PERU, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

The face of a 4,500-year-old mummy found in Peru was digitally reconstructed

The face of a 4,500-year-old mummy found in Peru was digitally reconstructed

Last year, archaeologists came across a 4,500-year-old mummy of a woman at Aspero, in Peru – and she was given the moniker of the ‘Lady with the Four Brooches’. Now to put things into perspective, this ‘new world’ discovery is almost as old as the Great Pyramid of Giza, thus shedding light on the intricacy of the pre-Columbian civilizations of America.

And now, a collaborative effort from researchers (at Caral Archaeological Zone or ZAC and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega University or UIGV) has resulted in the reconstruction of the face of the ‘Lady with the Four Brooches’, with the incredible recreation being unveiled at the Ministry of Culture in Lima, on 11th October.

The reconstructed visage represents a middle-aged woman (40-50 years old and around 5 ft tall) with simple features and a benign, almost-affectionate bearing. However, there was more to this ancient lady than her gentle face suggests. According to Dr Ruth Shady, director of ZAC –

It’s exciting to see the computer-generated 3D image of a person who we believe was a noblewoman with important social standing and authority in the ancient Caral civilization. Her discovery refers to the four brooches or ‘cuatro tupus’ carved from animal bones and shaped like monkeys and birds, that were found pinned to the fabric covering her remains. We know that these ornamental fasteners were used by women of prestige in traditional societies as symbols of their affluent social status. By revealing this ancient female’s face, we can throw some light on an intricate culture that supported gender equality, allowing both men and women to hold, political, religious and leadership roles.

 Now as for this reconstruction, the process was not without its fair share of hiccups. For starters, the researchers had to deal with a missing eye. Furthermore, the mummy’s cranium was also severely deformed, possibly due to intentional ritual cranial distortions followed by some ancient Andean civilizations (for reasons still unknown). In any case, the scientists could figure out other aberrations, like three fractures on her skull that might have been caused by a fall.

Brazilian 3D computer graphic artist, Cicero Moraes, who was a part of the digital reconstruction process said –

There was a dark mass obscuring the skull’s left eye socket which was partly caused by decaying body tissues and remnants of the funeral blanket covering the corpse. Photogrammetry can only take 3D photographic scans of the outside of the object, so I digitized the skull as it was and found an ingenious way to fill in the gap. I simply mirrored the right eye orbit and copied it to the left side. I was able to soften the jawline by giving it a more feminine pointed chin.

He also talked about how the artists recreated the various facial features complemented by the different density parameters –

Working with a disfigured skull is always a challenge as there is very little data to use as a reference. I compared the ‘Lady’s’ skull with a modern woman of compatible ancestry and age. By overlapping the structures, you could see how the jaw on the ancient skull was more robust and square compared to the recent skull. I reconstructed the face by working with the anatomical distortion while referencing the modern skull. I also used data tables which give the standard density of skin tissue, muscles and fat on various sections of the head.

Coming to the historical scope of the ‘Lady with the Four Brooches’, the find hailed as one of the most important archaeological discoveries of 2016, pertained to an entombed body discovered inside a burial chamber in the Huaca of the Idols.

This fascinating structure entails one of the many pyramid-shaped buildings in the region designed with overlapping platforms and a central staircase (pictured below).

The deceased woman was flanked by objects like broaches with animal-shaped etchings, a necklace made of sea shells, and a pendant of Spondylus (bivalve molluscs). These jewellery items allude to her affluent social status, while also hinting at how high-end commodities and items were possibly traded between the coastal and inland settlements in pre-Columbian Peru.

Interestingly enough, the site of coastal Aspero in itself is only 14 miles away from inland Caral (or Caral-Supe), possibly the oldest known city in the Americas. This obviously brings us to the question – who were these ancient inhabitants of Peru who built impressive monuments and pyramids that were contemporary to their Egyptian counterparts? Well, the answer points to the so-called Norte Chico civilization, a factional conglomeration of around 30 major population centres, which was established along the region of north-central coastal Peru.

