Free Republic

In an ancient Maya temple-pyramid in Guatemala, archaeologists recently discovered the scorched bones of at least four adults who were likely members of a royal lineage. The burning signaled a deliberate and potentially public desecration of their remains, according to new research.The bones offer a rare glimpse of intentional corpse destruction in Maya culture to commemorate dramatic political change.All of the remains belonged to adults, and scientists identified three of the individuals as male. Two were between 21 and 35 years old, and one was between 40 and 60 years old, researchers reported Thursday in the journal Antiquity. Among the...

...In the past decade, satellite data and fossil finds have suggested that the Arabian Peninsula was not always an arid desert. Periods when the region contained lakes and lush greenery might have drawn people and animals there from Africa, according to the study's authors... in 2018, Stewart and his colleagues described an 88,000-year-old finger bone from the Saudi Arabian desert2 — one of the oldest human fossils found outside of Africa. And in 2020, they described footprints on a lake shore dating back around 120,000 years...The researchers turned to caves under Harrat Khaybar, a vast basalt plain pocked with volcanic...

An analysis of over 4,000 stone artifacts discovered on an island off northwestern Australia provides a snapshot of Aboriginal life tens of thousands of years ago...The diverse artifacts found on the island also reveal intriguing insights about the movement of people between Australia's mainland and the island, especially during the peak of the last ice age, between 29,000 and 19,000 years ago, according to the study, which was published April 1 in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.At that time, sea levels were low enough to expose the continental shelf between Australia and what is now Barrow Island, a 78-square-mile (202...

...Located in Marliens, a commune in eastern France, the site has a large bowtie-shaped structure, whose middle sports a circular construction measuring 36 feet (11 meters) in diameter. This center circlet is interconnected by a 26-foot-long (8 m) horseshoe-shaped structure on one side and a jug-handle-shaped feature on the other, according to a translated statement from the French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP), which carried out the excavations...Based on the plethora of artifacts found there — including a bundle containing seven flint arrowheads, two protective armbands worn by archers, a flint lighter and a copper-alloy dagger — archaeologists...

Holder spent several years at Covington before he became attorney general and rejoined the firm after his stint at the Justice Department. He now advises clients on a range of issues including "cultural and social responsibility," raking in as much as $2,295 an hour for conducting racial equity audits.The former attorney general also weighed in on Israel's war against Hamas last week. Appearing alongside former Obama secretary of defense and longtime Israel critic Chuck Hagel, Holder called Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "small Man" and described Israel's response to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack as "extremely disturbing."...Hagel, who served as...

Scientists analyzed more than 2,700 modern Indian genomes from 17 states, including DNA from individuals from most geographic regions, speakers of all major languages, tribal and caste groups.They revealed that one of the three main ancestral groups in India — ancient Iranian farmers — can be traced back to a group of agricultural farmers from Sarazm in modern-day Tajikistan. They also uncovered the extraordinary diversity of DNA inherited from Neanderthals and Denisovans, the closest, now-extinct relatives of modern humans.Additionally, the team found that most of the genetic variation within the current Indian population stems from a single, major migration event...

This late-medieval document is covered in illustrations of stars and planets, plants, zodiac symbols, naked women, and blue and green fluids. But the text itself – thought to be the work of five different scribes – is enciphered and yet to be understood.In an article published in Social History of Medicine, my coauthor Michelle L. Lewis and I propose that sex is one of the subjects detailed in the manuscript – and that the largest diagram represents both sex and conception.Late-medieval sexology and gynaecologyResearch on the Voynich manuscript has revealed some clues about its origins. Carbon dating provides a 95%...

Romans in Okinawa - Japan? | 5:58 | Dr Raoul McLaughlin | 10.4K subscribers | 11,457 views | January 7, 2019The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean | Raoul McLaughlin | full text PDF | Shiver Me Timbers!

(link set to time index 6:40)The Mystery Location of BOUDICA'S Battle. How to find it! | 18:10Paul Whitewick | 112K subscribers | 16,963 views | April 14, 2024Chapters:0:00 - Part I Boudica03:51 - Part II Suetonius06:39 - Part III Windyridge Farm11:40 - Part IV Ogbourne St George.

