For Those Interested in Archaeology

"New research is being carried out on artefacts recovered from a site where evidence was found for every age from the Neolithic to the 20th Century.
Archaeology at Udal provides an "unbroken timeline" of occupation from the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Viking, Medieval through to the 1900s.
Some of the evidence at the site on North Uist was preserved by wind-blown sand dunes.
Archaeologist Ian Crawford excavated Udal between 1963 and 1995."
BBC News - New study of Western Isles' sand dune-buried artefacts


"Scientists preserve a prehistoric adult whale skeleton's rib cage and tail in plaster in Chile's Atacama Desert in 2010.
The fossil is 1 of 20 roughly five-million-year-old whales found in a roadside "graveyard" more than a half a mile (a kilometer) from the Pacific coast, experts announced late last month.
It's unknown why the whales were found together, said the Smithsonian Institution's Nicholas Pyenson, lead paleontologist on the excavation.
But possible reasons include a storm pushing them abruptly to shore, a red tide—a proliferation of microscopic organisms that release toxins in the water—poisoning them, and the whales beaching themselves in a group, said Pyenson, a grantee of the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration. (The Society owns National Geographic News.)"
Pictures: Prehistoric Whale "Graveyard" Found in Desert


"The Dead Sea nearly disappeared about 120,000 years ago, say researchers who drilled more than 1,500 feet below one of the deepest parts of the politically contentious body of water.
The discovery looms large at a time when the Dead Sea is shrinking rapidly, Middle Eastern nations are battling over water rights, and experts hotly debate whether the salt lake could ever dry up completely in the years to come.
New data from drilled deposits are also helping piece together geological history that slices through Biblical times. Further research may offer opportunities to verify whether earthquakes destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah."
A Dry Dead Sea Before Biblical Times : Discovery News

 

"A portion of a spear point shaped from chert has emerged from 2.4 metres below a city parking lot along the Cedar River, in the city of Cedar Rapids (Iowa, USA). David Benn, research coordinator and principal investigator for Bear Creek Archeology of Cresco, Iowa, calls the find of the Hardaway spear point - named for a site in the state of North Carolina - 'significant', and a rare event in the state of Iowa and the Midwest region."
Stone Pages Archaeo News: 9,500-year-old spear point discovered in Iowa

 

"ScienceDaily (Dec. 20, 2011) — Scientists studying a unique collection of human skulls have shown that changes to the skull shape thought to have occurred independently through separate evolutionary events may have actually precipitated each other."
Human skull is highly integrated: Study sheds new light on evolutionary changes

"Researchers from the Institut Français d'Etudes Anatoliennes in Istanbul and the Laboratoire de Tribologie et de Dynamiques des Systèmes have analyzed the oldest obsidian bracelet ever identified, discovered in the 1990s at the site of Aşıklı Höyük, Turkey. Using high-tech methods developed by LTDS to study the bracelet's surface and its micro-topographic features, the researchers have revealed the astounding technical expertise of craftsmen in the eighth millennium BC. Their skills were highly sophisticated for this period in late prehistory, and on a par with today's polishing techniques. This work is published in the December 2011 issue of Journal of Archaeological Science, and sheds new light on Neolithic societies, which remain highly mysterious."
Oldest obsidian bracelet reveals amazing craftsmen's skills in the eighth millennium BC

 

"IF ONE tires of urban archaeological sites and is trying to capture some glimpse of ancient Greece amid the commotion and near-endless din of modern Athens, there are plenty of fascinating spots, both large and small, just waiting to be rediscovered and explored outside the city in the magnificent hills and valleys of rural Attica. From humble walls on Mt Hymettus (see box on facing page) or at Kynosoura on the narrow peninsula of eastern Salamina Island, to more substantial, coastal military bases on Patroclus Island (Gaidouronisi) west of Sounion or on the small cape framing the south side of Porto Rafti, traces of past defences - belonging to both the ancient Athenians and their allies or enemies - lie seemingly everywhere in Attica."
Ancient lines of defence | Athens News

 

