Signs of Surgery Examined on Medieval Woman’s Skull

CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND—Live Science reports that a woman’s skull unearthed at an early medieval Lombard cemetery in central Italy in the nineteenth century bears evidence of two possible trepanations. The first, a large cross-shaped incision, shows signs of healing and was probably performed up to three months before the woman died. In the second surgery, the bone of the woman’s forehead was scraped thin after the skin had been peeled back. Bioarchaeologist Ileana Micarelli of the University of Cambridge and the Sapienza University of Rome said the woman may have died during this second procedure, since the hole did not go all the way through the skull and there are no signs of healing on this wound. The rest of the woman’s remains are missing, she added, so the state of her health is unclear. Micarelli suggested, however, that the surgeries may have been attempts to treat a painful brain infection brought on by two large abscesses observed on the woman’s upper jaw. Read the original scholarly article about this research in International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. To read about the practice of trepanation in ancient Andes, go to "World Roundup: Peru."

Ancient Defensive Trench Found in Central China

ZHENGZHOU, CHINA—Xinhua reports that a trench estimated to be 6,000 years old has been found in central China at the Suyang site in the ancient capital city of Luoyang. The trench was walled with wooden posts and is thought to have been built for defense by the people of the Yangshao culture. Archaeologist Ren Guang said that layers of artifacts found in the trench indicate that it was later used for domestic waste. Pottery and artifacts made of stone, jade, bone, shells, and burned corn and millet seeds were also recovered at the site. To read about another find from Luoyang, go to "Around the World: China."

New Excavation at Pompeii Underway

NAPLES, ITALY—According to a statement released by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, almost an entire block in the central area of the ancient city is under excavation by a team of researchers made up of archaeologists, archaeobotanists, volcanologists, topographers, architects, engineers, and geologists. So far, they have uncovered the masonry ridges of the upper floors of the buildings in Insula 10 of Regio IX, which is located along Via di Nola. One house, previously excavated in 1912, had been converted into a laundry. An oven and an upper floor were uncovered in another structure. Evidence of farming and traces of outbuildings dated to the eighteenth century have also been found. The work is part of the Great Pompeii Project, whose aim is to improve the conservation of the site by strengthening the borders between the excavated areas of the city and those still covered with lapilli and ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79. The heavy layer of ash in unexcavated areas of the city can put pressure on adjacent excavated walls, which can also be exposed to damage from rainwater, explained Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of Pompeii Archaeological Park. To read about other recent archaeological research in the ancient city, go to "Digging Deeper into Pompeii's Past."

Moai Discovered on Easter Island

SANTIAGO, CHILE—ArtNet News reports that a moai has been discovered buried in a dry lake bed on Easter Island. Salvador Atán Hito of Ma’u Henua explained that no one knew about this particular volcanic rock statue because it had been hidden by the lake and the tall reeds surrounding it until recently. Archaeologist Terry Hunt of the University of Arizona added that additional moai may be found. For more on the Easter Island moai, go to "Around the World: Chile."

Iron Age Bone Comb Identified in England

CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that a comb made from a piece of human skull has been identified among the thousands of artifacts unearthed during an investigation ahead of road construction in eastern England. Known as the Bar Hill Comb, the artifact has been dated to between 750 B.C. and A.D. 43, and is one of three such combs found in Britain. A hole in the object, and lack of wear on the comb teeth, suggest that it may have been worn as an amulet, rather than used for grooming. “It is possible it was carved from the skull of an important member or Iron Age society whose presence was in some way preserved and commemorated through their bones,” said Michael Marshall of the Museum of London Archaeology. To read about an instrument made out of a human femur and other bone relics kept by prehistoric Britons, go to "Bronze Age Keepsakes."

New Thoughts on Chaco Canyon Construction

BOULDER, COLORADO—According to a statement released by the University of Colorado Boulder, the people who built wooden Great Houses in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon between A.D. 850 and 1200 may have carried construction supplies, including more than 200,000 timbers, with tumplines—straps that loop over the top of the head to support weight with the bones of the neck and spine. “Tumplines allow one to carry heavier weights over larger distances without getting fatigued,” said researcher James Wilson. After months of training, he and Rodger Kram used this technique to carry a dried ponderosa pine log weighing more than 130 pounds over 15 miles of forest road at a pace of about three miles per hour. Inspired by Nepalese sherpas, they also carried supports called tokmas, which allowed them to rest the log without lowering it all the way to the ground when they needed to take a break. People who lived in the ancient American Southwest are thought to have woven tumplines from yucca plants to transport food and water, based upon ceramic effigies found close to Chaco Canyon. Construction supplies could have been carried in a similar way, explained team member Robert Weiner. “As these guys showed, you don’t have to be super trained to carry a log,” he said. To read about the remains of scarlet macaws and other exotic goods unearthed at Chaco Canyon, go to "Early Parrots in the Southwest."

Study Tracks Plague’s Progress in Medieval Denmark

HAMILTON, ONTARIO—According to a statement released by McMaster University, a team of scientists including Julia Gamble of the University of Manitoba and Ravneet Sidhu of McMaster University looked for fragments of DNA from Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes plague, in the teeth of nearly 300 sets of human remains unearthed at 13 different archaeological sites in Denmark. They detected plague in 13 of these individuals, and were able to collect enough genetic information from nine of them to study the arrival and spread of different strains of plague in Denmark over some 300 years during the medieval period. Jesper L. Boldsen of the University of Southern Denmark said that the results show that as new pathogens were introduced to Denmark, they produced waves of plague in urban and rural areas. Some of these strains were traced to the Baltic region and Russia, he added. Although plague struck Denmark’s port cities the hardest, it was also detected at a rural site in central Denmark with no access to water transport, suggesting that the disease was carried inland by humans or other disease vectors traveling with them. For more on Yersinia pestis, go to "A Killer Bacterium Expands Its Legacy."

Burial in Scotland Dated to the Iron Age

APPLECROSS, SCOTLAND—According to a BBC News report, skeletal remains from six people discovered under a kitchen floor in the Scottish Highlands in 2015 have been dated to 2,000 years ago. It was initially thought that they dated to the eighteenth century. Archaeologist Cathy Dagg said that these are the first remains dated to the Iron Age to be found in the acidic soils of the west Highland coast. These bones survived, she explained, because they were in an area with cobbled stones known as “storm beach” that helped keep them dry. The construction of a building on the site in the nineteenth century also helped to protect the site, Dagg concluded. For more on Scottish archaeology, go to "Letter from Scotland: Land of the Picts."