Articles by Sandee Oster
Phys.org / Ancient Puebloans kept macaws and parrots in great houses for ceremonial use
In a recent study, Dr. Katelyn Bishop conducted a zooarchaeological and archival data reanalysis of macaws and parrots recovered from Chaco Canyon to better understand their depositional contexts, material associations, and ...
Phys.org / Ancient bone arrow points reveal organized craft production in prehistoric Argentina
For decades, research and understanding of the diverse bone raw material used by the Late Prehispanic Period (~1220 to 330 cal BP) people of the Sierras de Córdoba were scarce. However, Dr. Matías Medina and his colleagues, ...
Phys.org / Chinchorro mummification may have originated as a form of art therapy, study suggests
In a recent study published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal, Dr. Bernardo Arriaza argues that the practice of artificial mummification among the Chinchorro people may have evolved as a response to high infant mortality ...
Phys.org / Archaeologists discover unique mosaic patolli board at Guatemalan Maya city
In a study published in Latin American Antiquity, Dr. Julien Hiquet and Dr. Rémi Méreuze analyzed the remains of a unique mosaic-style patolli game board discovered in the Classic Period city of Naachtun, Guatemala.
Phys.org / 8.2 ka event triggered social transformation, not destruction, at China's Jiahu site
In a recent study, Dr. Yunchen Tan and colleagues examined the response of the North China Plain settlement of Jiahu to the abrupt climatic 8.2 ka event. They found that Jiahu not only survived but also demonstrated remarkable ...
Phys.org / Ear piercings marked one of the earliest Maya rites of passage, research shows
In a recent study, Ph.D. candidate Yasmine Flynn-Arajdal studied iconographic representations of children in the Classic (ca. 250–950 AD) and Post-classic (ca. 950–1539 AD) imagery, as well as in ethnohistoric and ethnographic ...
Phys.org / First Andean trophy head with cleft lip/palate identified from southern Peru
In a recent study, Dr. Beth Scaffidi analyzed the images of a unique trophy head from southern Peru. The study diagnosed the individual as having had a cleft lip/palate (CLP), making him the first case of an Andean trophy ...
Phys.org / DNA confirms modern Bo people are descendants of ancient Hanging Coffin culture
In a recent study, researcher Dr. Hui Zhou and his colleagues conducted a genetic analysis of the genomes of individuals associated with the ancient Hanging Coffin tradition in Southeast and Southern Asia. In addition, they ...
Phys.org / First evidence of lost-wax casting for silver in Bronze Age Western Europe uncovered
In a recent study, Dr. Linda Boutoille uncovered the first evidence of lost-wax casting of silver objects in Bronze Age Iberia and, to date, Western Europe. Published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, the study examines ...
Phys.org / Archaeologists discover solitary grave from ancient Kingdom of Kerma in remote Bayuda Desert
Dr. Monika Badura and her colleagues have published a study analyzing an isolated burial found in the Bayuda Desert in the journal Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. The discovery, made at site BP937 in Sudan, has ...
Phys.org / Newly identified fossil fish from England's Jurassic Coast reveals insights into an extinct group
In a study by Dr. Martin Ebert and Dr. Steve Etches published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, the osteology and systematic position of a new species of fossil fish, Brachyichthys manselii comb. nov. was ...
Phys.org / Richest Iron Age burial assemblage in Southern Levant discovered at Horvat Tevet
A recent study by Dr. Omer Peleg and his colleagues examined the unique 7th-century BCE (Iron IIC) cremation burial assemblage discovered at Horvat Tevet. The assemblage is the richest and most diverse burial assemblage found ...
Phys.org / Decapitated fossil fish with guts still intact reveal ancient predatory habits
In a study appearing in Fossil Record, researchers Martin Ebert and Martina Kölbl-Ebert analyzed the remains of a unique fossil type: the decapitated head of Aspidorhynchus, with its gastrointestinal tract (guts) still attached. ...
Phys.org / Ancient condors thrived on Peru's northern coast before retreating to the highlands, study reveals
In a recent study, Dr. Weronika Tomczyk and her colleagues conducted a zooarchaeological and isotopic study of ancient Andean condor bones from an archaeological site Castillo de Huarmey, providing the first and earliest ...
Phys.org / Qu-based brewing in Bronze Age China: Pottery residue offers insights into Mogou mortuary rituals
In a study by Dr. Yinzhi Cui and his colleagues published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the contents of 42 pottery vessels from the Bronze Age site of Mogou were analyzed.
