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Categories: Archaeology: General, Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published The heat is on: Traces of fire uncovered dating back at least 800,000 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists reveal an advanced, innovative method that they have developed and used to detect nonvisual traces of fire dating back at least 800,000 years -- one of the earliest known pieces of evidence for the use of fire. The newly developed technique may provide a push toward a more scientific, data-driven type of archaeology, but -- perhaps more importantly -- it could help us better understand the origins of the human story, our most basic traditions and our experimental and innovative nature.
Published Indigenous communities used the Caribbean Sea as an aquatic highway
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers recently turned to pottery to tease apart the navigational history of the Caribbean, analyzing the composition of 96 fired clay fragments across 11 islands. The study was conducted in the Greater Antilles and marks the first time that pottery artifacts from the Lucayan Islands -- The Bahamas plus the Turks and Caicos Islands -- have been analyzed to determine their elemental composition and origin.
Published 1,700-year-old Korean genomes show genetic heterogeneity in Three Kingdoms period Gaya
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have successfully sequenced and studied the whole genome of eight 1,700-year-old individuals dated to the Three Kingdoms period of Korea (approx. 57 BC-668 AD). The first published genomes from this period in Korea and bring key information for the understanding of Korean population history.
Published More digging needed to see whether bones of fallen Waterloo soldiers were sold as fertilizer, as few human remains have ever been found
(via sciencedaily.com) Launched on the anniversary of the conflict, a new study suggests that mystery still surrounds what happened to the bodies of Waterloo militaries.
Published Olive trees were first domesticated 7,000 years ago, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study has unraveled the earliest evidence for domestication of a fruit tree, researchers report. The researchers analyzed remnants of charcoal from the Chalcolithic site of Tel Zaf in the Jordan Valley and determined that they came from olive trees. Since the olive did not grow naturally in the Jordan Valley, this means that the inhabitants planted the tree intentionally about 7,000 years ago.
Published Unique Viking shipyard discovered at Birka
(via sciencedaily.com) Archaeologists have located a unique Viking Age shipyard site at Birka on Björkö in Lake Mälaren. The discovery challenges previous theories about how the maritime activities of the Viking Age were organized.
Published Origins of the Black Death identified
(via sciencedaily.com) The Black Death, the biggest pandemic of our history, was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and lasted in Europe between the years 1346 and 1353. Despite the pandemic's immense demographic and societal impacts, its origins have long been elusive. Now, scientists have obtained and studied ancient Y. pestis genomes that trace the pandemic's origins to Central Asia.
Published Wreck of historic royal ship discovered off the English coast
(via sciencedaily.com) A royal shipwreck has been discovered off the English coast. The wreck is of one of the most famous ships of the 17th century -- The Gloucester -- which sank 340 years ago while carrying the future King of England, James Stuart. Since running aground on a sandbank on May 6, 1682, the wreck has lain half-buried on the seabed, its exact whereabouts unknown. It has now been found.
Published Bioarchaeological evidence of very early Islamic burials in the Levant
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study combining archaeological, historical and bioarchaeological data provides new insights into the early Islamic period in modern-day Syria. The research team was planning to focus on a much older time period but came across what they believe to be remains of early Muslims in the Syrian countryside.
Published Pre-historic Wallacea: A melting pot of human genetic ancestries
(via sciencedaily.com) The Wallacean islands of present-day Eastern Indonesia have a long history of occupation by modern humans. Notably, the maritime expansion of Austronesian speakers into Wallacea left archaeological traces of a Neolithic lifestyle and a genetic imprint still detectable in Eastern Indonesians today. To gain further insights into Wallacea's settlement history, scientists sequenced and analyzed sixteen ancient genomes from different islands of Wallacea, finding evidence for repeated genetic admixtures starting at least 3,000 years ago.
Published A 3400-year-old city emerges from the Tigris River
(via sciencedaily.com) Archaeologists have uncovered a 3400-year-old Mittani Empire-era city once located on the Tigris River. The settlement emerged from the waters of the Mosul reservoir early this year as water levels fell rapidly due to extreme drought in Iraq. The extensive city with a palace and several large buildings could be ancient Zakhiku -- believed to have been an important center in the Mittani Empire (ca. 1550-1350 BC).
Published Famous rock art cave in Spain was used by ancient humans for over 50,000 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A cave in southern Spain was used by ancient humans as a canvas for artwork and as a burial place for over 50,000 years, according to a new study.
Published Archaeologists reveal pre-Hispanic cities in Bolivia with laser technology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Several hundred settlements from the time between 500 and 1400 AD lie in the Bolivian Llanos de Mojos savannah and have fascinated archaeologists for years. Researchers have now visualized the dimensions of the largest known settlement of the so-called Casarabe culture. Mapping with the laser technology LIDAR indicates that it is an early urbanism with a low population density -- the only known case so far from the Amazon lowlands. The results shed new light on how globally widespread and diverse early urban life was and how earlier societies lived in the Amazon.
Published Researchers investigate development of coastal peatland in Indonesia over thousands of years
(via sciencedaily.com) Tropical peatlands are one of the most efficient carbon sinks. The flipside is that they can become massive emitters of carbon if they are damaged, for instance by land use change, degradation or fire. This can lead to faster climate warming. Researchers now show how peatland in the coastal areas in Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia developed over thousands of years and how climate and sea level influenced their dynamics throughout.
Published Past eight years: Warmest since modern recordkeeping began
(via sciencedaily.com) Earth's global average surface temperature in 2021 tied with 2018 as the sixth warmest on record, according to independent analyses done by NASA and NOAA. Collectively, the past eight years are the warmest years since modern recordkeeping began in 1880.
Published New insights into sea ice and climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) A 170 m record of marine sediment cores extracted from Adélie Land in Antarctica is yielding new insights into the complicated relationship between sea ice and climate change.
Published New study ties solar variability to the onset of decadal La Nina events
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study shows a correlation between the end of solar cycles and a switch from El Nino to La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean, suggesting that solar variability can drive seasonal weather variability on Earth.
Published Antarctic seals reveal worrying threats to disappearing glaciers
(via sciencedaily.com) More Antarctic meltwater is surfacing than was previously known, modifying the climate, preventing sea ice from forming and boosting marine productivity- according to new research. For the first time, researchers have been able to obtain full-depth glacial meltwater observations in winter, using instruments attached to the heads of seals living near the Pine Island Glacier, in the remote Amundsen Sea in the west of Antarctica.
Published Researchers use car collisions with deer to study mysterious animal-population phenomena
(via sciencedaily.com) By parsing data on weather, deer populations and deer-vehicle collisions in Wisconsin, investigators show spatial synchrony could be driving population cycles, rather than the reverse.
Published 2020 tied for warmest year on record, NASA analysis shows
(via sciencedaily.com) Earth's global average surface temperature in 2020 tied with 2016 as the warmest year on record, according to an analysis by NASA.