137 children’s handprints discovered in Yucatán cave
More than 100 black and red handprints were discovered on the walls of a cave in Mexico, possibly created during an ancient Mayan ritual. Archeologists said most of the 137 prints were made by children some 1,200 years ago and that it was part of a tradition when children entered puberty.
Sergio Grosjean pointing out 1,200-year-old children’s handprints in a cave in Mexico.
The cave, located near the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, is surrounded by large pyramid-like ruins and sits some 33 feet beneath a Ceiba tree that is considered sacred in Mayan beliefs.
Archeologist Sergio Grosjean, who currently is working at the site, said: ‘They imprinted their hands on the walls in black… which symbolized death, but that didn’t mean they were going to be killed, but rather death from a ritual perspective.’
‘Afterwards, these children imprinted their hands in red, which was a reference to war or life.’
The Mayan rite of passage was for both boys and girls.
More than 100 black and red handprints discovered on the walls of a cave in Mexico were created during an ancient Mayan ritual. Archeologists say most of the 137 prints were made by children some 1,200 years ago and believe it was part of a coming-of-age ritual when children entered puberty.
Girls of the tribe would receive a shell to wear around their waists, indicating they were of age to have children.
Boys, however, went on their first hunt and performed a bloodletting ritual to confirm that they could be viewed as men. After completing the ritual, they received a white bead to wear in their hair and moved to an area in the community known as a ‘home of unmarried men’ until marriage.
Handprints in a cave had not been discovered by experts before. Along with the handprints, archeologists found a carved face and six painted reliefs, which date from between 800 through 1000 AD. In 1000 AD, a severe drought struck the region and contributed to the Mayans’ sudden abandonment of major cities.
While the first Mayan settlements date back nearly 4,000 years, large groups existed when Spanish conquerors arrived in the early 1500s.
In June 2020, archeologists discovered a 3,000-year-old Mayan temple, making it the ancient civilization’s oldest and largest known monument. The site in Tabasco, Mexico, had been discovered in 2017 by international team archaeologists led by the University of Arizona.
The site, called Aquada Fénix, is 4,600 feet long and up to 50 feet high, making it larger than the Mayan pyramids and palaces of later periods.
It was built between 800 BC and 1000 BC, according to the team behind the discovery.
One of the most remarkable revelations from the find was the complete lack of stone sculptures related to rulers and elites, such as colossal heads and thrones, which are commonly seen in other Mayan temples.
This suggests that early Mayans were more egalitarian than later generations.
Shackled Skeletons Unearthed in Greece Could Be Remains of Slaughtered Rebels
In the Faliron Delta district of southern Athens, two mass graves containing 80 ancient bodies have been found. Young men’s bodies from the 7th century BC were placed side by side, their arms shackled over their heads.
Skeletal remains, with iron shackles on their wrists, are laid in a row at the ancient Falyron Delta cemetery in Athens, Greece
One skeleton had an arrow stuck in its shoulder, which suggested the young men may have been murdered, prisoners. Researchers believe they may have been captured for being followers of ancient would-be tyrant Cylon of Athens.
The findings, presented by chief archaeologist Stella Chrysoulaki, were made when builders were preparing the ground for the new Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC).
Given ‘the high importance of these discoveries,’ the council is launching further investigations, the culture ministry said.
Two small vases discovered amongst the skeletons have allowed archaeologists to date the graves from between 650-625 BC, a period of great political turmoil in the region,’ the ministry said.
The skeletons were found lined up, some on their backs and others on their stomachs. A total of 36 had their hands bound with iron. One of the men, the last one to be found in March, also had his legs tied with rope.
It remains a mystery as to why the men had their arms tied above their heads rather than behind their backs. Archaeologists found the teeth of the men to be in good condition, indicating they were young and healthy.
This boosts the theory that they could have been followers of Cylon, a nobleman whose failed coup in the 7th century BC is detailed in the accounts of ancient historians Herodotus and Thucydides.
Some of the shackled skeletons found at Phalaeron outside Athens
Two small vases (one pictured in this image) were discovered among the skeletons. They have allowed archaeologists to date the graves from between 650-625 BC, ‘a period of great political turmoil in the region,’ the ministry said.
Cylon, a former Olympic champion, sought to rule Athens as a tyrant.
But Athenians opposed the coup attempt and he and his supporters were forced to seek refuge in the Acropolis, the citadel that is today the Greek capital’s biggest tourist attraction.
