Key clues to the cause of Tutankhamun’s death may have been overlooked, an Egyptologist has controversially claimed.

While research over the last two decades found that the Egyptian King loved wine and potentially died following a chariot crash, a contentious new theory suggests that joining these pieces of evidence brings us closer to the truth.

Biomedical Egyptologist Sofia Aziz proposes that it was a wine-induced high-speed chariot crash that led to Tutankhamun’s infected open wound. That’s right, a drink-driving accident.

How sceptical should you be? Well, it is true that a major 2010 study concluded the pharaoh likely died from an open wound (combined with a weakened immune response due to malaria). However, the same research also suggested Tutankhamun had a clubbed foot that left him struggling to walk, let alone ride a chariot.

However, Aziz suggests that scientists have been wrong to profile the king as an invalid.

“He was like a typical teenager, drinking and probably driving the chariot too fast,” Aziz told BBC Science Focus during the Cheltenham Science Festival.

Much attention has been given to the variety of foods interred with King Tut, which were embalmed with resin to preserve them. “But people don’t think about the wine,” said Aziz. “In their tombs, the Ancient Egyptians would take the things that they wanted in the afterlife.”

According to Aziz, the majority of the king’s stash was dry white wine, suggesting that he showed a strong preference. He also had six chariots interred with him in his tomb.

“This new theory says that he’s more of a warrior king – that he did ride chariots,” added Aziz, pointing to how Tutankhamun’s tomb contained a breastplate and other armour.

Aziz argues that the fact most present-day road accidents involve teenagers is likely to have been the case back when humans were driving chariots, too. The 19-year-old’s leg would have hit the ‘dashboard’ of the chariot during the crash, causing the fracture described in autopsy reports and an open wound.

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA—Phys.org reports that University of Alaska scientists have analyzed data from eight archaeological sites in western Alaska where fish bones dated to at least 7,000 years ago were identified. Seven of these sites had fish bones dated to the colder, drier, Younger Dryas period, from about 12,900 to 11,650 years ago. This change in weather is thought to have contributed to the extinction of North American species of horses, camels, giant sloths, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, short-faced bears, and woolly mammoth, and the reduction of bison, deer, caribou, and moose herds. All of the sites in the study are located in the middle of the Tanana River basin, in what was the eastern section of Beringia—the land bridge that once connected Siberia and North America. The more than 1,000 fish specimens were all found to be ray-finned fishes, including salmon, burbot, whitefish, and northern pike. All of the fish remains dated to more than 11,800 years ago were also found to be freshwater fish. The study suggests that Beringians may have switched to fishing in response to the disappearance of game, and returned to hunting as the Younger Dryas period ended. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Science Advances. 

Archaeologists and students from San Marcos University discovered the mummy earlier this week. 

Foto: REUTERS/Anthony Marina

An ancient mummy was found under a trash dump in Lima, Peru. 

Archaeologists told BBC News they had to remove over 15,000 pounds of trash to access the site.

Researchers believe the mummy is 3,000 years old and was likely a sacrifice. 

Archaeologists in Lima, Peru, made an astonishing discovery under thousands of pounds of trash — a 3,000-year-old mummy that was likely a sacrifice.

The specimen was uncovered this week by archaeologists and San Marcos University students, according to Reuters. They first spotted it thanks to its exposed hair and skull.

But before examining the ancient mummy, over 15,000 pounds of trash had to be removed from the site, BBC News reported. From there, other items buried at the site — such as corn, coca leaves, and seeds — were also recovered, Reuters reported. 

https://www.businessinsider.nl/3000-year-old-peruvian-mummy-found-under-trash-dump-may-have-been-left-as-a-sacrifice/

Children under attack

Every day, children living in wars across the globe are facing unspeakable horrors. They are not safe sleeping in their homes or playing outside, learning in school or seeking medical care at hospitals. From killing and maiming, abduction and sexual violence, to attacks on education and health facilities, and the denial of the humanitarian assistance that they desperately need, children are being caught in the crosshairs of warring parties at a staggering scale.

Alarming data

The UNICEF report “25 Years of Children and Armed Conflict” points at alarming data. Since 2005:

• • 104,100 are killed or maimed

At least 104,100 children have been killed or maimed. More than two-thirds of these have been between 2014 and 2020, with an average of 10,500 children killed or maimed each year.

• • 93,000 are recruited

At least 93,000 have been recruited by armed actors. Between 2016 – 2020, the UN verified the recruitment and use of an average of 8,756 children annually (8,521 in 2020).

• • 25,700 are abducted

More than 25,700 children have been abducted. Two-thirds of the cases over the past 16 years have occurred between 2014 – 2020, with an annual average of 2,414 (3,202 in 2020). Boys account for three-quarters, however, girls remain at risk of being abducted including for the purpose of sexual violence and exploitation.

• • 14,200 are sexually violated

More than 14,200 children have been subjected to rape and other sexual violence. The annual average is 890 child victims, with the highest record standing at 1,268 in 2020. This, however, is not reflective of the actual scale. Cases of sexual violence, including sexual violence against boys, are particularly underreported. Sexual violence disproportionately affects girls, who were victims in 97 per cent of cases in the last 5 years.

• • 14,900 are denied humanitarian access

More than 14,900 incidents of denial of humanitarian access have been verified. Around 80 per cent of incidents took place in the past 5 years, demonstrating strengthened efforts to document and verify these incidents.

• • 13,900 schools and hospitals destroyed
    More than 13,900 attacks on schools and hospitals have been verified. Nearly three-fourths of these incidents concerned education facilities, personnel, and pupils, with an annual average of 873 attacks, including 1,032 between 2016 – 2020.

