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Community-created field systems in Colombia?
In the wetlands of La Mojana in northern Colombia is a vast (more than 500,000ha or 1,900 square miles) field system of canals and ridges, used to control both floods and droughts. In use from the last centuries BC up to the 10th-11th centuries AD, it was originally believed that such a large and complex system could only have been created through top-down governance in a hierarchical society. New research, however, recently published in the journal Communications Sustainability (https://doi.org/10.1038/s44458-026-00128-5), has calculated the number of people it would take to create such a system – with surprising results.
The researchers found that, based on the probable size of the community who first constructed the system (c.1,600 people), if only half of that number contributed to its creation it would have taken them less than two months to complete – around half of a single dry season. They also concluded that the system would only have had to have been renewed once a generation with a couple of days’ work. This would have been very manageable at a community level and did not require top-down control. Overall, it demonstrates the power local populations have to create their own sustainable resolutions to climate issues.
Palaeolithic perfection
Two intricately detailed bird figurines have been discovered at Hohle Fels cave in south-western Germany – the cave famous for the discovery of the Venus of Hohle Fels back in 2008.
The birds were found in the lower layers associated with the Aurignacian culture, dating to c.40,000 years ago. The figurines are made of ivory and each measures 2cm long, 1cm wide, and 0.5cm tall – making them the smallest examples of Ice Age art yet known from this region. Despite their diminutive size, they are incredibly detailed. The first might represent a brooding bird, depicted in an outstretched resting position, with its head close to its body and its legs tucked. The second has its wings spread – perhaps in flight or landing on water. It is thought they might both depict ptarmigan, as bones of that species are often found in the archaeological record here.
Byzantine-era city uncovered in Egyptian oasis
Excavations at the Ain Al-Sabil archaeological site in the Dakhla Oasis, New Valley Governorate, in Egypt’s Western Desert have revealed the remains of a previously unknown city dating to between the 4th and 5th centuries AD. Archaeologists from Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities uncovered a well-laid-out urban grid with main thoroughfares running north–south and intersecting streets running east–west. The centre of the city featured a basilica-style church, while two watchtowers were found on the outskirts. In between were numerous houses, many with spacious reception rooms and vaulted ceilings. Additionally, c.200 pieces of ostraca (ceramic sherds) have been recovered, many with inscriptions written in both Coptic and Greek. These appear to document business transactions, personal correspondence, and other details of the residents’ lives.
Text: Kathryn Krakowka / Image: R Ehmann, University of Tübingen
