The Japanese myth of the trickster raccoon

Dive into the Japanese myth of the shape-shifting tanuki, as the raccoon-like creature rewards a traveling salesman for his kindness.

On the dusty roads of a small village, a traveling salesman was having difficulty selling his wares. As he wandered the outskirts of town in the hopes of finding some new customers, he heard a high-pitched yelp coming from the edge of the forest. Following the screams to their source, he discovered a trapped tanuki. Iseult Gillespie details the Japanese myth of the shape-shifting creature.

12 Most Incredible Archaeological Finds

We like to make videos about incredible archaeological finds on this channel, but we don’t have a set criteria for what makes an incredible archaeological find. It could be anything that catches our eye, whether that’s a tiny piece of old jewellery or the discovery of an entire ancient town! We’ve got plenty of discoveries both large and small for you in this video, so let’s get started.

Archaeological Discoveries In China, That Shouldn't Exist!

Incredible archaeological discoveries have been made by Archaeologists when they accidentally came across a cache of ancient jades, bones, pottery, elephant tusks and colossal bronze specimens. This unexpected find of two "sacrificial pits" would become one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, requiring historians to rewrite China's early history. The artifacts were dated to about 1800 BC, a period when the cradle of Chinese civilization was believed to be located 1,200 kilometers to the northeast on the Yellow River in China's central plain.

On the other hand, the bronzes cast at Sanxingdui were significantly larger than anything else seen before and also appeared very different. It is estimated that the Sanxingdui culture lasted more than 500 years before disappearing without a trace, leaving no written records or human remains. A further archaeological discovery was made in 2001, this time in the Chengdu town of Jinsha. This discovery provided possible clues to the riddle of where they may have gone. This exhibition will explore the huge conundrum of where this 3,500-year-old civilization could have originated, where and why they suddenly disappeared, and will present many of the key findings made from. Here are the most recent archaeological discoveries in China.

Timeline of the Inca Emperors

This video shows every Sapa Inca, from the Kingdom of Cusco through the Inca Empire to the Neo-Inca State, which continued resisting the Spainiards until the 1570s. Enjoy!

Ancient Finds That Amaze Scientists!

Today we open the gate to the past! In addition, we look at some overwhelming discoveries that allow us to delve deeper than ever into the reality of our ancestors. Do you have an idea why the trade in dead people was booming in the Baroque period? Or what the discovery of a treasure tells us about the career of a criminal?

Celtic woman found buried inside a TREE ‘wearing fancy clothes and jewellery’ after 2,200 years

It’s believed the woman, who died 2,200 years ago, commanded great respect in her tribe, as she was buried in fine clothes and jewellery.

Scientists say the woman was Celtic. The Iron Age Celts are known to have buried members of their tribe in “tree coffins” buried deep underground.

The woman’s remains were found in the city of Zurich in 2017, according to Live Science.

Bedecked in a fine woolen dress and shawl, sheepskin coat, and a necklace made of glass and amber beads, researchers believe she performed little if any hard labor while she was alive. It’s estimated she was around 40 years old when she died, with an analysis of her teeth indicating a substantial sweet tooth.

Adorned in bronze bracelets and a bronze belt chain with iron clasps and pendants, this woman was not part of low social strata. Analysis of her bones showed she grew up in what is now modern-day Zurich, likely in the Limmat Valley.

Most impressive, besides her garments and accessories, is the hollowed-out tree trunk so ingeniously fixed into a coffin. It still had the exterior bark intact when construction workers stumbled upon it, according to the initial 2017 statement from Zurich’s Office of Urban Development.

While all of the immediate evidence — an Iron Age Celtic woman’s remains, her bewildering accessories, and clothing, the highly creative coffin — is highly interesting on its own, researchers have discovered a lot more to delve into since 2017.

According to The Smithsonian, the site of discovery has been considered an archaeologically important place for quite some time. Most of the previous finds here, however, only date back as far as the 6th century A.D.

The only exception seems to have occurred when construction workers found the grave of a Celtic man in 1903. They were in the process of building the school complex’s gym, the Office of Urban Development said when they discovered the man’s remains buried alongside a sword, shield, and lance.

Researchers are now strongly considering that, because the Celtic woman’s remains were found a mere 260 feet from the man’s burial place, they probably knew each other.

Experts have claimed that both figures were buried in the same decade, an assertion that the Office of Urban Development said it was “quite possible.”

Though archaeologists previously found evidence that a Celtic settlement dating to the 1st century B.C. lived nearby, researchers are rather confident that the man found in 1903 and the woman found in 2017 belonged to a smaller, separate community that has yet to be entirely discovered.

The department’s 2017 press release stated that researchers would initiate a thorough assessment of the grave and its contents, and by all accounts, they’ve done just that.

Archaeologists salvaged and conserved any relevant items and materials, exhaustively documented their research, and conducted both physical and isotope-based examinations on the woman.

Most impressive to experts was the woman’s necklace, which had rather impressive clasps on either end.

