Category Archives: WORLD

NORTH AMERICA, U.S.A, WORLD

A ‘Stonehenge-Like’ Structure Exists In Lake Michigan and is 9,000 Years Old

A ‘Stonehenge-Like’ Structure Exists In Lake Michigan and is 9,000 Years Old

While scanning underneath the waters of Lake Michigan for shipwrecks, archeologists found something a lot more interesting than they bargained for.

While scanning underneath the waters of Lake Michigan for shipwrecks, archeologists found something a lot more interesting than they bargained for: they discovered a boulder with a prehistoric carving of a mastodon,  as well as a series of stones arranged in a Stonehenge-like manner.

Gazing into the water

Using remote sensing techniques is common in modern archaeology – scientists routinely survey lakes and ground for hidden structures.

At a depth of about 40 feet into Lake Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay, using sonar techniques to look for shipwrecks, archeologists discovered sunken boats and cars and even a Civil War-era pier, but among all these, they found this prehistoric surprise, which a trained eye can guess by looking at the sonar scans photos in this article.

“When you see it in the water, you’re tempted to say this is absolutely real,” said Mark Holley, a professor of underwater archaeology at Northwestern Michigan University College who made the discovery, during a news conference with photos of the boulder on display in 2007. “But that’s what we need the experts to come in and verify.

The boulder with the markings is 3.5 to 4 feet high and about 5 feet long. Photos show a surface with numerous fissures.

Some may be natural while others appear of human origin, but those forming what could be the petroglyph stood out, Holley said.

Viewed together, they suggest the outlines of a mastodon-like back, hump, head, trunk, tusk, triangular-shaped ear, and parts of legs, he said.

“We couldn’t believe what we were looking at,” said Greg MacMaster, president of the underwater preserve council.

Specialists shown pictures of the boulder holding the mastodon markings have asked for more evidence before confirming the markings are an ancient petroglyph, said Holley.

“They want to actually see it,” he said. Unfortunately, he added, “Experts in petroglyphs generally don’t dive, so we’re running into a little bit of a stumbling block there.”

If found to be true, the wannabe petroglyph could be as much as 10,000 years old – coincident with the post-Ice Age presence of both humans and mastodons in the upper midwest.

The formation, if authenticated, wouldn’t be completely out of place. 

Stone circles and other petroglyph sites are located in the area.

The discovery was made back a few years ago, and surprisingly enough the find hasn’t been popularized at all, with little to no information available online, but I’ll be sure to update this post as soon as I can get ahold of more info. So, who’s from Michigan?

NORTH AMERICA, U.S.A, WORLD

Hundreds of Well Preserved Prehistoric Animals have been found in an Ancient Volcanic Ashbed in Nebraska

Hundreds of Well Preserved Prehistoric Animals have been found in an Ancient Volcanic Ashbed in Nebraska

An adult (3) rhino fossil lies next to a baby’s fossils. They are among hundreds of skeletons discovered at Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park in Royal, Nebraska.

The watering holes attracted prehistoric animals among Nebraska’s tall grasslands. From horses to camels and rhinoceroses, with wild dogs looming nearby, animals roamed the savanna-like region.

Then, one day, it all changed. Hundreds of miles away, a volcano in southeast Idaho erupted. Within days, up to two feet of ash covered parts of present-day Nebraska.

Some of the animals died immediately, consumed with ash and other debris. Most of the animals lived for several more days, their lungs ingesting ash as they searched the ground for food. Within a few weeks, northeast Nebraska was barren of animals, except for a few survivors.

More than 12 million years later, a fossil was found in Antelope County, near the small town of Royal.

The skull of a baby rhino was discovered by a Nebraska paleontologist and his wife while exploring the area. The fossil was exposed to erosion. Soon after, exploration started in the area.

As more discoveries were made, the site grew into a tourist attraction. Today, people visit Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park to check out hundreds of fossils from 12 species of animals, including five types of horses, three species of camels, as well as a saber-toothed deer. The infamous saber-toothed cat remains a dream discovery.

