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10,000 year old skeleton in São Paulo found to have Amerindian DNA like Indigenous people living there today

FAPESP
Phys.org
Mon, 31 Jul 2023 12:00 UTC
skull
© André Strauss
The investigation that covered four different parts of Brazil carried out analysis of genomic data from 34 fossils, including larger skeletons and the famous mounds of shells and fishbones built on the coast.
An article published on July 31 in Nature Ecology & Evolution reveals that Luzio, the oldest human skeleton found in São Paulo state (Brazil), was a descendant of the ancestral population that settled the Americas at least 16,000 years ago and gave rise to all present-day Indigenous peoples, such as the Tupi.

Based on the largest set of Brazilian archaeological genomic data, the study reported in the article also offers an explanation for the disappearance of the oldest coastal communities, the residents of which built the icons of Brazilian archaeology known as "sambaquis," huge mounds of shells and fishbones used as dwellings, cemeteries and territorial boundaries. Archaeologists often refer to these monuments as shell mounds or kitchen middens.

Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's: MindMatters: America Before: Comets, Catastrophes, Mounds and Mythology



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Info

Very rare medieval pocket sundial discovered in Germany

Leman Altuntaş
Arkeonews Net
Mon, 31 Jul 2023 20:04 UTC
Pocket Sundial
© Philipps University of Marburg
A sensational find during the excavation in the summer semester 2023: a wooden sundial and bronze in pocket format.
A rare Medieval sundial, which is approximately the size of a matchbox was discovered in the old town of Marburg, Germany.

According to a statement from Marburg University, students were digging a church site in the town when they discovered the sundial. The sundial is constructed of bronze and wood.

The old clock, which is thought to be from the late medieval era, is thought to have belonged to the Brethren of the Common Life, a monastic order that was founded in the Netherlands in the late 14th century. It was a community established by Gerard Groote, a Dutch Catholic deacon. Eventually, the Brethren spread to the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland. They settled in the old monastery structure from 1527, situated in the upper part of Marburg.

"The sensational find provides a clear insight into the meeting of a high level of knowledge in astronomy and mathematics with specialized craftsmanship on the threshold from the Middle Ages to modern times," explains the head of the educational excavation," Professor Dr. Felix Teichner said in a press statement.

According to Professor Teichner, of the Department of History and Cultural Studies at the Philipps University of Marburg, it's the first time an object like this has been found in Hesse, the German state, and not many such sundials are left.
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Colosseum

Bronze Age arrowhead found in Switzerland made from meteorite that landed 1,000 km away

Ben Taub
IFL Science
Fri, 28 Jul 2023 12:00 UTC
arrowhead meteorite
© Thomas Schüpbach/Journal of Archaeological Science
The arrowhead may have been made from a meteorite that landed 1,000 miles away.
There's nothing more badass than heading into battle with a space arrow in your quiver, and one Bronze Age dude (or lady) knew exactly how that felt. After scanning an area of Switzerland for archaeological artifacts made of meteoritic iron, researchers discovered a single arrowhead that had been forged from extraterrestrial metal.

Reporting their find in a new study, the authors explain how they searched through archaeological collections around Lake Biel, where they came across the projectile tip. Weighing 2.9 grams (0.1 ounces) and measuring 39.3 millimeters (1.5 inches) in length, the arrowhead was traced to a Bronze Age dwelling called Mörigen, which existed between 900 and 800 BCE.

Comment: And this isn't the first item that has been found to have been fashioned from a meteorite; and some researchers speculate this spate of raining meteors of the period not only contributed to the downfall of civilisations, but also may have been a catalyst for metallurgy:

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Blue Planet

'Heart shaped' cranial deformation discovered on La Ferrería skulls from the 8th century in Mexico


News Week
Wed, 26 Jul 2023 12:38 UTC
cranial deformation
© INAH
An archaeologist excavating human remains at La Ferrería Archaeological Zone in Durango state, Mexico. Multiple human remains were found during recent work at the site, including deformed skulls in the shape of a heart.
Skulls that may have been intentionally deformed into the shape of hearts have been discovered among human remains at an archaeological site in Mexico.

Researchers from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) made the unusual discovery at La Ferrería Archaeological Zone in Durango state — located in the lower northwest of the country.

During recent excavations at the site, archaeologists discovered the skeletal remains of 16 individuals within the Casa Colorada architectural complex.

An archaeologist excavating human remains at La Ferrería Archaeological Zone in Durango state, Mexico. Multiple human remains were found during recent work at the site, including deformed skulls in the shape of a heart.

Comment: See also:

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Blue Planet

Servants of Machu Picchu elite were from diverse backgrounds, new genome study reveals

Jim Shelton
Yale University
Wed, 26 Jul 2023 12:00 UTC
Machu Picchu
© stock.adobe.com
DNA analysis offers new insights into A Yale-led research team has conducted the first genome-wide study of retainers who lived and worked at Machu Picchu.
A genetic analysis suggests that the servants and retainers who lived, worked, and died at Machu Picchu, the renowned 15th century Inca palace in southern Peru, were a diverse community representing many different ethnic groups from across the Inca empire.

The genomic data, described in a new study in Science Advances, is the first investigation of the genomic diversity of individuals buried at Machu Picchu and adjacent places around Cusco, the Inca capital. It builds upon previous archeological and bio-archaeological research, including a 2021 Yale-led study which found that Machu Picchu (AD 1420-1530) is older than was previously believed.

"The DNA analysis not only confirms the historical accounts that retainers were drawn from many different ethnic groups under Inca control, but it also demonstrates a much greater diversity of origins than had been suspected with individuals being brought from the entire empire," said archaeologist Richard Burger, the Charles J. MacCurdy Professor of Anthropology in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences and lead researcher for the Machu Picchu project.

