Feature Channels: Archaeology and Anthropology

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Released: 15-Jul-2022 4:05 PM EDT
Researchers pulled 700,000 years of glacial history from an Andean lakebed
University of Pittsburgh

Our understanding of the ice-age cycles has been limited by a lack of well-dated tropical records to understand the past of climate change. However, a core of mud from Lake Junín discovered by a team of researchers provides the first continuous and independently dated archive of tropical glaciation that reveals more than 700,000 years of glacial records.

Released: 11-Jul-2022 4:05 PM EDT
Climate Change Reveals Unique Artefacts in Melting Ice Patches
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

One day more than 3000 years ago, someone lost a shoe at the place we today call Langfonne in the Jotunheimen mountains. The shoe is 28 cm long, which roughly corresponds to a modern size 36 or 37. The owner probably considered the shoe to be lost for good, but on 17 September 2007 it was found again – virtually intact.

Newswise: Getting the Fossil Record Right on Human Evolution
Released: 11-Jul-2022 1:05 PM EDT
Getting the Fossil Record Right on Human Evolution
Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University scientists provide researchers investigating the evolutionary past of ancient hominins an important and foundational message in a paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. That is – conclusions drawn from evolutionary models are only as good as the data upon which they are based.

Released: 7-Jul-2022 4:40 PM EDT
The Importance of Elders
University of California, Santa Barbara

Researchers argue that the long human lifespan is due in part to the contributions of older adults.

   
Released: 7-Jul-2022 4:20 PM EDT
Unlocking the Secrets of the Ancient Coastal Maya
Georgia State University

Scientists have unearthed a treasure trove of artifacts along Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Learn what researchers have discovered about the ancient Maya people and their relationship with this hidden stretch of coast.

Released: 6-Jul-2022 2:40 PM EDT
Tooth Isotopes Offer Window Into South Australia’s Early Colonial History
Flinders University

Published in Australian Archaeology, the new research involved isotope analysis of teeth excavated from graves to determine how many people buried were born in South Australia or Britain, as part of scientific efforts by Flinders University experts deploying this technique for the first time in the state.

Newswise: Research Attributes Iberian Peninsula Climate Change to Human Activity
Released: 6-Jul-2022 2:40 PM EDT
Research Attributes Iberian Peninsula Climate Change to Human Activity
Cornell College

A team of researchers has discovered human activity is the cause for drying out the climate in southwestern Europe.

Newswise: Study Points to Armenian Origins of Ancient Crop with Aviation Biofuel Potential
Released: 5-Jul-2022 6:05 AM EDT
Study Points to Armenian Origins of Ancient Crop with Aviation Biofuel Potential
Washington University in St. Louis

Camelina, also known as false flax or Gold-of-Pleasure, is an ancient oilseed crop with emerging applications in the production of sustainable, low-input biofuels. Multidisciplinary research from Washington University in St. Louis is revealing the origins and uses of camelina and may help guide decisions critical to achieving its potential as a biofuel feedstock for a greener aviation industry in the future.

Released: 27-Jun-2022 4:20 PM EDT
Fossils in the ‘Cradle of Humankind’ May Be More Than a Million Years Older Than Previously Thought
Purdue University

The earth doesn’t give up its secrets easily – not even in the “Cradle of Humankind” in South Africa, where a wealth of fossils relating to human evolution have been found.

Newswise: 1.700-year-old Korean genomes show genetic heterogeneity in Three Kingdoms period Gaya
21-Jun-2022 10:00 AM EDT
1.700-year-old Korean genomes show genetic heterogeneity in Three Kingdoms period Gaya
University of Vienna

An international team led by The University of Vienna and the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in collaboration with the National Museum of Korea has successfully sequenced and studied the whole genome of eight 1,700-year-old individuals dated to the Three Kingdoms period of Korea (approx. 57 BC-668 AD). The first published genomes from this period in Korea and bring key information for the understanding of Korean population history. The Team has been led by Pere Gelabert and Prof. Ron Pinhasi of the University of Vienna together with Prof. Jong Bhak and Asta Blazyte from the UNIST and Prof. Kidong Bae from the National Museum of Korea.

