Do you know how old the oldest mummy in the world
is? It’s much older than you think!! From grisly human sacrifices to the oldest mummy ever found,
here are 10 of the most amazing archaeological discoveries!
10: Mass Sacrifice Near the coastal town of Huanchaco in Peru,
archaeologists made quite a grisly discovery. They were uncovering a site that once belonged
to the Chimú people, one of the most powerful civilizations in the area. Excavations revealed
a child’s skeleton, then another, then another. Everywhere they dug there was another skeleton.
In total archaeologists found 227 victims between the ages of 5 and 14 years old
and there are more that might still be uncovered. Around 500 years ago these children were likely
sacrificed in some kind of ritual. According to the BBC, this disturbing
discovery came less than a year after two other archaeological sites in the
country were found to contain the bodies of another 200 young victims of human sacrifice.
Archaeologists reported that some of the bodies they found were so well-preserved,
they still had their hair and skin when they were dug out of the ground. The children were
buried facing the ocean, suggesting they had been sacrificed to appease the gods.The Chimu resided
all along the northern coast of Peru and were one of the most powerful civilizations of their time,
reaching their peak between 1200 and 1400, just before they were conquered by the Inca,
who were then almost immediately conquered by Spanish invaders.
The Chimu people worshipped a moon god, which they believed was more powerful than even the
sun – which is different from the Incan belief that the sun was the most powerful god. But just
like many other South American cultures, the Chimu often practiced mass sacrifice,
as a way to appease their natural gods, such as the moon, sun, and sea.
9: The Mysterious Royal Tomb
Archaeologists are very excited about a historical site in Turkey that has revealed a mysterious
royal tomb and some massive stone gates. Brian Rose and his archaeological team in Gordion began
excavations hoping to find the remains of a king. What they found instead was quite the surprise!
When they opened the tomb, they discovered a young woman who had died in her 20s,
along with an eight-year-old child and a collection of over 600 amber beads. These probably
came to Turkey from over 1500 miles (2414km) away! As for the site of Gordion itself,
it includes nine settlements and has over 4000 years of ancient history.
It was once the capital of the Kingdom of Phrygia. This ancient kingdom might not sound familiar
but you’ve probably at least heard of one of its kings: King Midas, the king with the golden touch.
Gordion is famous for its monumental citadel mound that’s about 55 feet tall and lies in the middle
of the ancient city that was once surrounded by stone and mudbrick fortifications. Excavations
have been going on here for about 75 years, but there is still much more to be uncovered.
8: The Pyramids of Sudan Located along the east bank of the Nile River,
150 miles(241km) from the capital of Sudan, there are about 200 pyramids.
Significantly more than what you would find outside of Cairo in Egypt. However, the ancient
pyramids discovered here are mostly in ruins, being swallowed by the desert and ignored by
archaeologists and tourists. They were constructed by the rulers of the Kushite kingdoms when this
area of the Nile Valley was called Nubia. The first capital was built at Kerma in 2500 BC,
and the pyramids here were inspired by the Egyptian pyramids. The Nubian kings built their
own pyramids several thousand years later, with the first being constructed in 700 BC.
The Nubian pyramids are smaller, painted black, and much pointier.
But there are still twice as many Nubian pyramids standing today as there are Egyptian pyramids.
The Nubian pyramids were discovered by foreign explorers in the early 1800s.
An Italian treasure hunter named Giuseppe Ferlini showed up in the 1830s and demolished 40 of the
pyramids at Meroe searching for treasure. And he found it, too – hoards of jewelry,
gold, and silver. More pyramids were discovered throughout the early 1900s by archaeologists,
and some of the newest pyramids were found during excavations between 2009 and 2012 near a village
named Sedeinga. There were 80 pyramids here total, built in the 1st century BC but who knows if there
are others waiting to be found!! 7: Man’s Best Friend
Archaeologists have recently discovered the first image ever created of dogs being friends
with humans in the Arabian Desert. It is a cave painting that shows a hunter drawing his bow
while surrounded by a pack of dogs. Some of the canines even appear to have leashes tied to the
man's belt. What makes this really fascinating is that according to Science Magazine, the image was
made over 8000 years ago. This would suggest that humans figured out how to train and control dogs
thousands of years before previously thought. Melinda Zeder with the Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History has said that the cave drawing is the only indication
that we currently have that early humans really did use dogs to hunt. Of course,
more research will need to be done to prove the theory, but right now it looks like humans and
dogs have been friends for much longer than anyone could have imagined! Do you have a
close bond with your dog?? What kind of dog do you have? Let me know in the comments below!
