January/February 2021 Issue

JAPAN: Infrared cameras have captured hidden Buddhist paintings obscured beneath centuries of soot on columns at the Saimyoji Temple, 40 miles northeast of Kyoto. The images of 8 religious icons, which are impossible to see with the naked eye, can be viewed in detail using the imaging technology. Based on the compositions’ style, researchers believe they may date to the later Asuka period (A.D. 492–710).

RUSSIA: The 2,500-year-old tomb of a Scythian warrior couple was uncovered in Siberia’s Khakassia region. The man and woman, who were members of the Tagar culture, were both buried with bronze weapons, including daggers and axes. While long-range arms such as bows and arrows are common in female Tagarian graves, this woman’s assemblage of hand-to-hand combat weapons is unusual and may attest to her fighting prowess. The couple was interred with an elderly woman—perhaps a servant—and an infant.

INDIA: One of the keys to sustaining the flourishing civilizations of the Indus Valley may have been the development of dairy production. Isotope analysis of lipid residues from ceramic vessels found at the site of Kotada Bhadli indicates that around 2500 B.C., dairy products were common there. This is the earliest such evidence known in India. Milk and cheese from domesticated cattle and water buffalo would have been a major component of the local diet, and any surplus could have been traded with other settlements.