Category Archives: WORLD

AFRICA, KENYA, WORLD

Fossilized monkey teeth help fill six million year gap in the evolution

Fossilized monkey teeth help fill six million year gap in evolution

Researchers have used fossilized teeth found near Lake Turkana in northwest Kenya to identify a new monkey species — a discovery that helps fill a 6-million-year gap in primate evolution.

UNLV geoscientist Terry Spell and former master’s student Dawn Reynoso were part of the international research team that discovered the species that lived 22 million years ago.

Understanding the evolution of Old World monkeys is important because, along with the great apes and humans, they belong to the anthropoid group of primates — primates that resemble humans.

UNLV geoscientist, student among international research team behind the discovery of ancient monkey species that lived in Africa 22 million years ago

According to Spell, the monkey fossil discovery grew out of a more extensive study of a section of sedimentary rocks in Kenya that contain a large number of different types of fossils, including several hundred mammals and reptile jaws, limbs, and teeth.

Previous studies had documented the early evolution of Old World monkeys using fossils dated at 19 million and 25 million years old, leaving a 6-million-year gap in the earliest record.

However, the new fossil was determined to be 22 million years in age. Isotopic ages on the rocks were obtained in the Nevada Isotope Geochronology Laboratory on the UNLV campus.

“This adds to our understanding of the earliest evolutionary history of Old World monkeys, including changes in their diet with time to include more leaves,” Spell said.

“Monkeys originated at a time in the past when Africa and Arabia were together as an island continent. Plate tectonic motions pushed this landmass into the Eurasian landmass 20 to 24 million years ago, and an exchange of animals and plants occurred.

It is unclear if competition with newly introduced species or changing climate conditions drove changes in diet.”

Scientists named the newly discovered monkey species Alophia (“without lophs”) due to the lack of molar crests on its teeth — a phenomenon that sets them apart from geologically younger monkey fossils.

Fossilized monkey teeth help fill six million year gap in evolution
A fossil jaw of the newly discovered ancient Old World monkey named Alophia.

Old World monkeys are the most successful living superfamily of nonhuman primates with a geographic distribution that is surpassed only by humans. 

The group occupies a wide spectrum of land to tree habitats and have a diverse range of diets. They evolved to develop a signature dental feature — having two molar crests — which to this day allows them to process a wide range of food types found in the varying environments of Africa and Asia.

Others involved in the research were scientists from nine U.S. universities and a foreign national museum.

AFRICA, SOUTH AFRICA, WORLD

200,000-Year-Old Bedding Found in South Africa May Be World’s Oldest

200,000-Year-Old Bedding Found in South Africa May Be World’s Oldest

Archaeologists studying the interior of a cliffside cave in South Africa have found what may be the world’s oldest bedding, reports Cathleen O’Grady for Science magazine.

200,000-Year-Old Bedding Found in South Africa May Be World’s Oldest
Archaeologists discovered these fossilized fragments of grass deep inside South Africa’s Border Cave.

Dated to more than 200,000 years ago, the grass bedding—discovered in the Lebombo Mountains’ Border Cave—was placed atop layers of ash, perhaps to keep crawling insects like ticks at bay.

The findings, published in the journal Science, push the earliest record of human-constructed bedding back by at least 100,000 years. Previously, notes George Dvorsky for Gizmodo, the oldest known specimen was 77,000-year-old grass bedding found in Sibudu, South Africa.

Humans inhabited the Border Cave, so named because it sits near the border of South Africa and eSwatini (formerly known as Swaziland), sporadically between 227,000 and 1,000 years ago. More recently, the site has yielded an array of significant archaeological finds related to these early residents.

Lead author Lyn Wadley, an archaeologist at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, tells Gizmodo that excavations at the cave revealed “ephemeral fossilized grass.” She says the layer of grass was probably at least a foot thick and “would have been as comfortable as any camp bed or haystack.”

Wadley and her colleagues used scanning electron microscopes and infrared spectroscopy to identify fossilized plant materials. In addition to broad-leafed grasses, the team found traces of burned camphor bush, which is still used by people in rural East Africa as an aerial insect repellent, reports Ashley Strickland for CNN.

The Border Cave rock shelter in the Lebombo Mountains of South Africa

Because the ash is thought to have come from the same grass used in the bedding, the researchers suggest that Border Cave’s occupants periodically burned and replaced their mats with fresh plant matter. Per the paper, the ash repelled crawling insects by blocking “their breathing and biting apparatus and eventually [leaving] them dehydrated.”

Wadley says the findings are indicative of considerable sophistication on the part of early humans.

