Possible Ancient Palace Discovered in Central China
HENAN PROVINCE, CHINA—Newsweek reports that remains of a large, 4,000-year-old structure have been unearthed at the site of Xinmi, an ancient walled city located on the banks of the Zhenshui River in central China. The structure, thought to be part of a palace complex, had a rammed-earth foundation measuring about 200 feet long and 100 feet wide. Holes at the site indicate there were terraces on the southern and northern ends of the complex, cloisters to the east and west, and a central yard. Xinmi is said to have been built by the Longshan culture between 2100 and 1600 B.C., during the period of the legendary Xia Dynasty. To read about evidence for floods that Chinese histories tied to the founding of the Xia Dynasty, go to "China's Legendary Flood."
Remote Maya Campsite Found in Southeastern Mexico
TELCHAC PUEBLO, MEXICO—Newsweek reports that a remote 57-acre Maya campsite with traces of several structures, mounds of ash and charcoal, and pottery fragments has been discovered on the Yucatán Peninsula by a team of researchers led by archaeologist Mario Alberto Garrido. No other Maya sites had been identified in the area, Garrido said, and this one was probably only used by the Maya during the dry season. Most of the pottery has been dated to the Early Classic period, between A.D. 250 and 600, although some of the fragments have been dated to the Late Preclassic period, between 400 B.C. and A.D. 200. Alicia Beatriz Quintal of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History added that the remains of a large number of snails were also recovered. Many of the snail shells were complete, while others were found in fragments or had been modified. The snails are thought to have been used for food and to make utensils, such as spoons. For more on the Maya, go to "Jungle Realm of the Snake Queens."
Update on Excavation of Intact Western Han Dynasty Tomb
WULONG DISTRICT, CHINA—A set of 23 wooden slips has been found among the more than 600 artifacts recovered from a 2,000-year-old waterlogged wooden chamber tomb in southwestern China by researchers from the Chongqing Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute, according to a Live Science report. Characters written on the wooden slips, which each measure about an inch wide and four inches long, suggest the set is related to the traditional Chinese astronomical calendar known as the Tiangan Dizhi, or “Ten Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches.” This system was established during the Shang Dynasty, between about 1600 and 1050 B.C. Perforations on the edges of each slip suggest that they had been tied together. It is not clear how the slips would have been used, but archaeologists think that slips such as these may have been used to represent particular years in a 60-year cycle. To read about other finds from Western Han Dynasty tombs, go to "Mirror, Mirror."
Wounds on Colonial-Era Skull Examined in Indonesia
SURABAYA, EAST JAVA—Live Science reports that a team of researchers led by forensic anthropologist Rizky Sugianto Putri of Airlangga University used ultraviolet photography to examine a skull discovered in 1935 on Biak Island, which is located in the Papua province of Indonesia. The study determined that the skull belonged to a woman who was between the ages of 26 and 42 when she was killed by multiple sharp force trauma injuries. The remains have been dated to the colonial period, between the sixteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, when the Dutch controlled much of Indonesia. The word “Biak” had been written on the skull, and may indicate that she was a member of a local group. Putri and her colleagues think that the woman may have been killed during a slave raid or warfare. “The execution-style wounds on the cranium support that the individual was kneeling or sitting and was not able to defend themselves actively,” she said, noting that the injuries are consistent with those made by a parang, a weapon used by Papuan groups during the colonial period. For more on the archaeology of Indonesia, go to "Honoring the Ancestors."
Horses Were Adopted Quickly in South America
BOULDER, COLORADO—According to a statement released by the University of Colorado Boulder, William Taylor of the Museum of Natural History at CU Boulder and Juan Bautista Belardi of the National University of Austral Patagonia investigated the use of horses at Chorrillo Grande 1, a campsite used by the Aónikenk/Tehuelche peoples in a canyon in southern Argentina. The site yielded horse bones, Venetian glass beads, and nails and other metal ornaments. “The use of genetic and isotopic data showed a life history of the horses, where they were raised and their mobility between valleys,” Belardi said. The researchers determined that the hunter-gatherers at the site had quickly begun to use horses after they were introduced to the region by Europeans in the sixteenth century. “The advantages clearly showed up as soon as people had horses—the chance to save energy riding them, to extend the radius of hunting parties, less time needed to find prey and the ease to transport things, among others,” Belardi explained. This use of horses, including eating them and using their hides, was also largely independent of European control, the researchers concluded. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Science Advances. To read about the role of horses in human history, go to "The Story of the Horse."
