Discovery of new stone tools could REWRITE what we know about early human history, now with the world`s oldest tools pushes homo genus date back to 3.3-million-years

World's oldest tools could rewrite early human history: 3.3-million-year-old stones predate Homo by 700,000 YEARS
--3.3 million-year-old tools were found in the badlands of north-west Kenya
--They are thought to have been made by our distant cousins to crack nuts
--Find pushes the known date of handheld tools back by 700,000 years
--It adds to growing belief that pre-humans exhibited ‘human-like’ behaviour

By SARAH GRIFFITHS FOR MAILONLINE
May 20, 2015

The use of stone tools by our ancient ancestors was, until now, thought to have originated with the Homo genus around 2.6 million years ago. But the discovery of a collection of implements in Kenya, which predate this by a staggering 700,000 years, could rewrite what we know about early human history.

Researchers believe the 3.3-million-year-old stones - including anvils, hammers and cores - were made by a undetermined hominin species which had a 'strong grip and good motor control'.


The use of stone tools by our ancient ancestors was, until now, thought to have originated with the Homo genus around 2.6 million years ago.But the discovery of a collection of implements (one pictured) in Kenya, which predate this by a staggering 700,000 years, could rewrite what we know about early human history. Img credit: MPK-WTAP

Stone-tool culture associated with Homo has been dated back to around 2.6 million years ago and this was based on evidence found in Ethiopia.

In particular, artefacts were found near the remains of one of the earliest Homo fossils, Homo habilis, also known as 'the handy man', and this culture is described as Oldowan.

WHO MADE THE ANCIENT TOOLS?
While the researchers said they can't currently be sure who made the tools, an earlier find of a skull suggests it may have been Kenyanthropus platytops - a hominin living 3.3 million years ago.

This is because the skull was found in 1999 less than a mile (1km) from the tool site.
The precise family tree of modern humans is contentious, and so far, no one knows exactly how K. platyops relates to other hominin species, although Kenyanthropus predates the earliest known Homo species by a half a million years.

This species could have made the tools, or the toolmaker could have been some other species from the same era, such as Australopithecus afarensis, or an as-yet undiscovered early type of Homo, the researchers say.

The new tools, unearthed from the Lomekwi 3 site next to Lake Turkana in Kenya, predate these Oldowan tools by around 700,000 years, according to lead researcher Sonia Harmand from Stony Brook University in New York.


Professor Harmand and colleagues from Hebrew University in Jerusalem said the collection, which additionally includes worked cobbles, is more primitive than that found in Ethiopia but would have been made by a group with the 'cognitive capabilities of early relatives of humans.' Img credit: Nature

[...]

The finds add to a growing belief that pre-human forms exhibited ‘human’ behaviour and seem to challenge the notion that our most direct ancestors were the first to bang two rocks together to create a new 'technology'.

The tools are the first piece of evidence that an even earlier group of proto-humans may have had the thinking abilities needed to figure out how to make sharp-edged tools and mark ‘a new beginning to the known archaeological record’ according to the study, published in the Nature journal.

‘The whole site’s surprising, it just rewrites the book on a lot of things that we thought were true,’ said Chris Lepre of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Rutgers University, a co-author of the paper who precisely dated the artefacts.

Professor Sonia Harmand and her colleagues from Hebrew University in Jerusalem said the collection includes anvils, hammer stones, worked cobbles and cores (two example cores are pictured with a flake)


Stone-tool culture associated with Homo dates back around 2.6 million years. This stems from artefacts found near the remains of one of the earliest Homo fossils, Homo habilis, also known as 'the handy man', in Ethiopia. This culture is described as Oldowan and a traditional Oldowan 'chopper' is pictured. Img credit: Wikimedia Commons/Locutus Borg

[...]

WHY IS THE FIND IMPORTANT?
The find of more than 100 tools adds to a growing belief that pre-human forms exhibited ‘human’ behaviour and seem to challenge the notion that out most direct ancestors were the first to bang two rocks together to create a new technology.

They were crafted long before modern humans, probably by some sort of human ancestor and push the known date of handheld tools back by 700,000 years.

The tools are the first piece of evidence that an even earlier group of proto-humans may have had the thinking abilities needed to figure out how to make sharp-edged tools and mark ‘a new beginning to the known archaeological record’ according to the study.