Released: 16-Jun-2022 12:55 PM EDT
Shedding Light on Linguistic Diversity and Its Evolution
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Is it true that many languages in the world use words similar to “mama” and “papa” for “mother” and “father”? If a language uses only one word for both “arm” and “hand”, does it also use only one word for both “leg” and “foot”? How do languages manage to use a relatively small number of words to express so many concepts?

Newswise: Wreck of Historic Royal Ship Discovered Off the English Coast
Released: 10-Jun-2022 10:05 AM EDT
Wreck of Historic Royal Ship Discovered Off the English Coast
University of East Anglia

The wreck of one of the most famous ships of the 17th century - which sank 340 years ago while carrying the future King of England James Stuart - has been discovered off the coast of Norfolk in the UK, it can be revealed today.

Newswise: Genetic intermixing in Indonesia contributed to cultural “explosion” across the Pacific
Released: 9-Jun-2022 2:40 PM EDT
Genetic intermixing in Indonesia contributed to cultural “explosion” across the Pacific
Australian National University

DNA analysis of ancient human remains has shed new light on an "explosion" of intermixing cultures and genetics in an island region north of Australia known as Wallacea - an imprint that is still detectable in East Indonesians today.

Newswise: Prehistoric “Swiss Army knife” indicates early humans communicated
Released: 9-Jun-2022 12:30 PM EDT
Prehistoric “Swiss Army knife” indicates early humans communicated
University of Sydney

Archaeologists confirm strong social networks allowed early populations to prosper.

Newswise: The Persistent Effects of Colonialism in Caribbean Science
Released: 2-Jun-2022 2:05 AM EDT
The Persistent Effects of Colonialism in Caribbean Science
Florida Museum of Natural History

Prior to the first world war, sprawling European empires collectively controlled roughly 80% of Earth’s landmass.

Newswise: Famous rock art cave in Spain was used by ancient humans for over 50,000 years
25-May-2022 10:25 AM EDT
Famous rock art cave in Spain was used by ancient humans for over 50,000 years
PLOS

New excavations find a succession of ancient cultures visiting the cave for art and burial.

Newswise: Researchers aim X-rays at century-old plant secretions for insight into Aboriginal Australian cultural heritage
Released: 26-May-2022 5:05 PM EDT
Researchers aim X-rays at century-old plant secretions for insight into Aboriginal Australian cultural heritage
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

For tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal Australians have created some of the world’s most striking artworks. Today their work continues long lines of ancestral traditions, stories of the past and connections to current cultural landscapes, which is why researchers are keen on better understanding and preserving the cultural heritage within.

Released: 26-May-2022 4:55 PM EDT
Archaeology: First Pompeiian human genome sequenced
Scientific Reports

The first successfully sequenced human genome from an individual who died in Pompeii, Italy, after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE is presented this week in a study published in Scientific Reports.

Released: 26-May-2022 3:50 PM EDT
Scientists shine new light on role of Earth’s orbit in the fate of ancient ice sheets
Cardiff University

Scientists have finally put to bed a long-standing question over the role of Earth’s orbit in driving global ice age cycles.

Released: 25-May-2022 5:05 PM EDT
Newly discovered ancient Amazonian cities reveal how urban landscapes were built without harming nature
University of Exeter

A newly discovered network of “lost” ancient cities in the Amazon could provide a pivotal new insight into how ancient civilisations combined the construction of vast urban landscapes while living alongside nature.

Released: 25-May-2022 4:45 PM EDT
Children and Adolescents Can Walk Efficiently at the Same Pace as Adults
Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH)

Ana Mateos and Jesús Rodríguez, scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), have published an experimental energy study in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology, which shows that children and adolescents can walk at a speed close to the optimal pace for adults, with hardly any locomotion energy costs or departing from their own optimal speed.

Newswise: Paleontologists have discovered the jaws of a rare bear in Taurida Cave
Released: 20-May-2022 5:05 PM EDT
Paleontologists have discovered the jaws of a rare bear in Taurida Cave
Ural Federal University

A group of paleontologists, included researchers from the Ural Federal University (UrFU), discovered the jaws of an Etruscan bear from the early Pleistocene period (2–1.5 million years ago) in the Taurida cave.

