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Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
 ScienceClimate strongly affects human conflict and violence worldwide, says study Shifts in climate are strongly linked to human violence around the world, with even relatively minor departures from normal temperature or rainfall substantially increasing the risk of conflict in ancient times or today, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Princeton University. Contact: Kathleen Maclay
Public Release: 30-Jul-2013
2 6,000-year-old 'halls of the dead' unearthed, in UK first The remains of two large 6000-year-old halls, each buried within a prehistoric burial mound, have been discovered by archaeologists from The University of Manchester and Herefordshire Council -- in a UK first. The sensational finds on Dorstone Hill, near Peterchurch in Herefordshire, were thought to be constructed between 4000 and 3600 BC. Contact: Mike Addelman
Public Release: 28-Jul-2013
Mystery deepens in coffin-within-a-coffin found at Richard III site A medieval stone coffin found at Grey Friars contains an inner lead coffin -- which archaeologists will now examine at the University of Leicester. Contact: University of Leicester Press Office
Public Release: 23-Jul-2013
Oldest European fort in the inland US discovered in Appalachians The remains of the earliest European fort in the interior of what is now the United States have been discovered by a team of archaeologists, providing new insight into the start of the US colonial era and the all-too-human reasons spoiling Spanish dreams of gold and glory. Contact: Diane Swanbrow
Public Release: 17-Jul-2013
Discovery of stone monument at El Perú-Waka' adds new chapter to ancient Maya history Archaeologists tunneling beneath the main temple of the ancient Maya city of El Perú-Waka' in northern Guatemala have discovered an intricately carved stone monument with hieroglyphic text detailing the exploits of a little-known sixth-century princess whose progeny prevailed in a bloody, back-and-forth struggle between two of the civilization's most powerful royal dynasties. Contact: Gerry Everding
Public Release: 10-Jul-2013
Israel Exploration JournalInscription from time of David & Solomon found near Temple Mount in Hebrew University excavation Hebrew University archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar unearthed a jar fragment near Jerusalem's Temple Mount bearing the earliest alphabetical written text ever found in Jerusalem. Dated to the tenth century BCE, the artifact bears an inscription in the Canaanite language with letters approximately 2.5 cm tall, which translate to m, q, p, h, n, (possibly) l, and n. The archaeologists suspect the inscription specifies the jar's contents or the name of its owner. Contact: Dov Smith
Public Release: 10-Jul-2013
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesOldest use of flowers in grave lining Radiocarbon dating at the Weizmann Institute determines the age of flowery graves. A new accelerator will help solve long-standing archaeological mysteries. Contact: Yivsam Azgad
Public Release: 9-Jul-2013
Egyptian leader makes surprise appearance at archaeological dig in Israel As modern Egypt searches for a new leader, Israeli archaeologists have found evidence of an ancient Egyptian leader in northern Israel. At a site in Tel Hazor National Park north of the Sea of Galilee, archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have unearthed part of a unique Sphinx belonging to one of the ancient pyramid-building pharaohs. The inscription ties the artifact to a particular king for which no other Sphinx exists, making the discovery unexpected and important. 
Israel Exploration Society, Israel Antiquities Authority, Israel Nature & Parks Authority
Contact: Dov Smith
Public Release: 7-Jul-2013
Geophysical Research LettersDeserts 'greening' from rising CO2 Increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) have helped boost green foliage across the world's arid regions over the past 30 years through a process called CO2 fertilization, according to CSIRO research.
