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IMAGE: Dr Shewan and collaborators present new radiocarbon results for site use and also introduce geochronological data determining the likely quarry source for one of the largest megalithic sites. view more
Credit: Plain of Jars Archaeological Research Project
New research conducted at the UNESCO World Heritage listed Plain of Jars in Laos has established the stone jars were likely placed in their final resting position from as early as 1240 to 660 BCE.
Sediment samples from beneath stone jars from two of the more than 120 recorded megalithic sites were obtained by a team led Dr Louise Shewan from the University of Melbourne, Associate Professor Dougald O Reilly from the Australian National University (ANU) and Dr Thonglith Luangkoth from the Lao Department of Heritage.
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IMAGE: The upper layers of the Potočani mass burial shows numerous commingled skeletons. view more
Credit: .Jacqueline Balen, Archaeological Museum of Zagreb
In previous research, ancient massacre sites found men who died while pitted in battle or discovered executions of targeted families. At other sites, evidence showed killing of members of a migrant community in conflict with previously established communities, and even murders of those who were part of religious rituals.
But a more recent discovery by a research team that includes two University of Wyoming faculty members reveals the oldest documented site of an indiscriminate mass killing 6,200 years ago in what is now Potocani, Croatia.
Jeremy Woodhouse Digital Vision/Getty Images
Throughout the course of human history, great civilizations have been built, thrived, and declined. Many of these have been well documented by historians, and later civilizations have been able to track their rise and fall. But some seem to have suddenly disappeared. Some civilizations left clues as to what caused their demise, while the loss of others remains a mystery. Here are some of these puzzling lost civilizations.
The Maya
c. 800
Ygunza/FPG
At its height, the Maya empire extended throughout the Yucatán Peninsula, modern-day Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Mexico, making it one of the most dominant civilizations of its time. The Maya were quite advanced, demonstrating remarkable engineering skills and employing complex mathematics. The civilization appeared unable to sustain itself and experienced a dramatic decline about 900 CE. Archeologists now believe that the Maya were victims of ongoing war coupled with climate change t
The indignities and humiliations Black men even those perceived to have made it serve as a sort of Black tax that takes a heavy toll on physical and mental health. Now, a new UCLA-led study reveals these hidden costs of being Black in America.
Two Recent Neanderthal Books Feature âNeanderthal Thinkingâ From:
      Now that Neanderthal Thinking has become a popular meme, after President Biden criticized the governors of Texas and Mississippi for Neanderthal thinking in lifting all COVID-restrictions, two recent books by author Gini Graham Scott are especially relevant. They provide a glimpse into Neanderthal thinking and what modern humans think about this. One book is
The Return of the Neanderthals, about what might happen if they were brought back by DNA cloning, grow up as children, and become adults in modern society. The other is
Who Are the Neanderthals, Really?, which features a collection of illustrations and commentary about Neanderthals