Category Archives: NORTH AMERICA

Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of British Rule in Florida

Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of British Rule in Florida

A recent archaeological excavation in St. Augustine, Florida, has revealed a British redoubt dating back to 1781, offering valuable insight into the city’s history during British rule.

Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of British Rule in Florida

Founded by the Spanish in the 16th century, St. Augustine served as the capital of La Florida for more than 200 years. Today, it holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the United States.

The discovery of the redoubt adds a significant chapter to St. Augustine’s rich history, which predates the establishment of the United States. City archaeologists uncovered the fortified military outpost during excavations in the Lincolnville neighborhood, prior to the construction of a new home.

City archaeologist Andrea White stated that St. Augustine experienced a 20-year period of British rule, during which seven redoubts were constructed. She noted that, until recently, no archaeological evidence of these structures had been found, despite having rough ideas of their locations based on historic maps.

The Castillo de San Marcos, built by the Spanish military in the late 1600s, remains a prominent landmark on the western shore of Florida’s Matanzas Bay, now serving as a national monument rather than a military installation. When the British took control of Florida in 1763, St. Augustine already had extensive Spanish-built defenses. However, British officers, concerned about potential attacks from a nearby river, ordered the construction of outposts along the city’s western edge.

White noted that Britain’s relatively brief occupation of St. Augustine, which ended with the American Revolution in 1783, has largely faded from collective memory.

The discovery of the fort serves as a means to reclaim a piece of this lost history. “That’s what’s interesting about these British redoubts; they’re the only defenses that the British built themselves,” she explained. “Everything else that’s in St. Augustine or the surrounding area that everyone’s familiar with was already built by the Spanish. The British just kind of reoccupied them.”

The structure was uncovered thanks to a unique archaeological preservation ordinance adopted by St. Augustine in 1986. Founded in 1565, St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the U.S. To document and preserve its history, the city has its own archaeology program as part of the planning and permitting department.

Lori Lee from Flagler College ready to screen wet soil from the moat. Credit: City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program

White explained that the archaeological team is given the opportunity to document existing structures before construction begins. She emphasized that the goal is not to halt construction but to allow time for documentation and to gain a deeper understanding of the area’s history, after which the project can proceed.

White was aware that the area under development had a long history, dating back to a Native American mission in the early 1700s, followed by an agricultural plantation and later the construction of the Lincolnville neighborhood after the Civil War. “So we knew we had multiple centuries of history that could potentially be on the property, but we’re pretty excited to actually find evidence,” she said. “What we found evidence of was a large moat about 15 feet wide that would have been part of the rampart.”

While researchers found few artifacts at the site and are still determining the fort’s actual size and shape, they did recover thousands of different types of seeds. White mentioned that they are collaborating with a paleoethnobotanist to learn how the structure was built and used. It’s possible that plants like Spanish bayonet or prickly pear cactuses were utilized to prevent erosion or slow down attacking soldiers.

“So we’re very hopeful that we might find some good information from our plant remains that we’ve recovered,” White added.

Jason Heidgerken, the contractor working on the lot where the fort’s moat was discovered, acknowledged that the city’s archaeological program can cause delays. However, he praised White and her team for their effective communication, allowing him to adjust his timelines accordingly.

“I’ve been around St. Augustine since 1980 personally, and part of the attraction is the history,” Heidgerken remarked. “So if you want to live there and do this kind of business, it’s to be expected, and you need to have the patience for it.”

Archaeologists Discover a New Pyramid from the Caral Culture, Known as South America’s Oldest Civilization

Archaeologists Discover a New Pyramid from the Caral Culture, Known as South America’s Oldest Civilization

Archaeologists Discover a New Pyramid from the Caral Culture, Known as South America’s Oldest Civilization

The team from the Caral Archaeological Zone has discovered a new pyramidal structure in the “Sector F” of the Chupacigarro archaeological site, located one kilometer west of the Sacred City of Caral-Supe, a World Heritage site, in the Supe Valley, Barranca province, Lima Region, Peru.

The discovery was made by a multidisciplinary team from the Caral Archaeological Zone, led by Dr. Ruth Shady. Originally covered with huarango trees and bushes, the structure later revealed stone walls with at least three superimposed platforms and large ‘huancas’ (vertical stones) marking the corners of the building.

The structure, which is quadrangular in shape, features a central staircase that allows access to its summit. The “huancas” served not only a structural function but also a symbolic one, highlighting the ceremonial importance of the site.

