January/February 2025 Issue

Ancient Polynesians were skilled seafarers who sailed thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean. Some scholars have speculated they may even have reached Antarctica. Researchers working at Sandy Bay on Enderby Island in the Auckland Islands confirmed that a group settled there between 1250 and 1320, making it the southernmost known Polynesian site. However, the adventurers appear to have been driven back north a century later by global cooling, making it unlikely that they ever sailed the additional 1,200 miles to Antarctica.

The ancient stone architecture and rock-cut niches at the site of Teniky have baffled archaeologists, as they are unlike anything produced by the local Malagasy culture. Located 125 miles inland and 12 miles from the nearest modern road, Teniky has also proved difficult to study. However, new analysis suggests that the site contains similarities to some Zoroastrian necropolises in Iran, and researchers now believe it may have been used as a burial ground for Zoroastrian settlers who arrived on the island between the 10th and 12th centuries.

Lidar mapping has made finding lost cities buried deep within dense jungle much easier than it was decades ago, when archaeologists were forced to traverse thick vegetation on foot. A recent lidar survey in the state of Campeche identified a major Maya urban center that researchers have named Valeriana after a nearby lagoon. The site consists of 6,674 structures, including plazas, pyramids, houses, and a ball court, which were all likely built during the Classic period (ca. a.d. 250–900), although some may be centuries older.