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From a surprising new human species to groundbreaking finds in 2024, archaeologists are uncovering secrets that change our past. Get ready for some mind-blowing revelations!
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00:00Archaeologists have been studying Petra in Jordan for 200 years, and in 2024, they found
00:06something they had never seen before.
00:09It's a tomb with at least 12 complete human skeletons and artifacts that are over 2,000
00:15years old right in front of the treasury.
00:18Bronze, iron, and ceramic items were placed with the deceased, which shows how people
00:23honored their loved ones when they passed away.
00:25It's a rare chance for scientists to learn more about the Nabataeans, an ancient group
00:31of Arabian nomads who built Petra.
00:33The objects found in the tomb under Petra's treasury are in amazing condition.
00:38But the skeletons became fragile because it's damp inside the tomb.
00:42They plan to study the remains and extract DNA to see if the people in the tomb were related.
00:49While some scientists are solving tomb mysteries, others have trained AI to find new ancient
00:55sites for them.
00:56They've created an algorithm that works with a special type of satellite imagery.
01:00This technique uses radio waves that can peek under things like sand, soil, and even ice
01:06to find hidden objects.
01:08AI will help search a huge desert on the Arabian Peninsula called the Empty Quarter for archaeological
01:14treasures.
01:15The lead scientists of the experiment trained the algorithm to recognize hidden locations
01:20using data from a site they had found before.
01:23The new tech can discover buried structures within 20 inches, which is very precise.
01:30Another groundbreaking tech, LIDAR, which means light detection and ranging, helped archaeologists
01:36reveal new hidden cities all around the world.
01:40LIDAR can see big structures beneath layers of vegetation and map even subtle changes in ancient
01:45landscapes.
01:46They use it to scan large areas from a small plane flying over places that aren't so easy
01:51to study from the ground, like dense jungle.
01:54In 2024 alone, they found new Maya settlements in southern Mexico.
01:59Gardens, roads, and rivers in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest, ancient ruins on the Pacific island of Tonga,
02:06and the remains of two medieval cities along the Silk Road route in Uzbekistan.
02:11Maybe some smart technology can also explain what Marge Simpson is doing on Earth in an ancient
02:17Egyptian tomb from 3,000 years ago.
02:20The drawing featuring a woman with yellow-colored skin, a blue crown, and a green outfit is alarmingly
02:27like the famous cartoon character.
02:29If you don't see a resemblance here, I hope you'll at least enjoy an amazingly well-preserved
02:35necklace with amethyst and agate beads.
02:38It's from another recent find from Egypt, an ancient tomb with 11 sealed burials near
02:43Luxor.
02:45Archaeologists also found two copper mirrors, one with a lotus-shaped handle, and the second
02:50with a unique design of the deity of the sky, women, fertility, and love in ancient Egypt.
02:56The hair of the figurine was originally made from almost 4,000 mud beads.
03:02Another awesome find from 2024 is an ancient Greek shrine with intact burials, a sarcophagus,
03:09and plenty of gold inside.
03:11They think it was built before the year 300, before the Common Era.
03:15And the marble lions, also found inside, were made from the same marble as the Parthenon in
03:21Athens.
03:22Greece is so full of ancient treasures that the city of Thessaloniki will house around 300,000
03:28of those artifacts in their new subway system.
03:32Meanwhile, archaeologists in France have found a monument unlike any other, and they can't
03:37figure out what it was used for.
03:39It's direct proof that people used to live here between the Neolithic and the early Iron
03:44Age periods.
03:45The coolest part is a monument made of three unique shapes that fit together like puzzle pieces.
03:51Some gravel found in the monument could mean there used to be a wooden fence called a palisade.
03:57People who built it probably used it for protection or decoration.
04:02The team studied the layers of soil around the monument to learn more about its origins.
04:07The only tools found so far were sharp flint stones, not the cartoon characters, which were
04:13used during the Neolithic period.
04:15The next step will be radiocarbon dating to figure out exactly how old the site is.
04:22Now, the oldest saddle ever found so far was found in the grave of a woman near the edge
04:27of the Taklamakan Desert in northwest China.
