Archaeology
Decapitated and dismembered bodies found at Maya pyramid
Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have uncovered burials containing decapitated and dismembered bodies at the stairway of a pyramid in the Maya city of Moral Reforma.
Moral Reforma is a Maya city from the Classic period, located in the municipality of Balancán in the Mexican state of Tabasco.
Occupation of the site dates from around AD 300, emerging into an important centre of trade along the San Pedro Mártir River. The city reached its peak during the years of AD 622 to 756, covering an area of 215 acres that contains palaces, plazas, and several pyramid complexes.
Recent excavations of a pyramid temple called Structure 18 in the city’s eastern plaza, has revealed two groups of burials at the stairway, one dating from between 300 BC to AD 250 during the Late Preclassic, and the other from AD 600 to AD 900 during the Late Classic.
Image Credit : INAH
The Late Preclassic group contains up to 12 individuals, some of which were arranged in a seated and lateral right position at the time of death, while the Late Classic group contains up to 13 burials.
Several of the burials from the Late Classic group were decapitated or dismembered, with skulls found in both groups showing signs of tabular oblique deformation, a form of artificial cranial modification to indicate an elevated social status.
The Late Preclassic group also contained 567 artefacts placed as offerings, consisting of shell and jade beads, shell rings, projectile points, vessels and bone needles.
Based on the depth and manner of the burials, the researchers have suggested that they were placed as sacrifices to a deity of the Mayan underworld in consecration of the temple.
Header Image Credit : INAH
An archaeological survey has identified three clusters of ancient qanats in the Diyala Province of Iraq.
A qanat, also known as a kārīz, is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well over long distances in hot dry climates without losing water to evaporation.
Qanats use a sequence of vertical shafts resembling wells, linked by a gently inclined tunnel that serves as a conduit for channelling water. Qanats efficiently transport substantial volumes of underground water to the surface without requiring pumps.
The water naturally flows downhill by gravity, with the endpoint positioned at a lower level than the origin. When the qanat is still below ground, the water is drawn to the surface via water wells or animal driven Persian wells.
Image Credit : State Board of Antiquities & Heritage
Some Qanats are divided into an underground network of smaller canals known as kariz, functioning similarly to qanats by staying beneath the surface to prevent contamination and evaporation. In certain instances, water from a qanat is stored in a reservoir, usually with nighttime flow reserved for daytime usage.
The technology for qanat’s first emerged in ancient Iran around 3,000-years-ago and slowly spread westward and eastward.
A recent survey within the Diyala Province has discovered three clusters of qanats stretching between the areas of Jalulaa and Kortaba. Initial studies dates the clusters to around AD 1000, a period known as the “Iranian Intermezzo”, when parts of the region were governed by a number of minor Iranian emirates.
The first cluster consists of 25 wells on a linear alignment connected to an adjacent 10 metre deep water channel. The second cluster also has 25 wells and is connected to a 13 km long hand dug channel, while the third cluster consists of 9 wells connected to water canals dug on both sides.
Header Image Credit : State Board of Antiquities & Heritage
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists have discovered a 16,800-year-old Palaeolithic dwelling in the La Garma cave complex, located in the municipality of Ribamontán al Monte in Spain’s Cantabria province.
The La Garma cave complex is a parietal art-bearing paleoanthropological cave system on the southern side of the La Garma Hill.
The cave complex is noted for one of the best preserved floors from the Palaeolithic period, containing more than 4,000 fossils and more than 500 graphical units.
A project led by Pablo Arias and Roberto Ontañón from the University of Cantabria has recently announced the discovery of a Palaeolithic dwelling within the cave system, described as “one of the best preserved Palaeolithic dwellings in the world.”
The dwelling is an oval space and is delimited by an alignment of stone blocks and stalagmites that supported a fixed structure of sticks and skins leaning against the cave wall. The total area of the space is around 5 square metres that centred on a camp fire.
Archaeologists also found vestiges of various daily activities associated with Magdalenian hunters and gatherers at the dwelling, including evidence of stone manufacturing, bone and antler instruments, and the working of fur.
In total, over 4,614 objects have been documented, such as dear, horse and bison bones, 600 pieces of flint, needles and a protoharpoon, shells of marine mollusks, as well as numerous pendants worn by the cave dwelling inhabitants.
Additionally, the researchers also found a number of decorated bones, including a remarkable pierced aurochs phalanx engraved with a depiction of both the animal itself and a human face—a distinctive artefact unique to the European Palaeolithic era.
Due to the national importance of the discovery, the team used innovative non-intrusive techniques in their study of the dwelling. This includes continuous tomography of the soils, 3D cartography, the molecular and genetic analysis of soils and Palaeolithic objects, mass spectrometry, and hyperspectral imaging.
Header Image Credit : University of Cantabria
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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