All posts by Archaeology World Team

PERU, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Scientists discover 4 new Nazca Geoglyphs using AI deep learning

Scientists discover 4 new Nazca Geoglyphs using AI deep learning

Scientists discover 4 new Nazca Geoglyphs using AI deep learning

Scientists from Japan used AI deep learning to discover new geoglyphs in the Arid Peruvian coastal plain, in the northern part of Peru’s Nazca Pampa.

The research has been ongoing since 2004 by a team from Yamagata University, led by Professor Makato Sakai. Yamagata University has been conducting geoglyph distribution surveys using satellite imagery, aerial photography, airborne scanning LiDAR, and drone photography to investigate the vast area of the Nazca Pampa covering more than 390 km2.

The Nazca Lines are thought to have been made over centuries, starting around 100 BC by the Nazca people of modern-day Peru. They were first studied in detail in the 1940s, and by the time they were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, around 30 were identified.

They’re remarkably well-preserved considering their age, helped by the desert’s dry climate and winds that sweep away the sand but are being obscured by floods and human activity.

Archaeologists discovered 142 new designs in the desert over the course of ten years by manually identifying them using aerial photography and on-site surveying. Then, in collaboration with IBM Japan researchers, they used machine learning to search the data for designs that had been missed in previous studies.

Geoglyphs can be categorized into three main types: figurative, geometric, and lineal. (A) “Line-type figurative geoglyphs” were made by removing black stones in a linear pattern exposing the white sand underneath. (B to E) “Relief-type figurative geoglyphs” are often located on slopes and comprise a combination of black stone and white sand surfaces.

In order to create a thorough survey of the area in 2016, the researchers used aerial photography with a ground resolution of 0.1 m per pixel.

The team has identified numerous geoglyphs over time, but because the process takes a long time, they have turned to AI deep learning to analyze the images much more quickly.

A study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science revealed the discovery of four new Nazca geoglyphs using this new method by developing a labelling approach for training data that identifies a similar partial pattern between the known and new geoglyphs.

The four new geoglyphs depict a humanoid figure, a pair of legs, a fish, and a bird.

The humanoid geoglyph is shown holding a club in his/her right hand and measures 5 metres in length. The fish geoglyph, shown with a wide-open mouth measures 19 metres, while the bird geoglyph measures 17 metres and the pair of legs 78 metres.

Four new Nasca geoglyphs identified by Deep Learning. (A) A humanoid, relief-type. (B) A pair of legs, line-type. (C) A fish, relief-type. (D) A bird, line-type. (B to D) are presented to the public for the first time in this paper. Science Direct

“We have developed a DL pipeline that addresses the challenges that frequently arise in the task of archaeological image object detection,” the study’s authors write.

Our method enables the discovery of previously unattainable targets by enabling DL to learn representations of images with better generalization and performance.

Additionally, by speeding up the research process, our approach advances archaeology by introducing a novel paradigm that combines field research and AI, resulting in more effective and efficient investigations.

These results serve as yet another illustration of how machine learning can be useful to scientists, particularly when tackling tasks involving sizable datasets. Just like humans, algorithms can be taught to sift through specific types of data looking for patterns and anomalies.

Although creating these tools can be challenging, once trained, such algorithms are tireless and consistent.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Excavations Near Stonehenge Uncover Bronze Age Barrow Cemetery

Excavations Near Stonehenge Uncover Bronze Age Barrow Cemetery

Excavations Near Stonehenge Uncover Bronze Age Barrow Cemetery

The Cotswold Archeology team excavating at the site of a planned housing development near Salisbury, England, has unearthed a giant barrow cemetery that could be between 3,500 and 4,000 years old.

Wiltshire is well known for its Bronze Age barrows, particularly those found within the World Heritage site of Stonehenge and on the chalklands of Cranborne Chase. In contrast, little is known about similar sites near the medieval city of Salisbury.

These barrows were installed 1,000 years or more after the monuments at Stonehenge were built on the Salisbury Plain just 10 miles (16 km) to the north. The archaeologists discovered enough evidence to conclude that these barrows had been made during the latter period.

However, Vistry’s construction of a new residential housing development on the outskirts of Harnham, a southern Salisbury suburb, has provided the opportunity to unearth some of the remains of a major round barrow cemetery and its landscape setting.