The Norte Chico thrived from 3500-1800 BC, thus making them the oldest known civilization in the Americas. And of the major cities (or probably the biggest one) of this conglomeration was Caral, a massive urban sprawl that covered 60 hectares of area, and was home to numerous temple complexes, and earthen mounds (pyramids), circular plazas and even a geoglyph.

Various carved objects were found in the tomb.

The main temple compound among these impressive architectural feats relates to the Templo Mayor, a massive complex encompassing an area of 150 m (492 ft) in length and 110 m (360 ft) in width (with an average height of 28 m or 92 ft), which is more than equivalent of three American football fields! Oddly enough, the commercial and economic aptitude required for these ambitious constructional endeavours was (probably) not fueled by wars and conquests on the part of the political elite. In that regard, much like the ancient Jomon people of Japan, the Norte Chico culture was not predisposed toward violence, as evidenced by the lack of warfare-based weapons, trauma-bearing skeletons and even human sacrifices (which possibly occurred in very rare instances).

The face of a 4,500-year-old mummy found in Peru was digitally reconstructed

In any case, there is still much to know about the Norte Chico (Caral) civilization of ancient Peru and the inter-relation between the coastal towns (like Aspero) and the inland cities (like Caral). Furthermore, there is also the angle of how women could achieve higher statuses within the society – as evidenced by this mummy in question. And lastly, a baffling element accompanies the architectural feats of the advanced civilization, and it pertains to how the Norte Chico didn’t dabble in either visual art or ceramic-based pottery.

EUROPE, FRANCE, WORLD

Magnificent Royal Celtic Tomb Discovered in France

Magnificent Royal Celtic Tomb Discovered in France

Archaeologists have uncovered an extraordinary 2,500-year-old grave of a Celtic royal outside the town of Lavau in north-central France.

The skeleton is believed to be the remains of a royal Celtic prince or princess

The team has not yet been able to determine the gender of the inhumed individual, but the luxurious jewellery and artefacts that the person was buried with indicate that the tomb belonged to a member of the Celtic royal family.

Magnificent Royal Celtic Tomb Discovered in France
The individual was buried wearing golden jewellery

The skeleton was buried with a two-wheeled chariot and was discovered wearing a 580g (1.2 lbs) decorated golden torque around its neck and two golden bracelets on its wrists.

A sheathed sword discovered nearby suggests that the person may have been a warrior or soldier.

Bastien Dubuis, chief archaeologist in charge of the excavation told the Daily Mail, “The presence of a chariot, a cauldron and bronze crockery are three typical characteristics of a princely tomb from this period.

They’re well-documented funerary objects, objects of prestige. They were used in religious ceremonies and as a way to show off the power of the elite.”

The tomb contained lavish Greek vases indicating the wealth of the buried individual

A statement from the National Archaeological Research Institute in France (INRAP) announced “The tomb contains funerary deposits worthy of the highest wealthy Hallstatt elites,” referring to the Hallstatt Celts, a culture that emerged in the Iron Age and spread across northern Europe.

The statement also explained, “The poor state of preservation of the bones means it is not yet possible to determine with certainty the sex of the individual.”

EUROPE, ITALY, WORLD

After 5,300 years, the last meal of an ancient Iceman has been revealed – and it was a high-fat, meaty feast

After 5,300 years, the last meal of an ancient Iceman has been revealed – and it was a high-fat, meaty feast

Some 5,300 years ago, Otzi (aka “frozen Fritz”) was murdered in the Alps with a simple one-two punch move: an arrow to the chest, and a blow to the head. But first, the roughly 45-year-old iceman fueled up, enjoying one last hearty meal.

Iceman's stomach was full of fat.
Iceman’s stomach was full of fat.

Fortunately for science, his dead body was neatly preserved in a rock hollow and naturally mummified as the glaciers moved in and slid right over him, freezing his stomach contents.

What Otzi ate remained something of a mystery after he was first found in 1991. His stomach had shifted upwards over time, making it tough to pinpoint what he ate right before he died, and earlier studies focused more on his intestines. Some scientists thought he might’ve munched on some kind of prehistoric bacon.

New research, released Thursday in the journal Current Biology, gives us a closer picture than ever of exactly what the mountain man ate to power his high-altitude journey.

