From a tablet believed to hold the secrets to the universe to the reconstruction of an
ancient Pharaoh, here are 8 mysterious ancient discoveries.
8.
The Emerald Tablet
The Emerald Tablet has legendary status.
It’s believed to be a tablet made of emerald green stone that contains the secrets of the
universe.
According to the legend, the tablet was discovered in a cave tomb in Turkey clutched in the hands
of the corpse of Hermes Trismegistus, one of the most important figures in the mythology
of alchemy.
His name means Hermes “the thrice-great”.
So he was triple the Great.
Hermes Trismegistus was considered a combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god
Thoth, and is credited with writing the Emerald Tablet.
But its true source and history remain obscure to this day.
In another myth the tablet was written by the Egyptian god Thoth himself when he “divided
his knowledge into 42 plates of emerald, codifying the great scientific principles ruling the
Universe.
The legend tells that after the gods’ fall, the Hermetic tablets were cleverly hidden
so that no human being might find them.
Only Thoth, on his return to that dimension, was able to recover the mysterious book.”
While it’s generally accepted that the text dates back to sometime between 200 and 800
A.D., nobody knows for sure how old it is.
The oldest known source of the writing is The Secret of Creation and the Art of Nature,
an encyclopedic work that was written in Arabic during the late eighth or early ninth century.
But it’s believed that this work was written based on a much older source that was likely
written in Greek or Syriac.
The original first copy of the document is believed to have burned up in the Library
of Alexandria.
The Emerald Tablet was heavily influential in medieval and Renaissance alchemy, but its
interpretation is anything but straightforward.
As an esoteric text, it was likely only meant to be understood by a small number of people.
Many scientists and researchers including Isaac Newton had translations and copies of
the document.
One commonly accepted interpretation suggests that the tablet describes the seven stages
of alchemical transformation, which are calcination, dissolution, separation, conjunction, fermentation,
distillation and coagulation.
Another theory claims that the Emerald Tablet contains the Prima Materia, the secret formula
for the base of all forms of matter and existence.
But nobody can say for sure what the work of literature describes, when or where it
was originally written, or who wrote it.
The reader is encouraged to find hidden truths for themselves.
7.
Hueyatlaco
Located in the state of Puebla just 75 miles (121 km) southeast of Mexico City is what
some call Mexico’s most controversial archaeological site, Hueyatlaco.
One of the biggest questions is when did humans arrive to the Americas?
This site might just change history!
Discovered in 1962, it contains the remains of numerous extinct megafauna, including mastodons,
mammoths, camels, cave lions, and smaller mammals.
Some of these bones show signs of deliberate butchering, and scattered among them is an
array of evidence of early human habitation, including flaked flint, quartz, and bone.
Excavations carried out by Mexican paleo historian Juan Armenta Camacho and Harvard anthropologist
Cynthia Irwin-Williams found tools buried in several layers of sediment, with the older
and more simpler artifacts being found at the bottom and the more complex objects near
the top.
It was impossible to date the items at the time, because the technology to do so didn’t
exist yet.
Irwin-Williams speculated that Hueyatlaco represents an ancient “kill site” that
was used for hunting and butchering animals, and that it could be as much as 22,000 years
old.
Some experts believe it could be even older.
If any of these hypotheses are true, Hueyatlaco would be one of the first in a growing list
of discoveries that are challenging the commonly accepted narrative that the first humans to
arrive in the Americas, known as the Clovis people.
They came around 13,500 years ago.
One thing that’s become clear in the ongoing debate over “who got here first” and when
is that we don’t know nearly as much as we thought about the history of human migration
both in and outside of the New World, and it will take a lot more research and exploring
to get anywhere close to a definitive answer.
6.
Missing Tectonic Plate
Around 60 million years ago, a vast tract of what is now the Pacific Ocean, off the
North American coast, was encompassed by two major tectonic plates known as the Farallon
and Kula plates.
Some geologists believe that there was a third tectonic plate called Resurrection.
How do you lose a tectonic plate?
Other scientists thought this was ridiculous.
A new study claims to have found the alleged third plate beneath northern Canada, marking
a major turning point in the ongoing debate.
Dubbed the “Yukon slab,” the suspected plate remnant bears evidence of having been
crushed, reshaped, and buried through subduction over many millions of years.
Using scans of the Earth’s interior and a computerized geological model from the Cenozoic
Era, University of Houston researchers Jonny Wu and Spencer Fuston created a time-lapse
animation demonstrating how Resurrection may have been positioned between the Farallon
and Kula plates.
