archaeology

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'It's the Earliest Strong Evidence of People Getting High' on Pot

Signs of ritual marijuana smoking found in western China

(Newser) - Archaeologists have unearthed the earliest direct evidence of people smoking marijuana from a 2,500-year-old graveyard in western China. In a complex of lofty tombs in the Pamir Mountains—a region near the borders of modern China, Pakistan, and Tajikistan—excavators found 10 wooden bowls and several stones containing burnt...

Mass Grave Tells of Horror When the Men Were Away
Mass Grave Tells of Horror
When the Men Were Away
new study
May 18, 2019 1:45 PM CDT

Mass Grave Tells of Horror When the Men Were Away

Archaeologists probe a 5K-Year-old killing

(Newser) - Talk about a cold case: Archaeologists are investigating a 5,000-year-old mass murder that confirms the brutality of late Neolithic life, LiveScience reports. Eight years ago, a grave was discovered in Poland with 15 women, young men, and children, all killed by head wounds and buried alongside funerary gifts like...

At Heart of Lake Titicaca, an Ancient Treasure Trove

Evidence suggests ritual sacrifice by the Tiwanaku

(Newser) - To the Aymara people of the Andes, Lake Titicaca is a mystical being. It's a belief that dates back hundreds of years to the Inca—and beyond, as evidenced by treasure pulled from the lake's depths, per Live Science . Divers have discovered gold medallions marked with a ray-faced...

Remnants of Nazi Massacre Found in Germany

400 artifacts found during excavation

(Newser) - Between March 20 and 23 in 1945, Nazis killed three groups of Polish and Soviet forced laborers—208 people in all—in Germany's Arnsberg Forest. The remains were exhumed and reburied by 1947, but those victims are now being remembered and discussed following a trio of excavations of the...

Archaeologists Are Bitter About Cadbury

They say treasure hunt campaign advocated looting

(Newser) - Cadbury has pulled an advertising campaign that archaeologists say encouraged children to dig for treasure—illegally. Naming archaeological sites around the UK and Ireland where jewels, gold, and silver have been found, the Treasure Island ads encouraged kids to "grab your metal detector and go hunting for Roman riches"...

After Locals Told of the Cave, It Was Sealed&mdash;Until Now
After Locals Told of the Cave,
It Was Sealed—Until Now
in case you missed it
Mar 10, 2019 12:15 PM CDT

After Locals Told of the Cave, It Was Sealed—Until Now

Some 200 Mayan artifacts found below Chichen Itza

(Newser) - This "extraordinary" story could have been published 50 years ago. That's when locals at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza told an archaeologist about a cave there, but he had its entrance sealed, possibly to safeguard what was inside. The AP reports his brief report on it languished...

'Ancient' Stone Circle Turns Out to Be '90s Replica

Scottish farmer fooled archaeologists

(Newser) - An "ancient" stone circle in Scotland turned out to be as authentic a Neolithic relic as Spinal Tap's stage props. After the owner of a farm in Leochel-Cushnie, Aberdeenshire, contacted authorities about a stone circle on his property, archaeologists investigated the site and concluded that it was an...

Harnessed Horse Unearthed in Pompeii Stable

General may have been preparing to flee

(Newser) - Archaeologists have unearthed the petrified remains of a harnessed horse and saddle in the stable of an ancient villa in a Pompeii suburb. Pompeii archaeological park head Massimo Osanna tells the ANSA news agency that the villa belonged to a high-ranking military officer, perhaps a general, during ancient Roman times....

Hidden Chamber, Tunnel Beneath Mexican Pyramid

It might have been used for funerals beneath Pyramid of the Moon

(Newser) - There's more than a tunnel hidden beneath Mexico's second largest pyramid. A survey using electrical resistance technology has not only confirmed the existence of a tunnel running out the southern end of the Teotihuacan's 140-foot-tall Pyramid of the Moon, but also uncovered a chamber connected to it,...

Girl Describes Finding Iron Age Sword in Swedish Lake

Saga Vanecek says people are calling her the country's new queen

(Newser) - The 8-year-old girl who made sensational headlines after finding a pre-Viking sword in a Swedish lake has given her side of the story to the Guardian . In a first-person take, Saga Vanecek says she was in search of rocks to skim from the bottom of Lake Vidostern in the southern...

