Uploaded July 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this week's ancient history news I discuss two new research papers on the Neolithic origins of both the plague and brucella melitensis, as well as the discovery of a subterranean structure underneath a Maya ball court in Mexico and an interesting find related to a dyed textile fragment from the Cave of Skulls in Israel.
#ancienthistory #archaeology #Neolithic
✨ IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 Introduction
00:53 Plague may have caused the Neolithic population collapse
04:22 Preserved genome reveals that Brucella melitensis has a Neolithic origin
06:02 Underground Mayan structure discovered in Mexico
07:37 New study reveals a red pigment used to dye an ancient piece of cloth travelled far
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youtube.com/channel/UC0Hs5t0U6Uf993Tba22YmKA/join
✨ FOLLOW ME ON SOCIALS
Bluesky: @MegalithHunter.bsky.social
✨ REFERENCES
Seersholm, F.V., Sjögren, KG., Koelman, J. et al. Repeated plague infections across six generations of Neolithic Farmers. Nature (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07651-2
L’Hôte, L., Light, I., Mattiangeli, V. et al. An 8000 years old genome reveals the Neolithic origin of the zoonosis Brucella melitensis. Nat Commun 15, 6132 (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50536-1
Geggel, L. (2024). ‘Mysterious Maya underground structure unearthed in Mexico,’ Livescience, 14 July. livescience.com/archaeology/mysterious-maya-underground-structure-unearthed-in-mexico
Hale, T. (2024). ‘3,800-Year-Old Red Cloth Found In Cave Of Skulls Came From Far, Far Away,’ Livescience, 19 July. iflscience.com/3800-year-old-red-cloth-found-in-cave-of-skulls-came-from-far-far-away-75155
✨ PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS
CC BY 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Diagrams related to the DNA study of the plague, credit: Seersholm, F. V., et al., in the paper referenced above.
CC BY 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Diagrams related to the DNA study of the brucella melitensis, credit:L’Hôte, L., et al., in the paper referenced above.
CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Tikal ball court, credit: Simon Burchell
CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
Hjelmars rör passage grave, credit: Gunnar Creutz
Other
LiDAR of the site, credit: Žiga Koka via INAH.
Part of the subterranean structure, credit: Octavio Esparza Olguín via INAH.
Flint tool from the newly discovered pyramid, credit: Octavio Esparza Olguín via INAH.
Ceramic animal from he newly discovered pyramid, credit: Octavio Esparza Olguín via INAH.
Textile from the Cave of Skulls, credit: Dafna Gazit / Israel Antiquities Authority
Excavation at the Cave of Skulls, credit: Yuli Schwartz / Israel Antiquities Authority
Public domain
Photomicrograph of Brucella melitensis
In this week's ancient history news I discuss two new research papers on the Neolithic origins of both the plague and brucella melitensis, as well as the discovery of a subterranean structure underneath a Maya ball court in Mexico and an interesting find related to a dyed textile fragment from the Cave of Skulls in Israel.
#ancienthistory #archaeology #Neolithic
✨ IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 Introduction
00:53 Plague may have caused the Neolithic population collapse
04:22 Preserved genome reveals that Brucella melitensis has a Neolithic origin
06:02 Underground Mayan structure discovered in Mexico
07:37 New study reveals a red pigment used to dye an ancient piece of cloth travelled far
✨ JOIN MY CHANNEL
youtube.com/channel/UC0Hs5t0U6Uf993Tba22YmKA/join
✨ FOLLOW ME ON SOCIALS
Bluesky: @MegalithHunter.bsky.social
✨ REFERENCES
Seersholm, F.V., Sjögren, KG., Koelman, J. et al. Repeated plague infections across six generations of Neolithic Farmers. Nature (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07651-2
L’Hôte, L., Light, I., Mattiangeli, V. et al. An 8000 years old genome reveals the Neolithic origin of the zoonosis Brucella melitensis. Nat Commun 15, 6132 (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50536-1
Geggel, L. (2024). ‘Mysterious Maya underground structure unearthed in Mexico,’ Livescience, 14 July. livescience.com/archaeology/mysterious-maya-underground-structure-unearthed-in-mexico
Hale, T. (2024). ‘3,800-Year-Old Red Cloth Found In Cave Of Skulls Came From Far, Far Away,’ Livescience, 19 July. iflscience.com/3800-year-old-red-cloth-found-in-cave-of-skulls-came-from-far-far-away-75155
✨ PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS
CC BY 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Diagrams related to the DNA study of the plague, credit: Seersholm, F. V., et al., in the paper referenced above.
CC BY 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Diagrams related to the DNA study of the brucella melitensis, credit:L’Hôte, L., et al., in the paper referenced above.
CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Tikal ball court, credit: Simon Burchell
CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
Hjelmars rör passage grave, credit: Gunnar Creutz
Other
LiDAR of the site, credit: Žiga Koka via INAH.
Part of the subterranean structure, credit: Octavio Esparza Olguín via INAH.
Flint tool from the newly discovered pyramid, credit: Octavio Esparza Olguín via INAH.
Ceramic animal from he newly discovered pyramid, credit: Octavio Esparza Olguín via INAH.
Textile from the Cave of Skulls, credit: Dafna Gazit / Israel Antiquities Authority
Excavation at the Cave of Skulls, credit: Yuli Schwartz / Israel Antiquities Authority
Public domain
Photomicrograph of Brucella melitensis
