How Did Chocolate Spread Across South America?

MONTPELLIER, FRANCE—According to a Newsweek report, a team of researchers led by Claire Lanaud and Hélène Vignes of the University of Montpellier analyzed residue samples from 352 pots unearthed in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Belize, and Panama that range in age from 400 to 5,900 years old. Three highly diverse strains of ancient theobroma cacao DNA were detected in the residues. The study suggests that cacao was domesticated in the Amazon some 5,000 years ago. Then, geographically distant cacao populations in South America were mixed as people traveled and traded along the Pacific coastline, indicating that the cocoa bean was more widely traded than had been previously thought. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Scientific Reports. For more, go to "Ancient Amazonian Chocolatiers."

Burials in Spain’s Cave of the Ravines Span 4,000 Years

BARCELONA, SPAIN—Live Science reports that more than 7,000 bones have been found in single and communal graves in the Cova dels Xaragalls, or Cave of the Ravines, which is located in northeastern Spain. The earliest burials are about 7,000 years old, according to Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo of the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) and the Merida Institute of Archaeology. Artifacts recovered from the burials, including ceramics, flint tools, and necklaces, indicate that high-status individuals were buried in the single graves. Most of the burials date to the Chalcolithic period, while the youngest burials date to the Bronze Age, some 3,000 years ago. The different groups who used the cave likely lived in the nearby fertile valleys, and would have had to carry the dead up a small mountain in order to bury them in the cave. It also seems that each group respected the earlier burials, Rodríguez-Hidalgo explained. “At the moment, we have a few dates that allow us to understand that the cave was used as a tomb for millennia,” Rodríguez-Hidalgo said. “Now we have to resolve whether it was continuous or not—we need to undertake a comprehensive radiocarbon dating to clarify this point,” he concluded. To read about cave paintings discovered in Spain's province of Valencia that date to more than 20,000 years ago, go to "Paleo Palette." 

Stone Tools From Ukraine Dated to One Million Years Ago

AARHUS, DENMARK—According to a report in The Guardian, stone tools discovered in a quarry in western Ukraine in the 1970s have been dated to more than one million years ago. It is not clear which early human ancestor may have made the tools, however, since no hominin remains were uncovered at the site, said Roman Garba of the Czech Academy of Sciences. “This is the earliest evidence of any type of human in Europe that is dated,” explained Mads Faurschou Knudsen of Aarhus University. Knudsen suggested that based upon their age, the tools could have been made by Homo erectus for cutting meat and maybe scraping animal hides. Similar tools of this age have been uncovered in Spain. They have also been found in eastern Africa, where they have been dated to 2.8 million years ago. “The oldest humans with this old stone tool technology were able to colonize everywhere from warm Iberia [Spain] to Ukraine, where it’s at least seasonally very cold—that’s an amazing level of adaptability,” added Rick Potts of the Smithsonian Institution. To read about 3.3-million-year-old stone tools found in Kenya, go to "Earliest Stone Tools," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2015.

Demolished 20th-Century Neighborhood Investigated in Finland

OULU, FINLAND—According to a statement released by Antiquity, an excavation conducted at Vaakunakylä, a neighborhood in west-central Finland established by German troops during World War II, unearthed items left by Finns who moved into the site in the late 1940s. The working-class settlement, which had been labeled as a “bad” neighborhood, was demolished against the wishes of its residents in the late 1980s. Oula Seitsonen of the University of Oulu and his colleagues determined that the original military barracks had been refurbished as family housing. One of the buildings was even repurposed as a sauna, he said. Pieces of several porcelain sets, suggesting that the post-war residents had a higher standard of living than previously thought, were found in rubbish pits. Toys, children’s medication, and pacifiers also point to a good quality of life, Seitsonen explained. Finally, the researchers conducted interviews with former residents of Vaakunakylä, who remembered the community in a generally positive light. “Both the finds and the collected oral histories give a different and more nuanced picture of the Vaakunakylä community than the popular image of the area as a restless and criminal slum-like shantytown,” Seitsonen said. “We hope that this can have a healing aspect when the pent-up feelings are brought to the surface and discussed in public,” he concluded. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Antiquity. To read about plantings in a medieval garden in southwest Finland, go to "The Archaeology of Gardens: Medical Gardens."