The conspirators eventually surrendered after winning guarantees that their lives would be spared.
But Megacles, of the powerful Alcmaeonid clan, had the men massacred – an act condemned as sacrilegious by the city authorities.
Historians say this dramatic chapter in the story of ancient Athens showed the aristocracy’s resistance to the political transformation that would eventually herald Athenian democracy 2,500 years ago.
The skeletons were found in an ancient necropolis at around two and a half meters from the surface.
So far, only half of the Faliron Delta has been excavated so far.
The site served as a port for Athens in the classical age.
Archaeologists said the excavation will continue, and the culture ministry is set to make a decision on whether to build a museum on the site.
Germany Will Return Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in 2022
After museum experts and political leaders reached an agreement on Thursday, Germany expects to return the antique, pillaged artifacts known as the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria next year. During a military expedition to the kingdom in what is now Nigeria in 1897, the majority of the artefacts were looted by British forces.
This plaque depicts musicians, a page holding a ceremonial sword and a high-ranking warrior. It numbers among the thousands of works looted by British forces during an 1897 raid of Benin City.
The 16th-18th century metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin are among the most highly regarded works of African art. They are now scattered around European museums. After the decision on Thursday, the next step will be to develop a road map for the return, which should be completed in the next few months.
That will mean inventorying all the items by June 15, followed by a meeting on June 29 to consider the best approach.
The 16th-18th century metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin are among the most highly regarded works of African art.
Germany puts museum cooperation with Africa on the agenda
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called the agreement “a turning point in our approach to colonial history.”
“We have been working intensively for months to create the framework conditions for this,” he said, adding: “We have put the issue of museum cooperation with Africa on the political agenda and sought dialogue with our Nigerian partners, the architect and the initiators of the Benin Museum.”
“From archaeological cooperation to the training of museum managers and assistance with cultural infrastructure, we have put together a package and are continuing to work on it with our Nigerian partners.”
Decolonizing museums
Nanette Snoep, a Dutch anthropologist and curator from the Rautenstrach-Joest-Museum in Cologne, said, “museums and politicians have become aware of the fact that it is really necessary to decolonize museums. And decolonizing also means restitution.”
With this decision, Culture Minister Monika Gruetters said, “We want to contribute to understanding and reconciliation with the descendants of those whose cultural treasures were stolen during colonization.”
The debate over Benin bronzes gains momentum in Germany
Hermann Parzinger of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation said the goal is to return the first items by 2022. He said talks are planned with the group’s Nigerian counterparts to ensure “substantial returns and future cooperation.”
Those would include talks about allowing some of the items to remain on display in German museums. However, Snoep says this decision must be made by the Nigerians.
“Nigerian partners can decide by themselves how this restitution will take place, how this repatriation will take place and, if some of the looted art will remain in German museums, it must be their decision how we will represent the Benin artworks in our museums and also what kind of story we will tell in our German museums,” said Snoep.
The famous bronzes are to be found in a number of German museums. The Berlin Ethnological Museum holds around 530 artefacts from the kingdom of Benin, including around 440 bronzes.
Some 180 of the bronzes are due to be exhibited this year in Berlin’s Humboldt Forum, a new museum complex that opened in December.
Pressure on former colonial powers to return looted artworks
The restitution debate began many years ago but was largely ignored by Western museums. It was also a taboo topic among anthropologists. According to anthropologist Snoep, a lot of Africans began making the call decades ago. “African intellectuals first started this debate. Now we only hear the voices of Western museum directors and politicians. But the good fight started in Africa,” Snoep said.
The curator adds that she hoped “it doesn’t become a white on white dialogue again.”
Most European former colonial powers have begun a process in recent years of considering the return of looted artefacts to the former colonies, especially in Africa. Last month, the University of Aberdeen in Scotland agreed to return a Benin Bronze sculpture to Nigeria, saying it was acquired by British soldiers in 1897 in “reprehensible circumstances.”
The famous bronzes are to be found in a number of German museums
That decision raised pressure on other establishments, including the British Museum, to follow suit. The British Museum meanwhile is reportedly considering lending its Bronzes to Nigeria.
In Nigeria’s capital Abuja meanwhile, many people welcomed the announcement, describing it as a historic moment for Nigeria. “I think it is a good development because those artefacts are our history in physical form,” said Okwuchi Jim-Nna. “It shows that Africa in general and Nigeria, in particular, has values and they are beginning to respect the culture of the people,” Steve Farunbi added.