The site contains 12 public or ceremonial structures distributed across hills, presided over by a Main Building with a sunken circular plaza. Additionally, residential areas have been identified on the periphery, suggesting a small urban center of 38.59 hectares with both public and private functions.

Chupacigarro is situated adjacent to a small water ravine, in proximity to the Sacred City of Caral Supe. The recently uncovered pyramid is an integral component of a broader network of architectural structures identified across multiple archaeological sites within the Supe Valley region.

In the walls, archaeologists discovered large rocks that had been placed vertically, which they have named “huancas”.

The twelve identified structures, classified as either public or ceremonial edifices, are strategically dispersed throughout the landscape, positioned atop the small hills that characterize the ravine and encircling a central communal space. These constructions were erected by the Caral civilization, which thrived in ancient Peru from approximately 3000 to 1800 B.C.

The Caral civilization is one of the oldest and most advanced civilizations in ancient Peru, existing between approximately 3000 and 1800 B.C. in the Supe Valley. This civilization made significant advancements in agriculture, architecture, and social organization.

Caral is known for its large pyramids, public buildings, and complex social structures. Additionally, while Caral did not use a written language, it possessed a complex social hierarchy and trade network. These characteristics contributed to Caral’s prominent status among Andean civilizations.

The architectural structures at the Chupacigarro site exhibit a diverse range of sizes, orientations, and formal characteristics, suggesting a correlation with their functional purposes.

Notably, residential architecture has been identified along the periphery of the site. A prominent building oversees a series of smaller structures, featuring a sunken circular plaza that is characteristic of this historical period.

These significant findings have prompted experts to assert the existence of a small urban settlement that once thrived in the area, which spans nearly 38.59 hectares.

Under the leadership of Dr. Ruth Shady, the research team responsible for the Chupacigarro discovery is now set to undertake a comprehensive mapping of the entire site to gain a clearer understanding of its overall dimensions and significance.

Archaeologists excavating the Chupacigarro archaeological site discovered a previously unknown quadrangular pyramidal structure, designated as Sector F, covering an area of 38.59 hectares.

In addition to the architectural findings at Chupacigarro, one of the most remarkable discoveries is a geoglyph depicting a profile head in the Sechín style, which can only be observed from a specific vantage point.

This significant finding underscores the ritual and symbolic importance of Chupacigarro, suggesting a connection to the Sacred City of Caral and the coastal populations of the Huaura Valley.

The geoglyph indicates that the site may have served as a focal point for cultural and ceremonial activities, facilitating access to both marine and agricultural resources that were vital to the communities in the region.

Research Shows Early North Americans Made Eyed Needles from Fur-Bearers

Research Shows Early North Americans Made Eyed Needles from Fur-Bearers

Research Shows Early North Americans Made Eyed Needles from Fur-Bearers

Archaeologists from the University of Wyoming have found bone 13,000-year-old eyed needles crafted from the bones of various furry animals. The discovery sheds light on the lives of these early inhabitants of North America.

The important find comes from an important archaeological site in Wyoming, where, about 13,000 years ago, the early humans hunted a Columbian mammoth or ate its carcass.

The study, led by archaeologist Spencer Pelton, reveals that these primitive inhabitants made needles from the bones of animals such as foxes, hares, rabbits, bobcats, mountain lions, lynx, and the now-extinct American cheetah to create garments necessary for survival in a cool climate.

Paleolithic humans used the entire animal for much more than just food, which is not surprising given the harsh environment that required warm clothing. However, the 32 bone needles that were recently found provide an intricacy of craftsmanship and detail into the lives of our human ancestors.

Additionally, they identify an intriguing relationship between innovation and clothing that allowed early humans to migrate to and even survive in colder climates.

“Our study is the first to identify the species and likely elements from which Paleoindians produced eyed bone needles,” the researchers wrote. “Our results are strong evidence for tailored garment production using bone needles and fur-bearing animal pelts. These garments partially enabled modern human dispersal to northern latitudes and eventually enabled colonization of the Americas.”

The LaPrele site in Converse County preserves the remains of a killed or scavenged sub-adult mammoth and an associated camp occupied during the time the animal was butchered almost 13,000 years ago. Also discovered in the archaeological excavation — led by UW Department of Anthropology Professor Todd Surovell — was a bead made from a hare bone, the oldest known bead in the Americas.

