Archeologists discover 2,500-year-old Midas dynasty tomb in Turkey
After four months of excavations, Penn Museum and Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University archeologists discovered a well-preserved royal tomb chamber that dates back to 8th century BCE (800 to 701 BCE). The tomb's roof was collapsed, but objects inside remained intact, including bronze vessels used during banquets, iron rods, a pair of large bronze cauldrons and assorted smaller bronze cauldrons, jugs and bowls, according to a news release.
The tomb was discovered at the archeological site of Gordion, the capital of the Phrygian kingdom, which controlled much of Asia Minor during the first millennium BCE, Gordion Excavation Director C. Brian Rose said in a news release. Gordion is located in northwest Turkey, about 60 miles southwest of Turkey's capital Ankara.
At one time, Gordion was ruled by King Midas, famously known for his "golden touch." Archeologists believe that the newly-discovered tomb may have belonged to a member of the Midas dynasty.
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Archeologists used magnetic prospection technology to find the tomb, a news release states. This geophysical method uses variations in Earth's magnetic field to identify objects below the surface, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
To archeologists' surprise, the tomb indicated a cremated burial. Up until this latest excavation, researchers believed the first cremation to occur in Gordion was more than 100 years later.
Vessels inside the tomb also featured textiles adhered to their exterior, which indicate that textiles were an important industry in Gordion, Rose said in a news release.
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The tomb was located near and appeared like the Midas Mound tomb, which is believed to have housed the body of King Midas' father.
The Gordion site has proved fruitful for archeologists for 75 years, since Penn Museum began leading excavations there in 1950. Previous excavations included the oldest wooden building in the world, dating back to 740 BCE. Others include the earliest colored stone mosaics found in Gordion, the best-preserved citadel gate of the first millennium and a gilded ivory sphinx of the 6th century BCE, according to a news release.
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New York Post
10 hours ago
- New York Post
Ancient DNA shows genetic link between Egypt and Mesopotamia: ‘Highly significant'
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National Geographic
12 hours ago
- National Geographic
This ancient Egyptian left behind 4,500-year-old DNA. It was used to recreate his face.
Scientists have for the first time sequenced the most complete and oldest ancient Egyptian genome ever found—unlocking new secrets from the Old Kingdom. This facial reconstruction of an ancient Egyptian whose genome was sequenced was based off a 3D-scan of the skull. Illustration by Caroline Wilkinson, Liverpool John Moores University/Morez, A. (2025), Nature Sealed in a ceramic funerary pot, knees curled to his chin, the Egyptian skeleton lay undisturbed for thousands of years. In 1902, British archaeologists excavated him from his tomb carved into a limestone hillside in the Nuwayrat necropolis, more than 150 miles south of Cairo. While the pharaohs of his time built colossal monuments like the Great Pyramid of Giza, this man, likely a potter who lived 4,500 to 4,800 years ago, left behind a different kind of legacy: his exceptionally well-preserved DNA. Somehow, his remains endured centuries of scorching Egyptian heat and even Nazi bombings while housed in Liverpool, England, during World War II. Now scientists have sequenced the first whole genome of an ancient Egyptian from intact DNA extracted from in his teeth. The study, published Wednesday in Nature, describes the oldest Egyptian DNA ever recovered, radiocarbon dated to between 2855 and 2570 B.C. This was during the end of the Early Dynastic and the beginning of the Old Kingdom periods, when Egypt's rulers consolidated power and ushered in the 'Age of the Pyramids.' 'There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ancient genomes from across the world,' says Linus Girdland-Flink, a biomolecular archaeologist at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and a co-corresponding author of the paper. To date, scientists have collected ancient DNA from Neanderthals, Denisovans, and Homo sapiens from 45,000 years ago. 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Facial Reconstruction and Potential Controversy In addition to sequencing the Nuwayrat man's genome, the researchers also unveiled a facial reconstruction made by forensic anthropologist Caroline Wilkinson. Wilkinson, who leads the Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University, previously recreated the faces of figures like Ramesses II and Cleopatra's sister Arsinoë IV. Starting with a 3D scan of his skull, she constructed his facial features like the jawline, nose, and eyes—body parts that are relatively easy to predict from bone structure alone, she says. The ears and mouth, by contrast, are more difficult. Genetic analysis suggested the man likely had brown eyes, brown hair and skin pigmentation 'ranging from dark to black skin,' based on predictions from a tool called the HirisPlexS system. But the authors caution that these predictions come with some uncertainty given the limited genetic data from comparable ancient populations. Pottery vessel in which the Nuwayrat individual was discovered. Photograph Courtesy Garstang Museum, University of Liverpool Rock-cut tombs at Nuwayrat enclosing the pottery vessel containing the pottery coffin burial. Photograph Courtesy Garstang Museum, University of Liverpool To avoid speculation about features they could not definitively determine, Wilkinson says, she and her team rendered the reconstruction in grayscale, without hair or skin tone. She added that she expects the image to spark some controversy, as past depictions of other ancient Egyptians have. They are often criticized for appearing 'too European' or 'too African,' she says. But Wilkinson emphasizes that the face is just what one person in antiquity looked like. 'This individual is not representative of everybody from this period of time from this part of the world, any more than I am representative of everybody in Europe today.' 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But they also added that the practice wasn't unique to potters, this time period, or Nuwayrat. But what about pyramid builder? Was the Nuwayrat man hauling huge stones in Giza (more than a hundred miles away from where he was buried)? That's 'pure speculation' says Girdland-Flink. He also cautions against drawing conclusions about the people who constructed the pyramids based on this one ancient Egyptian genome." In terms of who built the pyramids,' Girdland-Flink says, 'you must have the actual workers' genomes.'
