When Did Modern Humans Occupy China?

GUIZHOU PROVINCE, CHINA—According to a Xinhua report, a modern human molar; animal bones; and objects made of stone, bone, and horn have been unearthed in southwestern China at the Chuandong site by researchers from the Guizhou Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute and the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. Discovered in 1978, the newly excavated layer in which the artifacts were found has been dated to more than 50,000 years ago. Three burials dated to 10,000 years ago and a bone fishhook were also found at the site. For more on Homo sapiens in China, go to "An Opportunity for Early Humans in China."

Chewed Birch Pitch May Reflect Hunter-Gatherers’ Dental Health

MERSIN, TURKEY—Cosmos Magazine reports that a team of researchers led by Emrah Kirdök of Mersin University has analyzed three pieces of 10,000-year-old birch pitch, a sticky substance made by heating birch bark to form a glue-like substance. These pieces of birch pitch were recovered from Huseby Klev, a Mesolithic hunter-gatherer site in western Sweden. The researchers compared the ancient chewed birch pitch with modern samples, ancient human dental plaque, and a 6,000-year-old sample of chewed tar. They found higher levels of bacteria associated with poor dental health in the 10,000-year-old samples, even though chewing birch pitch may have provided some antiseptic and medicinal benefits. Using their teeth for gripping, cutting, and tearing may have exposed the hunter-gatherers to a wide variety of damaging microorganisms, the researchers suggest. DNA from hazelnut, apple, mistletoe, red fox, grey wolf, mallard, limpet, and brown trout were also identified. These materials, in the form of food, furs, and bone tools, may have been chewed by the people before they chewed the birch pitch. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Scientific Reports. To read about DNA embedded in another piece of chewed birch pitch, go to "Around the World: Denmark."

Early Bronze Age Tomb Rediscovered in Ireland

COUNTY KERRY, IRELAND—Traces of a 4,000-year-old tomb thought to have been destroyed in the nineteenth century have been found on southern Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula by folklorist Billy Mag Fhloinn, according to a report in The Guardian. The wedge tomb, known as Altóir na Gréine, or the sun altar, was sketched by an English aristocrat in 1838, but some 14 years later it was reported that the stones had been carried away from the site, presumably for building purposes. Mag Fhloinn filmed the site where the tomb was located as part of an archaeological mapping project, and then noticed a stone resembling one from the historic sketch while converting the video into a 3-D scan. Archaeologist Caimin O’Brien confirmed that a capstone and several large upright stones, which made up about one quarter of the original structure, survive at the site. “For the first time in over 180 years, archaeologists know where the tomb is situated and it will enhance our understanding of wedge tomb distribution,” O’Brien said. Most of the known wedge tombs in Ireland point west or southwest, toward the setting sun, Mag Fhloinn added. “They may be tied into their broader cosmological understanding of the world,” he explained. To read about Neolithic sites in western Ireland, go to "Off the Grid: Rathcroghan, Ireland."

New Technique Applied to Ancient Genome Database

LONDON, ENGLAND—According to a Live Science report, Kyriaki Anastasiadou of the Francis Crick Institute and her colleagues developed a computational method that allowed them to identify six individuals with sex chromosomal conditions in the Thousand Ancient British Genomes database. The first person, who was between the ages of 18 and 22 at the time of death some 2,500 years ago, had mosaic Turner syndrome, in which some of the body’s cells had just one X chromosome, while others had two. Turner syndrome can lead to shorter-than-average height, cardiac problems, and small or missing ovaries. Three of the individuals likely had Klinefelter syndrome, in which a person carries XXY sex chromosomes. One of them lived in the Iron Age, between 750 B.C. and A.D. 43; one lived in the medieval period, between A.D. 1050 and 1290; and the third lived in the nineteenth century. Klinefelter syndrome can cause stunted growth of the testicles, lower testosterone levels, lower muscle mass, less body hair, and larger breast tissue than individuals with typical XY chromosomes. Another person with XYY chromosomes may have been taller than average. Finally, an infant who lived during the Iron Age was found to have Down syndrome, a condition caused by extra genetic material from chromosome 21. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Communications Biology. For more on ancient DNA, go to "Worlds Within Us."

