Descubrimiento Nuevo: Estos fueron los mejores hallazgos arqueológicos de alrededor del mundo, ¡los secretos increíbles revelados!

Collage made by Lydia Leija, social editor of National Geographic in Spanish

Intact palaces, monumental Neolithic complexes and unknown civilizations are among the best archaeological finds of 2022.

Traces of entire cities, evidence of ancient cultures never before studied, the faces of rulers who went down in history for their wealth, and the ravages of the climate crisis on World Heritage. All of these were motivations for National Geographic in Spanish to cover the best archaeological finds in 2022 .

In total, we wrote about more than 120 unique discoveries . The magazine’s digital team spent more than a week selecting the most notable ones, based on their historical weight, archaeological importance or difficulty for the scientists involved. Below, the best of this year :

What were NatGeo’s best archaeological finds of 2022?

1. Face of Tutankhamun, Egypt

Medical images of Tutankhamun are displayed on a replica of King Tut’s skull during the opening of the exhibition “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.” | Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Tutankhamun’s face remained obscured from the eyes of historians and archaeologists. According to Zahi Hawass, former Egyptian minister of antiquities and co-author of the JAMA article , the virtual reconstructions that have been made are inaccurate .

“A perfect reconstruction still has uncertainties ,” explains the specialist. Wrinkles, eye colour, skin tone and hair cannot be restored. What’s more, as the body underwent a mummification process, 53% of the body tissue has shrunk , reducing the chances of us being able to recognise its original features.

The overbite appears on medical scans of Tutankhamun and may have been inherited from his family, says Salima Ikram, a researcher at the American University in Cairo. Therefore, the statuettes and other figurines made in antiquity could be a fairly close approximation of what Tutankhamun looked like in life.  More credence should be given to ancient sources, she concludes.

Read all the details here: Tutankhamun’s face revealed, 100 years after the discovery of his tomb

2. Dolmen of Guadalperal, Spain

Pablo Blaquez Dominguez / Getty Images

Among the best archaeological finds of 2022, the Dolmen of Guadalperal has a unique place. The extreme drought that is ravaging the entire European continent is having significant havoc on millions of people’s access to water. Cáceres, the second largest province in Spain, is not exempt from the consequences of the  extreme heat wave in the country . On the contrary, after suffering historic lows in its main bodies of fresh water , a circle of prehistoric stones was uncovered in the bed of the Tagus River, almost completely dry.

Officially known as the Dolmen of Guadalperal, this may be the largest Neolithic site ever found on the Iberian Peninsula . Archaeologists refer to it as the ‘Spanish Stonehenge’, due to its size and estimated age. Lowering it into a local reservoir left it completely uncovered , allowing researchers to take a closer look.

Here is the full story: This is the Dolmen of Guadalperal, the ‘Spanish Stonehenge’ that appeared after the extreme drought

3. Neve: the oldest baby in Europe, Italy

Artistic reconstruction of the ancient child burial. | Credit: Mauro Cutrona

Neve’s body was buried with a cloth decorated with shells. When she died, her mother carried her close to her breast, in a special sling for carrying newborn babies . Based on this, a team of scientists discovered that, 10 thousand years ago, prehistoric pregnancies were already carried out in special care.

Such ancient infant burials are extremely rare, the authors of the study say. Based on her teeth, researchers determined that she is the oldest baby in Europe.  The case of ‘Neve’ was exceptional because, in addition, the cloth in which the baby was wrapped was preserved .

To learn more: She is ‘Neve’, the oldest baby in Europe who reveals what pregnancies were like 10,000 years ago

4. God of the Universe, Syria

At its height, Palmyra was referred to as the “ city of date trees .” It was the power center of an ancient empire, dating back at least 2,000 years, in the middle of the Middle Eastern desert. Although they were tied to the Roman Empire, they retained their own divine pantheon, which they worshipped for millennia independently of the Roman faith .

Perhaps one of the most mysterious deities was an omnipotent and omnipresent being, who directed the forces of the cosmos in the palm of his hand. For decades, researchers who have gone to Palmyra refer to him simply as ‘God of the Universe’, because a halo of anonymity has surrounded this ancient figure . Until now, he is listed as one of the best archaeological finds of 2022.

More about the discovery: The real name of the ‘God of the Universe’ who ruled Palmyra, the mythical Roman capital in Syria, has been deciphered

5. Sanxingdui, China

Bronze relics found in Sanxingdui. | Credit: Zhang Lang/China News Service via Getty Images

Sanxingdui is an archaeological site in Guanghan County , central China. Archaeologists began exploring it more than three decades ago and have been amazed by the findings at the site ever since. The new discovery occurred in pits 7 and 8 of the area .

