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SUNK BY AN EARTHQUAKE

Saturday, September 16, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we learn how a very wicked city actually sunk, consider this planet as the top contender for alien life, dig up well-preserved mummies ... and question how more than 60 members of Oklahoma’s Osage Nation suspiciously died.

A band of pirates divides up their loot after returning to a safe harbor, as imagined in vivid color by 19th-century artist and author Howard Pyle.

DELAWARE ART MUSEUM/HOWARD PYLE COLLECTION/BRIDGEMAN

Was it God’s will? Many a moralist would give that spin to the day Port Royal died.

The Caribbean outpost, rife with pirates (depicted above), gamblers, and sex workers, lived with its own rules until that day in 1692.

A quake, a tsunami, and the sea may have buried it, but archaeologists are finding new tales from newly discovered traces of the sunken port.

WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY?

Port Royal sits on the southeastern coast of Jamaica, prone to strong earthquakes. The 1692 event was so intense it triggered a devastating tsunami.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LUIS MARDEN, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Fascinating finds, from turtle shell jewelry boxes to pewter syringes, have been discovered all around this low-lying Jamaican peninsula (pictured above). Read more.

Unlock this article with Nat Geo Premium! Get access now to exclusive stories, plus a century of archives, photos, and videos. See subscription options starting at just $19/yr.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

a gif: Nestled in a gaseous cocoon, a primordial cloud is depicted in a computer simulation—an early star-forming region, just 100 million years after the big bang, beyond what telescopes can see. Deeper in the cloud’s structure, hydrogen molecules cool the gas, allowing it to collapse. Within this cold cloud, massive stars will form.

RALF KAEHLER AND TOM ABEL, STANFORD UNIVERSITY/KIPAC/SL

This is what the first stars looked like as they were being born (Above, a computer simulation of an early star-forming region)

In the hunt for alien life, this planet just became a top suspect

What ever happened to cursive writing?

Are you drinking water all wrong? Here’s what you need to know about hydrating.

The exercise phenomenon born in a prisoner-of-war camp

Why are these orcas killing sharks and removing their livers?

Watch these orcas turn waves into weapons

How 200 volunteers pulled off one of the most difficult cave rescues ever

Murder. Greed. Conspiracy. What really happened in Osage County?

PHOTO OF THE DAY

a red panda

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEL SARTORE, NAT GEO PHOTO ARK

Celebrating International Red Panda Day: If seen in the wild, some locals believe red pandas (one above) to be a good omen. They’re mostly solitary creatures, only coming together in the wild to mate. And they’re endangered, although the fluffy creatures are procreating in zoos.

Related: When is a ‘panda’ not a panda—and are any pandas actually bears?

WILL THEY MAKE IT?

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Australopithecus sediba juvenile male skeleton from the Malapa site. A section of clavicle from Australopithecus sediba was chosen for this mission.

PHOTOGRAPH BY WENYING LI, XINJIANG INSTITUTE FOR CULTURAL RELICS AND ARCHAEOLOGY

These mummies defy explanation: This so-called “Princess” or “Beauty” (above) is a 3,800-year-old woman with long hair, high cheekbones, and striking still-preserved eyelashes who seems to be smiling in death.

She is among hundreds of bodies excavated from the Xiaohe cemetery in East Asias's Tarim Basin. What’s the story behind these Tarim Basin mummies? Read more about the surprising discovery their ancient DNA yielded about their identities, how they were buried, what they ate, and what their daily lives were like.

WHO WERE THESE ANCIENT DWELLERS?

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

A pharmacist prepares a COVID-19 booster shot in the vaccination clinic at Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown, Md., Feb. 22, 2022.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KENNY HOLSTON, THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX

Who needs the new COVID shot? We know about the high risks people in places like schools, hospitals, and restaurants face from COVID, as well as older, younger, and immuno-compromised people. When deciding whether to get the new shot, consider this: Have you had it before? New research shows the body keeps the score on repeated COVID infections, increasing the likelihood of chronic illness. (Above, a pharmacist prepares a booster shot.)

Related: COVID cases are rising again. Here’s a refresher on everything you forgot.

Today’s soundtrack: Shallow (from A Star Is Born), Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, Hannah Farrow, Nancy San Martín, and Jen Tse. Amanda Williams-Bryant, Alisher Egamov, Rita Spinks, and Jeremy Brandt-Vorel also contributed this week. Thanks for reading!

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