Category Archives: WORLD

ARGENTINA, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

193-million-year-old nesting ground with more than 100 dinosaur eggs offers evidence that they lived in herds

193-million-year-old nesting ground with more than 100 dinosaur eggs offers evidence that they lived in herds

A 193-million-year-old nesting ground containing more than 100 dinosaurs eggs is upending paleontologists’ understanding of an early dinosaur species. Research published Thursday describes a collection of eggs and juvenile and adult skeletons from a dinosaur called Mussaurus patagonicus, which were found in Patagonia, Argentina.

An artist’s reconstruction of a Mussaurus patagonicus nest.

The dino is an ancestor of long-necked herbivores called sauropods, such as Brachiosaurus. Most of the chicken-sized eggs were discovered in clusters of eight to 30, suggesting they resided in nests as part of a common breeding ground.

Scientists also found Mussaurus skeletons of similar sizes and ages buried together. Combined, these patterns offer evidence that the dinosaurs lived in herds.

“I went to this site aiming to find at least one nice dinosaur skeleton. We ended up with 80 skeletons and more than 100 eggs (some with embryos preserved inside!)” Diego Pol, a researcher with the Egidio Feruglio paleontology museum in Patagonia and the lead author of the new study, told Insider via email.

He called the site “one of a kind.”

Before this discovery, researchers thought herding behavior was restricted to dinosaurs that came much later, in the very late Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods. That’s because the earliest fossil evidence of sauropod herds only dates back 150 million years. This nesting ground, however, pushes that timeline back more than 40 million years. It’s the earliest known evidence of social groups among dinosaurs, the study authors said.

X-rays offer a peek into fossilized dinosaur eggs

193-million-year-old nesting ground with more than 100 dinosaur eggs offers evidence that they lived in herds
A fossilized Mussaurus egg that’s more than 190 million years old, found in southern Patagonia, Argentina.

Argentine paleontologists discovered the first Mussaurus skeletons at this Patagonian site in the late 1970s. The dinosaurs they found were no more than 6 inches long. Unaware that they’d uncovered newborns, the researchers named the creature “mouse lizard” because of the skeletons’ tiny size.

Pol decided to reexplore the area starting in 2002, and by 2013, he’d helped find the first adult Mussaurus fossils there. Those bones revealed that full-grown versions of these “mouse lizards” were closer in size to modern-day hippos. They grew to weigh about 1.5 tons, reaching lengths of 26 feet from nose to tail tip. But infants could fit in the palm of a human hand.

A screen shot from a video showing how scientists like Diego Pol used high-energy X-rays to peek inside a Mussaurus egg without destroying it.

Since then, Pol’s team has also uncovered and studied the contents of the nesting ground, which measures just under half a square mile. In 2017, he took 30 of the eggs to a lab in France, and his group then used X-ray technology to peek inside and confirm the species of the embryos without breaking the shells.

By analyzing the sizes and types of bones in the nesting ground, the researchers determined that the animals were buried near counterparts of a similar age. Some clusters had juveniles less than a year old, others consisted of individuals that were slightly older but not yet fully grown, and finally, there were smatterings of adults that had died solo or in pairs.

That type of age segregation, the researchers said, is a key sign of herds: Juveniles hung out with others their age while adults looked for food and protected the community.

“They were resting together and likely died during a drought,” Pol said. “This is compatible with a herd that stays together during many years and within which the animals get close to each other to rest, or to forage, or do other daily activities.”

Another strong indication of herd behavior is a nesting ground itself: If Mussaurus lived as a community, it would make sense that they’d lay eggs in a common area.

Living in herds may have helped Mussaurus survive

Nest with Mussaurus eggs dated to more than 190 million years ago, found in Patagonia. Diego Pol

To figure out the fossils’ ages, researchers examined minerals in volcanic ash that was scattered around the eggs and skeletons, and determined that the fossils were about 193 million years old.

Previously, scientists thought this type of dinosaur lived during the late Triassic period, about 221 million to 205 million years ago. But the new date suggests instead that Mussaurus thrived during the early Jurassic period. That, in turn, is evidence that Mussaurus’ ancestors survived a mass extinction event 200 million years ago.

