New Dates Obtained for Rock Art in Patagonia

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA—Live Science reports that samples of black pigment from rock art in a cave in Patagonia have been radiocarbon dated to 8,200 years ago, making some of the images several thousand years older than previously thought. “[The cave] is not the oldest occupation in South America, but it is the oldest directly radiocarbon-dated pigment-based rock art in South America,” said Ramiro Barberena of Temuco Catholic University and Argentina’s National Research Council. In all, 895 paintings have been recorded in the cave. These paintings have been grouped into 446 motifs, or segments. “These [drawings] span more or less across 3,000 years within a single motif,” Barberena explained. He and his colleagues suggest that the drawings were used to transmit information across generations in a landscape with very little water. “It would’ve been hard to make it on your own, so an exchanging of information was important,” the researchers concluded. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Science Advances. To read about how hunter-gatherers adapted to Patagonia's harsh environments for 13,000 years, go to "Letter from Patagonia: Surviving a Windswept Land."

Study Dives Deep Into Life of Denmark’s “Vittrup Man”

GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN—A new analysis of the skeletal remains known as Vittrup Man has been completed by a team of researchers led by Anders Fischer and Karl-Göran Sjögren of the University of Gothenburg, according to a Cosmos Magazine report. The skeleton, discovered in 1915 in a peat bog in northwest Denmark along with a wooden club, a ceramic vessel, and cow bones, has been dated to between 3300 and 3100 B.C. Vittrup Man is thought to have been between 30 and 40 years old at the time of death. His remains include the pieces of a smashed skull, which may have occurred during a ritualistic sacrifice, a fight, or a murder, the researchers suggest. The study has found that Vittrup Man had a different genetic signature than people who lived in the region, and was more closely related to Mesolithic people from Sweden and Norway. Isotopes in his bones also indicate that he spent his early childhood some 45 miles away across open sea, while isotopes and proteins in his teeth show that his diet shifted during his later teen years from marine mammals and fish to farm foods, such as sheep or goat. The scientists suggest that the young man may have moved from Sweden to Denmark because he was involved in the flint trade, or because he may have been taken prisoner. Read the original scholarly article about this research in PLOS ONE. To read about canine remains recovered from a bog, go to "Denmark's Bog Dogs."

Unusual Animal Burials Excavated in Ancient Cemetery in Italy

VERONA, ITALY—According to a Newsweek report, the excavation of a cemetery at the Cenomane site of Seminario Vescovile has uncovered the remains of 161 people, 16 of whom were buried with complete animal skeletons or animal parts. Zita Laffranchi of the University of Bern, Stefania Zingale of the Institute for Mummy Studies, Umberto Tecchiati of the University of Milan, and their colleagues suggest that some of the partial animal remains may have been intended as food offerings, but noted that horses and dogs were not commonly eaten in northern Italy between the third and first centuries B.C. For example, one grave contained the remains of a baby and a complete dog skeleton; another held a young man who had been buried with parts of a horse; a third grave consisted of a middle-aged man buried with a small dog; and a fourth held the remains of a middle-aged woman who had been buried with a whole horse, a dog skull, and parts of other horses. No genetic link was found among the people who had been buried with animals. The researchers suggest that the animals may have been pets, or were perhaps important to the person’s life, although the inclusion of animals in the burials could also reflect the person’s status, or specific funeral rites involving organic materials that have not survived. Read the original scholarly article about this research in PLOS ONE. To read about a Roman tomb uncovered in southern Italy whose walls were adorned with a painting of the mythological three-headed guard dog Cerberus, go to "Watchdog for the Afterlife."

Possible Viking-Age Marketplace Found in Norway

STAVANGER, NORWAY—According to a statement released by the University of Stavanger, a ground-penetrating radar survey conducted on Klosterøy, an island off Norway’s southwestern coast, has detected traces of possible pit houses, cooking pits, and pier or boathouse foundations that may have been part of a Viking Age marketplace. Investigation of this area of private farmland around the medieval Utstein Monastery over the years with metal detectors has also revealed coins and weights usually associated with trade, explained archaeologist Håkon Reiersen of the University of Stavanger Museum of Archaeology. “While many indicators suggest that this may be a marketplace, we cannot be 100 percent certain until further investigations are conducted in the area to verify the findings,” added archaeologist Grethe Moéll Pedersen of the Museum of Archaeology. To read about possible evidence for the Vikings' long-distance trading activity, go to "Viking Trading or Raiding?"