Small Inscription, Big Consequence for Ancient Pompeii

Newly found writing on wall suggests Vesuvius eruption came 2 months later than thought

(Newser) - A construction worker's ancient jotting on a wall might rewrite the history books. The wall scrawl suggests that the Roman city of Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in October of AD79, two months later than historians have long believed, reports the BBC . Uncovered by archaeologists...

Discovery of Bronze Hand Sparks a Mystery
Ancient Bronze Hand Leaves
Archaeologists Perplexed
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 30, 2018 10:10 AM CDT

Ancient Bronze Hand Leaves Archaeologists Perplexed

And leads to a criminal investigation

(Newser) - The hand is a bit smaller than that of an adult and made from roughly a pound of bronze. What it was used for has perplexed archaeologists since it was found in Switzerland last October. At an estimated 3,500 years old, National Geographic calls it "Europe's earliest...

61K Hidden Structures Reveal 'Unimaginable' Mayans

Archaeologists look at the details of earlier LIDAR survey

(Newser) - Maya civilization was no mere collection of city states using slash-and-burn farming—that we learned earlier this year . Now archaeologists are looking deeper into an airborne survey that revealed a formidable civilization double the size of medieval England at its peak 1,200 years ago, Ars Technica reports. The survey,...

Archaeologists Uncover Ancient Sphinx Statue in Egypt Temple
Sphinx Uncovered
in Egyptian Temple
Sep 16, 2018 5:00 PM CDT

Sphinx Uncovered in Egyptian Temple

The discovery was made in the southern city of Aswan

(Newser) - Egypt says archaeologists have discovered a statue of a lion's body and a human head in the southern city of Aswan. Per the AP , the Antiquities Ministry says the sphinx made of sandstone was found in the Temple of Kom Ombo during work to protect the site from groundwater....

Limestone Altar Reveals Secret of Mayan Rule

Guatemalan engraving may reveal how rival dynasty defeated Tikal

(Newser) - How do you conquer a powerful Mayan city-state? Forge a political dynasty, ally with smaller surrounding cities, and slowly envelop until you become leader of the Serpent Kingdom—at least according to one take on a newly unveiled Mayan altar, the AP reports. Discovered in 2017 at the Guatemalan site...

Big Egypt Find: Signs of Village Way Before the Pyramids

About 2,500 years before, to be (somewhat) exact

(Newser) - When you think of ancient Egypt, pharaohs and pyramids come to mind. But a new discovery in the Nile Delta is shedding some light on an even earlier time in Egypt's history. Archaeologists have discovered storage silos containing animal bones and food dating back to the Neolithic era (around...

What We Assumed About Easter Island May Be Wrong
What We Assumed About
Easter Island May Be Wrong
in case you missed it
Aug 18, 2018 10:00 AM CDT

What We Assumed About Easter Island May Be Wrong

New study looked at the source of the tools used to carve the heads

(Newser) - The tale of the demise of Easter Island's people may have to be rewritten. The story has long held that infighting as resources ran out was one of the main drivers of the collapse, but a new study published in the Journal of Pacific Archaeology suggests a different scenario....

Find Made at Jamestown May Be a Significant One
Find Made at Jamestown
May Be a Significant One
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 29, 2018 7:03 AM CDT

Find Made at Jamestown May Be a Significant One

Archaeologists suspect they may have found George Yeardley's remains

(Newser) - "Who got such a prominent burial in the church?" It's the question archaeologists believe they know the answer to, though only time—and DNA analysis—will tell. Scientists working in Jamestown, Va., have unearthed remains they suspect might belong to Sir George Yeardley, the first governor of Virginia,...

450-Year-Old Wreck Holds Something 'Unique'

But rare, ancient grappling hook will remain with the wreckage of the Swedish ship Mars

(Newser) - Seven years after it was found, a 454-year-old shipwreck in the Baltic Sea is still revealing its treasures. Cannons, a hand grenade, possible remains of helmets and swords, and a large grappling hook used to rein in enemy ships are among recent discoveries aboard Mars, a Swedish warship that sank...

Ancient Sarcophagus Yields Horrible-Smelling Secret

Sewage water leaked in over centuries

(Newser) - "The sarcophagus has been opened, but we have not been hit by a curse," declared the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Antiquities after opening a huge black sarcophagus that had been untouched for 2,000 years. Those prone to queasiness might have disagreed. Sewage water had...

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