12 Most Amazing Archaeological Artifacts Finds

An artefact is a history lesson in physical form. By studying artefacts, we find out new information about the civilizations and people of the past. The right artefact can put us in touch with our own history! Not every artefact discovery is interesting or exciting, but the ones you're about to see in this video are. Buckle up - it's going to be a wild ride!

This pterosaur's large neck was supported by bones shaped like bicycle wheels

Massive flying creatures with necks longer than giraffes roamed present-day Morocco some 100 million years ago. With its huge jaw and slender neck, this type of pterosaur is thought to have preyed on fish, tiny animals, and even young dinosaurs. But it has long been a mystery as to how they carry their victims without having their necks shatter. The bones within have a complex spoke-like structure, which made them strong and sturdy but light enough for flight, according to a recent study.

An internal computerized tomography scan of an azhdarchid pterosaur neck bone shows several spokes, which might have allowed them to support their long necks and lift prey.WILLIAMS ET AL./ISCIENCE

Some of the largest flying creatures ever to have existed were the Azhdarchid pterosaurs from Morocco, which were named after a dragon-like creature from Persian mythology. With necks up to 1.5 meters long and wingspans up to 8 meters, experts have always pondered how these creatures managed to hunt, walk, and fly with such strange bodies. Nizar Ibrahim, a paleontologist and anatomist at the University of Portsmouth and a co-author of the study, argues that with size come a variety of complex biological issues. "How do you create a giant flyer's skeleton?"

A roughly 100 million-year-old azhdarchid pterosaur vertebra that had been discovered in the Kem Kem beds, a fossil-rich area close to the border of Morocco and Algeria, was analyzed by experts to understand more about their bones. The scientists discovered the vertebra was packed with dozens of 1-millimeter-thick spikes, known as trabeculae, that crossed each other and formed a helix along the bone using x-ray computed tomography and 3D modeling.

Where the animal's spinal cord would have been, a central tube was encircled by the spokes. When Cariad Williams, a paleontologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, first examined the scans, "we just could not believe it," she says. "Never before have we seen anything like it. Really, it was astounding.

The researchers used mathematical modeling to determine if the spokes gave the bones additional support. They discovered that as few as 50 trabeculae nearly increased the vertebra's capacity to support weight. Their findings were published in today's issue of iScience. Additionally, according to the researchers' calculations, the specimen's neck could lift prey the size of a large turkey, weighing between 9 and 11 kilos. Ibrahim describes it as "a true feat of biological engineering."

The scientists point out that in addition to helping the pterosaurs catch and carry their prey, the complicated bone structure of their necks may have given them the strength to endure the forceful blows delivered by other males during fights for territory or the powerful winds that buffeted their massive skulls when flying.

According to paleontologist Rodrigo Pêgas of the Federal University of ABC, So Bernardo, many scientists have hypothesized that azhdarchid pterosaurs consumed huge prey, but this study is the first to validate that theory using data on internal bone structure. According to Pêgas, the study the team utilized to demonstrate how the vertebrae would react to outside forces was especially strong. It's intriguing that they were able to objectively show that the animal could lift such prey.

Azhdarchid pterosaurs spent a good part of their time on land hunting small mammals, baby dinosaurs, and fish.DAVIDE BONADONNA

To determine whether the spokelike bones were specific to the azhdarchids, Pêgas wishes the scientists had studied the vertebrae of other pterosaurs. Paleontologist and head of the National Museum at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Alexander Kellner concurs. "I'm not very impressed," he admits. "I believe you need more samples to make a valid claim," I said. In his investigation, he claims to have found pterosaur vertebrae with varying numbers of trabeculae. The team's next task, according to Williams, is to scan more vertebrae.

Finding the appropriate vertebrae could be challenging, though Ibrahim notes that the vertebra in the current study is extremely well preserved. Fossilized pterosaur bones that retain their 3D structure are uncommon. However, there are a number of locations that the researchers are looking into in case they come across well-preserved pterosaur vertebrae. We'll try after the pandemic is finished, he says.

Despite all that the latest study has shown, Ibrahim feels there is still much to discover. He claims that because no other living thing comparable to these flying reptiles, many essential features of azhdarchid biology, like their typical weight, are still unknown. "This paper serves to serve as a reminder that we're really just scratching the surface."

