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HONGRIE -
Mözs-Icsei dűlő - During the fifth century A.D., people in central Europe practiced skull binding, a practice that dramatically elongates head shapes. These altered skulls were so drastically deformed that some have compared them to the heads of sci-fi aliens. The fifth century was also a time of political unrest, as the Roman Empire collapsed and people in Asia and eastern Europe were displaced by invading Huns, a nomadic Asian group. A graveyard in Mözs-Icsei dűlő, Hungary, first excavated in 1961, held the largest collection of elongated skulls in the region. A new study pieces together how skull-binding communities co-existed with other cultures during times of political instability — and how the skull-stretching tradition may have been shared between groups. For the new study, researchers examined 51 elongated skulls from burials in the Mözs graveyard, in what was once a Roman province known as Pannonia Valeria. The graves, 96 in all, were divided into three groups and represented three generations, from A.D. 430 until the cemetery was abandoned in A.D. 470. The first burial group is thought to be the founding group of the cemetery, and their remains are buried in Roman-style graves. A second group is buried in a style that appears to have originated outside the region, while the third group combines burial practices that draw from Roman and other traditions. Individuals with artificially stretched skulls were found in all three burial groups, with elongated skulls comprising around 32% of the burials in the first group; 65% in the second group; and 70% in the third group. However, variations in the location and direction of grooves in the skulls suggest that different binding techniques were used among the groups. The findings were published online today (April 29) in the journal PLOS ONE.
https://www.livescience.com/alien-skulls-hungarian-graveyard.html
COREE DU NORD – Hyangmok-ri - A primitive cave site showing the cultural layers in the Paleolithic, Neolithic and Bronze ages has recently been discovered in Hyangmok-ri, Kangdong County, Pyongyang. Unearthed in the cultural layer (fourth and fifth layers) of the Paleolithic age included some 1 650 mammal fossils (animal bone fossils) in nine kinds, 16 stone tools in eight sorts and over 280 spore and pollen fossils, five teeth of ancient type of Korean and 40 pieces of earthenware in the cultural layer (sixth layer) of the Neolithic era, and more than ten earthenware pieces in the cultural layer (seventh layer) of the Bronze Age. Researchers of the History Faculty at Kim Il Sung University have confirmed through ESR and TL date measurements that the formation of the relics dates back to 36 000-34 000 years in the later period of the Paleolithic era. They also clarified through research into the kind, material and making style of the stone tools that the tools had widely been used in the later period of the Paleolithic era. In addition, they explained that the teeth of an ancient Korean dug up in the layer of the Neolithic era were those of a woman in her 50s in the Neolithic era. The earthenware pieces from the cultural layers of the Neolithic and Bronze ages were also verified to be the relics in periods of abovementioned ages through research and analysis of their types, colours and patterns. The new discovery of the cave site scientifically proves that the area of Kangdong County in which Tangun, the founding father of the Korean nation, is buried is a place where the Koreans had lived since the Paleolithic era and one of the places where the historical roots of modern Koreans had taken.
1. Stone implements dating back to Paleolithic age (36 000-34 000 years ago) 1-2: scrapers, 3-7: choppers, 8: hand axe, 9-13: hunting stones, 14-16: pokers.
2. Fossil remains of mammals dating back to Paleolithic age (36 000-34 000 years ago) (1) 1-2: milk teeth of tiger (unknown species), 3: tiger’s canine tooth, 4: toe bone in a hind leg of tiger, 5: toe bone in a foreleg of tiger, 6: tiger’s humerus, 7: tiger’s big shinbone, 8-9: leopard’s ulnae, 10-12: canine teeth of brown bear, 13: upper second big molar tooth of brown bear, 14: lower second big molar tooth of brown bear,15: lower third big molar tooth of brown bear, 16: radial bone of brown bear, 17: shinbone of brown bear, 18: heel bone of brown bear.
3. Fossil remains of mammals dating back to Paleolithic age (36 000-34 000 years before) (2) 1: tooth of bicorn rhinoceros (unknown species), 2: lower jawbone of deer, 3: lower second big molar tooth of deer, 4-5: upper second big molar teeth of deer, 6: deer’s lower jawbone, 7: deer’s third toe bone, 8: deer’s heel bone, 9: deer’s anklebone, 10: deer’s sole bone in the hind leg, 11: deer’s humerus, 12: lower first big molar tooth of roe deer, 13-14: roe deer’s second toe bone,15: roe deer’s humerus, 16-17: second toe bones of red deer, 18: red deer’s humerus, 19: canine tooth of wild boar, 20: humerus of wild boar.
