Trepanation was successfully used by the Inca to treat head injuries, according to a new study published in The American Journal of Physical Anthropology . “These people were skilled surgeons,” said lead author Valerie Andrushko of Southern Connecticut State University. Most of the patients were young men, and their injuries were probably inflicted during combat.

Ten people accused of destroying an ancient grave in Yemen are wanted for arrest. Artifacts and clothing from the burial, including gold jewelry, statues, and weapons, had been removed and are in Dhafar Museum. 

Iran’s salt men, discovered at the Chehrabad Salt Mine, have found a new home at the Zanjan Archaeology Museum. 

A broken pot from Andipatti, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, tells its own tale in this article in The Hindu.  

Readers of ARCHAEOLOGY already know this stuff–just read “Indiana Jones: Real archaeologists don’t have whips” for the quotes from our own Mark Rose.

And while we’re on the subject, a crystal skull was stolen from an altar in a New Age supply store in California. “I have no idea why someone would take that and not the other things that are equally valuable on the altar,” said shop owner Persis Newland.  

The movie tie-ins continue: This story has appeared in the British tabloids and Fox News, but now it has shown up in the Times Online. German researcher Helmut Ziegert of the University of Hamburg has been looking for the palace of the Queen of Sheba in Akusum, in northern Ethiopia. He thinks that the Ark of the Covenant may be found there.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Tuesday, May 13, 2008. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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