archaeology

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Ancient Plaza Found in Peru
Ancient Plaza Found in Peru
Feb 26, 2008 1:50 PM CST

Ancient Plaza Found in Peru

Site may be oldest urban structure in the Americas

(Newser) - Archaeologists in Peru have unearthed one of the oldest structures in the Americas, Reuters reports. Carbon dating indicates the ceremonial plaza in Casma is 5,500 years old, scientists at the dig say. That's 500 years older than the nearby ancient citadel of Caral, previously thought be Peru’s oldest...

Climate Swing Jump-Started Civilization

El Nino shift 5K years ago led Peruvians to take up farming

(Newser) - An ancient Peruvian civilization may have been kick-started by a climate swing. Five thousand years ago, hunter-gatherers moved inland from the seashore, settling in arid, desolate river valleys where they learned to farm. Archaeologist Jonathan Haas thinks the new settlers were spurred to move by more frequent El Ninos, which...

Newfound Altar Predates Zeus Worship

Archaeologists uncover evidence of ancient pre-Greek diety

(Newser) - Archaeologists in Greece have unearthed the remains of an altar that predates Zeus worship, the New York Times reports. The evidence of animal sacrifices to an unknown deity thousands of years ago turned up during excavation of a temple to Zeus in Greece's Arcadia region. “We went from BC...

Mayans Sacrificed Boys—Not Virgin Girls

Mexican archaeologist brings up surprising new evidence

(Newser) - The human sacrifices offered up to the Mayan gods in Pre-Columbian Mexico were likely boys and young men, not virgin girls, Reuters reports. A Mexican archaeologist has ventured into the sacred sinkholes of Chichen Itza to recover bones from 127 bodies, and discovered that more than 80% of them came...

Pyramid Unearthed in Mexico City
Pyramid
Unearthed
in Mexico City
Dec 28, 2007 10:58 AM CST

Pyramid Unearthed in Mexico City

Newfound Aztec ruins predate known sites by at least a century

(Newser) - Archaeologists have unearthed the ruins of an 800-year-old Aztec pyramid in the heart of modern Mexico City. The ruins, which are approximately 36 feet high, stand on the former site of Tlatelolco, a center of political and religious power and the twin city of Tenochtitlan. The discovery indicates that the...

eBay Halts Sale of Iraqi Treasure
eBay Halts Sale of Iraqi Treasure
Dec 18, 2007 4:24 PM CST

eBay Halts Sale of Iraqi Treasure

Smuggled 4,000-year-old tablet was taken down minutes before auction closed

(Newser) - eBay called off the auction of a 4,000-year-old clay tablet last week just minutes before it closed because an expert suspected the artifact had been smuggled out of Iraq, the Guardian reports. A German archaeologist alerted authorities after spotting the tablet, a business-card-size object covered in distinctive cuneiform script,...

Wait a Second! Sub Watch Raises More Questions

Confederate ticker no clear clue to sinking

(Newser) - Scientists had hoped that the watch belonging to the commander of the HL Hunley would give them some clues as to why the Confederate submarine sank in 1864. But they've been left only with more questions, AP reports. The watch stopped quickly rather than winding down—possibly because of an...

Pirate Ahoy! Capt. Kidd's Ship Found in Caribbean

Found in just 10 feet of water off coast of Dominican island

(Newser) - An American underwater archaeology team has found what's believed to be the remains of a ship piloted by notorious buccaneer Captain William Kidd. Indiana University researchers discovered cannons and anchors off a tiny Caribbean island in just ten feet of water, which they believe belong to the Quedagh Merchant, a...

Queen's Digs Found in Holy Land
Queen's Digs Found in Holy Land
Dec 7, 2007 7:05 AM CST

Queen's Digs Found in Holy Land

Queen lived among the poor of ancient Jerusalem

(Newser) - Queen Helene of Adiabene, ruler of parts of Iraq, apparently had a pied-a-terre in the seedy part of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, according to an archaeological team that has unearthed the mansion. Now it’s prime real estate in the Arab quarter, forming the foundation of a parking lot...