The key to that survival, the study suggests, may have been their herding behavior.

READ ALSO: RESEARCHERS DISCOVER FOUR DINOSAURS IN MONTANA

“These were social animals and we think this may be an important factor to explain their success,” Pol said.

An artist’s depiction of the nesting ground of a Mussaurus herd of in what is now Argentina.

Communal living likely helped Mussaurus find enough food, perhaps by making it easier for them to forage over larger areas. Mussaurus of the same size would likely “group together to coordinate their activities,” Pol said, given that larger adults and tinier juveniles moved at different speeds.

He added that given the size difference between newborns and adults, it probably took these dinosaurs many years to reach full size. So young Mussaurus might have been vulnerable to predation.

By staying in herds, adults could better protect their young.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Holding cell for gladiators and wild animals uncovered in excavation of Richborough Roman amphitheatre

Holding cell for gladiators and wild animals uncovered in excavation of Richborough Roman amphitheatre

Archaeologists have been aware of the amphitheater since 1849, but the holding cell for gladiators is a new discovery.

Archaeologists say that the amphitheatre in Richborough, Kent, could hold up to 5,000 spectators who cheered on charging gladiators and roaring wild animals in epic fights.

Today, the Roman-era amphitheatre in Richborough, Kent, blends into the landscape. But it was once the site of violent gladiatorial combat, and archaeologists with English Heritage have just come across a holding cell, called a “carcer,” where gladiators waited to fight.

“The discoveries we’ve made during the excavation at Richborough are startling and exciting, and dramatically transform our understanding of the structure of the amphitheatre and the nature of adjacent settlement in the town,” said Paul Pattison, English Heritage senior properties historian.

Richborough is now believed to have been occupied for almost the entire period of Roman rule in Britain

Researchers have known about the amphitheatre since 1849 when Victorian archaeologists discovered it. But the most recent examination of the site revealed a cell within the arena. With walls more than six feet tall, the cell once held “those who entered the arena to meet their fate, whether wild animals, criminals, or gladiators,” according to English Heritage.

Though much is unknown about the amphitheatre, its chalk and turf construction suggests it was built around the 1st century, when Romans first invaded Britain. At its peak, it would have been an impressive sight: Archeologists found surprising traces of “vivid” red and blue paints on its interior walls.

“The evidence of painted decoration we have found on the arena wall, a unique find so far in amphitheatres in Britain, is remarkable, and a wonderful reminder that aspects of Roman culture abroad were also a feature of life in Roman Britain,” explained Tony Wilmott, senior archaeologist at Historic England.

Wilmott noted that the amphitheatre could probably hold about 5,000 spectators, who — just like in Rome — descended to watch bloody gladiator fights. Sometimes, these fights pitted gladiators against each other. Other times, in especially violent battles called venationes, prisoners or gladiators fought against wild animals like lions and bears.

The mere existence of the amphitheater speaks to Richborough’s important place in the Roman Empire. Then called Rutupiae or Portus Ritupis, the settlement likely existed from the 1st to the 4th century, or as long as the Romans occupied Britain. And it was said to be renowned throughout the empire for the quality of its oysters.

“As Richborough is coastal, it would have provided a connection between what was at the time called Britannia and the rest of the Roman Empire,” explained Pattison, noting that Richborough would have been unique and diverse.

“Because of that, all sorts of Romans who came from all corners of the Empire would have passed through and lived in the settlement.”

Alongside the carcer, archeologists found several artifacts that help paint a picture of life in Roman-era Richborough. They found coins, pottery, the bones of butchered animals, and jewelry. Remarkably, archeologists also found the carefully buried skeleton of what appeared to be a pet cat.

Holding cell for gladiators and wild animals uncovered in excavation of Richborough Roman amphitheatre
The skull of what appeared to be a carefully buried pet cat.