THE COMPLEX EVOLUTION OF MAN
55 million years ago - First primitive primates evolve
15 million years ago - Hominidae (great apes) evolve from the ancestors of the gibbon
8 million years ago - First gorillas evolve. Later, chimp and human lineages diverge
5.5 million years ago - Ardipithecus, early ‘proto-human’ shares traits with chimps and gorillas
4 million years ago - Australopithecines appeared. They had brains no larger than a chimpanzee's
2.8 million years ago - LD 350-1 appeared and may be the first of the Homo family
2.7 million years ago - Paranthropus, lived in woods and had massive jaws for chewing
2.3 million years ago - Homo habalis first thought to have appeared in Africa
1.8 million years ago - Homo ergaster begins to appear in fossil record
1.6 million years ago - Hand axes become the first major technological innovation
800,000 years ago - Early humans control fire and create hearths. Brain size increases rapidly
400,000 years ago - Neanderthals first begin to appear and spread across Europe and Asia
200,000 years ago - Homo sapiens - modern humans - appear in Africa
40,000 years ago - Modern humans reach Europe

...

(read full article here)

Experts claim to find preserved skin tissue on a 2 MILLION-year-old fossil - that would be the oldest in the world folks

Have scientists unearthed the world's oldest human SKIN? Preserved tissue found on a 2 MILLION-year-old fossil, expert claims
-South African anthropologists believe they have found preserved skin that belonged to an early human species known as Australopithecus sediba
-It could be the oldest soft tissue ever found for an early human species
-Scientists say they also discovered food particles in the teeth of the fossils
-The fossils were discovered in Malapa Nature Reserve near Johannesburg
By RICHARD GRAY FOR MAILONLINE
May 8, 2015

[Fossilized] skin belonging to a prehistoric human ancestor that lived two million years ago is thought to have been discovered among the remains of six skeletons.

Anthropologists believe they have found the preserved skin tissue of an early human species known as Australopithecus sediba in an ancient cave near Johannesburg, in South Africa. It could be the oldest example of human soft tissue to ever be found and is set to reveal new details about what this now extinct species of human was like.


Thin layers of 'organic' material thought to be skin was found attacked to the cement like rock from which this skull Australopithecus sediba was removed by anthropologists at the Malapa site in South Africa (credit AFP/Getty)

Scientists who have been leading the excavation, which began with the discovery of the remains of a 4ft 2 inch tall male juvenile in 2008, believe they have also found the remains of the ancient humans' last meals still preserved in their teeth. They say seeds and other food particles that became stuck in the creatures' teeth have been preserved.

Professor Lee Berger, an anthropologist at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, who has been leading the excavation, said: 'We found out this wasn't just a normal type of rock that they were contained in - it was a rock that was preserving organic material.

'Plant remains are captured in it - seeds, things like that - even food particulates that are captured in the teeth, so we can see what they were eating. 'Maybe more remarkably, we think we've found fossil skin here too.'

Professor Berger, who made his comments in an interview with the Naked Scientists, discovered the first remains of Australopithecus sediba in 2008 after his son Matthew stumbled upon a [sic] fossilised bone in the Malapa Nature Reserve near Johannesburg.

They later excavated an almost complete skull, together with shoulder bones, a hand, wrist bones and ankle bones. Professor Berger announced the discovery to the world in 2010.
He described the early human as a new species that he called Australopithecus sediba and is thought to be a transitional species between earlier Australopithecus species and early Homo species...

[...]

AUSTRALOPITHECUS SEDIBA - A PIGEON-TOED CLIMBER
Research on the fossils of Australopithecus sediba have given an unprecidented insight into what these early human ancestors were like.

The fossils, which were studied by scientists across the world, show a mixture of primitive features and of more advanced features typical of later human species.

It has a narrow upper rib cage while the modern human's thorax is uniformly cylindrical. The cone-shaped rib cage allowed the early hominin to move its shoulder blades so it could climb trees. However, this prevented A. sediba from swinging its arms, meaning that walking and running was much more difficult. It had a slim waist similar to modern humans but feet which turned sharply inwards.

A. sediba had the same number of lumbar vertebrae as a modern man and a similar curvature of the lower back. However, its back was longer and more flexible than that of modern humans.
They had longer arms than we do with curved fingers, which would have made them adept at climbing.


Australopithecus sediba is thought to have lived in South Africa around 1.9 million to 2 million years ago at around the same time as other early humans were evolving across the African continent (Credit: Leo Delauncey/MailOnline)

The researchers also hope to find out whether, if it is soft tissue, it had been dried or soaked in water as it was preserved in the rock.

The remains of plants and insects have also been found preserved in the cement-like breccia alongside the skeletons.

It is thought that sediment in the bottom of a pool of water may have helped to protect the organic material from bacteria that would have caused them to rot and break down.
Professor Berger and his team are now trying to create a live laboratory on top of the site so they can continue working on the fossils while they are still in the ground without damaging them.

The laboratory will also have a platform that will allow members of the public to look down into the site where the remains are being excavated...

