Friday, December 28, 2018

Neandertals and Denisovans: This year's posts


Neandertal genes shed light on unique aspects of the modern human brain

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 2 weeks ago
Modern human skulls have a unique 'globular' (round) shape. Our closest cousins, the long extinct Neandertals, had the elongated skulls that are typical of most primates. This striking shape difference is suspected to reflect evolutionary changes in the relative sizes of structures of the human brain, perhaps even in the ways that key brain areas are connected to each other. However, brain tissue doesn't itself fossilize, so the underlying biological explanation has remained elusive. An international research team, led by paleoanthropologist Philipp Gunz (MPI, Leipzig) and genetic... more »

Neanderthal populations from different Caucasus regions had strong social connections

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 4 weeks ago
[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *A - obsidian in rocks formed during the eruption; B, C - obsidian boulders ( "bombs "), differing in color and shape. view more Credit: Ekaterina V. Doronicheva *et al*. / *Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports* 2018 Research group from Russia and the United States analyzed samples of obsidian volcanic glass in Kabardino-Balkaria. It turned out that more than 70 thousand years ago, Neanderthals transferred this mineral to distances up to 250 kilometers and used it to manufacture tools. These findings help to understand how populations from different reg... more »

New virtual reconstruction of a Neanderthal thorax suggests another breathing mechanism

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 month ago
The results show significant morphological differences pointing to a respiratory mechanism that was different compared with that of modern humans University of the Basque Country [image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *This is an image of the reconstruction of the thorax of Kebara 2. Scale = 5 cm. view more Credit: A. Gómez-Olivencia, A. Barash and E. Been Neanderthals were hunter-gatherers who inhabited western Eurasia for more than 200 thousand years during glacial as well as interglacial periods until they became extinct around 40 thousand years ago. While some of the anatomical regions of these... more »

Researchers discover earliest recorded lead exposure in 250,000-year-old Neanderthal teeth

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 month ago
This study is the first to report lead exposure in Neanderthal and is the first to use teeth to reconstruct climate during and timing of key developmental events including weaning and nursing duration-- key determinants of population growth. Results of the study will be published online in *Science Advances*, a journal published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, at 2PM EST on October 31st. The international research team of biological anthropologists, archaeologists, earth scientists, and environmental exposure experts measured barium, lead and oxygen in ... more »

Neanderthal-like features in 450,000-year-old fossil teeth from the Italian Peninsula

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 2 months ago
These teeth add to an emerging picture of complex human evolution in Middle Pleistocene Eurasia PLOS [image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *This is a virtual rendering of the Visogliano and Fontana Ranuccio teeth. Credit: Zanolli et al., 2018 Fossil teeth from Italy, among the oldest human remains on the Italian Peninsula, show that Neanderthal dental features had evolved by around 450,000 years ago, according to a study published October 3, 2018 in the open-access journal *PLOS ONE* by Clément Zanolli of the Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier in France and colleagues. These teeth also add to ... more »

Neanderthal healthcare practices crucial to survival

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 2 months ago
Research at the University of York has suggested that Neanderthals embraced healthcare practices, such as assisting in cases of serious injury and the challenges of childbirth. Healthcare practices in this period of human evolution have often been studied alongside complex cultural behaviour, mostly based around research into rituals and symbols associated with death. This new study, however, sets out, for the first time, that healthcare could have had a more strategic role in Neanderthal survival. Previous research at the University of York has already suggested that compassion ... more »

Neandertal mother, Denisovan father!

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 4 months ago
Together with their sister group the Neandertals, Denisovans are the closest extinct relatives of currently living humans. "We knew from previous studies that Neandertals and Denisovans must have occasionally had children together", says Viviane Slon, researcher at the MPI-EVA and one of three first authors of the study. "But I never thought we would be so lucky as to find an actual offspring of the two groups." The ancient individual is only represented by a single small bone fragment. "The fragment is part of a long bone, and we can estimate that this individual was at least 13 y... more »

Neandertal fire-making technology inferred from microwear analysis

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 5 months ago
*Scientific Reports *complete article Fire use appears to have been relatively common among Neandertals in the Middle Palaeolithic. However, the means by which Neandertals procured their fire—either through the collection of natural fire, or by producing it themselves using tools—is still a matter of debate. We present here the first direct artefactual evidence for regular, systematic fire production by Neandertals. From archaeological layers attributed to late Mousterian industries at multiple sites throughout France, primarily to the Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition (MTA) tech... more »

