Here are the top archaeological headlines for the period of January 19th to February 1st 2010 | Voici les nouvelles archéologiques pour la période du 19 janvier au 1er février 2010.
Presented by Matt Thompson.
Sponsor: The Trowel Shop – Great archaeology tools and equipment at great prices!
In this episode:
1. CANADA| Terracotta Army to Conquer Canada from 2010 – 2012
2. UNITED STATES| Chimp and human Y chromosomes evolving faster than expected
3. GUATEMALA| ‘Huge head’ discovered in ancient Mayan city in Guatemala
4. PERU| Peru Airlifts Tourists From Machu Picchu After Floods
5. UK| Lost Roman law code discovered in London
6. FRANCE| Joan of Arc ‘Relics’ Confirmed to Be Fake
7. FRANCE| Evidence of Stone Age amputation forces rethink over history of surgery
8. FRANCE| Fromelles Scots soldiers to be reburied
9. GERMANY| Bones of Early English Princess Found in Germany
10. ITALY| Mona Lisa could be Da Vinci in drag
11. ITALY| Two thousand year old Roman aqueduct discovered
12. ITALY| Birthplace of Roman emperor ‘found’ in Lazio
13. ISRAEL| Stable climate and plant domestication linked
14. EGYPT| Queen’s Cat Goddess Temple Found in Egypt
15. EGYPT| Egypt to Reveal the Results of DNA Testing on King Tut’s Mummy
16. MOZAMBIQUE| Archaeologist Unearths Earliest Evidence of Modern Humans Using Wild Grains and Tubers for Food
17. CHINA| Rare Bamboo-Strip Books Discovered in Chinese Tomb
18. MOON| Apollo 11 moon items ‘cultural artifacts’
CANADA| Terracotta Army to Conquer Canada from 2010 – 2012
The Government of China has named the ROM – the Royal Ontario Museum as the Organiser of the Canadian tour of The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army Exhibit.The national tour, will encompass four venues across the country. Following the ROM’s engagement, commencing in late June 2010, the exhibition will travel to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Glenbow Museum in Calgary and the Royal BC Museum in Victoria. The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army will over 250 artifacts, dated to the first millennium BCE. Among them – an impressive 16 human figures and 2 horses. Also included are six life-sized warrior heads and three half-sized kneeling servants. The exhibit will also include numerous stellar objects making their North American debut. Loaned by more than a dozen of the most important archaeological institutes and museums in Shaanxi Province, nearly thirty per cent of the featured objects have never before traveled outside China.
UNITED STATES| Chimp and human Y chromosomes evolving faster than expected
Contrary to a widely held scientific theory that the mammalian Y chromosome is slowly decaying or stagnating, new evidence suggests that in fact the Y is actually evolving quite rapidly. By conducting the first comprehensive interspecies comparison of Y chromosomes, Whitehead Institute researchers have found considerable differences in the genetic sequences of the human and chimpanzee Ys-an indication that these chromosomes have evolved more quickly than the rest of their respective genomes over the 6 million years since they emerged from a common ancestor. Jennifer Hughes, first author on the Nature paper and a postdoctoral researcher in Whitehead Institute Director David Page’s lab explained that The region of the Y that is evolving the fastest is the part that plays a role in sperm production,” say. “The rest of the Y is evolving more like the rest of the genome, only a little bit faster. The findings are published online in the journal Nature.
GUATEMALA| ‘Huge head’ discovered in ancient Mayan city in Guatemala
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have discovered a huge Mayan sculptured head in Guatemala that suggests a little-known site in the jungle-covered Peten region may once have been a significant city. The stucco sculpture, which is more than three metres wide by four metres high, was found at the Chilonche ruins, close to the border with Belize. The recent discovery which dates from the early Classic period between 300 to 600 CE would seem to indicate that the site is much older than previously thought – The Maya often constructed new buildings using older ones as foundations. Polytechnic University of Valencia professor Gaspar Munoz, part of the team of archaeologists that found the head told reporters that – It could be an imaginary being, something from the underworld, perhaps linked to a Mayan deity. Unlike Guatemala’s famous Mayan cities of Tikal and El Mirador, little excavation has been carried out at Chilonche.