[click here to continue reading the article]

New study suggests the ancient Egyptians cared for domesticated cats as long ago as 5700 years ago

By SARAH GRIFFITHS
DAILYMAIL
March 6, 2014

     In brief:
     --Researchers from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences said a cat skeleton     
     indicates humans cared for cats in 3,700BC
     --It's long been thought cats were first domesticated by the Egyptians, but a recent study 
     found Chinese farmers also kept them as pets in 3,300BC
     --DNA studies suggest most domestic cats today are descendants of the near eastern 
     wildcat, which still lives in northern Africa and the Middle East
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dogs may be known as man’s best friend, but cats have also been enjoying the company of humans for longer than previously thought.

The skeleton of a cat believed to have been cared for by humans indicates that the ancient Egyptians kept felines as pets in 3,700BC. It has long been thought cats were first domesticated by the Egyptians, but a recent study found that Chinese farmers also kept them as pets as long ago as 3,300BC.

The skeleton of a cat believed to have been cared for by humans indicates that the ancient Egyptians kept felines as pets in 3,700BC. DNA studies suggest that most of the 600million domestic cats today are descendants of the near eastern wildcat (pictured), which still lives in northern Africa and the Middle East

Until recently, it was thought that cats were first domesticated in ancient Egypt in around 1,950BC, but this new research sheds new light on humans’ relationship with cats. ‘It is clear that there was a close relationship with humans that predate the oldest accepted evidence for domestic cat in Egypt by almost two millennia,’ said Wim Van Neer of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, who led the study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

The discovery at the crux of their study was a group burial at the cemetery of Hierakonpolis, which was once a large city predating the pyramids, Pacific Standard reported. Skeletons dating from 3,700BC included a small jungle cat, with a healed bone fracture, indicating it had ‘been tended to for several weeks prior to its sacrifice,’ according to the archaeologists.

They believe the find proves that the cat was domestic – at least for the latter part of its life and measurements of the bones strengthen their case. The same cemetery also yielded another six cats, which were apparently killed as part of a religious ritual. The cats came from three or four different litters.

‘If all these animals are supposed to be taken from the wild, four different captures must be accepted. It seems unlikely that sufficient opportunities for successful capture would have occurred in a short period of time prior to the sacrifice. For that reason, it seems that at least some of the cats may have been kept in captivity prior to the burial,’ they wrote.

While there is a chance that the cats were wild but lived nearby the human settlement, the researchers believe that felines still had a close connection with humans over five millennia ago.

It was announced in December that the bodies of cats found at a dig at a village in Shaanxi province in central China dated back 5,300 years – re-writing cats and humans’ joint history.
Dr Fiona Marshall, of Washington University in St Louis said analysis including radiocarbon dating of bones suggested the cats preyed on rodents that lived on farmed millet.

These cat mummies date from the first century AD and are 

associated with the goddess Bastet

The team analysed eight bones from at least two cats excavated from the site. One of the cats had old bones - suggesting it had survived well into old age in the village. Another was shown to have eaten fewer animals and more millet than expected, suggesting it had been fed by the villagers. Dr Marshall, who studied the site with scientists from Chinese universities, suggested that the cats were domesticated to control the villagers’ rat problem.

Our data suggests that cats were attracted to ancient farming villages by small animals, such as rodents that were living on the grain that the farmers grew, ate and stored,' she said. ‘Results of this study show that the village of Quanhucun was a source of food for the cats 5,300 years ago, and the relationship between humans and cats was commensal, or advantageous for the cats.

‘Even if these cats were not yet domesticated, our evidence confirms that they lived in close proximity to farmers, and that the relationship had mutual benefits.’ DNA studies suggest that most of the estimated 600million domestic cats around the world today are descendants of the near eastern wildcat, which still lives in northern Africa and the Middle East.

Is the identity of the famed Mona Lisa finally near?

Are we closer to finding the real Mona Lisa? DNA testing on bones in a Florence convent could reveal Leonardo da Vinci's lost model
--The bones are thought to belong to Italian noblewoman, Lisa Gherardini
--Gherardini believed to have posed for the painting between 1503 and 1506
--Notes by an official confirm da Vinci was working on her portrait at the time
--If a DNA match is made, scientists will make a 3D reconstruction of Gherardini's face using details from the skull and painting

By ELLIE ZOLFAGHARIFARD
DailyMail
February 18, 2014

Italian art detectives are a step closer to identifying the lady behind Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile.

DNA tests are underway on bones that may belong to a Florentine noblewoman, named Lisa Gherardini, who is widely believed to be the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s painting.
Historian Silvano Vinceti has taken samples from a skeleton in Sant’Orsola convent near Florence and is comparing them to DNA from the bones of some of Gherardini's confirmed relatives.

Italian archaeologist Silvano Vincenti (left) sits alongside another archaeologist working on the excavation of a grave inside the medieval Convent Sant'Orsola

If a DNA match is made, Professor Vinceti will make a 3D reconstruction of Gherardini's face from the skull, as well as details in da Vinci’s Mona Lisa painting.