Source: UNICEF fact sheet “Progress and challenges for children living in armed conflict” published 2022

Wars cause multiple additional deprivations including hunger, disease, and poverty. UNICEF’s report confirms that every year the number of verified violations for children who are impacted by wars continues to increase. Each of these numbers represents a grave tragedy for a child, a family, a community. This is a call to STOP attacks on children.

BORDEAUX, FRANCE.

According to a statement released by De Gruyter, an analysis of shell beads found at the Kaylu rock shelter, which is located on the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea, suggests that people may have taken maritime voyages some 11,500 years ago. Archaeological evidences shows that the rock shelter was in use for long periods of time during the late Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. Solange Rigaud of CNRS and the University of Bordeaux and her colleagues determined that the beads produced by the last of the hunter-gatherers to inhabit the rock shelter were different from those used by the first farmers. Rigaud and her team also compared the Kaylu rock shelter beads with others found in other Caspian Sea regions. Their analysis suggests there may have been a route for the exchange of these beads along the northern coastline of the Caspian Sea that was independent of the land route known to have been traveled by farmers and herders across northern Iran. These people could have also traveled by boat, she added. “Seafaring contacts between these communities may have granted the rapid circulation of specific bead-types—along with people, information, knowledge and symbols—from either side of the Caspian Sea by long maritime voyages,” Rigaud concluded. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Open Archaeology.

According to a statement released by the University of Cambridge, traces of the single-cell parasite Giardia duodenalis have been detected in the soils associated with two 2,600-year-old toilets made up of stone seats situated over cesspits that were found at what were the homes of wealthy people in Jerusalem. Giardia can cause diarrhea, cramps, fever, and death. Initial microscopic examination of the soil taken from the toilets identified the presence of roundworm and other possible intestinal parasites. Piers Mitchell of the University of Cambridge and his colleagues continued the search for evidence of parasites in the ancient feces through the use of a biomolecular technique called “ELISA,” which uses antibodies to detect the presence of single-celled organisms. “Unlike the eggs of other intestinal parasites, the protozoa that cause dysentery are fragile and extremely hard to detect in ancient samples through microscopes without using antibodies,” explained team member Tianyi Wang. Because Giardia spreads via contaminated water and sometimes by flies, Mitchell concluded that it was probably widespread throughout the ancient city. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Parasitology.

Spain Unguentarium (Cosano et al. 2023, Heritage)CÓRDOBA, SPAIN—According to a statement released by the University of Córdoba, a team of researchers led by chemist José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola has analyzed the contents of a 2,000-year-old vessel recovered from a mausoleum in southern Spain’s Roman city of Carmo. The mausoleum held the remains of six individuals in six urns, one of which was made of glass. The remains of a woman who died between 30 and 40 years of age were found in this glass urn, along with traces of a cloth bag that held a rock crystal flask sealed with a stone and bitumen and three amber beads. The well-preserved material inside the flask was examined with X-ray diffraction, gas chromatography, and mass spectrometry. The study determined that the ointment base had been made from a vegetable oil, perhaps olive oil, while the scent was derived from Pogostemon cablin, a plant from India used to produce the scent patchouli. The high quality of the flask holding the scent suggests that it was a valuable product. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Heritage. For more on Roman Spain, go to “Making an Entrance.”

Plants are life – we depend on them for 80 percent of the food we eat and 98 percent of the oxygen we breathe. But international travel and trade has been associated with the introduction and spread of plant pests. Invasive pest species are one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss and threaten the delicate web of life that sustains our planet. Pests and diseases have also been associated with rising temperatures which create new niches for pests to populate and spread. In response, the use of pesticides could increase, which harms pollinators, natural pest enemies and organisms crucial for a healthy environment. Protecting plant health is essential by promoting environmentally friendly practices such as integrated pest management. International standards for phytosanitary measures (ISPMs) in trade also help prevent the introduction and spread of plant pests across borders.

The International Day of Plant Health 2023 calls on everyone to raise awareness and take action to keep our plants healthy and help protect the environment and biodiversity.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK—According to a statement released by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, three artifacts recovered from a private collector were repatriated to Yemen during a recent ceremony attended by Mohammed Al-Hadhrami, the Yemeni ambassador to the United States, and Assistant Special Agent in Charge, James Deboer, of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. The objects include an alabaster ram with an inscribed base from the Hayd bin Aqeel necropolis that has been dated to the fifth century B.C.; an alabaster figure of a female deity dated to the second century B.C.; and an inscribed silver vessel from Shabwa dated to the second or third centuries A.D. These antiquities were among 89 objects looted from 10 different countries that were seized during a recent investigation. Because of continuing conditions of war in Yemen, the artifacts will be temporarily held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. To read about three carved ram’s heads found along the Avenue of the Sphinxes, go to “Around the World: Egypt.”

AL WUSTA, OMAN—Live Science reports that the remains of dozens of people have been found in a unique tomb in central Oman by a team of researchers led by Alžběta Danielisová of the Czech Republic’s Institute of Archaeology in Prague. Constructed with walls and a roof made of rows of thin stone slabs called ashlars, the tomb had been covered with a mound of earth. Inside, it was divided into two circular burial chambers that had been further separated into individual compartments. The dead are thought to have decomposed elsewhere, because bones inside these burial chambers were placed in clusters, while the skulls were found near the outside wall, and the long bones had been arranged so that they pointed toward the center of the chamber. The remains are thought to have been deposited in the tomb over a period of several hundred years, beginning about 7,000 years ago. A smaller, similar tomb was found nearby. Analysis of the bones could reveal what the deceased ate and where they were born. Further research in the area could also determine where these people lived.