"FRANKLIN — A Cool Springs archaeological dig keeps yielding details about Paleolithic man and the big game he hunted.
State archaeologists say discoveries unearthed in 2010 at a long-studied archaeological site known as Coats-Hines in Cool Springs reveal it to be one of only a few sites that show early man in this area hunted and ate “megafauna,” a term describing very large animals.
Scientists confirm finding three and possibly four mastodons — large elephant-like creatures with tusks — at the site, with one mastodon, known as Mastodon B, having “unequivocal association” with human activity in the form of butchering marks."
Franklin dig evidence reveals mastodon was butchered by ancient humans | The Tennessean | tennessean.com

"The recent discovery of a pendant at the Irikaitz archaeological site in Zestoa (in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa) has given rise to intense debate: it may be as old as 25,000 years, which would make it the oldest found to date at open-air excavations throughout the whole of the Iberian Peninsula. This stone is nine centimetres long and has a hole for hanging it from the neck although it would seem that, apart from being adornment, it was used to sharpen tools. The discovery has had great repercussion, but it is not by any means the only one uncovered here by the team led by Álvaro Arrizabalaga: “Almost every year some archaeological artefact of great value is discovered; at times, even 8 or 10. It is a highly fruitful location”."
Basqueresearch.com: News - Irikaitz archaeological site: only for the tenacious

"The discovery by Russian archaeologists of the remains of an extinct prehistoric human during the excavation of Denisova Cave in Southern Siberia in 2008 was nothing short of a scientific sensation. The sequencing of the nuclear genome taken from a circa. 30,000-year-old finger bone revealed that Denisova man was neither a Neanderthal nor modern human, but a new form of hominin. Minute traces of the Denisova genome are still found in some individuals living today. The comparisons of the DNA of modern humans and prehistoric human species provide new indications of how human populations settled in Asia over 44,000 years ago."
Humans on many roads to Asia | Past Horizons

 

"PREHISTORIC human footprints, thought to date back thousands of years, have been discovered on Crosby beach.
Recent high tides have exposed the rare archaeological phenomenon – similar to those found for many years in silt beds on the beach at Formby."
Tides reveal ancient footprints - Crosby Herald

 

"PREHISTORIC human footprints, thought to date back thousands of years, have been discovered on Crosby beach.
Recent high tides have exposed the rare archaeological phenomenon – similar to those found for many years in silt beds on the beach at Formby."
Tides reveal ancient footprints - Crosby Herald

 

MIGRATION TO AMERICA ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

"A new analysis of the rare mitochondrial DNA haplogroup C4c in Native American populations shows that it has a parallel genetic history with the X2a haplogroup thought by some to indicate a connection between early Paleoindians in eastern North America and the Upper Paleolithic Solutrean culture in France and Spain."
http://ohio-archaeology.blogspot.com/2011/12/rare-dna-variant-may-disprove.html

"A team of scholars has discovered what might be the oldest representation of the Tower of Babel of Biblical fame, they report in a newly published book.
Carved on a black stone, which has already been dubbed the Tower of Babel stele, the inscription dates to 604-562 BCE.
It was found in the collection of Martin Schøyen, a businessman from Norway who owns the largest private manuscript assemblage formed in the 20th century.
Consisting of 13,717 manuscript items spanning over* ‬5,000* ‬years, the collection includes parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient Buddhist manuscript rescued from the Taliban, and even cylcon symbols by Australia's Aborigines which can be up to 20,000 years old.
The collection also includes a large number of pictographic and cuneiform tablets -- which are some of the earliest known written documents -- seals and royal inscription spanning most of the written history of Mesopotamia, an area near modern Iraq."
Ancient Texts Part of Earliest Known Documents : Discovery News

 

