Latest news with #archaeology
Gizmodo
4 hours ago
- Science
- Gizmodo
This Prehistoric Trick Shows How Ice Age People Harvested Teeth for Jewelry
When piecing together the cultural practices of ancient humans, traditional archaeologists rely on clues from artifacts such as tools, bones, and pottery. Experimental archaeologists, however, go a step further—recreating past behaviors to experience how people once lived. That's precisely what a team of researchers recently did to investigate how Stone Age communities in northeastern Europe extracted animal teeth to produce accessories. Led by Aija Macāne, a visiting scholar in the Department of Cultures at the University of Helsinki, the archaeologists personally tested seven different extraction methods to determine which were most effective and efficient. Their findings, published June 20 in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, offer new insights into the lives of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. 'Our experiments show that tooth extraction was a deliberate, time-sensitive process embedded in daily life, especially cooking practices,' Macāne said in a university statement. 'This challenges the assumption that teeth used for ornaments were simply scavenged or easily available.' According to the researchers, animal teeth were among the most common materials used to make jewelry, accessories, and other personal adornments during the Stone Age, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. Experts know this thanks to sites like Zvejnieki, a burial ground in northern Latvia where hunter-gatherers laid people to rest for about five millennia—from 7,500 to 2,600 BCE. More than 2,000 animal teeth have been excavated from the graves at Zvejnieki, making it a prime location to study how ancient humans interacted with these materials. Archaeologists have extensively studied animal tooth pendants from this site, investigating which species they came from, how they were used, where they were placed inside graves, and how they were made. Far fewer studies, however, have looked into the process of extracting teeth and the physical traces this leaves behind, the researchers note. To fill that knowledge gap, Macāne and her colleagues got their hands dirty—literally. The team carried out a series of experiments to test seven different prehistoric methods for extracting teeth: cutting, percussion (or striking), air drying, soaking, direct heat, and two cooking techniques. They chose these techniques based on previous archaeological and ethnographic research. 'While other methods could be tested, we argue that these seven are the most likely given the technologies available at this time,' the researchers state in their report. Over the course of one year, they experienced what it was like to be Stone Age humans in need of some toothy bling. The researchers conducted their experiments at the Īdeņa Experimental Centre in eastern Latvia, which allowed them to source the necessary raw materials from licensed local hunters. In total, they used seven skulls or mandibles from Eurasian elk, two from wild boar, and two from roe deer. Of all the methods they tested, the two cooking techniques proved most effective. Boiling a mandible in a ceramic pot not only poached the meat, but caused soft tissues to detach from the bone, making it easy to manually extract the teeth. Placing entire skulls inside an earth oven—a dug-out pit used to trap heat and, in this case, steam food—had the same effect. Both methods allowed for high extraction rates without damaging the teeth, with the added bonus of making a meal and rendering the rest of the bones suitable for tool-making. These findings suggest that tooth extraction may have been integrated into broader cultural practices, merging food preparation, the making of personal adornments, and funerary rituals. As for the other techniques, soaking proved successful, but did not offer additional benefits. Cutting or striking the teeth to remove them also worked, but that often cause damage. The last two methods—air drying and applying direct heat—did not yield successful results. 'While this study focused principally on the tooth pendant assemblage from the Zvejnieki cemetery, our results have broader implications for understanding tooth extraction and pendant production across prehistory,' the researchers state. 'By examining techniques used for tooth extraction, we have gained valuable insights into human behavior and cultural practices during the Stone Age.' Still, questions remain. The researchers hope their study will inspire other archaeologists to look for physical traces of the extraction process on animal teeth artifacts. They also emphasize the importance of investigating teeth from other species, including humans and dogs. Such work, they argue, would shed 'a critical light on the complexity and significance of these practices.'
