Archaeology
Sculpted head of serpent warrior found at Chichén Itzá
Archaeologists have found the sculpted head of a serpent warrior at Chichén Itzá during excavations of the Chichanchob.
Chichén Itzá was a Maya city that gained regional prominence in Mexico’s Yucatan during the Late Classic and early Terminal Classic periods. At its zenith, the city spanned an area of approximately 4 square miles and was home to up to 35,000 inhabitants.
Chichen Itza means “At the mouth of the well of the Itza”, possibly in reference to the cenotes that made the location attractive for settlement. The city structures are organised into various architectural groupings, each originally demarcated by low walls.
The three most renowned complexes are the Great North Platform, encompassing landmarks such as the Temple of Kukulcán (El Castillo), Temple of Warriors, and the Great Ball Court; the Osario Group, featuring the pyramid of the same name, and the Central Group.
Chichanchob – Image Credit : Shutterstock
Excavations were conducted by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) to remove construction filling at the Chichanchob, also known as the Casa Colorada Complex. The Chichanchob is a rectangular-shaped platform/temple built in the Puuc style near the El Caracol (ancient observatory).
Within the interior of the temple is a chamber containing carved hieroglyphs that describe a chronology of rulers of Chichen Itza and possibly of the nearby city of Ek Balam, and contain a Maya date inscribed which correlates to AD 869.
In a press statement by Diego Prieto Hernández from INAH, archaeologists have uncovered the sculpted head of Maya warrior during their excavations of the Chichanchob. The head is clad in a serpent helmet with a feather headdress, which despite being fractured stands at around 33 cm’s tall.
According to the researchers, the sculptural parameters suggest that the head was carved during the Late Classic period, which measures 33 centimetres in height by 28 centimetres in width.
Header Image Credit : INAH
A Polish-Peruvian team of archaeologists have uncovered 22 mummified burials in Barranca, Peru.
The discovery was made on the Cerro Colorado hill, where the researchers unearthed the burials in one of four mounds located in a cluster.
Bioarchaeologist, Łukasz Majchrzak, said: “The bodies are wrapped in fabrics and plant material known as burial bundles. Between the layers of the fabrics we found ceramics, tools, and cult objects placed as funerary offerings.”
The team also found corn cobs and unidentified plant materials, which were likely placed as food for the deceased on their journey to the afterlife.
Six of the burial bundles contain the remains of adults placed in the fetal position, with their upper and lower limbs tucked under their chests.
According to the researchers, the adult burials are arranged vertically, which makes them appear as if they were sitting. They all have a similar external appearance, wrapped in thick fabric and entwined with rope.
One of the adult bundles is decorated with geometric patterns, while the remaining bundles – as Majchrzak suggests – may contain representations of animals and deities.
The other 16 burial bundles mostly contain the remains of children no older than 2 years old who were placed in a horizontal position.
The team plan to use computed tomography to examine completely preserved burial bundles that have no visible damage to allow for a non-invasive anthropological analysis. In further stages, they plan to carry out a chemical and isotope analysis, including the strontium isotope, which will determine whether the burials are from a local population.
Header Image Credit : R. Dziubińska
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
An international team, led by archaeologists from Freie Universität Berlin has uncovered an ancient prehistoric fortress in a remote region of Siberia known as Amnya.
According to a study, published in the scientific journal “Antiquity”, the fortress is a complex system of defensive structures around an ancient settlement, dating from 8,000 years ago.
The fortress is spread across two settlement clusters, Amnya I and Amnya II. Amnya I consists of extant surface features such as banks and ditches, which enclose the tip of a promontory, and 10 house pit depressions. Ten further house pits, located approximately 50m to the east, comprise the open settlement of Amnya II.
Excavations have uncovered approximately 45 pottery vessels within the wider complex, including pointed and flat-based forms that reflect two distinct typological traditions.
The Amnya settlement complex signifies the start of a distinctive, enduring trend of defensive sites among hunter-gatherers in northern Eurasia—an almost continuous tradition that persisted for nearly eight millennia until the Early Modern period.
Tanja Schreiber, archaeologist at the Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology in Berlin and co-author of the study, explains, “Through detailed archaeological examinations at Amnya, we collected samples for radiocarbon dating, confirming the prehistoric age of the site and establishing it as the world’s oldest-known fort.
“Our new palaeobotanical and stratigraphical examinations reveal that inhabitants of Western Siberia led a sophisticated lifestyle based on the abundant resources of the taiga environment,” added Schrieber.
The construction of fortifications by foraging groups has been observed in different parts of the world, primarily in coastal regions during later prehistoric periods. However, the early in inland western Siberia is unparalleled.
According to the researchers, the discovery transforms how we perceive ancient human communities, questioning the notion that the establishment of permanent settlements with grand architecture and intricate social systems began solely with the rise of agriculture.
Header Image Credit: Nikita Golovanov
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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