Dubbed “Maxipus” by archeologists — after Russell Crowe’s character in The Gladiator — the cat was found buried just outside the amphitheater walls. It may have had nothing to do with the amphitheater itself but “appeared purposefully buried on the edge of a ditch,” according to English Heritage.

In addition, the most recent excavation also uncovered the puzzling remnants of two “badly burnt” and “bright orange” rectangular areas just outside the amphitheater.

“It is not yet known what function these buildings fulfilled,” noted English Heritage, “but it is possible they stood on each side of an entrance leading up to the seating bank of the arena.”

READ ALSO: ANCIENT IMAGES OF GLADIATORS UNEARTHED AT THE CITY OF POMPEII

The fire that destroyed the structures, the organization said, “must have been dramatic.”

Today, Richborough’s amphitheater exists only as a circular field covered in grass. But, as the existence of the holding cell suggests, this part of the world once rang with thousands of screaming spectators, roaring animals, and charging gladiators.

English Heritage is hopeful to share it with the world. Following the end of their excavation, the on-site museum in Richborough will undergo a “major refurbishment and re-presentation.” It will open to the public in summer 2022.

CANADA, NORTH AMERICA, U.S.A, WORLD

Eerie Lake Erie is home to a giant ship graveyard: Nearly 2,500 sunken vessels

Eerie Lake Erie is home to a giant ship graveyard: Nearly 2,500 sunken vessels

Lurking below the surface of Lake Erie is a ship graveyard that is estimated to include up to 2,500 vessels, with the earliest wreck dating to the 1800s when it was part of the water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the upper Midwest.

Kevin Magee, an engineer at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, said in a statement: ‘Storms and waves are probably the number one reason ships sank in Lake Erie.

‘In fact, we think Lake Erie has a greater density of shipwrecks than virtually anywhere else in the world—even the Bermuda triangle.

The oldest shipwreck lurking below Lake Erie is the Lake Serpent, a 47-foot schooner that was lost in 1829, and then there is the Sir CT Van Straubenzie that is the deepest known wreck in the lake.

The exact number of wrecks in Lake Erie is not known – it could be anywhere from 500 to 2,500 – but explorers and researchers have been able to confirm 277 sunken ships.

The oldest shipwreck lurking below Lake Erie is the Lake Serpent, a 47-foot schooner that was lost in 1829. Pictured is a satellite image showing the outline of the sunken ship

Lake Erie is the fourth largest of the five Great Lakes and spans across the US and Canadian borders, reaching into the Ontario Peninsula, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.

The giant lake became an important route during the fur trade in 1700 to 1800s, which is when many ships disappeared beneath its depths.

Lake Serpent, the oldest wreck, left Cleveland in September 1829 for the 55-mile trip to the Lake Erie Islands – but it never made it back to its return destination, Smithsonian Magazine reports.

Bodies of the crew, Captain Ezera Wright and his brother Robert washed ashore, but the ship was lost until 2018.

The exact number of wrecks in Lake Erie is not known – it could be anywhere from 500 to 2,500 – but explorers and researchers have been able to confirm 277 sunken ships. Red is approximate wreck locations, while black is confirmed locations
Lake Serpent, the oldest wreck, left Cleveland in September 1829 for the 55-mile trip to the Lake Erie Islands – but it never made it back to its return destination
Archaeologists combing the area found remains of a vessel in 2018 that they are sure is the Lake Serpent (pictured)

Archaeologists combing the area found remains of a vessel but were unsure if it was the legendary Lake Serpent.

Looking through historical records of the ship, the team learned that it was carrying mounds of boulders before it went missing and divers identified the payload on the vessel in question.

The final voyage of Edmund Fitzgerald began on November 9, 1975, at the Burlington Northern Railroad Dock No.1, Superior, Wisconsin.

Closer to the shore of Traverse City, Michigan are several ghostly hulls laying on the lake bottom, reports Lake Leen Erz.

The wrecks are in Manitou Passage, which was often a haven for cargo-laden ships travelling through the area during the bustling lumbering industry in the 19th century.

The shipwreck of the James McBride, a 121-foot-long (37-meter-long) brig that was lost in a storm in 1857.