‘If we don’t find her, art historians can continue to speculate about who the model really was,’ Professor Vinceti told the Wall Street Journal. The results from the analysis should be ready by May or June, he said. The Florentine family tomb was opened up in August last year for the first time in centuries in a bid to identify the model in da Vinci's painting.


Image left: Silvano Vinceti is conducting DNA test on a skeleton found in the Sant'Orsola convent near Florence

Lisa Gherardini is thought to have posed for the painting between 1503 and 1506.


Some have argued the painting is a self-portrait of the artist, or one of his favourite male lovers in disguise, the evidence they say is the fact Da Vinci kept it with him until his death in Amboise, France in 1519.

The most curious theories have been provided by medical experts turned Renaissance art sleuths.

One theory was that the Mona Lisa's mouth is clamped firmly shut because she was undergoing mercury treatment for syphilis which turned her teeth black.

An American dentist has claimed that the tight-lipped expression was typical of people who have lost their front teeth, while a Danish doctor was convinced she suffered from congenital palsy which affected the left side of her face and this is why her hands are overly large.
‘With the medical techniques that are available today we could rebuild her physique and recreate the famous pose,’ said Leonardo Da Vinci expert Professor Carlo Pedretti.

Precious Islamic archaeological relics being dismantled & demolished in Saudi Arabia

The photos Saudi Arabia doesn't want seen – and proof Islam's most holy relics are being demolished in Mecca
Archaeologists fear billion-pound development has led to destruction of key historical sites
by JEROME TAYLOR
THE INDEPENDENT
March 15, 2013

The authorities in Saudi Arabia have begun dismantling some of the oldest sections of Islam’s most important mosque as part of a highly controversial multi-billion pound expansion.

Photographs obtained by The Independent reveal how workers with drills and mechanical diggers have started demolishing some Ottoman and Abbasid sections on the eastern side of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.

The building, which is also known as the Grand Mosque, is the holiest site in Islam because it contains the Kaaba – the point to which all Muslims face when praying. The columns are the last remaining sections of the mosque which date back more than a few hundred years and form the inner perimeter on the outskirts of the white marble floor surrounding the Kaaba.

The new photos, taken over the last few weeks, have caused alarm among archaeologists and come as Prince Charles – a long-term supporter of preserving architectural heritage – flew into Saudi Arabia yesterday for a visit with the Duchess of Cornwall. The timing of his tour has been criticised by human rights campaigners after the Saudis shot seven men in public earlier this week despite major concerns about their trial and the fact that some of the men were juveniles at the time of their alleged crimes.

Many of the Ottoman and Abbasid columns in Mecca were inscribed with intricate Arabic calligraphy marking the names of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions and key moments in his life. One column which is believed to have been ripped down is supposed to mark the spot where Muslims believe Muhammad began his heavenly journey on a winged horse, which took him to Jerusalem and heaven in a single night.

To accommodate the ever increasing number of pilgrims heading to the twin holy cities of Mecca and Medina each year the Saudi authorities have embarked upon a massive expansion project. Billions of pounds have been poured in to increase the capacity of the Masjid al-Haram and the Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina which marks where Muhammad is buried. King Abdullah has put the prominent Wahabi cleric and imam of the Grand Mosque, Abdul Rahman al-Sudais, in charge of the expansion while the Saudi Binladin Group – one of the country’s largest firms – has won the construction contract.

While there is little disagreement over the need to expand, critics have accused the Saudi regime of wantonly disregarding the archaeological, historical and cultural heritage of Islam’s two holiest cities. In the last decade Mecca has been transformed from a dusty desert pilgrimage town into a gleaming metropolis of skyscrapers that tower over the Masjid al-Haram and are filled with a myriad of shopping malls, luxury apartments and five star hotels.

But such a transformation has come at a cost. The Washington-based Gulf Institute estimates that 95 per cent of Mecca's millennium-old buildings have been demolished in the past two decades alone. Dozens of key historical sites dating back to the birth of Islam have already been lost and there is a scramble among archaeologists and academics to try and encourage the authorities to preserve what little remains.

Many senior Wahabis are vehemently against the preservation of historical Islamic sites that are linked to the prophet because they believe it encourages shirq – the sin of idol worshipping.

But Dr Irfan al-Alawi, executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation which obtained the new photographs from inside the Grand Mosque, says the removal of the Ottoman and Abbasid columns will leave future generations of Muslims ignorant of their significance.

“It matters because many of these columns signified certain areas of the mosque where the Prophet sat and prayed,” he said. “The historical record is being deleted. A new Muslim would never have a clue because there’s nothing marking these locations now. There are ways you could expand Mecca and Medina while protecting the historical heritage of the mosque itself and the surrounding sites.”

