ArchaeoBlog

The festivities have yet to begin here at ArchaeoBlog manor. I spent much of the day attempting to set more tile and alternately cursing either myself for measuring wrong or the tile cutters for cutting wrong. Grrrr.

I am donning my Indiana Jones gear and answering the door in that. I have the usual stuff: fedora, leather jacket, and now a whip! Sort of. It’s a soft plushie-type (stop snickering) thing that makes an electronic whip-cracking sound. Heh. I even forewent shaving since Tuesday to get the whole rough-and-ready look. Of course, we don’t get that many kids around here anyway and it’s raining so there I’ll probably sit with nothing to do. I still buy tons of candy though because, well, it’s got to be eaten eventually. . . . .

UPDATE: A measly two groups of trick-or-treaters. Probably 10-12 altogether. Fun though. One little girl said “Bye, Indy!” as she was walking away. =)

‘Mardi Gras’ shipwreck in Gulf uncovers treasures

A mysterious shipwreck deep in the Gulf of Mexico has provided a glimpse of life aboard a sea vessel two centuries ago, when the body of water was akin to the “Wild, Wild West,” scientists say.

At the time, privateers ruled the Gulf, which was poorly policed as America, Britain, France and Spain all claimed interests and ports along its borders.

Archaeologists and oceanographers were therefore eager to explore the 50-foot “Mardi Gras Wreck” — an unidentified ship named after a nearby pipeline — which was found in 2002 by employees from Okeanos Gas Gathering Co. who were surveying the seafloor with remote cameras.

New Maya Olmec Archeological Find in Guatemala

At a Press Conference today, given by the Ministry of Culture, Guatemala’s Archaeologists Christa Schieber de Lavarreda and Miguel Orrego Corzo presented the new and mysterious finding of the enigmatic sculpture:

The archaeological excavations of the National Project Tak’alik Ab’aj have produced a stream of discoveries of very important sculptures this year. It began on March 10, 2008 with the Altar 48, the Monument to the birth of the Mayan culture.

You know, that’s a pretty good article and they include a photo of the stela along with a drawing showing it in detail. Plus a little photo montage showing closeups.

Small Islands Given Short Shrift In Assembling Archaeological Record

Small islands dwarf large ones in archaeological importance, says a University of Florida researcher, who found that people who settled the Caribbean before Christopher Columbus preferred more minute pieces of land because they relied heavily on the sea.

“We’ve written history based on the bigger islands,” said Bill Keegan, a University of Florida archaeologist whose study is published online in the journal Human Ecology. “Yet not only are we now seeing people earlier on smaller islands, but we’re seeing them move into territories where we didn’t expect them to at the time that they arrived.”

It suggests that maybe many of the smaller islands weren’t “settlements” exactly, but maybe short-term encampments for getting resources that were available around the island. Kind of like high altitude hunting camps maybe(?).

“Spider God” Temple Found in Peru

People of the Cupisnique culture, which thrived from roughly 1500 to 1000 B.C., built the temple in the Lambayeque valley on Peru’s north coast.

The adobe temple, found this summer and called Collud, is the third discovered in the area in recent years. (Watch a video of the spider-god temple.)

The finds suggest that the three valley sites may have been part of a large capital for divine worship, said archaeologist Walter Alva, director of the Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum.

Video at the link which doesn’t add a whole lot.

Ancient iceman probably has no modern relatives

“Otzi,” Italy’s prehistoric iceman, probably does not have any modern day descendants, according to a study published Thursday.

A team of Italian and British scientists who sequenced his mitochondrial DNA — which is passed down through the mother’s line — found that Otzi belonged to a genetic lineage that is either extremely rare or has died out.

Otzi’s 5,300-year-old corpse was found frozen in the Tyrolean Alps in 1991.

“Our research suggests that Otzi’s lineage may indeed have become extinct,” Martin Richards of Leeds University in Britain, who worked on the study, said in a statement.

Phoenicians Left Deep Genetic Mark, Study Shows

The Phoenicians, enigmatic people from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, stamped their mark on maritime history, and now research has revealed that they also left a lasting genetic imprint.

Scientists reported Thursday that as many as 1 in 17 men living today on the coasts of North Africa and southern Europe may have a Phoenician direct male-line ancestor.

These men were found to retain identifiable genetic signatures from the nearly 1,000 years the Phoenicians were a dominant seafaring commercial power in the Mediterranean basin, until their conquest by Rome in the 2nd century B.C.

Mystery of cardinal’s missing bones

A forensic archaeologist has raised fresh questions over why no remains were found in the grave of an English cardinal in line to become a saint.

It comes just days before artefacts owned by Cardinal John Henry Newman go on display ahead of his possible beatification.

Tens of thousands of mourners lined the streets of Birmingham in 1890 as Cardinal John Henry Newman’s body was carried eight miles to its final resting place.

The Real Robinson Crusoe – Evidence Of Alexander Selkirk’s Desert Island Campsite

“The evidence uncovered at Aguas Buenas corroborates the stories of Alexander Selkirk’s stay on the island and provides a fascinating insight into his existence there. We hope that Aguas Buenas, with careful management, may be a site enjoyed by the increasing number of tourists searching for the inspiration behind Defoe’s masterpiece.”

The name Selkirk seems familiar, but I never knew the story was based on a real incident.

Artist’s conception of what the real Robinson Crusoe Alexander Selkirk may have looked like:

Note that I added a Search function over there =====================================>

Which will no doubt be up there ^ eventually.