Were the people of the Botai culture of northern Kazakhstan the first to domesticate horses? Horse bones, teeth, and pottery used to store mare’s milk suggest that people living east of the Ural Mountains lived with horses some 2,000 years before horses are known to have been tamed in Europe. “Once you have horse riding you’ve got much greater transport and trade capability, as well as potential advantages in warfare,” said Alan Outram of the University of Exeter. 

Scientists from the ASTRA project (Ancient instruments Sound/Timbre Reconstruction Application) say they have reconstructed an epigonion, a harp-like instrument played in ancient Greece. The instrument is being played this week at a conference in Italy.  

Here’s more information on the two ancient buildings recently uncovered in Malaysia. “We have dated artifacts from what we believe are an administration building and an iron smelter to 1,700 years ago, which sets the Bujang civilization between the third and fourth century A.D.,” archaeologist Mokhtar Saidin told reporters.

Two statues of Amenhotep III have been found in Egypt. 

A 4,000-year-old flint ax was among the artifacts unearthed during the construction of London’s Olympic Park.  

A boy and his father digging for arrowheads on public land in Texas discovered human bones and shell beads that are more than 450 years old. No charges have been filed against the man, but the park has been posted with signs. “It lets them know it is a federal offense to dig for artifacts in any city park,” said a police sergeant.   A photograph of the beads was published in an earlier article.  

A lack of funds to pay for petroleum-based chemicals threatens the preservation of French explorer La Salle’s seventeenth-century ship La Belle. “Once you start the conservation process, you simply can’t stop. Other factors come into play – bacteria that lead to deterioration,” said Jim Bruseth of the Texas Historical Commission.  

Fires in the Los Padres National Forest revealed old trails, which led to once-hidden rock art sites left by the Chumash Indians. “We haven’t got back to all of it. A lot of our trained stewards are going out there to look for sites and record them,” said Joan Brandoff-Kerr of the Forest Service.  

Development near the 2,000-year-old Miami Circle includes six tall columns intended to be a tribute to the Tequesta Indians. But Florida’s chief archaeologist and others say the sculptures look more like “giant potato men.”

A mass grave holding the remains of more than 200 people who were probably killed by the former communist regime has been found in Slovenia. Locals say that the victims had been pro-Nazi collaborators from Slovenia or Croatia. “It is one of the most shocking things you could see in your life,” said state prosecutor Barbara Brezigar.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Thursday, March 5, 2009. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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