Network of Ancient Amazonian Cities Identified in Ecuador

QUITO, ECUADOR—According to a Science Magazine report, a lidar survey of the jungles of Ecuador’s Upano Valley has mapped a network of interconnected cities dated to at least 2,500 years ago. Stéphen Rostain of the French National Center for Scientific Research and his colleagues had been excavating mounds from the ancient settlements of Sangay and Kilamope for decades, but they wanted a complete overview of the region. Using the lidar data, they identified five additional large settlements, and 10 smaller ones in the Upano Valley. All of these densely packed sites had residential and ceremonial structures. The survey also spotted agricultural fields and hillside terraces where corn, manioc, and sweet potato were grown; wide, straight roads that connected the cities; and smaller streets that connected neighborhoods within each city. The presence of the roads suggests that these cities all existed at the same time, some 1,000 years earlier than other known complex Amazonian societies, Rostain added. “We’re talking about urbanism,” explained team member Fernando Mejía of Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. For more on ancient Ecuador, go to "Ancient Amazonian Chocolatiers."

Anglo-Saxon Cemetery Unearthed in Eastern England

LINCOLNSHIRE, ENGLAND—According to an ABC News report, an Anglo-Saxon cemetery containing the remains of more than 20 people was discovered in northeastern England by researchers from Wessex Archaeology, who investigated the region ahead of a large-scale construction project. The cemetery, which had been placed within an earlier Bronze Age ring ditch, was in use in the sixth and seventh centuries A.D. One of the burials contained the remains of a teenaged girl and a child, who were placed in the grave on their sides. The child was tucked in behind the older girl. Two small gold pendants set with garnets, a silver pendant with an amber mount, two small blue glass beads, and an annular brooch were found near the teen’s head and chest. DNA analysis of those who were buried in the cemetery may reveal if any of them were related to one other. Isotopic analysis of the bones may also offer more information about their origins and health status. “This will give us a far better understanding of the population, from their mobility to their genetic background and even their diet,” explained osteoarchaeologist Jacqueline McKinley. For more on the Anglo-Saxons, go to "The Ongoing Saga of Sutton Hoo."

2,700-Year-Old Temple Discovered on Greek Island of Evia

EVIA, GREECE—A 2,700-year-old temple with a horseshoe-shaped altar has been discovered on the Greek island of Evia, which is also known as Euboea, according to a Live Science report. This temple measures 100 feet long and sits next to another temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis. Several hearths were found in the newly discovered temple’s nave, one of which had an ash-caked altar holding pieces of charred bone; pottery; vases; items made of alabaster; jewelry made of gold, silver, coral, and amber; amulets; and bronze and iron fittings. Some of the pottery is thought to be older than the temple. Brick partitions were added to the structure for support in the sixth century B.C., perhaps because the temple had been damaged in a fire. Several stone walls from an earlier building, and bronze figurines shaped like bulls and a ram, were found beneath the temple. To read about the discovery of a temple on the Peloponnese that researchers think was dedicated to Poseidon, go to "The Sea God's Sanctuary."

Genetic Study Offers Hint to the Origin of an Autoimmune Disorder

PERTH, AUSTRALIA—Science News reports that an analysis of the genomes of more than 1,600 Europeans and western Asians by evolutionary biologist Morten Allentoft of Curtin University and his colleagues suggests that Yamnaya herders originated with hunter-gatherers who lived near western Russia’s Don River some 7,300 years ago. Yamnaya people then migrated from southwest Asia and mixed with populations in Eastern Europe before moving into Northern Europe, where they again produced a hybrid population. Computational biologist William Barrie of the University of Cambridge then compared ancient Eurasian DNA to a database of DNA from more than 400,000 modern British individuals, and determined that a specific gene change now linked to a higher risk for multiple sclerosis, or MS, developed in Yamnaya herders some 5,000 years ago. These gene variants, which perhaps boosted Yamnaya herders’ immune defenses against diseases carried by their livestock, were therefore introduced into northern European populations. How genes, environmental factors, and viruses bring about the disease is not well understood, but today’s northwestern Europeans are diagnosed with MS at about twice the rate of southern Europeans. “This is the first evidence of this [evolutionary process] in an autoimmune disorder,” Barrie explained. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Nature. For more on the Yamnaya, go to "Around the World: Bulgaria."

Weapons and Cargo Found on 500-Year-Old Baltic Shipwreck

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN—According to a Miami Herald report, weapons that may have been used to repel pirates have been found in a medieval shipwreck in the Baltic Sea, off the coast of Maderö Island. Although the wreckage was explored in 1969, a systematic study of it was not conducted until 2022. “Not so much is known about the architecture of these ships so every new wreck that is surveyed increases our knowledge a lot,” said research team member Niklas Eriksson of Stockholm University. Dendrochronological analysis of wood samples from the vessel indicates that at least some of the wood came from a tree felled in 1467. The variety of wood in the construction suggests that the Maderö ship was built at a shipyard that brought in and imported material from a larger area, rather than relying on locally grown wood, he added. Chemical analysis of samples of the cargo, including rectangular bricks, specialty bricks for lining windows and doors, and roof tiles, shows that they were made in northeastern Germany. The ship may therefore have been linked to the organized northern German merchant communities known as the Hanseatic League. A coating of sulfur on a cannonball at the site suggests that it may have been loaded in a cannon with gunpowder when the vessel sank. “During the fourteenth to fifteenth century, there [was] a lot of piracy on the Baltic Sea,” Eriksson explained. Read the original scholarly article about this research in International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. To read about investigations of the wreckage of a sixteenth-century Swedish warship, go to "Mars Explored."

