Unearthed! July 2024, Part 2
Stuff You Missed in History Class
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Fascinating Archaeological Discoveries Across the Globe
This chapter delves into a myriad of interesting archaeological findings, including ancient pottery exchange between Aboriginal and Lapita people in Australia, human habitation in a Saudi Arabian lava tube for 7,000 years, and a jawbone discovery in European travertine tile possibly linked to Turkey. It also discusses a study on the durability of 3,500-year-old Mycenaean armor, voting practices of enslaved people in colonial Massachusetts, lithic mulching on Easter Island challenging ecological collapse theories, and more recent studies questioning prevailing narratives.
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The conclusion of the July 2024 edition of things unearthed literally or figuratively covers animals, shipwrecks, and medicine. But it starts with the assorted things that don't fit in a category, which are grouped as potpourri.
Research:
- Binswanger, Julia. “Groundbreaking Research Shows Ancient Egyptians Were Conducting Cancer Surgery Over 4,000 Years Ago.” Smithsonian. 5/29/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/groundbreaking-research-shows-ancient-egyptians-were-conducting-cancer-surgery-over-4000-years-ago-180984431/
- Feldman, Ella. “The Judy Garland Museum Wants to Buy Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers.” Smithsonian. 6/25/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-judy-garland-museum-wants-to-buy-dorothys-ruby-slippers-180984604/
- Mount Vernon. “Archaeologists Discover Two Intact, Sealed 18th Century Glass Bottles During Mansion Revitalization at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.” 4/22/2024. https://www.mountvernon.org/about/news/article/archaeologists-discover-two-intact-sealed-18th-century-glass-bottles-during-mansion-revitalization-at-george-washington-s-mount-vernon/
- Mount Vernon. “Archaeologists Unearth 35 Glass Bottles from the 18th Century at George Washington’s Mount Vernon During Mansion Revitalization, Most Containing Perfectly Preserved Cherries and Berries.” 6/13/2024. https://www.mountvernon.org/about/news/article/archaeologists-unearth-35-glass-bottles-from-the-18th-century-at-george-washington-s-mount-vernon-during-mansion-revitalization-most-containing-perfectly-preserved-cherries-and-berries/
- Helm, Charles and Alan Whitfield. “Stingray sand 'sculpture' in South Africa may be oldest example of humans creating an image of another creature.” Phys.org. 4/1/2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-stingray-sand-sculpture-south-africa.html
- Mills, Charlie. “Tasmanian Devil tooth and other rare artefacts found during re-excavation of Pilbara's Juukan Gorge.” ABC News. 4/16/2024. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-17/tooth-and-artefacts-found-in-excavation-of-juukan-gorge/103729346
- Burnett, Sarah. “New finds at Culloden shed light on intensity of battle.” National Trust for Scotland. https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/new-finds-at-culloden-shed-light-on-intensity-of-battle
- Ferguson, Alisdair. “Scottish archaeologists find potential buckle of Culloden clan chief.” 4/12/2024. https://www.thenational.scot/news/24249505.scottish-archaeologist-find-potential-buckle-culloden-clan-chief/
- Brewer, Keagan. “For 600 years the Voynich manuscript has remained a mystery—now, researchers think it's partly about sex.” Phys.org. 4/16/2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-years-voynich-manuscript-mystery-sex.html
- Keagan Brewer, Michelle L Lewis, The Voynich Manuscript, Dr Johannes Hartlieb and the Encipherment of Women’s Secrets, Social History of Medicine, 2024;, hkad099, https://doi.org/10.1093/shm/hkad099
- Babbs, Verity. “A Dining Room With Stunning Wall Murals Unearthed in Pompeii.” Artnet. 4/11/2024. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/dining-room-murals-pompeii-2467748
- Mortensen, Antonia. “A blue painted shrine is the latest discovery in Pompeii ‘treasure chest’.” CNN. 6/4/2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/04/science/blue-sacrarium-pompeii-excavation-scli-intl-scn/index.html
- Nadeau, Barbie Latza. “Pompeii gladiator drawings suggest children saw ‘extreme form’ of violence.” 5/29/2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/29/style/pompeii-children-drawings-scli-intl-scn/index.html
- Zeilstra, Andrew. “When did the chicken cross the road? New evidence from Central Asia.” EurekAlert. 4/2/2024. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1039445
- anderson, Sonja. “Archaeologists May Have Found the Villa Where the Roman Emperor Augustus Died.” Smithsonian. 4/24/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/covered-in-ash-by-the-same-eruption-that-buried-pompeii-this-villa-may-have-belonged-to-emperor-augustus-180984212/
- Kuta, Sarah. “The Public Finally Has Access to an Accurate List of Japanese Americans Detained During World War II.” Smithsonian. 4/29/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/public-finally-access-accurate-list-japanese-americans-detained-during-world-war-ii-180984241/