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
‘Everyone is digging for gold now': Desperate Syrians resort to scouring ancient sites
Spotting a rare foreigner in the southern Syrian city of Nawa, Khalil approaches with a business proposal: bring him a 'very good metal detector from abroad' with 'very good sonar' and he promises 'very good results ... pure gold coins'. He grins. The white-haired 62-year-old is wearing sunglasses and a Nike-branded black bomber jacket, a cigarette hanging between his fingers. He is a veteran gold digger who has been searching for 40 years. 'I once was lucky,' he recalls wistfully. A decade ago, Khalil – who is only being identified by his first name – says he discovered 840 silver coins in a sealed jar. He believes they were from the Abbasid period, which lasted from about 750 to 1258 AD. This booty fetched Khalil $50,000 (€43,000), money he says he shared with others working for him. READ MORE He pauses, considering his previous proposal. He is also looking for foreign traders: people who could transport any discoveries abroad and sell them for a good price. Here is another way we could enter business together, Khalil suggests. Syria is in the midst of a gold rush. While gold-digging – where people search for coins and other old, buried artefacts – took place under the Assad regime, the opening up of movement and something of a security vacuum across the country has turbocharged it. As omnipresent regime checkpoints and the all-seeing tentacles of intelligence branches were shut down, more Syrians have taken to digging for gold, motivated by a catastrophic economic situation that leaves people with few other options. 'Everybody is digging now. Children. Women,' says one gold digger, who, like many others, declines to be named. But this looting of artefacts is raising widespread concerns. While it is deemed illegal by the new government, these rules are taking time to be implemented or respected. The Syrian Civil Defence, commonly known as the White Helmets, may be better known for life-saving work during the war, but now they have been drafted in to map heritage sites across Syria over the next two years. They are fundraising for help with efforts including surveying and assessing damage; removing explosives and mines from historic sites; and installing protective infrastructure. Syria has a rich history, including six Unesco-recognised World Heritage Sites, all of which Unesco says were destroyed or badly damaged during nearly 14 years of civil war. 'By helping us safeguard these sites, you're helping Syrians reclaim their cultural roots and rebuild what war has tried to erase,' the White Helmets appeal says. Khalil says he once earned $50,000 after finding hundreds of silver coins in a sealed jar. Photograph: Sally Hayden On the ground in the southern Daraa governorate, any idea of safeguarding seems far away. Dotted across a hill that a local historian says used to be a Roman, Byzantine and Greek village, men search for gold from 7am to 5pm, six days a week. They cover their faces in scarves to protect their skin from the scorching sun, stopping occasionally for tea breaks, the water poured out from a jerrycan. At night, they hide their equipment in holes under stones so they are not spotted walking with it through urban areas. I lost 13 colleagues because the Syrian regime used to shoot on us A metal detector costs $4,000, and can detect buried items up to one metre below the surface, they say. Pieces of seemingly ancient pottery litter the ground around them. One 23-year-old says he has been searching for gold since he was a child, making a discovery 'sometimes every day, every two days, every month'. He did it 'even under the regime ... I lost 13 colleagues because the Syrian regime used to shoot on us'. Regime forces would claim they were terrorists digging tunnels, he says. 'It's like a hope,' says another man, behind him, who explains that they form 'workshops': five members in their workshop operate together, pooling anything they find. 'I never found gold, I only found small coins,' says a third searcher, who still earns an occasional $100. His dream is to discover a jar of gold. A short walk away, another set of apparent gold diggers are going to more extreme measures, using a €45,000 mechanical digger to lift up huge chunks of earth. Though a metal detector and shovel lie close by, when asked what they are doing, one responds that they are 'fixing' something. Another deflects, beginning to talk about how many nearby historical sites the Assad regime destroyed instead. Though gold diggers are easy to find in this part of Syria, they try to maintain secrecy around the specifics of their work. Those who set off in the morning, with a shovel and pickaxe, may drive in the wrong direction to confuse anyone observing them, before turning back to enter their chosen site for the day. History and archaeology researcher Nadal Muhammad Saed Sharaf: 'The Syrian regime destroyed all archeological sites with aerial bombings and later with bulldozers.' Photograph: Sally Hayden Someone who gets lucky will be reluctant to disclose to anyone, except for a trader, what they have found. 