“Through the use of ash and medicinal plants to repel insects, we realize that they had some pharmacological knowledge,” she explains.

“Furthermore, they could extend their stay at favoured campsites by planning ahead and cleaning them through burning fusty beds. They therefore had some basic knowledge of health care through practising hygiene.”

Mixed in with the bedding, the team found ocher particles and flakes of stone possibly chipped off during toolmaking. The slivers of rock may indicate that the soft bedding was used as a seat for daily chores, while the red pigment may have rubbed off of individuals’ skin or other Stone Age canvases.

The researchers can’t be absolutely certain that ancient humans slept on the grass bedding. But Javier Baena Preysler, an archaeologist at the Autonomous University of Madrid who was not involved in the study, tells Science that this is the “most plausible interpretation.”

To estimate the proposed bedding’s age, Wadley and her team conducted radiocarbon testing on a pair of teeth discovered in the same strata of the cave’s sediments.

Speaking with Science, Dani Nadel, an archaeologist at the University of Haifa who was not involved in the research, deems this methodology “a bit shaky.” He points out that relying on just two teeth rather than analysis of the actual plant remnants could have yielded inaccurate dates.

Since the final layer of plant bedding was left unburned, the archaeologists suggest that the humans who had once lined the Border Cave’s floor with soft, green grass eventually abandoned the site.

ASIA, EUROPE, RUSSIA, WORLD

Pyramids Discovered In Russia Twice As Old As Egyptian Could Rewrite Human History

Pyramids Discovered In Russia Twice As Old As Egyptian Could Rewrite Human History

The discovery of the world’s earliest pyramids on the Kola Peninsula may confirm the existence of an ancient civilisation on Russian territory. The civilization likely predates the Egyptian civilization for a long time.

Archaeological excavations of the Kola Peninsula’s pyramids, which are believed to be at least two times older than Egyptian pyramids, have been resumed last year. It is still not known by whom or how they were built.

The mystery of the pyramids of Kola Peninsula

Pyramids Discovered In Russia Twice As Old As Egyptian Could Rewrite Human History

The Kola Peninsula is a peninsula located in the Murmansk area of Russia’s European portion. The Barents and White Seas flow across it. The area is around 100,000 square kilometres. The north has tundra vegetation, whereas the south has forest tundra and taiga. The peninsula’s climate is somewhat chilly all the year.

The extraordinary discovery of the world’s oldest pyramids on the Kola Peninsula indicates the existence of the legendary Hyperborea. The Kola Peninsula has recently become a fascinating place for scientific researchers and enthusiasts.

Many of the scientists who made a scientific expedition to this enigmatic place believe that the Kola peninsula may be the ancestral home to Earth’s most ancient civilization. Scientists’ discoveries of step pyramids and massive stone slabs that were precisely cut 9000-40000 years ago provide compelling evidence for this incredible idea.

Were the Hyperboreans responsible for the Kola Pyramids?

Archaeologists have studied intriguing pyramid structures on the Kola peninsula, which have the potential to rewrite our history. The pyramids have been built with precision and are thought to be at least 9,000 years old, which could be even older than Göbekli Tepe, the world’s oldest temple.

The earliest known investigation of the Kola pyramids took place in the early 1920s when Russian scholar Alexander Vasilyevich Barchenko (1881–1938) arrived with a scientific team to explore the enigmatic, undiscovered ancient monuments in Russia’s unexplored part. However, Barchenko was not a mainstream scientist, and to date, his beliefs are controversial, as well as intriguing at the same time.

Barchenko became persuaded that the Kola pyramids were built by the lost civilisation of Hyperborea, a mythological island according to the ancient Greeks. Hecataeus of Miletus (550 BC-476 BC), the earliest recorded Greek historian, believed the Hyperborean holy site located “on an island in the ocean…beyond the country of the Celts.”

According to Diodorus Siculus (90 BC-30 BC), a Greek historian, God Apollo visited the unknown country of Hyperborea on his swan drawn chariot on a regular basis.

“Opposite to the coast of Celtic Gaul there is an island in the sea, not smaller than Sicily, situated to the north—which is inhabited by the Hyperboreans, who are so named because they live beyond the North Wind,” Diodorus said. “This island has a pleasant climate, fertile soil, and is abundant in everything, producing twice a year.”

According to the Diodorus’ statement in Historic Library, Greek goddess Leto, the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis, was born in Hyperborea, and as a result, the locals worship Apollo more than any other God. They are, in a sense, his priests, because they constantly praise him and lavish him with awards.

