Welcome back, everybody!  I’m Rick Pettigrew, back again with word about our four top news stories from this past week of Archaeologica.  Send us feedback on The Archaeology Channel Facebook page or post a message on our social networking site, ArchaeoSeek!

A new DNA study of ancient dogs in the Americas reveals that South American dogs spread there between 5000 and 7000 years ago with maize farmers from the north.  More dating results on the New Mexico footprints are consistent with earlier results indicating an age up to 23,000 years.  Archaeologists uncovered structures of an ancient Roman city in France within the modern city of Melun.  And newly discovered Viking Age tombs in Denmark surprise archaeologists with their numerous and rich grave goods.

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And now, here’s Laura Kennedy with the Audio News from Archaeologica!  We hope you find this to be a valuable part of your day!

Welcome to the Audio News from Archaeologica!  I’m Laura Kennedy, and these are the headlines in archaeological and historical news for the week of June 15th through the 21st, 2025.

Our first story takes us to the American continents, where archaeologists have traced pre-contact dogs to a single maternal lineage that split around 7,000 to 5,000 years ago, which mirrors the spread of agriculture and the adoption of maize across the Americas.

As reported by Science News, archaeologists led by a group of researchers from the University of Oxford examined 70 complete mitochondrial genomes from both ancient and modern dog remains collected from central Mexico to central Chile and Argentina.  This wide range of samples allowed researchers to track the presence and spread of early dog lineages across the two continents. 

According to University of Oxford researcher Aurélie Manin, dogs arrived in the Americas with the earliest groups of people over 15,000 years ago.  Dogs were the only domesticated animals to make the journey from Eurasia prior to European contact. 

Archaeological and genetic research shows that early dogs in North America were likely used for sledding in Arctic regions.  DNA analyses of pre-contact dogs also indicate a mitochondrial lineage found only in the Americas.  This lineage became widespread across the continents, but was notably absent from the Amazon basin, where dogs did not appear until Europeans arrived in the sixteenth century.

Evidence suggests that dogs entered Central and South America between 7,200 and 5,000 years ago, coinciding with the spread of maize agriculture.  Genetic data from maize and human Y chromosomes suggest ongoing regional exchange, supporting the notion that dogs accompanied early farming communities rather than the continent’s first hunter-gatherer populations.

While European colonization introduced new dogs that eventually replaced native lineages, researchers discovered that some modern Chihuahuas still carry maternal DNA from their pre-contact Mesoamerican ancestors.

The study reveals that early farming communities played a key role in the slow spread of dogs across the Americas.  Researchers hope that tracing the distinct genetic patterns that emerged in different regions will provide new understandings of the relationship between domesticated animals and early agrarian societies. 

The team’s full study is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 

Our next story takes us to White Sands National Park in New Mexico, where researchers have found confirming evidence of human activities in America dating back 23,000 years. 

As reported by LiveScience, the new study, led by researchers from the University of Arizona, adds evidence to substantiate the disputed age of ancient human footprints that were originally discovered in 2021. 

Scientists used radiocarbon dating on organic sediment extracted from core samples at the site, helping them determine the age of both the footprints and the ancient lake and river system that once covered the area.  To ensure independent results, the researchers conducted their work in separate laboratories not involved in previous research.

In 2021, researchers estimated the footprints to be between 21,000 and 23,000 years old.  In 2023, scientists used new methods, such as optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), to date the sediment’s last exposure to sunlight.  The results from their study confirmed the earlier estimate.

Although some experts remained skeptical, the latest study strengthens the case that these tracks were made during the Last Glacial Maximum by hunter-gatherers.  The most recent test results support growing evidence that Indigenous people arrived in the Americas long before the Clovis people, once believed to be the continent’s first inhabitants, who were present in North America around 13,000 years ago. 

Vance Holliday, who has worked at White Sands since 2012 and co-authored the original 2021 study, and his team radiocarbon-dated mud cores from the site.  They confirmed that the tracks date to between 20,700 and 22,400 years ago, which closely aligns with earlier results. 

The team believes that the fifty-five radiocarbon-dated samples of mud, seeds and pollen now supporting the 21,000 to 23,000 year-old range help solidify the original dating.  Holliday claims that it would be unusual for such consistency to be wrong, though he acknowledged that ancient footprints are rarely preserved and the team needs to conduct further work to be sure.  Some others nevertheless argue that the source of the carbon that was dated is still not certain, and could be subject to systematic error.

