EurekAlert! - Archaeology

'Hobbits' are a new human species -- according to the statistical analysis of fossils

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Wiley-Blackwell) Researchers from Stony Brook University Medical Center in New York have confirmed that Homo floresiensis is a genuine ancient human species and not a descendant of healthy humans dwarfed by disease. Using statistical analysis on skeletal remains of a well-preserved female specimen, researchers determined the "hobbit" to be a distinct species and not a genetically flawed version of modern humans. Details of the study appear in the December issue of Significance, the magazine of the Royal Statistical Society, published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Heart disease found in Egyptian mummies

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of California - Irvine) Hardening of the arteries has been detected in Egyptian mummies, some as old as 3,500 years, suggesting that the factors causing heart attack and stroke are not only modern ones; they afflicted ancient people, too.

Mercyhurst seeks to enhance protocols for recovery and analysis of burned human remains

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Mercyhurst College) Mercyhurst College Department of Applied Forensic Science is staging a series of mock fatal fire scenes as part of NIJ-funded research to enhance protocols for the recovery and analysis of burned human remains.

Ancient penguin DNA raises doubts about accuracy of genetic dating techniques

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Oregon State University) Penguins that died 44,000 years ago in Antarctica have provided extraordinary frozen DNA samples that challenge the accuracy of traditional genetic aging measurements, and suggest those approaches have been routinely underestimating the age of many specimens by 200 to 600 percent.

Remains of Minoan-style painting discovered during excavations of Canaanite palace

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Haifa) The remains of a Minoan-style wall painting, recognizable by a blue background, the first of its kind to be found in Israel, was discovered in the course of the recent excavation season at Tel Kabri. This fresco joins others of Aegean style that have been uncovered during earlier seasons at the Canaanite palace in Kabri. "It was, without doubt, a conscious decision made by the city's rulers who wished to associate with Mediterranean culture."

Biologists, educators recognize excellence in evolution education

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Institute of Biological Sciences) The National Association of Biology Teachers will recognize Leonard C. Yannielli, professor of biological sciences at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, Conn., with the 2009 Evolution Education Award during the NABT annual professional development conference to be held Nov. 11-14, 2009 in Denver, Colo.

Atlanta's Fernbank Museum tracks infamous conquistador through Southeast

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Fernbank Museum of Natural History) Atlanta's Fernbank Museum of Natural History has discovered evidence of Hernando de Soto's 1540 journey through the Southeast. No evidence of De Soto's path from Tallahassee to North Carolina has been found until now, and few sites have been located anywhere. Fernbank archaeologist Dennis Blanton has amassed an impressive collection of objects revealing a probable stop in today's Telfair County, Ga. He'll present his findings at the Southeastern Archaeological Conference on Nov. 5 in Mobile.

OU achieves $10 million in stimulus grants for 33 projects on the Norman campus

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Oklahoma) The University of Oklahoma at Norman has received more than $10 million in research grants from three funding agencies as part of the federal stimulus program, bringing the total amount of stimulus funding received by OU researchers to $23 million. Thirty-three projects achieved stimulus funding for research ranging from archaeology to weather.

The humble beginnings of a king

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) A long forgotten fossil skull in the collections of the Natural History Museum in London has now provided crucial clues to the early stages of the lengthy evolutionary history of Tyrannosaurus rex and related large carnivorous dinosaurs.

The entwined destinies of mankind and leprosy bacteria

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) Leprosy still affects hundreds of thousands of people today throughout the entire world. An international team headed by EPFL professor Stewart Cole has traced the history of the disease from ancient Egypt to today and in doing so has made a public health study essential for combating the disease.

New clues to the Falklands wolf mystery

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Cell Press) Ever since the Falklands wolf was described by Darwin himself, the origin of this now-extinct canid found only on the Falkland Islands far off the east coast of Argentina has remained a mystery. Now, researchers reporting in the Nov. 3 issue of Current Biology who have compared DNA from four of the world's dozen or so known Falklands wolf museum specimens to that of living canids offer new insight into the evolutionary ancestry of these enigmatic carnivores.

New look for antiques

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Wiley-Blackwell) Italian researchers working with Piero Baglioni at the University of Florence have developed a technique to effectively remove old polymer layers from sensitive historic artworks. As the researchers report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the new cleaning system involves only a tiny proportion of volatile organic compounds.