'If I find 10 gold coins and tell my neighbours, the same night they will come and rob my house,' one local said. This is a lesser risk than what came before: military intelligence would detain and 'disappear' searchers, a gold digger said. This was despite the regime itself being accused of selling antiquities to raise money. Opposition forces, during the lengthy war, also reportedly sold artefacts to buy weapons. They call it 'shaghlat yali malah shaghle' – the job of the jobless The gold diggers open tombs and crypts, sometimes finding skeletons still wearing jewellery, bracelets, rings and a necklace, with a kohl applicator nearby. 'When a young girl died they buried her with all her jewellery,' one man says. Chambers underground can be booby-trapped, with a stone or spear falling down when they are opened. One superstition is that the graves are monitored by demons, and if you want to enter you have to slay an animal and drop its blood at the entrance. Weapons have also been discovered in graves. A man describes finding eight small statues made from malachite. He sold them for $12,000 in 2011 to a businessman near Damascus. They later turned out to be worth $100,000. This is a common theme: Syrians feel they are being ripped off by traders with access to foreign markets. Nadal Muhammad Saed Sharaf says the destruction of Syria's history makes him feel like he is 'suffocating'. Photograph: Sally Hayden They call it 'shaghlat yali malah shaghle' – the job of the jobless, says Abu Khaled (56), who describes himself as an 'expert' and agrees to be identified only by his nickname. 'This is the only way the people can get money. There is opportunity now.' The main issue is 'the metal detectors aren't very advanced'. He says stones in Daraa can contain metal oxides because it's a volcanic area, confusing the machines. Other people just use a shovel and pickaxe to search. Abu Khaled used to own a factory, but it closed down because of the difficulties of transporting goods through regime checkpoints. His hobby is 'archaeology and archaeological sites ... I like to preserve history. I feel sad if someone writes on the wall of an ancient building, for example'. He partly educates himself through YouTube videos and Facebook pages, though many of the opinions shared online are wrong, he says. In his livingroom, he displays what he called 'samples': coins he found himself – dozens in total. They would fetch about $150 inside Syria, but up to $3,000 outside, he says. He believes they came from the Islamic period, Roman period and Byzantine period. Coins collected by Abu Khaled are pictured at his home in Daraa, Syria. Photograph: Sally Hayden 'Of course, taking artefacts out of the country is not good for the heritage of the country, but we have to go back to the source of the problem ... The Syrian regime bombed the towns here with barrel bombs, fighter jets ... Daraa is full of artefacts ... We cannot blame one or two poor people,' he says. He says Syrians from Daraa used to travel to Lebanon or Jordan to find employment, but Lebanon has suffered a devastating financial crisis and a residency is required to work in Jordan now. Local agricultural work has been decimated by drought related to climate change. 'So people were stuck here' and needed to find something to do. If someone gets lucky they will 'go to Mars', Abu Khaled says, using a phrase that means getting very rich. 'In an ideal world' the new government would 'protect the sites' and encourage tourism, but to do that the government would also need to improve the country's infrastructure. Daraa could be an unlikely destination for tourists, too, not least because it is regularly affected by Israeli incursions and attacks . But the apparent loss of history is being mourned by some. 'I feel like I'm suffocating,' says history and archaeology researcher Nadal Muhammad Saed Sharaf (62) about the feeling he experiences looking at the photographs of historical sites and artefacts spread out on the floor in front of him. Photographs taken by researcher Nadal Muhammad Saed Sharaf, who says about 90 per cent of what is pictured has been destroyed. Photograph: Sally Hayden There are dozens including an Aramaic water spring, a 'temple of sun' from the Greek period, a stone cross from the early Christian period, Roman roads, Byzantine stones and an 'ark of victory memorial of battle' between a Roman and Persian army. Sharaf took these photographs in 2002. When he was displaced from Nawa for three years during the war, he buried the pictures in his back garden, digging them up again upon his return. Some 90 per cent of the actual sites are destroyed now, he says. It causes him 'grieving, pain'. Poverty is not a justification to do this stuff because this is our identity and we have to preserve our history Daraa, Sharaf says, was a very important historical trade route throughout 'all the history of mankind', set – as it is – between Baghdad, Amman, Beirut and Damascus. It was inhabited as far back as 10,000 BC. In 2006, he accompanied visiting European archaeologists when they came to study this area, but in the years since, he says, those seeking to preserve its history have not received support or funding. 'The Syrian regime destroyed all archeological sites with aerial bombings and later with bulldozers because they didn't want the rebels to hide in them,' he says. Now Sharaf would like to see a collaboration between the new government and Unesco to protect what remains and to restore what they can. 'There's extreme poverty here and the state doesn't have a grip on the ground, so the poor people are going to search [for gold and artefacts],' he says. But 'poverty is not a justification to do this stuff because this is our identity and we have to preserve our identity and history'. Additional reporting by Hani Alagbar and Nader Debo