Pottery Residues Reflect Neolithic Diet in Eastern China
BEIJING, CHINA—According to a statement released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers has detected the presence of rice, millet, fresh and marine fish, and mammals in carbonized residues on Neolithic pottery recovered from the Taihu Lake region of eastern China. The food remains were identified through the analysis of lipids and proteins in the residues on 57 pottery fragments, which had been dated to between 5,800 and 5,300 years ago. The study suggests that millet had spread southward to the region earlier than previously thought. To read about the spread of millet cultivation in ancient China, go to "You Are How You Cook."
Carbon-Based Paleolithic Paintings Found in France
DORDOGNE, FRANCE—Black, carbon-based drawings have been found in southwestern France’s Font-de-Gaume Cave by Ina Reiche, Yvan Coquinot, Antoine Trosseau, and Anne Maigret of the National Center for Research and Restoration in French Museums, according to an Artnet News report. The carbon-based drawings were detected with visible light and infrared photography, X-ray fluorescence, and spectroscopy underneath previously known images. The newly identified drawings depict horses, deer, and bison. The discovery could allow for precise radiocarbon dating of the artwork. Most of the Paleolithic paintings in the more than 200 caves in the region were made with iron and manganese oxides, which cannot be directly dated with radiocarbon dating technologies. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Scientific Reports. To read about an artistic shift from painting animals to etching abstract designs on pebbles, go to "Late Paleolithic Masterpieces."
The Rise of Archery in South America’s Andes Mountains
DAVIS, CALIFORNIA—According to a statement released by the University of California, Davis, analysis of more than 1,100 projectile points from the Lake Titicaca Basin suggests that archery developed in the Andes Mountains some 5,000 years ago, or about 2,000 years earlier than previously thought. Luis Flores-Blanco of UC Davis, Lucero Cuellar of the National University of San Marcos, Mark Aldenderfer of the University of California, Merced, and their colleagues examined the stone points, which had been made over a period of about 10,000 years. They found that the older points were larger. Then, about 5,000 years ago, the points became significantly smaller. The researchers suggest that this shift reflects a change from a preference for spear-throwing to the use of bows and arrows. Flores-Blanco explained that this shift in technology emerged at about the same time as obsidian exchange networks expanded and people began to live in larger settlements. “Bow-and-arrow technology could have maintained and ensured adherence to emerging social norms that were crucial,” he suggested. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Quaternary International. For more, go to "Weapons of the Ancient World."
Study Suggests Neolithic Settlements Thrived on Plant Protein
KIEL, GERMANY—According to a statement released by Kiel University, people who lived in large Neolithic settlements in the forest steppe northwest of the Black Sea some 6,000 years ago grew crops and kept animals, but they consumed a diet consisting mainly of grain and peas. As many as 15,000 people may have lived in these planned Trypillia societies, equipped with meeting houses and neighborhoods. Archaeologist Johannes Müller and archaeobotanist Wiebke Kirleis analyzed the isotopes in human and animal bones, and compared their chemical composition to isotope measurements taken from charred peas, cereal grains, and soil samples from several Trypillia settlements. They found that the peas were high in protein and provided essential amino acids. “We concluded that a large proportion of the cattle and sheep were kept on fenced pastures,” said paleoecologist Frank Schlütz. “Moreover, the manure of the animals produced there was used by people to intensively fertilize the peas in particular,” he added. Finally, the pea straw was then probably fed to the livestock. Read the original scholarly article about this researhc in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. To read about a structure at a Trypillia site that may be one of the largest prehistoric buildings known, go to "World Roundup: Ukraine."
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