Newswise: Prehistoric faeces reveal parasites from feasting at Stonehenge
Released: 20-May-2022 4:05 PM EDT
Prehistoric faeces reveal parasites from feasting at Stonehenge
University of Cambridge

A new analysis of ancient faeces found at the site of a prehistoric village near Stonehenge has uncovered evidence of the eggs of parasitic worms, suggesting the inhabitants feasted on the internal organs of cattle and fed leftovers to their dogs.

Released: 20-May-2022 4:05 PM EDT
Scientists reveal how seascapes of the ancient world shaped genetic structure of European populations
Trinity College Dublin

Trinity scientists, along with international colleagues, have explored the importance of sea travel in prehistory by examining the genomes of ancient Maltese humans and comparing these with the genomes of this period from across Europe.

Newswise: Research confirms eastern Wyoming Paleoindian site as Americas' oldest mine
Released: 19-May-2022 2:20 PM EDT
Research confirms eastern Wyoming Paleoindian site as Americas' oldest mine
University of Wyoming

Archaeological excavations led by Wyoming’s state archaeologist and involving University of Wyoming researchers have confirmed that an ancient mine in eastern Wyoming was used by humans to produce red ocher starting nearly 13,000 years ago.

Newswise: Tooth unlocks mystery of Denisovans in Asia
Released: 18-May-2022 6:10 PM EDT
Tooth unlocks mystery of Denisovans in Asia
Flinders University

What links a finger bone and some fossil teeth found in a cave in the remote Altai Mountains of Siberia to a single tooth found in a cave in the limestone landscapes of tropical Laos?

Newswise: Chimpanzees combine calls to form numerous vocal sequences
Released: 17-May-2022 11:10 AM EDT
Chimpanzees combine calls to form numerous vocal sequences
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Humans are the only species on earth known to use language. We do this by combining sounds to form words and words to form hierarchically structured sentences.

Newswise: Where were Herod the Great's royal alabaster bathtubs quarried?
Released: 17-May-2022 10:50 AM EDT
Where were Herod the Great's royal alabaster bathtubs quarried?
Bar-Ilan University

From the Middle Bronze Age, Egypt played a crucial role in the appearance of calcite-alabaster artifacts in Israel, and the development of the local gypsum-alabaster industry.

Released: 16-May-2022 1:45 PM EDT
New Paper Explores Ethical Challenges in Microbiome Research
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)

A human rights activist and a group of anthropologists and human biologists are casting a critical lens on the way that microbiome research is conducted with Indigenous peoples. While not the first time a call for more ethical research engagement in the biological sciences has been sounded, this approach, published in the May 16 issue of Nature Microbiology, is the first to engage the microbiome sciences from an interdisciplinary perspective.

   
Newswise: Historic graffiti made by soldiers sheds light on Africa maritime heritage, study shows
Released: 6-May-2022 4:55 PM EDT
Historic graffiti made by soldiers sheds light on Africa maritime heritage, study shows
University of Exeter

Historic graffiti of ships carved in an African fort were drawn by soldiers on guard duty watching the sea, University of Exeter experts believe.

Released: 3-May-2022 4:35 PM EDT
Study of ancient predators sheds light on how humans did – or didn’t – find food
Rice University

A new Rice University-led analysis of the remains of ancient predators reveals new information about how prehistoric humans did – or didn’t – find their food.

Released: 29-Apr-2022 1:45 PM EDT
Research finally answers what Bronze Age daggers were used for
Newcastle University

Analysis of Bronze Age daggers has shown that they were used for processing animal carcasses and not as non-functional symbols of identity and status, as previously thought.

Newswise: News from the climate history of the Dead Sea
Released: 27-Apr-2022 4:05 PM EDT
News from the climate history of the Dead Sea
GFZ GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam

The lake level of the Dead Sea is currently dropping by more than one metre every year - mainly because of the heavy water consumption in the catchment area.

Newswise: Before Stonehenge monuments, hunter-gatherers made use of open habitats
21-Apr-2022 11:05 AM EDT
Before Stonehenge monuments, hunter-gatherers made use of open habitats
PLOS

Study investigates habitat conditions encountered by first farmers and monument-builders.

Newswise: Terahertz Imaging Reveals Hidden Inscription on Early Modern Funerary Cross
Released: 25-Apr-2022 4:50 PM EDT
Terahertz Imaging Reveals Hidden Inscription on Early Modern Funerary Cross
Georgia Institute of Technology

Using terahertz imaging and signal processing techniques to look beneath the corroded surface of a 16th-century lead funerary cross, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia Tech-Lorraine revealed an inscription of the Lord's Prayer.

