A skeleton’s blue teeth represent a ‘bombshell’ discovery for women’s history

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It’s not surprising to learn that women who lived during the Middle Ages didn’t always get the credit they deserved, but tangible proof that further erodes our male-centric view of history is always welcome.

A new study asserts that lapis lazuli found in the teeth from the remains of a Medieval woman indicates that she was an artist. Researchers are calling the discovery a “bombshell” because it provides extremely uncommon proof of the role that women played as skilled artists at the time.

“It’s kind of a bombshell for my field,” Alison Beach, a medieval history professor at Ohio State University and co-author of the study, told the Associated Press. “It’s so rare to find material evidence of women’s artistic and literary work in the Middle Ages.” Read more…

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Dozens of cat mummies unearthed in ancient Egyptian tomb

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At an excavation of a pharaoh’s 4,500-year-old pyramid complex, Egyptian archaeologists discovered dozens of mummified cats — in addition to 100 ornate cat statues. 

Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Dr. Khaled El-Enany announced the ancient cat artifacts on Nov. 10, and the Ministry took to Twitter to share images of the long-deceased felines, wrapped in ribbons of cloth.

Ancient Egyptians may not have worshiped their cats, but there’s ample evidence that they viewed the small mammals as divine. 

#Tens of #cats #mummies were unearthed in #Saqqara #necropolis along with 100 wooden #gilded #statues of #cats and a bronze one dedicated to the cat #goddess #bastetpic.twitter.com/g0oSQPBhL8

— Ministry of Antiquities-Arab Republic of Egypt (@AntiquitiesOf) November 10, 2018 Read more…

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An 8-year-old girl pulled an ancient sword out of a lake, and she’s our hero now

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Good news everyone, we have a new world leader!

An 8-year-old girl pulled an ancient Viking sword out of a lake during her summer vacation, securing her destiny as savior of the world. 

Saga Vanecek — because of course her name is Saga — unearthed the sword in Tånnö, Sweden while skipping rocks. She told the Local that she found “some kind of stick.”

“I picked it up and was going to drop it back in the water, but it had a handle, and I saw that it was a little bit pointy at the end and all rusty,” she said. Instead of a stick, she pulled out what authorities believe is a thousand-year-old weapon. “I held it up in the air and I said ‘Daddy, I found a sword!'”  Read more…

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The world’s oldest human drawing is a hashtag-like doodle

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Scientists have come across what they claim to be the earliest-known human drawing in South Africa.

The etching, reminiscent of a hashtag, was drawn with an ochre crayon on silcrete rock, and was discovered in Blombos Cave, which is located 300 kilometres (186 miles) west of Cape Town.

It’s estimated to be 73,000 years old, predating previously known abstract and figurative drawings by humans from Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia by at least 30,000 years. 

The results of the discovery were published in the journal Nature by researchers from Europe and South Africa, including Francesco d’Errico, Karen L. van Niekerk, Laure Dayet, Alain Queffelec, and Luca Pollarolo. Read more…

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The fall of the Maya civilization was bloody and worsened by a 200-year drought

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During the fall of the Maya civilization over 1,000 years ago, kings were killed in public, captives were taken hostage, and in one notably violent event in the city of Aguateca, Maya fled their homes during a surprise assault, without time to even grab their belongings.

Though warfare can’t be ignored, the toppling of the classic Maya civilization — renown for its massive stone temples and astronomical observatories — is believed to have another formidable culprit: crippling drought. And for the first time, scientists have deduced just how severe this centuries-long drought may have been.

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Unfortunately opening the ancient Egyptian sarcophagus didn’t unleash curse on us

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Buckle up, everyone — Egyptian authorities finally opened up the mysterious black sarcophagus on Thursday that was unearthed at the beginning of July. Sadly, they only found three soggy mummies. 

The 2,000-year-old sarcophagus was found during a construction dig in Alexandria, Egypt. According to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, it may be the largest sarcophagus ever discovered in Alexandria, clocking in at 9-feet long, 5-feet wide, and 6-feet deep. Judging from the layer of mortar between the lid and the body of the sarcophagus, the tomb hadn’t been touched since it was closed. Read more…

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The internet couldn’t help but laugh at the poor Pompeii victim crushed by a giant rock

Even centuries later, one of the world’s most famous catastrophes continues to yield amazing discoveries that also somehow tap into our love of the macabre.
On Tuesday, archaeologists revealed they had discovered the skeleton of a victim who died att…

View More The internet couldn’t help but laugh at the poor Pompeii victim crushed by a giant rock

Footprints provide clues to how humans stalked and hunted giant sloths

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Among the glistening dunes of New Mexico’s White Sands National Monument, scientists have been taken aback by the discovery of footprints.

The footprints belong to the extinct giant ground sloth, measuring seven to eight feet tall when on its hind legs, and sporting razor-like claws — vastly different to the lazy looking sloths you’re familiar with today. 

But it’s what’s inside these sloth footprints that’s captivated researchers: human footprints. This suggests hunters were possibly following the ground sloth step-for-step, despite the animal’s ability to strike and kill. Read more…

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Fossil find gives middle finger to previous understanding of human exodus from Africa

Even for a desert, the Nefud is nearly bone-dry. Only about an inch of water falls onto the red, sandy soil in northern Saudi Arabia over the course of a year.
But 85,000 years ago, hippos roamed the Nefud. 
At that time, heavy, monsoonal downpo…

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Australia’s oldest human remains at 40,000 years old have returned home

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Australia’s oldest human remains have been returned to their ancestral home.

“Mungo Man,” who died more than 40,000 years ago, has been determined as the first known Australian, more evidence (if you somehow needed more) that Australia has been — and always will be — Aboriginal land.

The remains of “Mungo Man” were relinquished by scientists in Canberra on Nov. 15, and began the journey back to where they were first “discovered” and removed over 40 years ago in Lake Mungo, New South Wales. 

Although the discovery was considered a landmark for the scientific community, reports SBS, the removal caused much distress to the Traditional Owners of the Lake Mungo region. The remains were held at the Australian National University until 2015, until a decision was made to return them, along with the remains of about 100 other Aboriginal people. Read more…

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