Human and animal bones, ceramics, jade and shell beads, and flint knives have been found in five cenotes in the Yucatan during a survey. The remains of the six people who were found were “probably sacrificed during a couple of intense periods of water shortages between 900 and 1,200 years ago,” according to a statement released by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History.

Coffin nails are all that were found in the late-nineteenth-century gravesite belonging to “The Leatherman.” The nails and some soil were placed in a new coffin and moved to a new gravesite, away from traffic. “The Leatherman was a mystery in life and he’s going to be a mystery in death,” said Norman MacDonald, president of the Ossining Historical Society in New York.

After years of protests, the asphalt at a parking lot at Virginia Commonwealth University will be removed in order to reclaim the site as a cemetery for slaves and free African Americans. The burial ground was in use between 1750 and 1816. “We’re here today to begin beautifying this land that it might become a memorial…that we might remember the stony road over which we have come,” said Dwight C. Jones, mayor of Richmond, Virginia.

South Carolina’s state archaeologist and a team of volunteers did not find any trace of missing woman Brandy Hanna. “I’d like to thank Dr. Leader for everything he’s done and all his helpers,” said Donna Parent, Hanna’s mother.

Earlier this week, Odyssey Marine Exploration appealed the ruling that the salvage company turn over 17 tons of treasure to Spain. The artifacts were recovered from the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, which was sunk by British warships in 1804.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Thursday, May 26, 2011. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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