Top 10 Discoveries of 2011 [ Archaeology Magazine ]

Archaeology ^ | January/February 2012 | Volume 65 Number 1

[SunkenCiv]

Years from now, when we look back on 2011, the year will almost certainly be defined by political and economic upheaval. At the same time that Western nations were shaken by a global economic slump, people in the Middle East and North Africa forcefully removed heads of state who had been in power for decades. "Arab Spring," as the various revolutions have collectively been named, will have far-reaching implications, not just for the societies in which it took place, but also for archaeology. No year-end review would be complete without polling archaeological communities in the affected areas to determine whether sites linked to the world's oldest civilizations, from Apamea in Syria to Saqqara in Egypt, are still intact. Our update appears here.

Of course, traditional fieldwork took place in 2011 as well. Archaeologists uncovered one of the world's first buildings in Jordan. In Guatemala, a Maya tomb offered rare evidence of a female ruler, and, in Scotland, a boat was found with a 1,000-year-old Viking buried inside.

We also witnessed the impact that technology continues to have on archaeology. Researchers used a ground-penetrating radar survey of the site of a Roman gladiator school to create a digital model of what it may once have looked like. And scientists studying an early hominid have taken their investigation online by tapping the scientific blogging community. The team is seeking help to determine if they have actually found a sample of fossilized skin that appears to be more than 2 million years old. These projects stand as clear evidence that as cultures around the world undergo sweeping changes, so too does the practice and process of archaeology.

[SunkenCiv]

Viking Boat Burial Ardnamurchan, Scotland	Neolithic Community Centers Wadi Faynan, Jordan	Open Source Australopithecus Malapa, South Africa	First Domesticated Dogs Předmostí, Czech Republic
Rare Maya Female Ruler Nakum, Guatemala	Gladiator Gym Goes Virtual Carnuntum, Austria	Ancient Chinese Takeout Shaanxi/Xinjiang, China	War Begets State Lake Titicaca, Peru
Atlantic Whaler Found in Pacific French Frigate Shoals, Hawaii	Arab Spring Impacts Archaeology Libya/Egypt/Tunisia/Syria
Sites Under Threat
Altamira Cave	Pompeii	Texas

[SunkenCiv]

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[Smokin' Joe]

...in Scotland, a boat was found with a 1,000-year-old Viking buried inside.

Geeez. He outlived Methuselah.

[hawkeye101]

I'm surprised they didn't have this one:

U of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist discovers 7,000-year-old village in Des Moines

This was discovered on the SE side of Des Moines during the prep work for a new parkway being built.

Of course, with all the ancient geriatrics that live in Iowa, many of the people here probably remember when this village was built! :)

[SunkenCiv]

;’)

[JoeProBono]