There are signs that King Abdullah has listened to concerns about the historical destruction of Mecca and Medina. Last October The Independent revealed how new plans for the masjid an-Nabawi in Medina would result in the destruction of three of the world’s oldest mosques on the west hand side of the main complex. However new plans approved by King Abdullah last week appear to show a change of heart with the bulk of the expansion now slated to take place to the north of the Masjid an-Nabawi.

However key sites are still at risk. The Independent has obtained a presentation used by the Saudis to illustrate how the expansion of Mecca’s main mosque will look. In one of the slides it is clear that the Bayt al-Mawlid, an area which is believed to be the house where Muhammad was born in, will have to be removed unless plans change.

The Independent asked the Saudi Embassy in London a number of questions about the expansion plans and why more was not being done to preserve key historical sites. They replied: “Thank you for calling, but no comment.”

An Ancient Egyptian archaeological marvel: 2400 yr old mummy embalming instrument discovered still INSIDE mummy skull

Tool used by ancient Egyptians to remove BRAINS discovered in the skull of a 2,400 year old mummy- after it was LEFT INSIDE by bumbling embalmer

• Scientists were baffled by discovery of object in mummy's brain
• It turned out to be a brain removal tool made out of a bamboo-type plant
• Researchers say this is only the second time a tool of this kind has been found in a mummy's skull

By HARRIET COOKE
DAILYMAIL
December 16, 2012

A brain-removal tool used by ancient Egyptian embalmers was found wedged in the skull of a female mummy after embalmers left it there thousands of years ago. The three-inch object was located in the body of a 40-year-old woman dating back 2,400 years, initially causing bafflement among researchers over what it was. After carrying out CT scans, scientists found the instrument between the left parietal bone and the back of the skull, which had been filled with resin during the mummification.


Analysed: The mummy had a brain removal tool lodged in its skull

Keen to examine the tool, the team used an endoscope - a thin tube often used for noninvasive medical procedures - to detach it from the resin to which it was stuck.

Discovery: Scientists found a bamboo brain
removal tool lodged in skull of the mummy

Embalmers would have inserted it through a hole punched in the skull near to the nose, and used it to liquify and remove the brain.

In an interview with the website LiveScience, Dr Mislav Čavka, of the University Hospital Dubrava in Zagreb Croatia, explained the tool was cut using a clamp through the endoscope.
'Some parts (of the brain) would be wrapped around this stick and pulled out, and the other parts would be liquefied,' Dr Čavka said.

The mummy could then be turned onto its front and the liquid drained through the nose hole.

'It is an error that [the] embalmers left this stick in the skull,' she said.

The mistake made thousands of years ago has helped researchers to understand the ancient embalming process.

The tool was made from plants in the group Monocotyledon, which includes forms of palm and bamboo, which may have been used instead of metal because it was cheaper.

The only other brain-removal stick found inside a mummy's skull dates back 2,200 years and was made from a similar type of material.The details emerged in a report recently published by Dr Mislav Čavka's team in the journal RSNA RadioGraphics.

The mummy is currently in the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb Croatia. It was brought to Croatia in the 19th century without a coffin and it is not known where the woman was from or how she died. It is known that mummification was widely practiced throughout ancient Egyptian civilization, but it was a time-consuming and costly practice.

'Thus, not every­one could afford to perform the same mummifi­cation procedure," the researchers wrote in the article.


Brittle: The tool was in a fragile condition after experts removed it with an endoscope

Will the face behind the `Mona Lisa` finally be revealed now?

Are we about to find out who was behind the Mona Lisa smile? Skeleton found in Florence believed to be da Vinci's model

• History experts may have found bones of Da Vinci's model Lisa Gherardini at a former convent
• DNA tests will be used to identify the former nun, who was buried at the dig site
• Discovery is a step closer to discovering what is behind the famous smile of the famous painting

By SAM WEBB
DAILYMAIL
December 12, 2012

It remains one of the great mysteries of the art world - what is the secret behind the mysterious smile boasted by the woman in the Mona Lisa, the world's most famous painting?
Now a group of Italian art historians and archaeologists believe they are about to unravel the enigma after discovering what may be the skeleton of the woman who posed for artist Leonardo da Vinci.

Lisa Gherardini, the second wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo, is recorded as buried in Saint Ursula convent and, after several false alarms, the team believe they have her remains.


Ancient find: Archeologists have found a skeleton they believe belonged to the model who inspired Da Vinci's Mona Lisa


The convent was the burial site of Lisa Gherardini, wife of the wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo, who modelled for Leonardo Da Vinci

Silvano Vinceti, a former TV producer, is leading the team attempting to exhume and identify Gherardini's remains by sending the bones to universities in Italy and abroad, where they will be checked against the DNA of two confirmed relatives of Gherardini.

