23 Jun 2024 · Lab study (Giza context), Egypt
NYU physicists eroded clay mounds containing harder inclusions in a water flume and produced Sphinx-like “lion” forms. This supports the idea that natural yardangs gave builders a head start.
Why it matters: It is relevant to the Sphinx water-erosion debate (Schoch), though it addresses shape, not age.
Site guide: Giza & Saqqara · Robert M. Schoch · Source: Boury, Weady & Ristroph 2024, PNAS ↗
16 Oct 2026 · White Sands National Park, New Mexico, United States
Kathleen Springer, Jeffrey Pigati, Jessica Tierney and colleagues expanded the excavations at White Sands and found 20 stratigraphic layers with human footprints in place, alongside megafauna trackways and drag lines made by travois. New radiocarbon dates on conifer pollen, combined with dates on aquatic seeds, put the footprint sequence between 23,500 and 21,700 years ago. Pollen, biomarker and sediment data record the lake turning into a playa during a dry spell that matches Dansgaard-Oeschger event 2, about 23,200 years ago.
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Graham Hancock · Source: Springer, Pigati, Tierney et al. 2026, Science Advances ↗
15 Oct 2026 · Sacsayhuamán, Cusco, Peru
A Science news feature reports that Andean archaeologists are replacing the traditional Inca chronology (empire from 1438) with radiocarbon dates. At Saqsaywaman, dated charcoal suggests the site began to be remodelled with fitted masonry around 1400, with construction peaking from about 1418; the first results are in press at Antiquity.
Site guide: Sacsayhuamán & Cusco · Brien Foerster · Source: Science news feature, 15 Oct 2026 ↗
10 Aug 2026 · Great Pyramid, Giza, Egypt
Remote Sensing retracted Filippo Biondi and Corrado Malanga’s 2022 paper, which claimed SAR Doppler tomography revealed undiscovered internal structures in the Great Pyramid. The journal says an investigation after a reader’s concerns confirmed serious methodological flaws and statistical errors that undermine the conclusions.
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Site guide: Giza & Saqqara · Source: Retraction notice, Remote Sensing 2026 ↗; Original paper (retracted), Remote Sensing 2022 ↗