PERU| Peru Airlifts Tourists From Machu Picchu After Floods
Peru’s government evacuated by helicopter at least 260 tourists stranded near the Machu Picchu archaeological site after flash flooding in the region left at least 10 people dead. Torrential rains caused mudslides and swelled the Urubamba River on Sunday, stripping away long sections of the railway that is the only transportation in and out of the area around the Inca citadel. The road to the ruins from the village at the end of the train line also washed away. An Argentine tourist and her Peruvian tour guide were killed and three people were injured after a landslide on the Inca Trail. Another eight people have been killed by landslides in the Cuzco region. Juan Garcia, director of the regional National Culture Institute, which administers the Machu Picchu park, told the AP that the site will stay closed until train service resumes. But he added that officials will consider opening the park to travelers who hike in after the first rail section is repaired in three weeks. Garcia added that the citadel itself was not damaged by rains. Perurail said in a statement late Thursday that it will take at least eight weeks to complete repairs. AP reported that in 2008 over 850,000 tourists visited the citadel, where foreigners pay $43USD to enter.
UK| Lost Roman law code discovered in London
Part of an ancient Roman law code previously thought to have been lost forever has been discovered by researchers at University College London’s Department of History. Simon Corcoran and Benet Salway made the breakthrough after piecing together 17 fragments of previously incomprehensible parchment. The fragments were being studied at UCL as part of the “Projet Volterra” – a ten year study of Roman law in its full social, legal and political context. Reserchers found that the text belonged to the Codex Gregorianus, or Gregorian Code, a collection of laws by emperors from Hadrian to, which was published sometime around 300CE. Little was known about the codex’s original form and there were, until now, no known copies in existence.
FRANCE| Joan of Arc ‘Relics’ Confirmed to Be Fake
The so-called “relics of Joan of Arc,” overseen by the Archbishop of Tours in Chinon, France, do not contain the charred remains of the Catholic saint. Rather, the artifacts consist of a mummified cat leg bone and human rib, both dating to the 6th and 3rd century B.C.E, according to a new study. The “relics,” which have fooled onlookers for decades, did resemble burnt bones, in keeping with historical accounts of the death of Joan of Arc in 1431 – who was convicted of heresy and executed by burning. The bottle containing the bones first surfaced at a pharmacy in 1867. Its label read: “Remains found under the pyre of Joan of Arc, maiden of Orleans.” Different techniques, including DNA analysis, several forms of microscopy, chemical analysis and carbon dating, were used to examine the bottle’s contents. Medical examiners, pathologists, geneticists, biochemists, a radiologist, zoologist and archaeologist all participated in the extensive study, which was accepted for publication in the journal Forensic Science International.
FRANCE| Evidence of Stone Age amputation forces rethink over history of surgery
Scientists unearthed evidence of medical surgery at an Early Neolithic tomb discovered at Buthiers-Boulancourt, about 65km south of Paris. They found that a remarkable degree of medical knowledge had been used to remove the left forearm of an elderly man about 6,900 years ago. The patient seems to have been uh-nes-thi-ties-zed, the conditions were aseptic, the cut was clean and the wound was treated, according to the INRAP – the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research. The revelation could force a reassessment of the history of surgery, especially because researchers have recently reported signs of two other Neolithic amputations in Germany and the Czech Republic. It was known that Stone Age doctors performed trephinations, cutting through the skull, but not amputations. The discovery followed research on the tomb of an elderly man who lived in the Linearbandkeramik period, when European hunter-gatherers settled down to agriculture, stock-breeding and pottery. The patient was important: his grave was 2m (6.5ft) long — bigger than most — and contained a schist axe, a flint pick and the remains of a young animal, which are evidence of high status.
FRANCE| Fromelles Scots soldiers to be reburied
The remains of 250 World War I soldiers who were killed in the 1916 Battle of Fromelles have now been recovered. They will be reburied with full military honours at a new cemetery close to the site in northern France. Work to recover the British and Australian soldiers buried there by German forces, began in 2008. DNA samples were taken from each soldier and specialists in the UK have attempted to extract DNA strands to help with the identification process. Every soldier recovered, will be reburied with an unnamed headstone in the new Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery, by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. If the soldiers can be identified their relatives will be able to add a personalised inscription on the headstone at a later date.
