SandeeOster

The Scent of Death: How Mummy Odors Reveal Ancient Egyptian Embalming Methods New study uses volatile organic compounds to reveal ancient Egyptian embalming recipes and their evolution over 2,000 years

New research analyzed 'smell' in mummy samples spanning 2,000 years to find out embalming ingredients. Early mummies used simple oils while later ones used complex ingredients like beeswax and bitumen. medium.com/the-academic...

The Sealed Pipeline: Petra’s Forgotten Experiment in Roman Engineering A new survey of the ‘Ain Braq aqueduct reveals a previously unknown lead pipeline and sheds light on Nabataean hydraulic expertise

Archaeologists just discovered a hidden lead pipeline in Petra's 'Ain Braq aqueduct. The 116-meter pressurized lead pipe was eventually sealed and replaced with terracotta likely because cost and maintenance outweighed its benefits. medium.com/the-academic...

The Plague Is Upon Us: The First Confirmed Mass Grave of the Justinian Plague New study analyzes the aDNA and stable isotopes of victims of the Plague of Justinian at Jerash

Study finds the first mass grave from the Justinian Plague at Jerash, Jordan. DNA and isotope analysis revealed victims weren't just locals, they were people from across Africa, Europe, and the Near East, trapped by the pandemic mid-journey medium.com/the-academic...

Toxic Arrows: Study Uncovers the World’s Oldest Poisoned Weapons Recent Study Reveals 60,000+-Year-Old Toxic Alkaloids on Microliths from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter, South Africa

Scientists just discovered the world's oldest proven poisoned weapons, toxic arrows over 60,000 years old from South Africa's Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter. The find reveals the remarkable skill and planning abilities of ancient hunter-gatherers. medium.com/science-spec...

Two Fetuses, Two Fates: Recent Study Examines 6,500-Year-Old Rare Fetuses Treated Differently in… Differential burial practices in mid-5th millennium BC Chaparabad reveal variability in Dalma culture fetal interment traditions

Two 6,500-year-old fetuses buried just 3 meters apart in prehistoric Iran, yet treated completely differently. One received grave offerings; the other, nothing. Same age, same time period, same culture. medium.com/science-spec...

Mapping the Great Mongolian Road: How Japanese Military Maps Revealed a Forgotten Silk Road New study reveals the forgotten military maps that captured the Great Mongolian Road

Rediscovered Japanese military maps from 1901-1922 revealed the precise route of the forgotten Great Mongolian Road, a major Silk Road network. Field verification found the maps were remarkably accurate, with wells, caves, & monasteries still standing exactly where marked.
medium.com/the-academic...

Mapping the Great Mongolian Road: How Japanese Military Maps Revealed a Forgotten Silk Road New study reveals the forgotten military maps that captured the Great Mongolian Road

Rediscovered Japanese military maps from 1901-1922 revealed the precise route of the forgotten Great Mongolian Road, a major Silk Road network. Field verification found the maps were remarkably accurate, with wells, caves, & monasteries still standing exactly where marked.
medium.com/the-academic...

Unusual DNA: Woolly Rhino DNA Found Inside Mummified Wolf ’s Stomach May Provide Insight into Their… Recent study discovered and analyzed woolly rhino DNA discovered in a mummified wolf stomach

Scientists found woolly rhino DNA in a 14,400-year-old mummified wolf puppy's stomach, revealing they didn't slowly decline but vanished rapidly. The genetic evidence suggests their extinction was not due to millennia of inbreeding medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Temples, Omens, and Earaches: Why Ancient Mesopotamian Doctors Sent Patients to the Gods First New study examines 12 medical prescriptions from ancient Mesopotamia, finding that seeking divine favor may have been a prerequisite for…

Ancient Mesopotamian doctors had an unexpected first step: sending patients to seek divine favor at temples before treatment. A new study of medical prescriptions reveals good omens were essential for diagnosis and prognosis, especially for ear & spleen/pancreas ailments. medium.com/the-academic...

The Art Of Dance: Healing, Initiation, and Joy in Ancient San Rock Art Recent Study Identifies Trance, Female and Male Initiation, and Entertainment Dances in South African Rock Art

Ancient San rock art reveals dance wasn't just movement, it was medicine, ritual, and joy. New research catalogues trance dances where shamans transformed into animals, girls' initiation ceremonies, and scenes of people simply dancing for fun. medium.com/teatime-hist...

