2019 Historical Events and Discoveries
In honour of the new year, I wanted to list my top five discoveries and events of 2019. This list includes discoveries made public in/occurred in 2019. These come from all over the world and some will likely be getting their own posts.
1. The Viking Warrior Woman
When we think of vikings we usually think of blonde men wielding axes and swords. In 2017, a viking grave was discovered. The occupant had been buried as a warrior, including weapons and two horses being buried with them. While it was announced this grave was of a female, people, both scholars and everyday people, were skeptical. While there has been evidence for some time that there were viking female warriors (although not entirely common) it was hard for many to accept that this woman was buried as a warrior. Surely there must have been a second body in the grave or something, right?
Surely the idea of shieldsmaidens and Valkyries were based on. . .nothing?
So in 2019, researchers, presumably tired of people assuming this warriors burial wasn't meant for this woman, set out to answer some of the questions once and for all. Their work confirmed:
- The right bones from the grave were the ones tested
- There was no second body in the grave
- Genetic analysis confirmed the person was female
Was she a warrior? That one is harder to answer. A lot harder. She could have been a warrior who deserved the burial or it could have been a symbolic burial and a close male relative or husband was the warrior.
2. America's Last Slave Ship the Clotilda
This story is really interesting. In 1808, it became illegal to "import" slaves to America. However, slavery was still legal. If you were caught committing this crime, it was considered piracy and punishments could include death. But, that didn't stop the Clotilda who transported about 110 slaves to Alabama in July 1860.
I will be posting a blog on this topic soon, but to sum up for this particular post. As the ship was transporting slaves when it was illegal to do so, the captain burned and sank the boat to hide the evidence of his actions. This led to some believing the ship never existed, despite the stories of the victims and their descendants. In May 2019, the ship was found in the waters near Mobile, Alabama.
3. Neanderthals and Denisovans Lived Together
When you think of early humanoid species you probably think of beings that didn't get along, who would be very tribal and not like outsiders.
But, that isn't necessarily the case. A cave in Siberia showed evidence that both Neanderthals and Denisovans lived there. This is not the first time this type of evidence has been found either. In 2018, the bone fragment of a young girl showed she had a Neanderthal mother and Denisovan father.
In this cave, researchers also found at least one bone that could be from a homo sapien but they couldn't recover any DNA.
4. Infants Wearing Skulls
This one is weird. The discover was initially made in 2014-2016 during excavation in Salango, Ecuador but the findings were only recently published. To the knowledge of the scientists, there are no other documented case of this occurrence.
So what did they find?
Two infants wearing the skulls of children like helmets. The "helmets" were fitted tightly to the heads of the infants. The "helmets" likely still had flesh on them as well as it would be the only way to hold them together. It appears the infants endured some kind of "bodily stress", likely malnutrition that led or contributed to their deaths. But, that doesn't explain the "helmets."
5. All Female Space Walk
In October 2019, US astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir became the first all-female pair to complete a space walk. Koch is an electrical engineer and Meir has a doctorate in marine biology (it was also her first space walk). Their mission was to replace a faulty battery charge/discharge unit (BCDU). This is important work. The International Space Station runs on solar power but is out of the sun for part of its rotation so it relies on batteries. Their mission was part of a larger objective which involves replacing the older nickel-hydrogen batteries with lithium-ion.
Bourne, Joel. K. "Last American Slave Ship is Discovered in Alabama." National Geographic. May 22, 2019. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/05/clotilda-the-last-american-slave-ship-found-in-alabama/
Jarus, Owen. "2 Infants Were Buried Wearing Helmets Made From Kids' Skulls. ArchaeologistsAre Puzzled." Live Science. November 18, 2019. https://www.livescience.com/infants-buried-wearing-skull-helmets.html
Johns, M. "US Makes History With First All-Female Space Walk. News Corp Australia Network. October 19, 2019. https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/us-makes-history-with-first-allfemale-spacewalk/news-story/869a109c8991a8fb8e7749ebdbc90e48
Robins, Becki. "The Most Amazing Historical Discoveries of 2019. Grunge. https://www.grunge.com/164341/the-most-amazing-historical-discoveries-of-2019/
1. The Viking Warrior Woman
When we think of vikings we usually think of blonde men wielding axes and swords. In 2017, a viking grave was discovered. The occupant had been buried as a warrior, including weapons and two horses being buried with them. While it was announced this grave was of a female, people, both scholars and everyday people, were skeptical. While there has been evidence for some time that there were viking female warriors (although not entirely common) it was hard for many to accept that this woman was buried as a warrior. Surely there must have been a second body in the grave or something, right?