When the water is clear, anyone could spot the sunken ships, which includes the James McBride, a 121-foot-long brig that was lost in a storm in 1857.

The Rising Sun’s resting places can also be seen from the shoreline.

This is a 133-foot-long steamer that sank in 1917. There are hundreds of small hulls littering the lake bottom, but one ship is known for sinking farther than another vessel – the Sir CT Van Straubenzie.

This ship was lost during a collision with a steamer on September 27, 1909 and quickly sank 205 feet into Lake Erie eight miles east of Long Point

This ship was lost during a collision with a steamer on September 27, 1909, and quickly sank 205 feet into Lake Erie eight miles east of Long Point. The Department of Transport reported 3 deaths, including a female cook.

READ ALSO: ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER 2200-YEAR-OLD EGYPTIAN SHIPWRECK IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

The wire rigged forward mast is still standing, collision damage can be seen on the starboard side and the cabin is collapsed. There is a wheel, and the cast iron bell is in the bow of the wreck – all of which have been taken over by barnacles. 

‘One of the remarkable things about Lake Erie and Great Lakes shipwrecks is how well they are preserved due to the cold, freshwater,’ said Magee. ‘Wrecks in saltwater start corroding immediately. In the Great Lakes, you can find old wooden ships that are hundreds of years old that look like they just sank.’

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

‘Astounding’ Roman statues unearthed at Norman church ruins on the route of HS2

‘Astounding’ Roman statues unearthed at Norman church ruins on route of HS2

‘Astounding’ Roman statues unearthed at Norman church ruins on route of HS2

Archaeologists in central England working on the HS2 project have uncovered a set of incredible rare Roman statues whilst excavating a Norman Church in Stoke Mandeville.

In the final stages of the excavation at the site of the old St Mary’s Norman church in Buckinghamshire, archaeologists were excavating a circular ditch around what was thought to be the foundations of an early medieval tower.

As they dug down, they uncovered three stone busts that are stylistically Roman. Two of the busts comprise of a head and torso which had been split before deposition, and the other just the head. The two complete statues appear to be one female adult and one male adult, with an additional head of a child.

The discovery of these amazing artefacts caused excitement amongst the team working on the site who described it as “uniquely remarkable for us as archaeologists”. The work has been carried out by HS2’s Enabling Works Contractor, Fusion JV, and their archaeological contactor, L-P Archaeology.

In addition to the statues, an incredibly well-preserved hexagonal glass Roman jug was also discovered. Despite being in the ground for what is thought to be over 1,000 years, the glass jug had large pieces still intact. Archaeologists working at the site were able to remove what they believe to be almost all of the fragments.

The team can only find one comparison for this, a completely intact vessel that is currently on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Other finds include large roof tiles, painted wall plaster, and Roman cremation urns.

“For us to end the dig with these utterly astounding finds is beyond exciting,” says Dr Rachel Wood, Lead Archaeologist for Fusion JV. “The statues are exceptionally well preserved, and you really get an impression of the people they depict – literally looking into the faces of the past is a unique experience. Of course, it leads us to wonder what else might be buried beneath England’s medieval village churches. This has truly been a once in a lifetime site and we are all looking forward to hearing what more the specialists can tell us about these incredible statues and the history of the site before the construction of the Norman church.”

As the dig at Stoke Mandeville comes to an end, the team working there have been able to piece together a more detailed analysis of the historic use of the site.

The site appears to be a natural mound, which has then been deliberately covered with soil to create a taller mound. It is possible this may have formed a Bronze Age burial site. It appears this was then replaced by a square building that may have originated in the Roman period.

Archaeologists now believe the square building that pre-dates the Norman church is a Roman mausoleum. Roman materials found in the ditch around are too ornate and not enough in number to suggest the site was a domestic building.

Rare Roman glass jug – Artefacts from St Mary’s Archaeological dig – Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire
Rare Roman glass jug – Artefacts from St Mary’s Archaeological dig – Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire

The Roman building appears to have been finally demolished by the Normans when building St Mary’s church, after possible reuse during the Saxon period.