Jemilah Idomas said it was a “laudable effort” by Germany. “Kudos to the German Government.”
However, a few Nigerians meanwhile believed their country was not ready to host the artefacts. “Bringing such artefacts into the country which have immeasurable value will not serve the purpose,” Samson Orija argued. “We are not ready, yet. I think they should still hold onto it.”
“With the insecurity now, the safety of those artefacts cannot be guaranteed,” said Shegun Daramola. “So, until we are ready they should still hold onto it. When they bring it now maybe another country will steal it. Or it gets missing within the country or gets destroyed.”
Museum to be built in Benin City
Nigeria plans to build a museum in Benin city to house the looted artefacts after they are returned, a €3.4 million scheme in which the British Museum will participate. Late last year, France approved the restitution of 26 items from the Kingdom of Dahomey, located within present-day Benin, which had been pillaged in 1892.
“Restitution is really righting [the wrongs] of your own history. And so that’s why African voices are crucial in this debate, that we do not, as white directors, recolonize a debate about restitution,” said anthropologist Nanette Snoep.
New Species of Prehistoric Flower Discovered Preserved in Amber
The discovery of a new species of ancient flower beautifully preserved in amber indicates that ancestors of today’s daisies, mints, and tomatoes flourished in Caribbean jungles up to 45 million years ago.
This tiny flower is thought to be related to the poisonous Strychnos genus.
The two flower fossils, found in the Dominican Republic, will help scientists understand how asterids — one of the world’s three major evolutionary groups of flowering plants — spread around the globe.
The amber formed sometime between 15 and 45 million years ago in a geological period known as the mid-tertiary, long before the Americas were joined by the Panama land bridge.
“From just this flower we are able to tell that this group of plants was present in the mid-Tertiary forest in the Caribbean — and not just this species, but that representatives from a large group of flowering plants, the asterids, had formed and been in full speciation mode,” said study co-author Associate Professor Lena Stuwe, director of the Chrysler Herbarium at Rutgers University.
The asterids include large families such as the Asteraceae (dandelions, sunflowers, asters, and daisies), the Lamiaceae or mint family (peppermint, rosemary, oregano and thyme), and the tomato family Solanaceae (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants and chillies).
The new flower, described in the journal Nature Plants, belongs to the Loganiaceae family, a relatively small family of subtropical and tropical herbs, shrubs, trees, and vines.
Close-up of petals and pollen
Strychnos electri is a newly found fossil flower in amber.
The well-preserved flowers are trumpet-shaped, covered with fine hairs, and less than 10 millimeters long. Although not complete, the specimens include corollas, stamens, and a single filament-like style that protrudes from the mouth of the flower, providing the researchers with enough detail to classify them as part of the Strychnos genus.
Today the genus has around 200 species, including the strychnine bush, which is found in northern Australia.
“I think the flower [now known as Strychnos electri] was probably a vine (liana) and lived in a humid, tropical forest,” said study co-author Emeritus Professor George Poinar Jr, from Oregon State University.
Despite its excellent state of preservation, the researchers were unable to make out the colour of the flowers, although Dr. Stuwe said most Strychnos species have white or cream-coloured flowers.
She also said it was unclear whether the flowers had been pollinated.
“However, there are pollen grains on the outside of the petals so pollen has been shed and spread, [and is] typical of flowers that are insect-pollinated,” Dr. Stuwe said.
While the researchers do not know exactly what would have pollinated the fossil flowers, small bees commonly found in Dominican amber may be a possibility.
Delicate flowers trapped in resin
The flower of Strychnos electri shows a long fused petal tube, anthers that are visible in the mouth of the flower, and a long style that protrudes far.
Amber is very good for all kinds of fossils, Dr. Poinar said, although flowers usually decay very quickly since the petals are fragile.
The flowers of Strychnos electri were encased in the resin of a large, abundant (and now extinct) tropical tree Hymenaea protera, which formed part of the forest canopy.
The fact they were small made it more likely they became fully covered and protected by the resin’s sticky mass, Dr. Stuwe said.
“Flowers from a lianous plant or otherwise could have fallen down or been blown around and landed in resin,” she said.
“As for leaves, branches, and fruits for plants, these are larger and often more firmly attached to the rest of the plant, and therefore are less likely to end up as loose fragments in amber pieces.”