Research Shows Early North Americans Made Eyed Needles from Fur-Bearers
This is an aerial view of the LaPrele archaeological site near Douglas. Photo: Todd Surovell

To determine the origins of both the bone bead and the bone needles, the researchers used advanced techniques, such as zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS), to analyze the collagen deposits in the bones and identify the animal bones from which they were carved. The amino acids of animals in these artifacts were compared with those of animals between 13,500 and 12,000 years ago.

In presenting evidence for tailored garment production, researchers are highlighting a crucial innovation, as clothing that binds closely to the skin traps heat more effectively than draped clothing, along with stitched seams.

“Despite the importance of bone needles to explaining global modern human dispersal, archaeologists have never identified the materials used to produce them, thus limiting understanding of this important cultural innovation,” the researchers wrote.

Previous research has shown that, in order to cope with cold temperatures in northern latitudes, humans likely created tailored garments with closely stitched seams, providing a barrier against the elements.

While there’s little direct evidence of such garments, there is indirect evidence in the form of bone needles and the bones of fur-bearers whose pelts were used in the garments.

“Once equipped with such garments, modern humans had the capacity to expand their range to places from which they were previously excluded due to the threat of hypothermia or death from exposure,” Pelton and his colleagues wrote.

“Our results are a good reminder that foragers use animal products for a wide range of purposes other than subsistence and that the mere presence of animal bones in an archaeological site need not be indicative of diet,” the researchers concluded.

Early Paleoindian use of canids, felids, and hares for bone needle production at the La Prele site, Wyoming, USA, PLOS ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0313610

University of Wyoming

Cover Image Credit: An eyed needle made from the bone of a red fox found at the LaPrele archaeological site in Wyoming’s Converse County. Photo: Todd Surovell

Oldest US firearm unearthed in Arizona, a 500-year-old bronze cannon linked to Coronado expedition

Oldest US firearm unearthed in Arizona, a 500-year-old bronze cannon linked to Coronado expedition

Oldest US firearm unearthed in Arizona, a 500-year-old bronze cannon linked to Coronado expedition

Independent researchers in Arizona have unearthed a bronze cannon linked to the 16th-century expedition of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, and it is marked to be the oldest known firearm found in the continental United States.

The 42-inch-long, roughly 40-pound sand-cast bronze cannon was discovered at the location of a Spanish stone-and-adobe structure in the Santa Cruz Valley that is thought to have been a part of the short-lived settlement San Geronimo III.

To finance an expedition to North America in 1539, Vázquez de Coronado took out large loans and mortgaged his wife’s possessions. The Spanish conquistador and his 350 soldiers intended to locate the legendary (and nonexistent) Seven Cities of Gold north of Mexico. By 1541, they had reached southern Arizona, where they established a settlement they called San Geronimo III, or Suya. San Geronimo was the first European town in the American Southwest.

 Rather than accumulating immense wealth, Coronado and his men plied, and spent the next three years plundering, enslaving, and murdering their way across the region.

These transgressions did not go unanswered. In the predawn hours of one fateful morning in 1541, the native Sobaipuri launched a surprise attack on the town. Many settlers were killed in their beds, and the survivors fled in disarray. The cannon — meant to intimidate and protect — was never even loaded.

Although Coronado was bankrupt and facing war crime charges when his expedition came to an end in Mexico City, his impact on North America would last for many generations.

The wall gun was resting on the floor of a Spanish structure. Credit: International Journal of Historical Archeology

One site in particular has produced a large number of artifacts associated with the explorers, according to the authors of a study published on November 21st in the International Journal of Historical Archeology.

Researchers found European pottery, weapon parts, including a 42-inch-long bronze cannon, and glass and olive jar fragments in the ruins of a stone and adobe building in Arizona’s Santa Cruz Valley.

“Not only is it the first gun ever recovered from the Coronado expedition, but consultation with experts throughout the continent and in Europe reveal that it is also the oldest firearm ever found inside the continental USA,” Archaeologist Deni Seymour explained.

The early firearm also called a wall gun, was typically used as a defensive weapon positioned on a wooden tripod on fortification walls and required two operators. However, in Coronado’s case, such a cannon would have been used offensively, typically to pierce the weaker walls of buildings in Indigenous communities.

Archaeologists were able to date the cannon to Coronado’s time using radiocarbon dating and optically stimulated luminescence techniques, and the other artifacts matched descriptions of the supplies and possessions of his expedition.

However, the wall gun’s simple casting suggests that, in contrast to more elaborate Spanish cannons, it might have been built in Mexico or the Caribbean—and possibly even acquired from Ponce de León’s previous expedition.

