Weekly Roundup - 4/16

[lunarwolfik]

Ancient News*

1.
Get your ancient humans, brand new ancient humans!
Australopithecus sediba has been discovered and is considered to be a "key human ancester" that presents more modern-like human features along with the ape-like features of other Australopithes.

At 2 million years old, A. sediba is a "key transitional species" in the hominid tree. What's pretty cool is that they found both an older female skull and a young boy's skull, instead of just one lone tooth or something, so that's a nice chunk of information available to study.

Excerpt:

Growing to just over 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall, A. sediba has a number of key traits that some would say mark it as an early human, like Homo habilis, which many c onsider the first human species.

A. sediba, for example, had long legs and certain humanlike characteristics in its pelvis, which would have made it the first human ancestor to walk—perhaps even run.

Also, A. sediba's face had small teeth and a modern—rather than chimpanzee-like—nose, the study says.

And as in humans, the shapes of A. sediba's left and right brain halves—discernible from indentations on a remarkably preserved skull—appear to have been uneven.

2.
Mummies! Court Intrigue! Untimely Death!

Which is to say, they've found that arsenic-laced water may have killed off the coastal ancient peoples in Chile. Apparently these ancient mummies cause of death was that of drinking water full of tasty arsenic. The Chinchorro people were exposed continuously since the water within the Camarones Valley has a high concentration of arsenic.

Excerpt:

The Chinchorro, who wouldn't have been aware they were ingesting the tasteless and invisible toxin, may have suffered from skin, lung, bladder, and kidney cancers, among other serious effects of long-term arsenic exposure.

After they died, the poison victims were sometimes mummified, their internal organs removed and replaced by soil and reeds. Some 7,000 years ago the Chinchorro became the first society known to practice mummification, which transcended social class and included adults, children, and even fetuses.

...The results showed that nine of every ten Chinchorro mummies—which ranged from 7,000 to 600 years old—had hair with arsenic levels of more than one microgram of arsenic per gram of hair, which is high enough to cause health problems.

3.
The wit of Wil Shakespeare and why it relates to archaeology

Currently, excavations are ongoing to uncover cool Shakespeare facts (I guess they don't believe The Shakespeare Code) wherein archaeologists are digging at New Place, Shakespeare's last residence. A cool website called Dig For Shakespeare has been set up to keep everyone updated on the findings. There is also a "hands-on" interactive game wherein you get to "dig with them" which is kinda charming. (I especially liked the archaeologists stubbly beard)

Excerpt:

About half way through the morning he unearthed something that looked for all the world like a bear’s claw. Perfectly preserved and beautifully curved it almost glinted with the look of fresh ivory about it.

I found an oyster shell myself and was undecided whether to keep or throw. I was instructed to put it in the “finds” tray as being possibly significant; so far this was the pinnacle of my own excitement, although soon outstripped by the finding of the underside of a discarded broken dish. It came up rim first and as I cleared away the soil from it, it emerged as a sizable piece of porcelain, without markings and a curious shape.

4.

The Donner Party: Not snacking on the other other white meat?

A new study has found that the remains located at the Donner Party campsite did not indicate cannibalism at all. There go all the fun Donner Party jokes!

Excerpt:

During the excavation of the Donner Party’s campsite, 16,000 burned, fragmented bones were found. Many of the bones also had butchery and boiling marks. Robbins, an osteologist who specializes in bone biology and microstructure, examined the bones with three questions in mind: Are there any human bones in the hearth, which would provide material evidence for cannibalism? What kinds of other animals are present in the assemblage of bone fragments? and, What did the starvation diet look like?

Robbins’ team identified the remains as cattle, deer, horse and dog.

5.

Ancient Royal Scribes in Egypt, maybe full of awesome? or here, have some more mummies!

The discovery of an elaborate tomb of an ancient royal scribe in Egypt sheds light on Egyptian relations with its neighbors.

Excerpt:

Ken-Amun's tomb is that first Ramesside tomb to be discovered in Lower Egypt and is built from mud brick, consisting of a rectangular room with a stone-domed ceiling. Hawass said the inscriptions would aid in the understanding of Egypt's relationships with its neighbors to the east.

The wall's inscriptions tell that the scribe's wife was called Isis and worked as a musician for the God Atum. A large limestone pillar also was discovered depicting the God Set, the god of darkness and chaos, in front of the 19th Dynasty king of the time, whose name was not written. On the same pillar, the name of the capital of the Hyskos — an Asiatic people who invaded the eastern Nile Delta in the 12th Dynasty was found.

6.

More Mummies than you can shake a stick at!

Greco-Roman mummy and tombs found at an Egyptian Oasis provide valuable information about Egyption/Roman relations and have really cool stuff

Excerpt:

"Early investigations uncovered four anthropoid masks made of plaster, a gold fragment decorated with engravings of the four sons of Horus, and a collection of coins, and clay and glass vessels," the ministry's statement quoted Egypt's chief archaeologist Zahi Hawass as saying.

7.
Maya houses, chock full of more than just candy and clay pots

If you've ever felt like burying your dead beneath your feet - literally - than you are not far off from the Mayans. According to a new study, they've found that "Maya in the Classic period (A.D. 250-900) regularly "terminated" their homes, razing the walls, burning the floors and placing artifacts and (sometimes) human remains on top before burning them again." Brings a whole new meaning to that whole housewarming gift thing.

Excerpt:

the commoners had their own way of recording their own history, not only their history as a family but also their place in the cosmos," she said.

"These things are buried, not to be seen, but it doesn't mean people forgot about them," she said.

"They are burying people in the exact same spot and removing bones from earlier ancestors to place them somewhere else, or removing pieces of them and keeping the pieces as mementos."

*This is obviously not a wholly comprehensive listing of all of the archaeology news for the week, just a small sampling of cool items that I've found. If you have anything you want to add, please feel free to comment on this post with your suggestion and a link.