04:30This saddle is the oldest ever discovered.
04:33It was crafted from pieces of leather that were sewn together and stuffed with straw and
04:37animal hair to make it soft.
04:40Now, normally, things made from natural materials like this don't last very long, because they
04:45ride or fall apart.
04:47But the Taklamakan Desert is so dry that it helped preserve the artifact.
04:51The herdswoman who used the saddle was buried in her full riding attire.
04:56So this proves that not only men used saddles and took part in herding and traveling.
05:02Now, let's shift to Guatemala, where an ornate jade mask made by the ancient Maya people was
05:08waiting for centuries to be discovered.
05:10Scientists used radiocarbon dating to figure out the age of the mask.
05:14They believe the mask may represent a Maya storm deity, a powerful figure in their mythology.
05:20These kinds of masks were often made to honor Maya royalty, and they were placed in the tombs
05:26of kings and queens when they were buried.
05:28The king's tomb was also decorated with carvings made using tools crafted from volcanic obsidian.
05:35After 15 years of searching, scientists may have finally figured out where the altar stone
05:41of Stonehenge comes from.
05:42They compared the tiny minerals inside the altar stone with rocks from many places in Wales
05:48and England and ruled out lots of spots.
05:51Then they found the perfect match with a place in Scotland, more than 466 miles away from Stonehenge.
05:58This area might even be Orkney, a group of islands in the far northeast of Scotland where a lot
06:05was going on during the Neolithic period.
06:07The big question now is how ancient people moved such a massive stone so far.
06:13The altar stone is over 16 feet long and weighs more than 6 tons.
06:18The new theory is that they might have used boats to carry it across the coastline and rivers.
06:23Once it was close to Stonehenge, they theoretically dragged it across the land using wooden sleds,
06:29ropes, ropes, and a lot of teamwork.
06:33Meanwhile, in the north of France, an ancient home popped to the surface during the construction of a new house.
06:40It turned out to be a luxury urban house for the elite from the second century of the common era.
06:45The inside of the house was destroyed by a fire, but under the destroyed layer, there are beautiful, real-size
06:53fresco paintings.
06:55Turkish archaeologists unearthed the arm and foot bones of elephants that lived around 9 million years ago.
07:01They also found fossils of early horses, giraffes, and even saber-toothed cats.
07:07They've already identified 43 distinct types of animals from this site and collected more than 4,000 fossils.
07:15One more cool find from Turkey is a 64,000-year-old workshop inside Encazia Cave.
07:22It looks like people used it for 24,000 years non-stop.
07:27There are some tools inside, like flakes and blades, which were made inside the workshop.
07:33In eastern Turkey, a farmer accidentally found a 1,000-square-foot mosaic from the late Roman or early Byzantine
07:41period just beneath the dirt.
07:43Experts say it's a one-of-a-kind thing from this region and is still in one piece after all
07:49this time.
07:50The pattern shows dozens of trees, plants, and animals that were found in ancient Turkey.
07:56There could be more treasures in the area, so they plan to keep digging.
08:00Our final stop will be in Sicily, where archaeologists uncovered a huge ancient thermal complex.
08:07Inside, they found two rooms with floors covered in colorful mosaic designs, along with a large courtyard surrounded by arched
08:15wings.
08:16As they kept digging, they discovered more parts of the ancient city.
08:20They found new roads and the remains of a huge complex, along with stretches of old stone walls that were
08:27part of the city's fortifications.
08:29These discoveries are helping scientists imagine what the city might have looked like during ancient times.
08:35No one knows for sure whether the bathhouse was built by the Greeks or the Romans, since both civilizations lived
08:41in Sicily long ago.
08:44Throughout time, scientists have managed to uncover about 6,000 early human fossils, ranging from skulls to teeth.
08:52For some of these fossils, it was a breeze.
08:54Researchers could instantly identify them as belonging to, say, the Neanderthals.
09:00However, when it came to others, things got a bit trickier.
09:04Some fossils just didn't fit into any existing categories.
