Unusual Mayan() burial discovered near Copan- May 27, 2007 NEW YORK. May 21. KAZINFORM - Archaeologists working in Honduras have discovered an entombed human skeleton of an elite member of the ancient Maya Empire that may help unravel some longstanding mysteries of the vanished culture. The remains, seated in an upright position in an unusual tomb and flanked by shells, pottery, vessels, and jade adornments, suggest a surprisingly diverse culture and complex political system in the influential Maya city of Copan around A.D. 650.Located at the western...http://uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/2007/05/unusual-mayan-burial-discovered-near.html Mitochondrial DNA evidence reveals European man found in 1400-year-old Chinese tomb- May 27, 2007 Human remains found in a 1,400-year-old Chinese tomb belonged to a man of European origin, DNA evidence shows. Chinese scientists who analyzed the DNA of the remains say the man, named Yu Hong, belonged to one of the oldest genetic groups from western Eurasia. The tomb, in Taiyuan in central China, marks the...http://uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/2007/05/mitochondrial-dna-evidence-reveals.html Recent finds support cultural spread from south to north in ancient India- May 27, 2007 Adichanallur is an Iron Age site in southern India. The Iron Age in south India is dated from 1,000 to 300 B.C. Alexander Rea, Superintending Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India, excavated in Adichanallur between 1889 and 1905 and found artefacts including bronze figurines, gold diadems and pottery. In Jorwe, in Ahmadnagar district in the Deccan, H.D. Sankalia in northern India, Professor of Proto-Indian and Ancient Indian History, Deccan College Research Institute, Pune,...http://uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/2007/05/recent-finds-support-cultural-spread.html Roses have supplied aromatic herbs for cooking since the ancient Persians- May 27, 2007 When I was in England last year, I was treated to a wonderful elderblossom sorbet at Ingtham Mote and was surprised to find the flower-flavored desert so fruity and delicate. So, I couldn't help but notice this article about the ancient culinary use of rose petals dating back to the time of the Persians."It's difficult to imagine a Persian sweet or Middle Eastern baklava without the aroma of rose water, but you may not know that roses have a place in traditional Latin American kitchens, too...http://uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/2007/05/roses-have-supplied-aromatic-herbs-for.html First Intermediate Period Tomb Discovered- May 27, 2007 An ancient Egyptian tomb has been unearthed by Belgian archaeologists intact.The tomb, which lies at Dier Al Barsha, near Minya in the Nile Valley, is thought to around 4,000-years-old and belonged to a high-ranking official.Around 200 miles south of Cairo, the complete tomb contains wooden statues depicting workers carrying out tasks like making beer, manufacturing bricks, grinding cereal and rowing boats.Belonging to a man named Henu, a supervisor of religious affairs and estate manager,...http://uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/2007/05/first-intermediate-period-tomb.html Neutron diffraction offers non-destructive artifact analysis- May 20, 2007 I was doing some research on an image of a "killed" Greek helmet that I photographed at the Walters Art Museum several years ago and came across this article about a relatively new non-destructive technique for analyzing artifacts to see if they are a true antiquity or have been "tampered with"."Neutron diffraction, an established diagnostic tool for materials analysis and non-destructive testing of engineering components, can also be used to characterise archaeological artefacts and museum...http://uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/2007/05/neutron-diffraction-offers-non.html Iranian produces documentary on Ancient Persia- May 11, 2007 This film sounds like it will be fascinating. I do hope we will be able to get it online through iTunes or Netflix."Iran's Experimental and Documentary Films Center has launched the production of a documentary about the history of ancient Persia. Iranian filmmaker Pejman Fakharian began to shoot the docudrama titled 'Persia, Capital of the World' on Monday, May 7.The film is based on extensive research conducted by Iranian experts and corroborated by Zoroastrian sources.Accounts given by...http://uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/2007/05/iranian-produces-documentary-on-ancient.html Clinical Pathologists Say King Herod died of Kidney Failure- May 9, 2007 I enjoy reading the historic case studies analyzed by attendees of this conference. I digitized the reports on Pericles, Claudius, Beethoven, Mozart, and Custer and posted them to my web page History's Medical Mysteries.I'll need to add this report about King Herod:Scholars believe they have solved a 2,000-year-old mystery of how King Herod died, suggesting he was probably a victim of kidney disease. The king, who reputedly ordered the executions of one wife, three sons and the slaughter of...http://uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/2007/05/clinical-pathologists-say-king-herod.html MIT students to recreate Inca Suspension Bridge- May 8, 2007 "Although scholars have studied the Inca road systems importance in forging and controlling the pre-Columbian empire, John A.Ochsendorf of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology here said, Historians and archaeologists have neglected the role of bridges.Dr. Ochsendorfs research on Inca suspension bridges, begun while he was an undergraduate at Cornell University, illustrates an engineering universitys approach to archaeology, combining materials science and experimentation with the...http://uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/2007/05/mit-students-to-recreate-inca.html Brass Coptic Bowl Found in Grave of Anglo-Saxon Prince- May 3, 2007 A brass Coptic bowl was recently unearthed when gardener Helen McGlashon (26) found a human skull while digging on her vegetable patch off Palmerston Road, in Woodston, Peterborough (UK).Fearing it was a murder victim, she called police who launched a full-scale excavation of the site on February 17. But forensic pathologists later concluded the bones actually belonged to an Anglo-Saxon man when the ancient bowl was found nearby.Historians believe the valuable Coptic bowl, which was made in the.http://uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/2007/05/brass-coptic-bowl-found-in-grave-of.html |