Top ten archaeology finds of 2008 (Re-Issue)
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The National Geographic News has outlined a list of its ten most viewed archaeology stories of 2008, which include lost cities, baffling pyramids, and ancient graveyards.
The top ten archaeology finds of 2008 are:
10. Inca skull surgeons were “highly skilled”: Dangerous skull surgery was commonly and successfully performed among the Inca, likely as a treatment for head injuries suffered during combat, a May study found.
9. Ancient “Lost City” discovered in Peru: Stone ruins discovered in Peru this past January could be the ancient “lost city” of Paititi, according to claims that sparked serious but cautious responses from experts.
8. New pyramid found in Egypt: Long buried by deep sands, the newly discovered 4,300-year-old Queen’s tomb is a testament to a pharaoh’s reverence for his mother.
7. Alexander the Great’s “crown,” shield discovered: An ancient Greek tomb once thought to have been that of Alexander’s father is more recent than thought and may contain treasures belonging to Alexander himself.
6. Mystery pyramid built by newfound ancient culture: The Huapalcalco pyramid in central Mexico may be the work of a previously unknown culture of ancient people, the Huajomulco.
5. Rare Egyptian “Warrior” tomb found: Feathered arrows lying near a well-preserved coffin suggest that the mummy inside, when alive, may have been a mercenary for an Egyptian king.
4. Stonehenge was cemetery first and foremost: From the start 5,000 years ago, the site was a burial ground-perhaps for prehistoric rulers-and it remained so for centuries.
3. Maya may have caused civilization-ending climate change: A satellite program designed to improve environmental policies in Central America found evidence of ancient, self-induced climate change-offering lessons on how to combat today’s warming.
2. Great pyramid mystery may be solved by hidden room: A sealed space in Egypt’s Great Pyramid may help solve a centuries-old mystery: How did the ancient Egyptians move two million 2.5-ton blocks to build the ancient wonder?
1. Portal to Maya underworld found in Mexico: An underground labyrinth filled with stone temples and pyramids, found in August, likely relates to Maya myths of the afterlife, according to archaeologists. (ANI)
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AJ said:
We need to think very carefully about this statement:
‘Stonehenge was cemetery first and foremost: From the start 5,000 years ago, the site was a burial ground-perhaps for prehistoric rulers-and it remained so for centuries.’
When most people think of Stonehenge they imagine the huge iconic stones, not the site on which they were raised (which began as a relatively simple circular earthwork some 500 years earlier). The idea that it (i.e. Stonehenge) was a ‘cemetery first and foremost’ is not correct. True there were cremation burials inserted earlier features from the outset, but by the time Stonehenge itself was constructed new inhumation burial practices were prevalent. Barrow mounds began to appear in the wider landscape and despite the fact that Stonehenge itself remained a focus of activity for almost another 1,000 years hardly any further Bronze Age burials were added on the site. In conclusion we might say that the site on which Stonehenge was built was used as a cemetery prior to the construction of the stone monument. The iconic structure appears to mark the end of that period, heralding a new and dynamic regime whose ‘cosmological model’ was quite distinct from that of the communities who used the earlier earthwork as a focus for cremations
December 29th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
