Demystifying the origin of the highly divergent chloroplast sequence found in Mexican archaeological sunflower remains

Sunflower sample

A crop domestication center emerged ~5000 years ago in Eastern North America. Native Americans in this area transformed several wild plant species, including sunflower (Helianthus annuus) into staple crops. Archaeological evidence from Eastern North America and genomic evidence from extant cultivated and wild sunflower supports this narrative, and it was once thought that cultivated sunflower did not reach Mexico until after European colonizers established trade routes.

The Taraco Archaeological Project 2023 field work: Reconstructing Animal, Plant, and Landscape Domestication and Management Processes at the Onset of Agriculture in the Lake Titicaca Basin.

Chiripa community

This past field season was the second of two excavation seasons which focused on the earliest levels at the site of Chiripa. We managed to expose two major areas where the deposits were sitting on sterile and contained early ceramics and other material. The Berkeley team is focusing on studying the early engagement with tubers and chenopods,w th laboratory work ongoing throughout the year.

Taraco Archaeological Project

Flotation samples

This research project involved travel to the community of Chiripa, Bolivia for the 2023 field season of the Taraco Archaeological Project. During the season, excavations were conducted at three sites in the Taraco Peninsula. Around 200 samples were processed via flotation, as well as about 60 which were processed via dry screening, yielding macrobotanical remains that were exported for anaysis at the McCown Archaeobotany Laboratory .

Excavation and Conservation of the Early Christian Basilica, Sanctuary of Zeus, Ancient Nemea

Nemea Greece

The multi-year project of the Nemea Center for Classical Archaeology (DAGRS), the Excavation and Conservation of the Early Christian Basilica, at the Sanctuary of Zeus in Ancient Nemea, Greece, continued in 2023. The center and east ends of the 5thc. CE building were investigated including the nave, aisles, and apse, had been excavated in the 1920s and 1960s. We recorded all of the walls and individual blocks by drawing, photographing, and 3D scanning.

New Light on Scribal Practice in the Dakhla Oasis (Excavations at Amheida, Egypt))

During the excavation season at Amheida this year, a reassessment of local scribal practices in the Dakhla Oasis in the Roman era revealed a number of connections and trends through multiple forms of evidence, namely archaeological (small finds), art historical (tomb walls), architectural (buildings), papyrological (paleography), and ceramic (ostraka). The preliminary results of this study show that scribal practices in the Dakhla Oasis adhere to those elsewhere in the Roman Empire despite its extreme geographical remoteness.

Ancient Seafaring Explorers of Cyprus: Coastal Cliffhangers of the Epipalaeolithic

Maher in Cypress.

The recent recognition of Late Epipalaeolithic sites on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus moves the date of early explorers to the island back at least 3000 years, changing our preconceptions about the nature of these first settling communities. Evidence at these early sites suggests that people were bringing plants and animals with them from the mainland (Simmons 1999), creating a sense of home in an unfamiliar landscape.

Geophysical Survey of a Choleric Mass Grave in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Cemetery outside the walls of San Felipe del Morro Fort

In 1855, Puerto Rico was struck by the cholera epidemic, killing 20,000 to 50,000 individuals – 4-10% of the total population at the time. Due to the high volume of corpses piling up and fear of the disease’s further spreading, a cemetery outside of the walls of El Morro was established. This cemetery remained untouched for over a century, due to fears that the disease might resurface. Today, however, this cemetery is in danger of being destroyed, as tourists in Old San Juan have been recently granted access to this section of the fort, uncovering human remains as they walk in the trail.