Fox News
8 hours ago
- Science
- Fox News
Utility workers digging trenches stumble upon 1,000-year-old mummy with intact hair
Utility workers recently came across a millennia-old mummy that predates the Inca Empire. The groundsmen were excavating trenches in the Peruvian capital of Lima earlier in June when they came across the remains. The well-preserved female mummy dates back 1,000 years, experts said — and was found just 20 inches below the ground. The Inca Empire lasted from around 1400 to 1533 A.D. — so the individual died some 400 years before the rise of the Incans. Pictures of the remains show the skeleton in an upright position, still retaining dark brown hair. The mummy likely dates back to the Chancay culture, which existed in Peru from 1000 to 1470 A.D. Jose Aliaga, an archaeologist with utility company Cálidda, told The Associated Press the burial was undoubtedly pre-Hispanic. The Spanish colonized the area in 1535. "It is very common to find archaeological remains on the Peruvian coast, including Lima, mainly funerary elements: tombs, burials, and, among these, mummified individuals." "We found remains and evidence that there could be a pre-Hispanic burial," Aliaga said. Lima, home to 10 million people, has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years. The city is located in a valley irrigated by three Andes-fed rivers, which made it inhabitable for ancient civilizations. Pieter Van Dalen, dean of the College of Archaeologists of Peru, told AP that coming across remains is not uncommon in Lima. The city alone boasts 400 archaeological sites. "It is very common to find archaeological remains on the Peruvian coast, including Lima, mainly funerary elements: tombs, burials, and, among these, mummified individuals," the expert noted. Van Dalen, who was not involved in the discovery, said many Peruvian mummies are naturally mummified in desert areas, where their skin is dehydrated by the heat. Some Peruvian mummies are usually found in a seated position with hands covering their faces. Mummies are of high interest to archaeologists worldwide, and many are discovered and studied every year. Earlier this spring, Peruvian officials announced the discovery of 5,000-year-old remains belonging to a high-status ancient woman. Researchers also conducted a recent study on an 18th-century mummy in Austria, finding that it was well-preserved from an unusual embalming method.
Wall Street Journal
a day ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
‘The Buried City' Review: Pompeii on Display
After lying inert beneath volcanic ash for nearly 17 centuries, the Roman city of Pompeii, near Naples, is today a site of continuous change. New discoveries emerge constantly, even as conservators struggle to protect what's been found from damage by weather, looters and crowds. Articles and books about these findings have steadily appeared as excavations expand into parts of the town that remain buried. In 2021 Gabriel Zuchtriegel, a German classicist then in his late 30s, was given the enormous task of directing this dynamic site. His youth and non-Italian origins made him a controversial choice; some scholars signed a petition of protest or resigned from the academic advisory board in an effort to stop the appointment. In 'The Buried City,' a meditation on both the ruins of Pompeii and his life as a pioneering archaeologist, Mr. Zuchtriegel shows that his selection was an inspired choice. Whether exploring the circumstances that led him to choose his career or depicting a bustling town of the high Roman Empire, he speaks with passion, wonder and deep humanity. 'Pompeii is like a rip in the screen, through which we have the opportunity to take a peek behind the official version of history,' writes Mr. Zuchtriegel. He describes in vivid detail his 2021 discovery of a small room containing the remains of three beds and other quotidian objects. Perhaps it was the dwelling, as well as the workspace, of slaves. A newspaper described the discovery as 'the rarity of the everyday,' and Mr. Zuchtriegel takes the phrase as a rallying cry. 'The 'rarity of the everyday' could also be the title for my personal access to archaeology and Pompeii,' he writes. 'What we found here was different, precisely because it wasn't a temple, grave or palace,' says Mr. Zuchtriegel, just some 50 square feet 'of everyday hardship.' He recounts how he noticed a nail on the wall for hanging an oil lamp and, beneath it, a white painted rectangle designed to reflect the lamplight and increase illumination. Moved by this simple effort to lighten a dark existence, he ponders how the room's occupants, who no doubt lacked paint and brushes, got that rectangle made. It's one of many instances where he reimagines the lives of Rome's downtrodden.
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
New ancient discovery unearthed at popular dog walking spot
Volunteer archaeologists uncovered a Bronze Age burial site at Trelai Park in Cardiff, Wales. Human remains, believed to be cremations from the Bronze Age, were found in three pits during an archaeological dig. The cremations were discovered next to a 1500 BC roundhouse previously found at the site. Experts suggest the proximity of the remains indicates the site held significant ceremonial importance or was a burial ground for cherished family members. The discovery highlights the rich history of Trelai Park, suggesting it has been an important location for thousands of years.