If it is confirmed the researchers will be able to reconstruct her face.

Speaking to CNN, he said: 'Once we identify the remains we can reconstruct the face, with a margin of error of two to eight per cent. By doing this, we will finally be able to answer the question the art historians can't: Who was the model for Leonardo?'

There has been centuries of debate over the 77 by 52cm (30 by 31 inches) picture, also know as 'La Gioconda'. Most modern historians agree that the lady depicted in the Mona Lisa was Lisa del Giocondo, who became a nun after her husband's death. She died in the convent on July 15, 1542, aged 63. However, Vinceti is not certain whether the painting that now hangs in the Louvre in Paris is of her. He added: 'When Leonardo began painting the model in front of him, he did not draw that metaphysical, ironic, poignant, elusive smile, but rather he painted a person who was dark and depressed.'

He believes the famous smile was added later and may belong to da Vinci's longtime assistant Gian Giacomo Caprotti, also rumoured to have been his lover.


The team unearthed a skull and other bones last year that they believe belonged to Lisa Gherardini

Other art historians say the 'Mona Lisa' is actually a sneaky self-portrait. An archeological team began digging at the abandoned Convent of Saint Ursula last year.
They first had to dig through thick concrete, laid down ahead of plans to turn the convent into an army barracks.

But they quickly struck gold, finding a crypt they believe to have been Lisa's final resting place and soon after they unearthed a female-sized human skull. The skull was found five feet under the convent's original floor along with other fragments of human ribs and vertebrae.
Plans to continue the dig were suspended when the team ran out of funds, but they were able to resume earlier this year and found the skeleton.

Archeologist Silvano Vinceti, who is in charge of the dig, explained: 'We don't know yet if the bones belong to one single skeleton or more than one. 'But this confirms our hypothesis that in St.Ursula convent there are still human bones and we cannot exclude that among them there are bones belonging to Lisa Gherardini.' Several skeletons have been discovered but the group believe the latest find is the one they have been looking for.

The initial discovery - made using ground penetrating radar and ancient maps and documents - came after a foot of modern concrete was removed and unearthed a layer of ancient, 90-centimetre wide bricks. Professor Vinceti said of the first discovery: 'This is a very exciting development and the find is consistent with our records and our preliminary research.
'The crypt we have found is the one that was mentioned in church records from 1495 and was reached via a grate and then a staircase.

'We also know from those records that in 1625 there was a second crypt and these are the ones we have found.'


Resting place: The courtyard of the Saint Ursula convent in Florence, where archaeologists have been digging

Present on the dig is Natalia Gucciardini Strozzi, who is related to Lisa Gherardini and who is also a close friend of Prince Charles and former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Speaking after the skull was discovered, she said: 'It was so emotional being here - I didn't think I would get so emotional. I am certain that this is the final resting place of Lisa Gherardini.'
It is not the first time that Professor Vinceti has used such techniques in his work. Last year similar methods were used to locate and identify the remains of Caravaggio, another Renaissance master.

In a Dan Brown-style mystery, Professor Vincenti also claimed that a hidden message could be seen in the eyes of the Mona Lisa after examining them with a high powered magnifying glass.
The Mona Lisa is an oil on panel painting owned by the French government and the image is so widely recognised and caricatured that it is considered the most famous painting in the world.

Da Vinci started to paint it in 1503 or 1504 and finished it in 1519, shortly before his death, and after he had moved to France.

Has the Mona Lisa`s skeleton been discovered?

has the remains of the woman portrayed as the Mona Lisa finally been found?

Discovery of bones in Florence convent believed to be those of silk merchant's wife who inspired Da Vinci

• Find comes a year after skull was unearthed at the same site
• Team believe bones belonged to Da Vinci's model Lisa Gherardini

By DAILY MAIL
July 17, 2012

Archaeologists are convinced they've unearthed the secret behind the world's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa.

Buried beneath the floor of a convent in Florence, Italy they've found a skeleton they believe belonged to Lisa Gherardini, the model who posed for Leonardo's da Vinci's mysterious masterpiece.

Ancient find: Archeologists have found a skeleton they believe belonged to the model who inspired Da Vinci's Mona Lisa

An archaeologist digs away at the floor of the medieval Convent of Saint Ursula in Florence, where the skeleton was discovered

The convent was the burial site of Lisa Gherardini, wife of the wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo, who modelled for Leonardo Da Vinci

Lisa Gheradini, was the wife of a rich silk merchant named Francesco del Giocondo. In Italy the Mona Lisa is known as La Gioconda.

Most modern historians agree that the lady depicted in the Mona Lisa was Lisa del Giocondo, who became a nun after her husband's death. She died in the convent on July 15, 1542, aged 63.

