Pottery related to unknown culture was found in Ecuador

(Far Eastern Federal University) Archaeologists of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS (Russia), Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) (Ecuador), and Tohoku University (Japan) found shards of ceramic vessels referred to the cultural sediments of early periods of Real Alto site. Findings date back to 4640 - 4460 BC, this period borders with Valdivia, one of the oldest pottery-featured cultures in North and South America. A related article is published in Antiquity.

from EurekAlert! - Archaeology https://ift.tt/2M87tg8

White-tailed deer were predominant in pre-Columbian Panama feasts

(Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) An analysis of white-tailed deer remains at an archaeological site in Panama revealed signs of 'feasting behavior' associated with this animal among pre-Columbian populations.

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Archaeological evidence verifies long-doubted medieval accounts of First Crusade

(University of North Carolina at Charlotte) New discoveries in the decade-long archaeological dig at Jerusalem's Mont Zion include a massive, long-rumored-but-buried earthwork, gold jewelry and war artifacts. The finds confirm previously unverified details from medieval historical accounts of the First Crusade -- witness narratives of five-week siege, conquest, sack and massacre of the Fatamid (Muslim)-controlled city in July of 1099.

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Perot Museum of Nature and Science to debut Origins: Fossils from the Cradle of Humankind

(Perot Museum of Nature and Science) The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, in partnership with the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) and the National Geographic Society, proudly announces fossils of two recently discovered ancient human relatives (Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi) will come to the US from South Africa this fall for the first, and likely only, time to be featured in the limited-run exhibition -- Origins: Fossils from the Cradle of Humankind.

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Homo naledi and Australopithecus sediba to be exhibited in Perot Museum

(University of the Witwatersrand) The University of Witwatersrand (Wits University), the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in the US and the National Geographic Society have partnered to bring the rare fossils of two recently discovered ancient human relatives (Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi) to the US for the first, and likely only, time to be featured in the limited-run exhibition.

from EurekAlert! - Archaeology https://ift.tt/2Y3qBm3

Long live the long-limbed African chicken

(Washington University in St. Louis) For generations, household farmers in the Horn of Africa have selectively chosen chickens with certain traits that make them more appealing. Some choices are driven by the farmers' traditional courtship rituals; others are guided by more mundane concerns, such as taste and disease resistance. The result is the development of a genetically distinct African chicken -- one with longer, meatier legs, according to new research . But that 3,000-year-old local breed type is threatened by the introduction of commercial cluckers.

from EurekAlert! - Archaeology https://ift.tt/2lJ6Y10

Super volcanic eruptions interrupt ozone recovery

(Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) Strong volcanic eruptions, especially when a super volcano erupts, will have a strong impact on ozone, and might interrupt the ozone recovery processes.

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Ancient Roman port history unveiled

(La Trobe University) A team of international researchers led by La Trobe University and the University of Melbourne have, for the first time worldwide, applied marine geology techniques at an ancient harbour archaeological site to uncover ancient harbour technologies of the first centuries AD.

from EurekAlert! - Archaeology https://ift.tt/2NX67Y9

Fossil of smallest old world monkey species discovered in Kenya

(University of Arkansas) Researchers from the National Museums of Kenya, University of Arkansas, University of Missouri and Duke University have announced the discovery of a tiny monkey that lived in Kenya 4.2 million years ago.

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Strange new species of duck-billed dinosaur identified

(Taylor & Francis Group) The most complete skull of a duck-billed dinosaur from Big Bend National Park, Texas, is revealed in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology as a new genus and species, Aquilarhinus palimentus. This dinosaur has been named for its aquiline nose and wide lower jaw, shaped like two trowels laid side by side.

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New species of lizard found in stomach of microraptor

(Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters) A team of paleontologists led by Professor Jingmai O'Connor from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with researchers from the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, have discovered a new specimen of the volant dromaeosaurid Microraptor zhaoianus with the remains of a nearly complete lizard preserved in its stomach.

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UTSA professor leads in creation of center to preserve Ernest Hemingway's work

(University of Texas at San Antonio) UTSA historic preservation and architecture professor William Dupont, working with the Boston based Finca Vigia Foundation has been collaborating on a multi-year project to restore and enhance Finca Vigia, Ernest Hemingway's estate in Havana, Cuba. The US under Dupont's leadership of the US Technical Team, the collaborations have led to recent completion of a climate-controlled restoration center at Finca Vigia, now a museum dedicated to preservation of Hemingway's legacy in Cuba.

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The world`s oldest autograph by a Christian is in Basel

(University of Basel) A letter in the Basel papyrus collection describes day-to-day family matters and yet is unique in its own way: it provides valuable insights into the world of the first Christians in the Roman Empire, which is not recorded in any other historical source. The letter has been dated to the 230s AD and is thus older than all previously known Christian documentary evidence from Roman Egypt.

from EurekAlert! - Archaeology https://ift.tt/30pJwoz

Grazing animals drove domestication of grain crops

(Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History) During the Pleistocene, massive herds directed the ecology across much of the globe and caused evolutionary changes in plants. Studies of the ecology and growing habits of certain ancient crop relatives indicate that megafaunal herds were necessary for the dispersal of their seeds prior to human intervention. Understanding this process is providing insights into the early domestication of these plants.

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The ancestor of the great white shark

(University of Vienna) Mackerel sharks are a group consisting of some of the most iconic sharks we know, including the mako shark, the great white shark and Megalodon, the biggest predatory shark. An international team of researchers from the University of Vienna found a unique feature in the teeth of these apex predators, which allowed them to trace back the origin of this group to a small benthic shark from the Middle Jurassic (165 mya).

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Maize-centric diet may have contributed to ancient Maya collapse

(University of Chicago Press Journals) Researchers look at the role of diet in the ability of the ancient Maya to withstand periods of severe climatic stress. They found that an increase in the elite Maya's preference for a maize-based diet may have made the population more vulnerable to drought, contributing to its societal collapse.

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Bird three times larger than ostrich discovered in Crimean cave

(Taylor & Francis Group) A surprise discovery in a Crimean cave suggests that early Europeans lived alongside some of the largest ever known birds, according to new research published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

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Levänluhta jewellery links Finland to a European exchange network

(University of Helsinki) A recently completed study indicates that the material of the jewellery found together with human remains at the Levänluhta water burial site originates in southern Europe, contrary to what researchers had previously thought.

from EurekAlert! - Archaeology http://bit.ly/2ZMifw1

UTSA to research environmental comfort at the San Antonio Missions

(University of Texas at San Antonio) UTSA Center for Cultural Sustainability (CCS) has formed a partnership with local architecture firm to conduct a 12-month assessment of indoor climate management and make recommendations for energy-efficient upgrades at Mission Concepcion. The UTSA researchers anticipate that the results will serve as a model for other historic stone structures in hot-humid climates and become pioneers in the use of energy-efficient upgrades at the national cultural heritage resources.

from EurekAlert! - Archaeology http://bit.ly/2YcHgA7

Stresses from past earthquakes explain location of seismic events

(University of Plymouth) A study published in Nature Communications suggests the cumulative stresses caused by historic earthquakes could provide some explanation as to why and where they occur. The research involved a detailed analysis of centuries of earthquakes in central Italy, where unrivaled records of seismic events have been kept since 1349.

from EurekAlert! - Archaeology http://bit.ly/2XnhZGt