19th-Century Chocolate Factory Identified in Spain

BARCELONA, SPAIN—According to an ArtNet News report, excavation of a medieval manor house in Barcelona, combined with historical research, has identified several uses for the building over the past 600 years. The researchers found original fourteenth-century arches and doors in the structure. By the fifteenth century, the building was used as a hostel, until there was a major renovation in the sixteenth century. In the eighteenth century, the manor house was divided into three different properties. Large containers from this period have been found, but additional analysis is needed for researchers to determine their contents. In 1825, another renovation was carried out, which corresponds to what is still visible at the site. Reference to “Guardia (Clemente) Chocolates y pastillaje” appears with the chocolate shop’s address in the Almanac of the Universal Exhibition of 1888. Researchers have also uncovered engraved lead plates in the manor house that would have been used to make “Clemente Guardia” labels for the chocolates. To read about early consumption of cacao seeds in Ecuador, go to "Ancient Amazonian Chocolatiers."

Ship’s Bell Recovered From Torpedoed WWI Destroyer

WASHINGTON, D.C.—According to a U.S. Naval Institute News report, the bell of the USS Jacob Jones (DD-61), an American destroyer built in New York in 1916 and sunk off the Isles of Scilly during World War I, has been recovered by a salvage unit with the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence, Salvage and Marine Operations. The ship was one of six Tucker class destroyers, the first U.S. destroyers to displace more than 1,000 tons. The Jacob Jones was sent to Queenstown, Ireland, to protect the western approaches to the United Kingdom and France from U-boat attacks in May of 1917. The vessel was torpedoed by a U-boat on December 6, 1917, while returning to Queenstown after handing off a convoy near France, and sank in about eight minutes. Rear Admiral Sam Cox of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command explained that the bell was recovered due to the risk of looting of the shipwreck site, which was discovered in 2022. “The wreck of the ship is a hallowed war grave and is the last resting places for many of the 64 men who were lost in the sinking,” Cox said. To read about the underwater archaeology of the attack on Pearl Harbor, go to "December 7, 1941."

Avar Grave Offers Clues to 7th-Century Heavy Cavalry

DEBRECEN, HUNGARY—According to a Newsweek report, the 1,300-year-old intact burial of an Avar warrior, including the remains of a horse, weapons, and armor, has been discovered in eastern Hungary. The Avars were nomads who occupied the region of the Carpathian Basin in the mid-sixth century A.D., and gradually shifted to living in settlements before their collapse in the ninth century. Archaeologist Tamara Hága of the Déri Museum said that the warrior had been placed in a relatively shallow grave. What is thought to be a complete set of lamellar armor, which was made from hundreds of small iron plates, was spread out over the warrior. A quiver with arrows, a bow, and a sword were placed on the armor, and then topped with the horse. “Though burying with armor was not a common practice in the Avar period, it is known from several male, female, and child graves too,” Hága said. “In most cases, however, only a few plates or fragments of armor…are recovered from the graves,” she explained. The discovery of this burial will allow researchers to create a highly accurate reconstruction of Avar lamellar armor. “The excavation of the burial in the workshop is still ongoing, so we do not yet know what other finds are under the armor,” Hága added. For more on the Avars, go to "The Avars Advance."

Ancient Marble Sculpture From Sicily Reassessed

PALERMO, SICILY—Newsweek reports that a marble sculpture thought to have come from the site of the ancient Temple of Olympian Zeus in Agrigento has been recovered off the coast of Sicily, near the mouth of the Akragas River. The city of Agrigento, known today for the Valley of the Temples, was founded under the name Akragas in the sixth century B.C. by colonists from Greece. The unfinished Temple of Olympian Zeus, constructed around 480 B.C., is thought to have been about 370 feet long, 185 feet wide, and 66 feet tall. “If after cleaning and restoration, the hypothesis that it is a frieze of the temple of Zeus is confirmed, it would be the greatest discovery of the last hundred years in the archaeological history of Agrigento,” said Alfonso Lo Cascio of the volunteer organization BCsicilia. The sculpture, found about 1,000 feet from the island’s southern coast, had previously been thought to be a tub or basin. Members of BCsicilia, however, created a 3-D model of the object from more than 200 photographs, showing it to be a relief in the shape of a prancing horse that may have been intended to be placed over a monumental door or window. The organization reported their discovery to the Superintendency of the Sea for the region of Sicily and assisted with its recovery. To read about the discovery of the ancient theater at Agrigento, go to "Sicily's Lost Theater."