An archeological team began digging at the abandoned Convent of Saint Ursula last year.
They first had to dig through thick concrete, laid down ahead of plans to turn the convent into an army barracks.

But they quickly struck gold, finding a crypt they believe to have been Lisa's final resting place and soon after they unearthed a female-sized human skull.

The skull was found five feet under the convent's original floor along with other fragments of human ribs and vertebrae.

Plans to continue the dig were suspended when the team ran out of funds, but they were able to resume last month.

And this week, they found a human skeleton.

The team unearthed a skull and other bones last year that they believe belonged to Lisa Gherardini

The skull was found five feet under the convent's original floor along with other fragments of human ribs and vertebrae

The bones will undergo tests to establish if they match the skull found last year.
Scientists will then compare the DNA in the bones with the remains of the model's two children who were buried nearby in an attempt to authenticate the skeleton.

Muse: The enigmatic Mona Lisa has intrigued millions

Once they have verified the skeleton and skull belong to the model forensic artists will attempt to reconstruct her face to see how it compares to the 500-year-old version painted by da Vinci - and perhaps solve the riddle of the Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile in the process.

Archeologist Silvano Vinceti, who is in charge of the dig, explained: 'We don't know yet if the bones belong to one single skeleton or more than one.

'But this confirms our hypothesis that in St.Ursula convent there are still human bones and we cannot exclude that among them there are bones belonging to Lisa Gherardini.'

The initial discovery - made using ground penetrating radar and ancient maps and documents - came after a foot of modern concrete was removed and unearthed a layer of ancient, 90-centimeter wide bricks.

Professor Vinceti said of the first discovery: 'This is a very exciting development and the find is consistent with our records and our preliminary research.

'The crypt we have found is the one that was mentioned in church records from 1495 and was reached via a grate and then a staircase.

'We also know from those records that in 1625 there was a second crypt and these are the ones we have found.'

Resting place: The courtyard of the Saint Ursula convent in Florence, where archaeologists have been digging

Present on the dig is Natalia Gucciardini Strozzi, who is related to Lisa Gherardini and who is also a close friend of Prince Charles and former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Speaking after the skull was discovered, she said: 'It was so emotional being here - I didn't think I would get so emotional. I am certain that this is the final resting place of Lisa Gherardini.
It is not the first time that Professor Vinceti has used such techniques in his work - last year similar methods were used to locate and identify the remains of Caravaggio, another Renaissance master.

Last year in a Dan Brown-style mystery professor Vincenti also claimed that a hidden message could be seen in the eyes of the Mona Lisa after examining them with a high powered magnifying glass.

The Mona Lisa is an oil on panel painting owned by the French government and the image is so widely recognised and caricatured that it is considered the most famous painting in the world.

Da Vinci started to paint it in 1503 or 1504 and finished it in 1519, shortly before his death, and after he had moved to France.

Age-old question: As to how the mysterious Easter Island heads were moved?

Rock 'n' Roll: Does this cunning technique help explain how the mysterious Easter Island heads 'walked' to their resting places?
By EDDIE WRENN
DAILY MAIL
June 20, 2012

Easter Island - the land where giant stone heads gaze distantly at the sea - is both a fascinating conundrum and a wonderful microcosm of a society which moved to a new land, accidentally destroyed the ecosystem, and then eventually destroyed themselves.

Legend and tells us that the ancient monuments, which range in height from four to 33 feet, were dragged into place from a distant quarry by Polynesian settlers, who sailed a thousand miles across the Pacific in canoes around AD800, before almost instantly embarking on their campaign of building the mysterious monuments.

But one thing has always led to debate: how exactly did the tribe move the 'moai' - some of which weigh more than 80 tons - to their final destinations without the benefit of modern technology.


Just taking my head for a walk: Three teams, one on each side and one in the back, manage to maneuver an Easter Island statue replica down a road in Hawaii


The 10-foot, 5-ton replica of an Easter Island 'moai' dances down the road, guided by teams on each side and behind it

The descendents of the Polynesians are adamant the stones walked to their resting places. But a new study, presented by National Geographic, suggests the Polynesians had some help from a little rock 'n' roll...

Researchers have tended to assume the ancestors dragged the statues somehow, using a lot of ropes and wood.

But islanders maintain something very different: One, Suri Tuki, says: 'The experts can say whatever they want. But we know the truth. The statues walked.'
Perhaps the islander's viewpoint is right - as it arguably matches with the 'vertical walking' method.

The clue is in each statue's fat belly - which produces a forward-falling center of gravity that helps with vertical transport.

And, with just a few ropes, a team of 18 people could rock the statue back and forth, each time inching the statue on just a little bit more.

[...]