Turns out, the guy loved fat.

Microbiologist Frank Maixner of the Eurac Research Institute for Mummy Studies said he found a “remarkably high proportion of fat” – roughly 50% – in the mummy’s stomach.

Probing further into the DNA in iceman’s stomach, scientists found evidence of ibex [wild goat] and red deer inside, as well as einkorn wheat. A new analysis of the meat fibres in iceman’s gut confirms they were probably cooked, barbecued, or smoked and dried in some way before he ate them because the protein compounds looked different than raw meat would. Previous studies of iceman found some charcoal in his intestine, further suggesting he was a griller.

A rendering of what Ötzi might’ve looked like, from the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy.

A rendering of what Ötzi might’ve looked like, from the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy.

It looks like Otzi ate well. He had a good mix of nutritional minerals, like iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium, and sodium in his stomach. These probably came from consuming animal products.

He also had smaller concentrations of chromium, copper, manganese, selenium, molybdenum, and cobalt in there.

“These data suggest that the Iceman’s last meal was well balanced in terms of essential minerals required for good health,” the scientists wrote in their paper. That was a smart strategy for someone trekking nearly 10,500 feet high, slogging through the Alps between Austria and Italy.

“Iceman seemed to have been fully aware that fat represents an excellent energy source.” paleopathologist Albert Zink, also at the Eurac Research Institute for Mummy Studies said in a release. “The high and cold environment is particularly challenging for the human physiology and requires optimal nutrient supply to avoid rapid starvation and energy loss.”

The iceman functioned using a similar principle to today’s popular ketogenic diet. When there are no carbohydrates or sugars left to fuel your journey, the body can switch into ketosis, relying on fats to keep the brain and body moving.

But the iceman was not a paleo dieter, nor was he a fan of the low-carb, high-fat keto plan.

“The Iceman’s last meal was a well-balanced mix of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, perfectly adjusted to the energetic requirements of his high-altitude trekking,” the paper’s authors wrote.

In other words, he wasn’t a picky eater, and nibbled on all kinds of foods, including some dangerous toxic bracken ferns. Scientists still aren’t sure exactly why he would have eaten a toxic leaf, but suspect it could have been some kind of early stomach medicine, or else it was just an earthy container that some of his other food was wrapped inside, like an early Tupperware.

His prehistoric body was not immune to some of the ill effects of a high-fat diet, either. Body scans show that his middle-aged arteries were hardening, and it looks like he was well on his way to developing coronary artery disease. That didn’t matter once he was murdered and plunged down into a dark rock hollow, putting his fresh and fatty meal on ice for curious scientists to discover thousands of years later.

AFRICA, WORLD

Africa’s 2000-year-old trees of life are suddenly dying off

Africa’s 2000-year-old trees of life are suddenly dying off

Africa’s iconic baobab trees are dying, and scientists don’t know why. In a study intended to examine why the trees are so long-living, researchers made the unexpected finding that many of the oldest and largest of the trees have died in the past decade or so.

Africa's 2000-year-old trees of life are suddenly dying off
The African baobab is one of the continent’s most recognizable tree species.

The African baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) is the oldest living flowering plant, or angiosperm, and is found in the continent’s tropical regions. Individual trees — which can contain up to 500 cubic metres of wood — can live for more than 2,000 years. Their wide trunks often have hollow cavities, and their high branches resemble roots sticking up into the air.

The researchers — who published their findings1 in Nature Plants on 11 June — set out to use a newly developed radiocarbon-dating technique to study the age and architecture of the species. Usual tree-ring dating methods are not suitable for baobabs, because their trunks do not necessarily grow annual rings.

The trees’ ages were previously attributed to their size. In local folklore, baobabs are often described as being old, says study author Adrian Patrut, a radiochemist at Babeş-Bolyai University in Romania.

Periodic renewal

Between 2005 and 2017, Patrut’s team dated more than 60 trees across Africa and its islands — nearly all of the continent’s largest, and potentially longest-living known baobabs. To compare the ages of different parts of the trees, the researchers collected samples of wood from the inner cavities and exteriors of the trunks and from deep incisions in the stems, which were then sealed to prevent infection.