- Artnet News. “The Stone of Destiny Was Once But a Humble Doorstep, a New Study Reveals.” 5/17/2024. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/stone-of-destiny-doorstep-2480385
- “UNESCO wants to add Stonehenge to list of endangered heritage sites.” 6/25/2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-unesco-stonehenge-endangered-heritage-sites.html
- Benzine, Vittoria. “A Lavinia Fontana Portrait Enters a Museum Collection After 400 Years in Private Hands.” Artnet. 5/1/2024. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/legion-of-honor-lavinia-fontana-acquisition-2478687
- Binswanger, Julia. “This 130,000-Year-Old Decorative Bear Bone May Be the Oldest Known Neanderthal Art.” Smithsonian. 5/22/2015. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-130000-year-old-decorative-bear-bone-may-be-the-oldest-known-neanderthal-art-180984380/
- Nalewicki, Jennifer. “2,000-year-old rock art, including nearly 140-foot-long snake, may mark ancient territories in Colombia, Venezuela.” LiveScience. 6/3/2024. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/2000-year-old-rock-art-including-nearly-140-foot-long-snake-may-mark-ancient-territories-in-colombia-venezuela
- Fraser, Alex. “Mona Lisa's mysterious background decrypted by art-loving geologist.” Reuters. 5/15/2024. https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/mona-lisas-mysterious-background-decrypted-by-art-loving-geologist-2024-05-15/
- Benzine, Vittoria. “These Rare Aztec Manuscripts, Long in Private Hands, Were Just Acquired by Mexico.” 4/3/2024. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/rare-aztec-manuscripts-acquired-by-mexico-2462468
- van den Berg, Bert. “Ancient scroll reveals new story of Plato's death—here's why you should be suspicious of it.” Phys.org. 5/6/2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-ancient-scroll-reveals-story-plato.html#google_vignette
- Anderson, Sonja. “This Newly Deciphered Papyrus Scroll Reveals the Location of Plato’s Grave.” Smithsonian. 5/1/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/platos-elusive-grave-located-after-bionic-eye-penetrates-2000-year-old-papyrus-180984221/
- Anderson, Sonja. “Letters Written by Ancient Roman Commanders Have Been Found in a Pet Cemetery in Egypt.” Smithsonian. 5/28/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/letters-written-by-ancient-roman-commanders-have-been-found-in-a-pet-cemetery-in-egypt-180984423/
- Jane Austen’s House Museum. “Frank Austen Transcription Project Underway.” https://janeaustens.house/news/frank-austen-transcription-project-underway/
- Moubtahij, Zineb. “Hunter-gatherer diets weren't always heavy on meat: Morocco study reveals a plant-based diet.” 6/10/2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-hunter-diets-werent-heavy-meat.html
- Rosbach, Molly. “Legacy of Indigenous stewardship of camas dates back more than 3,500 years, OSU study finds.” EurekAlert. 5/21/2024. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1045535
- Oregon State University. “Legacy of Indigenous stewardship of camas dates back more than 3,500 years, OSU study finds.” 5/20/2024. https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/legacy-indigenous-stewardship-camas-dates-back-more-3500-years-osu-study-finds
- Profenna, Chiara. “Selective Indigenous camas cultivation goes back 3,500 years, OSU study finds.” HereIsOregon. 5/24/2024. https://www.hereisoregon.com/experiences/2024/05/selective-indigenous-camas-cultivation-goes-back-3500-years-osu-study-finds.html
- "Ancient Syrian diets resembled the modern 'Mediterranean diet'." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 June 2024. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/06/240612140846.htm.
- Delgado, Maria Jesus. “Direct evidence found for dairy consumption in the Pyrenees in the earliest stages of the Neolithic.” EurekAlert. 6/17/2024. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1048471
- Arrebola, Ruiz. “Oldest Wine Ever Found in Liquid Form Unearthed in 2,000-Year-Old Tomb.” Smithsonian. 6/18/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-brown-fluid-is-the-worlds-oldest-liquid-wine-too-bad-its-flavored-with-dead-roman-180984566/
- Daley, Jason. “This Bread Was Made Using 4,500-Year-Old Egyptian Yeast.” Smithsonian. 8/8/2019. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/bread-was-made-using-4500-year-old-egyptian-yeast-180972842/
- Kuta, Sarah. “Oldest Known Aboriginal Pottery Discovered in Australia.” Smithsonian. 5/24/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/oldest-known-aboriginal-pottery-discovered-in-australia-180984414/
- Hinchliffe, Joe. “Great Barrier Reef discovery overturns belief Aboriginal Australians did not make pottery, archaeologists say.” The Guardian. 4/9/2024. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/10/great-barrier-reef-discovery-overturns-belief-aboriginal-australians-did-not-make-pottery
- Ulm, Sean et al. “Early Aboriginal pottery production and offshore island occupation on Jiigurru (Lizard Island group), Great Barrier Reef, Australia.” Quaternary Science Reviews, Volume 333, 2024, 108624, ISSN 0277-3791, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108624.
