September/October 2020 Issue

AUSTRALIA:  When humans began to settle in Australia during the Last Glacial Period, 65,000 years ago, sea levels were at least 260 feet lower than they are today. Coastal sites occupied at that time were gradually flooded beneath rising waters. For the first time, scientists have identified 2 underwater Aboriginal sites within the Dampier Archipelago. One site that dates back at least 7,000 years yielded more than 250 stone tools lying along the seabed while the other showed signs of human presence near a now-submerged freshwater spring.

MONGOLIA: During his life, Genghis Khan was often on the move, launching invasions and conquering territory across Eurasia. In the 13th century, he founded the Mongol Empire, which eventually stretched from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe. However, between campaigns, Genghis and his army would return to his winter camp, or ordu, whose location has been debated for decades. New research at the site of Avraga in eastern Mongolia now links it with the khan’s lifetime, suggesting it was likely the site of his off-season headquarters.

KAZAKHSTAN: The remains of a tomcat found in the ruins of Dzhankent represent the oldest known case of feline domestication along the Silk Road. The find dates to around the 8th century A.D., several hundred years before it was thought that local Oghuz tribes first kept cats as pets. Skeletal analysis shows that the animal suffered tooth loss as a result of a soft, protein-rich diet provided by its human owners. The feline had also suffered multiple injuries during its lifetime, limiting its chances for survival without human assistance.