The Archaeology News Network

Archaeologists say they’re poised to unravel the mystery behind a set of “hugely significant” ancient Aboriginal remains discovered near lake Cargelligo last year.  Aerial view of Lake Cargelligo [Credit: Lachlan Shire Council] A man found the remains near an old water course late last February while working on a property outside Lake Cargelligo.  The remains – confirmed to be tens of thousands of years old –have...

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Babylon's Hanging Gardens were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but heritage appears to be no match for Iraq's booming oil industry in a dispute over a new pipeline.  A general view shows the archaeological site of Babylon, south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Babylon's Hanging Gardens were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but heritage appears to be no match for Iraq's booming oil industry in a...

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The Liuhuaishan site is an important early Paleolithic site found in the Bose Basin. In December 2008, Scientists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Youjiang Museum for Nationalities, Bose, carried out a short survey around this site and found three new Paleolithic localities with a collection of 37 stone artifacts. This new finds will help better understand the...

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New photographs reveal what lies beneath the surface of Easter Island, one of the most remote places in the world -- the carved bodies of the island's 887 famous guardians.  The excavation of this moai, nicknamed "Papa" by Katherin Routledge in 1914, began in spring of 2010. Quarry bedrock is visible in one of the excavation squares and the color variation on the statue's stone surface reflects previous soil levels [Credit:...

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A wooden ship believed to be over 200 years old was discovered during a recent exploration of the northern Gulf of Mexico, according to a press release from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  [Credit: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program] Scientists were able to view the remains of "anchors, navigational instruments, glass bottles, ceramic plates, cannons, and boxes of muskets" aboard the ship, NOAA...

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A priceless piece of Peru’s cultural heritage was put up for sale last week at Sotheby’s Auction House in New York, where it fetched $212,500.  The Sicán mask displayed on Sotheby's website [Credit: Peru This Week] The object in question was a gold Sicán funeral mask, dating from somewhere between 950 and 1250 A.D., with its origins in the Pomac Forest region of Lambayeque.  According to Sotheby’s, the mask came from...

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Archaeologists have discovered ancient houses as well as precious artifacts and jewels from a buried kingdom, beneath the volcanic ash in Indonesia.  The excavated remains were found on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa near the foot of the Tambora volcano known for its largest eruption in recorded history.  "Based on the unearthed remains, particularly the many bronze objects and jewels, evidence suggests the site...

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The US Supreme Court has refused to grant a final appeal to a Florida company that discovered treasure on a sunken Spanish vessel but was then ordered to return the gold and silver to Spain.   Silver coins from the Spanish frigate Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes [Credit: AFP/GETTY] The Court did not give a reason for refusing the request from salvage specialist Odyssey Marine Exploration, which recovered 17 tons of silver and...

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Two studies led by scientists from the University of Pennsylvania and National Geographic's Genographic Project reveal new information about the migration patterns of the first humans to settle the Americas. The studies identify the historical relationships among various groups of Native American and First Nations peoples and present the first clear evidence of the genetic impact of the groups' cultural practices.  A Tlingit...

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The vast but little known north-western Chinese region of Xinjiang has presented a University of Sydney archaeologist with exciting new evidence of early contact between China and the West.  While on an expedition in Xinjiang, Dr Peter Jia found evidence of wheat starch dating back 4000 years, lending weight to arguments of early East-West links [Credit: University of Sydney] The findings of the Chinese-Australian...

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Across history and cultures, religion increases trust within groups but also may increase conflict with other groups, according to an article in a special issue of Science.  An image from Egypt's 25 January Revolution [Credit: LSE] "Moralizing gods, emerging over the last few millennia, have enabled large-scale cooperation and sociopolitical conquest even without war," says University of Michigan anthropologist Scott Atran,...

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Different species of butterflies speed up the evolution of biodiversity by interbreeding so they can share genes for protective wing patterns, say researchers. The international consortium report their findings today in the journal Nature.  The brightly coloured wing patterns on these butterflies act as a signal to ward off predators Credit: Chris Jiggins/University of Cambridge] "It would be a lot faster than waiting around...

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New research shows how bacteria evolve to increase ecosystem functioning by recycling each other's waste. The study provides some of the first evidence for how interactions between species shape evolution when there is a diverse community.  Predicting how species and ecosystems will respond to new environments is an important task for biology. However, most studies of evolutionary adaptation have considered single species...

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Picture a turtle the size of a Smart car, with a shell large enough to double as a kiddie pool. Paleontologists from North Carolina State University have found just such a specimen – the fossilized remains of a 60-million-year-old South American giant that lived in what is now Colombia.  Reconstruction of Carbonemys preying upon a small crocodylomorph [Credit: Artwork by Liz Bradford] The turtle in question is Carbonemys...

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Scientists at the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoecology (HEP) at the University of Tubingen and the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt have examined the age of the Rhine based on fossils. They have discovered that the river is five million years older than previously believed. The accompanying study is published May 16 in the journal PLoS ONE.  Fossil antlers of the deer Paradicrocerus elegantulus...

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Utah geologists have discovered what appear to be three new raptor species of dinosaurs based on fossils recovered near Arches National Park.  Geologist Don DeBlieux at the site near Arches where he discovered a new raptor species of dinosaur. DeBlieux and colleagues dubbed the creature Yurgovuchia doellingi in a study published Tuesday [Credit: Utah Geological Survey/Salt Lake Tribune] A team led by the Utah Geological...

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Is Earth really a sort of giant living organism as the Gaia hypothesis predicts? A new discovery made at the University of Maryland may provide a key to answering this question. This key of sulfur could allow scientists to unlock heretofore hidden interactions between ocean organisms, atmosphere, and land -- interactions that might provide evidence supporting this famous theory.  Discovery ultimately could lead to better...

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Prehistoric plants grown in state-of-the-art growth chambers recreating environmental conditions from more than 400 million years ago have shown scientists from the University of Sheffield how soil dwelling fungi played a crucial role in the evolution of plants.  Ferns in the growth chambers [Credit: University of Sheffield] This ground breaking work provides fundamental knowledge of how plants colonised the land before...

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A new Legacy Image from the Gemini Observatory reveals the remarkable complexity of the planetary nebula Sharpless 2-71 (Sh 2-71). Embroiled in a bit of controversy over its “birth parents” the nebula likely resulted from interactions between a pair of two old and dying stars. Legacy images like this one share the stunning beauty of the universe as revealed by the twin 8-meter Gemini telescopes in Hawai‘i and Chile. Often what seems...

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A McGill-led research team using the Herschel Space Observatory has discovered a giant, galaxy-packed filament ablaze with billions of new stars. The filament connects two clusters of galaxies that, along with a third cluster, will smash together and give rise to one of the largest galaxy superclusters in the universe.  A star-bursting filament. The Herschel Space Observatory has discovered a giant, galaxy-packed filament...

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