The walls and demolition rubble of the Roman building are directly beneath the Norman foundations with no soil build-up in between.

Saxon pottery was also found in a cut of the ditch, as well as a Saxon coin. Further analysis of the data is being undertaken and the team hope to confirm this hypothesis.

The disfiguration of the Roman busts, namely the removal of the head of each, is not entirely unusual as it is common for statues such as these to have been vandalised in some way before being torn down.

These are early examples of how statues and historic artefacts have been discarded as society has evolved over time.

READ ALSO: ‘ANGLO-SAXON CHURCH’ IN STOKE MANDEVILLE DISCOVERED BY HS2 ARCHAEOLOGISTS

The artefacts will now be taken to a specialist laboratory where they will be cleaned and examined. Roman statues were typically painted bright colours, so evidence of pigmentation in the creases of the statue will be examined. The final destination for the Roman finds will be determined in due course.

HS2 archaeologists excavating Roman artefacts

“HS2’s unprecedented archaeology programme has given us new insights into Britain’s history, providing evidence of where and how our ancestors lived,” comments Mike Court, Lead Archaeologist at HS2.

“These extraordinary Roman statues are just some of the incredible artefacts uncovered between London and the West Midlands. As HS2 builds for Britain’s future, we are uncovering and learning about the past, leaving a legacy of knowledge and discovery.”

MEXICO, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

Rare 1,000-year-old canoe found in a cenote near Chichén Itzá

Rare 1,000-year-old canoe found in cenote near Chichén Itzá

A remarkably well-preserved Maya canoe — built for use some 1,100 years ago — has been found in a freshwater pool, or ‘cenote’, in Yucatán, southern Mexico. The wooden artefact — more than five feet in length — was found near the ruined city of Chichen Itza by Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia experts.

The archaeologists believe that the canoe was likely used either to aid in extracting water from the cenote or to help deposit offerings there during rituals. 

Alongside the canoe, the pool and adjacent water bodies yielded other finds — including a human and ceramic skeleton, and a hand mural on a rock ceiling. This mural appears to be significantly older than the canoe, dating back to the Maya Late Postclassic Period, which ran from 1200–1500 CE.

Rare 1,000-year-old canoe found in cenote near Chichén Itzá
A remarkably well-preserved Maya canoe (pictured) — built for use some 1,000 years ago — has been found in a freshwater pool, or ‘cenote’, in the Yucatán, southern Mexico
Additionally, the researchers explained, the discoveries of a sculpted stone stela, ritual knife and 40 broken vessels (like that pictured) indicate that the cenote was long a site for rituals

Additionally, the researchers explained, the discoveries of a sculpted stone stela, ritual knife and 40 broken vessels indicate that the cenote was long a site for rituals.

‘It is evident that this is an area where ceremonies were held,’ said the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia archaeologist Helena Barba Meinecke.

This is discernible, she explained, ‘not only because of the intentionally fragmented pottery but also because of the remains of charcoal that indicate their exposure to fire and the way they placed stones on top of them to cover them.’

Furthermore, Ms Barba Meinecke noted, the fact that the pottery remains come in various different styles dating from different time periods indicates that the site was used for rituals over the course of many centuries.

‘The relevance lies in the fact that it is the first canoe of this type that is complete and so well preserved in the Mayan area,’ she continued.

‘There are also fragments of these boats and oars in Quintana Roo, Guatemala and Belize.’

The canoe dates back to the end of the classic period of Maya history which spanned from 830–950 CE when the civilisation was still at its peak.

The discoveries were made as part of Tren Maya — or ‘Maya Train’ — an initiative from Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to lay a high-speed intercity train line across the heart of the Yucatán peninsula.

The multi-billion-dollar construction effort has attracted a great deal of controversy, not only for its environmental impacts but also for how the line cuts through regions rich in indigenous Maya culture and archaeological sites.

Nevertheless, the program has offered Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia researchers an opportunity to preserve some of the history being uncovered along the Tren Maya route — with hundreds of burials and ceramic vessels already found.