Visitors view fossils inside the Hubbard Rhino Barn, a 17,500-square-foot facility that protects the fossils while allowing visitors to roam on a boardwalk. Kiosks provide information on fossils located in specific areas.

One level of the fossil beds was discovered at Ashfall Fossil Beds Park.

As you tour the barn, if a summer intern or paleontologist is nearby, they are open to discussing their work, as well as answering questions. During our visit, we learned that an intern had discovered a fossilized dog paw print.

Outside the barn, visitors can read facts about the area, including that mammoths migrated to North America about 1.5 million years ago.

A yellow flag in an area a short distance from the main walk to the barn indicates the discovery site of the rhino skull. Red flags showcase spots where additional fossils were discovered.

A yellow flag marks the site of the first skull discovery in 1971. The red flags indicate spots of additional fossil finds.

Visitor activities and views at Ashfall Fossil Beds

In addition to the Hubbard Barn, Ashfall Fossil Beds features a discovery area where children can cipher through the sand searching for their own fossil discoveries. A small barn is used for special exhibits, as well as classes.

Children play in a sandbox “searching” for fossils.

The visitors center houses some animal remains, as well as paleontologists working on recent finds. About 60 million years before the area was home to the savanna, Nebraska was part of a tropical sea.

Fossils found in the area include a plesiosaur, a mammal from the Jurassic Period. The fossils displayed were found on the Santee reservation, about an hour away.

Fossils from a plesiosaur were found near Santee, about an hour from the park.

Sculptures representing animals from the region are located around the state historical park. Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park kicks off its summer hours on Memorial Day weekend when it’s open daily through Labor Day. Otherwise, check the website here for hours.

A state park permit ($6 per vehicle for an in-state day permit or free with an annual pass) is required for visiting the park, in addition to the $7 entrance fee.

NORTH AMERICA, U.S.A, WORLD

A new study shows Early Native Americans in Alaska were freshwater fishermen 13,000 years ago

A new study shows Early Native Americans in Alaska were freshwater fishermen 13,000 years ago

A new study shows Early Native Americans in Alaska were freshwater fishermen 13,000 years ago

A team led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers has discovered the earliest known evidence that Native Americans living in present-day central Alaska may have begun freshwater fishing around 13,000 years ago during the last ice age.

Ancestors of Alaska Natives, many of whose livelihoods still depend on freshwater fish such as salmon, may have started subsistence fishing as a response to fewer food resources during long-term climate change, Ben Potter and colleagues say.

The research offers a glimpse at how early humans used a changing landscape and could offer insight for modern people facing similar changes.

“We are looking at humans as ecologists do, as biologists do,” said Ben Potter, a UAF anthropology professor and co-lead author of the paper. “Even very early on, they are able to adapt to changing conditions.”

The study, published recently in the journal Science Advances, shows that people living between 13,000 and 11,500 years ago in what is now Interior Alaska relied on freshwater fish like burbot, whitefish and pike for food. The study builds on earlier UAF findings that documented salmon fishing by the same population of ancient humans.

Native Americans have relied on freshwater fish for thousands of years, but the origins of fishing in North America have been uncertain. Beringia, a region comprising present-day Alaska and Russia, was largely ice-free during the last ice age and is considered a key gateway to the Americas.

Burbot vertebrae from the Mead site are lined up.

“That discovery was really surprising because it was far from the ocean, in an area near the edge of salmon habitat,” said Potter. “That started us thinking: This could be a whole other angle on human ecology beyond large mammal hunting.”

To investigate, Potter et al. used a combination of DNA and isotope analyses to identify 1,110 fish specimens recovered from six human settlement sites – including in the Tanana, Kuskokwim, Susitna, and Copper River basins – in what was once eastern Beringia (central Alaska). They identified four main fish taxa – salmon, burbot, whitefish, and northern pike – whose earliest appearances dated to around 13,000 and 11,800 years ago.

These findings, along with well-documented fishing records from local Native Alaskans, suggest that early Native Americans may have started fishing as a response to environmental change during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. “Our data collectively suggest that changes in climate and ultimately key mammal resources during the Younger Dryas led to human responses of widening diet breadth to incorporate multiple species of freshwater and anadromous fish, setting a pattern that would be expanded upon later in the Holocene as fish, particularly salmon, became key resources to Alaska Native lifeways,” the authors write.