And now for number 6, but wanted to give a big shout out to Francisco Costa and Kuchi
N!! Thanks so much for supporting Origins Explained! Be sure to hit
that subscribe button if you are new here and join the family!!
6: The Temple of Zeus New archaeological
discoveries in Syria have unveiled secrets about an ancient temple dedicated to the god
Zeus. Excavations in Qanawat were done with the help of the Sweida Antiquities Department,
who picked apart the ancient temple to find small rooms, doorways, and a curious water channel that
brought water flowing through the building. So far, only the eastern part of the temple has
been fully excavated, so there could still be more impressive relics just waiting to be discovered.
The Temple of Zeus was originally built by the Greeks and dates back to the 1st century BC.
Qanawat was known as Kanatha by the ancient Romans and it was a member of
the Decapolis league of trading cities. At the time, it was extremely wealthy
and powerful, demonstrated by the abundance of ruins here.
The temple of Zeus was just one building inside a great city of temples and mega structures.
There is also a temple nearby built in the 2nd century dedicated to the sun god Helios.
These were both impressive monuments back in their day but are currently nothing more than
a few stones and a handful of crumbling columns. The city thrived until the Muslim Arab conquest,
when it began to disintegrate and today it is now considered a poor village. Students and the
local department of antiquities are hoping to uncover more before everything is destroyed.
5: Mysterious Jade Figure A mysterious jade cylinder was recently recovered
from a cemetery that has archaeologists baffled. The cemetery was built for elite members of an
ancient Neolithic society that flourished in China during the 3rd century BC. The spectacular jade
relic may hold the secrets of one of the earliest societies to ever live in China. It depicts some
kind of humanoid figure with an elaborate headdress riding on the back of a horrifying
monster with claws and bulging eyes. The identity of the humanoid is currently unknown, and nobody
can quite figure out what kind of monster it is. It could be a shaman or a god, or he could be
riding some kind of early rendition of a dragon. The jade artifact is currently sitting in the
Zhejiang Provincial Museum. It was found at the site of Liangzhu and predates the
earliest known Chinese dynasty of the Shang, who ruled during the Bronze Age in the 2nd century.
Judging by this artifact and other pieces found here, including ceremonial axes and wine vessels,
archaeologists are convinced that whoever crafted these artifacts prospered at least
1700 years before the Shang Dynasty and were far more sophisticated. And yet, there is almost no
trace of them remaining. Archaeologists found proof of huge rice paddies, old fortifications,
and a system of earth walls and moats – but other than the strange artifacts depicting even stranger
monsters and humanoids, they really left no clues behind as to who they were or what they believed.
4: Ancient Graffiti
There is an ancient settlement in India called Keeladi. A recent discovery could just change
history by revealing that this settlement might be 300 years older than previously thought.
Experts have found a unique script inside the settlement dating back to the 6th century BC.
To understand why this is important, it’s critical to know that after the first ever urban society
in India declined, known as the Indus Valley civilization, it’s generally believed that the
second wave of urbanization occurred in the Gangetic Plains. But with the revelation of
this new script, the second wave of urbanization, which eventually led to the prosperous societies
of the Indian Subcontinent, started in Keeladi. The old dates don’t align anymore.
Organic material on six samples were sent to a lab in Florida which then used accelerometer
mass spectrometry to date the deposits to between the sixth century BC and the
first century AD. Archaeologists identified 56 pottery shards with markings thought to
resemble the Tamil-Brahmi script, a precursor for the Tamil script used in India today.
They also found hundreds of graffiti markings and symbols that look like the evolution of the
Tamil-Brahmi script, all of which proves that the script is older than commonly believed.
Ancient graffiti is changing history! Archaeologists also discovered ornaments of gold,
gems, agricultural activity, walls made of brick, and houses with surprisingly advanced designs.
The evidence shows an extremely early culture that survived on the barter system without money.
