The Swedish Royal Library has published all of its digitalised newspapers online for everyone to access. Previously, you had to visit the library to access articles from 1904 and newer.
KB (Kungliga biblioteket, The Royal Library), The National Library of
Sweden, was founded in the 1500s. Since 1661, when the first Legal
Deposit Law was introduced, it has functioned as the kingdom's national
memory.
Archaeologists and scientists have found the oldest and best-preserved mummies in the Tarim Basin area of China. Within a Bronze Age cemetery first discovered by Swedish archaeologists in 1934, some of the oldest mummies every found have had their DNA tested. The findings were a surprise.
Previously the origins of the earliest settlers in this area were thought to be either nomadic herders from the steppes of Russia and Kazakhstan, or from modern Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. But DNA results indicate the most common mtDNA haplogroup was C, suggesting origins in southern Siberia.
“Considering the presence of haplogroups H and K in the Xiaohe people
and the geographical distribution of shared sequences, we conclude that
the west Eurasian component observed in the Xiaohe people originated
from western Europe, and maternal ancestry of the Xiaohe people might have close relationships with western Europeans,”
Continue reading at DNA Reveals These Red-Haired Chinese Mummies Come From Europe And Asia
Credits: Image is a screenshot from Forbes.com
Sometimes ancient fingerprints are preserved in artifacts later found by archaeologists. Some very intriguing fingerprints have been found and studied to determine age, gender and ethnicity of the last person to handle the object. Many were created thousands of years ago!
Here is a list of the 10 fingerprints discussed (with images) in the fascinating story What 10 sets of ancient fingerprints tell us about the people who made them
1. Leonardo Da Vinci’s Middle Eastern ancestry – 525 years ago
2. Medieval Europeans prayed mostly for themselves – 600 years ago
3. Fashion conscious women of Roman Britain get the pale look – 1,900 years ago
4. Division of labour in an Italian pottery workshop – 2,400 years ago
5. Data management in Europe’s oldest city – 3,300 years ago
6. Ancient Egyptian bakers pack bread for the trip to the afterlife – 3,300 years ago
7. Youth employment in Stone Age Sweden – 5,000 years ago
8. First farmers – 10,000 years ago
9. The child who picked up a figurine – 26,000 years ago
10. The Neanderthal weapon maker – 80,000 years ago
Saturday March 21
is Genealogy Day in Sweden and many of the genealogy societies,
libraries and archives throughout the country are hosting exhibits and
lectures.
ArkivDigital, your online digital archive with nearly 53 million images,
will be hosting an “open house” this week-end. We invite all who are
interested in their Swedish history free access to our entire online
historical archive on Saturday and Sunday (March 21-22, 2015). Take the opportunity to research your Swedish heritage and discover the wealth of records in our online archive.
All current subscriptions will be extended two days because of the two free days (March 21-22).
Each month approximately 600,000 new color images are added to ArkivDigital. During February, the following records were added:
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More estate inventories (bouppteckningar) for the period 1901-1940.
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Collection “Krigshandlingar Stora
nordiska kriget: Krigsfångar” or “War Documents of the Great Northern
War: War Prisoners” which includes information about the soldiers who
were imprisoned in connection with Karl XII’s war or the Great Northern
War.
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Selected parts of the Poor Relief Board
in Malmö (Fattigvårdsstyrelsen i Malmö) archive. In these volumes you
will find not only information about paupers but information about
foster children and much more.
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Beginning to add material from The Public Orphanage of Stockholm (Allmänna barnhusets) archive.
FamilySearch Adds More Than 4.3 Million Indexed Records and Images to Chile, China, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and the United States
FamilySearch has added more than 4.3 million indexed records and images to collections from Chile, China, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and the United States. Notable collection updates include the 687,546 indexed records and images from the new Chile, Cemetery Records, 1821–2013, collection; the 541,382 images from the Portugal, Beja, Civil Registration and Miscellaneous Records, 1609–1950, collection; and the 579,293 indexed records and images from U.S., BillionGraves Index, collection . Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.
Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the worldís historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.