"The legend of the Lost Colony of Roanoke has haunted American history for centuries. In July 1587, a British colonist named John White accompanied 117 people to settle a small island sheltered within the barrier islands of what would become North Carolina’s Outer Banks. When conditions proved harsher than anticipated, White agreed to sail back to Britain to shore up the settlement’s supplies—a trip that should have lasted a few months.When White belatedly returned in 1590, the colonists had vanished—more than 100 men, women, and young children, their shelters and belongings, all gone. According to White’s writings, the only trace they left behind was a structure of tree trunks, with a single word carved into one post: CROATOAN.
The creepiness of the Lost Colonists’ disappearance didn’t discourage future American settlement. Nor has the lack of clues about their fate discouraged professional and amateur historians from trying to figure out what happened to them.
Archaeological digs, weather records, historical writings, genealogy—none have fully answered the question of what happened during White’s absence. But Roberta Estes, who owns DNAeXplain, a company that interprets the results of genetic heritage tests, is looking to DNA for help. Her hypothesis is that the Lost Colonists survived, and that evidence of their salvation is tucked away in the mitochondrial or Y chromosomal DNA of living descendents."
Lost Colony DNA | The Scientist

"The increase of brain size is intimately linked to the evolution of humanity. Two different human species, Neanderthals and modern humans, have independently evolved brains of roughly the same size but with differing shapes. This could indicate a difference in the underlying brain organisation.In a study published by Nature Communications, led by Markus Bastir and Antonio Rosas, of the Spanish Natural Science Museum (CSIC), high-tech medical imaging techniques were used to access internal structures of fossil human skulls. The researchers used sophisticated 3D methods to quantify the shape of the basal brain as reflected in the morphology of the skeletal cranial base. Their findings reveal that the human temporal lobes, involved in language, memory and social functions as well as the olfactory bulbs are relatively larger in Homo sapiens than in Neanderthals. “The structures which receive olfactory input are approximately 12% larger in modern humans than in Neanderthals“, the authors explain."
Compared to Neanderthals, modern humans have a better sense of smell | Past Horizons

"For this last Hominid Hunting post of 2011, I reviewed recent human evolution research highlights to come up with my picks for the top 10 hominid discoveries of the year. While genetic breakthroughs have hogged the spotlight the past couple of years, good old-fashioned fossil and archaeological finds were front and center in 2011"
Top 10 Hominid Discoveries of 2011 | Hominid Hunting

 

"THE discovery of a Stone Age temple on Orkney looks set to rewrite the archeological records of ancient Britain with evidence emerging it was built centuries before Stonehenge.

Archeologists have so far found undisturbed artefacts including wall decorations, pigments and paint pots, which are already increasing their understanding of the Neolithic people.
Experts believe the huge outer wall suggests the site was not domestic, while the layout of the buildings has reinforced the view it might have been a major religious site. Archaeologists think the temple was built 500 years before Stonehenge, regarded as the centre of Stone Age Britain.
However, only 10% of the site at Ness of Brodgar has been excavated and it could be years before the scale and age of the discovery is fully understood.
It sits close to the existing Ring of Brodgar stone circles and the standing stones of Stenness, near to the town of Stromness."
Orcadian temple predates Stonehenge by 500 years | Herald Scotland

 

This may be open to question. Neanderthals are usually considered restricted to Europe however the "Rhodesian Man" skull looks like a classic Neanderthal and it's location seems to be the main ir not the only reason it isn't considered such. The possiblilty exist that the modern line split of from the Neanderthal line (and possibly recombined to some extent). This would mean thta the development of large brains was hardly independent.

 

That's true enough. There's also the fact we have evolved so far that we don't need our sense of smell purely for survival. I recall seeing a programme on the human genome recently which said we have the same number of olfactory genes (900-ish) as a dog. Difference is that if any gene isn't used it switches itself off, so the vast majority of these olfactory genes are unused. However, they can be switched back on with regular use (say the guys who smell wine/whisky).
The human olfactory receptor gene f... [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004] - PubMed - NCBI

 