Egyptian mummy believed to be of a male priest turns out to be a pregnant woman
According to the AFP, X-rays of a 2,000-year-old Egyptian mummy kept at Poland’s National Museum since 1917 showed the remains of a woman with long, curly hair who died between 26 and 30 weeks pregnant.
Marzena Ozarek-Szilke, an anthropologist at the Warsaw Mummy Project, was examining a CT scan of a mummy at the National Museum in the Polish capital when she spotted something peculiar.
“When I looked at the lesser pelvis of our mummy I was interested in what was inside… I thought I saw a tiny foot,” Ozarek-Szilke said.
X-ray images showed a little foot in the belly of the world’s first pregnant Egyptian mummy
She asked her husband, an archaeologist who also worked on the project, to take a look.
“My husband looked at the picture and as a father of three, he said: ‘Well, that’s a foot’. At that moment … the whole picture started to come together,” Ozarek-Szilke told Reuters.
The mummy came to Poland in the 19th century when the nascent University of Warsaw was creating an antiquities collection. For decades, it was thought the mummy belonged to an ancient Egyptian priest named Hor-Dehuti.
However, in discovery revealed in the Journal of Archaeological Science on Thursday, scientists at the Warsaw Mummy Project said the mummy was in fact a woman in her twenties who was between 26 and 28 weeks pregnant.
The cause of death is not clear, but Ozarek-Szilke said the pregnancy may have had something to do with it.
“It is possible that the pregnancy itself contributed to the death of this woman. Now we have modern medicine, women who are between 20 and 30 weeks pregnant and something happens to the pregnancy, they have a chance to be rescued. It used to be impossible,” she said.
The discovery sheds some light on the little-known role of children in ancient Egypt and the religious beliefs of the time, but also raises many questions, according to Wojciech Ejsmond, co-director of the Warsaw Mummy Project.
“What was the status of this child in the Egyptian religion? Did it have a soul, could it go to the afterlife on its own, could it be reborn in the afterlife… if it was not yet born?”
Ejsmond said scientists would study the mummy further to determine the cause of death and establish why the foetus was left in the body.
A man stumbles across a 2,500-year-old Bronze Age treasure trove in Swedish forest – in pictures
The AFP reports that more than 50 Bronze Age artefacts were discovered in western Sweden by Tomas Karlsson, an orienteering enthusiast. The 2,500-year-old cache of bronze items includes necklaces, chains, needles, and eyelets used to decorate and construct clothing.
Conservator Madelene Skogbert shows a bone ring that is part of the about 50 whole or larger parts of bronze objects that have been found in Alingsas, in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Among the relics, believed to be from the period between 750 and 500 BC, are some “very well preserved necklaces, chains and needles” made out of bronze.
The objects were lying out in the open in front of some boulders out in the forest.
The discovery has been hailed as one of the most spectacular and largest cache finds from the Bronze Age.
“Presumably animals have dug them out of a crevice between the boulders, where you can assume that they had been lying before,” the government agency said.
Tomas Karlsson, the cartographer who made the discovery when he was out updating a map, at first thought, it was just junk.
“It looked like metal garbage. Is that a lamp lying here, I thought at first,” Karlsson told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.
He told the paper he then hunched over and saw a spiral and a necklace.
“But it all looked so new. I thought they were fake,” he continued.
He reported the find to local authorities who sent out a team of archaeologists to examine the site.
“Most of the finds are made up of bronze items that can be associated with women of high status from the Bronze Age,” Johan Ling, professor of archaeology at the University of Gothenburg, said in the statement.
“They have been used to adorn different body parts, such as necklaces, bracelets and ankle bracelets, but there were also large needles and eyelets used to decorate and hold up different pieces of clothing, probably made of wool,” Ling added.
Medieval sword unearthed by a metal detectorist in Poland may have been used in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410
A medieval sword, metal pieces of a scabbard and a belt, and two knives that would have been worn on the belt were discovered in northern Poland by a metal detectorist who donated the artefacts to the Museum of the Battle of Grunwald, according to a Live Science report.
Alexander Medvedev discovered the sword near Olsztyn, in northern Poland, the local governmental Marshal’s Office of Warmia and Masuria reported in a translated news release on April 22.
“Such a find is found once in decades,” archaeologists said, according to the statement.
Despite spending more than 600 years buried underground, the weapons are well preserved, said Medvedev, an archaeology enthusiast, who donated the findings to the Museum of the Battle of Grunwald in Olsztyn.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the person who carried the sword might have been one of roughly 66,000 people who clashed at the Battle of Grunwald on July 15, 1410.