Patrut and his colleagues say that their measurements suggest the trees live so long because they periodically produce new stems, similarly to how other trees produce new branches.

The team says that over time, these stems fuse into a ring-shaped structure, creating a false cavity in the middle.

But, surprisingly, the scientists also found that most of the oldest and largest baobabs died during the study, often suddenly between measurements.

Nine of the 13 oldest, and 5 of the 6 largest, baobabs measured died in the 12-year period — “an event of unprecedented magnitude”, says the study.

The researchers found no signs of an epidemic or disease, leading them to suggest that changing climates in southern Africa could be to blame — but they stress that more research is needed to confirm this idea.

In one instance, the researchers observed that in 2010 and 2011, all the stems of Panke, a giant, sacred baobab tree in Zimbabwe, fell over and died.

The team estimates that the tree was 2,450 years old, making it the oldest known accurately dated African baobab and angiosperm. Other trees across southern Africa also died completely or had partial stem collapse.

Previous research has shown a decline in the number of mature baobabs and a lack of young trees in the region.

Age-old questions

Local experts welcomed the technique for dating baobabs, but some were sceptical of the team’s findings on the die-off. Michael Wingfield, a plant pathologist at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, says that the team’s sample was small and did not provide evidence that baobabs are not afflicted by an epidemic. “We know very little about baobab health,” Wingfield says. “There is much more to this picture than purely the fact that the oldest trees are dying.”

Sarah Venter, a baobab specialist at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, says that her team’s ongoing research shows that baobabs may not be as drought-resistant as previously thought — and this could be the cause of the deaths. But lower tolerance for drought would affect all the trees, not just the largest and oldest ones, she says.

ASIA, EUROPE, RUSSIA, WORLD

Ice Age DNA shows dog ancestry from 2 separate gray wolf populations – study

Ice Age DNA shows dog ancestry from 2 separate gray wolf populations – study

Where and when dogs were initially domesticated by our ancestors is one of the most puzzling unresolved questions of human prehistory. We know that modern dog breeds originated from the grey wolf (Canis lupus) and were domesticated sometime during the last Ice Age – at least 15,000 years ago.

But exactly where it happened, and if it were in one single location or multiple places, is still undetermined. In a new study published in Nature, researchers used the DNA of ancient wolves to further delve into the evolution of dogs and found that their ancestry could be traced back to two different populations of wolves.

“Through this project we have greatly increased the number of sequenced ancient wolf genomes, allowing us to create a detailed picture of wolf ancestry over time, including around the time of dog origins,” says co-first author Dr Anders Bergström, a post-doctoral researcher in the Ancient Genomics lab at the Francis Crick Institute, England.

“By trying to place the dog piece into this picture, we found that dogs derive ancestry from at least two separate wolf populations – an eastern source that contributed to all dogs and a separate more westerly source, that contributed to some dogs.”

Two distinct populations of ancient wolves

The grey wolf has been present across most of the northern hemisphere for the past few hundred thousand years. An international group of geneticists and archaeologists has sequenced the genomes of 72 ancient wolves excavated from Europe, Siberia and North America.

They also used data from the genomes of 68 modern wolves, and 169 modern and 33 ancient dogs, so that the total dataset spanned the past 100,000 years.

By analysing these genomes, the team found that early dogs in Siberia, the Americas, East Asia and Europe appear to have a single, shared origin from an eastern Eurasian species of wolf.

Whereas early dogs from the Middle East, Africa, and southern Europe appear to have developed (in addition to the eastern Eurasian species) up to half of their ancestry from a distinct population related to modern southwest Eurasian wolves.

So, either wolves underwent domestication more than once and the different populations subsequently mixed together, or domestication occurred only once (in the eastern Eurasian species) and these early dogs than mixed with wild wolves.

Tracing natural selection in action

Because the 72 ancient wolf genomes studied spanned about 30,000 generations, it was also possible to look back and build a timeline of how wolf DNA has changed over time.

‘Dogor’, an 18,000-year-old wolf puppy from Yakutia which was included in the study.