Named for the Resurrection Peninsula in Alaska, scientists have previously found evidence
of the plate’s existence, but the new findings are far more conclusive.
Wu said in a statement that the suspected boundaries of Resurrection during its existence
match closely with ancient volcanic belts in modern-day Washington and Alaska.
If the information is correct, it could help develop more accurate volcano modeling since
volcanoes form at plate boundaries.
Thanks to new technology we have made huge advancements in just the past couple years
of understanding our world a little better!
He emphasized the importance of the study, citing volcanoes’ role in climate change
and the potential to develop more accurate predictive models based on the newfound information.
This groundbreaking research highlights how little scientists truly know about plate tectonics
and past movement, and the need to better understand these dynamics for our own benefit.
You don't want to be surprised by a volcano!
5.
Jiroft Artifacts
The antiquities market was flooded with a unique array of distinctive cultural artifacts
starting in 2001, including jewelry, weapons, ceramic pottery, drinking vessels, and game
boards adorned with complex depictions of animals and humans.
For a long time, information about these items was scarce at best, with their place of origin
listed simply as “Central Asia,” and some experts even speculated that they were forgeries.
But some scholars suspected that the artifacts were harvested from an unknown but genuine
archaeological site, and in 2002, the Iranian police caught traffickers preparing to smuggle
some of the items across international lines.
Investigators traced their source to the Halil River Valley near modern-day Jiroft, where
recent flooding had washed away layers of sediment and revealed the remnants of an ancient
cemetery, giving looters first dibs on its contents.
They are usually the first ones to find stuff anyway!!
A team led by Iranian archaeologist Yousef Madjidzadeh began surveying the region in
2003 and uncovered evidence of a vast urban Bronze Age settlement dating back at least
5,000 years, including two burial mounds, two architectural complexes, and several smaller
buildings.
Madjidzadeh’s findings were initially met with backlash from some experts, who claimed
that because the site had been looted, it was difficult to accurately determine the
site’s age and authenticity.
But as the excavations continued, the discoveries of what appeared to be a previously unknown
ancient culture increasingly gained credibility among scholars.
Dating at least as far back as the third millennium B.C., the Jiroft people practiced a religion,
wrote using a yet-undeciphered geometric script, and created fine objects like vases and statuettes,
enjoying a sophisticated lifestyle and social hierarchy for their time.
Some researchers believe that they may have been a “cradle of civilization,” one of
the first places in the world where complex urban settlements emerged.
But archaeologists have limited artifacts to learn from due to the chronic looting,
leaving many questions about this ancient society unanswered at least for now, and possibly
forever.
4.
Europeans in America Before Columbus?
A new study released several months ago claims that a collection of blue beads from Europe
found in the Alaskan Arctic were traced to pre-Columbian times, suggesting that the goods
reached the continent before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492.
The researchers believe that the beads were manufactured in Venice during the 15th century,
and that they traveled 10,500 miles (17,000 km) eastward through trade, crossing through
Eurasia and the Bering Strait to reach modern-day Alaska.
Some experts dispute this exciting but seemingly far-fetched theory.
Anthropological archaeologist Elliot Blair, told Live Science that even though the beads
are old, they are not pre-Columbian.
Instead, he said, they were probably made during the late 16th or early 17th century.
Blair conceded that even if this is the case, it still predates the earliest known contact
between Europeans and Alaska Natives, making for what he calls a “really cool story.”
Danish explorer Vitus Bering experienced the first documented encounter with Alaskan natives
in 1741, but if the beads are as old as Blair believes they are, it would mean that Europeans
and indigenous people in Alaska had crossed paths before.
Adding to this possibility are several other artifacts that were examined in the study,
including twine that was radiocarbon dated to sometime between 1397 and 1488, possibly
decades before Columbus arrived in the New World.
While it remains up in the air whether the beads are the oldest known European products
brought to the Americas, it’s certainly a realistic prospect.
3.
FEMALE HUNTERS
Around 9,000 years ago, an ancient person was buried in the Andes Mountains of what
is now Peru with a kit of stone hunting tools by their side.
Noticing the extensive nature of the kit upon the burial’s discovery in 2018, archaeologist
Randall Haas thought the individual must have been a great hunter and an important member
of society, perhaps even a chief.
Haas assumed the deceased was male, but a later study proved that the remains were of
a biological female, and it turns out that 30 to 50 percent of similar ancient burials
were also female throughout the Americas.
These fascinating findings are the latest in a series of discoveries that challenge
long-held notions of traditional gender roles in prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies,
including the belief that men hunted while women gathered and took care of children.
