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Categories: Archaeology: General, Paleontology: Dinosaurs
Published Unveiling Japan's ancient practice of cranial modification: The case of the Hirota people in Tanegashima



Cranial modification is a form of body alteration where the head is pressed or bound to permanently deform the skull. The practice has been reported across various cultures throughout history. Researchers report that the Hirota people -- who lived on the southern Japanese island of Tanegashima between the 3rd to 7th century CE -- also conducted cranial modification, with indication that both males and females performed the practice.
Published Sea sequin 'bling' links Indonesian islands' ancient communities



Microscopic analysis has revealed that trends in body ornamentation were shared across Indonesian islands.
Published Scientists explore dinosaur 'Coliseum' in Denali National Park



Scientists have discovered and documented the largest known single dinosaur track site in Alaska. The site, located in Denali National Park and Preserve, has been dubbed 'The Coliseum' by researchers.
Published China's oldest water pipes were a communal effort



A system of ancient ceramic water pipes, the oldest ever unearthed in China, shows that neolithic people were capable of complex engineering feats without the need for a centralized state authority, finds a new study.
Published Fossil feces infested with parasites from over 200 million years ago



Fossilized feces preserve evidence of ancient parasites that infected an aquatic predator over 200 million years ago, according to a new study.
Published Roman road network spanning the South West identified in new research



New research has found evidence that a Roman road network spanned Devon and Cornwall and connected significant settlements with military forts across the two counties as well as wider Britannia.
Published Using gemstones' unique characteristics to uncover ancient trade routes



Gems' unique elemental composition and atomic orientation act as a fingerprint, enabling researchers to uncover the stones' past, and with it, historical trade routes. Scientists now employ three modern spectroscopic techniques to rapidly analyze gems found in the Arabian-Nubian Shield and compare them with similar gems from around the world. They have identified elements that influence gems' color, differentiated stones found within and outside the region, and distinguished natural from synthetic.
Published 'Time-traveling' pathogens in melting permafrost pose likely risk to environment



Ancient pathogens that escape from melting permafrost have real potential to damage microbial communities and might potentially threaten human health, according to a new study.
Published New insights into the origin of the Indo-European languages



An international team of linguists and geneticists has achieved a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the origins of Indo-European, a family of languages spoken by nearly half of the world's population.
Published Ancient DNA reveals diverse community in 'Lost City of the Incas'



DNA analysis of 34 individuals buried at Machu Picchu revealed that many traveled alone from throughout the Inca Empire.
Published Family trees from the European Neolithic



The Neolithic burial site of Gurgy 'les Noisats' in France revealed two unprecedentedly large family trees which allowed a Franco-German team to explore the social organization of the 6,700-year-old community. Based on multiple lines of evidence, the team describes a close kin group which practiced monogamy and female exogamy, and experienced generally stable times.
Published New archosaur species shows that precursor of dinosaurs and pterosaurs was armored



Researchers have described a new species of armored reptile that lived near the time of the first appearance of dinosaurs. With bony plates on its backbone, this archosaur fossil reveals that armor was a boomerang trait in the story of dinosaur and pterosaur evolution: the group's ancestors were armored, but this characteristic was lost and then independently re-evolved multiple times later among specialized dinosaurs like ankylosaurs, stegosaurs, and others.
Published Missing island explains how endemic species on the Miyako Islands emerged



Miyako Islands are home to various native species of snake and lizards. How these species came to call these islands home has long puzzled scientists. A group of researchers have compiled the latest geological and biological data, proposing that an island once facilitated migration between Okinawa and Miyako Islands.
Published Unusual fossil shows rare evidence of a mammal attacking a dinosaur



Scientists have described an unusual fossil from around 125 million years ago in China that shows a dramatic moment in time when a carnivorous mammal attacked a larger plant-eating dinosaur. The two animals are locked in mortal combat, and it's among the first evidence to show actual predatory behavior by a mammal on a dinosaur. The fossil's presence challenges the view that dinosaurs had few threats from their mammal contemporaries during the Cretaceous, when dinosaurs were the dominant animals.
Published Picky green sea turtle has travelled to the same place to eat for generations



For approximately 3,000 years, generations of green sea turtles have returned to the same seagrass meadows to eat. The fact that this stretches over many generations highlights the importance of protecting seagrass meadows along the coasts of North Africa.
Published Hidden details of Egyptian paintings revealed by chemical imaging



Portable chemical imaging technology can reveal hidden details in ancient Egyptian paintings, according to new research.
Published Study examines centuries of identity lost because of slavery



Using computational methods informed by genetic data, researchers estimate that a random African American born between 1960 and 1965 is descended from, on average, 314 African and 51 European ancestors reaching back to 1619.
Published Giant stone artefacts found on rare Ice Age site in Kent, UK



Researchers have discovered some of the largest early prehistoric stone tools in Britain.
Published Fossils reveal how ancient birds molted their feathers -- which could help explain why ancestors of modern birds survived when all the other dinosaurs died



Birds are the only group of dinosaurs that survived the asteroid-induced mass extinction 66 million years ago. But not all the birds alive at the time made it. Why the ancestors of modern birds lived while so many of their relatives died has been a mystery that paleontologists have been trying to solve for decades. Two new studies point to one possible factor: the differences between how modern birds and their ancient cousins molt their feathers.
Published Newly discovered Jurassic fossils in Texas



Scientists have filled a major gap in the state's fossil record -- describing the first known Jurassic vertebrate fossils in Texas. The weathered bone fragments are from the limbs and backbone of a plesiosaur, an extinct marine reptile.