 

Neandertals practiced close-range hunting 120,000 years ago

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 5 months ago
CaptionFront and back view of a hunting lesion in the pelvis of an extinct fallow deer killed by Neandertals 120,000 years ago on a lakeshore close to current-day Halle in Germany. Credit© Eduard Pop, MONREPOS Archaeological Research Center and Museum for Human Behavioral Evolution, Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Leibniz Research Institute for Archaeology (RGZM) An international team of scientists reports the oldest unambiguous hunting lesions documented in the history of humankind. The lesions were found on skeletons of two large-sized extinct fallow deer killed by Neandertal... more »
Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 7 months ago
[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *The engraved flint flake from Kiik-Koba layer IV. view more Credit: Majki? et al (2018) A flint flake from the Middle Paleolithic of Crimea was likely engraved symbolically by a skilled Neanderthal hand, according to a study published May 2, 2018 in the open-access journal *PLOS ONE* by Ana Majkic from the University of Bordeaux, France and colleagues. The authors developed a detailed framework for interpreting engravings on stone artifacts. Engraved stone artifacts are important clues to the history of human culture and cognition. Incisions on the cortex (so... more »

Secrets of famous Neanderthal skeleton revealed

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 9 months ago
An international team of researchers, led by Dr. Asier Gomez-Olivencia of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and including Binghamton University anthropologist Rolf Quam, has provided new insights on one of the most famous Neandertal skeletons, discovered over 100 years ago: La Ferrassie 1. Nearly all of the fractures were made post-mortem. *Credit: Binghamton University, State University of New York* An international team of researchers, led by Dr. Asier Gomez-Olivencia of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and including Binghamton University anthropologi... more »

Modern humans interbred with Denisovans twice in history

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 9 months ago
[image: IMAGE] *This graphical abstract shows two waves of Denisovan ancestry have shaped present-day humans. * *Credit: Browning et al./Cell* Modern humans co-existed and interbred not only with Neanderthals, but also with another species of archaic humans, the mysterious Denisovans. While developing a new genome-analysis method for comparing whole genomes between modern human and Denisovan populations, researchers unexpectedly discovered two distinct episodes of Denisovan genetic intermixing, or admixing, between the two. This suggests a more diverse genetic history than previo... more »

Compassion helped Neanderthals to survive

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 9 months ago
They have an unwarranted image as brutish and uncaring, but new research has revealed just how knowledgeable and effective Neanderthal healthcare was. The study, by the University of York, reveals that Neanderthal healthcare was uncalculated and highly effective - challenging our notions that they were brutish compared to modern humans. The researchers argue that the care provided was widespread and should be seen as a "compassionate and knowledgeable response to injury and illness." It is well known that Neanderthals sometimes provided care for the injured, but new analysis by t... more »

Neanderthals were artistic like modern humans

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 10 months ago
Scientists have found the first major evidence that Neanderthals, rather than modern humans, created the world's oldest known cave paintings - suggesting they may have had an artistic sense similar to our own. A new study led by the University of Southampton and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology shows that paintings in three caves in Spain were created more than 64,000 years ago - 20,000 years before modern humans arrived in Europe. This means that the Palaeolithic (Ice Age) cave art - including pictures of animals, dots and geometric signs - must have been mad... more »

 

Neanderthals' lack of drawing ability may relate to hunting techniques

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 10 months ago
[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *Replica of drawing of lions painted in the Chauvet Cave. Art in the cave has been identified as created by early modern humans. view more Credit: Public Domain Neanderthals had large brains and made complex tools but never demonstrated the ability to draw recognizable images, unlike early modern humans who created vivid renderings of animals and other figures on rocks and cave walls. That artistic gap may be due to differences in the way they hunted, suggests a University of California, Davis, expert on predator-prey relations and their impacts on the evol... more »

The complexity of the Neanderthals’ origin

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 11 months ago
------------------------------ Top view of the Montmaurin-La Niche mandible/José María Bermúdez de Castro. *Credit: Image courtesy of CENIEH* A team of scientists from the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), led by José María Bermúdez de Castro, together with the French researcher Amélie Vialet, from the Natural History Museum in Paris, has just published a paper in the journal PLOS ONE on the Middle Pleistocene Montmaurin-La Niche mandible, which reveals the complexity of the origin of the Neanderthals. This mandible was found by Raoul Cammas on 18... more »