Lost in the Desert: How Did Persian Luxury Goods End Up at a Remote Mongolian Campsite? Recent study uses chemical analysis to trace two unusual blue-green ceramic fragments from the Gobi Desert back to medieval Persia

Researchers just traced two turquoise ceramic fragments found amongst 9000+ other sherds from remote Mongolian herding camps back to medieval Persia. How luxury goods ended up in the middle of the Gobi Desert remains a mystery. sciencespectrumu.com/lost-in-the-...

The First Fire Makers: New Study Pushes Back the Origins of Fire-Making by 350,000 Years New evidence from Barnham, UK, reveals deliberate fire-making 400,000 years ago years ago

Humans were making fire WAY earlier than we thought. A new study reveals evidence of deliberate fire-making 400,000 years ago, 350,000 years earlier than previous records. Ancient hominins carried pyrite to strike sparks and ignite flames in Barnham, UK medium.com/the-academic...

The First Fire Makers: New Study Pushes Back the Origins of Fire-Making by 350,000 Years New evidence from Barnham, UK, reveals deliberate fire-making 400,000 years ago years ago

Humans were making fire WAY earlier than we thought. A new study reveals evidence of deliberate fire-making 400,000 years ago, 350,000 years earlier than previous records. Ancient hominins carried pyrite to strike sparks and ignite flames in Barnham, UK medium.com/the-academic...

Lost in the Desert: How Did Persian Luxury Goods End Up at a Remote Mongolian Campsite? Recent study uses chemical analysis to trace two unusual blue-green ceramic fragments from the Gobi Desert back to medieval Persia

Researchers just traced two turquoise ceramic fragments found amongst 9000+ other sherds from remote Mongolian herding camps back to medieval Persia. How luxury goods ended up in the middle of the Gobi Desert remains a mystery. sciencespectrumu.com/lost-in-the-...

Pass the Bread, Read the Conquest: The Bayeux Tapestry Was Likely Meant For Monastic Mealtime… Recent study proposes the Bayeux Tapestry was created as mealtime reading for monks at St. Augustine’s Abbey

New research proposes the Bayeux Tapestry was created for monks at St. Augustine's Abbey to view during mealtimes. Its remarkable preservation may be due to decades spent in storage after construction delays left its original purpose forgotten.
medium.com/the-academic...

Mystery of Flores Island: What Caused the Hobbits to Disappear? Recent study analyzes stalagmite oxygen isotopes and Mg/Ca ratios to reveal a centuries-long drought coincided with the disappearance of…

New research reveals what likely killed off the "hobbits" of Flores Island; a centuries-long drought that began around 61,000 years ago. Scientists analyzed stalagmite oxygen isotopes and found summer rainfall collapsed by 56% drying up the rivers they depended on
medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Roman Soldiers Likely Kept Indian Macaques as Pets in Egypt New study reveals that Roman soldiers kept Indian macaques as pets, marking the first archaeological evidence of primate imports from…

Roman soldiers kept Indian macaques as exotic pets in ancient Egypt. These monkeys were status symbols imported across the Indian Ocean and buried with elaborate grave goods. Sadly, most died young from poor nutrition: fed bread and dates instead of their natural diet.
medium.com/the-academic...

The Parrots and Macaws of Chaco Canyon: How Ancient Puebloans Kept Exotic Birds New research combines zooarchaeology and archival data to provide the most comprehensive account of macaws and parrots at Chaco Canyon in…

A new study reanalyzed the remains of macaws and parrots excavated from Chaco Canyon. These exotic birds were housed in special rooms with perches, fed corn and pinyon nuts, and carefully buried after death ~1000 years ago medium.com/the-academic...

Ancient Mega-Sharks Evolved 15 Ma Earlier in Australia’s Ancient Seas Recent study uses mathematical models to determine the size of the earliest mega-sharks discovered in northern Australia

Giant mega-sharks ruled Australia's ancient seas 15 million years earlier than scientists thought. Overlooked fossils from the 1980s reveal 6-8 meter predators weighing over 3 tons that dominated coastal waters medium.com/science-spec...

The Parrots and Macaws of Chaco Canyon: How Ancient Puebloans Kept Exotic Birds New research combines zooarchaeology and archival data to provide the most comprehensive account of macaws and parrots at Chaco Canyon in…

A new study reanalyzed the remains of macaws and parrots excavated from Chaco Canyon. These exotic birds were housed in special rooms with perches, fed corn and pinyon nuts, and carefully buried after death ~1000 years ago medium.com/the-academic...

Genomics Reveals Snow Leopards Have Always Been Rare Whole genome sequencing has revealed that snow leopards have low genetic diversity because they are rare, and probably always have been.