Source: https://www.science.org/content/article/pt...

Cave dirt's DNA reveals how some Neanderthals vanished

Northern Spain's Estatuas cave was a hub of activity 105,000 years ago. Its Neanderthal residents may have constructed fires, butchered red deer, and hafted stone tools, according to artifacts. Subtler traces of their DNA were also ejected, bled, and excreted onto the cave floor. "You can picture people working in the cave, chopping up animals and manufacturing tools. The perspective of population geneticist Benjamin Vernot, a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA), may have been influenced by the sounds of his own infant during a Zoom conversation. "Maybe they cut themselves or their babies pooped," he speculates. "The dirt floors accumulate all that DNA."

Researchers excavating Estatuas cave in Spain found a long record of Neanderthal DNA in the sediments.© JAVIER TRUEBA/MADRID SCIENTIFIC FILMS

The first ancient human's nuclear DNA has been extracted from sediments, according to his and MPI-EVA biologist Matthias Meyer's paper published today in Science. The human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) found on cave floors was previously reported to be shorter and more plentiful, but nuclear DNA, which was previously only found in bones and teeth, can be far more illuminating. According to Leiden University archaeologist Marie Soressi, "Now, it seems that it is possible to extract nuclear DNA from dirt, and we have a lot of dirt in archaeological sites."

Population geneticist Pontus Skoglund of the Francis Crick Institute concurs, calling this a "beautiful paper." The genetic identity and sex of prehistoric cave inhabitants are revealed by the sequences, which also demonstrate that one group of Neanderthals replaced another in the Spanish cave around 100,000 years ago, possibly as a result of a cooling of the temperature. "They can see a shift in Neanderthal populations at the very same site, which is quite nice," adds Skoglund.

Only 23 ancient humans, including 18 Neanderthals from 14 locations across Eurasia, have had their ancient DNA recovered from their bones or teeth thus far. Vernot and Meyer's team analyzed silt from precisely dated levels in three caves known to have been inhabited by prehistoric humans: the Denisova and Chagyrskaya caves in Siberia, as well as the Estatuas cave in Atapuerca, Spain.

In what Skoglund refers to as "an amazing technical demonstration," they created new molecular probes to fish out human DNA while ignoring the numerous sequences from plants, animals, and microorganisms. They next employed statistical techniques to isolate Neanderthal-specific DNA and compare it to reference Neanderthal genomes in a phylogenetic tree.

All three locations produced Neanderthal nuclear and mtDNA, although Estatuas cave's little amount of nuclear DNA from several Neanderthals surprised researchers the most. Nuclear DNA from a male Neanderthal from the deepest layer, dated to around 113,000 years ago, connected him to the earliest Neanderthals who lived in the Denisova cave and caves in Belgium and Germany around 120,000 years ago.

According to co-author and paleoanthropologist Juan Luis Arsuaga of the Complutense University of Madrid, two female Neanderthals who lived in Estatuas cave later, around 100,000 years ago, had nuclear DNA that more closely matched that of later, "classic" Neanderthals, including those who lived less than 70,000 years ago at Vindija cave in Croatia and 60,000 to 80,000 years ago at Chagyrskaya cave.

At the same time, diminishing diversity may be seen in the more prevalent mtDNA from Estatuas cave. In the cave 113,000 years ago, Neanderthals had at least three different forms of mtDNA. But there was just one type of Neanderthal in the cave between 80,000 and 107,000 years ago. Ancient DNA found in Neanderthal bones and teeth has previously indicated a decline in genetic diversity during the same time period.

According to Arsuaga, Neanderthals flourished and expanded their range during the warm, humid interglacial period that began 130,000 years ago. But as a new glacial epoch began around 110,000 years ago, temperatures in Europe abruptly dropped. All but one lineage of Neanderthals vanished shortly after then. During subsequent, warmer periods, members of the surviving lineage began to repopulate Europe, some of whom sought refuge in Estatuas cave.

The "famous" classic Neanderthals, such the skulls from France's La Ferrassie and Vindija, are among those survivors and their offspring, according to Arsuaga. Compared to older Neanderthals, whose cranial capacity were no greater than 1400 cm3, he writes that they possessed brains up to 1750 cubic centimeters (cm3). The advent of the cold age, according to Arsuaga, also caused a rise in brain size and several population replacements in modern humans in Africa.