Study sheds light on Neanderthal-Homo sapiens transition

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
Archaeologists at The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Sydney have provided a window into one of the most exciting periods in human history -- the transition between Neanderthals and modern humans. An archaeological dig in a cave in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic has provided a timeline of evidence from 10 sedimentary layers spanning 28,000 to 50,000 years ago. This is the period when our modern human ancestors first arrived in Europe. The dig, in a cave near the Czech border with Austria and around 150kms north of Vienna, has unearthed over 20... more » Dental plaque DNA shows Neandertals used 'aspirin'
Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
Ancient DNA found in the dental plaque of Neandertals - our nearest extinct relative - has provided remarkable new insights into their behaviour, diet and evolutionary history, including their use of plant-based medicine to treat pain and illness. Published today in the journal *Nature*, an international team led by the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) and Dental School, with the University of Liverpool in the UK, revealed the complexity of Neandertal behaviour, including dietary differences between Neandertal groups and knowledge of medication. "D... more »

Neanderthals at El Sidrón ate a diet of wild mushrooms, pine nuts and moss

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
The studies of Neanderthal fossil remains found at dig sites across Europe continue to provide information about their lifestyles. In the last few years, genome analysis of their fossilised remains has provided a large amount of information about these individuals. The latest study, published in Nature magazine, and in which scientific investigators from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) collaborated, provides information about the diet of the Neanderthals who inhabited the El Sidrón site in Asturias, northern Spain. Analysis of genetic material preserved in the calcifie... more »

Neanderthal DNA contributes to human gene expression

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
*This visual abstract depicts the findings of McCoy et al., who show genome-wide interrogation of the functional differences between modern human and Neanderthal alleles reveals that Neanderthal-inherited sequences are not silent remnants of ancient interbreeding but have a measurable impact on gene expression that may contribute to phenotypic variation in modern humans.* *CREDIT* *McCoy et al./Cell 2017* The last Neanderthal died 40,000 years ago, but much of their genome lives on, in bits and pieces, through modern humans. The impact of Neanderthals' gene

Israel, Egypt and the Near East - This year's posts

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I am Ashurbanipal: king of the world, king of Assyria

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 2 weeks ago
*British Museum 8 November 2018 – 24 February 2019Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery* This autumn, discover the world of ancient Assyria through the life and legacy of its last great ruler, King Ashurbanipal. The BP exhibition I am Ashurbanipal: king of the world, king of Assyria will transport you back to ancient Iraq in the 7th century BC, when Ashurbanipal became the most powerful person on earth. From his capital at Nineveh, he ruled a vast and diverse empire, shaping the lives of peoples from the shores of the eastern Mediterranean to the mountains of western Iran. How did on... more »

 

Additional 1,700 year-old mosaic discovered in Lod

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 2 weeks ago
[image: The Lod mosaic that was exposed recently] The Lod mosaic that was exposed recently Copyright: Photo: Niki Davidov, Israel Antiquities Authority ​(Communicated by the IAA Spokesperson) Archaeological excavations carried out in the past month by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the city of Lod,in preparation for the construction of a Visitors’ Center that will exhibit mosaics previously exposed here several years ago, have revealed an additional colorful mosaic dating from the Roman period. The mosaic was carefully removed for conservation in order for construction o... more »

A rare 9,000-year-old stone mask was recently uncovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA)

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 2 weeks ago
[image: The rare stone mask dating to the Neolithic period] The rare stone mask dating to the Neolithic period Copyright: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority (Communicated by the IAA Spokesperson) This fascinating and rare stone mask dates to the Neolithic (new stone age) period. It was discovered several months ago and is currently being studied by experts of the IAA and the Geological Survey of Israel. Results of the initial study of the mask will be presented tomorrow (Thursday, 29 November 2018) at the Israel Prehistoric Society annual meeting. Information received at... more »
 
 

Ashkenazi Jewish founder mutation identified for Leigh Syndrome

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 month ago
[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *Chuckie Barnett at age 3 (left) and Michael Barnett at age 5. view more Credit: Marsha Barnett Over 30 years ago, Marsha and Allen Barnett lost their sons to a puzzling childhood disease that relentlessly attacked their nervous systems and sapped their energy. After five-year-old Chuckie died suddenly in 1981, doctors provided a name for the disease: Leigh syndrome. Leigh syndrome is a complex disorder typically caused by dysfunctional mitochondria, the tiny batteries inside all cells that generate our energy. Two years later, the same disease killed Michae... more »
 
 
 

Earliest hominin migrations into the Arabian Peninsula required no novel adaptations

