#archaeology

[chaotic-archaeologist]

Here's a link to the academic article (no paywall). It goes into a little more depth about how they determined the child had Down's Syndrome and other details.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE NEANDERTHAL CHILD WITH DOWN'S SYNDROME? Because they're all I've been thinking about when I'm sad for the past few days. Their existence makes me less sad.

[thesilicontribesman]

Loch Kinord Ancient Pictish Cross Slab, Loch Kinord, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

[ancientcharm]

A cloudy day in Pompeii (and a street paved more than two thousand years ago). Beautiful shot by archaeologist Silvia Vacca

Instagram : silvia_vacca_

[specialagentartemis]

There is such an attitude of “women aren’t scholars, they’re humble craftspeople with simple Feminine Wisdom which is better and more real than those out of touch ivory tower egghead men” that was so prevalent on tumblr for a long time. And sometimes still pops up. And as a woman who is also an archaeologist, is so frustrating.

I appreciate this additional context about the infamous leather burnisher I hadn't known much about before!

Something I find incredibly cool is that they’ve found neandertal bone tools made from polished rib bones, and they couldn’t figure out what they were for for the life of them. 

Until, of course, they showed it to a traditional leatherworker and she took one look at it and said “Oh yeah sure that’s a leather burnisher, you use it to close the pores of leather and work oil into the hide to make it waterproof. Mine looks just the same.” 

“Wait you’re still using the exact same fucking thing 50,000 years later???”

“Well, yeah. We’ve tried other things. Metal scratches up and damages the hide. Wood splinters and wears out. Bone lasts forever and gives the best polish. There are new, cheaper plastic ones, but they crack and break after a couple years. A bone polisher is nearly indestructible, and only gets better with age. The more you use a bone polisher the better it works.”

It’s just. 

50,000 years. 50,000. And over that huge arc of time, we’ve been quietly using the exact same thing, unchanged, because we simply haven’t found anything better to do the job. 

[egypt-ancient-and-modern]

The heart of Hunefer weighed against the feather of Ma’at.

[egypt-museum]

Discovery of the tomb of Thutmose II (Feb. 2025)

This week, archaeologists unveiled a momentous discovery—the long-lost tomb of Thutmose II, believed to be the final undiscovered royal burial site of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty. This marks the first tomb of a pharaoh uncovered since Howard Carter’s legendary discovery of Tutankhamun’s resting place in 1922.

The tomb, belonging to Thutmose II, the fourth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty and husband of the famed female ruler Hatshepsut, was unearthed by a British-Egyptian team led by Dr. Piers Litherland of Galashiels, Scotland.

The grandeur of the burial site was immediately evident, with a vast staircase and an imposing descending corridor signalling the tomb’s royal significance. “And part of the ceiling was still intact – a blue-painted ceiling with yellow stars on it. And blue-painted ceilings with yellow stars are only found in king’s tombs,“

- Dr Piers Litherland, an honorary research associate of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at Cambridge University and the field director of the exploration, told BBC's Newshour.

Accessing the burial chamber proved challenging. The team crawled through a narrow, 10-metre passageway, squeezing through an opening scarcely 40 square centimetres wide before reaching the inner chamber. Inside, they encountered a striking blue ceiling adorned with scenes from the Amduat, an ancient funerary text reserved exclusively for kings—confirmation that they had indeed entered the resting place of a pharaoh.

Definitive proof of Thutmose II’s burial came in the form of alabaster jar fragments inscribed with his name and that of Hatshepsut, marking the first objects ever linked to his interment. However, Dr. Litherland’s team theorizes that the tomb may have been flooded approximately six years after the burial, possibly prompting the relocation of its contents. The researchers believe they have identified a likely site for this secondary tomb, which may still contain untouched treasures.

Read more

[cat-appreciator]

Does anyone know where this Neolithic hedgehog is from?

[2seeitall]

Roman Agora Gate, Athens ♥

[mindblowingscience]

The tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh has been found for the first time since Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922. In what has been dubbed a "remarkable discovery", the tomb of Thutmose II, the last missing royal tomb of the 18th dynasty, was found in the Western Valleys of the Theban Necropolis in Egypt. The tomb was uncovered by a joint British-Egyptian mission, about 1.5 miles west of the Valley of the Kings in Luxor's western mountain region. Objects recovered from the mission included fragments of alabaster jars (used to store perfumes, oils, and ointments) inscribed with the name Pharaoh Thutmose II, as well as inscriptions bearing the name of his wife Queen Hatshepsut - who became one of Egypt's few female pharaohs who ruled in her own right.

Continue Reading.

[tlatollotl]

Cultura: Olmeca

Técnica: Moldeada

Provenience unknown, possibly looted

MNA

[world-of-mummies]

It has now been confirmed that the tomb found in 2022 is the tomb of Thutmose II

[thesilicontribesman]

Tealing Iron Age Earth House, nr. Dundee, Angus, Scotland

[siliconpoems]

One of the most interesting finds found at the Star Carr Mesolithic site is that of the completely intact digging stick. A complete tool for unearthing edible roots and tubers; they are still used in parts of the world today.

'Digging Stick' Poem by The Silicon Tribesman. All Rights Reserved, 2025. Repost only with credits.

Part of the forthcoming 'Star Carr: Selected Poems' chapbook release in April 2025.

[egypt-ancient-and-modern]

Goddess Ma’at wearing the feather of truth, tomb of Nefertari.