Haas admitted to National Geographic that he was among the many researchers who presumably
drew conclusions about the hunter’s gender based on their understanding of modern-day
hunter-gatherers, who tend to adhere to a sexual division of labor.
Speaking with NatGeo, archaeologist Pamela Geller said that evidence pointing toward
the contrary has been around for decades, but that it was often overlooked or ignored
in favor of traditional gender role theories.
More researchers are taking a fresh, unbiased look at these misconceptions and realizing
that it was entirely realistic for women to hunt in prehistoric societies which, according
to archaeologist Kathleen Sterling, would have needed as many able-bodied members as
possible to participate.
But not all experts are on board with concluding that it was common for ancient females to
hunt.
As anthropologist Kim Hill pointed out, the hunting kit found alongside a woman’s remains
in 2018 may have simply been buried with her as grave goods, holding symbolic rather than
practical value.
He also mentioned to NatGeo that “you can’t just stop in the middle of stalking a deer
in order to nurse a crying baby.”
This topic certainly has the academic community divided, and for now, there’s no saying
who’s right or wrong.
What do you think?
Let me know in the comments below.
2.
TOMB KV55
Ever since its discovery in 1907, the identity of a tomb known as KV55 or the “Amarna cache”
has been a source of controversy among experts.
Found near King Tut’s tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, which was part of the
ancient city of Thebes, experts long speculated that the tomb’s single occupant was King
Tut’s father and 18th Dynasty ruler Akhenaten, also known as Amenhotep IV.
But KV55 was undecorated, the coffin was desecrated, and nearby grave goods were attributed to
numerous individuals, making the occupant’s identity questionable.
It was also clear that someone had disturbed the tomb and removed some of its contents
sometime between 1189 B.C. and 1077 B.C., during the 20th Dynasty.
In 1921, Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered several items thought to originate in KV55
while excavating south of the tomb.
Upon excavation, mummy KV55 disintegrated into dust and bones, so today it’s only
a skeleton.
Several artifacts and a genetic test performed in 2010 strongly indicate that the individual
found in KV55 is, in fact, Amenhotep IV.
Further analysis showed that the person died around age 40, which is consistent with Amenhotep
IV’s age at his time of death.
Egyptologist and archaeologist Dr. Michael E Habicht along with his team created a facial
reconstruction of the skull to bring it back to life.
But there are lingering mysteries surrounding KV55, including the suspicion that the tomb
once held an additional occupant, who several experts theorize was Queen Tiye, Akhenaten’s
mother and the wife of Amenhotep III.
This is a distinct possibility, considering the tomb contains a shrine dedicated to Queen
Tiye.
Now scientists just have to put together and identify everyone else in the family and organize
the discoveries from the tomb!
1.
Caral
Located in modern-day north-central coastal Peru, the large ancient settlement known as
Caral (also called Caral-Supe) is the oldest known city in the Americas.
Dating as far back as 2600 B.C., the sprawling site contains the ruins of temples, pyramids,
homes, plazas, and amphitheaters.
American archaeologist Paul Kosok discovered Caral in 1948, and in 2009 it was designated
a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but the site is in jeopardy despite its protected status.
Since the 1990s, Peruvian archaeologist Dr. Ruth Shady has worked to expand Kosok’s
initial findings at Caral, but people have tried to stop the excavations numerous times.
In 2003, someone shot Shady in the chest during an assault on the complex.
Earlier this year, a group of squatters began harassing Shady and other workers at the site,
claiming that the 5,000-year-old settlement was given to them during the 1970s amid the
country’s controversial agrarian land reform under a leftist dictator.
Believed to be from a single family, the group has invaded Caral at least nine times since
the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic began.
Law enforcement has done little to intervene and local officials have been equally uncooperative.
At one point, the squatters used construction equipment to knock out walls and tear up the
ground, destroying priceless ancient artifacts before authorities and staff members stopped
them.
They have also issued numerous death threats to Shady and to the lawyer who represents
the property, and poisoned a pet dog at the site as a warning of what’s coming next.
Shady told The Guardian that the group has absolutely no legal entitlement to the state-owned
land, but this assertion meant little when local officials failed to carry out an eviction
against one of the squatters, even after the order garnered police support.
Knowledge of the Caral-Supe civilization is already limited, and activists like Shady
are racing against the clock to prevent any more of what the society left behind from
being lost to history.
But unless authorities get on board with ousting the squatters and putting an end to their
intimidating behavior, it may prove to be a losing battle.