Welcome to the 21st episode of History News This Week. Please note that History News This Week will be online every Sunday at 09:30 PM Indian Standard Time i.e. 04:00 PM GMT. This week I have six interesting pieces of news items from the world of History and Archaeology followed by two great articles. Let’s begin!
Links to the news items, articles, latest released book and the history podcast recommendation of the week below:
We carry DNA from extinct cousins like Neanderthals. Science is now revealing their genetic legacy
Newton tree saplings auction raises more than £30k
Mysterious and 'beautifully carved' life-size camel carvings discovered in Saudi Arabian desert
New chambers discovered in Ancient Egyptian pyramid of Sahure
A Mexican Journalist Went Viral After He Presented ‘Alien Bodies’ to Congress. Now He Is Accused of Plundering Them From Ancient Sites
Maharashtra awaits UNESCO tag for 14 ‘Maratha Military Architecture’ forts
Treasure hunters pose a problem for underwater archaeological heritage
What Makes The Hoysala Temples Of Karnataka A UNESCO Heritage Site
Links to order 'Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World's Most Contested City' below:
Amazon India:
Paperback
Kindle
Amazon USA:
Hardcover
Kindle
History podcast recommendation of the week:
ArtCurious
Please don't forget to checkout Historylogy.com for latest book reviews and tidbits from the pages of history.
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Coming up: History News This Week - Episode: 021
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
Welcome to the 21st episode of History News This Week. Please note that History News This Week will be online every Sunday at 09:30 PM Indian Standard Time i.e. 04:00 PM GMT.
This week I have six interesting pieces of news items from the world of History and Archaeology followed by two great articles. Let’s begin!
1st ─ We carry DNA from extinct cousins like Neanderthals. Science is now revealing their genetic legacy
Neanderthals live on within us. These ancient human cousins, and others called Denisovans, once lived alongside our early Homo sapiens ancestors. They mingled and had children. So some of who they were never went away—it's in our genes. And science is starting to reveal just how much that shapes us.
Using the new and rapidly improving ability to piece together fragments of ancient DNA, scientists are finding that traits inherited from our ancient cousins are still with us now, affecting our fertility, our immune systems, even how our bodies handled the COVID-19 virus.
2nd ─ Newton tree saplings auction raises more than £30k
An auction of 10 saplings from the apple tree that inspired Sir Isaac Newton has raised more than £30,000 to help the upkeep of his birthplace.
It is believed the scientist's home in Woolsthorpe Manor, Lincolnshire, is where he saw an apple fall in 1666, which led to him discovering gravity.
The online auction, which closed on Friday evening, raised £31,410.
The National Trust, which runs the property, said the highest bid was £5,000.
3rd ─ Mysterious and 'beautifully carved' life-size camel carvings discovered in Saudi Arabian desert
Archaeologists have documented a cluster of carvings depicting camels on a rock outcropping near the southern edge of Saudi Arabia's Nafud desert.
The monumental artwork portrays a dozen life-size wild camels, a now-extinct species that once roamed this swath of the Arabian Peninsula desert thousands of years ago but has never received a scientific name, according to a study published in the December issue of the journal Archaeological Research in Asia.
While the site, named Sahout, had been recognized by other archaeologists for some time, this is the first time someone noticed the camel carvings on the outcropping.
4th ─ New chambers discovered in Ancient Egyptian pyramid of Sahure
Scientists have unearthed previously unknown rooms in the pyramid of Sahure in Giza, Egypt.
Sahure, meaning “He who is close to Re”, was a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt and the second ruler of the Fifth Dynasty (2465 BC to 2325 BC). Sahure’s reign is seen as one of economic and cultural prosperity, opening new trading links to the land of Punt and expanding the flow of goods from the Levantine coast.
5th ─ A Mexican Journalist Went Viral After He Presented ‘Alien Bodies’ to Congress. Now He Is Accused of Plundering Them From Ancient Sites
A journalist is facing criminal charges in Peru for allegedly looting remains from pre-Hispanic graves, after he caused a stir earlier this month when he presented them to Mexico’s Congress as evidence of alien life. The event has also led to claims of fraud from the science community, which have dismissed the findings as a hoax.
6th ─ Maharashtra awaits UNESCO tag for 14 ‘Maratha Military Architecture’ forts
As India celebrates the 350th anniversary of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Maharashtra eagerly awaits the UNESCO World Heritage tag for a series of 14 Maratha forts, dotting the lush green Western Ghats and the picturesque coastal Konkan region of the state.
Since 2012, the Western Ghats have already been a UNESCO World Heritage site, a long, green, hilly tract extending from south Gujarat to North Kerala with the major portions falling in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Experts are now rooting for 14 forts – symbolising “Maratha Military Architecture” – which have already made it to UNESCO’s tentative list since April 2021, and now await a formal nod as a World Heritage site.
Now, coming to the two articles:
1st ─ Treasure hunters pose a problem for underwater archaeological heritage
There are ancient pirates and modern treasure hunters. They are separated by more than 200 years of history, differences in the available technology, and types of sponsorship that keep them afloat—the former sailing for a country and the latter protected by a company. Even so, they seem to have the same objective: the gold and silver of the Spanish Empire.
2nd ─ What Makes The Hoysala Temples Of Karnataka A UNESCO Heritage Site
These temples are a blend of various Southern architectural traditions, yet retain their distinctive style, making them a tangible part of India’s cultural heritage.
The Hoysala era, which started with local chieftains rising to power in the 10th century, is noted for the economic and cultural prosperity that marked this time. But the epitome of the grandeur of the empire is at its best in the form of many temples that received royal patronage, most notably, the Hoysala Temples. These temples, constructed during the illustrious reign of the dynasty between the 12th and 13th centuries, have earned worldwide acclaim for their intricate architectural marvels, and have recently been inscribed onto UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Latest history book release of the week:
‘Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World's Most Contested City’ written by Andrew Lawler is our pick of the week.
It is a spellbinding history of the hidden world below the Holy City—a saga of biblical treasures, intrepid explorers, and political upheaval.
History podcast recommendation of the week:
‘ArtCurious’ hosted by Jennifer Dasal is our pick of the week.
Hosted by a curator and historian, episodes explore the weird and wonderful aspects of the art world. From the rivalry between Michelangelo and Raphael to what led to Van Gogh’s death, Jennifer Dasal will make you look at Western art and history in an entirely new way.
I will provide links to all the news items, articles, book and podcast mentioned above in the show notes. Please feel free to check them out.
Thank you for listening to this week's episode of the ‘History News This Week’. Hope you found it interesting.
Please don't forget to subscribe to the Historylogy podcast on your favourite podcasting app and check Historylogy.com for book reviews and interesting tidbits from the pages of History. Looking forward to hearing from you. Have a great day and take care. Bye!