5,000-Year-Old Clay Bowls in Iraq Reveal Early Centralised Governance
Archaeologists have unearthed 5,000-year-old clay bowls at the Shakhi Kora site in northeastern Iraq, which could signify one of the earliest forms of government organisation, according to a study published in Antiquity. The site, located southwest of Kalar in the Kurdistan region, dates to the fifth millennium B.C. Researchers have suggested these bowls might have been used to distribute food, such as meat stews, in exchange for labour — a practice potentially tied to centralised authority during the Uruk period in Mesopotamia.
Evidence of Centralised Labour
The research, led by Dr. Claudia Glatz from the University of Glasgow, points to early experiments with hierarchical structures. Dr. Glatz, who has directed excavations at Shakhi Kora since 2019, said in a statement that institutional buildings found at the site featured southern Mesopotamian influences, including pillars and drainage systems. Beveled-rim bowls, commonly associated with the Uruk civilisation, were abundant and likely served meals to workers. Analysis of residues confirmed the presence of meat, indicating animal husbandry was integral to the settlement’s economy.
Abandonment Without Conflict
The site was abandoned by the late fourth millennium B.C. without evidence of violence or environmental catastrophe, according to researchers. It is believed the local population rejected centralised governance, opting to return to subsistence farming. Dr. Glatz noted this provides insight into how early communities resisted hierarchical control.
Perspectives from Other Experts
Although not directly part of the study, Dr. Susan Pollock of the Free University of Berlin, speaking to Live Science, highlighted the unusual lack of urbanisation in the region, suggesting a preference for decentralised living. Meanwhile, Dr. Glenn Schwartz from Johns Hopkins University remarked on the discovery of beveled-rim bowls across Mesopotamia, calling the findings about their contents an exciting revelation.
This study offers a glimpse into the complexities of early societal structures, raising questions about the acceptance and rejection of central authority in ancient times.
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Discovery of a new potential dwarf planet in the outer reaches of the solar system has posed the greatest challenge yet to the hypothesis that a ninth planet lurks far from the sun. This newly found trans-Neptunian object (TNO) named 2017 OF201 has incredibly elongated orbit (1,600 times that of the Earth’s orbit) that takes it more than 157 billion miles (244 billion kilometers) from the sun. According to researchers it is very rare to discover an object both large (estimated diameter of 435 miles) and with an exotic orbit.
The New Dwarf Planet
According to the pre-print of a paper describing the discovery, with an estimated diameter of 435 miles, 2017 OF201 is large enough to be considered a dwarf planet. It was detected with the help of the data from both DECaLS and the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope. The closest point of its orbit to the sun (perihelion) is 44.5 astronomical units (AU)—comparable to Pluto—while its farthest point (aphelion) stretches over 1,600 AU. 2017 OF201 is too far away to be seen with current telescopes; it could only be discovered because its last perihelion came in 1930, and that it’s still relatively close.
Scattered Disk, a realm with icy bodies on highly elongated and inclined orbits is situated beyond the Kuiper belt of outer solar system. This discovery hints that many similar objects could exist in the Scattered Disk and beyond. It makes discovery of a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) on a greatly elongated orbit is vital for piecing together the mystery of the outer solar system.
Discarding Planet Nine
The discovery challenges the Planet Nine hypothesis, which suggests a massive, unseen planet is influencing the orbits of distant TNOs. While most extreme TNOs show a clustered pattern that supports this idea, 2017 OF201 does not—its orbit is unusually unclustered.
Although Planet Nine could allow for such deviations, its gravitational pull would render those orbits unstable over millions of years. This mismatch between theory and observation puts Planet Nine’s existence under scrutiny.
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A new study reshapes our perspective on the decline of of classic Maya civilization. Though archaeological records long suggested a dramatic population fall around 1,200 years ago, new genetic evidence confirms that the Maya people never truly disappeared. The study, published in Current Biology, analysed genomes from seven ancient individuals from the ancient city of Copán, a major center of the classic Maya world, which lies beneath western Honduras. The results highlight a strong thread of genetic continuity from the Late Archaic period to modern Maya populations, offering new insight into migration, elite integration, and the enduring legacy of the Maya civilization.
Copan’s Cultural Fusion
According to the study, Copán was first settled during the Early Preclassic period (before ~1000 BCE) by small farming communities. Monumental architecture and sophisticated inscriptions indicates that the city had become a major maya center by the early Classic period (300–400 CE). A royal dynasty began in 426/427 CE when K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’, an outsider, assumed power—an event supported by both epigraphic and genomic evidence. Genetic data reveal that he, and others in the elite class, likely came from highland Mexican populations, such as those near Chichén Itzá.
Archaeological and historical records long suggested that elite Maya migrants intermarried with local non-Maya populations to establish the kingdom. The new genetic study supports this theory. Researchers found strong genetic continuity from the late archaic era to modern Maya groups, along with about 6% gene flow from highland Mexican populations, indicating regional integration and elite movement.
Collapse and Continuity
The DNA analysis of the study reveals that despite the big decline in the population of Copan around the beginning of 750 CE, the genetic continuity persisted. It indicates that local populations remained even as elite structures crumbled.
Traditional narratives described the Maya collapse as a mysterious vanishing. But this study indicates that Maya people did not vanish suddenly but they reorganised by adapting, migrating, and redefining their identities.
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