archaeology news for sept. 4-11

[archersangel]

DNA Confirms Viking Remains Found in Sweden Are Female

Scientists have confirmed that human remains interred in a prominent Viking warrior grave in Sweden were those of a woman and not a man, a discovery that raises provocative questions about gender roles and limitations in the male-dominated ancient society.

The woman's remains were entombed in a "well-furnished" grave in the Viking-age town of Birka and were excavated in the 1880s, but it was only through DNA testing that her sex was determined, according to findings published Friday in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

Unearthed near Hadrian’s Wall: lost secrets of first Roman soldiers to fight the "barbarians"

Archaeologists are likening the discovery to winning the lottery. A Roman cavalry barracks has been unearthed near Hadrian’s Wall, complete with extraordinary military and personal possessions left behind by soldiers and their families almost 2,000 years ago. A treasure trove of thousands of artefacts dating from the early second century has been excavated over the past fortnight.

The find is significant not just because of its size and pristine state, but also for its contribution to the history of Hadrian’s Wall, showing the military build-up that led to its construction in AD122. The barracks pre-dates the wall: the Romans already had a huge military presence in the area, keeping the local population under control.

Ruined ‘Apartments’ May Hold Clues to Native American History

On the site of a former auto-repair shop here, broken stone walls mark the site of a 900-year-old village that may yield new insights into an ancient desert culture.

The ruins are what remains of two “great houses” — apartment buildings, essentially — that formed a northern outpost of a civilization based at Chaco Canyon, about 100 miles away in northwestern New Mexico.

Archaeologists from the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, in nearby Cortez, have just begun the first systematic excavation of this site in an effort to learn how its residents lived in the early 1100s, and how they related to the wider Chaco culture.