“This is the first time scientists have directly tracked natural selection in a large animal over a timescale of 100,000 years, seeing evolution play out in real-time rather than trying to reconstruct it from DNA today,” explains senior author Dr Pontus Skoglund, group leader of the Ancient Genomics lab at the Francis Crick Institute.

“We found several cases where mutations spread to the whole wolf species, which was possible because the species was highly connected over large distances.

“This connectivity is perhaps a reason why wolves managed to survive the Ice Age while many other large carnivores vanished.”

Mutations in one gene, in particular, went from being very rare to present in every wolf over a period of about 10,000 years (30,000 to 40,000 years ago) and are still present in all wolves and dogs today.

The variants affect a gene called IFT88 on chromosome 25, which is involved in the development of bones in the skull and jaw.

The rapid spread of these mutations in the population may have been driven by a change in the types of prey available during the Ice Age, giving an advantage to wolves with a certain head shape. But the gene could also have other unknown functions in wolves.

A 32,000-year-old wolf skull from Yakutia from which a 12-fold coverage genome was sequenced as part of the study.

The team is continuing to hunt for a close ancient wolf ancestor of dogs, to hopefully reveal more precisely where domestication most likely took place. It is now focusing on genomes from other locations not included in this study, including more southerly regions.

EUROPE, ITALY, WORLD

Jar Residues Reveal Roman Winemaking Practices

Jar Residues Reveal Roman Winemaking Practices

A recent study reveals new details about how Ancient Romans kept their wine safe and packed full of flavour.

Jar Residues Reveal Roman Winemaking Practices
Amphora, 50-100. Italy, Rome or Sidonia, Roman, 2nd half 1st Century. Glass; diameter: 2.5 cm (1 in.); overall: 7.5 x 3.5 cm (2 15/16 x 1 3/8 in.).

Consuming wine in Ancient Rome was divinely ubiquitous, available not only to aristocrats and emperors, but also to slaves, peasants, and men and women alike. Yet while scholars have known this for some time, exactly how ancient Romans kept their wine safe and full of flavour was unclear.

But now, a study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS ONE reveals new details about these mysteries.

The authors looked at three 1,500-year-old Roman amphorae (jugs used to transport wine) that were taken from a seabed deposit found in San Felice Circeo, about 55 miles southeast of Rome.

For the study, led by chemist Louise Chassouant, scientists using methods in the burgeoning field of archaeobotany (the study of plant remains) were able to determine how Ancient Romans made wine and what elements they used in the process. 

By looking at the chemical deposits found within the amphorae, plant tissue residue, and pollen, researchers were able to determine which grape derivatives were used, but also, crucially, how ancient peoples were able to insulate their jugs and waterproof them. 

The study found that pine was used to create a kind of waterproofing tar to coat the inside of jars, but also speculated that this could have been done to flavour fermenting grapes. 

READ ALSO: ‘WORLD’S OLDEST WINE FOUND IN 8,000-YEAR-OLD JARS IN GEORGIA

Interestingly, the study also determined that because pine was not local to the region, it would have likely been imported from Calabrian or Sicily, adding credence to existing archaeological and historical evidence of trade links between the regions 1,500 years ago. 

All told, the authors emphasized that using a multidisciplinary approach was key to their findings. By looking not only at chemical analysis, but also at historical and archaeological records, plant remains, and individual amphorae design, “we have pushed the conclusion further in the understanding of ancient practices than it would have been with a single approach,” the scientists wrote.

What would it have been like to down a glass of wine with Augustus or Justinian? That we will likely never know, but we are now one step closer to understanding the Dionysian pursuits of Ancient Roman wine lovers. Salut!

ASIA, EUROPE, RUSSIA, WORLD

250-Million-Year-Old Stone With Microchip Print Discovered

250-Million-Year-Old Stone With Microchip Print Discovered

It looks like researchers from Russia have found a 250 million-year-old microchip. Researchers have made another incredible discovery in Labinsk, Russia. According to scholars, this discovery marks the beginning of a completely new history, one that many ancient alien theorists have been talking about for years.

