Top 3 Discoveries for 2020
Tombs Pharaohs and Queens valley of the Kings
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| Illustration : Tombs Pharaohs & Queens Valley |
Egypt
the Valley of the Kings, which holds the tomb of King Tut and other Egyptian
royalty, divulged several of secrets including a workshop complex,
mummification cache, ostraca (pottery with writing on it) and newfound mummies.
Excavations were carried out in both the east and west valleys of the Valley of
the Kings and was funded in part by media companies that are paying for the
right to film the excavations. According to a former Egyptian antiquities
minister who is leading work in the valley, believes that several tombs built
for the pharaohs and their queens have yet to be found. Excavations in the east
and west valleys of the royal cemetery are ongoing; the artifacts found in 2019
are still being analyzed, and hieroglyphic writing on the ostraca is in the
process of being deciphered.
Archaeological treasure at El-Assasif
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| Illustration : Treasure at El-Assasif |
In 2019, archaeologists discovered 30 sealed
wooden coffins, their mummies still intact, in the ancient necropolis of
El-Assasif near Luxor, Egypt. Dating back around 3,000 years, the haul of
coffins has been called a "cachette of the priests" because some of
the mummies are those of priests. The decorations on the coffins are well
preserved and none of the tombs had been robbed; grave looting in Egypt has been a common occurrence in both ancient
and modern times, so to find 30 coffins and their mummies all untouched by
grave robbers is extremely rare. Archaeologists are continuing their
excavations at El-Assasif. They are also analyzing the cachette in greater
detail, translating the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the coffins and learning
more about the mummies within. In 2020, they will likely dig up even more
discoveries from this necropolis. Hopefully any new finds will also be
untouched by looters.
Smelly problem
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| Illustration : Permafrost |
The melting of permafrost in the Arctic and
sub-Arctic is causing the remains of both humans and animals to thaw and
decompose, giving local inhabitants a smelly problem to deal with. The
re-emergence of smallpox and other now-extinct diseases from these corpses is
generally regarded by scientists as being extremely unlikely, and the World Health Organization (WHO) says that corpses don't usually
pose a major health problem. Even so, the emerging corpses bring with them some
other issues. For instance, the corpses will inevitably smell and, if the
de-thawing corpses are underneath a building that humans still use, the corpses
need to be dug up and re-interred to get rid of the smell. Additionally, if the
corpses are near a water supply there is a risk of water becoming contaminated
and causing illnesses such as gastroenteritis, according to the WHO.
Humans in Central America more than 20,000 years ago?
According to live science a new research that
suggests humans reached Central America more than 20,000 years ago. This would
have occurred at a time when glaciers covered much of North America. If this
research is verified, it would be the oldest evidence for humans south of
Alaska in the Americas. The new evidence the scientific team found includes a
sizable number of stone tools as well as organic remains found in a cave.
Various dating methods are being used to determine the age of the
artifacts.
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| Illustration : Humans in Central America 20000 years back. |
Previously, claims have been made of humans
venturing south of Alaska before 20,000 years ago, though these claims have
been found to be false or questionable. The scientists of the new study are
aware of this and are taking the time to conduct additional fieldwork and
analysis before publishing or widely disseminating their results. If all
goes well, this research will be published in a peer-reviewed journal sometime
in 2020, and scientists not affiliated with the project will have a chance to
evaluate its accuracy.
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