09:07So, what categories of prehistoric humans do we actually know about?
09:13Well, up until recently, we recognized eight different species of early humans.
09:18One of these is Homo habilis, which means handyman.
09:22You'll recall that Homo is Latin for human.
09:25They resembled regular primates, but were pivotal in our evolution.
09:30They were the first to create stone tools, which significantly aided their daily activities, such as butchering.
09:37Next up, we have Homo redolphensis.
09:40These guys were larger than Homo habilis and boasted bigger brains, but they were still quite distant from modern humans.
09:48For example, even though the neurological structure of their brains was becoming more complex,
09:53they were probably not capable of using any form of actual spoken language.
09:59Then came Homo erectus, the first to walk upright, followed by Homo antecessor,
10:05which is considered the last common ancestor of modern humans and Neanderthals,
10:10along with a host of other Homo species.
10:13Meanwhile, we're still piecing together the story of the enigmatic denosivans.
10:18Our knowledge of Homo naledi is pretty limited, too, since it was only discovered in 2013,
10:23and it is species number 8.
10:27Interestingly, Naledi means star in the Sotho language,
10:31because they were found in a cave called Rising Star.
10:34Scientists were taken aback by them.
10:36Everything suggested they were around 2 million years old.
10:39But after closer examination and some tests,
10:42it turns out that the Naledi species is much younger,
10:46between 236 and 335,000 years old.
10:50Their hands were adapted to making tools, yet no tools have been found nearby.
10:55Long story short, they're a puzzling species,
10:58and there's still so much more to learn about them.
11:02So even though today we have only one human species on our planet,
11:06Homo sapiens,
11:07we continue to discover ancient species that are long gone.
11:11Now, you might wonder why researchers study these extinct species.
11:15The truth is, they need this knowledge to piece together the intricate narrative of our prehistoric past.
11:22In 2024, a significant discovery emerged,
11:26the ninth human species, named Homo giluensis,
11:30which translates to large-headed.
11:32Researchers suggest that this species hunted wild horses,
11:36crafted stone tools,
11:38and processed animal hides to survive harsh winters.
11:41A researcher from the University of Hawaii noted that the discovery of this potential new species
11:47came about while his team was developing a novel method for classifying fossil evidence.
11:53Interestingly, one potential representative of Homo giluensis isn't entirely new to science.
11:59The Denisovans, first identified in 2010 through DNA analysis of a finger bone found in Siberia,
12:06have yet to be classified as a distinct species.
12:09Some scientists propose that they may actually belong to this newly identified group.
12:15These big-headed individuals could help shed light on the long-standing mysteries
12:20surrounding these hominin fossils,
12:22which have puzzled researchers due to their mixed characteristics of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens.
12:30You see, sometimes it's tough to call a spade a spade
12:33when you don't even know what a spade looks like.
12:35You get the idea?
12:36Many unsolved mysteries linger,
12:39simply because scientists haven't had this crucial, big-headed piece of the puzzle.
12:44So, theoretically, we modern humans could also be considered a bit of Homo giluensis.
12:50You don't believe me?
12:51Well, watch this!
12:53We need to consider two key facts for this equation.
12:57First, there are the Denisovans,
12:59a group we might refer to as Homo giluensis from a scientific perspective.
13:03Yeah, this is just a theory proposed by some researchers,
13:07but let's roll with it for now and pretend it's a fact.
13:11Second, it's important to know that the Denisovans interbred with the ancestors of modern-day Melanesians.
13:17These folks inhabit areas ranging from New Guinea to the Fiji Islands
13:22and carry between 4% and 6% Denisovan DNA.
13:26Now, you might not personally have those genes, unless you've been tested, of course.
13:31But the key takeaway here is that there are modern humans today
13:34who share genetic links with the Denisovans,
13:37or Homo giluensis, or big heads if you prefer.
13:41Now, that all sounds pretty plausible.
13:44Let's unpack step-by-step how it happened.
13:48Researchers have uncovered this type of ancient human,
13:51known as the Denisovans, based on skeletal remains found in Siberia.
