Extraordinary finds in 2020 that changed the perception of the past

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Discoveries that are important for the history and development of mankind have always been accompanied by scientists and archaeologists. Every year there is more and more new, fascinating information about life in the past, about previous civilizations, about their beliefs and traditions. Today we will tell you about six significant discoveries that were made in the past year.

1. Japanese settlement, British Columbia

In the early twentieth century, Canadians of Japanese descent appeared in northern British Columbia, creating a small but very cozy settlement with a bathhouse, gardens, flat houses and its own reservoir. Archaeologist Robert Macle claims that immigrants and their children, who were previously born in Canada, lived here. They moved there before World War II, he said, wanting to avoid racism, which was the norm in Vancouver at the time. For example, then the representatives of the Japanese nationality were forbidden to vote, hold public office, and also be lawyers.

Scientists believe that the village called the North Coast was originally inhabited by lumberjacks who did their work in the area closest to it. Macle argues that although logging on the site was completed in 1924, it is likely that the Japanese, pursued by the Canadians, chose to remain in the village, living in secret on the outskirts.

The Second World War led to the fact that life in the village came to an abrupt end. However, one of the scientists claims that many artifacts remain in the settlement, indicating that it has been inhabited for a couple of decades. For example, more than a thousand items were discovered there, including buttons, bowls, ceramic utensils, teapots, watches and much more. Sake bottles led the scientist to believe that the settlement was probably abandoned in a hurry in 1942, when its residents were sent to camps and imprisoned.

2. Babies in helmets, Ecuador

In the hundredth year BC, members of the Guanal culture created a small burial in the Salango complex, which is located off the coast. It was there that the skeletons of babies were soon discovered. Scientists suggest that one of them was supposedly eighteen months old when he died, and the other was between six and nine, respectively. The uniqueness of this find was given by the fact that they were buried in special helmets, which were created from the bones of older children.

The researchers stated that the skull of the second child was placed around the first so that his eyes looked through its vault. Scientists also argue that, probably, the skulls that were worn on children were still covered with the remains of flesh. They made this conclusion based on research that skulls cannot hold on to something if they lack flesh.

The study found that the "helmets" were made from the skulls of older children. So, on one of the babies there was a skull of a child whose age did not exceed twelve years. The team also found a small shell and finger bone between the children's skulls.

To this day, there are disputes about the purpose of such helmets. A variety of theories have been put forward, such as that "helmets" were worn in order to protect a child in the spirit world when they began their afterlife. Other archaeologists claim that the "helmets" belonged to the ancestors of these children and could be worn during life and even after death.

The most plausible theory is the version of the archaeologist from North Carolina, Sarah Jangst, who claims that "helmets" could both serve as additional protection, and provide communication with ancestors after death.

3. Magic set, Pompeii

Recently, excavations in Pompeii have been restored, which helped to find a huge number of interesting artifacts. For example, the remains of an ancient horse, a stall where food was sold, a fresco with a gladiator, and an inscription that forced archaeologists to think and rethink the date of the real eruption of Vesuvius. Previously it was believed that it happened in August, but this inscription helped establish that the disaster happened in October 79 AD.

It is also worth noting that the excavations being carried out in Pompeii are part of a program to preserve and restore the site. In turn, the US opened the program, allocating about $ 140 million for this. The project was named "Greater Pompeii" and was also launched in 2012 with EU support.

Among all the items found there, this set is perhaps the most interesting and intriguing. Scientists believe that it belonged to a sorceress, as it contained over a hundred interesting trinkets. The set included figurines of scarab beetles, skulls, crystals and dolls, as well as several mirrors and jewelry. Such things, as a rule, were used for fortune telling and fortune telling, conducting love rituals and to attract good luck.

Massimo Osana, head of the archaeological park of Pompeii, in an interview with ANSA, noted that the set found most likely belonged to a poor man or even a slave, since it lacked the gold accessories that were characteristic of the elite of that time.

4. Witch's bottle, England

An item such as a witch's bottle was very popular around the turn of the 16th and 18th centuries. Small vessels filled with teeth, pins, nails, scraps of tissue and nails, and various liquids were readily used to ward off damage or witchcraft from their homes.

According to archaeologist Allison S. Meyer, such an item was used to lure a witch into a bottle, where she would be trapped among sharp objects. Somewhere in the middle of the 19th century, such a talisman was considered outdated, and therefore a bottle that was found on the territory of a former pub and hotel in the city of Watford is considered anomalous. Scientists who researched it found that it was created around the 1830s.

A drop or torpedo-shaped vessel contained fish hooks, teeth, broken glass and liquid of unknown origin. It was discovered by construction workers about to dismantle the chimney at the Star and the Garter pub. People who believed in witches and spells often left such vessels in hearths and chimneys, since it was believed that they were responsible for the penetration of evil spirits into the house.

In addition, according to historical reports, "The Star and the Garter" was mentioned in the witch's key long before that. So, when this building was a hotel, in 1761 a woman named Angelina Tubbs was born there, who would later become better known as the witch from Saratoga. Historian and folklorist Cherry Holbrook told the BBC:.

5. Stills from the last performance of the Beatles, England

In June 1966, the legendary group performed the song "Paperback Writer" on the BBC's Top of the Pops program. Unfortunately, the British company was unable to document this show in any way in order to preserve it for posterity, because for a long time it was believed that this performance was lost forever. However, a fan of the band named David Chandler decided to film the performance with his camera. As a result, he kept the resulting footage in the attic for over five decades.

David remembered this recording when the few footage that survived from the Top of the Pops program became available to everyone through the media. Then he found small fragments in his attic, the length of which did not exceed 92 seconds, which he took as a child, and then sent them to the company Kaleidoscope. Chris Parry, a representative of this organization, noted:.

The longest record of all the found contains practically no replicas and text, as well as an eleven-second video. However, Kaleidoscope was able to restore the footage captured on camera, restore and decorate it, and synchronize it with the soundtrack. Thanks to this, the track "Paperback Writer" acquired a small, but still documented clip with a live performance, glued together from different fragments.

6. Whale vertebra with lamb and human bones, Scotland

Around the middle of the second century AD, on the territory of the Orkney Islands, a small Scottish settlement erected the so-called Broches - small, round houses that vaguely resemble fortresses. Scientists last year discovered a similar structure, but they were not at all interested in Broch himself, but in a small container at the entrance, which was supported by antlers and a winepress. The small container was a whale bone, inside which lay a human jaw, as well as the remains of lambs.

DNA analysis by archaeologist Martin Carruthers revealed that the bone was from a finwhale, considered one of the largest whales in the world. This is what made scientists wonder if the ancient people really actively hunted whales on their own, or whether they benefited from the carcasses washed ashore.

The remaining bones of humpback whales, striped whales, and dolphins and porpoises that were found in the same region soon confirmed the second theory. In an interview with the BBC, Martin noted:.

And in continuation of the topic -. And it is not at all surprising that this continent can easily boast of increased attention to itself. Here not only eternal cold reigns most of the time, but also there are abnormal places where there has never been either snow or rain.