Ancient temple could reveal secrets of a lost society that predates the Inca Empire. Archaeologists say they have discovered the ruins of what they believe are the boundaries of an ancient temple belonging to the mysterious Andean society of Tiwanaku that disappeared around AD 1000.

The research team unearthed the immense temple complex in the highlands of what is now Bolivia’s municipality of Caracollo. The site is southeast of Lake Titicaca, a different region than where researchers had previously focused their search for clues that might help unravel the secrets of this lost society.

The extraordinary find is roughly 130 miles (about 210 kilometres) south of the established archaeological site of Tiwanaku, the capital of the powerful empire that preceded the Incas. The latest findings were described in a study published on June 24 in the journal Antiquity.

Called Palaspata after the native name for the region, the temple lies outside the borders of where Tiwanaku was previously known to have expanded, said Dr. José Capriles, a Bolivian archaeologist and associate professor of anthropology at Pennsylvania State University.

Capriles, who was the lead author of the study, noted that the building’s architectural elements, including a terraced platform and sunken courtyard, have a striking resemblance to the Tiwanaku style found in other parts of the Lake Titicaca region. “We don’t expect it in this particular place and the fact that it exists there is remarkable,” he said.

The temple, which has a trail cutting through it from repeated travel by locals, is near a long-used Bolivian travel route, now called the La Paz–Cochabamba Highway, which connected three trade routes used by other societies that followed, like the Inca.

The discovery of the ceremonial temple is shedding light on the interconnectivity of the lost society’s various territories and how Palaspata could have served as a gateway for Tiwanaku society to expand its power in the region, according to the researchers.
Who were the Tiwanaku?

Archaeological investigations of Tiwanaku sites began in the 1860s, but researchers still have scant knowledge of the society. Most of what experts know has been deduced from studying ceramics, camelid remains, and other religious sites, such as Akapana, that dot the Andean highlands.

Tiwanaku communities first emerged in an altiplano, or high plain, of the Andes called the Titicaca Basin, named after Lake Titicaca.

Due to its location, farming crops, like maize, was difficult, so the people relied on llama caravans to connect the communities in the region and facilitate trade. The capital city of Tiwanaku, also called Tiwanaku, managed trade, commerce and interregional interaction, according to the study.

“Tiwanaku was what we call a primary state formation, meaning that it was a complex society that had complex social stratification,” Capriles said. The empire developed without external influence and “emerged out of a series of prior agricultural societies.”,

Evidence of Tiwanaku objects, like pottery, suggests Tiwanaku people began to settle in that area around AD 700, as well as farther west in a valley that’s now southern Peru, according to Dr. Nicola O’Connor Sharratt, associate professor of anthropology at Georgia State University. She was not involved in the study.

Tiwanaku populations are also suspected to have lived in what is now northern Chile and in Cochabamba, Sharratt added.

The Tiwanaku constructed Palaspata to further exert its sociopolitical influence over other societies in the area by controlling trade between regions, the new study suggests.

“The placement of this site is strategically located between two major geographic zones of the Andean Highlands,” Capriles said.

“This might have been sort of a nice strategic control outpost that not only controlled flow of goods in an economic and political sense, but it also did so through religion, and this is why it is a temple,” he said. “The alignment of religious, political and economic institutions, which is how many of these institutions emerge, is something that I think people were kind of surprised about.”
Uncovering a lost temple

The temple Palaspata is only visible by its perimeter wall, which is outlined with red sandstone.

While working on an unrelated archaeology project near the highway, researchers noticed the structure and decided it “seemed significant,” Capriles said.

They investigated the area further on foot and with drones. From the initial findings, Capriles was able to use 3D rendering to create a digital reconstruction of the temple.

The structure is 125 meters long and 145 meters wide (410 by 475 feet) — about the size of a city block — with 15 modular enclosures that were likely rooms surrounding an inner courtyard.

The building’s main entrance faces west, aligned with the solar equinox and indicative of the temple’s religious role in the society. While not much is known of Tiwanaku’s spiritual practices, archaeologists have previously found stone monoliths and ceramics with plant- and animal-based symbolism that may allude to traditions known to be part of other pre-Inca societies. Researchers on past expeditions related to Tiwanaku commonly uncovered religious structures designed to highlight the landscape’s natural features and align with key events in the solar cycle.

Archaeologists have also found Tiwanaku pottery at the site, such as keru cups, typically used to drink some form of maize-based alcohol. This suggests that the building was likely used for parties or large gatherings, Sharratt said.