“There is a lovely Apollo grove on this island, as well as a spectacular circular temple decorated with many dedicated offerings. There is also a city dedicated to the same God, the majority of whose residents are harpers who constantly play their harps at the temple and sing songs to the God praising his deeds. The Hyperboreans speak a unique dialect and have a strong connection to the Greeks, particularly the Athenians and the Delians…”

It is also said that the moon appears very close to the earth in this island, that certain eminences of a terrestrial form can be clearly seen in it, that Apollo visits the island once every nineteen years, during which period the stars complete their revolutions, and that for this reason, the Greeks distinguish the cycle of nineteen years by the name of “the great year.”

Hyperborea has never been discovered, but that, according to many theorists, doesn’t imply it didn’t exist. Hyperborea’s submerged ancient remains may yet be unearthed. Could the abandoned Kola Pyramids in Russia’s North be the remnants of a long-lost, sophisticated ancient civilization about which we know almost nothing?

According to Barchenko’s view, people came from the northern areas around 12,000 years ago. A massive flood drove Aryan tribes residing there to flee the area during the so-called Golden Age, which occurred around 10,000-12,000 years ago. The Aryan tribes left the Kola Peninsula and travelled to the south.

After studying Masonic literature, the late Russian scientist gradually came to believe that the Hyperboreans were a highly sophisticated society capable of atomic energy, levitation, and flight. He also believed that Sami shamans living on the Kola Peninsula were the keepers of Hyperborea’s old wisdom.

Bashenko was a keen student of religious and mystical matters, and while his hypotheses were never proven, they are nevertheless of considerable interest to scholars of alternative ancient history. On April 25, 1938, Bashenko was killed in Moscow as part of the Great Purge.

Inside the Kola Pyramids, there are unknown voids and chambers

Later in 2007, a Russian expedition team attempted to investigate the Kola Pyramids. Among these experts were Pulkovo Observatory press secretary Sergey Smirnov, candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, Valery Chudinov, Professor of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, and Dmitry Subetto, Professor, doctor of geological and geographical sciences.

The voyage was more arduous and risky than the researchers had anticipated. The Kola Pyramids are in a secluded area, and the inhabitants, the Lapps, we’re hesitant to show them the route.

According to one of the team members, Russian experts viewed the pyramids from a helicopter, but owing to extensive foliage, not all buildings were visible from the air.

Their chopper nearly crashed, but they made it to the old site and studied these strange buildings. The Kola pyramids, according to Russian geologists, are two 50-meter-high structures linked by a bridge and aligned to the cardinal points.

“We carried a unique device, the most sophisticated geophysical equipment – the Oko georadar – on the expedition,” one of the researchers explained.

Like an x-ray, the instrument “shines through” the interior space of any item. The geologists reached an unambiguous conclusion: the heights are anthropogenic in origin; hence, they are not natural hills, but man-made pyramids ― the product of human hands. Inside the pyramids, there are gaps and undiscovered rooms.

The Russian pyramids’ function, purpose and who constructed them are still unclear. They might have been utilised as an astronomical observatory in ancient times or might be used as sacred ground. For now, what is known about the Kola Pyramids is that they are far older than the Egyptian pyramids, and their presence adds another intriguing segment to human history. In the end, the enigma of the Russian Pyramids in the Kola Peninsula has remained unexplained to this day.

AFRICA, SUDAN, WORLD

Ancient Mural Paintings Of Nubian Pyramids Depict Giant Carrying Two Elephants And Giant Kings

Ancient Mural Paintings Of Nubian Pyramids Depict Giant Carrying Two Elephants And Giant Kings

Almost every culture that prevails around the world talks consists of ancient accounts that narrate the tales of giants living on the Earth. One more addition to such accounts is the ancient mural painting in the Nubian pyramids that portrays a ‘Giant’ carrying two elephants.

Moving north from Khartoum along a narrow desert road toward the ancient city of Meroë, one will definitely enjoy a breathtaking view emerging from beyond the mirage that is dozens of steep pyramids piercing the horizon.

However, irrespective of the number of visits one pays to this place, there is always an awed sense of discovery. Meroë is the former capital of the Kingdom of Kush, and here the road divides the city.

Sudan’s Forgotten Nubian Pyramids

A royal cemetery consisting of somewhat around 50 sandstone and red brick pyramids of varying heights and broken tops is located towards the East. The royal city including the ruins of a palace, a temple, and a royal bath is located towards the West. Each structure has a distinctive architecture that draws on local, Egyptian, and Greco-Roman decorative tastes―evidence of Meroe’s global connections.

