World news: discoveries in Borneo, Spain, and Micronesia
A round-up of some of the latest archaeological news from across the globe.
hunter-gatherers
First Palaeolithic DNA from Britain successfully sequenced
The study suggests that two Palaeolithic individuals - one from Kendrick’s Cave in Wales, and the other from Gough’s Cave in Somerset - came from two completely separate populations.
Oldest charred food remains shine light on Palaeolithic cooking techniques
Research suggests that, for Neanderthals and early modern humans, flavour was an important consideration during food preparation.
Everyday Life in the Ice Age
Archaeologists tend to reserve the term ‘civilisation’ for the settled villages and towns of the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Many of the innovations that we think are characteristic of human civilisation were, however, the inventions of Ice Age hunter-gatherers. Just…
Early limb amputation in Borneo
The fossilised remains, which date to between 31,000 and 30,000 years ago, were found during excavations at Liang Tebo. Previously, the earliest known evidence of surgical amputation came from a farmer in France c.7,000 years ago
8,000 years of footprints preserved at Formby
The tracks of 593 individual animals were identified, representing 401 large animals and 192 humans – making this one of the largest-known concentrations of predominately prehistoric faunal tracks in the world.
UK’s oldest human DNA sheds light on the recolonisation of post-Ice Age Britain
Findings show that there were at least two genetically distinct Late Upper Palaeolithic populations present in Britain after the last Ice Age, around 15,000 years ago.
This week: Japanese stone circles
A fascinating exhibition opening at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre this autumn shines new light on a remarkable group of ancient stone circles. Spread across 17 sites, and mostly dating from c.2500 to 300 BC, these extraordinary monuments served for centuries as the focus for ceremonies associated with solar alignments and the seasons, as well as with death and the afterlife. Such is their importance that these stone circles were even granted UNESCO World Heritage status last summer. Even so, they will be unknown to many here in Britain.
Circles of stone: exploring the monuments of Jomon Japan
Numerous ancient stone circles are known in Japan, but how and why were these monuments built? Simon Kaner examines what these enigmatic structures can tell us about a key period of Japanese prehistory.
Analysis identifies earliest evidence of ear infection
The infection was identified in a hunter-gatherer who lived c.100,000 years ago, and was excavated from a cave in Morocco.
Hunter-Gatherer Ireland: making connections in an island world
Review by George Nash. When looking at the prehistory of Ireland, we are instantly drawn to the complex societies that were involved in the construction and use of burial monuments of the Neolithic, some five to six millennia ago. The…
Life before Stonehenge: exploring environmental evidence from Blick Mead
Scientific analysis of sediments, pollen, and ancient DNA preserved at Blick Mead in Wiltshire has revealed a detailed picture of the Mesolithic landscape close to Stonehenge. David Jacques and Sam Hudson report.
Qatar: Evidence of the Palaeolithic Earliest People Revealed
Review by George Nash. The visible prehistoric sites of the Arabian Peninsula are all too clear to see, with burial-ritual and settlement sites of the Neolithic, Bronze Age, and, in particular, Iron Age providing the most obvious presence. Less visible…
New analysis of Blick Mead’s Mesolithic landscape
Excavations at the site have revealed traces of a significant Mesolithic ‘home base’, including evidence of extensive flint-tool manufacturing and major feasting events.
Evidence of Mesolithic mummification discovered in Portugal
Until now, the earliest evidence for intentional human mummification came from the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, c.7,000 years ago.
The Mesolithic in Britain: landscape and society in times of change
Review by George Nash. The concept of a ‘Mesolithic’, a Middle Stone Age, has been with us since the early 1930s, and many thousands of sites dating to this period have been discovered since, some submerged under our coastal waters.…
Ostrich eggshell beads shed light on ancient social networks across Africa
These beads are some of the world’s oldest fully manufactured ornaments
The world of Stonehenge: placing a famous monument in context
A new exhibition at the British Museum explores the landscape that Stonehenge emerged from, and the social, cultural, and technological transformations it witnessed. Neil Wilkin and Jennifer Wexler told CA more.