- Stewart, Matthew et al. “First evidence for human occupation of a lava tube in Arabia: The archaeology of Umm Jirsan Cave and its surroundings, northern Saudi Arabia.” PLOS One. 4/17/2024. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0299292
- Treffeisen, Beth. “Researchers unearth the long-lost homestead of King Pompey in Lynn.” 6/25/2024. https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/06/25/researchers-unearth-the-long-lost-homestead-of-king-pompey-in-lynn/
- Northeastern University. “Pompey was elected a Colonial-era 'king.' Did researchers find the foundation of his home outside Boston?” Phys.org. 6/11/2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-pompey-elected-colonial-era-king.html
- Dylan S. Davis et al. ,Island-wide characterization of agricultural production challenges the demographic collapse hypothesis for Rapa Nui (Easter Island).Sci. Adv.10,eado1459(2024).DOI:10.1126/sciadv.ado1459
- Anderson, Sonja. “Centuries-Old Maya Beekeeping Tools Unearthed in Mexico.” Smithsonian. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/centuries-old-maya-beekeeping-tools-unearthed-mexico-180984405/
- Anderson, Sonja. “These 28 Horses Were Buried in an Ancient Mass Grave. How Did They Die?” Smithsonian. 6/3/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-french-horses-may-have-died-fighting-caesar-180984455/
- Cassidy, Benjamin. “How a Trove of Whaling Logbooks Will Help Scientists Understand Our Changing Climate.” Smithsonian. 6/3/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-a-trove-of-whaling-logbooks-will-help-scientists-understand-our-changing-climate-180984424/
- net. “Sunken medieval warship continues to offer up its secrets.” https://www.medievalists.net/2024/04/sunken-medieval-warship/
- Casimiro, Tânia Manuel. “Metal Objects Were Much Desired: A Sixteenth-Century Shipwreck Cargo off the Coast of Esposende (Portugal) and the Importance of Studying Ship Cargos.” Journal of Maritime Archaeology. Volume 19, pages 23–40, (2024). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11457-024-09388-5
- Benzine, Vittoria. “A New Study on a 16th-Century Shipwreck in Portugal Reveals Its Valuable Cargo.” Artnet. 4/1/2024. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/portugal-shipwreck-cargo-2461227
- Pearson, Natali. “Underwater cultural heritage: Studying 'orphaned objects' to work out which shipwrecks they came from.” Phys.org. 4/29/2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-underwater-cultural-heritage-orphaned-shipwrecks.html#google_vignette
- Kuta, Sarah. “This Ship Mysteriously Vanished 115 Years Ago. Now, It’s Been Found at the Bottom of Lake Superior.” Smithsonian. 5/6/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-ship-mysteriously-vanished-on-lake-superior-115-years-ago-now-its-been-found-180984265/
- Kuta, Sarah. “Wreck of WWII Submarine Found After 80 Years.” Smithsonian. 5/31/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wreck-of-wwii-submarine-found-after-80-years-180984446/
- Kuta, Sarah. “Ernest Shackleton’s Last Ship, Quest, Discovered Off the Coast of Canada.” Smithsonian. 6/14/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ernest-shackletons-last-ship-quest-discovered-off-the-coast-of-canada-180984545/
- Sagar, Soumya. “'Exceptional' prosthesis of gold, silver and wool helped 18th-century man live with cleft palate.” LiveScience. 4/12/2024. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/exceptional-prosthesis-of-gold-silver-and-wool-helped-18th-century-man-live-with-cleft-palate
- Davis, Nicola. “Egyptian scribes suffered work-related injuries, study says.” The Guardian. 6/27/2024. https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/jun/27/egyptian-scribes-work-related-injuries-study
- Seo, Hannah. “Porcelain Gallbladder Found in Human Remains in Mississippi Asylum Cemetery.” Atlas Obscura. 4/24/2024. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/porcelain-gallbladder-grave
- net. “Medieval Squirrels Linked to Spread of Leprosy in Humans.” https://www.medievalists.net/2024/05/medieval-squirrels-leprosy/
- Kuta, Sarah. “Did Body Lice Spread Bubonic Plague? Research Suggests the Parasites Are Better Vectors Than Thought.” Smithsonian. 5/23/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-body-lice-spread-bubonic-plague-research-suggests-the-parasites-are-better-vectors-than-thought-180984412/
- Sullivan, Will. “50,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Bones Have Remains of Human Viruses, Scientists Find.” Smithsonian. 5/23/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/50000-year-old-neanderthal-bones-have-remains-of-human-viruses-scientists-find-180984404/
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