Mexican archaeologists find Olmec and pre Olmec ceramics inside cave in the State of Guerrero

Inside a cave in the municipality of Cocula, north of Chilpancingo, Guerrero, specialists of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) found a Mezcala type figurine and fragments of braziers that date back to the year 700 AD; in this same context, they found Olmec and pre Olmec ceramic which dates back to 1000 and 1200 BC, as well as osseous remains, which means this emptiness had different uses and was a place of funerary cult.

Archaeologist Miguel Perez Negrete, from the INAH center in Guerrero, detailed that the Mezcala figurine is complete, and its finding is relevant because of the few discoveries that have been made of these kinds of pieces, only twelve have been found in the region during this decade. These sculptures are schematic and small, made with stone. 

The Mezcala culture is one of the civilizations that has been developing along the Balsas River, even toward the limits of the state of Guerrero, which has been identified primarily because of its architectonic style and anthropomorphic figurines. 

“The one found in recent days, is a human representation in limestone, 8 centimeters [3.14 inches] tall, and like others that have been found, the gender of the figurine cannot be distinguished. Something noticeable is that it doesn’t have slanted eyes, but round, like dots. Along the figurine they also found White Grainy ceramic which is very sandy. This type of material was used in the Epiclassic period (700 AD)”, explained the archaeologist. 

These figurines are hard to find; during the 80’s they found seven pieces located in Xalitla, and during the years 2005 and 2007 they discovered another four in Mezcala and Atzcala. This means to say, they had eleven figurines archaeologically registered in this part of Guerrero, and with this last one in Oxtotenco, there are now 12. 

The specialist indicated that the discovery was made during the maintenance repairs of a road in a plateau called Oxtotenco, outside the community of Atzcala, where INAH effectuated the archaeological rescue of these vestiges. 

“The most surprising thing was that as we excavated, we found Olmec ceramic, whose antiquity is estimated to date back to the year 1000 and 1200 before our era, meaning this ceramic is more than 3,000 years old. This indicates the cave had two occupations, a prehistoric one and one corresponding to the Mezcala tradition, about 1300 years ago.” 

“This finding also reveals that during the Epiclassic the cave was associated with the occupation of traditional Mezcala groups in Oxtotenco”, added the archaeologist Miguel Perez Negrete.

Source: Art Daily

Cave paintings uncovered in Burgos, Mexico

Archaeologists in Mexico have found 4,926 well-preserved cave paintings in the north-eastern region of Burgos.

The images in red, yellow, black and white depict humans, animals and insects, as well as skyscapes and abstract scenes.

The paintings were found in 11 different sites - but the walls of one cave were covered with 1,550 scenes.

The area in which they were found was previously thought not to have been inhabited by ancient cultures.

The paintings suggest that at least three groups of hunter-gatherers dwelled in the San Carlos mountain range.

Experts have not yet been able to date the paintings, but hope to chemically analyse their paint to find out their approximate age.'No objects'

"We have not found any ancient objects linked to the context, and because the paintings are on ravine walls and in the rainy season the sediments are washed away, all we have is gravel," said archaeologist Gustavo Ramirez, from the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (Inah).

In one of the caves, the experts found depictions of the atlatl, a pre-Hispanic hunting weapon that had not yet been seen in other paintings in the Tamaulipas state.

The paintings are being considered an important find because they document the presence of pre-Hispanic peoples in a region where "before it was said that nothing was there", Mr Ramirez said.

Cave holds ancient cemetery

Portal in time: Recent excavations of the Con Moong Cave
in Thanh Hoa Province found evidence of Ice Age people
and an ancient cemetery dating back more than 10,000 years.

Caves in central Thanh Hoa Province have provided soil evidence of climate change from end of the glacier age, plus tools and an ancient cemetery dating back more than 10,000 years.

The finds were part of a year-long research by scientists from the Viet Nam Archaeology Institute and the Novosibirsk Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography.

