The ancient North American city of Cahokia had as its focal point a feature now known as Monks Mound, a giant earthwork surrounded on its north, south, east and west by large rectangular open areas. These flat zones, called plazas by archaeologists since the early 1960s, were thought to serve as communal areas that served…
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Maritime archaeologists from Bournemouth University have uncovered the remains of a medieval ship and its cargo dating back to the 13th century off the coast of Dorset. The survival of the vessel is extremely rare and there are no known wrecks of seagoing ships from the 11th to the 14th centuries in English waters. The…
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The mountain fortress of Rabana-Merquly in modern Iraqi Kurdistan was one of the major regional centres of the Parthian Empire, which extended over parts of Iran and Mesopotamia approximately 2,000 years ago. This is a conclusion reached by a team of archaeologists led by Dr Michael Brown, a researcher at the Institute of Prehistory, Protohistory…
Read More “In search of the lost Parthian city of Natounia” »
An extended period of turmoil in the prehistoric Maya city of Mayapan, in the Yucatan region of Mexico, was marked by population declines, political rivalries and civil conflict. Between 1441 and 1461 CE the strife reached an unfortunate crescendo — the complete institutional collapse and abandonment of the city. This all occurred during a protracted…
The study of the genomes of our closest relatives, the Neanderthals and Denisovans, has opened up new research paths that can broaden our understanding of the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens. A study led by the University of Barcelona has made an estimation of the time when some of the genetic variants that characterise our…
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For the first time, researchers successfully sequenced the genome of ancient human fossils from the Late Pleistocene in southern China. The data, published in the journal The lateral view of the skull unearthed from Red Dear Cave [Credit: Xueping Ji] “Ancient DNA technique is a really powerful tool,” Su says. “It tells us quite definitively…
Fossil tooth analysis by Southern Cross University geochemist Dr. Renaud Joannes-Boyau has played a central role in an international collaboration that has properly identified the earliest humans. Dr Renaud Joannes-Boyau with a Homo Naledi tooth [Credit: Southern Cross University] The new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrates that…
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Some copepods, diminutive crustaceans with an outsized place in the aquatic food web, can evolve fast enough to survive in the face of rapid climate change, according to new research that addresses a longstanding question in the field of genetics. Several species of copepods and one ostracod are shown here [Credit: NOAA] Barely more than…
Shards of ceramics litter the fields of an ancient city in southeastern Albania, where looters have raided the area’s highlands in search of antiquities to sell to international traffickers. Experts say illicit treasure hunters operate with near impunity in Albania [Credit: Gent Shkullaku/AFP] Illicit treasure hunters operate with near impunity in the country, stirring outrage…
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Uncovering the evolution of any set of living creatures is a complex and highly detailed task for scientists, and theories and approaches that may differ over time may indeed change the fossil record. But paleoanthropologist and Stony Brook University Professor Carrie S. Mongle, Ph.D., and co-authors urge investigators to take caution on their findings. They…
Read More “Using accurate data when studying Human evolution” »