Seymour, D., Mapoles, W.P. Coronado’s Cannon: A 1539-42 Coronado Expedition Cannon Discovered in Arizona. Int J Histor Archaeol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-024-00761-7

Cover Image Credit: A bronze medieval-style wall or rampart gun, believed to have been part of the Francisco Vázquez de Coronado expedition found in southern Arizona. Credit: Deni J. Seymour

Scientists Find Aztec ‘Death Whistles’ do Weird Things to the Listeners’ Brains

Scientists Find Aztec ‘Death Whistles’ do Weird Things to the Listeners’ Brains

Scientists Find Aztec ‘Death Whistles’ do Weird Things to the Listeners’ Brains

New research reveals that one of the Aztecs’ most chilling artefacts, clay death  whistles, which resemble a human skull and produce a scream-like sound, not only frightened listeners in ancient times, but also had a profound effect on the human brain’s ability to increase states of alarm and fear.

The new study, published this month in the journal Communications Psychology, investigated the effect of these sounds on modern listeners, finding their ability to elicit negative emotional responses and increased neural activity in the auditory cortex.

For the first time, scientists investigated the effects of these disturbing whistles on the brains of modern European volunteers, conducting two separate experiments with different participant samples.

Aztec death whistles usually skull-shaped were designed to produce a high-pitched, penetrating sound similar to a scream, resulting from the collision of different air currents. Numerous examples have been found in graves dated between 1250 and 1521 CE.

Death whistles are thought to have been used by the ancient Aztecs to intimidate adversaries during battle. They are frequently found alongside the skeletons of sacrifice victims, fuelling suggestions that they might have had more of a ceremonial function.

For example, according to some experts, the death whistles were designed to resemble the piercing winds of Mictlan, the Aztec underworld that was thought to receive sacrificed tributes. Some believe the sound was intended to symbolize the Aztec God of the Wind, Ehecatl, who formed humanity from the remains of the dead.

Researchers used volunteers from modern-day Europe to perform a number of psychoacoustic tests.

When the researchers recorded the participants’ neural and psychological reactions to hearing the death scream, they found that the sound was perceived as “having a hybrid natural-artificial origin,” making it difficult for the brain to categorize.

Research participants described the sounds as “scary” e “aversive”, matching the purpose of using whistles in Aztec rituals and wars.

The psychoacoustic experiments carried out in the study revealed that the brain perceives sound as both natural and artificial, creating a feeling of ambiguity that captures mental attention.

This complex reaction involves lower-order auditory processing and higher-order cognitive systems, amplifying the emotional impact of sound.

Put another way, the death  whistle’s terrifying ambiguity seems to spark the imagination as the brain tries to decipher the sound’s symbolic meaning. The researchers therefore conclude that the whistles’ “usage in ritual contexts seems very likely, especially in sacrificial rites and ceremonies related to the dead.”

These sounds may have been intended to instill fear in victims of sacrifices or admiration to those who attended the ceremonies.

As a result, the researchers suggest that it may have been deliberately used during Aztec ceremonies to evoke strong psychological responses.

Frühholz, S., Rodriguez, P., Bonard, M. et al. Psychoacoustic and Archeoacoustic nature of ancient Aztec skull whistles. Commun Psychol 2, 108 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-024-00157-7

Lidar Technology Reveals a 3,000-year-old Secret Mayan City with Full of Pyramids and Plazas

Lidar Technology Reveals a 3,000-year-old Secret Mayan City with Full of Pyramids and Plazas

Lidar Technology Reveals a 3,000-year-old Secret Mayan City with Full of Pyramids and Plazas

Tulane University researchers used laser-guided imaging to uncover vast unexplored Maya settlements in  Campeche, Mexico, revealing more than 6,500 pre-Hispanic structures, including a previously unknown large city with stone pyramids.

The ability to examine large regions from the comfort of a laboratory thanks to Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) technology has revolutionized the way archaic researchers study ancient civilizations in recent years.

The research project, led by doctoral student Luke Auld-Thomas alongside his advisor, Professor Marcello A. Canuto, both affiliated with Tulane’s Middle American Research Institute (MARI), used Lidar technology to study an area of 130 square kilometers in Campeche.

As part of a “non-archaeological” survey, the 50-square-mile area was mapped in 2013 using lidar, a remote-sensing technology, according to a study published today in the journal Antiquity. Examining this “found” dataset, the researchers discovered the ancient city concealed in plain sight in a region teeming with Maya settlements. They found evidence of over 6,500 structures in all.

