The Dartmouth-led study has made a groundbreaking discovery in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, uncovering a 1,000-year-old Native American farm system that challenges preconceived ideas about agriculture in the region. The Sixty Islands archaeological site along the Menominee River features a raised ridge field system dating back to around the 10th century to 1600. This is the most complete ancient agricultural site in the eastern half of the United States.

The researchers surveyed approximately 330 acres using drone-based lidar, which provided a dataset that revealed clusters of ridged garden beds ranging from 4 to 12 inches in height. These raised fields were used by ancestors of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin to grow corn, beans, squash, and other plants.

Lead author Madeleine McLeester noted that the scale of this agricultural system is 10 times larger than previously estimated, forcing a reconsideration of preconceived ideas about agriculture in the region and globally. The team’s findings also suggest that the ancestral Menominee communities were modifying the soil to rework the topography, using wetland soils to enrich the soil and remain from fires as compost.

The researchers conducted excavations at the site, recovering charcoal, broken ceramics, and artifacts, which suggested that remains from fires and household refuse were likely used as compost in the fields. The results showed that the farming system was a massive undertaking requiring organization, labor, and know-how to maximize agricultural productivity.

The findings have significant implications for our understanding of ancient agriculture in eastern North America and challenge existing forest history of the Upper Peninsula. The team is continuing their work with the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin at the Menominee Sixty Islands site, planning to survey the site and locate ancestral Menominee villages.

This study demonstrates the importance of innovative technologies like drone-based lidar in uncovering hidden archaeological features and provides a unique window into pre-Colonial farming practices in the region. The discovery of this 1,000-year-old farm system serves as a reminder of the rich history and cultural heritage of the Native American communities that once thrived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The discovery of a 3,500-year-old cemetery in Hungary has shed new light on a pivotal period in Central European history. A team of international researchers, led by Tamás Hajdu and Claudio Cavazzuti, has conducted a comprehensive bioarchaeological investigation into the Bronze Age cemetery at Tiszafüred-Majoroshalom. The findings have rewritten our understanding of this era, revealing significant changes in people’s lives, diets, social systems, and even burial customs.

The multidisciplinary research was based on the excavation of a Bronze Age cemetery that was used during both the Middle Bronze Age (Füzesabony culture) and the Late Bronze Age (Tumulus culture). By comparing the subsistence strategies before and after this era-changing event, the researchers were able to identify key differences in people’s lifestyles.

The study aimed to answer whether the spread of the Tumulus culture was a result of new groups arriving or if it was simply an evolution of the autochtonous people’s way of life. The team also examined whether changes in settlement patterns around 1500 BC were indicative of a shift towards more mobile and pastoral lifestyles.

The results of this groundbreaking research are nothing short of revolutionary:

* Dietary changes: Nitrogen stable isotope studies revealed that people’s diets became more uniform but poorer during the Late Bronze Age, contradicting previous ideas about the Tumulus culture’s supposed focus on animal husbandry.
* Introduction of broomcorn millet: Carbon isotope analyses indicated that the consumption of this fast-growing and high-energy plant began at the start of the Late Bronze Age, marking the earliest known occurrence in Europe.
* Decreased mobility: Strontium isotope investigations showed that populations from the Middle and Late Bronze Ages had distinct mobility patterns. Fewer immigrants were identified during the Late Bronze Age, with a higher presence of individuals arriving from further geographical regions.

The study’s findings have significant implications for our understanding of this pivotal period in European history. By combining traditional archaeological and anthropological studies with modern bioarchaeological analyses, researchers can now better grasp the complex changes associated with the emergence of the Tumulus culture.

The ancient civilization of Arabia was once home to a rich and diverse culture that valued knowledge, trade, and innovation. New research has shed light on one of the most fascinating aspects of their history: the deliberate use of psychoactive and medicinal plants for therapeutic and sensorial practices nearly 2,700 years ago.

Led by Dr. Barbara Huber and Professor Marta Luciani, a team of researchers analyzed organic residues preserved inside Iron Age fumigation devices excavated at the oasis settlement of Qurayyah in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Using advanced metabolic profiling techniques, they detected characteristic harmala alkaloids from the plant Peganum harmala, also known as Syrian rue or harmal.

“This discovery represents chemical evidence for the earliest known burning of harmal not just in Arabia but globally,” says Dr. Huber, lead author of the study. “Our findings shed light on how ancient communities drew upon traditional plant knowledge and their local pharmacopeia to care for their health, purify spaces, and potentially trigger psychoactive effects.”

The integration of biomolecular analysis with archaeology has allowed researchers to identify not just what kind of plants people were using but also where, how, and why. This breakthrough has significant implications for fields such as ethnobotany, medical anthropology, heritage studies, and pharmacognosy – all concerned with the long-term relationship between humans, medicinal plants, and natural resources.

In traditional medicine and household fumigation practices today in the region, Peganum harmala is known for its antibacterial, psychoactive, and therapeutic properties. The new findings underscore its long-standing cultural and medicinal significance.

“This discovery shows the deep historical roots of traditional healing and fumigation practices in Arabia,” adds Ahmed M. Abualhassan, Heritage Commission co-director of the Qurayyah project. “We’re preserving not only objects but also the intangible cultural heritage of ancient knowledge that still holds relevance in local communities today.”