Announcing the results, the provincial culture department said the objects were from the third excavation this year in Con Moong Cave in Thach Thanh District. They were evidence of the development of civilisations from the Palaeolithic age (2.5 million BC to 10,000 BC) through the Neolithic age (9,000-6,000 BC).

Discoveries show tool-making techniques using pointed stone pieces, to self-sharpening stone tools, and changes in lifestyles from hunting and picking to early farming.

Skeletons in cave reveal Mediterranean secrets

Location of Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites on the
Ègadi Islands and in NW Sicily.

Genetic and chemical analyses of human skeletal remains reveal origins and food habits of first Sicilians

Skeletal remains in an island cave in Favignana, Italy, reveal that modern humans first settled in Sicily around the time of the last ice age and despite living on Mediterranean islands, ate little seafood. The research is published November 28 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Marcello Mannino and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany.

Genetic analysis of the bones discovered in caves on the Egadi islands provides some of the first mitochondrial DNA data available for early humans from the Mediterranean region, a crucial piece of evidence in ancestry analysis. This analysis reveals the time when modern humans reached these islands. Mannino says, "The definitive peopling of Sicily by modern humans only occurred at the peak of the last ice age, around 19,000 -26,500 years ago, when sea levels were low enough to expose a land bridge between the island and the Italian peninsula".

The authors also analyzed the chemical composition of the human remains and found that these early settlers retained their hunter-gatherer lifestyles, relying on terrestrial animals rather than marine sources for meat. According to the study, despite living on islands during a time when sea level rise was rapid enough to change within a single human lifetime, these early settlers appear to have made little use of the marine resources available to them. The authors conclude, "These findings have crucial implications for studies of the role of seafood in the diet of Mediterranean hunter-gatherers."

Scientific article:
Mannino MA, Catalano G, Talamo S, Mannino G, Di Salvo R, et al. (2012) Origin and Diet of the Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers on the Mediterranean Island of Favignana (E`gadi Islands, Sicily). PLoS ONE 7(11): e49802. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049802

Fascinating new discovery at Machu Picchu, Peru

Archaeologists have made a fascinating discovery at the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu in Peru. A tomb, thought to belong to a high ranking member of the Inca Empire, has been uncovered in a cave at the archaeological complex and is creating more intrigue around this ‘lost city’ of the Incas.

The tomb is strategically placed on a hill facing the wall of Machu Picchu, indicating the importance of the person buried inside. Specialists are examining the tomb but have not found any bones or ornaments inside which is due to raiding that took place at Machu Picchu before the site was conserved and protected.

American explorer, politician and professor, Hiram Bingham rediscovered the site in 1911 and since then Machu Picchu is now protected and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The newly discovered tomb will eventually be restored in order to be accessible to visitors.

Azokh cave exotic excerpts to be on disposal in Artsakh and Yerevan (Armenia)

The excavation works have resumed in Hadrut destrict Azokh and Drakhtik villages, Artsakh on August 29.Levon Episkoposyan, one of the heads of Azokh cave excavation told in the briefing with Armenpress, the excavations carried out by the group comprising of both European and Armenian specialists are aimed at revealing the cultural layers of the cave. "The excavations carried out in Azokh cave ceased in 1960, yet decades after the works restarted in 2002, current year excavation already mark the the 11th period of the excavations" the interlocutor noted.

In the words of Episkoposyan Azokh cave is the richest historical and cultural monument and in case all the layers of the cave will be examined, it would become possible to gather information about our ancestors and their lifestyle dating back to 350-400 thousand years." Azokh cave excerpts stored in special boxes are being kept in Stepanakert history museum.Those samples which need further study are being sent abroad by our foreign partners’ help due to the lack of appropriate equipment in Armenia" the specialist stated.