‘The construction of the Mayan Train constitutes an important research opportunity, through archaeological recovery,’ the experts said in a statement.

Such excavations, they said, will allow them to expand our ‘knowledge about the archaeological sites of the regions that the train will travel through.’

‘It is evident that this is an area where ceremonies were held,’ said the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia archaeologist Helena Barba Meinecke. Pictured: the researchers take measurements within the cenote site
The ritual nature of the cenote site is discernible, Ms Barba Meinecke explained, ‘not only because of the intentionally fragmented pottery but also because of the remains of charcoal that indicate their exposure to fire and the way they placed stones on top of them’
‘The relevance lies in the fact that it is the first canoe of this type that is complete and so well preserved in the Mayan area,’ Ms Barba Meinecke continued. ‘There are also fragments of these boats and oars in Quintana Roo, Guatemala and Belize.’ Pictured: an artefact at the site

With their initial study complete, the team will now be collaborating with experts from the Sorbonne University in Paris, France, to more precisely date and analyse the wood making up the canoe. 

READ ALSO: CAVE FULL OF UNTOUCHED MAYA ARTIFACTS FOUND AT CHICHÉN ITZÁ

Alongside this, the researchers have plans to produce a three-dimensional digital model of the vessel based on photographs — one which can be independently analysed and from which replicas might be made for display in museums.

Back at the cenote, the archaeologists are also hoping to drill a borehole in the sediments underneath the site, from which they will be able to determine the nature of the environment at the time the canoe was in use.

Marks of the stone wall of the cenote, the team explained, has indicated that the water level at the site used to be some 16 feet lower than it is today. It was at this depth that the cave containing the canoe was found.

AFRICA, WORLD

The newly named human species may be the direct ancestor of modern humans

Newly named human species may be the direct ancestor of modern humans

Live Science reports that paleoanthropologist Mirjana Roksandic of the University of Winnipeg and her colleagues suggest renaming some human ancestors after examining fossils dating from 774,000 to 129,000 years ago.

Newly named human species may be the direct ancestor of modern humans
Homo bodoensis may help to untangle how human lineages moved and interacted across the globe.

The newly proposed species, Homo bodoensis — which lived more than half a million years ago in Africa — may help to untangle how human lineages moved and interacted across the globe.

Although modern humans, Homo sapiens, are the only surviving human lineage, other human species once roamed Earth. For example, scientists recently discovered that the Indonesian island Flores was once home to the extinct species Homo floresiensis, often known as “the hobbit” for its miniature body.

Deciding whether a set of ancient human fossils belongs to one species or another is often a challenging problem open to heated debate. For instance, some researchers suggest that skeletal differences between modern humans and Neanderthals mean they were different species.

However, other scientists argue that because there is recent abundant genetic evidence that modern humans and Neanderthals once interbred and had fertile, viable offspring, Neanderthals should not be considered a single species.

In the new study, researchers analyzed human fossils dating from about 774,000 to 129,000 years ago (once known as the Middle Pleistocene and now renamed the Chibanian). Previous work suggested modern humans arose during this time in Africa, while Neanderthals emerged in Eurasia. However, much about this key chapter in human evolution remains poorly understood — a problem paleoanthropologists call “the muddle in the middle.”

Chibanian-era human fossils from Africa and Eurasia are often assigned to one of two species: Homo heidelbergensis or Homo rhodesiensis. However, both species often carried multiple, and often contradictory, definitions of the skeletal characteristics and other traits that described them.

Recent DNA evidence has revealed that some fossils in Europe dubbed H. heidelbergensis were actually from early Neanderthals. As such, H. heidelbergensis was a redundant name in those cases, the scientists noted.

The newly named species Homo bodoensis, a human ancestor, lived in Africa during the middle Pleistocene.

Similarly, recent analyses of many fossils in East Asia now suggest they should no longer be called H. heidelbergensis, the researchers added. For instance, many facial and other features seen in Chibanian East Asian human fossils differ from those seen in European and African fossils of the same age.