Roman Civil War Sling Bullet Found in Spain

ANDALUSIA, SPAIN—ZME Science reports that a moulded lead sling bullet bearing the letters CAES, the abbreviated name of Julius Caesar, has been uncovered in southern Spain. The opposite side of the projectile bears the letters IPSCA, thought to represent an unknown Roman town in the region. The ammunition has been dated to around 45 B.C., and Caesar’s final victory over Pompey at the Battle of Munda. The inscription suggests that the town may have supplied Caesar with ammunition, and possibly troops to sling the bullets. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Zephyrus. To read about slingshot bullets unearthed at Pompeii, go to "Weapons of the Ancient World: Siege Weapons."

World War II–Era Ammunition Uncovered in Romania

RÂMNICU SĂRAT, ROMANIA—Romania-Insider reports that some 3,500 World War II–era projectiles were found during excavation work in southeastern Romania and removed by the bomb disposal team from the Buzău County Emergency Inspectorate. Once the underground ammunition depot was emptied, the ammunition was taken to a storage facility where it will be stored until it can be safely destroyed. To read about using satellite surveillance photographs to spot archaeological sites in eastern Romania, go to "Spying the Past from the Sky."

Fortification Wall Found at Bronze Age Village Site in Italy

USTICA, ITALY—Researchers from Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) have found a fortification system beneath Villaggio dei Faraglioni, a village site on an island north of Sicily inhabited between 1400 and 1200 B.C., according to a Live Science report. Employing ground-penetrating radar and electrical tomography, the scientists found remnants of a buried wall measuring about 820 feet long and 13 to 16 feet tall. “Thanks to [the instruments], it was possible to locate accurately and in a totally non-invasive way the deep foundations of the [structure] as long as the wall, which performed the functions of the first defensive barrier,” said applied geophysicist Vincenzo Sapia of the INGV. The village’s Bronze Age defenses were clearly more complex than previously thought, explained Franco Foresta Martin of the Earth Science Museum Laboratory of Ustica. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Journal of Applied Geophysics. To read about other archaeological research in Sicily, go to "Sicily's Lost Theater."

Site Offers Clues to Brazil’s Long Prehistory

SAO LUIS, BRAZIL—According to a CBS News report, multiple layers of human occupation, including human bones, pottery fragments, stone tools, and decorated shells, were uncovered during an investigation conducted ahead of a construction project in northeastern Brazil. The most recent artifacts have been attributed to the Tupinamba people who lived in the region when Europeans arrived in 1612. Underneath this layer, the researchers uncovered a sambaqui, a mound of pottery, shells, and bones. The earliest layer has been dated to between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago, or some 1,400 years older than the earliest known pre-sambaqui site in the region. “This could completely change the history of not just the region but of all Brazil,” said archaeologist Wellington Lage. Researchers from Brazil’s Institute of National Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) said that in all, more than 100,000 artifacts and 43 sets of human remains have been unearthed. Dating and analysis of the artifacts continues. For more on the archaeology of northern Brazil, go to "Dark Earth in the Amazon."

Medieval Gauntlet Excavated in Switzerland

KYBURG, SWITZERLAND—Swissinfo.ch reports that the well-preserved pieces of a fourteenth-century gauntlet have been unearthed in northern Switzerland, at a site thought to have been a blacksmith’s shop. A mould, hammers, keys, and projectile points were also recovered. The 25 metal gauntlet parts would have once been attached to each other and riveted to a leather glove to form a flexible form of protection. Only four other gauntlets from the period have been found in Switzerland, but researchers do not know if armored gloves were rare objects, or if the metal was routinely melted down and reused. To read about a mid-second millennium B.C. bronze hand uncovered in Prêles, Switzerland, go to "An Eccentric Artifact," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2018.

Silver Coins Uncovered in Greece

ATHENS, GREECE—The Miami Herald reports that 29 silver coins were unearthed in southeastern Greece, in the village of Chiliomodi. The coins, dated to between the sixth and fourth centuries B.C., were found near a clay altar, a vase, and a horse figurine. They bear images of human faces, animals, and mythological figures, including the demigod Hercules, who is shown strangling snakes with his hands. The image refers to a story in which the goddess Hera sent two snakes to kill the infant Hercules, who killed them in a display of his great strength. Three of the coins have been identified as staters minted in Olympia during the times of ancient Olympic games. To read more about ancient Olympia, go to "A New View of the Birthplace of the Olympics."