Archaeology News Online

Peruvian authorities have revealed the reconstructed face of the Lord of Sipan, a pre-Columbian ruler whose remains were discovered in 1987 and hailed as one of the country's most stunning archaeological finds. The Lord of Sipan was likely between the ages of 45 and 55 when he was buried around 250 AD  [Credit: © Peruvian Ministry of Culture/AFP] A full body representation of the ancient ruler, believed to have died around the year 250, was unveiled Thursday at the Museum of the Royal Tombs of Sipan in the northern city of Chiclayo. Peruvian Culture Minister Salvador del Solar traveled to Chiclayo for the unveiling, which marks the 30th anniversary of the tomb's discovery. The Moche culture ruler's face was reconstructed by anthropologists based on the skull and facial bones of the man's mummy, archaeologist Walter Alva told AFP, speaking by phone from Chiclayo. "The skull was quite damaged by the pressure of the earth and the burial jewels," but the anthropol...

Analysis of remains found on Rapa Nui, Chile (Easter Island) provides evidence contrary to the widely-held belief that the ancient civilization recklessly destroyed its environment, according to new research co-conducted by faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York. Analysis of remains found on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) provides evidence contrary to the widely-held belief  that the ancient civilization recklessly destroyed its environment [Credit: Karen Schwartz/TT] "The traditional story is that over time the people of Rapa Nui used up their resources and started to run out of food," said Binghamton University Professor of Anthropology Carl Lipo. "One of the resources that they supposedly used up was trees that were growing on the island. Those trees provided canoes and, as a result of the lack of canoes, they could no longer fish. So they started to rely more and more on land food. As they relied on land food, productivity went down because of soil ...

Women whose skeletons were found in a 1200 years old pre-Inca tomb in Peru could have been aristocrats: daughters or granddaughters of immigrants from different parts of the Wari empire - according to chemical analyses. The tomb was discovered by Polish archaeologists in 2012. With her hair still intact, the skull of a woman from the Wari elite brings new clues about the life of the ruling class  of El Castillo. Before burying her, her maids painted her face with red pigment, still visible over the eye socket  [Credit: National Geographic] The tomb containing 64 skeletons - mostly women - and more than 1200 precious objects made of silver, gold, bronze and other materials was discovered by a team of archaeologists led by Dr. Miłosz Giersz from the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw in 2012. The discovery was made in central Peru in Huarmey, 300 km north of the country's capital Lima. Scientists have established that the tomb belongs to the representatives of ...

She died in her 20s some 1,700 years ago, and is believed to have ruled over a desert valley in ancient Peru where her elaborately tattooed body was buried with weapons and gold objects. The woman, dubbed the Lady of Cao, belonged to the Moche culture that thrived in the northern coastal region  between 100 and 800 AD [Credit: Peru Ministry of Culture ] But a glimpse of the former priestess, the Lady of Cao, can now be seen in a replica of her face unveiled by culture officials and archaeologists on Monday. Using 3-D imaging technology and forensics archaeology, the replica was based on the Lady of Cao’s skull structure and ethnographic research and took 10 months to create, Peru’s culture ministry said. The goal, said Culture Minister Salvador del Solar, was to bring the world closer to one of Peru’s best archaeological finds and remind Peruvians of their rich cultural heritage. “Its relevance is really incalculable,” del Solar said of the oval-shaped face with high cheekbones on ...

Peruvian authorities have revealed the reconstructed face of the Lord of Sipan, a pre-Columbian ruler whose remains were discovered in 1987 and hailed as one of the country's most stunning archaeological finds. The Lord of Sipan was likely between the ages of 45 and 55 when he was buried around 250 AD  [Credit: © Peruvian Ministry of Culture/AFP] A full body representation of the ancient ruler, believed to have died around the year 250, was unveiled Thursday at the Museum of the Royal Tombs of Sipan in the northern city of Chiclayo. Peruvian Culture Minister Salvador del Solar traveled to Chiclayo for the unveiling, which marks the 30th anniversary of the tomb's discovery. The Moche culture ruler's face was reconstructed by anthropologists based on the skull and facial bones of the man's mummy, archaeologist Walter Alva told AFP, speaking by phone from Chiclayo. "The skull was quite damaged by the pressure of the earth and the burial jewels," but the anthropol...

Analysis of remains found on Rapa Nui, Chile (Easter Island) provides evidence contrary to the widely-held belief that the ancient civilization recklessly destroyed its environment, according to new research co-conducted by faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York. Analysis of remains found on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) provides evidence contrary to the widely-held belief  that the ancient civilization recklessly destroyed its environment [Credit: Karen Schwartz/TT] "The traditional story is that over time the people of Rapa Nui used up their resources and started to run out of food," said Binghamton University Professor of Anthropology Carl Lipo. "One of the resources that they supposedly used up was trees that were growing on the island. Those trees provided canoes and, as a result of the lack of canoes, they could no longer fish. So they started to rely more and more on land food. As they relied on land food, productivity went down because of soil ...

Women whose skeletons were found in a 1200 years old pre-Inca tomb in Peru could have been aristocrats: daughters or granddaughters of immigrants from different parts of the Wari empire - according to chemical analyses. The tomb was discovered by Polish archaeologists in 2012. With her hair still intact, the skull of a woman from the Wari elite brings new clues about the life of the ruling class  of El Castillo. Before burying her, her maids painted her face with red pigment, still visible over the eye socket  [Credit: National Geographic] The tomb containing 64 skeletons - mostly women - and more than 1200 precious objects made of silver, gold, bronze and other materials was discovered by a team of archaeologists led by Dr. Miłosz Giersz from the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw in 2012. The discovery was made in central Peru in Huarmey, 300 km north of the country's capital Lima. Scientists have established that the tomb belongs to the representatives of ...