Excavation head notes with gratitude on the occasion of NKR declaration day September 2, 15- 20 samples of Azokh cave are scheduled to be demonstrated in Stepanakert history museum."The exhibition will last for two months, high ranking officials, foreign quests are set to take part in the opening ceremony. By the decision of the Government, the same exhibition is set to be launched in Shushi history museum as well, if possible the exhibition will be hosted in capital Yerevan too" the interlocutor underscored.

Source: ArmenPress

Cave in Italy added to map of WWI locations

It's a cave in Italy used during World War I, and authentic artifacts are still inside.

Historians knew about the cave because an Austrian officer wrote about it in his war diary, but its location wasn't revealed until two years ago by a retreating glacier.

Now officials are adding it to a map of World War I locations, but you can only visit it with the help of a mountain guide.

Neandertal's Right-handedness Hints at Language Capacity

There are precious few Neandertal skeletons available to science. One of the more complete was discovered in 1957 in France, roughly 900 yards away from the famous Lascaux Cave. That skeleton was dubbed “Regourdou.” Then, about two decades ago, researchers examined Regourdou’s arm bones and theorized that he had been right-handed.

Wemyss caves group says carving could date from 12th century

The carving found in the Well Cave.

The area is known for Pictish incised carvings and the latest find could date from the 12th century.

The East Wemyss coastal area boasts 12 caves, the largest grouping in northern Europe.

Moira Cook of Save the Wemyss Ancient Caves Society (SWACS) said: ''The symbols were discovered in the Well Cave. We have asked experts for their opinion.

''There is a possibility of some sort of Templar connection. It's all very exciting.''

Local archaeologist Edwina Proudfoot added: ''An early carving would be a great find, but understanding what can be seen is also important.''

The Well Cave is below MacDuff Castle and was not thought to contain Pictish carvings, until the recent discovery by SWACS members.

The group was first formed by locals in 1986 following a spate of vandalism at the caves.

To find out more about the group, who run regular tours, visit www.wemysscaves.co.uk

Source: The Courrier

100,000 year old elephant remains found near Barcelona

An archaeological excavation near Barcelona has discovered an approximately 100,000 year old skeleton of a young elephant, less than 7 years old. They are the first remains of an elephant found in the Massís del Garraf, a hilly area in Greater Barcelona, and what’s more, the find is exceptional since the discovery of complete elephant skeletons in caves is rare in Catalonia. Up to now, the two back legs, the pelvis and the spine have been documented as anatomically connected, although only a small portion has been excavated from where the elephant was found, in the ‘Cova del Rinoceront (Rhinoceros’ cave), in Castelldefels. Researchers from the University of Barcelona are confident that the rest of the animal will be complete, but it won’t be found until the next archaeological dig.

In Massís del Garraf, individual parts of pachyderm, such as tusks, have already been found, especially belonging to woolly mammoth skeletons. The findings show that there were elephants in the central Catalan coastal area before the mammoths’ own arrival during the Ice Age. Therefore the recently discovered elephant remains, as well as numerous finds of Mediterranean tortoises in the same rhinoceros’ cave in Castelldefels, show that 100,000 years ago the climate of the Catalan coastal area was warmer.

The ‘Cova del Rinoceront’ is a Palaeolithic site which ranges from 200,000 to 80,000 years BC and is unique to Catalonia. At the site, there are a lot of animal remains in an excellent state of preservation, although extensive mining of the limestone has destroyed a large part of the Rhinoceros cave, such as the original entrance. The remains that have been recovered suggest that the cave was a den of carnivores, which used the cave as shelter and where they brought their prey.

The archaeological excavations at the ‘Cova del Rinoceront’ in Castelldefels are led by researchers Joan Daura and Monze Sanz, members of the Quaternary Research Group-SERP of the University of Barcelona, which is directed by Professor of Prehistory, Josep Maria Fullola. Funding comes mainly from the Castelldefels City Council and the Catalan Government’s Service of Archaeology and Palaeontology.

