2,400-Year-Old Toilet Found in China

SHAANXI PROVINCE, CHINA—According to a China Daily report, the lower parts of a flush toilet estimated to be 2,400 years old have been uncovered in northwestern China’s ancient city of Yueyang. The toilet consists of a bowl, which was situated indoors, and a pipe that led to an outdoor pit. Servants are thought to have poured water into the bowl every time it was used, explained Liu Rui of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Liu and his colleagues are not sure what the upper half of the toilet looked like, or if the user was able to sit on it. Carved images of toilets dated to the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.D.–A.D. 9) suggest that users probably squatted over the bowl. The palace where the toilet was found is thought to have been used for administrative purposes by Qin Xiaogong, who ruled from 381 to 338 B.C.; his father, Qin Xian’gong, who ruled from 424 to 362 B.C.; or Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 220). To read about bronze mirrors unearthed in the Xi'an suburbs, go to "Mirror, Mirror."

Reconstruction of 9,600-Year-Old Skull Completed in Brazil

PIAUÍ, BRAZIL—Live Science reports that a team of researchers led by Moacir Elias Santos of the Ciro Flamarion Cardoso Archaeology Museum has reconstructed the face of a person whose remains were uncovered at Toca dos Coqueiros, an archaeological site in Brazil’s Serra da Capivara National Park. When the remains were discovered in 1997, researchers were divided as to whether they represented a man or a woman who lived about 9,600 years ago. To learn more about the possible appearance of the individual, who has been dubbed “Zuzu,” the team members created a 3-D model of the skull using more than 50 photographs and the process of photogrammetry, and computerized tomography scans of the skulls of living people to fill in missing information. Two images of the skull were completed: one depicts Zuzu as a young man with hair and eyebrows, the other with closed eyes, no hair, and in grayscale, reflecting the lack of information regarding Zuzu’s eye shape and skin color. “It’s a reunion with one of the oldest ancestors of our country,” Santos commented. To read about stone tools uncovered in Serra da Capivara National Park, go to "Destination: The Americas."

Cemetery Found in Mexico City Reflects Changing Burial Customs

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO—The Mexico Daily Post reports that a cemetery dated to between A.D. 1521 and 1620 has been discovered at a construction site in Chapultepec Forest Garden, a park of more than 1,600 acres in Mexico City. Archaeologists Blanca Copto Gutiérrez and Alixbeth Daniela Aburto Pérez of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said that the cemetery reflects the transition from pre-Hispanic burial customs to those introduced by the Spaniards. So far, the researchers have recovered the remains of 21 people. Most of the remains belonged to adults, but the remains of a couple of children were also found. “Despite the fact that most of the burials presented the same west-east orientation, which alludes to the belief in the resurrection in the Christian faith, their arrangement suggests two types of population: one of indigenous origin, probably Mexica, and another European,” Aburto Pérez said. Most of the dead had been buried on their backs with their arms crossed over their chests or in the pelvic region. Two were buried flexed and on their sides, however, and another two were buried with a pre-Hispanic seal and a green obsidian blade. A study of the bones by Jorge Arturo Talavera González indicates that Amerindian individuals in the group could be identified by their spade-shaped teeth. The study also found that the population suffered from wear of their dental enamel, infectious diseases, and malnutrition. To read about a well-preserved collection of wooden artifacts recovered from the base of Tenochtitlan's Templo Mayor, go to "Aztec Offerings," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2022.

Reconstruction Shows Teen Who Died in Norway 8,300 Years Ago

RANDABERG, NORWAY—Live Science reports that the face of a boy who died some 8,300 years ago has been reconstructed with computed tomography scans of remains discovered near the southwestern coast of Norway in 1907. Analysis of the remains indicates that the well-fed, healthy boy was about 15 years old at the time of death, and stood a little over four feet tall. His skull bones had fused too early, forcing his head to grow into an unusual shape. Osteologist Sean Dexter Denham of the University of Stavanger's Museum of Archaeology said that the condition of the boy’s skull, known as scaphocephaly, is not associated with any developmental problems or intellectual disabilities, however. DNA analysis of the remains suggests he had brown eyes, dark hair, and an intermediate skin tone, added forensic artist Oscar Nilsson. Decorated bone pendants; hooks, harpoons, and barbed stone tools for fishing; and animal remains were also uncovered in the cave where the remains were found. To read about a 1,700-year-old shoe discovered in melting ice in Oppland County, go to "Around the World: Norway."

Rare Inca Tunic Unearthed in Chile

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A tunic, or unku, once worn by an Inca man has been recovered from a grave in northern Chile, according to a statement released by George Washington University. Unkus were made according to specifications imposed by imperial authorities, said team member Jeffrey Splitstoser of George Washington University. This unku, however, also has features unique to the provincial region where it was found, hundreds of miles south of Cusco, the Inca capital. “It represents a study of a rare example of an excavated Inca unku tunic, whose context and technical features are providing an unprecedented understanding of imperial Inca influence in the provinces,” Splitstoser explained. Read the original scholarly article about this research in PLOS ONE. To read about knotted-string devices that the Inca used to keep records, go to "Reading an Inca Archive."

3,000-Year-Old Milk Residue Found in Tibet

NAMLING COUNTY, TIBET—China Daily reports that 3,000-year-old traces of milk have been found on pottery fragments unearthed on the Tibetan Plateau at the Gongthang Ruin site, which is located more than 13,000 feet above sea level on the banks of the Shangchu River. “It may imply that on the Tibetan Plateau, the development of milk as a secondary product occurred at the same time as the utilization of primary animal products, such as meat,” said Yang Xiaoyan of Lanzhou University. To read about another discovery on the Tibetan Plateau, go to "Denisovans at Altitude," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2019.

Climate Model Suggests Timeline for Migration to North America

MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA—Live Science reports that a possible coastal migration route along the Bering Strait Land Bridge that once connected Asia and North America may have only been passable between 24,500 and 22,000 years ago, and 16,400 and 14,800 years ago. Paleoceanographer Summer Praetorius of the U.S. Geological Survey and her colleagues used data on sea ice variations and sediment samples from the Gulf of Alaska to develop a model of climate change over the past 45,000 years. The model included the conditions of sea ice, glacier size, ocean currents, and food supplies along the suggested North Pacific coast route. The study suggests that migrants traveling during the winter in these windows of time would have been able to traverse flat sea ice cover and hunt seals and whales. During the summers, migrants would have found plentiful food in kelp forests and would have been able to travel by boat on ice-free waters without encountering strong currents from melting glacial ice or hazardous calving icebergs, Praetorius explained. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. For more, go to "A Seaside Journey to America."

Cache of Artifacts Uncovered at Harriet Tubman’s Birthplace

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND—CBS News reports that items thought to make up a West African spirit cache have been found on Maryland’s Eastern Shore near the site of an enslaved overseer’s house on the land of slaveholder Anthony Thompson. Ben Ross, Harriet Tubman’s father, also lived on the property. Tubman was born into slavery as Araminta Ross at the site in 1822. The cache includes glass, a round button, red and blue items, and metal nails. After Tubman’s escape to freedom in 1849, she returned to Maryland multiple times to free family members and others as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, a network of routes and safe houses to assist those fleeing bondage. To read about finds from the cabin where young Harriet Tubman and her family lived, go to "Tubman's Training Ground."