Summary

Here is a summary of the YouTube video 5 New Archeological Discoveries Of 2024 by Sideprojects: This video covers five archaeological discoveries made in 2024:

• The Apano Valley Sites in Ecuador: Archaeologists have discovered remnants of numerous ancient urban environments in the Amazon rainforest, home to an estimated population of 15,000 to 30,000 people. These settlements, dating back to between 2,500 BCE and 500 CE, feature distinctive mound-dweller designs and intricate agricultural systems. The cause of the abandonment of these sites remains a mystery, with possible explanations including volcanic activity, climate change, or conflict.
• The Lost Villa of Pliny the Elder: Archaeologists have uncovered a Roman villa in Poli, Italy, which they initially believed to be the lost villa of Pliny the Elder, a famous Roman philosopher and naturalist who perished in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. However, further investigation revealed that this was likely not the case, as there were many similar villas in the area.
• The Black Room in Pompeii: Archaeologists have discovered a lavishly decorated room in Pompeii, featuring black walls adorned with frescoes depicting scenes from Greek mythology. The room is believed to have been used for private parties and entertainment.
• The Breton War of Succession: This complex and confusing conflict involved a struggle for the Duchy of Brittany between two women named Joan, as well as their respective families and allies. The war lasted for several decades and had significant repercussions for the region.
• The Shadow of Vitré: This medieval castle in France was built by John IV, Duke of Brittany, in the late 14th century. The castle played a role in the Hundred Years' War between England and France.

These discoveries offer valuable insights into the lives and cultures of ancient civilizations, shedding light on their history, beliefs, and practices.

Archaeologists seeking to learn more about how Neanderthals prepared and cooked their food conducted a series of hands-on experiments with small fowl using flint flakes for butchering. They found that the flint flakes were surprisingly effective for butchering the birds, according to their new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology. They also concluded that roasting the birds damages the bones to such an extent that it's unlikely they would be preserved in the archaeological record.

Two male skeletons showed signs of severe fracture and trauma injuries.

Archaeologists have hotly debated the precise cause of death of those who perished in Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE. Did they die of asphyxiation, from the extreme heat, or from a combination of factors? A new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Earth Science examines the complicating effects of earthquakes that occurred just prior to and concurrently with the eruption. Of most interest was the discovery of two skeletons of people who likely died when their shelter collapsed around them, weakened by the seismic tremors.

Had a cool idea for an ttrpg about growing up in a hunter-gatherer culture in a stone-age fantasy setting. The coolest part of idea, for me as the writer/designer, would be to have a section on "rituals" where I describe their technologies as magical rituals, not just a series of materials and steps. For example, instead of saying "you can get a +1 bonus on knapping checks by heat-treating your toolstone" it would be described as blessing the toolstone with fire, which leads into the idea of magic rock that has been fire-blessed by volcano spirits (obsidian).

I am vaguely aware of other technologies, such as extracting glue from animal hide and a tree fungus that smolders for fucking forever when lit, but my knowledge of these is limited. I need a more thorough knowledge of how exactly the pre-agriculture hominids did these things if I want to wax poetic about it.

For well over a century, we had the opportunity to study Neanderthals—their bones, the items they left behind, their distribution across Eurasia. So, when we finally obtained the sequence of their genome and discovered that we share a genetic legacy with them, it was easy to place the discoveries into context. In contrast, we had no idea Denisovans existed when sequencing DNA from a small finger bone revealed that yet another relative of modern humans had roamed Asia in the recent past.

Since then, we've learned little more. The frequency of their DNA in modern human populations suggest that they were likely concentrated in East Asia. But we've only discovered fragments of bone and a few teeth since then, so we can't even make very informed guesses as to what they might have looked like. On Wednesday, an international group of researchers described finds from a cave on the Tibetan Plateau that had been occupied by Denisovans, which tell us a bit more about these relatives: what they ate. And that appears to be anything they could get their hands on.