Source: CNA

Neanderthal's sister species once roamed Africa

Early humans in Africa procreated with a mystery species of human that may have been related toNeanderthals that later inhabited Europe, according to latest genetic studies.

While no fossilized bones have been found from these enigmatic people, they did leave their mark in present-day Africans: snippets of foreign DNA.

Scientists insist that there's only one way that genetic material could have made it into modern human populations.

"Geneticists like euphemisms, but we're talking about sex," the Washington Post quoted Joshua Akey of the University of Washington in Seattle, whose lab identified the mystery DNA in three groups of modern Africans, as saying.

According to Akey, these genetic leftovers do not resemble DNA from any modern-day humans. The foreign DNA also does not resemble Neanderthal DNA, which shows up in the DNA of some modern-day Europeans.

That means the newly identified DNA came from an unknown group.

"We're calling this a Neanderthal sibling species in Africa," Akey said.

He further said that the interbreeding probably occurred 20,000 to 50,000 years ago, long after some modern humans had walked out of Africa to colonize Asia and Europe, and around the same time Neanderthals were declining in Europe.

The find offers more evidence that for thousands of years, modern-looking humans shared the Earth with evolutionary cousins that later became extinct.

And whenever the groups met, whether in Africa or Europe, they bred.

In fact, hominid hanky-panky seems to have occurred wherever humans met others who looked kind of like them - a controversial idea until recently.

The research was recently published in the journal Cell:

Evolutionary History and Adaptation from High-Coverage Whole-Genome Sequences of Diverse African Hunter-Gatherers, Cell, Volume 150, Issue 3, 457-469, 26 July 2012

Artifacts Revive Debate on Transformation of Human Behavior

In the widening search for the origins of modern human evolution, genes and fossils converge on Africa about 200,000 years ago as the where and when of the first skulls and bones that are strikingly similar to ours. So this appears to be the beginning of anatomically modern Homo sapiens.

But evidence for the emergence of behaviorally modern humans is murkier — and controversial. Recent discoveries establish that the Homo sapiens groups who arrived in Europe some 45,000 years ago had already attained the self-awareness, creativity and technology of early modern people. Did this behavior come from Africa after gradual development, or was it an abrupt transition through some profound evolutionary transformation, perhaps caused by hard-to-prove changes in communication by language?

Now, the two schools of thought are clashing again, over new research showing that occupants of Border Cave in southern Africa, who were ancestors of the San Bushmen hunter-gatherers in the area today, were already engaged in relatively modern behavior at least 44,000 years ago, twice as long ago as previously thought. Two teams of scientists reported these findings Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Since this early date for the San culture is close to when modern humans first left Africa and reached Europe, proponents of the abrupt-change hypothesis took the findings as good news.

Cave Yields Early Record of Domestic Animals

Archaeologists exploring a cave in Namibia have found evidence for the earliest domesticated animals in sub-Saharan Africa.

The cave, in the northwestern part of the country, contains stone and bone tools, beads and pendants, pieces of pottery, and the bones of many animals — guinea fowl, ostriches, monitor lizards, tortoises, impala, rock hyraxes and various rodents.

The researchers also found two teeth of either a goat or a sheep — the teeth were too worn to say which, but their form is consistent with that of modern African domesticated sheep and goats. There are no wild sheep or goats in sub-Saharan Africa today. Although some wild species probably became extinct around 12,000 years ago, there is no evidence of their presence in the western part of the continent. The researchers are certain that the remains they found belong to domestic animals.

The teeth date from 2,190 and 2,270 years ago. Until now, the oldest radiocarbon-dated remains were of 2,105-year-old-sheep found in South Africa.

The study, a collaboration between the National Museum of Namibia and the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, appears in PLoS One. Its lead author, David Pleurdeau, an assistant professor at the Paris museum, said the find did not necessarily mean that people living near this site were breeding domestic animals.

