The excavation of a single building in the center of Reykjavik seems to support the tradition that the first settlers arrived in Iceland in 874 A.D.

Increased cow’s milk consumption led to taller people, according to a study of human bones from the eighth century B.C. to the eighteenth century A.D. 

In a 500-year-old cemetery in Peru, researchers discovered Inca skeletons showing signs of injuries inflicted at the time of the Spanish invasion. “The nature and pattern of these skeletal injuries were unlike anything my colleagues and I have seen before. Many of these people died brutal, horrible deaths,” said anthropologist Melissa Murphy of the University of Wyoming.  

“This disaster has been more disruptive to our industry than the financial crisis and swine flu combined,” said travel company businessman Richard Leon of the closure of Machu Picchu for the past two months.  

Workers digging in the eastern state of Orissa discovered a statue of the Buddha, which they moved to the center of their village. This article states that the Archaeological Survey of India and the State Archaeology Department know that such statues have been found in the region, and that many have been looted, but that little official action has been taken.  

Bronze Age artifacts have been uncovered at an industrial site on the island of Guernsey, located in the English Channel. “It might have been for something like treating flax to make cloth – we don’t think it was metal working because there aren’t enough signs of metal here,” explained archaeology officer Phillip de Jersey.  

In Texas, the National Park Service has begun an archaeological survey of portions of Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park, the only such park from the U.S.-Mexican War. “One of the things we’ve been searching for is the site of the Mexican Army’s first flanking maneuver,” said archaeologist Rolando Garza.  

The wreckage of a World War II-era plane off the coast of Maui has been identified as an SBC-2 Helldiver by Hans Van Tilburg of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “It’s remarkably intact. I’ve seen a number of aircraft like this, and this one is very intact. That makes it very special,” he said. 

A 4,000-year-old Indian camp on Hilton Head Island is one of the few nearly intact prehistoric coastal sites left in North American. “Food was so plentiful that they probably had a great deal of leisure time. They probably loafed around,” said archaeologist Michael Trinkley of the Chicora Foundation. 

People have also been coming to the Yellowstone Lake area for thousands of years. “It’s always been a destination resort,” said archaeologist Elaine Hale.  

Was a 130-year-old stone house in Nebraska built with stones from an American Indian monument? The monument, a 25-foot-long man holding a lance and shield and wearing a medal around his neck, was written about in 1869 and 1875. “Before we do anything to restore the stone house we need to make right, to the extent that is possible, what was done,” said Pat Underwood, Harlan County Tourism Director.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Monday, April 5, 2010. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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