Round barrows were first constructed in the Neolithic period, although most were built during the Beaker and Early Bronze Age (2400 – 1500 BC), and usually consist of a central burial, a mound, and an enclosing ditch.

View of the barrows under excavation.

The size of round barrows can range from under 10 meters in diameter to up to 50 meters, although the majority tend to average between 20 and 30 meters. Additionally, the earthworks associated with barrows can vary.

Some have large central mounds (‘bell barrows’), others small central mounds and outer banks (‘disc barrows’), and some have central hollows (‘pond barrows’).

Their ditches would have provided material for the barrow mound, which would have been constructed of chalk, topsoil, and turf. Barrows are typically associated with burials; some contain only a single individual, while others contain a series of burials and, on rare occasions, multiple burials.

“Our cemetery is made up of about twenty or more barrows that spread from the very edge of Harnham on the Nadder valley floor, up and across the adjacent chalk hillside on what is the northern edge of the landscape of Cranborne Chase,” the Netherhampton site discoverers wrote in a Cotswold Archaeology press release. 

“The cemetery is arranged in small clusters of barrows—either pairs or groups of six or so—and we’ve so far excavated just five.”

The Cotswold archaeologists have discovered 10 burials as well as three piles of buried cremation ash inside the five ditches they have already excavated.

A further indication of how well-liked this burial ground must have been with the people who lived in the area around Salisbury 4,000 years ago and beyond are the signs that two of the site’s barrows have undergone significant expansion at some point.

Excavations also uncovered Saxon remains, including a possible sunken-featured building, preserved timbers, iron knife blades, and ceramics, as well as a cultivation terrace (‘lynchet’) of probable late Iron Age date and Bronze and Iron Age pits.

AFRICA, SOUTH AFRICA, WORLD

Paleontologists say the world’s oldest-known burial site was found in South Africa

Paleontologists say the world’s oldest-known burial site was found in South Africa

Paleontologists say the world’s oldest-known burial site was found in South Africa

American explorer and scientist Lee Berger in South Africa said they have found the oldest-known burial site in the world, containing remains of a small-brained distant relative of humans previously thought incapable of complex behavior.

However, the scientist announced the discovery of a non-human species that uses symbols to mark their dead.

The researcher announced on Monday that he had evidence that Homo Naledi, a species with a brain the size of a chimpanzee, buried its dead and painted symbols on the walls of the tombs between 200,000 and 300,000 BC.

Researchers said they found the discovery buried about 30 meters (100 feet) below ground in a cave system at the Cradle of Humanity, a UNESCO world heritage site near Johannesburg.

“These are the most ancient interments yet recorded in the hominin record, earlier than evidence of Homo sapiens interments by at least 100,000 years,” the scientists wrote in a series of preprint papers, yet to be peer-reviewed, to be published in Life.

Paleontologist Lee Berger .

The findings cast doubt on the conventional wisdom regarding human evolution, which holds that the growth of larger brains enabled the performance of complex, “meaning-making” activities like burying the dead.

The oldest burials previously unearthed, found in the Middle East and Africa, contained the remains of Homo sapiens — and were around 100,000 years old.

“We are going to tell the world that we have discovered a non-human species, that had fire and controlled it, and went into incredibly difficult-to-reach spaces, and buried its dead in a ritual fashion, over and over and over again. And while they were doing that, they carved symbols on the wall above it”, said paleontologist Lee Berger.

Some experts however remain “sceptical” of his theory and require exceptional evidence to validate Berger’s claims.

Rising Star Cave.

In 2013, Lee Berger discovered the richest deposit of hominid fossils in Africa and introduced the world to Homo Naledi.

This species discovered by Dr. Berger had already upended the notion that our evolutionary path was a straight line, with curved fingers and toes, tool-wielding hands, and walking feet. Homo naledi is named after the “Rising Star” cave system where the first bones were found.

The holes, which researchers say evidence suggests were deliberately dug and then filled in to cover the bodies, contain at least five individuals. The oval-shaped interments at the center of the new studies were also found there during excavations started in 2018.

“That would mean not only are humans not unique in the development of symbolic practices, but may not have even invented such behaviours,” Berger told AFP in an interview.

