Here are photographs of artifacts that have been recovered since the looting of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Geoarchaeologist Reid Ferring of the University of North Texas thinks that clusters of rocks uncovered in Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia, may have been thrown by early hominins at carnivores in order to steal their prey. “There’s no possible way they got there naturally,” he said. Such rocks may have also been used to pound and cut meat or smash bones. 

Textiles and rope fragments discovered 30 years ago in a cave in Peru’s Andes Mountains have been dated to 12,000 years ago, making them the oldest textiles ever found in South America. “By dating the textiles themselves, we were able to confirm their antiquity and refine the timing of the early occupation of the Andes highlands,” said Edward Jolie of Mercyhurst College. 

Did volcanic ash fortify the poor soils of the lowland Maya world? Scientists have found a mineral in Tikal’s canals that only comes from the breakdown of volcanic ash. Air currents may have carried ash across the region from distant volcanoes. 

Hassan Abu Halabyea of the Gaza Ministry of Tourism and Archaeology explains why archaeological excavation is difficult to accomplish in the Gaza Strip. “The only way to preserve what we discover is to bury it until the proper tools are available. We lack the capability, the support and the proper materials to maintain this historical site or that. We bury it to preserve it from destruction,” he said. 

The remains of the first home built by Nero on the Palatine hill, the Domus Transitoria, will open to limited groups at the end of the summer. A virtual reconstruction of the house will also be on display. 

In Edinburgh, Scotland, flood prevention work has revealed an eighteenth-century ice house, medieval pottery, and a seventeenth-century farm house on the grounds of a historic mansion. 

Pioneering archaeologist Lewis Binford died earlier this week. He “led the charge that pushed, pulled and otherwise cajoled archaeology into becoming a more scientific enterprise. Much of how we conceptualize and carry out archaeology in the 21^st century is owed to Lew’s substantial legacy,” said David Meltzer of Southern Methodist University.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Friday, April 15, 2011. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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