The research focuses on a part of Campeche that had previously been overlooked in traditional archaeological research.

The core of the Valeriana site contained a ballcourt and an architectural arrangement that indicated a construction date before 150 C.E.

“The government never knew about it; the  scientific community never knew about it,” says lead author Luke Auld-Thomas, an archaeologist at Tulane University, in a statement.

Researchers found not only rural areas and small communities but also a large city with pyramids, close to the only road in the area, near a village where farmers have been working among the ruins without the government or scientific community being previously aware of its existence.

The larger of the two “monumental precincts” that comprised the city “has all the hallmarks of a Classic Maya political capital,” according to the researchers. It included temple pyramids, a freshwater reservoir, several enclosed plazas that were connected, and a ball court where the Maya played games with rubber balls.

According to the study, Valeriana’s architectural layout indicates that some of the town was constructed before 150 C.E. It thrived during the Classic era, which roughly spanned 250–900 C.E. and was the Maya Empire’s golden age.

This discovery is particularly striking, as it underscores how much remains unknown about the Maya and that there is still much to uncover.

An annotated scan of Valeriana shows ruined platforms in purple and other ruined structures in black.

The researchers intend to visit Valeriana and the surrounding settlements in person to learn more about the ancient rural population of the Maya lowlands.

This study not only reveals previously unknown cities, but it also contributes to ongoing debates about the true extent of Maya settlements and their population density.

It has been contended, that prior research has mostly concentrated on sizable, well-known locations like Tikal, which may have skewed impressions of the Maya lowlands.

According to some critics, the majority of the Maya region may have been rural, with big settlements being the exception rather than the rule.

This perspective is called into question by the discoveries made in Campeche, which demonstrate how the Maya civilization created a network of communities in a vast tropical environment that varied in size and complexity.

“Lidar is teaching us that, like many other ancient civilizations, the lowland Maya built a diverse tapestry of towns and communities over their tropical landscape,” Canuto said. “While some areas are replete with vast agricultural patches and dense populations, others have only small communities. Nonetheless, we can now see how much the ancient Maya changed their environment to support a long-lived complex society.”

The Oldest Known Tombstone in the US Originally Came from Belgium, New Research has Shown

The Oldest Known Tombstone in the US Originally Came from Belgium, New Research has Shown

The Oldest Known Tombstone in the US Originally Came from Belgium, New Research has Shown

Jamestown, Virginia, was founded in 1607 and was the first English permanent settlement in North America.

The region has been the focus of numerous historical and archaeological investigations, such as the one conducted recently by Prof. Markus M. Key and Rebecca K. Rossi, who sought to ascertain the origin of the tombstone of the black “marble” knight of Jamestown.

The Jamestown’s black “marble” tombstone was erected in honor of a knight but the origins of the stone and the history of the knight were both unknown to historians and archaeologists. The stone dates from 1627 and is the oldest tombstone of its kind in the USA’s Chesapeake Bay area.

The tombstone is covered with carved depressions (once filled with brass inlays) that depict the outline of an English knight with a sword and shield. It was first put in place in 1627, where it remained until the 1640s when the church’s southern entrance was built.

Broken by the time it was rediscovered in 1907, the slab has been repaired and relocated to the chancel of the present-day Memorial Church.

The tombstone has undergone innumerable inspections and analyses; however, Rebecca K. Rossi and Professor Markus M. Key conducted a fresh investigation, which was just released in the International Journal of Historical Archaeology. They wished to determine the origin of the black polished limestone, commonly mis-termed “marble” that was used for the Jamestown knight’s tomb.

What they discovered was unexpected, Professor Key said.

Researchers used fossils found inside the stone to uncover a type of microfossil called foraminifera. The specific origin and time of these foraminifera species may become clear with their identification. Microfossil analysis can therefore be used in forensics to pinpoint geographic locations and is also utilized in geological studies to fine-tune the dating of rock layers.

There were six species of foraminifera identified. Many existed in what is now Belgium during the Carboniferous Period, specifically during the Viséan Age, and Middle Mississippian Epoch (which lasted from about 345 to 328 million years ago).

Jamestown Knight tombstone. Photo: Jamestown Rediscovery, Preservation Virginia/International Journal of Historical Archaeology

This shows with certainty the stone and the microfossils it contains do not actually come from the Chesapeake Bay, the USA or even North America.

According to the latest findings, the knight’s tombstone had to have been transported from Europe by sea. Based on historical evidence, it is more likely that this originated in Belgium and was shipped to London before being delivered to Jamestown, USA.

