In the jungles outside Cuzco, Peru, archaeologists have found a group of Wari tombs containing gold and silver artifacts that predate the Inca presence in the area. “The discovery is one of the most important ever, and is comparable to Machu Picchu,” said Juan Garcia, cultural director of the Cuzco region.  Here are two photographs of the artifacts belonging to the “Lord of Vilca.”  

Ben Potter of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and his colleagues have discovered a unique site in central Alaska, where a three-year-old child had been cremated in a hearth located within a circular house some 11,500 years ago. The house was then abandoned. Scientists will attempt to extract DNA from the child’s bones. “That would be a bombshell,” commented John Hoffecker of the University of Colorado, Boulder.  

In Siberia, a 7,000-year-old dog’s grave was found close to human burials. The husky-like animal ate food similar to what the humans ate, sustained work injuries, and was treated as a human upon its death. “I think the people burying this particular dog saw it as a thinking, social being, perhaps on par with humans in many ways,” said Robert Losey of the University of Alberta.  

A new study of the attentiveness of wolves to human cues challenges the theory of dog domestication. Socialized wolves have been shown to follow a person’s gaze, once thought to be an ability reserved for other humans.  

The fragments of Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Buddhas are being studied by a team coordinated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites. The scientists have learned that the colossal statues, which were carved out of a cliff and augmented with clay, were perfectly smooth and brightly colored with paint.  

Neanderthals living in what is now northern Italy may have adorned themselves with large feathers some 40,000 years ago. Archaeologists have found marks on the wing bones of 22 species of birds, many of which would have been poor food sources, in a cave along with the remains of Neanderthals.  

Libya’s cultural heritage appears to be untouched by recent events. “We’re always worried about this in terms of chaos. It’s going in the right direction so far but I’m not sure it will carry on like this. I don’t know,” said Hafed Walda, who advises the country’s department of antiquities from London.  

A terra cotta “haniwa” figurine has been uncovered in a fourth-century tomb in Sakurai, Japan. This is the oldest such figurine to be found.  

Ahram Online reports that archaeologists and security personal at a quarry in Aswan prevented looters from stealing a red-granite statue of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II.  

The demand for artifacts from Mexico continues to drive the organized looting of archaeological sites.  

Take a look at the new model of Otzi the Iceman. He’s depicted with brown eyes, wrinkled skin, and a shaggy grey beard.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Monday, February 28, 2011. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

Comments posted here do not represent the views or policies of the Archaeological Institute of America.