Their study can be found in Science Advances.

We now turn to Melun, France, where archaeologists have uncovered new evidence of urban structures in what used to be the ancient Roman city of Metlosedum [MET-lo-SAY-dum]. 

As reported by GreekReporter, a team from the French National Research Institute of Preventive Archaeology, in collaboration with the Departmental Archaeology Service, has unearthed the foundations of what appears to have been a large residential complex. 

Metlosedum, which is about forty kilometers southeast of Paris, developed along a strategic bend in the Seine River that connected river traffic with land routes between the Brie and Gâtinais plateaus.  The Roman town originally expanded across the island of Saint-Étienne and the river’s left bank, on the edge of territory once controlled by the Senones [SAY-no-nays] tribe between the first century BC and the third century AD.

The excavation spans a 3,500-square-meter block, and was chosen for its location at the intersection of two ancient Roman roads.  One runs east to west under the modern Rue de Belle Ombre, while the other tracks with Rue de Dammarie. 

Archaeologists uncovered two main construction areas at the site.  On the west side, the stone foundations of a large rectangular domus, which is a wealthy family house, measuring approximately 700 square meters, appear to have supported multiple rooms arranged around an open courtyard.  However, much of the upper structure was dismantled in later centuries.  In one corner, the team discovered a well-preserved cellar over two meters deep, accessed by a double-turn staircase where a smooth stone column fragment still remains.

About forty meters east of the first building, another set of walls encloses nearly 600 square meters.  Despite damage from modern utility trenches, archaeologists identified other signs of domestic life, including a hearth made from roof tiles, a broken clay water pipe likely used in a kitchen and postholes for wooden supports.  Between the two structures, researchers found storage pits, shallow cellars and eight stone-lined wells, indicating a mix of residential and service functions.

Archaeologists believe the site was primarily residential, but because the structures are only partially preserved, the team is still uncertain whether they were separate homes or one substantial residence covering over 2,000 square meters.

The excavation also revealed zigzag air-raid trenches from World War II in a nearby schoolyard, where workers uncovered a 1926 French Adrian steel helmet.  The two discoveries point to Melun’s long and diverse history.

We end our week in Denmark, where archaeologists have unearthed thirty Viking Age burials containing a significant amount of grave goods. 

As reported by LiveScience, archaeologists from the Moesgaard Museum have discovered a rare group of Viking Age burials in Lisbjerg, Denmark.  The team claims that the burials are likely linked to an elite family that served under Harald Bluetooth, the renowned king of Denmark and Norway who ruled during the 10th century. 

Viking Age burials, which range from AD 793 to 1066, typically contain few or no grave goods.  The newly discovered graves hold a vast collection of items, like coins, pearls and ceramic artifacts, indicating the wealth and high status of those buried there. 

King Harald, known for uniting regional tribes into a single kingdom, inspired the name of the modern wireless technology.  The team believes that this burial site likely belonged to a chieftain, whose farm was discovered in the same area and who would have ranked just below Bluetooth in the social hierarchy.

The graves, dating to the late 900s, vary in size and richness.  Archaeologists think this variation possibly reflects a range of social statuses, from the chieftain’s family to enslaved individuals.

X-ray imaging of a woman’s casket revealed several personal items, including jewelry, a needle and ornate scissors.  The team found additional goods, along with teeth and bones, in nearby graves.

Preliminary surveys revealed traces of pre-Roman Iron Age.  Archaeologists initially had no reason to expect Viking Age graves in the area, despite uncovering the chieftain's farm nearby.  Now that the excavation is nearly complete, many of the artifacts have been sent to the museum’s Natural Science and Conservation department for analysis and preservation.

Researchers will continue to analyze the human remains, wood and soil samples from the site.  The artifacts are set to go on display at Moesgaard Museum in Denmark this summer.

That wraps up the news for this week!

For more stories and daily news updates, visit Archaeologica on the World Wide Web at www.archaeologica.org where all the news is history! Also, be sure to check out our growing subscription platform, Heritage Broadcasting Service, at heritagetac.org!

I’m Laura Kennedy and I’ll see you next week!