Archeology

July 13, 2024

Explore the Oldest Existing World Map, Carved in Clay 2,600 Years Ago

How a society records the world, depicting its known boundaries and contents, says a lot about belief systems, science, and more. For example, the ancient Hereford Mappa Mundi was drawn in 1300 and depicts the world through a medieval Biblical lens. Or there is a surprisingly accurate crowd-sourced world map created by a Venetian monk in the 15th century. There are also the 12th-century renditions of Muhammad al-Idrisi, an intrepid scholar and traveler.

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July 5, 2024

Neanderthal Child With Down’s Syndrome Reveals Signs of Caregiving Among Ancient Humans

In 1989, excavations at a Paleolithic cave site known as Cova Negra in Valencia, Spain, turned up the remains of a Neanderthal child. The fossilized bones might at first seem little more than evidence of skull formation among these early human relatives; however, examination by scientists has revealed congenital differences in the inner ear that are indicative of Down's syndrome.

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June 27, 2024

29 Bottles of Preserved Fruit From the 18th Century Discovered at George Washington’s Estate

In May 2024, the archeological community recieved exciting news. Buried in an old cellar beneath George Washington's home of Mount Vernon lay two bottles crafted in the 18th century. Within the sealed bottles, archeologists discovered the remains of cherries picked before the founding of the United States. While this discovery was thrilling, the ongoing work to preserve the historic home has turned up another, even more incredible find.

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June 23, 2024

Missing Head of Ancient Greek Statue Unearthed After 2,100 Years

Ancient Greeks immortalized their gods in many ways, but most notably in elegant, magnificent stone statues. Many of these statues survive today, whole or in pieces, and offer insight into a lost world of worship and art. Archeologists continue to discover new examples of statues in new places. Recently, archeological work in ancient Laodicea on the Lycus, now modern-day Turkey, unearthed two exciting finds.

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