"A sprawling Native American metropolis which lay hidden beneath a modern city for a millennium has been uncovered.
Archaeologists digging in preparation for the Mississippi River spanning bridge - which will connect Missouri and Illinois - discovered the lost city of Cahokia beneath modern St Louis.
Their findings pointed to a 'sophisticated, sprawling metropolis stretching across both sides of the Mississippi', Andrew Lawler told the journal Science.
Cahokia, which is near Collinsville in Illinois, was initially believed to be just a 'seasonal encampment'. But experts now think it was a location of much more significance.
Mr Lawler wrote: 'A millennium ago, this strategic spot along the Mississippi River was an affluent neighbourhood of Native Americans, set amid the largest concentration of people and monumental architecture north of what is now Mexico."
Read more: The lost city of Cahokia: Archaeologists uncover Native Americans' sprawling metropolis | Mail Online

 

Was just discussing the Mound Builders with my daughter last night. Very timely. Thanks.

 

Thanks for the pics. That's another place I'd like to visit at some point.

 

"For 125 years, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has been connected to some of the greatest archaeological excavations known to history, sending more than 400 archaeological and anthropological expeditions to every inhabited continent of the world. At its official founding on December 6, 1887, the University Trustees resolved to send “an exploring expedition to Babylonia”, with a provision to establish “suitable accommodations” for the artifacts recovered, including those of subsequent expeditions. Since then, Museum collections have grown to about one million artifacts from six continents and every millennium of human history.
Now, the Penn Museum celebrates its 125th anniversary year by placing an arguably incomparable collection of ancient artifacts online for the world to see. The Penn Museum Online Collections Database is designed as a utility for scholars to obtain preliminary information on artifacts for research purposes, for teachers and students to explore a region’s cultural materials, and for any person who wishes to electronically organize and file their own set of favorite “finds” and share them with others."
Massive New Archaeological Collections Database Released for Scholars and Public | Popular Archaeology - exploring the past

 

"The recovery of a mysterious wooden pole at the bottom of Lake Huron is fuelling excitement among U.S. and Canadian researchers that they have found more evidence of a "lost world" of North American caribou hunters from nearly 10,000 years ago.
The scientists believe these prehistoric people - who would have been among the earliest inhabitants of the continent - had a "kill site" along a ridge along the present-day U.S.-Canada border that was eventually submerged by rising waters when the glaciers melted at the end of the last Ice Age.
Now drowned under about 35 metres of water in Lake Huron, the Alpena-Amberley Ridge is named for the Michigan and Ontario towns that respectively mark the western and eastern ends of the 160-kilometre-long, 16-km-wide feature.
The theory that the ridge was an ancient hunting ground was first announced in 2009 after the discovery of lake-bottom rock features that appeared to have been arranged by human hands to herd migrating caribou into narrow corridors ideal for spear hunting.
These types of "drive lanes" are still used by some Inuit hunters in Northern Canada to funnel caribou and make hunting them easier."
Divers find clue to ancient civilization

 

"SIBERIA, a name that conjures up images of snow and ice, may have been an unlikely refuge from the bitter cold of the last ice age. Ancient DNA from the region paints a picture of remarkably stable animal and plant life in the teeth of plunging temperatures. The findings could help predict how ecosystems will adapt to future climate change.
The permanently frozen soil of Siberia, Canada and Alaska preserves the DNA of prehistoric plants, fungi and animals. "It's a giant molecular freezer," says James Haile at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia."
Siberia was a wildlife refuge in the last ice age - life - 10 January 2012 - New Scientist


"A claim that the Mayans left stone ruins in the mountains of North Georgia has sparked a controversy. The claim was made by Richard Thornton, an architect, who says he has been studying the history of the native people of southeastern United States.According to Thornton, in an article on Examiner.com, architects have long recognized that there are significant similarities between the architectural forms and town plans of Maya civilization in Mexico and ruins of southeastern United States. Thornton writes that archeologists do not link the ruins in southeastern United States with Mayans of Mexico because of their "unfamiliarity with the descendants of the Southeastern mound-builders, tribes such as the Creeks, Alabamas, Natchez, Chitimachas and Choctaws." Thornton claims there is a link between the ancient Mayans and the indigenous people of Georgia. He argues that the languages "of the Creek Indians contain many Mesoamerican words."
Claim of Maya ruins in Georgia sparks controversy