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Categories: Archaeology: General, Environmental: Wildfires
Published Early medieval money mystery solved



Byzantine bullion fueled Europe's revolutionary adoption of silver coins in the mid-7th century, only to be overtaken by silver from a mine in Charlemagne's Francia a century later, new tests reveal. The findings could transform our understanding of Europe's economic and political development.
Published In the evolution of walking, the hip bone connected to the rib bones



A new reconstruction of the 375-million-year-old fossil fish Tiktaalik -- a close relative of limbed vertebrates -- used micro-CT to reveal bones still embedded in matrix. The reconstruction shows that the fish's ribs likely attached to its pelvis, an innovation thought to be crucial to supporting the body and for the eventual evolution of walking.
Published Last chance to record archaic Greek language 'heading for extinction'



A new data crowdsourcing platform aims to preserve the sound of Romeyka, an endangered millennia-old variety of Greek. Experts consider the language to be a linguistic goldmine and a living bridge to the ancient world.
Published When did the chicken cross the road? New evidence from Central Asia



An international team of scholars present the earliest clear archaeological and biomolecular evidence for the raising of chickens for egg production, based on material from 12 archaeological sites spanning one and a half millennia. The research indicates that the domestic chicken, now a staple in diets around the world, is not as ancient as previously thought.
Published Ancient DNA reveals the appearance of a 6th century Chinese emperor



What did an ancient Chinese emperor from 1,500 years ago look like? A team of researchers reconstructed the face of Chinese Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou using DNA extracted from his remains. The study suggests the emperor's death at the age of 36 might be linked to a stroke. It also sheds light on the origin and migration patterns of a nomadic empire that once ruled parts of northeastern Asia.
Published Uncovering the mystery of Dorset's Cerne Giant



For centuries, the Cerne Giant, a figure carved into a hillside in Dorset, has fascinated locals and visitors to the area. A new paper proposes that the Cerne Giant can in fact be dated to the early Middle Ages, and, as a result, its cultural context and significance more clearly understood.
Published Persian plateau unveiled as crucial hub for early human migration out of Africa



A new study combining genetic, palaeoecological, and archaeological evidence has unveiled the Persian Plateau as a pivotal geographic location serving as a hub for Homo sapiens during the early stages of their migration out of Africa. It highlights the period between 70,000 to 45,000 years ago when human populations did not uniformly spread across Eurasia, leaving a gap in our understanding of their whereabouts during this time frame.
Published Unintended consequences of fire suppression



A new study reveals how fire suppression ensures that wildfires will burn under extreme conditions at high severity, exacerbating the impacts of climate change and fuel accumulation.
Published Scientists uncover evidence that microplastics are contaminating archaeological remains



A team of archaeologists discovered tiny microplastic particles in deposits located more than seven meters deep, in samples dating back to the first or early second century and excavated in the late 1980s.
Published Tudor era horse cemetery in Westminster revealed as likely resting place for elite imported animals



Archaeological analysis of a near unique animal cemetery discovered in London nearly 30 years ago has revealed there was an international horse trading network, orchestrated by the elites of late medieval and Tudor England, which brought superior physical specimens to the UK for jousting and for use as status symbols.
Published Researchers name prehistoric amphibian ancestor discovered in Smithsonian collection after Kermit the Frog



Scientists have uncovered the fossilized skull of a 270-million-year-old ancient amphibian ancestor in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The team of researchers described the fossil as a new species of proto-amphibian, which they named Kermitops gratus in honor of the iconic Muppet, Kermit the Frog.
Published Study reveals 'cozy domesticity' of prehistoric stilt-house dwellers in England's ancient marshland



Detailed reports on thousands of artifacts pulled from 'Britain's Pompeii' reveals the surprisingly sophisticated domestic lives of Bronze Age Fen folk some 3,000 years ago -- from home interiors to recipes, clothing, kitchenware and pets.
Published New archive of ancient human brains challenges misconceptions of soft tissue preservation



A new study has challenged previously held views that brain preservation in the archaeological record is extremely rare. The team compiled a new archive of preserved human brains, which highlighted that nervous tissues actually persist in much greater abundances than traditionally thought, assisted by conditions that prevent decay.
Published Lost tombs and quarries rediscovered on British military base in Cyprus



Archaeologists rediscovers 46 sites at the Eastern Sovereign Base Area at Dhekelia, Cyprus. Archaeologists located sites from archive records, a number of which were thought to have been 'lost.' They uncovered evidence of quarries and tombs likely to span from the Bronze Age, Byzantine, Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Published 2020 extreme weather event that brought fires and snow to western US



The same weather system that led to the spread of the devastating Labor Day wildfires in 2020 brought record-breaking cold and early-season snowfall to parts of the Rocky Mountains. Now, new research is shedding light on the meteorology behind what happened and the impacts of such an extreme weather event.
Published Scientists ID burned bodies using technique used for extracting DNA from woolly mammoths, Neanderthals



A technique originally devised to extract DNA from woolly mammoths and other ancient archaeological specimens can be used to potentially identify badly burned human remains, according to research.
Published Slimming down a colossal fossil whale



A 30 million year-old fossil whale may not be the heaviest animal of all time after all, according to a new analysis by paleontologists. The new analysis puts Perucetus colossus back in the same weight range as modern whales and smaller than the largest blue whales ever recorded.
Published Climate change threatens thousands of archaeological sites in coastal Georgia



Thousands of historic and archaeological sites in Georgia are at risk from tropical storm surges, and that number will increase with climate change, according to a new study.
Published Study finds drought fuels invasive species after wildfires



Scientists uncover the intricate dance between drought, wildfires and invasive species in Southern California's coastal sage scrub ecosystems.
Published Experiment captures why pottery forms are culturally distinct



Potters of different cultural backgrounds learn new types differently, producing cultural differences even in the absence of differential cultural evolution. The research has implications for how we evaluate the difference of archaeological artifacts across cultures.