The bones were found inside homes and hearths and tended to be associated with base camps, rather than short-term hunting camps. They also were far from lakes and streams, so it’s unlikely that predators moved them.

The absence of fishhooks or spears at the sites suggests that the early Alaskans likely used nets and perhaps weirs to harvest the fish.

“This is a compelling, evidence-based case for freshwater fishing at the end of the last Ice Age,” Potter said.

Until the beginning of the Younger Dryas, people relied more on waterfowl to augment large game like bison and elk. When temperatures started dropping around 13,000 years ago, that changed.

“While we don’t know why the use of waterfowl diminished, we know that the climate was changing,” Potter said. “One of the ways the people were able to adapt is to incorporate these new species and new technologies. Burbot, in particular, can be caught in late winter and early spring, when food resources were most scarce.”

The solid tie to modern subsistence activities is also compelling, he said.

WORLD

This 5,500-Year-Old Sumerian Star Map Recorded the Impact of a Massive Asteroid

This 5,500-Year-Old Sumerian Star Map Recorded the Impact of a Massive Asteroid

An ancient Sumerian astronomer recorded on the clay tablet the events he observed on 29 June 3123 BC.

An ancient clay tablet housed at the British Museum has puzzled experts for more than 150 years. The Cuneiform tablet in the British Museum collection No K8538 is known as “the Planisphere.” Translated more than ten years ago, the clay tablet is an ancient Sumerian Star Map.

Researchers claim it describes an asteroid impact in ancient times. The clay tablet was recovered in the 19th century from the underground library of King Ashurbanipal in Nineveh, Iraq, by Sir. Henry Layard.

Translations and eventual analysis revealed stunning details. The ancient Sumerians etched on the surface of the clay tablet details revealing they observed a massive object, visible in space, as it smashed through Earth’s atmosphere and eventually impacted the planet.

The tablet is a copy of notes inscribed by an ancient Sumerian astronomer that observed the sky. He referred to the object coming from the sky as a “white stone bowl approaching…”

Part of a circular clay tablet with depictions of constellations (planisphere); the reverse is uninscribed; restored from fragments and incomplete; partly accidentally vitrified in antiquity during the destruction of the place where it was found. Found in Kuyunjik, ancient Nineveh, in the so-called “Library of Ashurbanipal.” Neo-Assyrian period.

The tablet is an astronomical work since it features intricate drawings of constellations and their names. Since its discovery, experts have been unable to fully understand what the Sumerian Astronomer wanted to convey. That changed with the appearance of computer programs that could help simulate trajectories and reconstruct the night sky thousands of years ago. And it is precisely that way that experts finally understood what the Planisphere tablet refers to.

An ancient Sumerian astronomer recorded the events he observed on 29 June 3123 BC.

Experts found that fifty percent of the clay tablet refers to the position of the planets and weather conditions, like cloud cover. However, the other half of the tablet details how a massive object, large enough to be observed even though it was still in space, was seen approaching Earth.

The Sumerian astronomer decided the event was of great importance, so he accurately noted the object’s trajectory relative to the stars. And it turns out that the object observed by the Sumerian astronomer was most likely the asteroid that impacted Köfels, Austria.

According to experts, the astronomer accurately noted the object’s trajectory to an error of better than one degree.

Based on the observations made by the Sumerian astronomers, scientists have concluded that the object in question was most likely an asteroid over one kilometer in diameter. It was most likely an Aten-type asteroid that orbited relatively close to the planet given its orbit.

The data etched on the clay tablet explains why there isn’t an actual impact crater at Köfels. Observations indicate that the asteroid’s incoming angle was as low as six degrees. This suggests the space rock most likely clipped a mountain on its way down (most likely the tip of Gamskogel), causing the asteroid to disintegrate before reaching its final impact point.

Scientists explain that as it made its way down the valley, the asteroid turned into a gigantic fireball, around five kilometers in diameter. As it impacted Köfels, it produced extremely high pressures that caused the rock to pulverize.