“In the cave, there is no evidence that the inhabitants were herders,” he said. “We still don’t know if it’s herders migrating to the area, or the introduction of a few sheep among an indigenous group.”

Source: NY Times

Oregon cave discovery sheds new light on American Stone Age

Displayed in the hand of University of Oregon archaeologist
Dennis Jenkins are three bases for Western Stemmed projectiles
 from the Paisley Caves in Oregon. .

Stone tools and human DNA from ancient caves in the western U.S. offer new evidence of how some of the first Americans may have spread through the continent from Asia: on two different routes, as shown by two different ways of making the tips of spears.

Archaeologists said Thursday that they have dated broken obsidian spear points from Paisley Caves in Oregon to about 13,200 years ago — as old as much different stone tools from the Clovis culture found in the southeast and interior U.S. And radio-carbon dating of human DNA from coprolites — ancient desiccated human feces — shows people lived in the caves as early as 14,300 years ago.

The dates indicate that the Clovis style of chipping stone was not the mother of Stone Age technology, as others have theorized, and that the two styles were developed independently by different groups, said Dennis Jenkins, an archaeologist with the University of Oregon's Museum of Natural and Cultural History who led the excavations.

Sri Lanka's pre-historic human to be sent to Germany for testing

Sri Lanka's pre-historic human skeleton found recently from an archeological site in Kalutara district of Western Province will be sent to Germany for further studies, Archeology Department officials have said.

Samples of the skeleton found in the Fa-Hien cave archaeological site in Pahiyangala of Kalutara district have been collected for DNA studies and the skeletal parts and DNA samples will be sent to Germany for further research, the officials said.

A team of Sri Lankan archeologists and an archeology expert, Dr. Jay Stock from the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge has collected the samples of the skeleton at the site.

The excavated skeleton is to be kept frozen to preserve it from the environment the Director General of Archaeology, Dr. Senarath Dissanayake has said.

The skeleton is believed to be about 37,000 years old and belonged to the Homo sapiens species known as Balangoda Man. Along with the skeleton, stone tools and glass bead jewelry have been found in the cave. According to the scientists this is the first complete human skeleton found in South Asia.

Source: Colombo

Gorham's Cave Excavation Set ForSummer

This summer, scientists and curators at the Gibraltar Museum are planning a six week excavation in Gorham’s and Vanguard Caves. Both are sites known to have been occupied by the Neanderthals and Gorham’s was additionally visited by Phoenicians.

The excavations will run from July 30 to September 9 and will involve a team of 35 scientists, students and volunteers from Gibraltar, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, and Italy.

Of the six weeks, the first three will be dedicated to Gorham’s Cave and the last three weeks to Vanguard Cave.

Gibraltar Museum have been planning this summer’s work since last years excavations as the excavations require a great amount of preparatory work.

The work not only involves excavation but also processing and cataloguing of all finds. To achieve the best flow of results the teams at the caves are assisted by teams at the Gibraltar Museum’s Field Station at Parson’s Lodge and in the museum’s laboratories at Bomb House Lane.

Prehistoric cave dwelling found in Bac Kan

Stone tools discovered in Na Mo Cave in Bac Kan Province

Traces of prehistoric man have been found at the Na Mo Cave in the northern province of Bac Kan.

Members of the Viet Nam Archaeological Institute and the Bac Kan Museum have been excavating the area for possible prehistoric remains since early June.

Na Mo Cave is situated in Na Ca hamlet, Huong Ne commune, Ngan Son District. The 15m high and 500m wide cave is in the side of the limestone mountain and looks out over a large river valley. Most of the surface of the cave can get sunlight, making it favourable for habitation.

Stone artefacts dating from 20,000 BC to 10,000 BC have been found in the cave, including simple working tools made from pebbles found in the river nearby. They have characteristics of tools dating back to the Hoa Binh culture.