The burial site is not the only sign that Homo naledi was capable of complex emotional and cognitive behavior, engravings forming geometrical shapes, including a “rough hashtag figure”, were also found on the apparently purposely smoothed surfaces of a cave pillar nearby.

WORLD

New suspect in the greatest act of vandalism in the history of dinosaur study

New suspect in the greatest act of vandalism in the history of dinosaur study

New suspect in the greatest act of vandalism in the history of dinosaur study

Researchers from the University of Bristol are rewriting the history of paleontology’s darkest and most bizarre event.

Vandals with sledgehammers destroyed skeletons and models intended for display in New York’s first dinosaur museum before it was even finished in 1871.

For more than a century, historians believed William “Boss” Tweed, New York’s most powerful political figure at the time, was to blame. But now researchers have revisited the crime — and point to a new suspect in what they call the “greatest act of vandalism in the history of dinosaur study.”

However, a recent paper by Victoria Coules of Bristol’s Department of History of Art and Professor Michael Benton of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences sheds new light on the incident and, in contrast to earlier accounts, identifies who was actually behind the order and what drove them to such wanton destruction—an odd man by the name of Henry Hilton, the Treasurer and VP of Central Park.

Paleontology was still in its infancy in 1871, and new discoveries made all over the world stoked curiosity about the enormous extinct animals. The Paleozoic Museum was to feature the work of Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, an English natural history artist who galvanized interest in dinosaurs in the United States with the display of the world’s first mounted dinosaur skeleton in Philadelphia in 1868.

Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkin’s conceptual drawing of the Paleozoic Museum. Photo: Annual report of the Board of Commissioners of Central Park (1858)

Hawkins used fossil evidence to create full-sized models for elaborate dioramas in preparation for the New York Museum. However, the museum was canceled in 1870 by the Tweed-controlled Central Park board. Vandals destroyed all of Hawkins’ models, casts, and studio a few months later.

“It’s all to do with the struggle for control of New York City in the years following the American Civil War (1861-1865),” said Victoria Coules. “The city was at the center of a power struggle—a battle for control of the city’s finances and lucrative building and development contracts.”

As the city grew, the iconic Central Park was taking shape. More than just a green space, it was to have other attractions, including the Paleozoic Museum.

Professor Benton explains, “Previous accounts of the incident had always reported that this was done under the personal instruction of ‘Boss’ Tweed himself, for various motives from raging that the display would be blasphemous, to vengeance for a perceived criticism of him in a New York Times report of the project’s cancelation.”

A, William “Boss” Tweed (1823–1878). Photo: Wikipedia

“Reading these reports, something didn’t look right,” Coules said. “At the time Tweed was fighting for his political life, already accused of corruption and financial wrong-doings, so why was he so involved in a museum project?” She added, “So we went back to the original sources and found that it wasn’t Tweed—and the motive was not blasphemy or hurt vanity.”

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and the Central Park Zoo were two additional projects in Central Park that were simultaneously under construction, which complicated the situation. But, as Professor Benton explained, “drawing on the detailed annual reports and minutes of Central Park, along with reports in the New York Times, we can show that the real villain was one strange character by the name of Henry Hilton.”

Coules adds, “Because all the primary sources are now available online, we could study them in detail—and we could show that the destruction was ordered in a meeting by the real culprit, Henry Hilton, the Treasurer and VP of Central Park—and it was carried out the day after this meeting.”

C, Henry Hilton (1824–1899). Photo: Wikipedia

Professor Benton concluded, “This might seem like a local act of thuggery but correcting the record is hugely important in our understanding of the history of paleontology. We show it wasn’t blasphemy or an act of petty vengeance by William Tweed, but the act of a very strange individual who made equally bizarre decisions about how artifacts should be treated—painting statues or whale skeletons white and destroying the museum models. He can be seen as the villain of the piece but as a character, Hilton remains an enigmatic mystery.”

Hilton was already notorious for other eccentric decisions. When he noticed a bronze statue in the Park, he ordered it painted white, and when a whale skeleton was donated to the American Museum of Natural History, he had that painted white as well. Later in life, other ill-judged decisions included cheating a widow out of her inheritance, squandering a huge fortune, and trashing businesses and livelihoods along the way.