Surely the idea of shieldsmaidens and Valkyries were based on. . .nothing?
 |
| Yes, the remains inside the warrior's grave were female (Image Credit). |
So in 2019, researchers, presumably tired of people assuming this warriors burial wasn't meant for this woman, set out to answer some of the questions once and for all. Their work confirmed:
- The right bones from the grave were the ones tested
- There was no second body in the grave
- Genetic analysis confirmed the person was female
Was she a warrior? That one is harder to answer. A lot harder. She could have been a warrior who deserved the burial or it could have been a symbolic burial and a close male relative or husband was the warrior.
2. America's Last Slave Ship the Clotilda
This story is really interesting. In 1808, it became illegal to "import" slaves to America. However, slavery was still legal. If you were caught committing this crime, it was considered piracy and punishments could include death. But, that didn't stop the Clotilda who transported about 110 slaves to Alabama in July 1860.
I will be posting a blog on this topic soon, but to sum up for this particular post. As the ship was transporting slaves when it was illegal to do so, the captain burned and sank the boat to hide the evidence of his actions. This led to some believing the ship never existed, despite the stories of the victims and their descendants. In May 2019, the ship was found in the waters near Mobile, Alabama.
3. Neanderthals and Denisovans Lived Together
When you think of early humanoid species you probably think of beings that didn't get along, who would be very tribal and not like outsiders.
But, that isn't necessarily the case. A cave in Siberia showed evidence that both Neanderthals and Denisovans lived there. This is not the first time this type of evidence has been found either. In 2018, the bone fragment of a young girl showed she had a Neanderthal mother and Denisovan father.
 |
| Image Credit |
In this cave, researchers also found at least one bone that could be from a homo sapien but they couldn't recover any DNA.
4. Infants Wearing Skulls
This one is weird. The discover was initially made in 2014-2016 during excavation in Salango, Ecuador but the findings were only recently published. To the knowledge of the scientists, there are no other documented case of this occurrence.
So what did they find?
 |
| Image Credit |
Two infants wearing the skulls of children like helmets. The "helmets" were fitted tightly to the heads of the infants. The "helmets" likely still had flesh on them as well as it would be the only way to hold them together. It appears the infants endured some kind of "bodily stress", likely malnutrition that led or contributed to their deaths. But, that doesn't explain the "helmets."
5. All Female Space Walk
 |
| Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, the first all-female pair to complete a space walk. (Image Credit) |
In October 2019, US astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir became the first all-female pair to complete a space walk. Koch is an electrical engineer and Meir has a doctorate in marine biology (it was also her first space walk). Their mission was to replace a faulty battery charge/discharge unit (BCDU). This is important work. The International Space Station runs on solar power but is out of the sun for part of its rotation so it relies on batteries. Their mission was part of a larger objective which involves replacing the older nickel-hydrogen batteries with lithium-ion.
Bourne, Joel. K. "Last American Slave Ship is Discovered in Alabama." National Geographic. May 22, 2019. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/05/clotilda-the-last-american-slave-ship-found-in-alabama/
Jarus, Owen. "2 Infants Were Buried Wearing Helmets Made From Kids' Skulls. ArchaeologistsAre Puzzled." Live Science. November 18, 2019. https://www.livescience.com/infants-buried-wearing-skull-helmets.html
Johns, M. "US Makes History With First All-Female Space Walk. News Corp Australia Network. October 19, 2019. https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/us-makes-history-with-first-allfemale-spacewalk/news-story/869a109c8991a8fb8e7749ebdbc90e48
Robins, Becki. "The Most Amazing Historical Discoveries of 2019. Grunge. https://www.grunge.com/164341/the-most-amazing-historical-discoveries-of-2019/
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