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Newsweek
Common Belief About Left-Handed People Debunked by Psychologists
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. For decades, popular wisdom has held that left-handed people have a natural edge when it comes to creativity. But, according to new research from Cornell University, the link between left-handedness and artistic talent may be little more than myth. "The data do not support any advantage in creative thinking for lefties," psychologist professor Daniel Casasanto said in a statement. "In fact, there is some evidence that righties are more creative in some laboratory tests, and strong evidence that righties are overrepresented in professions that require the greatest creativity." In their study, Casasanto and colleagues examined more than a century's worth of scientific studies, aiming to resolve a long-standing question: Are left-handed individuals inherently more creative than their right-handed peers? However, the team found little fact to support the stereotype. From left: Left-handed American singer and guitarist Jimi Hendix in 1970; and left-handed British musician Paul McCartney playing on stage during The Beatles', last tour in 1966. From left: Left-handed American singer and guitarist Jimi Hendix in 1970; and left-handed British musician Paul McCartney playing on stage during The Beatles', last tour in 1966. Getty Images The widespread belief that left-handers—who make up roughly 10 percent of the population—are more imaginative or artistically gifted has persisted in part due to the brain's structure. Creative thinking, especially divergent thinking—the ability to generate multiple solutions to a problem—is more associated with the brain's right hemisphere, which also controls the left side of the body. In one prior study, for example, participants performed better on divergent thinking tests after squeezing a ball with their left hand, potentially stimulating creativity-supportive brain regions. That gave rise to the idea that left-handers might effectively conduct that experiment every time they use their dominant hand. But it seems the reality is more complex. In their study, Casasanto and colleagues analyzed nearly 1,000 papers published since 1900 that focused on handedness and creativity. Only 17 studies, covering about 50 effect sizes, met the criteria for inclusion due to consistent data reporting and inclusion of both left- and right-handed participants. The results of these studies indicated that handedness made little difference in performance across the most common lab tests of divergent thinking. In some cases, right-handed individuals showed a slight advantage. The researchers also re-examined occupational data from nearly 12,000 Americans across more than 770 professions, categorizing each role based on levels of required creativity. While artists and musicians did show a higher proportion of left-handers, other highly creative fields such as architecture did not. "Left-handers are overrepresented among artists and musicians," the study found, "but not among architects, physicists or other professions commonly perceived as creative." In fact, when ranked by creativity demands, professions such as physics and mathematics—comparable in creativity to fine arts because all fields were measured for originality and inductive reasoning—showed left-handers to be underrepresented. Casasanto said that the myth likely endures due to what he called "left-handed exceptionalism"—the idea that since left-handedness is rare, and how creative genius is rare, one might explain the other. Dr. Mosun, a consultant psychiatrist at Cassiobury Court and a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych), told Newsweek that the myth has taken hold partly because of famous left-handed individuals in the arts like Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix. "There has been this almost romantic notion that left-handed people are naturally more artistic or creative," Mosun explained. "Historically, left handedness was seen as rare and associated with difference, which society sometimes interprets as special talent or even genius." But according to Mosun, the persistence of the stereotype reflects a broader tendency to simplify the origins of talent. "In reality, what this new research shows is that left-handed people aren't inherently more creative, but that doesn't take away from their individuality," she added. "It simply reminds us that creativity is influenced by so many factors—environment, education, culture, and also personality—rather than our dominant hand. "Stereotypes like these often emerge because we look for patterns to explain the exceptional, but the truth is always more nuanced." Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about handedness? Let us know via science@ Reference Morgan, O., Zhao, S., & Casasanto, D. (2025). Handedness and creativity: Facts and fictions. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.
