In the late 16th century over 100 English colonists vanished without a trace from what was hoped to become a permanent English settlement in present-day North Carolina. The use of technology to examine a 16th century map may have revealed clues of their fate.
Marine treasure hunters claim to have located the SS Port Nicholson, a Britsh ship that was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1942. It was carrying over $2 billion in precious metals and industrial diamonds.
“A tiny mountainous region in southern Siberia may have been the genetic source of the earliest Native Americans, according to new research by a University of Pennsylvania-led team of anthropologists.” Quoted from the NSF press release.
Water in the Rhine River is at a very low level from an extended drought. This exposed two huge bombs that have been in the river since World War II. Experts are disposing of the bombs while thousands of local residents have been evacuated.
Petroglyphs found in over 100 caves of France and Spain depict hundreds of horses. Because the petroglyphs were rendered in color researchers believe that they provide evidence on the color of horses in the stone age.
An article in the Proceedings of the Royal Society speculates that Vikings might have used Iceland spar (clear calcite) to detect the position of the sun while sailing in thick fog.
Researchers in southern Italy have found teeth associated with shell beads and other ornaments that date to between 43,000 and 45,000 years ago. These are older than any other physical remains found anywhere in Europe.
A bone point lodged in a mastodon rib found near Manis, Washington has been dated to 13,800 years ago – making it the earliest hunting weapon found in North America.
Archaeologists in South Africa have found a cave where they believe that humans used tools and heat to manufacture pigments from ochre about 100,000 years ago.
British Marine Exploration has identified the British Ship, Mantola, that was torpedoed in 1917 and went down in over one mile of water with 20 tons of silver on board.
“A University of Colorado Boulder-led team excavating a Maya village in El Salvador buried by a volcanic eruption 1,400 years ago has unexpectedly hit an ancient white road that appears to lead to and from the town, which was frozen in time by a blanket of ash.” Quoted from the University of Colorado at Boulder news release.
“Research at the University of Liverpool has found that periods of rapid fluctuation in temperature coincided with the emergence of the first distant relatives of human beings and the appearance and spread of stone tools.” Quoted from the University of Liverpool news release.
“University of Southampton and British School at Rome archaeologists, leading an international excavation of Portus – the ancient port of Rome, believe they have discovered a large Roman shipyard.” Quoted from the University of Southampton news release.
The S.S. Gairsoppa was sunk by a Nazi submarine in 1941. It went down in deep water with 240 tons of silver. Recovering the silver could set several ocean salvage records.
Archaeologists have discovered a “gladiator school” about 24 miles east of Vienna, Austria using ground-penetrating radar. This article describes the school and what it has revealed about the life of a gladiator.
After discovering six cannons believed to be part of Captain Henry Morgan’s pirate fleet, university and government researchers ran out of funds needed to sustain their marine archaeology work off the coast of Panama. However, Captain Morgan USA, the rum maker named after the 17th century pirate, kicked in enough money for a magnetometer survey and continued work.
The thylacine went extinct on the Australian mainland about 3000 years ago. It was a powerful dog-like predator about the size of a Doberman. A thylacine is illustrated in a rock painting made by Aboriginal people in the Kakadu area of Western Australia.
Computer mapping programs ranging from Google Earth to complex geographic information systems are increasingly used to study the geographic patterns of human actions over time. A new interdisciplinary field known as “spacial humanities” is developing. This New York Times article uses the Battle of Gettysburg (in which geology was a factor) as an example.
The University of North Florida’s anthropology department is working a dig on Black Hammock Island. They are taking advantage of the general public’s enormous interest in archaeology by offering a field school that brings enthusiastic workers to their project.
Archaeologists working off the coast of Italy have found a ship that might have been carrying live fish in a tank that received oxygenated water through pumps.
Bones and weapons found in the Wasden Caves suggest that Native Americans may have driven herds of large animals into the caves where they could be easily killed.
Researchers are currently working to obtain funding for excavations at the caves, the oldest archaeological site in Idaho.
“David Frayer, professor of anthropology at the University of Kansas, has used markings on fossilized front teeth to show that right-handedness goes back more than 500,000 years.” Quoted from the University of Kansas news release.
“CU-Boulder Research Associate John Hoffecker said there is abundant fossil and archaeological evidence for the evolution of the human mind, including its unique power to create a potentially infinite variety of thoughts expressed in the form of sentences, art and technologies. He attributes the evolving power of the mind to the formation of what he calls the “super-brain,” or collective mind, an event that took place in Africa no later than 75,000 years ago.”
Archaeologists have discovered a battery of cannons in sediments at the mouth of the Chagres River. They are thought to be from one of pirate Captain Henry Morgan’s ships that wrecked en route to a raid on a town that is now known as Panama City in 1671.
Some archaeologists now believe that there were two groups of Asian people arriving in North America over 12,000 years ago. One group came overland across the Beringia land-bridge when sea levels were much lower and the other group sailed along the coast.
Cave divers have found the remains of what could have been one of the earliest Americans. A human skull, mastodon bones, and more were discovered in the huge Hoyo Negro portion of Mexico’s Aktun-Hu underwater cave system, located on the Yucatan Peninsula.
“Newly excavated remains found at the Xaasaa Na’ archaeological site near the Tanana River in central Alaska may belong to one of the earliest inhabitants of North America. The remains of an individual, estimated to be about three-years old at the time of death, may provide rare insights into the burial practices of Ice Age peoples, while shedding new light on their daily lives.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation press release.
“A fossilized foot bone recovered from Hadar, Ethiopia, shows that by 3.2 million years ago, human ancestors walked bipedally with a modern, human-like foot, a report that appears February 11th in the journal Science, concludes.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation.
This article explores the beginnings of state-supported underwater archaeology in North Carolina. It began with the salvage of a Confederate supply ship and continues today with an enormous diversity of activities.
After 2500 years, archaeologists believe that they have discovered the remains of Cambyses’ army that was lost in the Sahara Desert during a terrible sandstorm.
Archaeologists in Mexico have found Clovis projectile heads embedded in remains of gomphotheres (an extinct mammoth-like animal). This is the first evidence of human overlap with gomphotheres in North America .
Researchers discovered small hand axes in the United Arab Emirates that are about 100,000 years old. These axes confirm that modern humans left Africa much earlier than previously believed.
Three bottles of Mackinlay’s whiskey were found under a hut used by Ernest Shackleton’s attempt to reach the South Pole over 100 years ago. The owner of Whyte and Mackay (the company that bottled the whiskey) was so excited to have an opportunity to examine 100-year-old product that he personally flew to pick-up the bottles.
An article in USA Today explains how hundreds of bodies have been discovered in European bogs. These bogs often have cold waters with a chemistry that preserves flesh, bones, clothes and other artifacts. Were these people murdered, did they die in accidents, were they special burials?
Archaeologists from UCLA have discovered what they believe is the world’s oldest winery. The site is located in Armenia and was operated about 6100 years ago.
Tools found in the Duzdagi salt mine in the Araxes Valley of Azerbaijan helped archaeologists determine that the mine was in production at about 4500 BC. It is the oldest-known salt mine in the world.
Archaeologists have found ancient tools on the island of Crete that date back to at least 130,000 years ago. If they are correct, these tools are evidence of the earliest-known sea travel.
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