GERMANY| Bones of Early English Princess Found in Germany
An international team of scientists say they think they’ve found the body of Princess Eadgyth — a 10th-century noblewoman. Mark Horton, an archaeology professor at Bristol University in western England is one of a team of experts working to verify the identity of some bones found bundled in silk at Mag-deburg Cathedral in Germany. Should the skeleton be positively identified as belonging to Eadgyth, it would be the oldest remains of any English royal discovered to date. The skeleton was uncovered as part of a wider research project into Mag-deburg Cathedral, about 150 kilometers west of Berlin. The elaborate 16th-century monument in which the body was found was long thought to be empty – yet when archaeologists opened the monument in 2008, they found a lead coffin bearing her name and carrying a nearly complete set of bones wrapped in silk. Eadgyth was destined for Duke Otto of Saxony, a warlord’s son who would eventually rise to become the first ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Eadgyth bore Otto at least two children, but died young, at age 36.
ITALY| Mona Lisa could be Da Vinci in drag
Scientists are hoping to exhume the body of Leonardo Da Vinci to determine if his Mona Lisa is actually a self-portrait. The woman in the renowned sixteenth century oil painting has never been identified, leading members of the Italian National Committee for Cultural Heritage to speculate that Da Vinci, motivated by his presumed homosexuality, painted himself as a woman. Italian anthropologist Giorgio Gruppione, who is seeking permission to dig up the body, said his proposed study could throw new light on the portrait. The tomb of Da Vinci is believed to be at Amboise Castle in France, where he died in 1519. If archaeologists manage to find his skull, they could rebuild Leonardo’s face and compare it with the Mona Lisa. Scholars have also argued the Mona Lisa is Da Vinci’s mother or that of a Florentine merchant’s wife.
ITALY| Two thousand year old Roman aqueduct discovered
A pair of British amateur archaeologists believe they have found the hidden source of a Roman aqueduct 1,900 years after it was inaugurated by Emperor Trajan. The underground spring lies behind a concealed door beneath an abandoned 13th century church on the shores of Lake Bracciano – north of Rome. Exploration of the site has shown that water percolating through volcanic bedrock was collected in underground grottoes and chambers and fed into a subterranean aqueduct which took it all the way to the city. Centuries later, it provided water for the very first Vatican. It was only when modern bore pumps started directing the supply to the nearby town of Bracciano that the water level dropped dramatically and the subterranean complex became accessible. The vaulted ceiling was decorated with a rare type of paint known as Egyptian Blue, which led the Father and son documentary makers Edward and Michael O’Neill, who made the discovery – to speculate that the grotto was a Roman nymphaeum – a sacred place believed to be inhabited by water gods. The documentary makers hope to raise funds to pay for the site to be excavated by professional archaeologists.
ITALY| Birthplace of Roman emperor ‘found’ in Lazio
An international team of archaeologists claims to have unearthed the 2000-year-old birthplace of the Roman emperor, Vespasian. Archeologists believe they have located his birthplace in the Falacrinae valley – 130 km northeast of Rome. During recent excavations, the archaeologists uncovered sumptuous marble floors and mosaics at the site of the 3,000 to 4,000 square metre Villa of Falacrinae. The team of 30-60 archaeologists recovered pots, numerous coins, ceramic and metal artefacts from the site. The archeologists are hoping to recover more items in fresh excavations in July and August. The villa lies on a major Roman road, Via Salaria, which connects Rome, to the northeastern Italian Adriatic coast.
ISRAEL| Stable climate and plant domestication linke
Sustainable farming and the introduction of new crops relies on a relatively stable climate, not dramatic conditions attributable to climate change. Basing their argument on evolutionary, ecological, genetic and agronomic considerations, Dr. Shahal Abbo, from the Levi Eshkol School of Agriculture at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, and colleagues, demonstrated why climate change is not the likely cause of plant domestication in the Near East. Rather, the variety of crops in the Near East was chosen to function within the normal east Mediterranean rainfall pattern, in which good rainy years create enough surplus to sustain farming communities during drought years. Climate-based explanations for the beginning of new agricultural practices give environmental factors a central role, as prime movers for the cultural-economic change known as the Near Eastern Neolithic or Agricultural Revolution which occurred sometime around 8500 B.C.E. In the authors’ view, climate change is unlikely to induce major cultural changes. Their thesis is published online in Springer’s journal Vegetation History and Archaeobotany.