In addition, Chibanian fossils from Africa are sometimes called both H. heidelbergensis and H. rhodesiensis. The scientists also noted that H. rhodesiensis was a poorly defined label that was never widely accepted in science, due in part to its association with controversial English imperialist Cecil Rhodes. 

To help deal with all this confusion, the researchers now propose the existence of a new species, H. bodoensis, named after a 600,000-year-old skull found in Bodo D’ar, Ethiopia, in 1976.

This new name would encompass many fossils previously identified as either H. heidelbergensis or H. rhodesiensis.

The researchers suggest that H. bodoensis was the direct ancestor of H. sapiens, together forming a different branch of the human family tree than the one that gave rise to the Neanderthals and the mysterious Denisovans, which Siberian and Tibetan fossils suggested they lived about the same time as their Neanderthal cousins.

“Giving a new name to a species is always controversial,” study co-lead author Mirjana Roksandic, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Winnipeg in Canada, told Live Science. “However, if people start using it, it will survive and live.”

Homo bodoensis was named after a 600,000-year-old skull found in Ethiopia.

In this new classification, H. bodoensis will describe most Chibanian human fossils from Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. Many Chibanian human fossils from Europe would get reclassified as Neanderthals. The names H. heidelbergensis and H. rhodesiensis would then disappear. Chibanian human fossils from East Asia may get their own names with more research.

“We are not claiming to rewrite human evolution,” Roksandic said. Instead, the researchers seek to organize the variation seen in ancient humans “in a way that makes it possible to discuss where it comes from and what it represents,” she explained. “Those differences can help us understand movement and interaction.”

In the future, the researchers want to see if they can find any H. bodoensis specimens in Europe from the Chibanian, Roksandic said.

The scientists detailed their findings online Thursday (Oct. 28) in the journal Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues News, and Reviews.

PERU, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Red paint on the 1,000-year-old gold mask from Peru contains human blood proteins

Red paint on 1,000-year-old gold mask from Peru contains human blood proteins

Thirty years ago, archaeologists excavated the tomb of an elite 40–50-year-old man from the Sicán culture of Peru, a society that predated the Incas. The man’s seated, the upside-down skeleton was painted bright red, as was the gold mask covering his detached skull.

Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Proteome Research have analyzed the paint, finding that, in addition to a red pigment, it contains human blood and bird egg proteins.

The Sicán was a prominent culture that existed from the ninth to 14th centuries along the northern coast of modern Peru.

During the Middle Sicán Period (about 900–1,100 A.D.), metallurgists produced a dazzling array of gold objects, many of which were buried in tombs of the elite class. In the early 1990s, a team of archaeologists and conservators led by Izumi Shimada excavated a tomb where an elite man’s seated skeleton was painted red and placed upside down at the centre of the chamber.

The skeletons of two young women were arranged nearby in birthing and modifying poses, and two crouching children’s skeletons were placed at a higher level.

Among the many gold artefacts found in the tomb was a red-painted gold mask, which covered the face of the man’s detached skull. At the time, scientists identified the red pigment in the paint as cinnabar, but Luciana de Costa Carvalho, James McCullagh and colleagues wondered what the Sicán people had used in the paint mix as a binding material, which had kept the paint layer attached to the metal surface of the mask for 1,000 years.

To find out, the researchers analyzed a small sample of the mask’s red paint. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy revealed that the sample contained proteins, so the team conducted a proteomic analysis using tandem mass spectrometry.

Red paint on 1,000-year-old gold mask from Peru contains human blood proteins
A red paint sample taken from a 1,000-year-old mask excavated from a Sicán tomb in Peru contains human blood and bird egg proteins, in addition to a red pigment.

They identified six proteins from human blood in the red paint, including serum albumin and immunoglobulin G (a type of human serum antibody). Other proteins, such as ovalbumin, came from egg whites. Because the proteins were highly degraded, the researchers couldn’t identify the exact species of bird’s egg used to make the paint, but a likely candidate is the Muscovy duck.