Comment: It seems to be a relatively common scenario whereby the elite are served by peoples they have conquered: Also check out SOTT radio's: MindMatters: America Before: Comets, Catastrophes, Mounds and Mythology



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Info

Thracian horseman tablet discovered in Bulgaria


Bulgarian News Agency
Thu, 27 Jul 2023 22:36 UTC
Thracian horseman
© Bulgarian News Agency
A stone votive relief depicting the Thracian horseman was discovered on Thursday in the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica.

The Thracian horseman, also known as the Thracian rider, is a recurring motif depicted in reliefs of the Hellenistic and Roman periods in the Balkans, mainly between the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD.

"This is the first time we're discovering such a well-made votive tablet," Assoc. Prof. Lyudmil Vagalinski, who is leading the excavations in the ancient city, said.
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Blue Planet

European Neolithic family trees provide unprecedented insights into community behavior

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Science Daily
Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:51 UTC
neolithic

The Neolithic burial site of Gurgy 'les Noisats' in France revealed two unprecedentedly large family trees which allowed a Franco-German team to explore the social organization of the 6,700-year-old community. Based on multiple lines of evidence, the team describes a close kin group which practiced monogamy and female exogamy, and experienced generally stable times.
The Neolithic burial site of Gurgy 'les Noisats' in France revealed two unprecedentedly large family trees which allowed a Franco-German team to explore the social organization of the 6,700-year-old community. Based on multiple lines of evidence, the team describes a close kin group which practiced monogamy and female exogamy, and experienced generally stable times.

The Neolithic lifestyle, based on farming instead of hunting and gathering, emerged in the Near East around 12,000 years ago and contributed profoundly to the modern way of life. The ability to produce and store extra food led Neolithic people to develop new social customs built on wealth, and therefore form social hierarchies. After an early phase of diffusion and having reached regions in western Europe, settled societies became more complex, which is sometimes reflected in the funerary world as well. The Paris Basin region in northern modern-day France is known for its monumental funerary sites, understood as being built for the society's "elite." In this context, the site of Gurgy 'Les Noisats', one of the biggest Neolithic funerary sites without monument in the region, begs the question who these people buried with different practices were.
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Archaeology

Mystery of 2,000-year-old warrior's grave on the Isles of Scilly finally solved

Lauren Haughey
The Daily Mail
Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:54 UTC
Iran age grave mirror sword woman
© The Historic England Archives
or years, the mirror and sword have puzzled experts, as in other burials of the same period, swords are normally found with males and mirrors with females
Now researchers at Historic England believe the grave belonged to a woman

The long-running mystery of a prehistoric grave has finally been solved after years of scientific debate.

New research led by Historic England has unveiled that a 2,000-year-old Iron Age burial site on the Isles of Scilly actually belonged to a warrior woman.

Since its discovery in 1999, archaeologists have mulled back-and-forth over the sex of the individual that possessed both a mirror and a sword.
But new evidence suggests this woman may have been a leading figure - perhaps among many other 'hidden' female warriors during the Iron Age.

'Our findings offer an exciting opportunity to re-interpret this important burial,' said Sarah Stark, a human skeletal biologist at Historic England.

Comment:

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Better Earth

Medieval Poland was hit by extreme floods 166 times, study finds


Medievalists
Wed, 26 Jul 2023 20:11 UTC
Medieval flood
© British Library G70076-48
"In many places in Poland a great flood, caused by incessant rain in August, has drowned the crops, herds and draught animals." - the year 1368 in the Annals of Jan Dlugosz
Polish researchers examining medieval sources have discovered that the country was hit by flooding 166 times between the 11th and 15th centuries, revealing details on the causes of these disasters.

Their study, published in the Journal of Hydrology, examined flooding within modern-day Poland's borders, focusing on the Oder and Vistula rivers and their basins. They looked for mentions of floods in 164 different sources, including chronicles, administrative records and even private letters. One example would come from the Annals of Jan Dlugosz, who recorded for the year 1475:
Rivers are everywhere low, except in Cracow, where days and nights of rain have caused unprecedented flooding of the Vistula on July 24 and the following three days, when the water rises to the level of the altars in the churches of St. Bernard and St Agnes. The great bridge joining Kazimierz and Cracow is swept away, and the orchards are all destroyed, yet food remains cheap all the rest of the year.



Comment: The above sounds like a report of the Earth Changes seen in the last decade.


Comment: Notably increased flooding has been shown to correlate with global cooling - amongst a variety of other phenomena - and, indeed, the same seems to be occurring in our own time: See also:

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Info

Rare clay figurine found in Lazio dating back 7000 years

Leman Altuntaş
Arkeonews Net
Wed, 26 Jul 2023 19:17 UTC
Clay Figurine
© Sapienza University of Rome
Archaeologists from Sapienza University of Rome discovered a figure with female features in the Battifratta cave, near Poggio Nativo in the Sabina area, Lazio.

That is a clay figurine dating from around 7000 years ago, from the Neolithic period, when the peninsula's first farming communities existed.

A press release from the Sapienza University in Rome says objects of this kind are "very rare in Italy." Furthermore, the release said such artifacts are "almost absent" in the archaeological record of the Tyrrhenian slope.

The Battifratta Cave is located in the municipal territory of Poggio Nativo, in the Casali locality, on the left side of the valley of the Riano River, a minor tributary of the Farfa. The Battifrata cave is distinguished for its maze-like configurations and layouts, graced with stalagmites and stalactites with a transient spring at the entrance of it.
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