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Categories: Archaeology: General, Ecology: Trees
Published 4,000-year-old plague DNA found -- the oldest cases to date in Britain
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have identified three 4,000-year-old British cases of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria causing the plague -- the oldest evidence of the plague in Britain to date.
Published Early toilets reveal dysentery in Old Testament Jerusalem
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Study of 2,500-year-old latrines from the biblical Kingdom of Judah shows the ancient faeces within contain Giardia -- a parasite that can cause dysentery.
Published How a drought affects trees depends on what's been holding them back
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Droughts can be good for trees. Certain trees, that is. Contrary to expectation, sometimes a record-breaking drought can increase tree growth. Why and where this happens is the subject of a new article.
Published Ancient climate change solves mystery of vanished South African lakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New evidence for the presence of ancient lakes in some of the most arid regions of South Africa suggests that Stone Age humans may have been more widespread across the continent than previously thought.
Published Oldest architectural plans detail mysterious desert mega structures
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have identified engravings in Jordan and Saudi Arabia as the oldest known scaled building plans in human history.
Published Humanity's earliest recorded kiss occurred in Mesopotamia 4,500 years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Written sources from Mesopotamia suggest that kissing in relation to sex was practiced by the peoples of the ancient Middle East 4,500 years ago.
Published South Africa's desert-like interior may have been more inviting to our human ancestors
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Lining the Cape of South Africa and its southern coast are long chains of caves that nearly 200,000 years ago were surrounded by a lush landscape and plentiful food.
Published Preserving pine forests by understanding beetle flight
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers study the flight performance of the mountain pine beetle from a fluid mechanics and an entomological perspective. Understanding these aspects of the insect's flight could improve estimates of its spread through the environment and preserve pine forests. To examine insect flight, the team employed a type of model previously used for idealized airfoils. They showed that it can be successfully applied to multiple individual animals across biological sex, insect age, and body size. In doing so, the model can predict how these factors impact flight characteristics.
Published Beetles and their biodiversity in dead wood
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Which energy type promotes the biodiversity of beetles living in dead wood in the forest? That depends entirely on where the beetles are in the food chain.
Published Exploring the underground connections between trees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fungal networks interconnecting trees in a forest is a key factor that determines the nature of forests and their response to climate change. These networks have also been viewed as a means for trees to help their offspring and other tree-friends, according to the increasingly popular 'mother-tree hypothesis'. An international group of researchers re-examined the evidence for and against this hypothesis in a new study.
Published Tooth enamel provides clues to hunter-gatherer lifestyle of Neanderthals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study has given an intriguing glimpse of the hunting habits and diets of Neanderthals and other humans living in western Europe.
Published Evidence of Ice Age human migrations from China to the Americas and Japan
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have used mitochondrial DNA to trace a female lineage from northern coastal China to the Americas. By integrating contemporary and ancient mitochondrial DNA, the team found evidence of at least two migrations: one during the last ice age, and one during the subsequent melting period. Around the same time as the second migration, another branch of the same lineage migrated to Japan, which could explain Paleolithic archeological similarities between the Americas, China, and Japan.
Published Archaeologists map hidden NT landscape where first Australians lived more than 60,000 years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have used sub-surface imaging and aerial surveys to see through floodplains in the Red Lily Lagoon area of West Arnhem Land in Australia. These ground-breaking methods showed how this important landscape in the Northern Territory was altered as sea levels rose about 8,000 years ago.
Published Scientists recover an ancient woman's DNA from a 20,000-year-old pendant
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international research team has for the first time successfully isolated ancient human DNA from a Paleolithic artefact: a pierced deer tooth discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. To preserve the integrity of the artefact, they developed a new, nondestructive method for isolating DNA from ancient bones and teeth. From the DNA retrieved they were able to reconstruct a precise genetic profile of the woman who used or wore the pendant, as well as of the deer from which the tooth was taken. Genetic dates obtained for the DNA from both the woman and the deer show that the pendant was made between 19,000 and 25,000 years ago. The tooth remains fully intact after analysis, providing testimony to a new era in ancient DNA research, in which it may become possible to directly identify the users of ornaments and tools produced in the deep past.
Published Mushrooms and their post-rain, electrical conversations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Certain types of fungi can communicate with each other via electrical signals. But much remains unknown about how and when they do so. A group of researchers recently headed to the forest to measure the electrical signals of Laccaria bicolor mushrooms, finding that their electrical signals increased following rainfall.
Published Ant mounds are more important for biodiversity than previously thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The ant mounds on the heath, in the forest and in your garden are oases for life. The heat and nutrients from ant mounds make them the perfect home for unique plant and animal species, according to new research.
Published Prolonged droughts likely spelled the end for Indus megacities
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has found evidence -- locked into an ancient stalagmite from a cave in the Himalayas -- of a series of severe and lengthy droughts which may have upturned the Bronze Age Indus Civilization.
Published How the Amazon rainforest is likely to cope with the effect of future drought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A major collaboration involving 80 scientists from Europe and South America has identified the regions of the Amazon rainforest where trees are most likely to face the greatest risk from drier conditions brought about by climate change. Based on the analysis, the scientists predict trees in the western and southern Amazon face the greatest risk of dying. They also warn that previous scientific investigations may have underestimated the impact of drought on the rainforest because those studies focused on the central-eastern part of the forest, which is the least vulnerable to drought.
Published Searching for ancient bears in an Alaskan cave led to an important human discovery
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Genetic analysis links 3,000-year-old bone found in cave to modern Alaska Natives.
Published The diversity of present tree species is shaped by climate change in the last 21,000 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new global survey of 1000 forest areas shows how climate change since the peak of the last ice age has had a major impact on the diversity and distribution of tree species we see today. The results can help us predict how ecosystems will react to future changes, thus having an impact on conservation management around the globe.