Past Associated With the City of Kush

The kingdom of Kush

The first civilization that was established in northern Sudan dates back 300,000 years. It is home to the oldest sub-Saharan African kingdom, the kingdom of Kush (about 2500-1500 BC). This civilization manufactured some of the most beautiful pottery in the Nile valley, including Kerma beakers.

The 200 years from the fall of Kush to the middle of the 6th century is an unknown age in Sudan. Nubia was inhabited by a people called the Nobatae by the ancient geographers and the X-Group by modern archaeologists, who are still at a loss to explain their origins. 

Map of Kush and Ancient Egypt, showing the Nile up to the fifth cataract, and major cities and sites of the ancient Egyptian Dynastic period (3150 BC to 30 BC)

Sudan was extremely desired for its rich natural resources particularly gold, ebony, and ivory. The British Museum collection has many objects made from the resources acquired from Sudan.

Just like every other kingdom, ancient Egyptians were also attracted to Sudan with the intention of grabbing a hold on rich natural resources. Concerning the control over trade, there were constant conflicts between the Egyptians and the Sudanese.

Around 1700 BC, the Kingdom of Kush was the strongest state in the Nile valley. The conflict between Egypt and Kush followed, culminating in the conquest of Kush by Thutmose I (1504-1492 BC). In the west and south, Neolithic cultures remained as both areas were beyond the reach of the Egyptian rulers.

City of Meroë And The Ancient Mural Painting of a Giant carrying two elephants

The city of Meroë is home to a remarkable number of pyramids, however, the majority of them are ruined. The pyramids of this city have the distinctive size and proportions of Nubian pyramids.

Meroë came into the picture and to the knowledge of Europeans in 1821 by the French mineralogist Frédéric Cailliaud (1787-1869). Numerous enigmatic and mysterious objects were discovered which included the reliefs and paintings on the walls of the sepulchral chambers. One such mysterious find was a painting that depicts a giant of enormous proportions carrying two elephants.

Sudan Meroitic depiction of a Nubian carrying two elephants

Though the features of the painted giant are not Nubian but caucasian and his hair is light in colour. Is this ancient mural painting proof of the existence of a race of red-haired giants with six fingers in antiquity?

Did Giants Really Live Around the Nile Valley?

Back in 79 AD, a Roman historian, Josephus Flavius put in writing that the last of the race of Egyptian giants did live in the 13th century BC, during the reign of King Joshua.  It was further added by the historian that the giants had humongous bodies, and their facial features were not at all human, and their one sight was a treat to eyes.

They had a heavy, rough voice that was almost like a lion roaring.

Moreover, many of the wall paintings of ancient Egypt depict the builders of Pyramids as “Giant People” by the size of 5 to 6 meters tall.
It is believed by researchers and experts that the giants had the ability to lift 4 to 5 tons of blocks individually.

Some of those ancient mural paintings showed giant kings ruling ancient Egypt, while some depicted comparably little-sized servants under the giant people.

A guy massaging the giant king’s legs

Gregor Spörri, a Swiss entrepreneur and a passionate admirer of the history of Ancient Egypt, met with a gang of robbers of ancient burials through one of the private suppliers in Egypt in 1988.

According to Gregor Spörri, the owner of the giant finger was a grave robber that acquired the piece while searching through an undisclosed thumb in Egypt.

When Gregor Spörri, a 56-year-old entrepreneur offered to purchase the giant finger, the owner responded: NEVER.

As per Gregor Spörri, the grave robber who discovered the finger also had a certificate of Authenticity and an X-ray image, both of which are from the 1960s.

The mummified Egyptian Giant Finger.

To Conclude

The discovery of numerous ancient mural paintings in Egypt has compelled many to believe that in the distant past, the ancient Egyptians were indeed giant. They were massive in size. These giant humans of Egypt had Giant Animals and Birds as well. People of regular size like us cohabited along with these ancient Egyptian humans. Did giants once really roam on earth along with humans? Is it even possible historically and scientifically?

NORTH AMERICA, U.S.A, WORLD

Man finds Nephilim giants in Utah

Man finds Nephilim giants in Utah

If people in the desert are looking into this for the first time then you should really look at www.snopes.com and see what they think about some of the photos that have been posted on the Internet. So if you looked at the above link, who do you believe? At the bottom of the page on Snopes, you’ll see a link to the square-cube law which purposes that large humans are not possible. Well, I disagree.

They have been found and some are even living today. I’m sure you’ve seen them on TV shown as anomalies to the human race. So what should you take away from all this? Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet. Even Snopes, which some people believe in and follow like a religion, can be wrong.