Stranger in the Mask of a Deer
‘Dreamer, can you cast your mind back to before you were islanded?’ This thoughtful and thought-provoking book-length poem is described by its author, Richard Skelton, as a ‘call-and-response from the present to the past’. The text drifts into a dream-like…
From aurochsen to abbey tiles: uncovering Mesolithic and medieval finds at Blick Mead
Excavations at Blick Mead, a significant Mesolithic occupation site close to Stonehenge, continued this autumn. Carly Hilts travelled to the site to learn more about prehistoric hunters and traces of a priory associated with a medieval queen.
A Short History of Humanity: How Migration Made Us Who We Are
Over the last decade, revolutions in the scientific analysis of archaeological material have allowed us to delve deeper into the origins and migrations of modern humans. Through the lens of Johannes Krause, director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary…
A shaman’s snake staff?
In Finno-Ugric and Sámi cosmology, snakes are associated with various symbolic meanings, and shamans had the ability to transform into these creatures.
Newly-discovered Spanish cave art depicts honey-gathering
According to the researchers, this is the most elaborate and well-preserved depiction of honey-gathering documented within Levantine art to date.
Cloggs Cave: a temporary hunting camp or secluded retreat and source of magical supplies?
How do we interpret archaeological sites? Excavations conducted 50 years ago at Cloggs Cave, in south-eastern Australia, revealed what seemed to be a temporary hunting camp. Fresh research, though, points to this cavity having been used as a secluded place of magic and danger, accessed only by a few powerful individuals. Russell Mullett and Bruno David told Current World Archaeology's Matthew Symonds what has changed.
Oldest shark attack victim discovered in Japan
'Based on the character and distribution of the tooth marks, the most likely species responsible was either a tiger shark or white shark.'
Neolithic hunter-gatherer identified as the oldest plague victim
The high bacterial load of plague bacterium in their bloodstream indicates it was likely transmitted through the bite of an infected rodent, resulting in septicemia plague.
Rabbits dig up prehistoric finds on Welsh island
Evidence of Late Mesolithic and Bronze activity has been discovered on a Welsh island.
Art in the Amazon
Hundreds of thousands of vibrant images painted on rock faces in the Serranía La Lindosa in the Colombian Amazon.
Artists on the edge of the world: exploring the British Isles’ earliest art at Les Varines, Jersey
Archaeologists excavating a 15,000-year-old campsite at Les Varines, Jersey, have recovered ten fragments of stone decorated with hundreds of interweaving lines. Recently published analysis of these ‘plaquettes’ suggests that they may represent the earliest artworks yet identified in the British Isles. Carly Hilts reports.
Arctic: culture and climate
Humans have been calling the Arctic home for tens of thousands of years. But over the millennia, changes in climate have repeatedly forced groups to adapt or make way for incomers bearing superior tools. Amber Lincoln and Jago Cooper told Matthew Symonds about the archaeology of the circumpolar world.
World News: Saudi Arabia, North America, Peru
Footprints in the desert The earliest-known human footprints from the Arabian Peninsula have been discovered in an ancient lake deposit in the south-west of the Nefud Desert. They were discovered as part of the Palaeodeserts Project, which is studying the…
Searching for the people of Doggerland
Around 8,150 years ago, a sudden shift in the seabed created the Storegga tsunami in the North Sea. With all known evidence pointing towards this event greatly affecting, but not completely inundating, Doggerland (the strip of land that once connected…
Excavating the CA Archive: Yorkshire 1
The archaeological riches of God's Own Country: Joe Flatman explores half a century of reports from the past
Göbekli Tepe: a new World Heritage Site
In the last decade, Göbekli Tepe has gradually moved into the focus of public interest, as seen in the increasing numbers of visitors, a trend that broke off in 2015 following the spread of conflict to nearby parts of northern Syria.
Face to face with Cheddar Man
A team from UCL and the Natural History Museum has successfully sequenced his DNA for the first time, revealing a wealth of details about his physical appearance.
Japanese Jomon
CWA takes a picturesque look at Japan's prehistoric Jomon Culture, encompassing their exquisite pottery, Neolithic/Mesolithic economy and ritual beliefs.