Newswise: Friendship ornaments from the Stone Age
Released: 25-Apr-2022 2:45 PM EDT
Friendship ornaments from the Stone Age
University of Helsinki

As most archaeological material is found in a fragmented state, the phenomenon has been considered a natural consequence of objects' having been long buried underground.

Newswise: Marine mollusc shells reveal how prehistoric humans adapted to intense climate change
Released: 22-Apr-2022 3:05 PM EDT
Marine mollusc shells reveal how prehistoric humans adapted to intense climate change
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Current global climatic warming is having, and will continue to have, widespread consequences for human history, in the same way that environmental fluctuations had significant consequences for human populations in the past.

Newswise: Discovery sheds light on why the Pacific islands were colonized
Released: 22-Apr-2022 2:05 PM EDT
Discovery sheds light on why the Pacific islands were colonized
Australian National University

The discovery of pottery from the ancient Lapita culture by researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) has shed new light on how Papua New Guinea served as a launching pad for the colonisation of the Pacific – one of the greatest migrations in human history.

Released: 11-Apr-2022 4:20 PM EDT
Study sheds new light on the origin of civilisation
University of Warwick

New research from the University of Warwick, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Reichman University, Universitat Pompeu Fabra and the Barcelona School of Economics challenges the conventional theory that the transition from foraging to farming drove the development of complex, hierarchical societies by creating agricultural surplus in areas of fertile land.

Newswise: A population Hub out of Africa explains East Asian lineages in Europe 45.000 years ago
Released: 7-Apr-2022 1:00 PM EDT
A population Hub out of Africa explains East Asian lineages in Europe 45.000 years ago
Universita di Bologna

The ancient human remains unearthed in the Bacho Kiro cave (in present-day Bulgaria) and recently genetically described were surprisingly reported to be more closely related to contemporary East Asians than contemporary Europeans.

Released: 6-Apr-2022 12:55 PM EDT
Cross-College Researchers Unravel Mummy Bird Mystery
Cornell University

Over the last several months, a certain bird – believed to be a sacred ibis – has been drawing a lot of attention, and covering a lot of ground, at Cornell University.

   
Newswise: Migrants from south carrying maize were early Maya ancestors
Released: 23-Mar-2022 3:45 PM EDT
Migrants from south carrying maize were early Maya ancestors
University of New Mexico

New research published this week by University of New Mexico archaeologist Keith Prufer shows that a site in Belize was critical in studying the origins of the ancient Maya people and the spread of maize as a staple food.

Newswise: Preserving the past
Released: 22-Mar-2022 1:10 PM EDT
Preserving the past
Sandia National Laboratories

Christina Chavez, Sandia National Laboratories' first full-time archaeologist, works with teams throughout Sandia to ensure the U.S. Department of Energy remains in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

Newswise: Study reconsiders name of Peru’s Machu Picchu
Released: 22-Mar-2022 11:25 AM EDT
Study reconsiders name of Peru’s Machu Picchu
University of Illinois Chicago

Findings suggest Incas had a different name for the site

Released: 21-Mar-2022 4:50 PM EDT
Leftovers in prehistoric pots let scientists peek into the kitchen of an ancient civilization
Frontiers

How to reconstruct the cookery of people who lived thousands of years ago? Bones and plant remains can tell us what kind of ingredients were available.

Released: 9-Mar-2022 9:00 AM EST
Hot Topics at Experimental Biology 2022 Meeting, April 2–5 in Philadelphia
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)

EB, the annual meeting of five scientific societies, brings together thousands of scientists and 25 guest societies in one interdisciplinary community. Join us April 2–5 in Philadelphia for an exciting lineup of live, in-person scientific sessions.

   
Newswise: New Study Sheds Light on Early Human Hair Evolution
Released: 9-Mar-2022 8:05 AM EST
New Study Sheds Light on Early Human Hair Evolution
George Washington University

Researchers in the Primate Genomics Lab at the George Washington University examined what factors drive hair variation in a wild population of lemurs known as Indriidae. Specifically, the researchers aimed to assess the impacts of climate, body size and color vision on hair evolution.



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