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 month ago
New study provides earliest evidence for hominins in 'Green Arabia' between 500,000 and 300,000 years ago alongside direct environmental data indicating productive, relatively humid grasslands Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History [image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *This is a sand dune in the Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia. view more Credit: Palaeodeserts Project (Klint Janulis) A new study, led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, suggests that early hominin dispersals beyond Africa did not involve... more »
 

When the Syrians bathed like the Romans

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 month ago
Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics" [image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *Remains of underfloor heating in the area of the bath. The supports made of tiles carried the floor, with warm air circulating in the space between view more Credit: Peter Jülich Classical scholars from the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics" at the WWU have explored a rare bathing facility in southeastern Turkey from the time of the Roman Empire, and a magnificent basilica from Christian late antiquity. "Our excavations in the ancient town of Doliche clearly show how a town flourished across epochs and... more »
 
 

2,000-year-old inscription spells Jerusalem as Israel does today

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 2 months ago
2,000-year-old inscription spells Jerusalem as Israel does today This picture taken on October 9, 2018, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem shows a unique stone inscription dating to the Second Temple Period (1st Century CE), mentioning Jerusalem, written in Hebrew letters, and using the spelling as we know it today. The inscription was found this last winter in Jerusalem during an IAA excavation prior to the construction of a new road, during the excavations, the foundations of a Roman structure were exposed, which were supported by columns. The most important discovery wa... more »

Extensive trade in fish between Egypt and Canaan already 3,500 years ago

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 2 months ago
[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *Jaw with a durophagous dentition consisting of teeth with thick enamel of the gilthead sea bream (*Sparus aurata*): The large molariform tooth was used for oxygen isotope analysis and to... view more Credit: photo/©: Guy Sisma-Ventura, Israel Some 3,500 years ago, there was already a brisk trade in fish on the shores of the southeastern Mediterranean Sea. This conclusion follows from the analysis of 100 fish teeth that were found at various archeological sites in what is now Israel. The saltwater fish from which these teeth originated is the gilthead sea brea... more »
 

A prehistoric thirst for craft beer

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 3 months ago
Evidence suggests that stone mortars from Raqefet Cave, Israel, were used in brewing cereal-based beer millennia before the establishment of sedentary villages and cereal agriculture Elsevier [image: IMAGE] This is the site location and artifacts analyzed. (A) The location of Raqefet Cave and three additional Natufian sites in Mt. Carmel; (B) field photos of the studied boulder mortars (BM1,2) and the location of BM3 on the cave floor (scale bar and arrow: 20 cm); (C) a functional reconstruction of the mortars: a boulder mortar used to store plants in a basket with a stone slab on ... more »
 
 

Prehistoric mummy reveals ancient Egyptian embalming 'recipe' was around for millennia

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 4 months ago
------------------------------ The mummy has been housed in the Egyptian Museum in Turin since 1901. *Credit: Dr Stephen Buckley, University of York* It is the first time that extensive tests have been carried out on an intact prehistoric mummy, consolidating the researchers' previous findings that embalming was taking place 1,500 years earlier than previously accepted. Dating from c.3700-3500 BC, the mummy has been housed in the Egyptian Museum in Turin since 1901, but unlike the majority of other prehistoric mummies in museums, it has never undergone any conservation treatmen... more »
 

DNA analysis of 6,500-year-old human remains in Israel points to origin of ancient culture

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 4 months ago
[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *Ossuaries from the Chalcolithic Period, excavated at Peqi'in Cave. view more Credit: Mariana Salzberger, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. An international team of researchers from Tel Aviv University, the Israel Antiquities Authority and Harvard University has discovered that waves of migration from Anatolia and the Zagros mountains (today's Turkey and Iran) to the Levant helped develop the Chalcolithic culture that existed in Israel's Upper Galilee region some 6,500 years ago. The study is one of the largest ancient DNA studies ever conducted i... more »

World's oldest cheese found in Egyptian tomb

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 4 months ago
Aging usually improves the flavor of cheese, but that's not why some very old cheese discovered in an Egyptian tomb is drawing attention. Instead, it's thought to be the most ancient solid cheese ever found, according to a study published in ACS' journal *Analytical Chemistry*. The tomb of Ptahmes, mayor of Memphis in Egypt during the 13th century BC, was initially unearthed in 1885. After being lost under drifting sands, it was rediscovered in 2010, and archeologists found broken jars at the site a few years later. One jar contained a solidified whitish mass, as well as canvas fab... more »
 