However, since it was no longer a solid object, it did not leave an impact crater behind.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

‘Incredibly Rare’ Roman Mausoleum Unearthed Near London Bridge Station

‘Incredibly Rare’ Roman Mausoleum Unearthed Near London Bridge Station

‘Incredibly Rare’ Roman Mausoleum Unearthed Near London Bridge Station

Archaeologists report discovering an “incredibly rare” and featured preserved floors and walls Roman mausoleum near London Bridge Station, UK.

Archaeologists discovered big Roman mosaics at the same location last year, which led scientists to believe something much larger might be buried beneath the surface.

Excavations conducted by MOLA archaeologists on behalf of Landsec, Transport for London (TfL), which owns the site, and Southwark Council have yielded extraordinary results.

Archaeologists say they have unearthed the remains of a Roman mausoleum “with an astonishing level of preservation.”

The Museum of London Archaeology(MOLA) believes the quality of preservation makes it the most intact Roman mausoleum ever to be discovered in Britain.

The mausoleum features a mosaic surrounded by a raised platform, which archaeologists believe was for burials Photo: © MOLA

Scientists have “unearthed the walls, entrance steps and interior floors of the tomb. The mosaic at the center is surrounded by a raised platform on which the burials were placed.

There’s evidence of a second mosaic directly beneath the first, indicating that it was raised during its lifetime. The two mosaics are similar, with a central flower surrounded by concentric circles.

The tomb itself was a two-storey building likely to have been used by a wealthy Roman family. It doesn’t now contain any coffins or burial remains, with MOLA suggesting that these were likely removed in medieval times.

However, the surrounding area is rich in traces of its ancient inhabitants, with over 80 burial sites and artifacts such as pottery, jewelry, coins, and glass beads.

A second mosaic was found beneath the first, suggesting the floor was raised at some point. Photo: © MOLA

Antonietta Lerz, senior archaeologist at MOLA, says the site is a “microcosm for the changing fortunes of Roman London” and provides “a fascinating window” into the life of its settlers.

Antonietta Lerz, senior archaeologist at MOLA, says the site is a “microcosm for the changing fortunes of Roman London” and provides “a fascinating window” into the life of its settlers.

Archaeologists from MOLA hope to pinpoint the age of the mausoleum and have provided a three-dimensional model of the site. There are plans for the future public display of the mausoleum.

EUROPE, ITALY, WORLD

New research, proves that Romans were breeding small bulldogs

New research, proves that Romans were breeding small bulldogs

New research, proves that Romans were breeding small bulldogs

Researchers have proven that breeding small brachycephalic (shorter-nosed) dogs took place already in ancient Rome. Research on a 2,000 years old dog skull indicates that the dog resembled a French bulldog.

Analyzing the remains of a canine skull at a Roman-era site in Türkiye, researchers have determined that the ancient pooch had a brachycephalic skull similar to that of a French Bulldog.

In 2007, dog bones were found in the ruins of the ancient Tralleis, near the Turkish city of Aydın. The find was incomplete, and due to the poor condition of the remains no one paid much attention to it for many years.

In 2021, the bones caught the attention of Professor Aleksander Chrószcz and Dr. Dominik Poradowski from the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences and a team of researchers from Istanbul University led by Professor Vedat Onar.

‘Fortunately, the skull was not so damaged or fragmented to prevent its measurements, and this research is an important part of our investigation because taking measurements allows us to compare it with other results of archaeozoological research, and with bone material from modern animals.

We conducted craniometry, or in the simplest terms, we determined measurement points on the bones of the skull and based on these points, we not only managed to determine the value of individual measurements but also compare them with contemporary, testable dog skull craniometry results’, says Professor Aleksander Chrószcz.

Photo: Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences

He adds that due to the state of preservation of the remains (measuring the length of the skull was not possible), the researchers relied on other measurements, including the area of the base of the skull, the tympanic cavity, the teeth, and the palate.

‘In this case, there was no doubt that it was the skull of a brachycephalic (short-nosed) dog, and a relatively small one.