Medieval Convent Excavated in France

MORLAIX, FRANCE—The Miami Herald reports that an excavation at the site of a 700-year-old Roman Catholic convent in northwestern France, conducted by researchers from France’s National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research, has uncovered remains of the church, more than 200 burials, jewelry, and religious devotional objects. The convent was established by the Dominican Order, known as the Jacobin Order in France, in 1238. The church dates to 1250, and was restored and expanded after a fire in 1344. Most of the burials in the church, which contained the remains of men, women, and children, were in single tombs, but joint tombs in masonry vaults were also found. One of these vaults held the remains of 17 people. Artifacts recovered from the burials include traces of wooden coffins; copper pins that were used to hold shrouds in place; rings; bracelets; rosaries made of wood, bone, stone, and glass; crucifixes made of wood, copper, and terracotta; a silk scapular with a silver wire; and a unique skull-shaped object made of bone. To read about excavations at the Convent of the Jacobins in Rennes, France, go to "Renaissance Melody."

Plague Pits Uncovered in Germany

NUREMBERG, GERMANY—According to a CNN report, eight plague pits estimated to hold the remains of more than 1,500 people were discovered in southern Germany during an investigation conducted ahead of a construction project. Plague outbreaks are known to have occurred in Nuremberg roughly every 10 years, beginning in the fourteenth century. Radiocarbon dating of one of the pits indicates that it was in use between the late fifteenth century and early seventeenth century, while early seventeenth century pottery and coins were also recovered, said Melanie Langbein of Nuremberg’s Department for Heritage Conservation. Meanwhile, historic records show that a plague outbreak killed more than 15,000 people in Nuremberg in 1632 and 1633, resulting in the burial of more than 2,000 people in the area where the excavation is being conducted. Dire conditions brought about by the Thirty Years' War, fought from 1618 to 1648, likely made this particular plague outbreak more deadly, and required the use of plague pits to accommodate the dead, Langbein added. “Those people were not interred in a regular cemetery although we have designated plague cemeteries in Nuremberg,” she explained. To read about a mass grave of soldiers who died during the Thirty Years' War Battle of Lützen in 1632, go to "Last Stand of the Blue Brigade."

Genes of Europe’s Last Hunter-Gatherers Examined

UPPSALA, SWEDEN—Live Science reports that few biological links have been detected among 10 hunter-gatherers who were buried between 6350 and 4810 B.C. at two sites along the coast of Brittany in northwestern France. The sites, Téviec and Hoedic, both contain well-preserved human remains and date to this period, which was marked by the transition to farming, and changes in settlement patterns, technology, diet, and burial practices. Some evidence for gene flow from hunter-gatherers to incoming farmers has been detected at this time. The study of these 10 hunter-gatherers, however, determined that their genomes were similar to other hunter-gatherer groups in Western Europe, without any evidence of mixing with the first farmers to reach Brittany. Luciana Simões of Uppsala University suggests that these last hunter-gatherers in Europe may have developed distinct social units to avoid inbreeding. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. To read about a decline in average height that occurred when Europeans shifted from being hunter-gatherers to farmers, go to "Don't Give an Inch."

Stacks of Bones Unearthed in Western Mexico

NAYARIT, MEXICO—Stacks of human bones were discovered during a construction project in western Mexico, according to a Live Science report. The burial is estimated to be about 1,500 years old, based upon ceramic vessels and figurines recovered at the site. Claudia Servín Rosas of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said that all of the remains were buried at the same time. One complete skeleton has been identified, along with the bones of other individuals. Long leg bones were found in one section, while seven complete skulls were found in another, she added. All of the skulls, some of which had been modified, belonged to men of various ages. The remains will be preserved for analysis. To read about skulls embedded in a wall at Mexico City's Aztec temple complex, go to "A Circle of Skulls."

Unbaked Neolithic Bread Identified in Turkey

KONYA, TURKEY—The Anadolu Agency reports that an artifact recovered at the site of the Neolithic city of Çatalhöyük by a team of researchers led by Ali Umut Turkcan of Anadolu University has been identified as a small loaf of unbaked bread. Located in central Anatolia, Çatalhöyük was home to some 8,000 people who lived in adobe houses with interconnected roofs. Researchers from Necmettin Erbakan University detected wheat, barley, and pea seeds in the small, round, spongy artifact, which was discovered in a corner of a severely damaged clay structure and radiocarbon dated to 8,600 years ago. “It hasn’t been baked in the oven but has fermented, preserving the starches,” Turkcan explained. To read about research on the lack of ventilation in the houses at Çatalhöyük, go to "Around the World: Turkey."