Nazca Lines (bird)
1. Million-Mummy Cemetery unearthed in Egypt
Archaeologists found the remains of a child, laid to rest more than 1,500 years ago in Roman controlled Egypt, in an ancient cemetery that contains more than one million mummies. Read more at Live Science.
2. Drought and Ancient Maya Practices Spelled Collapse of Tikal, Says Study
Some researchers believe the reason the great ancient Maya city of Tikal collapsed during the 9th Century CE was likely due to a combination of persistent drought and ancient Maya practices designed to create a sustainable system for supporting its massive population. Read more at Popular Archaeology.
3. Dental Plaque Reveals Key Plant in Prehistoric Easter Island Diet
A PhD student from University of Otago, New Zealand — analyzing dental plaque from ancient teeth — is helping resolve the question of what plant foods Easter Islanders relied on before European contact. The teeth were from burials excavated in the early 1980s from multiple coastal archaeological sites around the island. Read more at Phys.org.
4. On This Day: December 25
On Christmas Day in 1837, the Africans and Native Americans who formed Florida’s Seminole Nation defeated a vastly superior U.S. invading army bent on cracking this early rainbow coalition and returning the Africans to slavery. Read more at Zinn Education Project.
5. Glass Beads Link King Tutankhamun and Bronze Age Nordic Women
Tutankhamun’s death mask contains the same blue glass that was found recently in Danish graves. Read more at Ancient Origins.
6. Ten Amazing and Mysterious Geoglyphs from the Ancient World
The most well known geoglyphs in the world are undoubtedly the Nazca Lines of coastal Peru. Yet, scattered across the globe are thousands of other geoglyphs that are equally as impressive. Learn more about the ten amazing earth cravings at Ancient Origins.
7. Enigmatic Symbols and Carvings in Man-Made Cave in England Confound Experts
The Royston Cave, an artificial cave, was discovered in August 1742 in Hertfordshire, England. It is still a mystery why this cave was created and who created it. Read more at Ancient Origins.