Ancient 'monster' insect offers Halloween inspiration

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Oregon State University) Just in time for Halloween, researchers have announced the discovery of a new, real-world "monster" -- what they are calling a "unicorn" fly that lived about 100 million years ago and is being described as a new family, genus and species of fly never before observed.

Tsunami waves reasonably likely to strike Israel

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Haifa) "There is a likely chance of tsunami waves reaching the shores of Israel," says Dr. Beverly Goodman of the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Studies at the University of Haifa, following encompassing geoarchaeological research at the port of Caesarea. "Tsunami events in the Mediterranean do occur less frequently than in the Pacific Ocean, but our findings reveal a moderate rate of recurrence," she says.

Pavlopetri -- the world's oldest known submerged town

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK)) The world's oldest known submerged town has been revealed through the discovery of late Neolithic pottery. The finds were made during an archaeological survey of Pavlopetri, off the southern Laconia coast of Greece.

Fracture zones endanger tombs in Valley of Kings

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Penn State) Ancient choices made by Egyptians digging burial tombs may have led to today's problems with damage and curation of these precious archaeological treasures, but photography and detailed geological mapping should help curators protect the sites, according to a Penn State researcher.

Blue highways

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Williams College) In January, Williams College Professor of Chemistry Anne Skinner, along with six Williams students, will visit the headwaters of the Blue Nile to conduct archeological research. The project is part of a National Science Foundation grant. The three-year $330,000 NSF grant, under the direction of Professor John Kappelman of the University of Texas-Austin, is supporting research on "Blue Highways: Evaluating Middle Stone Age Riverine-Based Foraging, Mobility and Technology Along the Trunk Tributaries of the Blue Nile."

World's oldest submerged town dates back 5,000 years

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Nottingham) Archaeologists surveying the world's oldest submerged town have found ceramics dating back to the Final Neolithic. Their discovery suggests that Pavlopetri, off the southern Laconia coast of Greece, was occupied some 5,000 years ago -- at least 1,200 years earlier than originally thought.

Plant fossils give first real picture of earliest Neotropical rainforests

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Florida) A team of researchers including a University of Florida paleontologist has used a rich cache of plant fossils discovered in Colombia to provide the first reliable evidence of how Neotropical rainforests looked 58 million years ago.

Technology brings new insights to one of the oldest Middle Eastern languages still spoken

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Chicago) New technologies and academic collaborations are helping scholars at the University of Chicago analyze hundreds of ancient documents in Aramaic, one of the Middle East's oldest continuously spoken and written languages. Members of the West Semitic Research Project at the University of Southern California are helping the University's Oriental Institute make high-quality electronic images of Aramaic administrative documents. The texts were incised on clay tablets with styluses or inked on with brushes or pens.

A 200,000-year-old cut of meat

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(American Friends of Tel Aviv University) New findings from the Qesem Cave archaeological dig in Israel indicate that during the Lower Paleolithic Period people prepared and shared meat differently than in earlier times, providing new clues into our evolutionary development, economics and social behaviors.

Penn State to collaborate with Cyprus on research project

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Penn State) Thousands of ancient Cyprian artifacts, images and documents will soon be available to view and search online, thanks to a research partnership between Penn State and the Cyprus Institute.

New type of flying reptile discovered

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Leicester) Discovered by scientists at the University of Leicester and the Geological Institute, Beijing, Darwin's pterodactyl preyed on flying dinosaurs and shows how a controversial type of evolution may have powered the origin of major new groups.

Early hominid first walked on 2 legs in the woods

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Among the many surprises associated with the discovery of the oldest known, nearly complete skeleton of a hominid is the finding that this species took its first steps toward bipedalism not on the open, grassy savanna, as generations of scientists -- going back to Charles Darwin -- hypothesized, but in a wooded landscape.

Murcia to house Bronze Age research institute

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona) A team of researchers from the Department of Prehistory of Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona will be directing a research project, creating a museum and scientific dissemination of findings at the archaeological site La Bastida located in the municipality of Totana, Murcia. In addition to the excavations and the study of archaeological materials, the project includes the installation of a monographic museum about the site and the creation of a research institute dedicated to the Bronze Age.