Archaeologists Unearth Part of Roman Throne

First finding of its kind is decorated with ivory bas-reliefs of gods

(Newser) - Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a Roman throne in the volcanic ash that buried the city of Herculaneum when Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year 79. Scientists unearthed two legs and the back of a throne, the first ever found. The piece was decorated with ivory bas-reliefs of ancient...

Diggers Unearth Key Bible Wall
Diggers Unearth Key Bible Wall
Nov 30, 2007 7:37 AM CST

Diggers Unearth Key Bible Wall

Ancient wall thought to be one mentioned in Bible

(Newser) - Archaeologists digging in Jerusalem's City of David have found what they believe is an ancient wall mentioned in the Bible, AP reports. While working to save a tower from collapse, they found pottery shards and arrowheads from the 5th century BC, leading them to believe that a wall nearby is...

'Hobbits' Were, Indeed, a Different Kind of Human

Wrist-bone analysis shows link to apes

(Newser) - A new study of three wrist bones from an 18,000-year-old fossil shows that the so-called hobbits of Indonesia were, indeed, a separate human species. When the bones were discovered in 2003, scientists trumpeted the find as evidence of a smaller species, Homo floresiensis. But skeptics argued that the hobbit,...

Remains of Russian Royals Found
Remains of Russian Royals Found
Aug 24, 2007 3:12 PM CDT

Remains of Russian Royals Found

Archaeologists to assist in probe of royal family's deaths

(Newser) - Russian archaeologists say they’ve unearthed remains belonging to two children of Nicholas II, the Russian czar executed along with the rest of his family almost 90 years ago. The discovery of Alexei and Maria Romanov may help prove the authenticity of remains found in 1991 that are believed to...

Angkor What?: Cambodian Dig Unearths Megacity

Ancient city was once world's largest

(Newser) - Cambodia's famed Angkor—usually penciled into guidebooks thanks to its eponymous 12th-century temple—was once the world's biggest city, new research by University of Sydney archaeologists shows. From the 10th century on, Angkor grew to nearly one million inhabitants and sprawled out to the size of modern-day Los Angeles.

Kenyan Fossil Rattles Human Family Tree

Skull suggests two precursors were actually concurrent

(Newser) - Two of our ancestors apparently lived alongside each other in Africa rather than evolving from one to the next on the path to Homo sapiens, as scientists once believed. National Geographic reports that a Homo habilis skull dug up in Kenya is surprisingly young, making its 1.4 million-year-old owner...

First Tomb of Aztec Ruler Found
First Tomb of Aztec Ruler Found
Aug 4, 2007 6:45 AM CDT

First Tomb of Aztec Ruler Found

(Newser) - Mexican archaeologists believe their ground-penetrating radar has detected the first tomb of an Aztec ruler ever found, the AP reports. Workers in Mexico City, hanging from slings and digging delicately in a muddy underground passage, hope to uncover the remains of Emperor Ahuizotl, who ruled the Aztec empire at its...

It's a Wrap: Tooth ID's Mummy Queen
It's a Wrap: Tooth ID's Mummy Queen
Jun 27, 2007 4:39 AM CDT

It's a Wrap: Tooth ID's Mummy Queen

Powerful Hatshepsut linked to dental root and DNA tests

(Newser) - An ancient tooth and DNA evidence appear to prove that an obese mummy found in 1903 is one of Egypt's most powerful female rulers, Hatshepsut, the New York Times reports. The tooth, located in a box labeled with the queen's name, "fits exactly" with a broken root in the...

Americas' First Gun Victim Found in Peru

Inca warrior shot in head by Conquistadors, archaeologists say

(Newser) - The first gunshot victim in the Americas—an 16th century Inca warrior blasted in the back of the head by Spanish Conquistadors—has been discovered by archaeologists poring over the bones of 72 Incans killed in a 1536 uprising in Peru. The remains of the warriors were uncovered in a...

Jesus Tomb Claim Stirs Cries of Heresy

Archaeologist calls it "pimping off the Bible"

(Newser) - A book and documentary produced by Titanic's James Cameron claims to identify the burial place of Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene and a son, Judah. The documentary, which Newsweek calls "a slick and suspenseful narrative," asserts that 10 bone boxes found in 1980 in a first-century burial cave in...

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