The analysis of the preserved and measurable parts of the animal’s skeleton and the skeletons of dogs of modern breeds shows that it was most likely an animal that was lower at the withers than the well-known, also short-nosed Molossian hounds, whose pedigree originating from ancient Hellas is beyond doubt’, says Professor Aleksander Chrószcz.

He emphasizes that in order to make sure that scientists were dealing with such an ancient find, a radiocarbon dating procedure was carried out at a reputable, reference laboratory in the United States.

Photo: Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences

‘The discovery of the remains of a dog with this anatomy brings us valuable information. Scientists have been able to prove that in Ancient Rome, Molossian hounds were not the only known brachycephalic dogs.

It would not be new information if not for the fact that this animal was much smaller, and its morphology more similar to that of a French bulldog, a modern companion dog.

It was supposed to accompany its guardian, sharing a fairly comfortable life, instead of being a working dog often mentioned in the available Roman literature, we read in the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences press release.

According to the release, the animal was probably cared for not only during its life but also after death.

Skeletal examinations showed that the quadruped was treated exceptionally well, which distinguishes it from other discovered remains of working dogs.

Photo: Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences

‘Someone must have loved this dog, because most they likely they ordered to be buried with it. This means that the love between humans and animals is not a modern invention’, concludes the scientist from the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences.

ASIA, INDIA, WORLD

A 2,300-Year-Old Elephant Sculpture Discovered in India

A 2,300-Year-Old Elephant Sculpture Discovered in India

A 2,300-Year-Old Elephant Sculpture Discovered in India
Elephants commonly appear in Buddhist art from the period and archaeologists think it is a relic of early Buddhist worship in the region.

Archaeologists in eastern India have unearthed a statue of an elephant they think was carved about 2,300 years ago when Buddhism was the main religion in the region. 

The statue is about 3 feet (1 meter) high and carved from rock in the same style as other Buddhist statues of elephants found across the state of Odisha.

Historian Anil Dhir and other members of an archaeological team from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) unearthed the statue in April at a village on the banks of the Daya River in Odisha’s Puri District. “We were surveying the Daya River Valley to document its heritage,” Dhir told Live Science in an email. “This area is rich in artifacts from the ancient Buddhism which flourished here.”

The elephant statue is carved from rock in the style of statues found at other sites nearby from about 2,300 years ago when the region was strongly Buddhist.

The team found several other buried archaeological relics around the village, including architectural pieces from a Buddhist temple, he added. 

The elephant statue is very similar to one found at Dhauli, also known as Dhaulagiri, an ancient center of Buddhism about 12 miles (19 kilometers) upstream, Dhir said. That statue has been dated to between 272 B.C. and 231 B.C. 

Buddha and Hinduism

A team of archaeologists and historians from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) discovered the statue in April.

Buddhism originated in northern India in the sixth or fifth century B.C. and was one of the main religions under Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire in the second century B.C., the historian Upinder Singh of Ashoka University in India wrote in “History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century” (Pearson India, 2009). The empire covered most of India, including what’s now Pakistan, but not the very south of the subcontinent.

And from the third century B.C. until about the second century A.D., Buddhism “held sway” throughout much of India and the Odisha region in particular, Dhir said.

But Buddhism’s influence declined as its practices became assimilated into the myriad traditions of Hinduism and when Islam became more influential in the region after the 10th century; and while Buddhism is now widespread in other parts of Asia, it is only followed by about 0.7% of the modern population of India, according to a 2011 census. (The Buddha is worshipped, however, in some Hindu ceremonies, sometimes as an avatar of the god Vishnu.)

According to a statement by INTACH, the floodplains of the Daya and Mandakini rivers are rich in Buddhist antiquities.

Records also suggest that a fort was built at the site in the 16th century, and the INTACH team has found remnants of its defensive walls and moat.

Elephant symbolism

The archaeologists also found a carved laterite pillar nearby, which is an arrangement seen at other early Buddhist archaeological sites in the region.

Dhir said the elephant was a common motif in Buddhism and could be seen in many Buddhist monuments.

The INTACH statement said the recently unearthed elephant statue was found near a pillar of laterite — a reddish clay material — and other stone blocks: Similar finds were also discovered alongside another elephant statue found in the village of Kaima in Odisha’s Jajpur District. 