Ancient Greek earring found at east Jerusalem site

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 4 months ago
[image: An Israeli archaeologist shows a golden earring believed to be more than 2,000 years old discovered at the site of a national park in annexed east Jerusalem near the Old City walls] [image: Best Photos of the Day] An Israeli archaeologist shows a golden earring believed to be more than 2,000 years old discovered at the site of a national park in annexed east Jerusalem near the Old City walls Israel on Wednesday unveiled a golden earring dating from the second or third century BC, found in the shadow of the Old City walls in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. The Israel Anti... more »

Ancient pottery factory unveiled in Israel

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 4 months ago
Israeli archaeologists have unveiled what they said was a major pottery plant which produced wine storage jars continuously from Roman to Byzantine times. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said that excavations near the town of Gedera, south of Tel Aviv, revealed the factory and an adjacent leisure complex of 20 bathing pools and a room used for board games. Excavation director Alla Nagorsky told journalists at the site that from the third century AD the plant produced vessels of a type known to historians as "Gaza" jars for an unbroken period of 600 years. "This kind of a p... more »

Archaeological finds at Sidon in Lebanon include the rare remains of a Canaanite child and its funerary jar,

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 5 months ago
Newly revealed archaeological finds at Sidon in Lebanon include the rare remains of a Canaanite child and its funerary jar, the British Museum excavation team revealed on Monday. Alabaster jar from Egypt found in the Phoenician temple by a British Museum team in Sidon AFP By the time of the Canaanites, burial in jars had been the local practice for thousands of years throughout the region. The burial jars archaeologists found in copper-age Sidon had all contained adults. However, the burial presented Monday was a child. The child was interred with a necklace around its neck... more »

Discoveries by archaeology team give new clues on life in ancient Jewish village

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 5 months ago
[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *Spies Panel from UNC-Chapel Hill professor Dr. Jodi Magness' 2018 Huqoq excavation. view more Credit: Jim Haberman Recent discoveries by a team of specialists and students at Huqoq in Israel's Galilee, led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor Jodi Magness, shed new light on the life and culture of an ancient Jewish village. The discoveries indicate villagers flourished under early fifth century Christian rule, contradicting a widespread view that Jewish settlement in the region declined during that period. The large size and elaborate in... more »
 

Archaeologists uncover earliest evidence for equid bit wear in the ancient Near East

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 7 months ago
An international team of archaeologists has uncovered the earliest example of the use of a bridle bit with an equid (horse family) in the Near East. The discovery provides first evidence of the use of the bit (mouth piece) to control an animal long before the appearance of the horse in the Near East. Evidence of the bridle bit was derived from the skeleton of a donkey dating to the Early Bronze Age III (approximately 2700 BCE) found at the excavations of the biblical city Gath (modern Tell es-Safi) of the Philistines, the home of Goliath, located in central Israel. The donkey was ... more »
 

New evidence pertaining to expansion of the kingdom of David and Solomon uncovered

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 7 months ago
Over the last 25 years many scholars have questioned the existence of the kingdom of David and Solomon, which was supposed to have existed in the 10th century BCE. This was based to a large extent on the lack of evidence of royal construction at the heart of the region in which the kingdom supposedly existed. As a result, it was assumed that the rulers at the time were just local chiefs who ruled only over Jerusalem and its immediate surroundings. Now researchers from Bar-Ilan University in Israel have uncovered new evidence that supports the existence of Israel's united monarchy... more » Palmyra: Loss and Remembrance
Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 8 months ago
*Palmyra: Loss and Remembrance * *Getty Villa. LOS ANGELES * *April 18, 2018 – May 27, 2019* The ancient city of Palmyra (“Place of Palms”), well situated in an oasis in the Syrian desert, flourished between the first and third centuries AD. At the crossroads of trade routes between the Roman and Parthian Persian empires, the people of Palmyra embellished their tombs with distinctive funerary portraits that illuminate the rich cultural exchanges and interactions taking place throughout the eastern Mediterranean and Near East. *Head of a Man, AD 190-210. Palmyran Limestone. H... more »
 
Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 8 months ago
[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *This is the oldest-preserved peace treaty between Ramesses II and ?attušili III, c. 1259 B.C. view more Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Vorderasiatisches Museum, Olaf M. Teßmer According to archaeologists, the world's oldest peace treaty disproves the widespread notion that in antiquity, peace was not brought about by negotiations, but always by humiliating those who had lost. "More than 3,200 years ago, Egyptians and Hittites ensured each other mutual support in the treaty; neither of them triumphed. This must have been preceded by much negotiating, ... more »