The originals: The ancient carved heads on the island of the South Pacific - which give rise to so many theories on their construction

[...]

(click here to read the full article)

• These images, and elements of the article, are from the July edition of National Geographic magazine

Read more:
Easter Island - Pictures, More From National Geographic Magazine



Published on Jun 21, 2012 by NationalGeographic
http://youtu.be/YpNuh-J5IgE


Researchers Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo test a new theory that suggests how ancient Easter Islanders may have used ropes to "walk" the moai to their platforms.

Archaeologists discover 'vampire' skeletons in Bulgaria

Are you sure digging him up is a good idea? Archaeologists find Bulgarian 'vampires' from Middle Ages with iron rods staked through their chests

By DANIEL MILLER
DAILY MAIL
June 5, 2012

If you thought vampires were simply the stuff of myth and legend - and perhaps the odd teen horror film - think again.

Archaeologists in Bulgaria have unearthed two skeletons from the Middle Ages pierced through the chest with iron rods to keep them from turning into the undead.

They are the latest in a succession of finds across western and central Europe which shed new light on just how seriously people took the threat of vampires and how those beliefs transformed into the modern myth.

Find: Two skeletons, believed to be those of suspected Medieval vampires, were discovered with iron poles plunged through their chests in the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Sozopol. Image credit: AFP/Getty images

The two skeletons, believed to be around 800 years old, were discovered during an archaeological dig near a monastery in the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Sozopol.

Bulgaria's national history museum chief Bozhidar Dimitrov said: 'These two skeletons stabbed with rods illustrate a practice which was common in some Bulgarian villages up until the first decade of the 20th century.'

According to pagan beliefs, people who were considered bad during their lifetimes might turn into vampires after death unless stabbed in the chest with an iron or wooden rod before being buried.

People believed the rod would also pin them down in their graves to prevent them from leaving at midnight and terrorising the living, the historian explained.

A close up of one of the 'vampire' skeletons discovered with a 
metal bar through its chest 

According to Mr Dimitrov over 100 buried people whose corpses were stabbed to prevent them from becoming vampires have been discovered across Bulgaria over the years.

He added: 'I do not know why an ordinary discovery like that became so popular. Perhaps because of the mysteriousness of the word "vampire".

'These people were believed to be evil while they were alive, and it was believed that they would become vampires once they are dead, continuing to torment people.'

According to Dimitrov, 'vampires' were often aristocrats and clerics.

He added: 'The curious thing is that there are no women among them. They were not afraid of witches.'

Image credit: PressTV

However last month Italian researchers discovered what they believed to be the remains of a female 'vampire' in Venice - buried with a brick jammed between her jaws to prevent her feeding on victims of a plague which swept the city in the 16th century.

Matteo Borrini, an anthropologist from the University of Florence, said the discovery on the small island of Lazzaretto Nuovo in the Venice lagoon supported the medieval belief that vampires were behind the spread of plagues like the Black Death.

Find: The two skeletons were discovered during a dig outside a monastery in the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Sozopol

The skeleton was unearthed in a mass grave from the Venetian plague of 1576 - in which the artist Titian died - on Lazzaretto Nuovo, which lies around two miles northeast of Venice and was used as a sanitorium for plague sufferers.

Borrini said: 'This is the first time that archaeology has succeeded in reconstructing the ritual of exorcism of a vampire.

'This helps ... authenticate how the myth of vampires was born.'

The succession of plagues which ravaged Europe between 1300 and 1700 fostered the belief in vampires, mainly because the decomposition of corpses was not well understood, Borrini said.

Gravediggers reopening mass graves would sometimes come across bodies bloated by gas, with hair still growing, and blood seeping from their mouths and believe them to be still alive.
The shrouds used to cover the faces of the dead were often decayed by bacteria in the mouth, revealing the corpse's teeth, and vampires became known as 'shroud-eaters.'


According to medieval medical and religious texts, the 'undead' were believed to spread pestilence in order to suck the remaining life from corpses until they acquired the strength to return to the streets again.

The remains of a female 'vampire' from 16th-century Venice, buried with a brick in her mouth to prevent her feasting on plague victims. Credit: Reuters

'To kill the vampire you had to remove the shroud from its mouth, which was its food like the milk of a child, and put something uneatable in there,' said Borrini.

'It's possible that other corpses have been found with bricks in their mouths, but this is the first time the ritual has been recognised.'

While legends about blood-drinking ghouls date back thousands of years, the modern figure of the vampire was encapsulated in the Irish author Bram Stoker's 1897 novel 'Dracula,' based on 18th century eastern European folktales.

Watch the video: Scientists unearth 'vampires' in Bulgaria : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2154837/Vampire-skeletons-unearthed-Bulgaria-iron-stakes-plunged-chests.html