Compared with other ancient societies, Tiwanaku remains enigmatic, and researchers have a limited, patchwork understanding of the civilization, according to Sharratt.

Archaeological theories suggest that Tiwanaku collapsed because of a drought or environmental degradation. Others experts believe that both of these factors may have led to social tension and unrest, ultimately giving rise to a populist uprising.

Why don’t researchers know much about this cryptic society? Tiwanaku “didn’t fit some early archaeologists’ ideas about what a state should look like or where you could have a thriving city,” Sharratt said. “It hasn’t necessarily met all of our expectations, so I think that’s partly why.”

By Gina Park, CNN

#DNA analysis of two burials from 1,000 years ago reveals West African heritage.

#Archeologists studied two separate burials on the southern coast of England from more than 1,000 years ago, suggesting they had recent ancestors, likely grandparents, from West Africa.

Researchers from universities based in the U.K. conducted ancient DNA analysis on individuals buried at two seventh-century AD cemeteries in England – Updown in Kent and Worth Matravers in Dorset – to explore migration patterns in early medieval Europe, according to research published in Antiquity on Wednesday.

“Migration and its direction, scale and impact have been much debated in European archeology,” the authors said in a news release. “Archeogenetic research can now provide new insight, even identifying individual migrants”.

Duncan Sayer, lead author of the Updown research article and a professor at the University of Lancashire, told CTVNews.ca Monday that at first, the researchers were trying to understand kinship patterns.

“Initially, we were exploring ancient DNA to look at early medieval migrations into Britain from continental Europe in the early Middle Ages – specifically if we could see an early Anglo-Saxon migration in the genetics," he said.

In the news release, Sawyer called Kent a “conduit for influence from the adjacent continent” of Africa, which was particularly seen in the sixth century, also known as Kent’s “Frankish Phase.”

“Updown is also located near to the royal centre of Finglesham, indicating that these connections were part of a wider royal network,” Sayer said.

Sawyer also brought up the diversity of the region, adding that people with different accents or ways of life would not have been uncommon at the time.

The Updown grave contained several goods, according to Sawyer: a pot, possibly from Frankish Gaul; a spoon that could indicate Christian faith and exotic gold, silver, and garnet items, often left as gifts or possessions of the buried.

‘The boy from Worth Matravers’

Meanwhile, Dorset “sat on the fringes of continental influence” compared to Updown, according to Ceiridwen J. Edwards, lead author of the Worth Matravers article from the University of Huddersfield.

“The archeological evidence suggests a marked and notable cultural divide between Dorset and areas to the west, and the Anglo-Saxon influenced areas to the east,” Edwards said in the news release.

“The difference is in the context and part of why this is so important,” Sawyer said. “In Dorset, this is a costal community who relied on the sea and consumed costal shellfish.”

“The boy from Worth Matravers” was buried in a double grave, but the children in both cases were a part of the fabric of their community, Sawyer said.

His grave contained a local limestone anchor, which links the site or the occupants to the sea or seafaring travel, he added.

Most of the individuals buried at the cemeteries were either northern European descendants, or had western British and Irish ancestry, both of which were prevalent in England at the time. However, one individual at each cemetery had a recent ancestor from West Africa, the paper read.

The mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited from the mother, was northern European. But the researched indicated that autosomal DNA, which comes from both parents, showed non-European ancestry, connecting them to present-day Yoruba, Mende, Mandenka, and Esan groups from sub-Saharan West Africa.

That means both individuals had genetic and geographical mixed descent, further suggesting that both had one paternal grandparent from West Africa, the research article said.

According to Sawyer, the genetics place the two individuals’ maternal grandparents around Nigeria, Tongo, Gambia, Senegal or Sierra Leone.

“In both cases, the DNA points to long distance connections. The movement not just of exotic goods, but of people seen in their DNA,” Sawyer explained. “The Byzantines used this as a way to get to new gold supplies from sub-Saharan Africa to mint coins.”
‘Cosmopolitan nature of England’

The route into Europe could have been across east Africa to the Nile, up north into Alexandra in Egypt, over the Mediterranean to Byzantium Rome, over the Alps into France and Germany, then eventually, the U.K., Sawyer added.

Despite the lack of written literature that can point out migration patterns of the early Middle Ages, DNA has proven helpful in understanding how people from long distances may have travelled and integrated into communities in England, the research paper said.

“Our joint results emphasise the cosmopolitan nature of England in the early medieval period, pointing to a diverse population with far-flung connections who were, nonetheless, fully integrated into the fabric of daily life,” Edwards said.

“Britian was quite bohemian, even in the sixth and seventh centuries,” Sawyer added.