Small Neolithic Vessel Excavated in Central China

HENAN PROVINCE, CHINA—According to a Xinhua report, a 7,700-year-old bottle has been unearthed in central China at the 8,000-year-old Peiligang site. With its small mouth and a pointed bottom, the vessel resembles those made by the Yangshao culture. Li Yongqiang of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said that the bottle measures about four inches long, making it smaller than those made by the Yangshao culture, which inhabited the region to the north. “This discovery provides fresh and crucial material evidence for exploring the origin and development relationship between the Peiligang culture and Yangshao culture,” Li said. Such vessels are thought to have been used to collect water, for brewing, or as grave goods. Previous research at the Peiligang site has shown that its Neolithic residents made wine, so the researchers suggest that this vessel may have been used to collect yeast. Stone artifacts dated to the late Paleolithic period, fragments of ostrich eggshells, and pieces of red iron ore were also recovered from the site. To read about the Peiligang culture's practice of aquaculture, go to "China's Carp Catchers."

Maya Funerary Urns Uncovered in Mexico

CAMPECHE, MEXICO—Riviera Maya News reports that two funeral urns were discovered in the foundations of a Maya building in southeastern Mexico during an investigation on the route of the Maya Train. The first urn features a figurine of a deity in the form of a growing maize cob; the Maya symbol ik, which refers to the wind and the divine breath; and on the lid, an image of an owl, known to have been a symbol of war among the ancient Maya of the region. The second vessel also has an image of an owl on its lid, while its sides were adorned with appliques depicting the thorns of the sacred ceiba tree. Diego Prieto Hernández of Mexico’s National Institute of History and Anthropology (INAH) said that the unfired pots contain human remains and may have been placed in the foundation as an offering. To read about a Maya pectoral whose shape and decoration refer to the ik symbol, go to "Artifact."

Medieval Longsword Found in Nobleman's Grave in Sweden

HALMSTED, SWEDEN—According to a Live Science report, the remains of a man who stood about six feet, three inches tall, and an iron sword measuring more than four feet long, have been uncovered within the boundaries of a church at a medieval friary in southwestern Sweden. Archaeologist Johan Klange of Cultural Environment Halland said that the weapon is a late medieval longsword with an iron blade inlaid with small Christian crosses made from another metal. The blade was snapped at the hilt, perhaps during roadwork at the site in the 1930s. Klange thinks the man may have been a nobleman at the turn of the sixteenth century who supported the Kalmar Union, an agreement in which Sweden, Denmark, and Norway were ruled by a single king between about 1397 and 1523. “We hypothesize that he was part of the high nobility of the Kalmar Union, and may have owned property in both Sweden and Denmark,” Klange said. “These people became very, very powerful.” The Kalmar Union ended in 1520 when Sweden’s King Christian II executed nearly 100 of his enemies. DNA analysis of two burials found near the tall man’s grave may reveal if the three were related. To read about sword hilts that were found protruding from the earth in a Viking cemetery in southern Sweden, go to "Standing Swords."

Old Dongola’s Historic Fabrics Analyzed

WARSAW, POLAND—Science in Poland reports that Magdalena M. Woźniak of the University of Warsaw analyzed 17 fabric samples recovered from the site of Old Dongola, the capital of the Nubian Kingdom of Makuria (ca. A.D. 400–1400), which is located in what is now Sudan. The fabrics were recovered from residential areas and garbage dumps of the city and dated to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Most of the samples were wool, but because the sheep were likely raised for milk and meat, the wool was not of high quality. Such wool fabrics were usually worn by women, Woźniak said. Cotton fabrics, usually worn by men, likely came from plants grown in the Nile Valley. Very little linen was recovered, while the one silk sample is thought to have come from the home of a local ruler. Woźniak explained that the fabrics recovered from Old Dongola were very worn, and were probably first used as clothing; then for patches, rags, or blankets; and eventually may have been used to plug structural cracks. Most of the scraps that have survived, she added, came from the edges of fabric, since they were thicker and reinforced with an extra strip of fabric decorated in patterns of yellow, blue, and red that made the edges more durable. To read about medieval wall paintings found in a room beneath a sixteenth-century house at Old Dongola, go to "A Painted Prayer," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2023.

Ancient Fortified Oasis Discovered in Saudi Arabia

KHAYBAR OASIS, SAUDI ARABIA—A fortification that surrounded the Khaybar Oasis some 4,000 years ago has been found in the North Arabian Desert by researchers from the French National Center for Scientific Research and Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for Al-‘Ula, according to a Cosmos Magazine report. The nine miles of walls, which were between five and eight feet thick, enclosed more than 2,700 acres. Remains of more than 70 bastions set into the walls for the defense of the oasis settlement have been identified. This fortress was one of a network of walled oases in the region. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. To read about 7,000-year-old rectangular complexes found in the northwest deserts of Saudi Arabia, go to "Around the World: Saudi Arabia."