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australian Research Council, Land & Water Australia
Contact: Adam Harper
Public Release: 4-Jul-2013
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesEarliest evidence of using flower beds for burial found in Raqefet Cave in Mt. Carmel The modern custom of laying flowers in graves or using them for funerals dates back to as early as 13,700 years ago, to our Natufian ancestors living in Mt. Carmel. "Even back then, the Natufians had burial rituals much similar to ours, nowadays", said Prof. Dani Nadel, from the University of Haifa, who led the excavations. Contact: Polina Petruhin
Public Release: 4-Jul-2013
ScienceNo single origin for agriculture in the Fertile Crescent A rich assemblage of fossils and artifacts in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains in Iran shows that the transition from foraging to farming took place at roughly the same time across the entire Fertile Crescent, not in a single core area of the "cradle of civilization," as previously thought. Contact: Natasha Pinol
Public Release: 3-Jul-2013
Archaeologists unearth carved head of Roman god in ancient rubbish dump An 1,800-year-old carved stone head of what is believed to be a Roman god has been unearthed in an ancient rubbish dump in Northern England. Contact: Gareth Dant
Public Release: 3-Jul-2013
PLOS ONEStudy of mitochondrial DNA ties ancient remains to living descendants Researchers report that they have found a direct genetic link between the remains of Native Americans who lived thousands of years ago and their living descendants. The team used mitochondrial DNA, which children inherit only from their mothers, to track three maternal lineages from ancient times to the present. The findings are reported in the journal PLOS ONE.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Diana Yates
Public Release: 1-Jul-2013
PLOS ONECurious mix of precision and brawn in a pouched super-predator A bizarre, pouched super-predator that terrorized South America millions of years ago had huge sabre-like teeth but its bite was weaker than that of a domestic cat, new research shows. To achieve a kill Thylacosmilus atrox must have secured and immobilized large prey using its extremely powerful forearms, before inserting the sabre-teeth into the windpipe or major arteries of the neck -- a mix of brute force and delicate precision. Contact: Deborah Smith
Public Release: 27-Jun-2013
NatureWhat is the fastest articulated motion a human can execute? Humans are amazing throwers. We are unique among all animals, including our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, in our ability to throw projectiles at high speeds and with incredible accuracy. This trait was critical to the survival and success of our ancestors, aiding their hunting and protective skills, according to National Science Foundation-funded research featured on the cover of this week's journal Nature.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Deborah Wing
Public Release: 26-Jun-2013
NatureA 700,000 year old horse gets its genome sequenced It is nothing short of a world record in DNA research that scientists at the Centre for GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum of Denmark have hit. They have sequenced the so far oldest genome from a prehistoric creature. They have done so by sequencing and analyzing short pieces of DNA molecules preserved in bone-remnants from a horse that had been kept frozen for the last 700,000 years in the permafrost of Yukon, Canada.
Danish National Research Foundation
Contact: Eske Willerslev
Public Release: 25-Jun-2013
Scientific ReportsClimate tug of war disrupting Australian atmospheric circulation patterns Further evidence of climate change shifting atmospheric circulation in the southern Australian-New Zealand region has been identified in a new study.
CSIRO
Contact: Craig Macaulay
Public Release: 21-Jun-2013
PLOS ONEOddest couple ever found Scientists from South Africa, Australia and France have discovered a world first association while scanning a 250 million year old fossilized burrow from the Karoo Basin of South Africa. The burrow revealed two unrelated vertebrate animals nestled together and fossilized after being trapped by a flash flood event. Contact: Erna van Wyk
Public Release: 19-Jun-2013
AntiquityUniversity of Tennessee professor finds prehistoric rock art connected; maps cosmological belief Recently, the discoveries of prehistoric rock art have become more common. With these discoveries comes a single giant one by a University of Tennessee professor -- all these drawing and engravings map the prehistoric peoples' cosmological world. Contact: Whitney Heins
Public Release: 18-Jun-2013
Nature CommunicationsStone Age technological and cultural innovation accelerated by climate According to a study by the Universitat Autňnoma de Barcelona, the University of Cardiff and the Natural History Museum in London, technological innovation during the Stone Age occurred in fits and starts and was climate-driven. Abrupt changes in rainfall in South Africa 40,000 to 80,000 years ago triggered the development of technologies for finding refuge and the behavior of modern humans. This study was recently published in Nature Communications. Contact: Rainer Zahn
Public Release: 14-Jun-2013
ScienceGenome decoding of the medieval leprosy pathogen From skeletons and biopsies, an international team of scientists was successful in reconstructing a dozen medieval and modern genomes of the leprosy-causing bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. Contact: Almut Nebel
Public Release: 13-Jun-2013
SciencePutting flesh on the bones of ancient fish This week in the journal Science, Swedish and Australian researchers present the miraculously preserved musculature of 380 million year old fossil fishes, revealed by unique fossils from a locality in north-west Australia. The finds will help scientists to understand how neck muscles and abdominal muscles -- "abs" -- evolved. Contact: Per Ahlberg
Public Release: 13-Jun-2013
ScienceUnraveling the genetic mystery of medieval leprosy Why was there a sudden drop in the incidence of leprosy at the end of the Middle Ages? Biologists and archeologists reconstruct the genomes of medieval strains of the pathogen responsible by exhuming human remains from centuries old graves. Their results are published in the journal Science and bring new hope for understanding epidemics. Contact: Lionel Pousaz
Public Release: 12-Jun-2013
PLOS ONEFossil kangaroo teeth reveal mosaic of Pliocene ecosystems in Queensland The teeth of a kangaroo and other extinct marsupials reveal that southeastern Queensland 2.5-5-million-years ago was a mosaic of tropical forests, wetlands and grasslands and much less arid than previously thought. The chemical analysis of tooth enamel that suggests this diverse prehistoric habitat is published June 12 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Shaena Montanari from the American Museum of Natural History and colleagues from other institutions. Contact: Jyoti Madhusoodanan
Public Release: 11-Jun-2013
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesNew archaeogenetic research refutes earlier findings When did modern humans settle in Asia and what route did they take from mankind's African homeland? A University of Huddersfield professor has helped to provide answers to both questions. But he has also had to settle a controversy. Contact: Megan Beech
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