The identification of human blood proteins supports the hypothesis that the arrangement of the skeletons was related to a desired “rebirth” of the deceased Sicán leader, with the blood-containing paint that coated the man’s skeleton and face mask potentially symbolizing his “life force,” the researchers say.

The authors do not acknowledge any funding sources.

The abstract that accompanies this article is available here.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people.

The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News.

ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most-read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research.

As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

ASIA, CHINA, WORLD

Amazingly Preserved Mummies in China Yield New Clues to Bronze Age Life

Amazingly Preserved Mummies in China Yield New Clues to Bronze Age Life

According to a Gizmodo report, an international team of researchers has analyzed the genomes of some of the oldest of the naturally preserved mummies from northwest China’s Xiaohe cemetery, which is located in the desert sands of the Tarim Basin. 

An aerial view of the Xiaohe cemetery in the Tarim Basin.

The remains, which date from 2,000 BCE to around 200 CE, are confounding for their remarkable state of preservation, luxurious clothing, and their burial in boat coffins among miles and miles of sand dunes, far from any sea.

The Tarim Basin mummies do not resemble modern inhabitants of the region, leading different groups of researchers to posit that they may have hailed from near the Black Sea, or been related to a group hailing from the Iranian Plateau.

Recently, an international team of researchers analyzed the genomes of some of the earliest mummies from the Tarim Basin.

They found that the people buried there did not migrate from the Black Sea steppes, Iran, or anywhere else—rather, the analysis suggests that they were direct descents of the Ancient North Eurasians (ANE), a human population widespread during the Pleistocene that is now mostly represented in genetic fragments in some populations’ genomes. The team’s research was published today in Nature.

Amazingly Preserved Mummies in China Yield New Clues to Bronze Age Life
A Tarim Basin woman mummified in Xiaohe, still with her hair and hat from life.

“Archaeogeneticists have long searched for Holocene ANE populations in order to better understand the genetic history of Inner Eurasia.

We have found one in the most unexpected place,” said Choongwon Jeong, a co-author of the study and a geneticist at Seoul National University, in a Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology press release.

Being direct descendants of the Ancient North Eurasians, the people of the Tarim Basin didn’t mix with other populations in the vicinity. And there were plenty. 

The team compared the mummies’ genetics with those of a neighbouring group from the Dzungarian Basin, also called the Junggar Basin. Those 13 individuals descended from a combination of local populations and Western steppe herders linked to a different group, the Yamnaya.

Chao Ning, study author and an archaeologist at Peking University, said in the same release: “These findings add to our understanding of the eastward dispersal of Yamnaya ancestry and the scenarios under which admixture occurred when they first met the populations of Inner Asia.”

Looking at the mummies’ teeth revealed milk proteins, indicating that the population may have been pastoral dairy farmers. But they used millet from East Asia and medicinal plants from Central Asia, indicating that though there was not a mix of genes, there certainly was a sharing of goods across cultures.

Excavation of burial M75 at the Xiaohe cemetery.

“At present, we are unable to determine when precisely the Xiaohe groups acquired their distinctive cultural elements,” said Christina Warinner, co-author of the paper and an anthropologist at Harvard University and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

“It appears that they had already learned to farm, herd, and dairy before moving into the Tarim Basin because we found that the founding population was already consuming dairy products. It is unknown where they lived before moving into the Tarim Basin, but their genetic profile and those of their admixed neighbours suggests that they were local to the general region.”

Though the Tarim Basin individuals were not genetically diverse, they were “culturally cosmopolitan,” Warinner said in an email to Gizmodo. They had fantastically woven clothing, beads and other decorative wares, and diversity of foodstuffs.

“Our findings of the Tarim mummies have raised numerous questions about the nature of Bronze Age population contact, trade, and interaction,” Warinner said. “We don’t have the answers yet, but we hope that continued archaeological research on the Xiaohe archaeological culture will begin to shed light on these topics.”

Some of the individuals look as if they died recently, with hair still on their heads, dyed clothing, and cashmere hats. And yet, it’s their genetic codes, invisible to the eye, that are revealing so much more about who these people were.