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Categories: Archaeology: General, Environmental: Wildfires
Published Giant volcanic 'chain' spills secrets on inner workings of volcanoes


Volcanic relics scattered throughout the Australian landscape are a map of the northward movement of the continent over a 'hotspot' inside the Earth, during the last 35 million years.
Published Copper artifacts unearth new cultural connections in southern Africa


Chemical and isotopic analysis of artifacts from southern Africa called copper ingots reveals new cultural connections among people living in the region between the 5th and 20th centuries.
Published Bushfire safe rooms may save lives


Researchers have built and tested a bushfire safe room that exceeds current Australian standards and could keep people alive or protect valuables when evacuation is no longer an option.
Published Genome research: Origin and evolution of vine


Cultivation and growth of grapevines have strongly influenced European civilizations, but where the grapevine comes from and how it has spread across the globe has been highly disputed so far. In an extensive genome project, researchers have determined its origin and evolution from the wild vine to today's cultivar by analyzing thousands of vine genomes collected along the Silk Road from China to Western Europe.
Published Cyprus's copper deposits created one of the most important trade hubs in the Bronze Age


The coveted metal copper and a sheltered location turned the Cypriot village of Hala Sultan Tekke into one of the most important trade hubs of the Late Bronze Age. Recent excavations confirm the importance of the Bronze Age city in the first period of international trade in the Mediterranean.
Published Indigenous Ashaninka DNA helps geneticists write new chapters of pre-colonial history in South America


Geneticists have written new chapters in the reconstruction of pre-colonial Americas history after using DNA from the indigenous Ashaninka people from Amazonian Peru. They have discovered previously unexpected levels of genetic variation in this group and uncovered a strong hint that these people were involved in a South-to-North migration that led to the transition from an archaic to ceramic culture in the Caribbean islands.
Published Neolithic ceramics reveal dairy processing from milk of multiple species


A new study has found evidence of cheesemaking, using milk from multiple animals in Late Neolithic Poland.
Published New model provides improved air-quality predictions in fire-prone areas


Globally, wildfires are becoming more frequent and destructive, generating a significant amount of smoke that can be transported thousands of miles, driving the need for more accurate air pollution forecasts. Researchers have now developed a deep learning model that provides improved predictions of air quality in wildfire-prone areas and can differentiate between wildfires and non-wildfires.
Published A mechanistic and probabilistic method for predicting wildfires


In the event of dry weather and high winds, power system-ignited incidents are more likely to develop into wildfires. The risk is greater if vegetation is nearby. A new study provides the methodology for predicting at what point during a high wind storm, powerline ignition is likely.
Published Lasers and chemistry reveal how ancient pottery was made -- and how an empire functioned


Peru's first great empire, the Wari, stretched for more than a thousand miles over the Andes Mountains and along the coast from 600-1000 CE. The pottery they left behind gives archaeologists clues as to how the empire functioned. In a new study researchers showed that rather than using 'official' Wari pottery imported from the capital, potters across the empire were creating their own ceramics, decorated to emulate the traditional Wari style. To figure it out, the scientists analyzed the pottery's chemical make-up, with help from laser beams.
Published Surprising similarities in stone tools of early humans and monkeys


Researchers have discovered artefacts produced by old world monkeys in Thailand that resemble stone tools, which historically have been identified as intentionally made by early hominins. Until now, sharp-edged stone tools were thought to represent the onset of intentional stone tool production, one of the defining and unique characteristics of hominin evolution. This new study challenges long held beliefs about the origins of intentional tool production in our own lineage.
Published Smoke particles from wildfires can erode the ozone layer


A new study finds that smoke particles in the stratosphere can trigger chemical reactions that erode the ozone layer -- and that smoke particles from Australian wildfires widened the ozone hole by 10 percent in 2020.
Published To help dry forests, fire needs to be just the right intensity, and happen more than once


Research into the ability of a wildfire to improve the health of a forest uncovered a Goldilocks effect -- unless a blaze falls in a narrow severity range, neither too hot nor too cold, it isn't very good at helping forest landscapes return to their historical, more fire-tolerant conditions.
Published The world's first horse riders


Researchers have discovered evidence of horse riding by studying the remains of human skeletons found in burial mounds called kurgans, which were between 4500-5000 years old. The earthen burial mounds belonged to the Yamnaya culture. The Yamnayans had migrated from the Pontic-Caspian steppes to find greener pastures in today's countries of Romania and Bulgaria up to Hungary and Serbia.
Published Wildfires in 2021 emitted a record-breaking amount of carbon dioxide


Carbon dioxide emissions from wildfires, which have been gradually increasing since 2000, spiked drastically to a record high in 2021, according to an international team of researchers.
Published Archaeological study of 24 ancient Mexican cities reveals that collective forms of governance, infrastructural investments, and collaboration all help societies last longer


Some cities only last a century or two, while others last for a thousand years or more. Often, there aren't clear records left behind to explain why. Instead, archaeologists piece together clues from the cities' remains to search for patterns that help account for why certain places retained their importance longer than others.
Published Wisconsin cave holds tantalizing clues to ancient climate changes, future shifts


A newly published study of a stalagmite found in Cave of the Mounds reveals previously undetected history of the local climate going back thousands of years. Researchers describe evidence for an ice age punctuated by massive and abrupt warming events across much of the Northern Hemisphere.
Published Bronze Age well contents reveal the history of animal resources in Mycenae, Greece



A large Bronze Age debris deposit in Mycenae, Greece provides important data for understanding the history of animal resources at the site, according to a new study.
Published Waxing and waning of environment influences hominin dispersals across ancient Iran


A world-first model of paleoclimate and hydrology in Iran has highlighted favourable routes for Neanderthals and modern human expansions eastwards into Asia. The findings reveal that multiple humid periods in ancient Iran led to the expansions of human populations, opening dispersal route across the region, and the possible interactions of species such as Neanderthals and our own Homo sapiens.
Published Oldest human genome from southern Spain


A new study reports on genomic data from a 23,000-year-old individual who lived in what was probably the warmest place of Europe at the peak of the last Ice Age. The oldest human genome recovered from the southern tip of Spain adds an important piece of the puzzle to the genetic history of Europe.