The world’s most notable archaeological discoveries in 2024 include a grisly discovery in Canada, a Mayan ruler’s jade mosaic mask, ancient petroglyphs carved among dinosaur footprints, a rare Pompeii tomb, sacrificed horses and riders, and the only known Ice Age ritual to have survived to the modern era.
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Archaeological highlights of the year feature the following finds:
1. CANADA: The British Franklin Expedition of 1845 ended in tragedy when the ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror became trapped in pack ice. All 134 men on board died, but not before resorting to cannibalism. Now scientists have identified, from a jawbone with multiple cut marks, that one of the men eaten was none other than Captain James Fitzjames of the Erebus.
2. GUATEMALA: Archaeologists discovered a collapsed burial chamber beneath the floor of a small pyramid in the ancient city of Chochkitam. Among the items recovered were a partial skeleton belonging to a Mayan ruler and a jade mosaic mask with mother-of-pearl eyes.
3. PANAMA: Unearthing of the 1,250-year-old El Caño necropolis on the banks of the Rio Grande, led to the remains of a man, thought to be Coclé, draped in gold ornaments and buried face down alongside numerous gold figurines and eight gold breastplates.
4. PERU: At Pañamarca – a once vast cultural centre for the Moche people around AD 350-850 – archaeologists uncovered the country ’s first evidence of a throne room designed for a Moche queen, including an earthen royal seat and vivid murals depicting a powerful woman.
5. BRAZIL: Researchers have documented more than 50 petroglyphs in Dinosaur Valley – famed for its Cretaceous period dinosaur footprints. The human markings, dating back 3,000-9,000 years, show that prehistoric people were aware of the fossilised tracks and that they meant something to them.
6. ITALY: A very rare and ornate schola tomb was discovered in Pompeii, likely commemorating a high-ranking soldier who served in Spain under Roman emperor Augustus (27 BC-AD 14). An inscription shows it was dedicated to a man named Numerius Agrestinus Equitius Pulcher.
7. EGYPT: On the banks of the Nile near the thriving ancient frontier city of Aswan, Egyptologists discovered a huge tomb containing the remains of 46 men, women, and children dating from the second century BC, along with statuettes and painted mummy cases.
8. RUSSIA: Excavation of a burial mound in Siberia shows that Scythians – a horse-centred culture from 900-200 BC – occupied lands further east than previously believed. The find includes the remains of sacrificed horses and riders, and artefacts depicting animals.
9. AUSTRALIA: Researchers have concluded that a pair of seemingly unremarkable sticks unearthed in Cloggs Cave, were used more than 10,000 years ago to cast spells. How they were arranged on small hearths matches practices used today, making it the only known Ice Age ritual to have survived to the modern era.
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