Now whoever decided the Square-cube law had anything to do with people or animals certainly could never convince me, at least not showing examples of boxes. If you believe this then do you believe there was ever a Mastodon roaming the earth, or how about dinosaurs? Take it all (including this article) with a grain of salt!

Man finds Nephilim giants in Utah

To give you a good example of what we’re talking about here, we’ll dwell for a minute on this one “photo” that is presented in many, many videos on YouTube as evidence of Giant Ancients in the world and in the desert southwest. With a little research, you’ll find that this is a doctored photo that was entered into a contest on a graphics site called Worth1000.

There are many examples of fantastic graphics manipulations on this site. HERE is the original entry.

Someone found this and used it to make bogus claims about the Ancient Giants in the desert. Of course, this may not be the case for some of the information found on the Internet. So what about the archaeologists and anthropologists and their viewpoint on this subject? If you don’t know this then it’s about time you did.

If the artefacts weren’t found by a person with a degree and documented then it doesn’t exist, period! And even if it was found by a person with a degree they are unlikely to verify it. Why, because it goes against all the verified info they have and goes against other more qualified persons.

In other words, they will be ridiculed, so they forget it or write it off as a hoax. This kind of thinking is like the dark ages but continues today in our society of scholars. Would the government acknowledge these findings? Absolutely not. Can you imagine the ramifications to follow? People with Viking backgrounds like myself who have relatives on the Isle of Man could come forth and ask for their land back or payment for it. Plus a lot of other options. So much information is censored because of this it’s no wonder we live like blind people.

Manti, Utah

Let’s look at some of the findings that may or may not support the Giant Ancients in the desert. First here is a finding in the centre of Utah near the town of Manti.

In 1955 a man by the name of John Brewer found a set of stone stairs carved on the floor of a cave near Manti, Utah. After gaining access he discovered a tomb or chamber where he found large coffins and mummies with red and blond hair of very large stature. He also found boxes with metal plates inscribed in an ancient text. He showed this to a friend, Dr Robert Heinerman, PhD in anthropology. No photos exist of the coffins or mummies. Only photos of the plates were taken. Some of the plates were made of gold, some of the copper.

It is told that Mr Brewer found other caves with more artefacts, but no more mummies. He wouldn’t show the cave to anyone else.

It has been rumoured that the LDS church may have had something to do with this decision? Of course, this may be just a rumour. So to this date, there exists no physical proof of this tale. Below is a map for reference so you’ll know where Manti, Utah is located.

Los Angeles, California

This was published in the early 1900s in the San Diego Union Newspaper. There was no follow up on this find. Did the paper just use this for a fill-in or something to boost sales of the paper? The Paiute Indians have a legend about Egyptian-like people with long dark hair that arrived here in sailing ships and made their home in Death Valley in caves near the Panamint Mountains. Could these be the same people?

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

‘Oh wow’: remarkable Roman mosaic found in Rutland field

‘Oh wow’: remarkable Roman mosaic found in Rutland field

Archaeologists have unearthed the first Roman mosaic of its kind in the UK, a rare Roman mosaic and surrounding villa complex have been protected as a Scheduled Monument by DCMS on the advice of Historic England. The decision follows archaeological work undertaken by a team from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS), working in partnership with Historic England and in liaison with Rutland County Council.

The initial discovery of the mosaic was made during the 2020 lockdown by Jim Irvine, son of landowner Brian Naylor, who contacted the archaeological team at Leicestershire County Council, heritage advisors to the local authority. Given the exceptional nature of this discovery, Historic England was able to secure funding for urgent archaeological investigations of the site by ULAS in August 2020. Further excavation involving staff and students from the University of Leicester’s School of Archaeology and Ancient History examined more of the site in September 2021. The remains of the mosaic measure 11m by almost 7m and depict part of the story of the Greek hero Achilles.

The artwork forms the floor of what’s thought to be a large dining or entertaining area. Mosaics were used in a variety of private and public buildings across the Roman Empire, and often featured famous figures from history and mythology. However, the Rutland mosaic is unique in the UK in that it features Achilles and his battle with Hector at the conclusion of the Trojan War and is one of only a handful of examples from across Europe.

The mosaic depicts scenes from Homer’s The Iliad, about the epic fight between Achilles and the Trojan hero, Hector.

The room is part of a large villa building occupied in the late Roman period, between the 3rd and 4th century AD. The villa is also surrounded by a range of other buildings and features revealed by a geophysical survey and archaeological evaluation, including what appear to be aisled barns, circular structures and a possible bathhouse, all within a series of boundary ditches. The complex is likely to have been occupied by a wealthy individual, with a knowledge of classical literature.