Basically, ancient Keeladi had been in the pre-stages of society – and one of the first
to be prosperous in India. 3: The Oldest Mummy
While mummies might make you think of ancient Egypt and pharaohs, the earliest examples of
artificial mummification did not come from Egypt, but the ancient Chinchorro culture that lived at
the very edge of the Atacama Desert between Peru and Chile. These people lived here for
around 6000 years. They began mummifying their dead sometime around 7020 BC. They figured out
how to do it naturally, using the dry and arid conditions of their desert – the driest place
on Earth, by the way – to preserve their dead. It would take them around 2000 years to begin
artificially mummifying corpses. According to Guinness World Records,
the earliest known Chinchorro mummy modified using artificial means is that of a child that
was discovered inside the Camarones Valley, and was mummified back in 5050 BC. Over the next 3500
years, these people evolved their mummification process in some very unique ways before ultimately
giving up the practice in the 1st century BC. So, how did the South American mummies differ
from the Egyptian mummies? These people would remove the skin of the corpse and then take
out the muscles and organs so that just the skeleton was left. They would then rebuild the
corpse using wood and plants before ultimately sewing on a layer of clay skin and then adding
a layer of ash paste. They would also cover the head of the mummy with a special clay helmet.
In this way, they managed to preserve much of the body using natural materials.
To give you a bit of a comparison on the oldest mummies in the world, the oldest Egyptian mummy
only dates back to 3000 BC. That's about 4000 years later than the Chinchorro culture.
2: Ancient Fingerprints A mysterious set of
ancient fingerprints were just found at an archaeological site in the United Arab Emirates.
Dating back 3000 years, archaeologists discovered the mysterious prints fossilized in some bricks.
Located at the Hili 2 archaeological site in Abu Dhabi, and according to Abu Dhabi’s Department of
Culture and Tourism, the fingerprints could explain how the ancient people in the area
advanced their construction techniques. Ancient craftsmen apparently used their hands to make
special indentations in mud bricks that they would pour mortar into, which helped walls stay
together and be stronger. These fingerprints are direct proof of these construction techniques.
But mysterious fingerprints weren't the only things discovered here. This
ancient site is famous for having one of the most sophisticated irrigation systems of the old world.
The system dates back to the Iron Age and is a testament to how cultures of the Arab world
transitioned from hunting and gathering to a stabilized culture with more modern technology.
Looks like people have loved leaving their handprints and
fingerprints in mud and cement since practically the beginning of time!!
1: 19th Century Shipwreck Construction workers in Boston recently discovered
the remains of a shipwreck in the Seaport District completely by accident. Who knew that construction
workers found so many cool objects!! The construction company, Skanska, was under no
obligation to report the find, but contacted state and local officials just in case! That was nice!!
Joe Bagley, a local Boston archaeologist who was called to the scene, determined that the
vessel was probably from the 19th century, definitely before 1880. Construction was put
on hold and Bagley and his team tried to work as quickly as possible to document the findings so
the work could continue. Unfortunately, the ship proved way too huge and too fragile to be moved,
but they were extremely happy to be able to document it! What they found was that the
ship had run aground, and there had likely been a fire onboard. Archaeologists think the ship
could have been on fire as it was sinking! But how had the ship remained undetected for
all those years? Those studying it believe that the ship had probably run aground, no one in the
area had cared enough to take it apart, and it was eventually used to help fill in the shoreline of
Boston, turning the mudflats into buildable land. It’s extremely rare to find a shipwreck in an area
that’s been filled in, but researchers were able to get the entire blueprint of the ship.
The team found barrels inside of the shipwreck that look like they contained lime
(the construction material, not the citrus!) and that it may have been brought to Boston for mixing
concrete and to make paper. Other than that, not much is known about what the ship had been
used for. Archaeologists documented the wreck as best they could, building a 3D image of the ship,
however, that hasn't helped them to discover the truth about what happened to the crew, what the
rest of the cargo may have been, or what caused the ship to catch fire and crash into the shore.
Archaeologist Bagley commended Skanska for understanding the significance of the wreck
to the people and city of Boston and delaying their project to allow the ship to be documented.
Thanks for watching! Which discovery did you find the most fascinating?
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