Art historian Christian Luczanits of SOAS at the University of London told Live Science that elephants were important royal animals in ancient India and symbolized the monsoon rains and fertility. 

Peter Harvey, a historian of Buddhism and a “faith advisor” at York St John University in the U.K., added that the elephant was also the mythical animal ridden by the pre-Buddhist god Indra, who was identified in early Indian Buddhism as a disciple of the Buddha and named Sakka (also spelled Śakra).

The elephant’s direct connection to Buddhism came about from a story that the mother of Siddhartha Gautama — the Indian prince who would become the Buddha — dreamt after he was conceived that “an auspicious white elephant [had] entered her womb,” Harvey said. 

ASIA, INDONESIA, WORLD

Indonesia discovers 700,000-year-old ‘hobbit’ fossils

Indonesia discovers 700,000-year-old ‘hobbit’ fossils

A visual approximation of the hobbit by Dr Susan Hayes, and right, a section of jawbone found at Mata Menge in Indonesia.

Dwarf “hobbits” lived on the Indonesian island of Flores for hundreds of thousands of years, according to evidence from newly excavated hominin fossils. An international research team, following up on the original hobbit discovery that drew international attention in 2004, has discovered a fossilized diminutive jaw bone and six small teeth from an adult and two children that they believe are 700,000 years old.

The scientists believe that the new finds, described in the journal Nature, represent ancestors of the hominin species Homo floresiensis, whose remains were discovered in 2004 and date back to around 55,000 years ago.

“The fossils . . . appear to be remarkably similar to those of Homo floresiensis,” said Yousuke Kaifu of Tokyo’s National Museum of Nature and Science, who led their dating and identification. “What is truly unexpected is that . . . Homo floresiensis had already obtained its small size by at least 700,000 years ago.”

The original discovery led to a debate between paleontologists who proposed that the fossils represented nothing more than a modern human with pathological dwarfism and those who favored a previously unknown hominin species.

“This find has important implications for our understanding of early human dispersal and evolution in the region — and quashes once and for all any doubters that believe Homo floresiensis was merely a sick modern human (Homo sapiens),” said Gert van den Bergh from Wollongong university in Australia, who led the archaeological team that excavated the jaw fragment and teeth from layers of sedimentary rock at Mata Menge on Flores.

Aida Gómez-Robles, a paleontologist at George Washington University in the US who was not part of the Flores team, agreed: “The current findings . . . confirm beyond any reasonable doubt that Homo floresiensis is a distinct hominin species with deep evolutionary roots.”

The discovery site is 70km from the Liang Bua cave where the original hobbit remains were found. The team chose to dig into the fossil-rich sandstone at Mata Menge because hundreds of thousands of years ago it was the site of a stream running through open grassland with some trees — the sort of place ancient hominins liked to live. Simple stone tools had already been found nearby.

The big evolutionary questions are when the hobbit ancestors originally reached Flores and why they became so much smaller than any other known hominins.

The oldest signs of human habitation on the island are stone tools from about 1m years ago, believed to have been left by Homo erectus, a hominin species then moving through southeast Asia by land.

Mr van den Bergh believes some individuals reached Flores accidentally — perhaps swept out to sea by a tsunami and drifting on debris — because there is no archaeological evidence for boatbuilding so long ago.

Isolated island populations of other animals are often subject to evolutionary dwarfing. Flores itself was home to two now-extinct species of pygmy elephants. If the founding population was indeed Homo erectus, then its stature would have decreased by about one-third (to around one meter tall) and its brain size shrunk by half within 300,000 years.

Workers at the archaeological dig at Mata Menge, Flores Island, sift for bone fragments.

An alternative explanation is that a smaller and older species of hominin such as Homo habilis reached Flores more than 1m years ago and underwent a slower dwarfing process.

The researchers say this is less likely because there is no evidence for the presence of hominins in what is now Indonesia so long ago.

The mystery can only be solved by the discovery of more complete skeletal remains of ancestral hobbits — including limbs and skulls — on Flores through more intensive excavation work.