ASIA, JAPAN, WORLD

The largest stone coffin grave found so far at the Yoshinogari Ruins -3.2 meters in Japan

The largest stone coffin grave found so far at the Yoshinogari Ruins -3.2 meters in Japan

A grave with a stone coffin around 2.3 meters long and dating to the latter part of the Yayoi Period was unearthed in Saga Prefecture, northwest of Kyushu, in southwesternmost of Japan’s main islands.

It is the largest stone coffin grave found so far at the Yoshinogari Ruins.

It is believed the grave was created between the latter half of the second century and the mid-third century when the Yamatai state existed.

According to the Saga Province prefectural government announcement, the discovered sarcophagus has four stone lids and a maximum length of 2.3 meters, and a width of 0.65 meters.

The grave measures about 3.2 meters. It is around 1.5 times the diameter of a typical grave pit for stone coffin graves that have previously been unearthed at the site.

The largest stone coffin grave found so far at the Yoshinogari Ruins -3.2 meters in Japan

The surface markings, which are thought to have been etched with sharp metal tools, closely resemble an “x” or the Japanese katakana symbol for “ki.” These shapes are thought to have the ability to protect a buried person from evil.

The governor’s office believes an influential person was buried there because it is located on top of a hill with a magnificent view.

The prefectural government plans to open the coffin on June 5.

The largest ruin among all the Yayoi ruins excavated in Japan, Yoshinogari spreads throughout the Kanzaki area of Saga Prefecture (Kanzaki town, Mitagawa town, and Higashisefuri village).

The Yayoi period was a long era spanning approximately 700 years. In the late Yayoi period, Yoshinogari developed into the largest moated village in the country, encircled by a large outer moat dug down in a “V” shape.

The village also came to feature two special inner areas (the “Northern Inner Enclosure” and the “Southern Inner Enclosure”). Particularly in the Northern Inner Enclosure, large buildings appeared as Yoshinogari entered its golden age.

EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

God Pan statue unearthed at Istanbul’s historical church of St. Polyeuctus

God Pan statue unearthed at Istanbul’s historical church of St. Polyeuctus

God Pan statue unearthed at Istanbul’s historical church of St. Polyeuctus

A Pan statue thought to belong to the Roman period was recovered during excavation works carried out by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) teams at Saraçhane Archaeology Park, where the Church of St. Polyeuctus is located.

There are modest ruins of a structure that was once the largest church in Constantinople and was constructed to resemble the Solomon Temple in Jerusalem in a small park right in the middle of Istanbul’s Fatih neighborhood, close to the location of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Before the erection of the new Hagia Sophia by Emperor Justinian in 537, the Church of Saint Polyeuctus was the largest temple in Constantinople.

The church in the Saraçhane district of Istanbul was destroyed after being used for various purposes. However, after some historical artifacts belonging to the church were discovered during the construction of an underpass in the 1960s, excavation works were carried out in the church.

After six years of hiatus, the excavation work was paced by the IBB Heritage teams affiliated with the Cultural Affairs Directorate.

During the excavations carried out by archaeologists, the Statue of Pan, which is considered to be 1700 years old, was found 2 meters 60 centimeters below the ground.

The left arm and underbody parts of the 20-centimeter-high, 18-cm-wide statue were found to be broken.

While the statue is estimated to belong to the Roman period, the exact period to which it belongs will be determined after the examinations. The found part of the Pan statue was taken to the warehouse of the Archeology Museums Directorate.

Although it is said that there are many palaces and structures belonging to the Theodosius family in the Saraçhane or Constantinianae region, a palace structure whose location has been determined has not been found until today, except for the Church of St Polyeuctus.

In a statement made by İBB Deputy Secretary General Mahir Polat on his social media account, he said that they had reached the lost Roman Palace section of Istanbul together with another Roman statue that was unearthed recently.

Pan is considered to be one of the oldest of Greek Gods. He is associated with nature, wooded areas, and pasturelands, which is where his name comes from.

Pan worship began in rural areas far from populated city centers. As a result, he did not construct large temples to worship him.

Pan worship was instead centered in nature, often in caves or grottos. He ruled over shepherds, hunters, and rustic music.