Getty Conservation Institute Announces Near Completion of Work at the Tomb of King Tutankhamen

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 8 months ago
The Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) has nearly completed its work at the Tomb of Tutankhamen in Egypt, one of the most famous cultural heritage sites in the world. The project —a multiyear collaboration between the GCI and Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities (formerly known as the Supreme Council of Antiquities) focused on conservation and the creation of a sustainable plan for continued conservation and management of the tomb. Work at the legendary site included the conservation of wall paintings, environmental and infrastructure improvements, and training for future care of the si... more »
 

 

"Dead Sea Scrolls" Coming To Denver

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 8 months ago
"Dead Sea Scrolls," the exhibition that has captivated millions around the world, opened at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science on March 16. The presenting sponsor is the Sturm Family Foundation, with major support from Henry and Lorie Gordon, and GHP Investment Advisors. The regional premiere of this exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see authentic Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient manuscripts that include the oldest known biblical documents dating back over 2,000 years. Ten scrolls will be displayed when the exhibition opens. Due to strict preservation requirements, 10... more »

A hoard of rare bronze Jewish Revolt coins has been discovered

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 8 months ago
A hoard of rare bronze Jewish Revolt coins has been discovered at the recently renewed Ophel excavations. The trove of dozens of bronze coins minted during the last years of the ill-fated four-year rebellion of the Jews against Roman rule was uncovered in a cave just south of the Temple Mount by Hebrew University archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar. The Ophel excavations, located below the Temple Mount’s southern wall, were relaunched in early 2018 after a four-year hiatus. They garnered international headlines after the publication of the recent “Prophet Isaiah” seal impression, which... more »

First-Ever Archaeological Evidence of Prophet Isaiah Possibly Discovered in Jerusalem

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 8 months ago
The recent discovery in Jerusalem of a 2,700-year-old stamped clay seal potentially belonging to the Biblical prophet Isaiah is being published by a prominent Israeli archaeologist on February 22, 2018. Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem is breaking this find in her new article, *"Is This the Prophet Isaiah's Signature?"*, which is part of a special double issue of *Biblical Archaeology Review* (March/April–May/June 2018). "We appear to have discovered a seal impression, which may have belonged to the prophet Isaiah, in a scientific, archaeological excavation," s... more » research sheds light on prehistoric human migration in Europe
Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 10 months ago
[image: IMAGE] *This field excavation photo shows a double burial in Kargadur, located in Istria County, Croatia. The skeletal remains are among 225 skeletal remains sampled in a study of two major migrations across southeastern Europe during prehistoric times. Results of the study are in a paper, titled 'The Genomic History of Southeastern Europe,' that was published in the Feb. 21 issue of Nature.* *Credit: Darko Komšo* Two University of Wyoming researchers contributed to a new study in which DNA of ancient skeletal remains of people from southeastern Europe were used to determin... more »
 
 

Rare Mosaic from the Roman Period Discovered in Caesarea National Park

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 10 months ago
*The mosaic was uncovered during an archaeological excavation that is part of the largest conservation and reconstruction project ever undertaken in Israel - with an investment of over 100 Million Shekels contributed by the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation and the Caesarea Development Corporation* A rare and beautiful Roman mosaic from the 2nd-3rd centuries CE, bearing an inscription in ancient Greek, is being uncovered at the Caesarea National Park. The mosaic was excavated during work by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Caesarea Development Corporation throughout Caesarea ... more »

Significant Finds Uncovered in Excavations in Ein Hanniya Park in Rephaim Valley

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 10 months ago
*A large and impressive system of pools from the Byzantine period (4th-6th centuries CE), a fragment of a capital typical of royal structures and estates in the First Temple period and a rare silver coin from the 4th century BCE, one of the most ancient ever found in the Jerusalem area, were found in excavations at Ein Hanniya.* These remarkable and significant finds were unearthed in Israel Antiquities Authority excavations at the site of Ein Hanniya between 2012 and 2016. The park will open to the public in the coming months. The excavations, which were carried out as part of t... more »
 

 

Remains of earliest modern human outside of Africa unearthed in Israel Discovery

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 11 months ago
[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: Reconstruced maxilla from microCT images. view more * *Credit: Gerhard Weber, University of Vienna, Austria* A jawbone complete with teeth recently discovered at Israel's Misliya cave has now been dated to 177,000-194,000 years ago. The finding indicates that modern humans were present in the Levant at least 50,000 years earlier than previously thought. "This finding -- that early modern humans were present outside of Africa earlier than commonly believed -- completely changes our view on modern human dispersal and the history of modern human evolution," says... more »
 