Fire damage and breaks in the mosaic suggest that the site was later re-used and re-purposed. Other evidence uncovered includes the discovery of human remains within the rubble covering the mosaic. These burials are thought to have been interred after the building was no longer occupied, and while their precise age is currently unknown, they are later than the mosaic but placed in a relationship to the villa building, suggesting a very late Roman or Early-Medieval date for the repurposing of this structure. Their discovery gives an insight into how the site may have been used during this relatively poorly understood early post-Roman period of history.

Human remains have been found at the site.

Evidence recovered from the site will be analysed by ULAS at their University of Leicester base and by specialists from Historic England and across the UK, including David Neal, the foremost expert on mosaic research in the country.

The protection as a scheduled monument recognises the exceptional national importance of this site. It ensures these remains are legally protected and helps combat unauthorised works or unlawful activities such as illegal metal detecting. The site has been thoroughly examined and recorded as part of the recent investigations and has now been backfilled to protect it for future generations.

The villa complex was found within an arable field where the shallow archaeological remains had been disturbed by ploughing and other activities. Historic England is working with the landowner to support the reversion of these fields to sustainable grassland and pasture use. These types of agri-environment schemes are an essential part of how we can protect both the historic and natural environments and have contributed around £13 million per year towards the conservation and maintenance of our rural heritage. They help to preserve sites like the Rutland mosaic so that people can continue to enjoy and learn about our fascinating history.

In collaboration with the University of Leicester and other stakeholders, Historic England is planning further excavations on the site for 2022.

Discussions are ongoing with Rutland County Council to explore the opportunity for an off-site display and interpretation of the villa complex and its finds. The form and scope of this work will be informed by the proposed future excavations and will be the subject of a future National Lottery Heritage Fund bid.

Image of the full mosaic in situ, displaying three panels (with damage) featuring Achilles.

The site is on private land and not accessible to the public.

John Thomas, Deputy Director of ULAS and project manager on the excavations, said: “This is certainly the most exciting Roman mosaic discovery in the UK in the last Century. It gives us fresh perspectives on the attitudes of people at the time, their links to classical literature, and it also tells us an enormous amount about the individual who commissioned this piece. This is someone with a knowledge of the classics, who had the money to commission a piece of such detail, and it’s the very first depiction of these stories that we’ve ever found in Britain.

“The fact that we have the wider context of the surrounding complex is also hugely significant because previous excavations on Roman villas have only been able to capture partial pictures of settlements like these, but this appears to be a very well-preserved example of a villa in its entirety.”

Jim Irvine, who initially discovered the remains, said: “A ramble through the fields with the family turned into an incredible discovery. Finding some unusual pottery amongst the wheat piqued my interest and prompted some further investigative work. Later, looking at the satellite imagery I spotted a very clear crop mark as if someone had drawn on my computer screen with a piece of chalk! This really was the ‘oh wow’ moment and the beginning of the story.

This archaeological discovery has filled most of my spare time over the last year. Between my normal job and this, it’s kept me very busy and has been a fascinating journey. The last year has been a total thrill to have been involved with and to work with the archaeologists and students at the site, and I can only imagine what will be unearthed next!”

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said: “To have uncovered such a rare mosaic of this size, as well as a surrounding villa, is remarkable. Discoveries like this are so important in helping us piece together our shared history. By protecting this site we are able to continue learning from it, and look forward to what future excavations may teach us about the people who lived there over 1,500 years ago.”

Richard Clark, County Archaeologist for Leicestershire and Rutland, said: “This has been the most extraordinary of discoveries, and for that, full tribute must be paid to Jim and his family for their prompt and responsible actions. It has been a privilege to have been involved in the investigation and a pleasure to have worked with such a skilled group of amateurs and professionals. The villa, its mosaic and the surrounding complex is the most outstanding find in the recent archaeological history of Rutland, placing the county on a national and international stage and providing a vivid insight into the life and demise of the local Romano-British elite at a time of remarkable change and upheaval. The final phase of burials is just one of many intriguing aspects to the investigation, suggesting a continuing knowledge and respect for the site in the post-Roman period.”

Nigel Huddleston, Heritage Minister, said: “This fascinating discovery of an elaborate Roman complex in Rutland is helping us to understand more about our history. I’m delighted we have protected this site to help further studies and excavations.”

‘Oh wow’: remarkable Roman mosaic found in Rutland field
An aerial view of the archaeological site, photographed by drone.