EGYPT| Queen’s Cat Goddess Temple Found in Egypt
A limestone feline is among some 600 cat statues from a newfound temple dedicated to the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet. The ancient temple was recently discovered under the streets of modern-day Alexandria. Egyptian Archaeologists who found the temple say it was built by Queen Berenike II, wife of Greek King Ptolemy III, who ruled Egypt from 246 to 221 B.C.E. Cats were important house pets in ancient Egypt and were often depicted in private tombs. In some cases, cats were mummified in the same way as humans and buried at temples. The excavated Bastet temple currently measures 60 meters tall by 15 meters wide—and archaeologists think they’ve found only half of the temple so far. In addition to the findings from the Ptolemaic period, the temple ruins include a Roman water cistern made up of several 14-meter-deep wells, stone water channels, and the remains of a bath area.
EGYPT| Egypt to Reveal the Results of DNA Testing on King Tut’s Mummy
Egypt’s antiquities department made the announcement that they will soon reveal the results of DNA testing conducted on the world’s most famous ancient king, Pharaoh Tutankhamun, which was undertaken to answer lingering mysteries over his lineage. Archaeology chief Zahi Hawass said at a conference that he would announce the results of DNA tests and CAT scans on February 17. The results will be compared to those made of King Amenhotep III, who may have been Tutankamun’s grandfather. The testing of Tut’s mummy is part of a wider program to check the DNA of hundreds of mummies to determine their family relations and identities. The identity of Tutankamun’s parents is not definitively known, though many experts believe that he is the son of Akhenaten, the 18th Dynasty pharaoh who tried to introduce monotheism to Egypt 3,500 years ago. His mother is believed to be one of Akhenaten’s queens, Kiya. Others, however, suggest that Tut was the son of a lesser known pharaoh that followed Akhenaten.
MOZAMBIQUE| Archaeologist Unearths Earliest Evidence of Modern Humans Using Wild Grains and Tubers for Food
The consumption of wild cereals among prehistoric hunters and gatherers appears to be far more ancient than previously thought, according to a University of Calgary archaeologist who has found the oldest example of extensive reliance on cereal and root staples in the diet of early Homo sapiens more than 100,000 years ago. Julio Mercader, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Tropical Archaeology in the U of C’s Department of Archaeology, recovered dozens of stone tools from a deep cave in Mozambique showing that wild sorghum, the ancestor of the chief cereal consumed today in sub-Saharan Africa for flours, breads, porridges and alcoholic beverages, was in Homo sapiens’ pantry along with the African wine palm, the false banana, pigeon peas, wild oranges and the African “potato.” This is the earliest direct evidence of humans using pre-domesticated cereals anywhere in the world. Mercader’s findings are published in the December 18 issue of the research journal Science.
CHINA| Rare Bamboo-Strip Books Discovered in Chinese Tomb
Archaeologists in China have discovered a trove of rare bamboo-strip books uncovered within an excavated tomb in Yancang, a village near Jingmen in Hubei province. Experts believe the site dates back to the Warring States Period (475 BC to 221 BC) and hope that the books will reveal the name of the entombed owner; it is possible that the strips contain a written introduction by the owner of the tomb, “like a letter of recommendation the deceased would carry with them to the underworld to give Yanluo, the god of death. Excavation of the tomb should be completed this week - before any attempt is made to read the bamboo strips.
TRANQUILITY BASE| Apollo 11 moon items ‘cultural artifacts’
A California panel announced items made in the Golden State and left on the moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts are a state historical resource. The California State Historical Resources Commission says more than 100 items abandoned at Tranquility Base in July 1969 are valuable cultural artifacts. Other states with connections to NASA’s Apollo program have made similar announcements in hopes of having the discarded items named a United Nations World Heritage site. Under international treaties, nations cannot make claims of sovereignty to the moon, but for man-made objects it’s different. Scientific equipment, tools, empty containers and waste products were left behind by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to lighten the lunar module for takeoff. They were told to jettison things that weren’t important eplained Beth O’Leary, professor of anthropology at New Mexico State University and a leader in the emerging field of space heritage and archaeology.
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21/03/2010 11:59 | 
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