The days of great discoveries are over - that's what archaeologists often hear. A burial chamber like that of Tutankhamun, completely untouched Mayan cities in the rainforest of Central America or huge burial mounds from the Bronze Age that have so far been overlooked? Archaeologists usually only find all of this in their dreams.
Even if the big white spots have disappeared from the archaeological map, there is still a lot to discover. Also due to the progress in the natural sciences. In recent years, re-evaluations of older finds have sometimes given completely new insights into the past. New dating techniques go further back than the C14 method, and genetic analysis leads researchers to completely different evaluations than their colleagues in earlier times.
These were the most spectacular discoveries of the year:
- Roopkund lake, India
Station one of our review is a pool in the Himalayas. It is nicknamed "Skeleton Lake". The water, which is only 40 meters wide, lies in the Indian state of Uttarakhand at an altitude of 5029 meters and has long puzzled scientists. Hundreds of human skeletons were found in the lake years ago. Nobody knows where the people came from and why they died here. The dead were probably not former warriors because no weapons were discovered, and many bones came from women and children. Some of them may have been pilgrims who were killed in a heavy hailstorm.
Atish Waghwase
Roopkund lake in India
New studies have now shown that people died at different times, some of which were far apart. The majority of the individuals examined perished around 800 AD. Some died a good thousand years later. The biggest surprise, however, was an evaluation of the DNA residues of the dead that were still present in the bones. Some of the victims are genetically related to the people of India, so they probably come from the region. But some who died around 1800 came from the eastern Mediterranean and are genetically related to today's Greeks. How did you get here? Now the researchers are faced with a new puzzle that will probably only be solved in the coming years - if at all.
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- Baishiya cave in Xiahe, China
The next discovery was also made by DNA analysis and this also led scientists to the high mountains: In the cave in China on the Tibetan high plateau, a monk found a jawbone in the eighties together with stone tools and machined animal bones. A team of researchers, including gene experts from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, examined a molar tooth that was still in the jaw.
The analysis of proteins revealed astonishing things: The tooth once belonged to a person who was closely related to the Denisova man. This early human could have lived side by side with the Neanderthals in large parts of Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. The problem is: The only bones and teeth of Denisova people, whose exterior researchers had reconstructed in another study this year, have so far been discovered in a cave of the same name in Russia. The approximately 160,000-year-old find in China is the first outside the Siberian cave - a small sensation.
Previously, it was known that Denisova people, today's Sherpas, Tibetans and inhabitants of the Himalayas, have inherited a gene that enables the body to adapt better to life at high altitudes. How was it possible for the Denisovans to develop this ability? The only evidence of its existence so far - the Denisova cave in the Altai Mountains - is relatively low at 700 meters. The new find now answers the question of inherited height adjustment. The Chinese cave, in which the jawbone was once discovered, is located at 3280 meters. Possibly the Denisova people at least climbed high from time to time.
- Fincha Habera, Ethiopia
Researchers found Ethiopia in a cave of particular historical relevance. There, archaeologists discovered the oldest high mountain settlement in the world. Experts estimate that hunters and gatherers lived in Fincha Habera 47,000 years ago. The place of discovery in the Bale Mountains is at about 3500 meters. Various everyday finds show that the place has been used for many thousands of years. There they lived, cooked and made tools, explains Götz Ossendorf from the University of Cologne.
The easy-to-hunt giant mole rat was probably particularly on the menu. The occurring volcanic glass obsidian could have driven people up, the researchers speculate. Very sharp blades can be made from the material. In any case, Homo sapiens had no reason to flee from lower-lying areas. Because there was enough to eat and drink in the ice age valley.
- Tonerschube Hammerschmiede, Bavaria
Another spectacular discovery was only published a few weeks ago by researchers: in a clay pit in the Allgäu region, they found 37 bones from several specimens of a hitherto unknown primate species: the scientists christened the creature Danuvius guggenmosi - after the hobby archaeologist Sigulf Guggenmos. Dating shows that the great ape lived 11.6 million years ago. However, the results of the skeletal analysis, especially the joints, are more interesting: Guggenmosi could have been the first known monkey to walk on two legs. The oldest evidence of upright walking so far is around six million years old and comes from the island of Crete and Kenya. According to the researchers, the development process of upright gait could have taken place in Europe - and not in Africa as previously thought.
Christoph Jäckle / Nature / DPA
Danuvius guggenmosi, the early bird from the Allgäu
Guggenmosi is without a doubt a fascinating find. However, the early bird was not a crucial link between the monkey and humans. After all, Guggenmosi already has a prominent nickname, as it should be for a star fossil: the researchers named the skeleton best preserved with 21 fragments Udo - after Udo Lindenberg. The primate's lower jaw was found on the musician's 70th birthday.
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Sakkara City of the Dead: Exceptional find in burial chamber- Tollensetal, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania
Researchers have been digging in the picturesque valley through which a river meanders for years. But nobody knew who hit their heads here. Scientists have now received information on the origin of people. Some came from the region, as DNA and isotope analyzes had already shown. However, the evaluation of bronze finds now showed that some warriors could have come from southern Central Europe and may have traveled several hundred kilometers to the Tollensetal before death. For this, the researchers had examined bronze pieces from the personal possession of a warrior that could have served as a means of payment. Comparable finds are known from southern Germany and northern France. The archaeologists hope for further knowledge from the valley, because the excavations continue for the time being.
Those who can walk upright have their hands free for tools, a decisive advantage in evolution. However, this also brought suffering to mankind. Archaeologists believe that the war came to Europe just over 3,250 years ago. At least, that's how archaeologists interpret the traces they found in the Tollensetal. Dozens of skeletons were scattered around the site in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania from the Bronze Age - mostly by young men. They died from arrows, many from clubs, some from knife blades.