Professor Nishan Canagarajah, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester, said: “It is difficult to overstate the importance of this discovery, and the excitement which it will doubtless provide to countless people; from those well-versed in Roman archaeology to those with perhaps only a passing interest. Having been lucky enough to visit the site myself, and meet some of the Leicester students from our School of Archaeology and Ancient History gaining real-world experience with ULAS on this major project, I witnessed first-hand the thorough but careful work which our archaeologists have undertaken to further our understanding of Roman Britain.”

The discovery of the Rutland villa and filming as the mosaic is uncovered for the first time in 1600 years will be featured as part of Digging for Britain when it returns to BBC Two and iPlayer in early 2022.

Host, Professor Alice Roberts, said: “What I love about Digging for Britain is that, when we set out to film the series, we have no idea what discoveries might come to light. This year, the revelations have been nothing short of spectacular, and each find brings us closer to understanding the lives of people who once lived in Britain. Archaeology brings you into intimate contact with the physical reality of the past.”

AFRICA, SOUTH AFRICA, WORLD

Ancient Human Relative, Australopithecus sediba, “Walked Like a Human, But Climbed Like an Ape”

Ancient Human Relative, Australopithecus sediba, “Walked Like a Human, But Climbed Like an Ape”

An international team of scientists has discovered a two-million-year-old fossil vertebrae from an extinct species of ancient human relative. New lower back fossils are the “missing link” that settles a decades old debate proving early hominins used their upper limbs to climb like apes and their lower limbs to walk like humans.

Ancient Human Relative, Australopithecus sediba, “Walked Like a Human, But Climbed Like an Ape”
Life reconstruction of Australopithecus sediba com-missioned by the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History.

An international team of scientists from New York University, the University of the Witwatersrand, and 15 other institutions announced today, in the open access journal e-Life, the discovery of two-million-year-old fossil vertebrae from an extinct species of ancient human relative.

The recovery of new lumbar vertebrae from the lower back of a single individual of the human relative, Australopithecus sediba, and portions of other vertebrae of the same female from Malapa, South Africa, together with previously discovered vertebrae, form one of the most complete lower backs ever discovered in the early hominid record and give insight into how this ancient human relative walked and climbed.

The fossils were discovered in 2015 during excavations of a mining trackway running next to the site of Malapa in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, just northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. Malapa is the site where, in 2008, Professor Lee Berger from the University of the Witwatersrand and his then nine-year old son, Matthew, discovered the first remains of what would be a new species of ancient human relative named Australopithecus sediba.

Fossils from the site have been dated to approximately two million years before present. The vertebrae described in the present study were recovered in a consolidated cement-like rock, known as breccia, in near articulation.

Australopithecus sediba silhouette showing the newly-found vertebrae (colored) along with other skeletal remains from the species.

Rather than risking damaging the fossils, they were prepared virtually after scanning with a Micro-CT scanner at the University of the Witwatersrand, thus removing the risk of damaging the closely positioned, delicate bones during manual preparation.

Once virtually prepared, the vertebrae were reunited with fossils recovered during earlier work at the site and found to articulate perfectly with the spine of the fossil skeleton, part of the original Type specimens of Australopithecus sediba first described in 2010.

The skeleton’s catalogue number is MH 2, but the researchers have nicknamed the female skeleton “Issa,” meaning protector in Swahili. The discovery also established that like humans, sediba had only five lumbar vertebrae. 

“The lumbar region is critical to understanding the nature of bipedalism in our earliest ancestors and to understanding how well adapted they were to walking on two legs,” says Professor Scott Williams of New York University and Wits University and lead author on the paper. “Associated series of lumbar vertebrae are extraordinarily rare in the hominin fossil record, with really only three comparable lower spines being known from the whole of the early African record.”

The discovery of the new specimens means that Issa now becomes one of only two early hominin skeletons to preserve both a relatively complete lower spine and dentition from the same individual, allowing certainty as to what species the spine belongs to.

“While Issa was already one of the most complete skeletons of an ancient hominin ever discovered, these vertebrae practically complete the lower back and make Issa’s lumbar region a contender for not only the best-preserved hominin lower back ever discovered, but also probably the best preserved,” says Berger, who is an author on the study and leader of the Malapa project. 

He adds that this combination of completeness and preservation gave the team an unprecedented look at the anatomy of the lower back of the species.

Previous studies of the incomplete lower spine by authors not involved in the present study hypothesised that sediba would have had a relatively straight spine, without the curvature, or lordosis, typically seen in modern humans. They further hypothesised Issa’s spine was more like that of the extinct species Neandertals and other more primitive species of ancient hominins older than two million years.