Genomics Reveals Snow Leopards Have Always Been Rare

#SciComm🧪 by @grrlscientist.bsky.social

#BigCats🐅 #SnowLeopard🐾 #Genomics🧬 #diversity #Ecology #Evolution grrlscientist.medium.com/genomics-rev...

When DNA Can’t: Ancient Proteins Reveal the Sex of 2-Million Year Old Paranthropus Specimen Study Conducts Paleoproteomic Investigation of Paranthropus robustus Specimens

Scientists determined the sex of four 2-million-year-old hominins using proteins preserved in tooth enamel. One small-toothed individual turned out to be male, challenging the assumption that size variation in Paranthropus robustus was due to sexual dimorphism. medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Infant Tattoos: How Christianity May Have Expanded Ancient Nubian Tattooing Across Age and Sex Recent study reveals shifting tattoo practices across 1,700 years of Nubian history

Researchers just revealed tattoos invisible to the naked eye on 27 Nubian individuals spanning 1,700 years. Christianity appears to have expanded the practice from adult women to include men and even infants
medium.com/science-spec...

The “First Black Briton” Wasn’t Black: The Misidentified Woman of Beachy Head Recent DNA analysis reveals Beachy Head Woman was of local British ancestry, not sub-Saharan African or Cypriot as previously claimed

DNA analysis reveals the "first Black Briton" wasn't Black at all. The Beachy Head Woman, a Roman-era skeleton made headlines in 2014 when craniofacial analysis suggested African descent, has now been confirmed through modern genetic testing to be of local British ancestry
medium.com/the-academic...

Paradoxical Dinosaurs: Are Liaoningosaurus Mini Dinosaurs or Baby Ankylosaurs? Recent study using bone microscopy reveals that every known specimen of the tiny armored dinosaur Liaoningosaurus was a juvenile, including…

Scientists have finally solved the mystery of Liaoningosaurus, the tiny "paradoxical" armored dinosaur from China. Bone microscopy revealed that ALL known specimens were actually juveniles, including the first ankylosaur hatchling ever found. The adults? Still missing.
medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Mummies as Art: The Ancient Chinchorro Artists Who Turned Grief Into Art Study examines how the ancient Chinchorro may have created the world’s oldest mummies as expressions of grief and loss.

The Chinchorro people created the world's oldest mummies over 7000 years ago, possibly as art therapy to cope with infant loss from arsenic-poisoned water. Grieving parents may have transformed deceased children into elaborate works of art as a form of ritual healing.
medium.com/teatime-hist...

Freshwater Mosasaur: The Ocean’s Apex Predator That Became King of the Riverside Study finds 11-meter mosasaur lived in freshwater rivers during Late Cretaceous, challenging long-held beliefs about marine-only habitats

Scientists just confirmed an 11-meter mosasaur lived in freshwater rivers during the Late Cretaceous, not the ocean like we thought. Multiple isotope analyses of a tooth from North Dakota's Hell Creek Formation proved this apex predator adapted to river life.
medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Paradoxical Dinosaurs: Are Liaoningosaurus Mini Dinosaurs or Baby Ankylosaurs? Recent study using bone microscopy reveals that every known specimen of the tiny armored dinosaur Liaoningosaurus was a juvenile, including…

Scientists have finally solved the mystery of Liaoningosaurus, the tiny "paradoxical" armored dinosaur from China. Bone microscopy revealed that ALL known specimens were actually juveniles, including the first ankylosaur hatchling ever found. The adults? Still missing.
medium.com/fossils-et-a...

The “First Black Briton” Wasn’t Black: The Misidentified Woman of Beachy Head Recent DNA analysis reveals Beachy Head Woman was of local British ancestry, not sub-Saharan African or Cypriot as previously claimed

DNA analysis reveals the "first Black Briton" wasn't Black at all. The Beachy Head Woman, a Roman-era skeleton made headlines in 2014 when craniofacial analysis suggested African descent, has now been confirmed through modern genetic testing to be of local British ancestry
medium.com/the-academic...

Scientists Just Found the World’s First Fossilized Buttock-Drag Mark New Study Identifies First Ever Dassie Trace Fossils Including the First Ever Buttock-Drag Mark Fossil

Scientists discovered the world's first fossilized buttock-drag mark & it was made by a dassie (rock hyrax) 126,000 years ago in South Africa. The 95cm groove in ancient sand dunes also contains what may be fossilized dung, making it one of ichnology's most unusual finds.
medium.com/teatime-hist...