The excavation contained relics and artifacts whose forms had never before been attested: bronze altars, figures of mythical creatures, and various types of kneeling effigies . Another object that stands out in the discovery is a box with a turtle-shaped lid and handles with dragon heads.

All the details of the case: The ruins of Sanxingdui, an unprecedented civilization in China, are discovered

6. Mayan deity of corn, Mexico

National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)

In Palenque, the average daily temperature rises above 30ºC. With the humid heat of the tropics, the jungle turns green with the force of springs and waterfalls that fall from high cliffs . In the midst of tropical vigor, in the southeastern state of Chiapas, in Mexico, one of the most important cities for the ancient Mayan Empire arose .

Due to its impressive state of preservation , UNESCO named the Palenque archaeological site a World Heritage Site in 1987. After decades of research and significant archaeological findings, El Palacio—one of the site’s main structures—continues to conceal knowledge of the Mayan worldview.

So much so, that recently a team of archaeologists from the National Institute of Archaeology and History (INAH) in Mexico discovered the sculpture of a young Mayan corn god . Lying down, as if he were about to enter the underworld, he could be one of the creators of the pre-Hispanic Universe .

More about the find: Statue of an ancient corn deity found about to enter the Mayan underworld

7. Unknown Bronze Age City, Iraq

University of Tübingen / eScience Center / Kurdistan Archaeology Organization

Southern Iraq is one of the regions hardest hit by the climate crisis . To prevent crops from drying out, local farmers have taken to drawing considerable volumes of water from the Tigris River, which has never been so dry in millennia. Specifically, from the Mosul reservoir: one of the country’s most important freshwater reserves .

While entire villages in the UK are disappearing beneath the waves, Bronze Age cities are emerging in the Middle East. Due to the severe drought affecting the Tigris River, a city built 3,400 years ago has appeared in southern Iraq . In the centre of it, archaeologists from the University of Tübingen  have found a perfectly preserved ancient palace .

All the details here: Extreme drought in Iraq reveals 3,400-year-old city buried by the Tigris River

8. Palace of Genghis Khan’s grandson, Türkiye

Like his grandfather, Hulagu Khan was a man of ostentatious tastes . Knowing that he came from a family of successful military men – perhaps the most feared in all of Asia – he indulged himself in having a palace worthy of his family name . This is what ruins recently unearthed by a team of archaeologists from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences reveal.

The capital of the Mongol Empire appears to have been itinerant during the Middle Ages. Genghis Khan’s grandson would move to his summer palace during the warmer months, ruling from there for much of the year. Scientists have been cautious about the discovery, as they still believe there is not enough evidence to  link the ruins to Genghis Khan’s family . That’s why the ruins are among the best archaeological finds of 2022.

More about the find: Genghis Khan’s grandson’s summer palace found, replete with swastikas and pottery

9. Hercules of Anticera, Greece

Halfway between Crete and mainland Greece, Antikythera never ceases to reveal its secrets. More than a century ago, local divers discovered a shipwreck on this island. The discovery occurred while they were diving in sea waters looking for natural sponges. The site turned out to be one of the most intriguing for underwater archaeologists. Since then it has fascinated the scientific community and rekindled the interest of the Greek population in marine archaeology .

A team from the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece revealed a new discovery on Wednesday, June 29. This finding could be the key to deciphering enigmas that the site still preserves. Among the artifacts recovered from the seabed, there are marble statues and human teeth .

Watch the full piece: Underwater archaeologists find Hercules under the sea in Antiquera

10. The true purpose of Stonehenge, UK

The news came in March 2022. A team of archaeologists had finally determined the real function of the Stonehenge site , the mythical space of Neolithic formations in the United Kingdom. From the position of the stones, scientists determined that this had been a solar calendar, which gave the pattern of 365.25 days . Exactly, one revolution around the Sun.

However, the research did not look into the possible functioning of this site prior to the construction of the astronomical calendar . According to a recent study, long before the stones of Stonehenge served as a marker of time, the space was occupied as a “hunting ground . ”

In closing: The true purpose of Stonehenge is discovered, thousands of years before it became a solar calendar

To our entire reader community: thank you for continuing to allow us to talk about issues that we are passionate about. Those of us who maintain National Geographic in Spanish are committed to the highest quality scientific dissemination. Thanks to you, we can continue with that mission.

— Andrea Fischer , digital editor