logo
Elite 5,000-year-old Woman's Tomb Unearthed in Coastal Peru

Elite 5,000-year-old Woman's Tomb Unearthed in Coastal Peru

Yomiuri Shimbun16-05-2025

LIMA (Reuters) — Archaeologists in coastal Peru have discovered the 5,000-year-old remains of a woman who may have belonged to the upper echelons of the ancient Caral civilization, a find they say points to the importance of women in the city some five millennia earlier.
Caral, located some 180 kilometers up the Pacific coast from Lima, is considered the oldest city in the Americas and would have been inhabited at the same time as ancient Egyptian, Chinese and Sumerian civilizations — though unlike these, researchers say it developed in complete isolation.
Aspero, the area in the Caral site where the tomb was found, was formerly used as a municipal dump.
'This is an important burial because it has elements that correspond to a woman of high status,' archeologist David Palomino told Reuters last month, pointing to the way the corpse was wrapped and the preservation of her skin, hair and nails.
The body of the woman, who would have died at around 20 to 35 years of age, was found with a mantle of blue and brown feathers that could come from an Amazonian bird such as a macaw, he said, adding the tomb was surrounded by baskets with offerings, vases, gourds and a toucan's beak.
Palomino said the finding showed that 'not only men had an important association in this civilization, but this was also complementary with that of women.'
Though researchers do not know the exact date of the burial, the Caral civilization was active around 3,000 B.C.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

U.S. reports the arrest of another Chinese scientist with no permit to send biological material
U.S. reports the arrest of another Chinese scientist with no permit to send biological material

Asahi Shimbun

time12 hours ago

  • Asahi Shimbun

U.S. reports the arrest of another Chinese scientist with no permit to send biological material

This image provided by United States District Court For The Eastern District Of Michigan shows toxic plant pathogens that a Chinese scientist entering the U.S. last year stashed in his backpack, federal authorities said Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (United States District Court For The Eastern District Of Michigan via AP) DETROIT--A Chinese scientist was arrested while arriving in the U.S. at the Detroit airport, the second case in days involving the alleged smuggling of biological material, authorities said Monday. The scientist is accused of shipping biological material months ago to staff at a laboratory at the University of Michigan. The FBI, in a court filing, described it as material related to certain worms and requires a government permit. 'The guidelines for importing biological materials into the U.S. for research purposes are stringent, but clear, and actions like this undermine the legitimate work of other visiting scholars,' said John Nowak, who leads field operations at U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The scientist was interviewed and arrested Sunday after arriving on a flight from China, where she is pursuing an advanced degree at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. She planned to spend a year completing a project at the University of Michigan. Her shipments, including an envelope stuffed inside a book, were intercepted last year and earlier this year and opened by authorities, the FBI said. The court filing doesn't indicate whether the FBI believes the biological material was risky, though U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. said smuggling 'threatens our security.' The scientist remains in custody awaiting a bond hearing Wednesday. 'It doesn't strike me as something that is dangerous in any way. But there are rules to ship biological material,' said Michael Shapira, a biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who read the court filing and spoke to The Associated Press. The government last week charged two Chinese scientists who are accused of conspiring to smuggle a toxic fungus into the U.S. One was turned around at the Detroit airport and sent back to China last year, while the other, a researcher at the University of Michigan, was arrested. She remains in custody.

Green Sea Turtle Rescued in Ireland Set Free in Canary Islands
Green Sea Turtle Rescued in Ireland Set Free in Canary Islands

Yomiuri Shimbun

time3 days ago

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

Green Sea Turtle Rescued in Ireland Set Free in Canary Islands

Reuters A green sea turtle named Solstice is released after six months of recovery, on Melenara Beach on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, on May 23. TALIARTE, Spain (Reuters) — Solstice, a rare green sea turtle found paralyzed by cold on Christmas Eve on an Irish beach, was set free in Spain's Canary Islands on May 23, six months after she was rescued and underwent a program of care by vets. The young turtle, which would normally swim in tropical or subtropical waters, was probably taken by northbound currents and washed up almost dead on a beach in County Clare in Ireland's southwest, Pascual Calabuig, a vet and biologist from the fauna conservation center in Gran Canaria, told Reuters. 'She came in with pneumonia, meningitis and she was cold-stun, so she was in pretty bad shape and she had shark or seal bites on the top and bottom of her shell,' Maria Foley, Animal Manager at the Dingle Ocean World in Ireland, said. Like most reptiles, turtles are unable to regulate their body temperature and become paralyzed when water around them gets too cold. Foley flew with Solstice to Taliarte on Gran Canaria, which is located off West Africa in the Atlantic Ocean, to set her free. For six months, the 0.3-meter-wide, 3.1-kilogram turtle was fed with prawns and squids and treated with antibiotics. She is now fully recovered. Solstice is the second turtle Foley's team have brought from Ireland to Taliarte. Recent studies have shown areas suitable for sea turtles have extended, probably due to warmer sea waters, though since their lifespan is so long, behavioral change must be observed over long periods. Green sea turtles, though classified as endangered, are fairly common around the Canary archipelago. They take their name from the color of their fat, not the color of their shell. They can live up to 90 years in the wild and grow up to 1.5 meters and weigh up to 188 kilograms.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store