The office said that its concluded assessment “draws a fairly accurate picture of the deceased” and the community in which she lived. The isotope analysis confirmed that she was buried in the same area she grew up in.

While the Celts are usually thought of as being indigenous to the British Isles, they lived in many different parts of Europe for hundreds of years. Several clans settled in Austria and Switzerland, as well as other regions north of the Roman Empire.

Interestingly enough, from 450 B.C. to 58 B.C. — the exact same timeframe that the Celtic woman and man were buried — a “wine-guzzling, gold-designing, poly/bisexual, naked-warrior-battling culture” called La Tène flourished in Switzerland’s Lac de Neuchâtel region.

That is until Julius Caesar launched an invasion of the area and began his conquest of western and northern Europe. Ultimately, it seems the Celtic woman received a rather kind and caring burial and left Earth with her most treasured belongings by her side.

Strangest Artifacts Ever Discovered!

Check out the strangest artifacts ever discovered! This top 10 list of unexplained mysterious discoveries features some of the most bizarre things ever found on earth!

Excellent Persian Proverbs And Sayings

Excellent Persian proverbs and sayings keep the wisdom of thousands of years. Persian wisdom is known all over the world thanks to the wise sayings, sayings and quotes of the Persian people. Wise Persian quotes will help you understand Eastern wisdom and it will help you in life. Persian wisdom inspires new achievements and calms the soul.

10 Antartica Theories That Will Creep You out

In the bleakest corners of our world, where sunlight is but a distant memory and ice blankets the horizon, lies the haunting white mystery of Antarctica. Imagine for a moment the secrets entombed within this frozen fortress, where whispers of the Hollow Earth echo beneath your feet, where gigantic prehistoric beasts – the Antarctic Megafauna - may still roam, and where chilling ice worms wriggle in the dark. The silence here is occasionally broken by the mysterious hum of unidentified flying objects, cloaked in Antarctic snowstorms. Welcome to a realm where reality seems twisted, where theories are as creepy as they are captivating. Welcome to the 10 chilling theories about Antarctica - the world's last great frontier of the unknown.

Painful Rites of Passage with the Mursi Tribe

The Mursi of Ethiopia are known as one of the most dangerous African Tribes. Living in the Lower Omo Valley, this area has undergone a lot of pressure over the years.

In this video we cover ourselves in a bit of cow dung and scars. We dive deep into Mursi culture and talk about rites of passage, the ethics of lip plates, arranged marriage, and whether this is the most dangerous tribe in the Africa

Couple in the UK discovered a stash of gold coins beneath the kitchen floor during a renovation

A treasure trove of more than 260 gold coins discovered by a couple beneath their kitchen floor during renovations has sold for £754,000 at auction.

The collection, found under a home in Ellerby, East Yorkshire in 2019, was spotted inside a pot hidden underneath concrete and 18th Century floorboards.

The coins, dating from 1610-1727, belonged to the Fernley-Maisters, a Hull family involved in Baltic trading.

The auctioneer called the final sale price "absolutely extraordinary".

The coins, whose provisional estimate of between £200,000-£250,000 was tripled after the story gained global attention, were eventually sold to dozens of buyers in individual lots by Spink & Son auctioneers in Bloomsbury, London.

The auction house, which said the collection represented approximately £100,000 in today's money, called it "one of the largest hoards of 18th Century English gold coins ever found in Britain".

Interest had come from private collectors from around the world, including in America, Europe, Australia, China and Japan, it said.

Auctioneer Gregory Edmund called the treasure trove "120 years of English history hidden in a pot the same size as a soda can".

The identity of the couple who found the hoard remains undisclosed.

Mr Edmund said: "Picture the scene: you're choosing to re-lay your uneven kitchen floor, you put a pick-axe through the concrete and just beneath you see a tiny sliver of gold.

"At the time, you think it must just be a bit of electrical cable, but you find it's a gold round disc and beneath it there are hundreds more."

The London auction, featuring phone and online bidders, reached a "hammer price" of £628,000 for all the lots, with the final purchase price including fees calculated at £754,000.

An imperfectly minted coin from 1720 fetched the highest individual price at £62,400, Spink & Son said.

Auctioneer Mr Edmund described the bidding as "electrifying" during the sale of the most sought-after coins, with dozens of successful bidders.

"I will never see an auction like this again," he added.

Spink & Son said Joseph Fernley and Sarah Maister married in 1694 and lived in Ellerby, with Joseph dying in 1725, aged 76.

Sarah died aged 80 in 1745, with the "family line dying out soon after", the firm added.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber...

Unbelievable Archaeological Finds In Ancient America: You Won't Believe What's Hidden

Most people consider the start of US history to be 1776, but nothing could be further from the truth. There are, in fact, thousands of years of North American history. Who lived there? What did they leave behind? This list explores these questions by taking a look at some of the most interesting and mysterious archaeological discoveries of ancient America.