 

DNA ends 4,000-year-old Egyptian mummy mystery

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 11 months ago
------------------------------ The Two Brothers are the Museum's oldest mummies and amongst the best-known human remains in its Egyptology collection. They are the mummies of two elite men -- Khnum-nakht and Nakht-ankh -- dating to around 1800 BC. *Credit: Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester* Using 'next generation' DNA sequencing scientists have found that the famous 'Two Brothers' mummies of the Manchester Museum have different fathers so are, in fact, half-brothers. The Two Brothers are the Museum's oldest mummies and amongst the best-known human remains in its ... more »

Prehistoric Site about Half a Million Years Old Uncovered in Jaljulia in the Sharon Region

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 11 months ago
An astonishing discovery in Jaljulia: a rare and important prehistoric site, roughly half of a million years old, extending over about 1 hectare, was uncovered during the last few months in a joint archaeological excavation conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority in cooperation with the Archaeological Department in Tel Aviv University. The archaeological excavation was funded by theIsrael Land Authority, towards the expansion of Jaljulia. The excavation revealed a rich lithic industry, including hundreds of flint hand axes, typical tools of the ancient Acheulian culture. ... more »

Ancient Phoenician DNA from Sardinia, Lebanon reflects settlement, integration, mobility

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 11 months ago
Ancient DNA from the Phoenician remains found in Sardinia and Lebanon could provide insight into the extent of integration with settled communities and human movement during this time period, according to a study published January 10, 2018 in the open-access journal *PLOS ONE* by E. Matisoo-Smith from the University of Otago, New Zealand and Pierre Zalloua from the Lebanese American University, Beirut, and colleagues. The researchers looked at mitochondrial genomes, which are maternally inherited, in a search for markers of Phoenician ancestry. The Phoenicians were an ancient civil... more »
 

[Belonging] To the Governor of the City": A Unique find Unearthed in Jerusalem

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 11 months ago
*The important find was discovered over the course of the IAA's excavations at the site, together with the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. According to the excavator, Dr. Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah, "the Bible mentions two governors of Jerusalem, and this finding reaffirms that such a position was actually held by someone in the city some 2,700 years ago."* This extraordinary find is a lump of clay, stamped and pre-fired. It measures 13 X 15 mm and is 2-3 mm thick. The upper part of the sealing depicts two figures facing each other, and the lower part holds an inscription in an... more »

Remains of a 1,500-year-old Monastery and Church uncovered in Beit Shemesh

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
*December 20, 2017* The spectacular remains of a 1,500-year-old (Byzantine Period) monastery and church decorated with mosaic floors and imported marble elements are currently being uncovered during large scale excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority in Beit Shemesh with the help of over 1,000 teenagers. The excavation is being conducted prior to the expansion of Ramat Beit Shemesh, funded by the Ministry of Construction and Housing, and implemented by the CPM Corporation managed by Anatoly Snider. [image: Loading] According to Benyamin Storchan, director of th... more »

An Idumean Palace or Temple in the Lachish Region?

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
An impressive 2200-year-old (Hellenistic period) structure, possibly an Idumean palace or temple, was uncovered during Sukkot in archaeological excavations at the site of Horvat 'Amuda, situated at the heart of a military training area in the Lachish region. *According to the exc**a**vation directors, Dr. Oren Gutfeld of the Hebrew University, and Pablo Betzer and Michal Haber of the Israel Antiquities Authority*: "If this was indeed an Idumean palace or temple, it is a rare and exciting find - similar structures in this country can be counted on the fingers of one hand. It see... more »

1,500-year-old Mosaic Floor with Inscription Uncovered in Ashdod

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
*The mosaic, which was apparently the floor of a church or monastery, contains an inscription noting the year of the building's construction according to the Georgian calendar * This is the first Georgian church or monastery ever discovered on the Israeli coast.* An impressive 1,500-year-old church, with an inscription in Greek mentioning a date according to the Georgian calendar, was uncovered in archaeological excavations in Ashdod in August. According to the archaeologists, the floor was part of a Georgian church or monastery. This is the third season of excavation at the anci... more »

