World Roundup
Monday, June 09, 2014
SUDAN: A female mummy discovered in 2005 and recently studied in detail has a tattoo—exceedingly rare for the period (A.D. 700), for its subject matter, and for its placement. The mark is a monogram that spells out the name “Michael” in ancient Greek, a reference to the Biblical archangel. Also, the tattoo is high on the woman’s inner thigh, suggesting that it was not readily visible. Curators suspect it may have been considered somehow protective.
Friday, August 01, 2014
NEW YORK: Before Manhattan’s Bowery became the hub for nightlife, hotels, and high-rise condos it is today, it was one of the country’s most notorious skid rows. And before that? It was a hub for nightlife. Excavations at the site of a new hotel have revealed evidence of Atlantic Garden, a famous 19th-century German beer garden that once occupied the site. The finds include plates, bottles, jugs, and vials of the patent medicines popular at the time.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
AUSTRALIA: In Darwin, the largest city in the Northern Territory, workers digging for a new fence found the remains of a stone staircase, originally dating to the late 19th century (with a second phase in the mid-20th century), that led down from the center of town to the city’s port area. The path was known variously as Lover’s Walk, Lime Kiln Walk, and Chinese Walk. Victorian remains are rare in the city, which has been leveled by three cyclones and extensive bombing during World War II.—SAMIR S. PATEL
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
TONGA: A detailed study of 196 stone tools shows that the chiefdom that arose in the archipelago around 800 years ago was the center of a trade network that spanned Oceania. Two-thirds of the tools analyzed came from rock sources on other island groups, including Samoa, Fiji, and the Society Islands, some 1,500 miles away. Between A.D.1300 and 1500, cultures around the Pacific began to build monumental structures and see an increase in chiefly power. The Tongan trade network might explain how such traditions moved across such vast distances.—SAMIR S. PATEL
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