One of Minecraft's greatest strengths in terms of its lore is its subtlety. Nothing is ever said outright, but players can deduce some kind of tail by analyzing clues left by Mojang. Many of these clues come in the form of specific structures and items but rarely are they included in the form of features.
Mojang recently announced that Minecraft will be receiving its long-awaited archeology feature in update 1.20, which has been teased and delayed since 2020. It includes a variety of new items and blocks, all of which tell a potential story. Minecraft's archeology update and all that it entails have the ability to add much more than simply a new feature to the game, providing the iconic gameplay loop with an extra layer of depth.
Minecraft's Archeology Update Adds More Depth to The Desert Biome
With the addition of archeology in Minecraft's 1.20 update, players will be able to channel their inner Indiana Jones by exploring deserts for ancient relics. Players will be primarily looking for a block called "suspicious sand," which is only found in the desert at this moment. The player will then use a newly added tool called "the brush" in order to wear down the sand and search for anything hidden in it. From this suspicious sand block, players can obtain a variety of items, but the most notable are the pottery shards. By combining four different pottery shards, players can create a pot with a unique pattern. According to Mojang, these patterns also tell unique stories.
There is a certain amount of significance to the suspicious sand block being primarily found in desert biomes. This is relevant due to the fact that Minecraft's pyramids and wells only spawn in the desert. Historical references such as Ancient Egypt aside, it seems as if Mojang is trying to give more meaning and utility to the desert itself. For example, chiseled sandstone blocks, which only naturally appear in desert temples, have creeper faces on them. Mojang seems to be suggesting that there was a society of ancient builders found in the desert whose main contributions consisted of pyramids and pottery.
The pottery itself may contain important clues as to what this ancient society was like. The announcement contains pictures of the pottery, showing four different designs that can be found on the pots. There is one of an individual with their arms in the air, a bow and arrow, a skeleton head, and a cut gem, most likely a diamond. The design of the individual with arms is interesting, mostly because of their outstretched arms and squarish head, which likely represents a humanoid more akin to the player rather than a villager or illager. The image of the classic Minecraft diamond is also strange, considering the fact it is cut. This is assuming that it is indeed a diamond and not another gem. Regardless, it means that whatever society existed previously was able to make treks deep underground, deep enough to find diamonds.
The most curious of all is the skeleton head. It has two major implications for Minecraft. If it is a normal skeleton head, that means the undead monsters that plague the player today have existed since Minecraft's ancient days. This brings up the question of where the undead monsters came from, if not the ancient builders. On the other hand, the skeleton head design could be of a wither skeleton, which means that the ancient society in the desert had the ability to travel into the Nether. Regardless of which is the truth, the history of Minecraft's desert civilization is deeper than most may believe.
At this moment, it remains to be seen whether these details will bear further significance in future updates. Mojang promised to continue building on archeology as a mechanic, so players may see more of it in 1.20, along with Minecraft's new armor customization. Hopefully, there will be more information unveiled about this strange and interesting ancient in-game civilization.
Minecraft is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