One-Thousand-Year-Old Eggplant Discovered in Israel

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
*The earliest evidence of the arrival of eggplants in this Israel has come to light in the City of David, the archeological site of ancient Jerusalem: A 1,100-year-old refuse pit found in Israel Antiquities Authority excavations in the Jerusalem Walls National Park reveals dietary habits in the Early Islamic period* When did eggplants first arrive in Israel? A 1,100-year-old refuse pit, discovered in archaeological excavations at the stepped street in the City of David in the Jerusalem Walls National Park, may provide an answer. Eggplant seeds were identified in the pit, which ... more »

4,000-year-old military network in northern Syria

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
The discovery of more than a thousand sites in Syria has revised our understanding of the settlement of the steppes during all periods in the history of the Near East. Recently, analysis of aerial and satellite images has enabled the discovery of a vast structured surveillance and communication network dating from the Middle Bronze Age (2nd millennium BCE). This research, led by researchers from the Archéorient laboratory (Environnements et sociétés de l'Orient ancien - CNRS/Université Lumière Lyon 2) and the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums of Syria, is published in ... more »
 
Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *Drone aerial shot of the ancient Turkish ruins on Dongoin shiree. (North at the top.) Segments of the inscriptions and sarcophagus excavated from the hole at the center of the... view more Credit: Osaka University and Institute of History and Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Science A joint excavation team from Osaka University and the Institute of History and Archaeology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences discovered the ruins of a unique monument surrounded by 14 large stone pillars with Turkic Runic inscriptions arranged in a square on the steppe calle... more »
 
 

Archaeologists revise chronology of the last hunter-gatherers in the Near East

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
- New research by a team of scientists and archaeologists based at the Weizmann Institute of Science and the University of Copenhagen suggests that the 15,000-year-old 'Natufian Culture' could live comfortably in the steppe zone of present-day eastern Jordan - this was previously thought to be either uninhabitable or only sparsely populated. The hunter-gatherers of the Natufian Culture, which existed in modern-day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria between c. 14,500 - 11,500 years ago, were some of the first people to build permanent houses and tend to edible plants. These innovation... more »

First original Greek copy of Jesus' secret revelations to his brother

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: A piece of the Coptic translation of the First Apocalypse of James from the Nag Hammadi Codex V. view more * *Credit: Image of artifact from the Nag Hammadi Library, Oxford University.* The first-known original Greek copy of a heretical Christian writing describing Jesus' secret teachings to his brother James has been discovered at Oxford University by biblical scholars at The University of Texas at Austin. To date, only a small number of texts from the Nag Hammadi library -- a collection of 13 Coptic Gnostic books discovered in 1945 in Upper Egypt -- have be... more »

ANCIENT FABRIC DYED IN TZITZIT BLUE FOUND

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
Israel Antiquities Authority researcher Dr. Na‘ama Sukenik has identified three pieces of fabric found in Judean Desert Caves (Wadi Murabba‘at caves) as being dyed using the Murex Trunculus Snail. All three date back to the Roman period. Two of these also used a second dye obtained from Cochineal insects; this gave these fabrics purple borders. These were woven in characteristic manner of imported textiles. [image: No automatic alt text available.] The third piece of fabric was made of wool and woven in the fashion of locally spun textiles. This fabric had been dyed using only ... more »

1,500-Year-old Rooster-like Clay Vessel Discovered by Vacationers at Sea of Galilee

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
1. 2. While vacationing by the Sea of Galilee during Sukot, Mrs. Tal Pastman dipped in the lake water, when she noticed a strange object among the pebbles. She rubbed the mud off the object only to find, to her great surprise, this unique vessel. Pastman contacted the Israel Antiquities Authority and gave their representative this rare find. Tal says: "Since childhood I read stories of finding antiquities treasures, and I was enchanted by it. I always hoped that one day I will find a significant object from the past, and it just happened to me. The incredible... more »
 
 

Oldest recorded solar eclipse helps date the Egyptian pharaohs

Jonathan KantrowitzatArchaeology News Report - 1 year ago
Researchers have pinpointed the date of what could be the oldest solar eclipse yet recorded. The event, which occurred on 30 October 1207 BC, is mentioned in the Bible, and could have consequences for the chronology of the ancient world. Using a combination of the biblical text and an ancient Egyptian text, the researchers were then able to refine the dates of the Egyptian pharaohs, in particular the dates of the reign of Ramesses the Great. The results are published in the Royal Astronomical Society journal *Astronomy & Geophysics* . The biblical text in question comes from the Ol... more »