Archaeology
Rare statue of Maya lighting god found in Mexico
Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have uncovered a rare statue of Kʼawiil, the Maya lightning god.
Kʼawiil is associated with lightning, serpents, fertility, and maize, and is often represented having a zoomorphic head with large eyes, a long, upturned snout, and an attenuated serpent foot which represents a lightning bolt.
From descriptions of the Maya New Year rituals, written by Diego de Landa Calderón, a Spanish Franciscan bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Yucatán, and depictions of these rituals in the Dresden Codex, it can be inferred that Kʼawiil was called Bolon Dzacab during the 16th century.
Although depictions of Kʼawiil can be found in Maya reliefs and the Dresden and Maya codices of Mexico, only three statues of Kʼawiil have been previously discovered, all of which come from the city of Tikal in Guatemala.
The latest statue was discovered during the construction of the Maya Train project, in section 7 on the route from Bacalar, in Quintana Roo, to Escárcega, in Campeche. The Maya Train is a 1,525-kilometre intercity railway that will traverse the Yucatán Peninsula, with construction scheduled to be completed in 2024.
The statue is part of an urn, whose body shows the face of a possible solar deity, with the head of K’awiil represented on the lid.
Prieto Hernández, Director General at INAH, said: “This finding is very important because there are very few representations of the god K’awill; Up to now, we only know of three in Tikal, Guatemala, and this is one of the first to appear in Mexican territory.”
Excavations in section 7 also revealed structures, including platforms and vaulted buildings, which the archaeologists plan to preserve and document.
Header Image Credit : INAH Campeche Centre
A study of archaeological sites in Winchester, England, has revealed that red squirrels served as a host for Mycobacterium leprae strains that caused leprosy in people.
Leprosy is one of the oldest recorded diseases in human history and is still prevalent to this day in Asia, Africa, and South America.
It has previously been suggested that the extensive trade of red squirrel fur, greatly valued during medieval times, could have contributed to the leprosy epidemic in medieval Europe.
The results of the study, published in the journal Current Biology, studied 25 human and 12 squirrel samples from two medieval sites in Winchester.
During this period, the city had strong connections to the fur trade and housed the leprosarium, a hospital that treated people with Hansen’s disease (leprosy) caused by Mycobacterium leprae bacteria.
Verena Schuenemann of the University of Basel in Switzerland, said: “With our genetic analysis we were able to identify red squirrels as the first ancient animal host of leprosy.”
The study found that the medieval red squirrel strains were more closely related to human strains in Winchester, rather than to modern squirrel strains from England – suggesting an independent circulation of Mycobacterium leprae strains.
“Our findings highlight the importance of involving archaeological material, in particular animal remains, into studying the long-term zoonotic potential of this disease, as only a direct comparison of ancient human and animal strains allows reconstructions of potential transmission events across time,” says Sarah Inskip of the University of Leicester, UK, a co-author on the study.
Header Image Credit : Shutterstock
Sources : Current Biology, Urban, Blom, and Avanzi et al.: “Ancient Mycobacterium leprae genome reveals medieval English red squirrels as animal leprosy host.” https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)00446-9
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from the Uncovering Roman Carlisle project have discovered a rare lump of Tyrian purple at the grounds of the Carlisle Cricket Club in Carlisle, England.
The project is a community supported excavation by Wardell Armstrong, focusing on uncovering a Roman bath house found in 2017.
The bath house is located near the Roman fort of Uxelodunum (meaning “high fort”), also known as Petriana, in the Carlisle district of Stanwix.
Uxelodunum was constructed to control the territories west of present-day Carlisle and an important crossing on the River Eden. The fort was garrisoned by the Ala Petriana, a 1,000-strong cavalry unit, whose members were all granted Roman citizenship for valour on the field.
Previous excavations at the bath house have discovered colossal sandstone heads depicting Roman gods, in addition to engraved gems known as intaglios, figurines, animal bones, and imperial-stamped tiles.
During the latest season of excavations, archaeologists found a mysterious lump of a soft purple substance. The substance was tested by researchers from Newcastle University, revealing that it contained levels of Bromine and beeswax.
According to the researchers, the substance is Tyrian purple, a coloured dye associated with the Imperial Court in the Roman Empire. Tyrian purple is secreted by several species of predatory sea snails in the family Muricidae, rock snails originally known by the name Murex.
Frank Giecco, Technical Director at Wardell Armstrong, said: “For millennia, Tyrian Purple was the world’s most expensive and sought after colour. It’s presence in Carlisle combined with other evidence from the excavation all strengthens the hypothesis that the building was in some way associated with the Imperial Court of the Emperor Septimius Severus which was located in York and possibly relates to an Imperial visit to Carlisle.”
“It’s the only example we know of in Northern Europe – possibly the only example of a solid sample of the pigment in the form of unused paint pigment anywhere in the Roman Empire. Examples have been found of it in wall paintings (like in Pompeii) and some high status painted coffins from the Roman province of Egypt,” said Giecco.
Header Image Credit : Wardell Armstrong
Sources : Wardell Armstrong
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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