EUROPE, SCOTLAND, WORLD

Archaeologists find a 5,000-year-old piece of wood in Orkney, which they describe as “astonishing”

Archaeologists find a 5,000-year-old piece of wood in Orkney, which they describe as “astonishing”

Archaeologists find a 5,000-year-old piece of wood in Orkney, which they describe as “astonishing”

Archaeologists continue to make surprising discoveries in Orkney. Although organic materials are quite difficult to find, archaeologists have found a 5,000-year-old piece of wood in Orkney.

Archaeologists discovered the wood while excavating the Ness of Brodgar, which was home to a huge network of Neolithic structures, including a temple-style complex.

That the “astonishing new finding” of the wood was found at the site’s “Structure 12,” a huge rectangular building around 17 meters long.

The inside of the structure was split up by pillars to form a succession of bays, alcoves, and recesses around two huge hearths.

Sigurd Towrie, of the University of the Highlands and the Archaeological Institute of the Islands, told The Scotsman that wood was discovered in this area for the first time.

Mr. Towrie said: “Over the years of excavation the Ness has produced so many surprises that some archaeologists thought we had exhausted all the possibilities. Not so.”

The vast Ness of Brodgar site in Orkney.

Mr. Towrie said the wood was found in a post hole and had survived probably due to its preservation under a tiny amount of water.

“Preservation of organic material is very rare. The post hole sat in a depression and we think some water had gathered. It creates anaerobic conditions, which slows down decay,” he said.

While few trees remain on Orkney now, the islands were formerly densely forested, which has since vanished owing to increasing sea levels.

Recent research on the “woodlands beneath the waves” includes an examination of the remnants of a forest that had been driven under the ocean in the Bay of Ireland near Stromness and has been dated to be about 6,000 years old.

“The earliest Neolithic settlements were made of wood and then they later switched to stone,” Mr. Towrie said.

Although the wood found is in very poor condition, researchers hope to find answers to questions such as whether it is domestic or imported, and what type of wood is it.

The Ness of Brodgar location, located between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, is approximately six acres in size.

The first structures were erected on the site in approximately 3300 BC, and the site was closed down and abandoned after around 1,000 years.

Earlier this year, a potter’s fingerprint was discovered on a vessel made some 5,000 years ago, creating a “poignant connection” to the people who lived and visited here.

ASIA, CHINA, WORLD

12 tombs with Beautiful Decorations and Carved Bricks from the period of Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, were found in China

12 tombs with Beautiful Decorations and Carved Bricks from the period of Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, were found in China

12 tombs with Beautiful Decorations and Carved Bricks from the period of Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, were found in China

China has a rich history. In addition to the fossil records from the Paleolithic Period, the country has witnessed the rise and fall of several empires and dynasties.

Recently, archaeologists excavating in Shandong, China, have unearthed 12 incredible tombs estimated to be around 700 years old.

Archaeologists have excavated 12 ancient tombs dating back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) in Jinan, in east China’s Shandong Province, the local archeology institute said Wednesday. This is one of the most important finds ever made in the eastern Chinese province.

The Yuan dynasty was founded by conqueror Genghis Khan’s grandson, Kublai Khan. Based on an inscription discovered at the burial complex, the tombs belong to a family called Guo.

Murals in one of the Yuan Dynasty tombs with two burial chambers were comparatively well preserved.

The carved brick murals were created using chisels and wooden hammers to make patterns in the bricks. The magpies and branches on the murals were a classic Chinese design for good fortune.

A view of the tomb cluster.

According to the institute’s director Li Ming, this was the largest cluster of Yuan Dynasty brick mural tombs unearthed in the province.

“The tombs were arranged in an orderly and apparently planned way, and some of the owners were related by blood, providing new material for the study of the arrangement of family cemeteries in the Yuan Dynasty,” Li said.

The excavation, which started on April 23, turned up more than 60 pieces of pottery and porcelain ware, bronze mirrors, copper coins, and other cultural artifacts.

The results will aid in the study of porcelain produced in the region and its environs during the Yuan Dynasty.

Kublai Khan, the fifth Khagan emperor of the Mongol Empire and a member of the Borjigin family reigned it from 1271 until 1368.