September 2011
54 posts
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10 surprising final send-offs... →
The creator of Doritos, Arch West, died this weekend at the age of 97. The snack that made him famous will be scattered into his grave after the coffin is lowered. He’s the latest in a line people who have had a personal touch put on their final goodbye…
Click through to read more…!
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Last meal: What's the point of this death row... →
The state of Texas has ended the practice of offering death row inmates their choice of last meal before their deaths. What does a killer’s choice of food say about his state of mind?
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Prehistoric footprints found in Mexico →
archaeologicalnews:
FOOTPRINTS from early humans that are between 4500 and 25,000 years-old have been discovered in a remote area of northern Mexico, researchers say.
The five footprints set in stone “are among the few impressions of the first inhabitants in the American continent found in Mexico”, the Institute…
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A grisly end: 800-year-old remains of witch... →
archaeologicalnews:
These are the 800 year old remains of what archaeologists believe was a witch from the Middle Ages after seven nails were found driven through her jaw bone.
The grim discovery was made during a dig on what is thought to be a ‘witches graveyard’ after another woman’s skeleton was found…
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Court finds pensioner's death in fire caused by... →
A CORONER’S court has heard how a man who died in a fire in his house three days before Christmas had spontaneously combusted.
The case was outlined in Galway yesterday, where an inquest into the death of a pensioner heard how investigators were baffled as to how Michael Faherty had died…
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Jokers' Masquerade is to Attempt to Break the... →
On Saturday 8th October, Jokers’ Masquerade Fancy Dress, in association with Swansea University Students Union, will be hosting this crazy event, which will be compered by Radio 1 DJ, Matt Edmondson, and entertainment will be provided by Wheatus!
The current record of 197 for the largest gathering of skeletons was set by the Paul O’Grady Show in 2009 and Jokers’...
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Study finds humans still evolving, and quickly →
The pace of human evolution has been increasing at a stunning rate since our ancestors began spreading through Europe, Asia and Africa 40,000 years ago, quickening to 100 times historical levels after agriculture became widespread, according to a study published today.
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They found that the more the population grew, the faster human genes evolved. That’s because more people created more...
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Mummy found abandoned in Peru's capital →
archaeologicalnews:
Lima, Sept 21 : A mummy, apparently of a young woman, was abandoned on a Lima street along with ancient ceramic artifacts, a forensic expert told Peruvian media.
The mummified remains of a woman around 20, according to the opinion of medical examiners, were found by a security guard Sunday…
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The Macabre & Beautifully Grotesque
peltermag:
Joel-Peter Witkin (born September 13, 1939) shocking photography deals with such themes as death, corpses (or pieces of them), and various outsiders such as dwarfs, transsexuals, hermaphrodites, and physically deformed people. His complex tableaux often recall religious episodes or famous classical paintings. Because of the transgressive nature of the contents of his pictures, his...
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Crucial mummy found 20 years ago today →
archaeologicalnews:
Twenty years ago Monday, a German couple hiking the Italian Alps veered off a marked footpath and stumbled upon one of the world’s oldest and most important archeological finds: Oetzi, “The Iceman”.
Oetzi fast became a sensation, not just because he proved to be more than 5,000 years old,…
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Remains of Ancient Human Sacrifices Unearthed in...
archaeologicalnews:
Archaeologists have unearthed remains of 42 children and 74 llamas and related animals that were sacrificed some 800 years ago in the fishing town of Huanchaquito, Peru.
The remains were from a massive sacrifice that formed part of a religious ceremony of the pre-Inca Chimu culture for the fertility of the ocean and the land, Reuters reported.
Oscar Gabriel Prieto,...
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N.Y. Supreme Court hears arguments by 9/11... →
A group of 9/11 families suing New York City over its plan to store unidentified human remains underground at the World Trade Center site made its argument to a New York state judge Wednesday.
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Object Biographies: Fascinating letter via the... →
museumsandstuff:
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has a wall calendar called “Everyday Object: Enduring Legacies” which features a range of objects including cameras, headphones, shoes etc that have a connection to the Holocaust and a story to tell.
This piece of paper has two letters, one from a Jewish man being deported in a cramped railway car, the other from the railway worker...
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Lest we should ever be allowed to forget... →
Museums used to be a celebration of human achievement. Now they merely peddle misery. Tiffany Jenkins asks why…
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Skeletons reveal our ancestors’ fear of the undead →
archaeologicalnews:
TWO skeletons discovered with stones wedged in their mouths were buried this way around 1,300 years ago to prevent them rising from their graves to haunt the living.
A documentary featuring the work of archaeologists at Institute of Technology, Sligo, to be screened tomorrow, suggests the…
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Fleshy plastinated seductiveness or the loss of... →
A thought-provoking blog post from Medical Museion, University of Copenhagen about the ‘seductive presence of anatomical specimens’. Here’s a little snippet…
Alive
I carry a picture of a dead woman’s head in my memory. My encounter with her took place in King’s College’s Gordon Museum in London on a sunny afternoon last spring. I don’t exaggerate if I say she had an...
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Maya Death Rituals
ellamorte:
The Maya are thought of as religious people, who lived in fear of the destructive nature of their gods. Death rituals became an important part of their religion; they developed many traditions to commemorate the recently deceased and worship long-departed ancestors. The Maya greatly respected death; they were taught to fear it and grieved deeply for the dead. They also believed that...
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Mystery afoot in British Columbia... →
It’s the stuff of crime novels. Eleven severed feet in running shoes have appeared on the shores of British Columbia in the past four years. For some it would be a great mystery to solve and reportedly high-profile crime experts from all over the world have been weighing in. But according to a Daily Beast article that’s attracting readers, police shouldn’t be on the look out...
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10 Creepiest Abandoned Morgues on Earth →
theossuary:
Interesting photos in here. However, it kinda bums me out that this site can’t spell “Archaeology” correctly.
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Archaeological Evidence of Cannibalism →
alphacaeli:
The criteria used to identify cannibalism from human remains includes: Burnt bone Facial Mutilation Dismemberment Brain exposure A pattern of missing elements Cut or scrape marks Greenstick-splintering of longbone shafts exposing marrow cavities Bone breakage Anvil or hammerstone…
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A History Of Archaeological Deceit - Swiss Exhibit... →
archaeologicalnews:
A current exhibition in Neuchatel, Switzerland features the most outrageous frauds from the world of archeology, from fake skulls to dragons made from the remains of sting rays. It also reveals that people have been making fake artifacts for thousands of years.
In 1563, the servants of Anton…
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NYTimes: Bones of Australia’s Jesse James Are... →
…After his execution, Ned Kelly was buried in a mass grave at a prison, the Melbourne Gaol. There his remains might have quietly and invisibly decomposed but for a mistake by 19th-century gravediggers: they used a type of lime that slowed decomposition instead of hastening it.
So when the grounds were dug up for development in 1929, startled workers found the site full of skeletons....
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Evidence of Pre-Inca Culture of Human Sacrifice... →
archaeologicalnews:
LIMA: The pre Inca culture “Chimu” developed in the northern Peruvian coast practiced human sacrifices evident in the 800-year old remains of 33 children and teenagers found in the area.
The human remains were found along with those of 63 llamas (Andean camels) also ritually sacrificed in the…
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Conditions in Nelson's navy uncovered by... →
archaeologicalnews:
Sailors in Admiral Nelson’s navy were plagued by scurvy, ridden with syphilis and often mutilated by amputations but only a minority were from lowest social class, Oxford University archaeologists have found.
An examination of 340 skeletons from three 18th and 19th century Royal Navy…
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