New DNA evidence shows that elite leaders at Chaco Canyon weren’t just members of the same class — they were members of the same extended family, a “dynasty” that traced its ancestry to a single woman.
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Chaco’s Elites Were Natives of Chaco Canyon, Not Migrants, Their Remains Show
The elites of Chaco Canyon were born and raised there, and weren’t migrants from distant regions, as many thought, new research finds.
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Grave of Disabled Young Woman Reveals Touching Tale of Care in Prehistoric Arizona
Human remains found buried in downtown Tempe, Arizona, are revealing a touching story about one young woman’s painful life and the community that cared for her more than 800 years…
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New Discoveries From Cahokia’s ‘Beaded Burial’ May Rewrite Story of Ancient American City
The people buried in one of America’s most famous prehistoric graves are not who we thought they were, researchers say.
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Ancient Grave of Teenage Girl May Reveal Secrets of Southwest’s Earliest Farmers
Archaeologists hope that a teenage girl buried 3,200 years ago in the borderlands of northern Mexico may help unlock the story of the first farmers in the Greater Southwest.
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Severed Heads, Skull Bowls Found in California Graves Were Tributes, Not War Trophies, Study Finds
A 3,000 year-old village discovered in central California has been found to contain an unusual set of burials — with more than a half dozen individuals buried without their heads,…
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Mass Grave Found in California Reveals Prehistoric Violence Against ‘Outsiders’
An ancient mass grave, uncovered during the construction of a shopping mall outside San Francisco, contains the bodies of seven men who appear to have been victims of “mass homicide”…
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Victims of Human Sacrifice at Cahokia Were Locals, Not ‘Foreign’ Captives, Study Finds
The practice of human sacrifice in America’s largest prehistoric city was more subtle and complex than experts once thought, new research suggests. Recent studies into the remains of sacrificial victims…
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Mesoamerican ‘Fool’s Gold’ Mirrors Found in Arizona Reveal Ties to Ancient Mexico
Archaeologists exploring the ties between ancient cultures in the Southwestern U.S. and central Mexico have turned their attention to some unusual artifacts excavated in Arizona: more than 50 mirrors encrusted…
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‘Twin’ Ice Age Infants Discovered in 11,500-Year-Old Alaska Grave
A tenderly decorated grave discovered in Alaska holds the remains of two infants dating back 11,500 years, the youngest Ice Age humans yet found in the Western Hemisphere, archaeologists say….
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Ceremonial ‘Axis’ Road Discovered in Heart of Ancient City of Cahokia
After more than 85 years of study and speculation, recent digs have confirmed the presence of a ceremonial road running through the heart of Cahokia, the largest prehistoric city north…
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From Stone Darts to Dismembered Bodies, New Study Reveals 5,000 Years of Violence in Central California
From shooting their enemies with darts and arrows to crushing their skulls and even harvesting body parts as trophies, the ancient foragers of central California engaged in sporadic, and sometimes…
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Sacrificial and Common Graves Alike Reveal Diversity in Ancient City of Cahokia
Whether they died from natural causes or as sacrificial offerings, the residents of America’s largest prehistoric city were surprisingly diverse, with at least a third of the population having come…
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Earliest Evidence of Gigantism-Like Disease Found in 3,800-Year-Old California Skeleton
The remains of a man buried 3,800 years ago in a richly decorated California grave bear some unusual but unmistakable features — a protruding brow, a lantern jaw, thick leg…
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Genome of America’s Only Clovis Skeleton Reveals Origins of Native Americans
The remains of a one-year-old boy who died 12,600 years ago in what’s now Montana are giving up exceptional information about the place his people held in American history, and…
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Mass Grave of ‘Prodigal Sons’ in California Poses Prehistoric Mystery
New research has turned up some perplexing clues in a prehistoric mystery: the fate of three men found in a mass grave in California, their bodies riddled with arrow points…
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