13:56These ancient humans coexisted and interbred with modern humans,
14:00adding yet another layer to our understanding of human evolution.
14:05Named after the Siberian caves, where their fossils were discovered,
14:09the Denisovans are believed to have roamed widely across Eurasia.
14:13Evidence indicates that the Denisovans lived alongside Neanderthals
14:18and interacted with early Homo sapiens, possibly around 50,000 years ago.
14:23A team of scientists successfully sequenced a complete genome
14:27from these ancient homonyms using nuclear DNA extracted from a finger bone.
14:32This discovery reveals that at least four distinct human groups
14:37existed during the time when anatomically modern humans
14:40began migrating out of Africa.
14:42Alongside modern humans and Neanderthals,
14:45we now have to consider the Denisovans and another small human species from Indonesia,
14:50often referred to as the hobbit, when discussing our evolutionary history.
14:56One intriguing question that arises is why Denisovan genes
15:00are predominantly found in modern Melanesians,
15:03yet absent from other Eurasian populations.
15:06Remember that 4 to 6 percent?
15:08One hypothesis suggests that interactions between the Denisovans and early modern humans
15:14were limited and brief,
15:16especially as humans migrated throughout Southeast Asia into Melanesia.
15:21Scientists speculate that only a small number of the Denisovans
15:25may have interbred with a larger group of modern humans.
15:28This could explain how the Denisovan genes made their way into the gene pool,
15:33despite the likelihood of infrequent encounters.
15:37Anyway, the more scientists dig into our past,
15:40the more fascinating things they uncover about our ancestors.
15:44Take Neanderthals, for example.
15:46Did you know these guys were responsible for creating the very first piece of art ever?
15:51I had no idea.
15:52But a 2018 study of ancient cave art in Spain
15:56revealed what are now considered the oldest known artistic creations.
16:02We used to think Neanderthals lacked the cognitive skills needed for art.
16:06But it turns out they were actual art pioneers.
16:09Not only did they create art,
16:11but they also seemed to have invented hashtags
16:14thousands of years before Chris Messina did it in 2007.
16:18Right, I'm kidding.
16:19But you'll soon get why I mention hashtags.
16:23The artworks found in several caves in Spain
16:25include simple hand stencils,
16:28a ladder-like drawing,
16:29and various other markings.
16:31Until recently,
16:32these prehistoric pieces were believed to have been made by early humans.
16:36But new testing methods suggest they're much older than we thought.
16:40Above all,
16:41the earliest recognized Neanderthal artwork,
16:44which looks like a hashtag,
16:45was discovered in Gibraltar back in 2014.
16:50To determine the age of these artworks,
16:53scientists employed advanced dating techniques
16:56using eHarmony and Match.com.
16:58Oops, wait a minute.
16:59Wrong dating techniques.
17:01They actually used uranium and thorium radioisotopes
17:04instead of the traditional carbon dating.
17:07Once the necessary tests were completed,
17:10they confirmed the art was approximately 65,000 years old,
17:1415,000 years older than the previously oldest known art from Indonesia.
17:20At that time,
17:21the only species around were Neanderthals.
17:23So, it's safe to say,
17:25they were behind these creations.
17:28Modern humans didn't arrive in Spain
17:30until about 20,000 years later.
17:32Hey, it was a long commute.
17:34That rules them out as the hashtag creators.
17:37The hand stencil was likely created intentionally,
17:41with the artist preparing the pigment
17:42and applying it over their hand.
17:46Plus, the caves also contain a collection of painted seashells
17:50that are an astonishing 115,000 years old.
17:54Some of these shells have been drilled,
17:56suggesting they might have been used as jewelry.
18:00Some specialists argue that the fact Neanderthals created art
18:04hints that they might have also had some form of spoken language.
18:08So, maybe it's time we fully embrace Neanderthals
18:11as part of our lineage.
18:13They're humans too,
18:14just a different branch of our family tree.
18:17While these findings are intriguing,
18:19some experts remain skeptical about the new dating methods,
18:23claiming they're not entirely convinced.
18:25Hey, what do you think?
18:26What do you think?
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