Archaeologists have also found pottery objects made by hand and decorated with designs. Traces of cooking fires were also found, along with thick coal seams and burned red soil. A large quantity of animal teeth and bones and the snail and oyster shells were also discovered.

Experts were able to affirm that the prehistoric cave dwellers lived on hunting and gathering. They were able to cut hunted animals into parts and grill them on the fire.

They also found a kind of red stone used to grind pigment powder that they used to decorate themselves.

They also found a tomb containing the bones of a person who had been buried with a stone tool.

The head of the investigating group, Trinh Nang Chung from the Viet Nam Archaeology Institute, said Stone Age people inhabited the area for many thousands of years and were responsible for what has become known as the Hoa Binh culture around 10,000 BC.

In July 2011, traces of prehistoric man were also found near Ba Be Lake in the northern province of Bac Kan.

Source: Vietnnamnews

Oldest Moa Faeces Found In Cave Studied

A study of fossilised moa faeces from a subalpine cave in the northwest of the South Island gives an indication of the damage being done by introduced animals.

Researchers found the faeces, known as coprolites, at the entrance to the remote Euphrates Cave, which is at the base of a cliff at the eastern end of the Garibaldi Plateau in Kahurangi National Park.

The cave is at the treeline - about 1000 metres - in an environment and region from which the diets of moa have been virtually unknown.

The oldest of the 35 coprolites studied were deposited as long as 7000 years ago, making them the oldest moa coprolites yet discovered.

The most recent is from about 600 to 700 years ago, just before moa became extinct.

Researchers identified at least 67 plant species from the coprolites, including the first evidence that moa fed on the nectar-rich flowers of New Zealand flax and tree fuchsia.

The presence of intact seeds in many of the coprolites suggests moa were an important seed disperser for a range of alpine plant species.

The coprolites provided some evidence for recent changes in plant abundance and distribution since human settlement, the study said.

The research was led by Dr Jamie Wood from Landcare Research and published in journal PLoS ONE.

Welsh Reindeer Is Britain's Oldest Rock Art, U-Series Dating Suggests

The image was carved using a sharp-pointed tool,
probably made of flint. Credit: Dr George Nash

A reindeer engraved on the wall of a cave in South Wales has been found to date from at least 14,505 years ago -- making it the oldest known rock art in the British Isles.

The engraving was discovered in September 2010 by Dr George Nash from the University of Bristol's Department of Archaeology and Anthropology while he was exploring the rear section of Cathole Cave, a limestone cave on the eastern side of an inland valley on the Gower Peninsula, South Wales.

Found to the rear of the cave on a small vertical limestone niche, the engraved cervid -- probably a stylised reindeer -- is shown side-on and measures approximately 15 x 11cm. It was carved using a sharp-pointed tool, probably made of flint, by an artist using his or her right hand. The animal's elongated torso has been infilled with irregular-spaced vertical and diagonal lines, whilst the legs and stylised antlers comprise simple lines.

The reindeer was engraved over a mineral deposit known as a 'speleothem' (cave formation), which itself developed over a large piece of limestone. Extending over the left side of the figure is a flowstone deposit (speleothem cover) which extends across part of the animal's muzzle and antler set.

In April 2011, Dr Peter van Calsteren and Dr Louise Thomas of the NERC-Open University Uranium-series Facility extracted three samples from the surface of the speleothem covering the engraving. One of these samples produced a minimum date of 12,572 years BP (before present), with a margin of plus or minus 600 years. A further sample, taken in June 2011 from the same flowstone deposit, revealed a minimum date of 14,505 years BP, plus or minus 560 years.

Dr Nash said: "The earlier date is comparable with Uranium-series dating of flowstone that covers engraved figures within Church Hole Cave at Creswell along the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border. However, the new minimum date of 14,505 + 560 years BP makes the engraved reindeer in South Wales the oldest rock art in the British Isles, if not North-western Europe."

Source: University of Bristol

Australian Cave Painting Found To Be One of World's Oldest