholas Thomas, director of the museum, said: “Across the international museum sector, there is growing recognition that illegitimately acquired artefacts should be returned to their countries of origin.”

A brass penannular bracelet is one of the items at the Cambridge museum

The university said it hosted the Benin Dialogue Group in 2017 and had visited Benin City before receiving a formal claim from the National Commission for Museums and Monuments of Nigeria in January 2022.

The university supported the claim for the items to be returned to the west African country and submitted the case to the Charity Commission for authorisation in July.

The commission has granted consent for the transfer.

A spokesman for the commission said it “carefully” assessed the matter.

“The trustees made the decision to transfer the artefacts, concluding that they were under a moral obligation to take this step,” he said.

A spokesperson for the university said some of the artefacts would remain in Cambridge on “extended loan, ensuring that this West African civilisation continues to be represented in the museum’s displays, and in teaching for school groups”.

“Those that return physically will be transferred to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, as is required legally by the Republic of Nigeria – an approach formally supported by the Oba of Benin.”

AFRICA, TANZANIA, WORLD

Study Suggests Walking May Be Linked to Treetop Foraging

Study Suggests Walking May Be Linked to Treetop Foraging

Study Suggests Walking May Be Linked to Treetop Foraging
An adult male chimpanzee walks upright to navigate flexible branches in the open canopy, in behaviour characteristic of the Issa Valley savanna-mosaic habitat.

The ancestors of humans may have begun moving on two legs to forage for food among the treetops in open habitat, researchers have suggested, contradicting the idea that the behaviour arose as an adaptation to spending more time on the ground.

The origins of bipedalism in hominins around 7m years ago has long been thought to be linked to a shift in environment, when dense forests began to give way to more open woodland and grassland habitats.

In such conditions, it has been argued, our ancestors would have spent more time on the ground than in the trees, and been able to move more efficiently on two legs.

But now researchers studying chimpanzees in Tanzania say that trait may have different origins. “I think we have long told this very logical story, that at least our data don’t really support,” said Dr Alex Piel, a biological anthropologist at University College London and a co-author of the research.

Writing in the journal Science Advances, the researchers report how they spent 15 months studying 13 chimpanzees living in Issa Valley in western Tanzania, an environment similar to that experienced by our ancient ancestors.

The results reveal that these chimpanzees spent a greater proportion of their time on the ground, and in movement, when in an open environment of woodland and grasses than in densely forested parts of the same area.

However, even in the open environment, the proportion of time the chimpanzees spent on the ground was similar to that previously recorded for other populations of the apes living in densely forested areas, including Gombe and Mahale.

“Even though we have far fewer trees, [the chimps are] no more terrestrial,” said Piel.

The team then combined the data for the different environments in Issa Valley and analysed how often the chimpanzees either stood or moved on two feet.

The results reveal that while bipedal behaviour accounted for less than 1% of recorded postures, only 14% related to chimpanzees on the ground.

“Most of the time that they are on two legs is in the trees,” said Piel, adding that the behaviour, at least amid the branches, appears to be most commonly linked to foraging for food.

Rhianna Drummond-Clarke, first author of the research from the University of Kent, said that open woodland could favour bipedalism in chimpanzees, and by extension early human ancestors, because such environments have more sparsely distributed trees than dense forests.

“[Bipedalism may help them] safely and effectively navigate the flexible branches and access as many fruits as possible when they find them,” she said.

The team says that while the study cannot prove that our human ancestors showed the same patterns of bipedal behaviour, it calls into question common assumptions of how humans ended up walking on two legs, and suggests that trees continued to play a role in our evolutionary story even as the environment shifted.

“Rather than time on the ground stimulating [bipedalism], it may have catalysed it, but it was already there,” said Piel. “And that fits perfectly with the fossil record because all the all these early hominins have both arboreal and terrestrial adaptations.”