Month: January 2017

January 28, 2017

Ancient Maya Road Network Uncovered in Guatemala

LIDAR images have found an ancient network of reads that run over 150 miles in the Mirador Basin of Guatemala. The site of El Mirador (600 BCE-150 CE) was the largest city-state in the world in size and population at its height. One million lived there in its time. In some years, 200,000 people inhabited the site. The roads have been known since 1967, but the LIDAR images have found structures, terraces, pyramids, canals and 17 roads. The roads are 130 feet wide, 20 feet wide and some extend for 25 miles. The oldest is dated at 600-400 BCE, and the newest from 300 BCE-100 CE. The roads were used to transport food, materials, tribute armies. The Mirador complex collapsed in 150 CE.

Seeker.com has the report here
http://www.seeker.com/ancient-mayan-superhighways-found-in-the-guatemala-jungle-2219303581.html?sf53117998=1

Mike Ruggeri’s Maya World
http://bit.ly/MoAHNA

Mike Ruggeri’s Ancient Maya News on Tumblr
http://mikeruggerisacientmayanew.tumblr.com

Mike Ruggeri’s Ancient Maya News Magazine
http://bit.ly/1CeeXyu

January 24, 2016

New Research on the Maya Collapse

University of Arizona archaeologist Takeshi Inomata and his team, working at the Maya site of Ceibal in Guatemala (1000 BCE-950 CE), have found evidence of two collapses at the site. They have compared ceramics at the site with radio-carbon dates to form a precise history of the site. They found a collapse happened around 150-300 CE and a second collapse at 800-950 CE. They found that violent warfare intensified at 75 BCE-735 CE. These conflicts led to unrest and disintegration across the Maya lowlands during this time. After the first collapse, centralized power increased with strong dynasties based on divine rulership. The second collapse saw decentralization and more seaborne trade. The research will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Journal.
The report is published here;
https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/archaeologists-uncover-new-clues-maya-collapse

Mike Ruggeri’s Maya World
http://bit.ly/MoAHNA

Mike Ruggeri’s Ancient Maya News on Tumblr
http://mikeruggerisacientmayanew.tumblr.com

Mike Ruggeri’s Ancient Maya News Magazine
http://bit.ly/1CeeXyu

January 19, 2017

Human Occupation of Beringia at 24,000 Years Ago?

The bones of horses. bisons, mammoths and other remains at Blufish Cave in the Yukon Territory excavated decades ago placed the bones at 25,000 years old. Anthropologist Lauriane Bourgeon at the University of Montreal believes a few of these bones show clear evidence of human cut marks on the bones of a dozen of the remains. This human cut mark theory was first proposed in 1977. The area of the bones were part of a land mass called Beringia, east of the Bering Strait. This goes further to proving what is called the “Beringian Standstill.” The theory is that a genetically isolated human population lived in Beringia before the last Ice Age. And they moved into the Americas from there, once the ice in front of them receded. The team studied 36,000 bones in the caves using high tech equipment.
15 of the bone samples prove human butchery says the research. The oldest sample with this find was dated at 24,000 years ago. The research is published in PLOS One journal.
Bourgeon, L., Burke, A., & Higham, T. (2017). Earliest Human Presence in North America Dated to the Last Glacial Maximum: New Radiocarbon Dates from Bluefish Caves, Canada PLOS ONE, 12 (1) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169486

(My Note; Cut mark evidence in the absence of any other human evidence is not always reliable many archaeologists maintain. Lauriane Bourgeon does state that this is just a beginning theory that has to be buttressed by other evidence such as human DNA evidence. So much more research has to be done. And many questions remain in Pre-Clovis science. Did the inhabitants of Beringia enter the Americas before any other groups? Are they related to the Pre-Clovis folks that lived at Monte Verde in Chile or the Pre-Clovis folks who utilized Paisley Cave?)

Western Digs has the report here;
http://westerndigs.org/bones-in-yukon-cave-show-humans-in-north-america-24000-years-ago-study-says/

Mike Ruggeri’s Pre-Clovis World
http://preclovisworld.tumblr.com

Mike Ruggeri’s Pre-Clovis and Clovis World Magazine
http://bit.ly/1uAWdvk

Mike Ruggeri’s Pre-Clovis and Clovis News on Tumblr
http://mikeruggerispreclovisnews.tumblr.com