Chapters:0:00 Introduction1:06 The Forum and Colosseum2:27 The Ara Pacis3:24 Early restorations4:37 Mondly5:47 Roman forts and baths6:42 Knossos7:23 The Stoa of Attalus8:59 The Acropolis10:05 When to restore?Why Most "Ancient" Buildings are Fakes | 11:18toldinstone | 494K subscribers | 122,499 views | April 12, 2024

Wealthy politician Aulus Rustius Verus owned a house in Pompeii.Archaeologist Dr Sophie Hay explains how he left his mark.BBC [0:47]

From a distance, the slate gray roof and central white tower of the Brahekyrkan church appear charming. The idyllic building is situated on a small island in southern Sweden and surrounded by a cemetery dotted with flowers.So archaeologists weren't surprised when a construction project at the church uncovered several skeletons — but the grave held an 800-year-old mystery, too.Archaeologists began excavations at the Brahekyrkan church in Visingsö to prepare for the installation of a geothermal heating system, the Jönköping County Museum said in a March 27 news release.On the first day of the excavation, the team found two skeletons, Anna...

A noble tomb has been found in a cemetery dating back to the Six Dynasties period (222-589) in the city of Zhenjiang, east China's Jiangsu Province, according to the city's cultural relics and archaeology institute.The owner of the tomb, named Zhao Xuanzhi, was the uncle of an emperor during the Southern Dynasty (420-589).Archaeologists found a bronze seal in Tomb No. 6 that helps identify the owner of the tomb. "The bronze seal found in Tomb No. 6 has been confirmed as Zhao Xuanzhi's personal seal. The age of the tomb is consistent with historical records," said Li Xidong, deputy director...

Before France dominated European coin production under Charlemagne, the richest members of the continent's Middle Age societies were likely melting down valuable Byzantine artefacts for legal tender....a collection of ancient coins used throughout north-western Europe at least 1,200 years ago was found to be made of recycled Byzantine silver. It's a finding they say shines a light on 7th-century trade and geopolitics.The origin of the metal stocks was achieved through a lead isotope analysis of the coins from England, the Netherlands and parts of France. Coins minted using silver from Melle, north of Bordeaux, have previously been evaluated, but the...

The research found evidence of the "incaprettamento" method of murder at 14 Neolithic sites in Europe.The murder of sacrificial victims by "incaprettamento" — tying their neck to their legs bent behind their back, so that they effectively strangled themselves — seems to have been a tradition across much of Neolithic Europe, with a new study identifying more than a dozen such murders over more than 2,000 years.The study comes after a reassessment of an ancient tomb that was discovered more than 20 years ago at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux near Avignon, in southern France. The tomb mimics a silo, or pit where grain...

An UdeM study unveils fresh insights into how Neanderthals and Homo sapiens organized their living spaces at the Riparo Bombrini site in northern Italy.How did our Paleolithic ancestors go about organizing their living spaces?...far from being more primitive, Neanderthals did much the same as their Homo sapiens successors: made themselves at home.Analyzing artifacts and features of the Protoaurignacian and Mousterian levels of the Riparo Bombrini site in northwestern Italy, the scientists uncovered common patterns of settlement between the two populations.By mapping the distribution of stone tools, animal bones, ochre, and marine shells across the surface of the site, they were...

Nearly 2,000 years since it was buried by volcanic rubble, the lost city of Pompeii is yielding even more astonishing discoveries.Archeologists have uncovered remarkably preserved 'fresco' paintings on a wall at a former private residence along Via di Nola, one of Pompeii's longest streets.One of the stunning artworks depicts Helen of Troy, a beautiful woman in Greek mythology, meeting Paris, prince of Troy, for the first time...The frescos have been discovered in the 'black room', an 'imposing' banquet hall with elegant black walls at a former private residence along Via di Nola.It's being called the black room because it was...

Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab chief Elon Musk will visit India this month to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is expected to make an announcement on plans to invest and open a new factory in the country, two sources with direct knowledge said.The billionaire will meet Modi in the week of April 22 in New Delhi, and will separately make an announcement about his India plans, said the two sources, who declined to be named as the trip details are confidential.Reuters is first to report details of Musk's planned India visit. Modi's office and Tesla did not respond to...

A new study, published in the journal Numismatic Chronicle, suggests that the village of Vindelev in Jelling, Denmark, likely had connections to a network of European elite.In 2020, one of the largest gold hoards ever found in Denmark was discovered at Vindelev by a metal detectorist.The hoard consists of 23 gold objects dating to the Migration Period during the Germanic Iron Age (a period seen by some researchers as a prelude to the actual Viking Age), which includes: 13 gold bracteates from the 5th century AD, a granulated gold fitting from a sword or knife, and four mounted Roman medallions...

They remain one of the most elusive groups of humans to have walked on earth. Evidence from the DNA traces left by Denisovans shows they lived on the Tibetan plateau, ­probably ­travelled to the Philippines and Laos in south Asia and might have made their way to northern China more than 100,000 years ago. They also interbred with modern humans...Their DNA, which was first found in samples from the Denisova cave in Siberia in 2010, provides most of our ­information about their existence.But recently scientists have pinpointed a strong candidate for the species to which the Denisovans might have belonged....