Lordosis is the inward curve of the lumbar spine and is typically used to demonstrate strong adaptations to bipedalism. However, with the more complete spine, and excellent preservation of the fossils, the present study found the lordosis of sediba was in fact more extreme than any other australopithecines yet discovered, and the amount of curvature of the spine observed was only exceeded by that seen in the spine of the 1.6-million-year-old Turkana boy (Homo erectus) from Kenya and some modern humans.

Australopithecus sediba silhouette showing the newly-found vertebrae along with other skeletal remains from the species. The enlarged detail (a photograph of the fossils in articulation on the left; micro-computed tomography models on the right) shows the newly discovered fossils, in color on the right between previously known elements in grey.

“While the presence of lordosis and other features of the spine represent clear adaptations to walking on two legs, there are other features, such as the large and upward oriented transverse processes, that suggest powerful trunk musculature, perhaps for arboreal behaviors,” says Professor Gabrielle Russo of Stony Brook University and an author on the study.

Strong upward oriented transverse spines are typically indicative of powerful trunk muscles, as observed in apes. Professor Shahed Nalla of the University of Johannesburg and Wits, who is an expert on ribs and a researcher on the present study, says: “When combined with other parts of torso anatomy, this indicates that sediba retained clear adaptations to climbing.”

Previous studies of this ancient species have highlighted the mixed adaptations across the skeleton in sediba that have indicated its transitional nature between walking like a human and climbing adaptations. These include features studied in the upper limbs, pelvis, and lower limbs.

“The spine ties this all together,” says Professor Cody Prang of Texas A&M, who studies how ancient hominins walked and climbed. “In what manner these combinations of traits persisted in our ancient ancestors, including potential adaptations to both walking on the ground on two legs and climbing trees effectively, is perhaps one of the major outstanding questions in human origins.”

The study concludes that sediba is a transitional form of ancient human relative and its spine is clearly intermediate in shape between those of modern humans (and Neandertals) and great apes.

“Issa walked somewhat like a human, but could climb like an ape,” says Berger.

PERU, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Children’s Teeth Reveal Breastfeeding Practices in Ancient Peru

Children’s Teeth Reveal Breastfeeding Practices in Ancient Peru

For thousands of years, breastfeeding habits have remained almost unchanged in the Peruvian Andes, according to an unprecedented research project at an archaeological site in Caral, the oldest civilisation in the Americas and the origin of Andean culture.

There, in a cemetery filled with the bodies of children believed to be buried around 500 B.C., researchers discovered that the way these kids were breastfed was akin to how mothers do it in modern-day rural communities in the Andes.

Tooth analysis of the remains of 48 children showed that the majority were breastfed exclusively for the first six months and were not completely weaned until 2.6 years of age, which is still the case in the most rural and traditional Andean populations.

“We expected a younger age, like in modern times, where due to work issues and social pressures, children are weaned practically at 9 months,” Luis Pezo-Lanfranco, the Peruvian bioarchaeologist leading the study, tells Efe.

Pezo-Lanfranco says that it is very likely intermittent breastfeeding occurred in Caral, the civilization that developed 130 kilometres (over 80 miles) north of Lima between the years 3,000 to 1,800 B.C.

To be sure, researchers need to find a cemetery from that period. A few burial sites from that time in Caral have been recovered but the preservation of bones was too poor to find stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, which reveal breastfeeding patterns.

Researchers are nevertheless confident that those breastfeeding habits found in infants buried in Chupacigarro ravine cemetery, just a kilometre from the sacred city of Caral, were inherited from the Americas’ first civilization.

“In Caral, many cultural forms were created that are traditional for the Andes,” says Pedro Novoa, deputy director of Caral research and conservation of materials.

While the discovery of a cemetery that would confirm the Caral researchers’ hypothesis has evaded them, indications of the significance that breastfeeding held in this primitive society have been found in several nearby urban centres.

It can be seen in a series of clay statuettes representing women breastfeeding their infants and others who hold their babies in their laps, in an allegory of motherhood discovered in Vichama, one of Caral’s 12 urban centres.

Children’s Teeth Reveal Breastfeeding Practices in Ancient Peru

According to the study, it is still not clear whether that long breastfeeding period was a nutritional supplement or was due to food shortages.

Ruth Shady, the director of Caral archaeological investigations, says the high infant mortality may have been due to drought and famine.

“The drought is the main problem they faced, and it is very possible that this was what caused death among these children,” adds Shady, who has been studying Caral since 1994.