The object that researchers have found is believed to be some sort of ancient microchip and according to researchers, these ancient microchips date back millions of years.

After countless tests, researchers have come to the conclusion that this antique piece was used as some sort of microchip in ancient times.

The problem is its age, according to tests, the artefact is believed to be between 225 and 250 million years old.

Some researchers believe that the dating of the artefact is not entirely accurate given the fact that you cannot date rock, and the tests were based on traces of organic material found around the mystery “chip”.

The million-dollar question is, who and what used a microchip that dates back 250 million years? Is there a possibility that this is in fact the remains of ancient technology? Technology that belonged to a highly advanced civilization that inhabited Earth millions of years ago?

Or is there a possibility that this artefact did not originate from Earth, but on another planet, belonging to an extraterrestrial species?

Better yet, what makes Russia so unique is that numerous artefacts, like the one we see here, have been discovered over the years.

250-Million-Year-Old Stone With Microchip Print Discovered

This “ancient microchip” was discovered in the Krasnodar region, and ufologists have already tagged this discovery as a fragment of technology previously unknown to science.

Like many other discoveries, this remarkable artefact was found by chance by a local fisherman by the name of Viktor Morozov who donated his curious finding to scholars from the University of Southern Polytechnic Nowoczerkaskiej who performed several tests and concluded that embedded into the rock, is a strange “device” which strangely resembles modern-day microchips.

Researchers have not tried removing the alleged microchip from the rock for fear that the might damage it.

Geologists and researchers cannot explain the origin of this fantastic finding and there are numerous possibilities that explain what this object is.

Extraterrestrial technology, evidence of sophisticated ancient societies, or just one of those strange rocks made by mother nature.

Some researchers point out that this might actually be part of a stem plant, such as lillies, skeptics have already “debunked” this finding suggesting that it is noting worth the while, just like many other discoveries which couldn’t be explained, so the best guess was… “its nothing important”, however, the origin of this artefact and many others also discovered in Russia have not been explained.

ASIA, EUROPE, RUSSIA, WORLD

40,000-Year-Old Bracelet Made With Advanced Technology — The Evidence

40,000-Year-Old Bracelet Made With Advanced Technology — The Evidence

Dating back to the Denisovan species of early humans, scientists have confirmed that a bracelet found in Siberia is 40,000 years old. This makes it the oldest piece of jewellery ever discovered.

The bracelet is discovered in a site called the Denisova Cave in the Altai region of Siberia in 2008 and after detailed analysis, Russian experts now accept that the bracelet’s age is as correct.

Scientists conclude it was made by our prehistoric human ancestors, the Denisovans, an extinct species of humans genetically distinct from Neanderthals and modern humans, and shows them to have been far more advanced than ever realized.

But what made the discovery especially striking was that manufacturing technology is more common in a much later period, such as the Neolithic era.

Indeed, it is not clear yet how the Denisovans could have made the bracelet.

Writing in the Novosibirsk magazine, Science First Hand, Dr Derevyanko said:

“There were found two fragments of the bracelet of a width of 2.7cm and a thickness of 0.9 cm.

The estimated diameter of the find was 7cm. Near one of the cracks was a drilled hole with a diameter of about 0.8 cm.”

“Studying them, scientists found out that the speed of rotation of the drill was rather high, fluctuations minimal, and that was there was applied to drill with an implement – technology that is common for more recent times”, Dr. Derevyanko told the Siberiantimes.

Image: Bracelet is made of Chlorite – Inside are traces of drilling.
Image credit: Anatoly Derevyanko and Mikhail Shunkov, Anastasia Abdulmanova.

It is known that the Denisovans migrated out of Africa and branched away from other humanoid ancestors some 1 million years ago.

Genetic studies confirm that skeletal remains of Denisovans, that dated back as early as 600,000 years ago were quite different to both Neanderthals and modern man and the studies confirm that they did coexist not only with modern humans and the Neanderthals, prior to becoming extinct, but as DNA evidence suggests, the Denisovans also must have interbred with an as yet unknown and undiscovered species of humans beings… or maybe an Extraterrestrial species?

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