Hochosterwitz Castle, Austria 🇦🇹

Funerary Bronze Illyrian-Style Helmets with Gold Attachments (6th Century BC) :

These funerary bronze helmets, of the Illyrian type, date back to 6th Century BC and were discovered in the Archontiko necropolis in northern Greece 🇬🇷. Now housed at the Archaeological Museum of Pella, these helmets are notable for their exquisite craftsmanship and rich ornamentation. They are made of bronze, with intricate gold attachments that adorn the helmets, reflecting the high status of the individuals they were meant to honor.

The Illyrian-style helmet, which features a high crest and protective cheek guards, was a common form used by warriors during this period. These helmets not only served as protective gear but also as ceremonial objects, symbolizing the warrior’s status and strength. The fine gold detailing adds a touch of grandeur, showcasing the artistry and wealth of the elite in ancient Greece. This set of helmets provides a glimpse into the funerary practices of the time and the military culture that shaped the region.

In 19th Century, the warriors of Kiribati 🇰🇮 donned an extraordinary piece of headgear known as te barantauti—helmets fashioned from the dried skins of porcupinefish.

These unique puffer fish, adorned with their formidable spikes, transformed into natural armor, imbuing the helmets with both protection and a striking presence.

It is fascinating to witness how the ingenious people of Kiribati harnessed the resources of their environment, blending practicality with the inherent defensive traits of local wildlife to create such formidable designs.

Uruk - the initial city of human civilization that changed the world with its advanced knowledge :

The cuneiform tablets discovered at Nineveh include fascinating information about giants, weird beasts, and enigmatic flying ships.
Of all these, most striking is that of Gilgamesh, considered oldest epic of mankind. A 5000 years ago, he ruled Uruk despotically, and that certain historical texts show him as someone who really existed, but with a fantastic and unknown origin. Unfortunately, its complete history has not survived over time, but what can be perceived in the rest of the tablets found, shows a history of struggle, life and death. Sumerians considered Gilgamesh to be “the man (entity or being) for whom all things were known (unlimited knowledge)”. They said it was a hybrid between gods “who came from heaven” and humans.

Uruk continues to hold many human mysteries, shocking traditional archaeology with each new dig with stories that have been concealed from us for decades. Uruk is a clear example of this, along with his stories about gods that make us wonder if there really was no “influence” beyond what we know.

Uruk was a city that flourished south of the river valley, on the banks of the Euphrates, and its civilization expanded throughout Mesopotamia to become the world’s earliest and most significant metropolis. Cradle of mythical rulers such as Gilgamesh.

A God who was far far from what we recognise as “human” and more akin to a mystery creature. But, before we get to Gilgamesh, we must first discuss the beginnings of one of antiquity’s most mysterious civilizations. It was discovered in 1849 thanks to William Loftus, despite the fact that the most renowned archaeologists did not reach it until the following century; 1912-1913. Julius Jordan together with the East German Society discovered the Ishtar temple at that time, surprising it with its adobe mosaics and bricks. But what surprised him most were the ruins of the ancient wall that covered the entire city for more than 3,000 years BC, which, according to later studies, reached more than 15 meters in height and was more than 9 kilometers long wall built by King Gilgamesh.

In 1950s, Heinrich Lenzen found some tablets written in Sumerian dialect and dated 3300 BC and that described Uruk as first urban center that used writing as a common means of communication in everyday life. All of these discoveries demonstrated, quite contrary to what everyone believed at the time, that Uruk became, not only first urban human settlement, but also nucleus of society, with a flourishing economic power superior to anyone. In addition, it stands out in the succession of temples crowned in ziggurats and palaces, at least 80,000 inhabitants, making it the first city on the planet.

Throughout its history, Uruk has also lived through different stages, its foundation being a Neolithic settlement around 5000 BC, making it a powerful city, significantly advanced and considerably influential between 4000-3000 BC, until its fall after 700 AD. Even so, Uruk’s influence was so powerful, that it takes a period of time to bear his name, making it most influential metropolis of human societies. However, it is not yet known how Uruk came to be the epicenter of society and had so much dominance. His economic power was known, the perfect lands that existed in the valley of the two rivers, which certainly made him grow the best food in the region.

Possibly this attracted more people who joined urban planning, creating business with different regions, making people not need to fight for their livelihood, giving them the opportunity to dedicate themselves other tasks, creating all kinds. But it is also believed in theoretical circles (theorists of ancient astronauts, alternative theorists and others who do not believe in history as we were told) that he had a “divine” influence, which did not belong to this planet.