4. Fossil remains of mammals dating back to Paleolithic age (36 000-34 000 years back) (3) 1: right antler of deer, 2: left antler of deer.
5. Teeth of an ancient-type Korean in Neolithic age 1: lower right first small molar tooth, 2: upper right first small molar tooth, 3: upper right second small molar tooth, 4: upper left first big molar tooth, 5: upper left second big molar tooth.
6. Pieces of earthenware in Neolithic age: Broken pieces of an earthenware body made by mixing clay and sand, engraving lightning pattern and that of fir tree leaf on it and baking at low temperature.
EGYPTE – 
Wadi al-Zolma - Archaeologists has discovered a cave adorned with unique engravings of animals in the northern Sinai Desert. Artists active during the predynastic period likely created the engravings, says Hesham Hussein, lead archaeologist on the find and Sinai’s director of antiquities, in an email. He dates some of the inscriptions back to the Naqada III period, which lasted from approximately 3200 to 3000 B.C., but stipulates that the site has yet to be fully studied. The cave’s potentially 5,000-year-old carvings are distinct from those found in the valleys of the southern Sinai. Found mostly along the walls of the inner cave, the engravings depict animals including ibexes, ostriches, camels, leopards, cows and mules, according to Hussein. Some 600 feet southwest of the cave, the team unearthed the ruins of two circular stone buildings that appear to be the only remaining traces of a small settlement, but the researchers do not yet know if the people responsible for building these structures also created the cave art. The limestone cave is located in a mountainous area of Wadi al-Zulma, a valley roughly 40 miles east of the Suez Canal. Its interior is around 50 feet deep, with a ceiling measuring roughly 65 feet high. The floor is filled with “large quantities” of animal feces and ash from burnt-out fires. These remnants suggest the cave saw relatively continuous use, perhaps by locals seeking shelter for themselves and their livestock.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/egyptian-cave-filled-animals-etched-stone-180974793/
CHINE – 
Inner Mongolia - A group of farmers in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region discovered a tomb decorated with frescos dating back about 1,000 years ago, Xinhua reported on Friday. According to Inner Mongolia Museum of Prehistorical Culture, the tomb was built in the middle and late periods of Liao Dynasty (907-1125). The Liao Dynasty was established by the Khitan people, an ancient nomadic people in China originated from northern part of the country. Archaeologists managed to get frescos with an area of six square meters after professional cleaning and excavating procedures. Khitan artists were good at making paintings about the grassland scene and the people's nomadic life. The frescos discovered this time showcase different aspects of people's lives during the period, including making music, going hunting and cooking meals, as per Xinhua. All excavated frescos are now kept in the Inner Mongolia Museum of Prehistorical Culture where future repairs and studies will be carried out.
CROATIE – 
Cibalae - The remains of an Avar warrior dating to the late seventh or early eighth century A.D. have been found in a tomb in eastern Croatia, near the site of the Roman city of Cibalae. The Avars were Eurasian nomads who arrived in Europe in the sixth century A.D. and conquered other nomadic tribes. Archaeologist Anita Rapan-Papeša of the Vincovci City Museum said the man was buried with a belt. “When we observe the walled grave we have discovered, it turns out that Avars saw how Romans were buried so they made their own copies of Roman graves,” she explained. Rapan-Papeša and her team members also unearthed a grave in the cemetery that contained the remains of an Avar warrior, his horse, and bridle ornaments
https://www.croatiaweek.com/rare-archaeological-find-from-avar-period-unearthed-in-vinkovci/
ROYAUME UNI - Lechlade-on-Thames - Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a Bronze Age chieftain buried with profound wealth: Instead of receiving just one cattle "head and hoof" offering in his grave, a prize item reserved for VIP burials of that age, the chieftain had four such offerings. Even more confounding was the discovery of another burial near the chieftain's remains, that of an older man buried in a seated position, according to Foundations Archaeology, a British-based archaeological consultancy. The older man was buried with one head and hoof offering and nothing else, said Andy Hood, an archaeologist with Foundations Archaeology, who helped excavate the site. "One of the mysteries is, what was the relationship between those two men?" Hood told Live Science. The two likely had some type of social bond, but it's unclear why they were buried so close to each "One of the mysteries is, what was the relationship between those two men?" Hood told Live Science. The two likely had some type of social bond, but it's unclear why they were buried so close to each other, he said. other, he said. The age and style of the burials, as well as artifacts found near the chieftain, suggest that these men were part of the Beaker culture, named for its beaker-like ceramic pots.
https://www.livescience.com/bronze-age-chieftain-burial.html