From Roman times until the present, Belgium has been recognized as the source of this Lower Carboniferous “black” marble for centuries.

“It was particularly popular among the wealthy in England during Knight’s life,” the professor said.

“Little did we realize that colonists were ordering tombstones from Belgium like we order items from Amazon, just a lot slower.”

Of the two knights who died in Jamestown in the 17th century, one was Sir Thomas West, Virginia’s first resident governor, who died in 1618 while crossing the Atlantic to Jamestown.

The second was Sir George Yeardley, who was born in Southwark in 1587 and reached Jamestown in 1610 after surviving a shipwreck near Bermuda.  Knighted on going back to England in 1617, he was appointed Governor of Virginia in 1618 and returned to Jamestown where he held this post until 1621.  He resumed the post in 1626 and died in 1627.

The tombstone is the possibility it belonged to knight Sir George Yeardley, according to historical records.

The secret of the mummy in the Crystal coffin found in a garage in San Francisco

The secret of the mummy in the Crystal coffin found in a garage in San Francisco

The secret of the mummy in the Crystal coffin found in a garage in San Francisco

Mysterious mummies are a symbol of ancient lost times, which we often associate with Egypt and other ancient civilizations. Therefore, the discovery of a  coffin made of crystal with the body of a girl come from under the floor of a garage in  San Francisco is absolutely shocking.

In 2016, while remodeling an old garage in San Francisco, California, workers found a strange object that, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a child’s coffin with an extraordinary design.

Rusted bolts held a metal object together that resembled a large shaped casket, and it was only by unscrewing the bolts that it was possible to identify what it was. Bolts fixed a sheet of metal that covered two windows made of thick glass. Looking inside the box, the workers were taken aback — inside lay the body of a small blonde girl, almost untouched by decay.

The discovery of an old coffin containing the body of a child terrified the people of San Francisco and perplexed scientists. It took them a long time to figure out the mystery of an unusual burial.

In the coffin inside lay the body of a blond girl dressed in a lace dress. Her hair was decorated with lavender petals, and on her chest lay a wreath in the form of a cross of blue bindweeds. In her hands, she held a large purple nightshade flower.

There were no details inside the coffin that would help identify the body.  The body was examined, described, and photographed, after which the experts drew up a protocol, placed the metal coffin containing the child in a wooden box, and… handed it over to the garage owner. According to the law, if the corpse is not a criminal and the relatives are unknown, the burial duties are assigned to the owner of the land where the body was discovered.

During the paperwork, the police gave the deceased the name Eva. And the mistress of the garage, where they found the burial, named the child Miranda.

But how did the coffin with the little dead girl end up under the garage? This was not a surprising occurrence given that the structure stood on the grounds of Odd Fellows Cemetery, San Francisco’s largest cemetery. When the rapidly growing metropolis came close to the extreme graves, a large city churchyard was closed for burials in 1890.

When the cemetery started to negatively impact the neighborhood over time, it was decided to close it down in 1923. Most of the remains were exhumed and buried in common graves, while some of the bodies were taken by relatives for reburial. The coffin with the girl was obviously forgotten in the confusion and remained in the ground, which was handed over to developers.

Tissue and hair samples were taken from the deceased girl for DNA analysis. Erica Karner was busy burying Eva-Miranda while the examination was taking place. The girl’s body began to decompose after the airtight coffin was opened. It was impossible to delay the burial.

Tissue analysis revealed that the baby’s mother was born in the British Isles. Even more interesting were the results of the hair study.

“Hair DNA analysis showed that the child had a protein deficiency and severe malnutrition.

And experts said that most likely this arose due to some kind of illness or due to the amount of medication that the child used,” the lawyer said.

Volunteers explored the city archives. They found a record of the burial of a two-year-old girl who died due to severe exhaustion. Her name is Edith Howard Cook. The child died in October 1876.

The parents’ names were Horatio Nelson and Edith Skaufi Cook. Scientists have even found living relatives of the “girl from the crystal  coffin.”

Thus, volunteers and scientists were able to solve the mystery surrounding the mysterious burial and give the girl’s name back who passed away nearly 150 years ago.

Sleeping Beauty.

Parents often embalmed their dead children’s bodies centuries ago. The famous mummy of a child is kept in Palermo’s Capuchin catacombs. Rosalia Lombardo, the daughter of a Sicilian official, died of pneumonia in 1920. The girl’s body was so well preserved that she was nicknamed “Sleeping Beauty”.