In humans or other mammals, "we find this pattern almost everywhere we look," according to Beth Shapiro, a genetic researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "Dispersal over perhaps long distances and population replacement or admixture."

DNA from cave dirt is expected to produce more hints. Paleogeneticist Viviane Slon, a current Tel Aviv University employee and co-author of the Science publication, claims that she and the MPI-EVA team are examining ancient DNA from sediments at numerous locations across the world. "Hopefully soon, we'll start to get a very high-resolution, fine-scale view of ancient humans and who was where at what time," adds the researcher.

Source: https://www.science.org/content/article/dn...

Treasure finding (documentary film)

The treasure was discovered in the land of a farm, with an area of about 2.4. Kilometers (1.5 miles) South near the Greek border, on 26 June 2015. Watch the video to find out more!

12 Most Incredible Underwater Discoveries

Here's a statistic that might surprise you. According to the National Ocean Service of the USA, only five percent of the world's oceans have been fully explored. That means there are almost certainly hundreds of fish and marine life species we've never encountered living down there and a vast realm of utterly unknown territory. Perhaps we should be making more effort to explore the seas because unknown and unexpected objects have a habit of turning up in them as you're about to see in this video!

The Buried Mysteries Of The Gotland Mass Grave

Tim Sutherland and the team make a return trip to Sweden, where they hunt for clues to a battle that took place on the island of Gotland. They travel battlegrounds and battlefields, towns and villages, churches and burial grounds to search for clues hidden in the bones of the dead from medieval time.

10 Most Mysterious Forbidden Places In The World

From the island of Montserrat to the resorts of Kauai, in the video below we will be exploring the 10 most mysterious forbidden places in the world. Watch the video to find out more!

The history of Romania explained in 10 minutes

The history of Romania summarized on a map explained in a nutshell from pre-historic civilizations, Dacia, The Roman Empire, Hungarian and Ottoman influence, The three principalities of Moldavia Wallachia and Transylvania, independence movements, greater Romania, ceausescu and modern times in the European Union. Watch the video below for more!

The Most Unbelievable Recent Finds

In the following video we will be going through the most unbelievable recent finds around the world. Watch the video for more!

What They Found In Egypt Shocked The World

In this video, we’re going to explain what kind of tablets were used by the ancient Egyptians. Do you want to know how ancient Egyptians noted their daily tasks and grocery items?

Population of Europe Throughout History (1600-2020)

The past four centuries have seen great changes in the size and composition countries in Europe and the surrounding area. This data series focuses on what the largest polities were throughout recent history. Given the challenges of demography, the visualization begins in 1600 and details the numerous changes to population within the interim period. Europe today has eight times the amount of people it did just 400 years ago. Watch the video for more!

Shocking Discovery Of The Garden Of Eden Will Blow Your Mind

Welcome to this fascinating video where we are about to reveal a discovery that will undoubtedly shock you. The Garden of Eden, the legendary paradise described in the Bible, has long been considered a mythological place, but what if we told you that it's not just a mere story? Recently, an incredible discovery has been made that has the potential to change our understanding of history and religion forever. In this video, we'll take you on a journey to explore the fascinating story behind this discovery and the evidence that supports it. So get ready to have your mind blown as we uncover the truth about the Garden of Eden.

Unbelievable Discovery in Dried Up Euphrates River.. You Won't Believe What's There!

The Euphrates River has long been a significant symbol in many religious traditions particularly in Christianity and Islam. In fact, the Bible and the Quran both mention the Euphrates River as playing a crucial role in the end times. So, when news broke of an unbelievable discovery in the dried-up Euphrates River, many religious scholars and enthusiasts alike were fascinated. Could this discovery be a sign of the impending apocalypse, or is there a more rational explanation? Let's explore this discovery and its potential implications. The 1,700-mile-long Euphrates River originates in Turkey, travels through Syria and Iraq, and then merges with the Tigris River before draining into the Persian Gulf. In the Old Testament, it's a big deal and a great thing to have in the Middle East. The river's 190,000 square mile catchment area reaches its highest water levels between April and May. Along its coast, the native flora, including oak, pistachio, and rose trees, still flourishes. Also prevalent in drier regions are cereal grains like wheat, rye, and oats.