Archaeology News articles

BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA —According to a report in The Miami Herald, archaeologists have uncovered various ancient, and perishable, artifacts that span more than 7,000 years among melting patches of ice in British Columbia's Mount Edziza Provincial Park. The volcanic landscape of the park near the present-day Canada–U.S. border has been home to the Tahltan, one of the country’s Indigenous First Nations peoples, who continue to use the mountains as seasonal hunting grounds as they have for centuries. While scientists had previously located nearby obsidian quarries and artifacts in the park, the discovery revealed some 56 items, alongside a large array of obsidian artifacts, in nine patches of melting ice. They include a 3,000-year-old pair of sticks wrapped in animal hide, a 2,000-year-old birch bark container, a 5,300-year-old antler ice pick, and a 6,200-year-old stitched animal hide, which may have been part of a moccasin-style boot. The finds have been taken to a museum for stud...

Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia have discovered what may be the world's largest prehistoric hand ax. The stone tool measures 20.2 inches (51.3 centimeters) long and, despite its size, is easily held with two hands, according to a statement. An international team of researchers found the basalt hand ax on the Qurh Plain, just south of AlUla, a region in northwest Saudi Arabia. Both of the hand ax's sides have been sharpened, suggesting that it could have been employed for cutting or chopping. However, it's still unclear how the stone tool was used and which species, for instance Homo erectus or Homo sapiens, crafted it. It's also unknown how old the tool is, as "the handaxe requires much more research to determine an accurate date," Ömer Can Aksoy, an archaeologist and the excavation's project director, told Live Science in an email. However, other tools found at the site may date to 200,000 years ago, according to the team's assessment of their form and...

A pot full of copper coins was discovered from a stupa (a dome-shaped building erected as a Buddhist shrine) at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mohenjo Daro during conservation work in Pakistan’s Sindh province. Mohenjo Daro, or “Mound of the Dead” is an ancient Indus Valley Civilization city that flourished between 2600 and 1900 BCE. The ruins of the huge city of Moenjodaro – built entirely of unbaked brick lie in the Indus Valley. The site was discovered in the 1920s. The Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro are the best preserved urban settlement in South Asia. The acropolis, set on high embankments, the ramparts, and the lower town, which is laid out according to strict rules, provide evidence of an early system of town planning. Experts evaluated the discovery of the pot filled with copper coins as the first significant artifact discovery in 5,000-year-old city ruins after 93 years.                          ...

DUBLIN, IRELAND— More than 100 previously unknown archaeological sites have been identified in Serbia through the use of Google Earth and aircraft reconnaissance by Barry Molloy of University College Dublin and his colleagues, according to a Science Magazine report. The sites were then dated with pottery fragments, grinding stones, and animal bones recovered from the sites. The 3,600-year-old walls and ditches were spotted in an area known as the Pannonian Plain, which includes parts of Romania, Hungary, and Serbia. It had been previously thought that the Pannonian Plain was relatively isolated during the Bronze Age, since intensive agriculture had left the enclosures nearly invisible on the ground. Molloy said that the enclosures were situated close to one another, and stretched for more than 90 miles along the Tisza River. He thinks the walls and ditches may have surrounded a network of settlements, but they may also have been used for seasonal gatherings, ceremonials, or cattle pens...

Evidence of the bloodiest decapitation and head-hunting in Neolithic Asian history, has been unearthed from China, from 4,100 years ago. In total, 41 skeletons were recovered, all belonging to women and children. Archaeologists recovered an additional four skulls belonging to men from a pit outside the house, and cultural remains too in the form of pottery and bone-rock tools. From:  Ancient Origins Visit Website  https://www.weaversnest.org/  for more information on Archaeology and History.                                                 

HA NAM, VIETNAM— VN Express reports that skeletal remains estimated to be 10,000 years old have been unearthed in northern Vietnam at the Tam Chuc Pagoda Complex by researchers from the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology. “This is the first time [that] human remains dating back 10,000 years have been discovered in Vietnam,” said Mai Thanh Chung of the Ha Nam Department of Culture, Sport, and Tourism. The bones, recovered from three graves, belonged to children and adults. Mollusk shells and the remains of small animals were also found. To read about a 2,000-year-old antler that may be part of the oldest stringed instrument to be found in Southeast Asia, go to "Around the World: Vietnam."                                                                  From: ARCHAEOLOGY Visit Website  https://...

The archaeologists have stated that a giant pyramid which is hidden in an underground hillside in Indonesia is much older than Egypt's Giza Pyramids or England's Stonehenge and is likely to compete with the oldest megalithic structures ever created by humans. This megalithic site in Indonesia is called Gunung Padang. Indonesia's hillside, which is filled with ancient stone structures and is on the island of West Java, is considered sacred by locals, who call it a 'punden berundak' which means a stepped pyramid for the terraces that slowly move towards its peak. The site's surface has barely been brushed by the archaeologists, and already it is shaping up to become a "remarkable testament" to human ingenuity. As per experts, Gunung Padang is the world's oldest pyramidal structure and was built atop an extinct volcano before civilisations existed and humans delved into agriculture.                             From:...

Egyptian archaeologists recently located a lost 3,500-year-old cemetery containing mummies and statues—among other discoveries. A particularly exciting find was a Book of the Dead papyrus scroll measuring over 43 feet long—a rare surviving copy of the traditional burial item. The team behind the find was mum on the details of the textual discovery.                          From:  Popular Mechanics Visit Website  https://www.weaversnest.org/  for more information on Archaeology and History.