#TheMoment an ancient spearhead was unearthed on a family farm
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
17 hours ago
- CTV News
Proof of life: tracking elusive Amazon group to save their land
Forest lines the Combu creek, on Combu Island on the banks of the Guama River, near the city of Belem, Para state, Brazil, Aug. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) A ceramic pot and the shell of a turtle, once hunted for its meat, are the most recent traces of an Indigenous community thought to live deep in the north Brazilian Amazon. Archaeological finds like these keep turning up, and date back to at least 2009, with members of a neighbouring clan claiming to have caught glimpses of individuals who live in the Ituna/Itata region in Brazil's northern Para state. For now, the nameless, elusive people -- perhaps belonging to more than one group -- remain among dozens of so-called 'uncontacted' communities believed to roam the world's biggest rainforest. 'My sister-in-law told me: 'Over there! Over there!' And it was a little boy staring at me from up close,' recounted Takamyi Asurini, an elder in Ita'aka -- an Indigenous village of about 300, whose accounts of close encounters have fed theories of the existence of uncontacted people in Ituna/Itata. Asurini showed AFP a scar on his ribs he said was the result of being shot with an arrow by an unknown person in the jungle. Such testimonies, and the objects found, are not considered proof of the existence of people in Ituna/Itata. But it is enough for the region to enjoy a provisional protected status meant to prevent invasions by miners, loggers and ranchers -- preserving both the forest and the people thought to live there. The area covers tens of thousands of hectares and is similar in size to Sao Paolo -- the biggest city in Latin America. It became one of the most overrun Indigenous territories in Brazil under former president Jair Bolsonaro, a backer of agro-industry on whose watch Amazon deforestation surged. Now, lobby groups want the Ituna/Itata region's protection to be made permanent, which would mean stricter land use rules and enforcement. 'Historical neglect' For this to happen, the government's National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai) would have to send expeditions to look for undeniable proof of the group's existence. Part of the challenge is the dense Amazon jungle is home to rich, varied ecosystems that support migratory agriculture for Indigenous peoples, who may travel to hunt, fish and gather food seasonally. Under law, any searchers cannot make contact with them -- potentially putting them at risk of diseases they have no immunity to -- but are to look instead for footprints of their life in the forest. Brazil recognizes 114 'uncontacted' Indigenous groups who live with no or minimal interaction with others. About a quarter are 'confirmed,' while for the rest -- like in Ituna/Itata -- there is 'strong evidence' that they exist. For Luiz Fernandes, a member of umbrella group Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), there has been 'historial neglect' of the issue by the state, which he says 'recognizes the possibility of the existence of these peoples but does not guarantee effective measures to protect the territory.' Added Mita Xipaya, an Indigenous activist: 'the state needs qualified records' to prove that an area hosts uncontacted people, 'but for us it is different: we perceive them in nature, in the sounds we hear, their presences, sometimes their smells.' 'Taking care of the forest' The Brazilian Amazon has lost nearly a third of its native vegetation since records began in 1988, according to environmental NGO Instituto Socioambiental -- except in Indigenous territories where the figure is less than two percent. From 2019 to 2022, the Bolsonaro government suspended the provisional protection measures decreed for Ituna/Itata, prompting an invasion by land grabbers, turning it into the most deforested Indigenous area in Brazil. Though the protection was reinstated under his leftist successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the consequences persist, and miles-wide patches of devastated soil intersperse areas of green rainforest, AFP observed during a recent flyover. Brazil will in November host the COP30 UN climate conference in the Amazonian city of Belem under Lula, who has sought to position himself as a leader in forest preservation and the fight against global warming. 'It's not just about taking care of the forest but also of the people who inhabit it, because it's through them that the forest remains standing,' COIAB coordinator Toya Manchineri told AFP. By Carlos Fabal with Facundo Fernandez Barrio in Sao Paulo, AFP
CBC
a day ago
- CBC
#TheMoment Elsa Lessard helped change the course of WW II
The National takes a moment to remember the legacy of Canadian veteran Elsa Lessard, whose work listening to German U-boat messages helped change the course of the Second World War. Lessard died Tuesday at the age of 101.
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Medieval knight's complete skeleton discovered beneath Polish ice cream parlour
The knight's skeleton was found under an ornate tombstone. (S. Kurzyńska/ArcheoScan via CNN Newsource) Archeologists have discovered the remains of a medieval knight, buried under a shuttered ice cream parlour in the Polish city of Gdańsk. Experts have been working at the site in the historic Śródmieście (city centre) district since 2023, and initially uncovered a medieval tombstone decorated with the carved image of a knight, according to a statement from Polish archaeology firm ArcheoScan, sent to CNN on Tuesday. The tombstone was then lifted earlier in July, revealing the complete skeleton of an adult male, thought to have lived around the 13th or 14th century. The find is of 'exceptional significance' and 'one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Poland in recent years,' Sylwia Kurzyńska, archeologist and director of ArcheoScan, said in the statement. Polish knight The knight was far taller than the average person at the time. (S. Kurzyńska/ArcheoScan via CNN Newsource) The tombstone is made from Gotland limestone, which was highly prized in the Middle Ages, and the relief depicts a knight sporting chainmail armor and mail leggings, with a sword and a shield. The slab measures around 150 centimetres (4' 11') in length, and important details of the artwork can still be seen, despite the fact that it is partially damaged. 'The tombstone is remarkably well preserved, considering it was carved from soft limestone and lay underground for centuries,' said Kurzyńska. 'The knight is shown standing upright with an uplifted sword — a posture likely symbolizing authority and elevated social status,' she added. This marks the tombstone out from the vast majority of late medieval sepulchral art, which tended to be limited to inscribed epitaphs, heraldic panels or Christian crosses, according to Kurzyńska. 'Only a small fraction included depictions of the deceased — and among these, most were simplified engravings on flat slabs designed for church floor use,' she added. It is also unusual in that both the artwork and its archeological context remain intact. Polish knight The tombstone, pictured in situ (S. Kurzyńska/ArcheoScan via CNN Newsource) After lifting the stone, archeologists found the remains of a man who stood 170-180 centimetres (5' 7' - 5' 11') tall, far larger than the medieval average, according to Kurzyńska. The bones were arranged naturally, confirming that the tombstone marked the original burial site, and preliminary analysis indicates 'excellent preservation,' she said. 'Although no grave goods were found, all available evidence suggests that the deceased was a person of high social standing — most likely a knight or commander held in particularly high esteem and respect,' said Kurzyńska. The grave was part of a cemetery housing almost 300 burials, which was attached to the oldest known church in Gdańsk. The church was built from oak found to have been felled in 1140, and was located in an early medieval stronghold occupied from the late 11th century to the early 14th century, according to the statement. 'This was a place of power, faith, and burial — a space of symbolic and strategic significance in the history of Gdańsk,' said Kurzyńska. Polish Knight The site was part of an early medieval stronghold. (S. Kurzyńska/ArcheoScan via CNN Newsource) The latest find 'offers an invaluable source of knowledge about the lives and deaths of Gdańsk's military elite in the 13th and 14th centuries, about medieval funerary traditions, and about cross-Baltic cultural connections,' she added. Experts are now working on further analysis of both the tombstone and the skeleton. The stone slab is being cleaned and stabilized so that it can be documented and 3D scanned to allow for the digital reconstruction of missing fragments, while the skeleton will undergo anthropological and genetic analysis to reveal more about the knight's life, and a facial reconstruction will be made based on the skull. By Jack Guy, CNN
