Archaeology
Archaeologists find an assemblage of petroglyphs alongside dinosaur tracks in Brazil
A study of the Serrote do Letreiro Site (meaning “Signpost Hill”) in Brazil’s Paraíba State has led to the discovery of an assemblage of petroglyphs alongside dinosaur tracks.
The Serrote do Letreiro site has three rock outcrops covering an area of 15,000 square metres. The site is situated in the Vale dos Dinossauros Natural Monument (Known as Dinosaur Valley), located on the periphery of the Sousa Basin in the Sousa municipality.
A recent study, published in the journal scientific reports, reveals that the outcrops have fossilised footprints from the Early Cretaceous Period, left behind by theropods, sauropods, and iguanodontian dinosaurs.
The earliest mention of dinosaur tracks from the Sousa region date back to the early 20th century, with the first palaeontological study conducted in 1975.
A later publication in 1979 gave reference to the existence of petroglyphs (referred to as “Cariri Indian carvings”), however, no further investigations were carried out to document the findings.
In a recent study at Serrote do Letreiro, archaeologists have found a series of petroglyphs alongside the dinosaur tracks, which according to the researchers are mainly characterised by circular motifs similar to petroglyphs found in the states of Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte.
Image Credit : Scientific Reports
The petroglyphs have been described as low relief geometric circles filled with radial lines, which were created by carving an abrasive instrument against the rock surface.
According to the study authors: “Despite the profusion of identified petroglyphs, no overlap was observed between these inscriptions and the fossilised footprints. In none of the cases was it found that the creation of a petroglyph resulted in damage to the existing footprints, suggesting thoughtfulness by the makers.”
Archaeologists have determined that the petroglyphs belong to a broad set of motifs, either pure or abstract, and of similar or identical execution techniques found in other archaeological rock art sites in the Brazilian Northeast region.
Based on radiocarbon dating of burials found at these associated sites, the researchers suggest that the petroglyphs date from a period spanning 9400 to 2620 years BP.
“Further research utilising new methods of direct dating of petroglyphs, such as X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, will certainly shed light on the chronology issue. In the absence of applying absolute dating methods to the petroglyphs, the proposed dating here remains restricted to iconographic inferences, as well as extrapolation from the temporal horizons identified in the few dated sites in the region,” said the study authors.
Header Image Credit : Scientific Reports
Sources : Scientific Reports – A remarkable assemblage of petroglyphs and dinosaur footprints in Northeast Brazil. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-56479-3
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from the University of Warwick are conducting an underwater study to document the submerged Mesolithic site of Bouldnor Cliff before it vanishes due to erosion.
Bouldnor Cliff is situated in the Solent between the Isle of Wight and the southern coast of England. The site was first discovered in 1999 when divers observed a lobster discarding worked flint tools from its burrow on the seabed.
At a time when Britain was cut off from mainland Europe by rising sea levels, the area of the Solent was a river valley inhabited by an advanced Mesolithic community who developed a boat building technology 2,000 years ahead of their time.
The study aims to find new data on the nature of the late Ice Age environment during the development of the Mesolithic era, and the extent of the interaction between the inhabitants of Bouldnor Cliff and Europe, including the exchange of materials.
Professor Robin Allaby, who is leading the expedition, said: “This is an incredible opportunity to understand the lost world in which the Mesolithic developed using the latest techniques before our chance is gone.”
The study will involve a comprehensive palaeoenvironmental analysis, in addition to state-of-the-art techniques such as optical simulated luminescence for constructing ecological profiles. Furthermore, archaeologists intend to recover archaeological artefacts and environmental markers to reconstruct the past environment.
Dr Kinnaird adds: “This is an exciting research project to showcase the new innovations in luminescence dating, which can tell when an object was last exposed to the Sun. The relevance of this technique in writing the narratives for 4000 years of history, at the time that the British coastline was rapidly changing, is huge!”
According to the researchers, these discoveries carry the potential to significantly transform our comprehension of the era when Britain emerged as an island.
Header Image Credit : University of Warwick
Sources : University of Warwick
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
A study of the “Excalibur” sword found in Valencia has been revealed to have Islamic origins sometime during the 10th century AD.
Valencia is one of the oldest cities in Spain, founded under the name of Valentia Edetanorum by the Romans in 138 BC.
The city was conquered by the Moors in the 8th century AD, and was destroyed by Abd al-Rahman I of the Umayyad dynasty. Under Caliphate rule, the wider city area became known as Madînat al-Turâb (meaning “city of earth” or “sand”).
The sword was discovered back in 1994 in a house on Valencia’s Historiador Chabàs Street, where it was found standing upright in a grave beneath an Islamic era house.
Dubbed “Excalibur” due to the circumstances of its discovery, the sword is made from iron and has a hilt decorated with bronze plates. In mythology, Excalibur was the legendary sword of King Arthur and appears in various medieval poems describing Arthur pulling the sword from a stone.
However, the “Excalibur” from Valencia was found in a sedimentary strata from the 10th century AD and was likely the weapon of a cavalryman from the Andalusian Caliphate Era.
According to the archaeologists, the sword measures 46 centimetres in length and has a slightly curved blade towards the tip. Swords from this period are rarely found well-preserved due to the levels of oxygen and water in the soil that causes oxidation of the iron.
“It is the first Islamic sword that appears in the city of Valencia, with only one similar example being found during the excavations of Medina Azahara, the caliphal city of Abd al-Rahman III, in Córdoba,” said the Valencia City Council.
Header Image Credit : The Archaeology Service (SIAM) of the Valencia City Council
Sources : Valencia City Council
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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