The bloody Battle of Grunwald (pictured) between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania triggered the decline of the Teutonic Order and brought about a shift in power in Europe which lasted for centuries
The battle fought near the Polish villages of Stębark (also known as Tannenberg), Grunwald and Ludwigsdorf, ended with a Polish-Lithuanian victory over the Knights of the Teutonic Order, which was founded during the Crusades to the Holy Land and later came to rule over what was then Prussia.
The Knights of the Teutonic Order often waged battles against their non-Christian neighbours, including the Duchy of Lithuania. But then, Lithuania’s pagan grand duke converted to Catholicism and married the Polish Queen Jadwiga; he became king when she died and took the name King Władysław II Jagiełło.
The sword may have been worn by a warrior at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410.
King Jagiełło also converted Lithuania to Christianity. But the Knights of the Teutonic Order doubted the sincerity of the king’s conversion, and in 1409, their Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen declared war on Poland and Lithuania, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
After a day of fighting, von Jungingen was killed when a lance pierced his throat and his troops withdrew. In all, of the 39,000 Polish-Lithuanian troops, about 5,000 died; of the roughly 27,000 Teutonic troops, 14,000 were captured and 8,000 died, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. After the defeat, the Teutonic Order’s power declined.
Hundreds of years later, the Soviets retrospectively claimed the battle as a Russian victory, because some soldiers from Smolensk, a city in Russia, were present on the Polish-Lithuanian side. During World War I, the Germans won a battle against Russia near the medieval battle site.
The Germans, who viewed the medieval knights as noblemen who spread Christianity, named the new battle the Battle of Tannenberg so they could claim revenge for the knights who were defeated in the medieval battle, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
The newly discovered sword and its accessories are now undergoing conservation and analysis.
The team hopes to learn more about the “social status of a medieval sword owner, and we are curious to see what lies beneath the rust layer,” Szymon Drej, director of the Museum of the Battle of Grunwald, said in the statement.
“We will also examine the site of the excavation of the monument in more depth to get to know the situational context of its origin.” After all, It’s rare to find such valuable items from the Middle Ages buried underground, Drej said.
More Than 100 Burials Uncovered in Egypt’s Nile Delta
According to an Ahram Online report, 110 burials containing the remains of adults and children have been found at the Koum el-Khulgan archaeological site in the Nile Delta region of northern Egypt.
Some of the graves discovered at the Koum el-Khulgan archaeological site in Dakahlia province were found still carrying the human remains inside.
The tombs were located approximately 150 kilometres northeast of Cairo, the ministry said, adding that at least 68 of these oval-shaped tombs belonged from the Predynastic Period that spanned between 6000-3150BC.
Ancient burial tomb unearthed recently with human remains
As many as 37 rectangular-shaped tombs from an ancient era known as the Second Intermediate Period (1782-1570BC) were also unearthed. This dated back to the period when the Semitic of Hyksos ruled ancient Egypt, the ministry informed.
The remaining graves were found to belong to the Naqada III period that thrived between 3200BC to 3000BC.
Inside these ancient mystical tombs, archaeologists found human remains of adults and children as well as the funerary equipment and pottery objects, the Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said.
Artefacts found at the site include pottery, scarab amulets and jewelry.
Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr Mustafa Waziri said in a Facebook post that this discovery is an important historical and archaeological addition to the site, where among the tombs found are 68, dating back to the period of the civilization of Lower Egypt.
And as many as five tombs from the era of Naqada III and 37 tombs from the era of Hyksos were dugout. “The excavations will continue to reveal more secrets from this region,” he said.
An ancient burial tomb unearthed recently with human remains and and pottery
Uncovered remains of a baby
Meanwhile, the head of the Egyptian antiquities sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr. Ayman Ashmawi, said that tombs are oval-shaped pits cut in the island’s sandy layer and contain people buried in a squatting position, most of whom lay on their left side with their head pointing westward.
Archaeologists uncovered the remains of a baby buried inside a pottery vase from the Bhutto 2 period, a small pot of spherical pottery was placed with it.
A pottery coffin was found inside a burial ground for a child, two brick tombs in the form of a rectangular building with the children’s burials and some funeral furniture, including a small pottery vase and silver rings, as well as the remains of a baby buried inside a large pottery pot were also excavated.
The funerary furniture was placed inside the pot, which was represented in a small black pottery vase.
The graves were found at the Koum el-Khulgan archaeological site in Dakahlia province.
