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Categories: Anthropology: Cultures, Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published Human shoulders and elbows first evolved as brakes for climbing apes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report that the flexible shoulders and elbows that allow us to throw a football or reach a high shelf may have evolved as a natural braking system that let our primate ancestors get out of trees without dying. The researchers used sports-analysis software to compare the climbing movements of chimpanzees and small monkeys called mangabeys. While the animals climb up trees similarly, the researchers found that the shallow, rounded shoulder joints and shortened elbow bones that chimps have -- similar to humans -- allow them to fully extend their arms above their heads when climbing down, holding onto branches like a person going down a ladder to support their greater weight. When early humans left forests for the grassy savanna, these versatile appendages would have been essential for gathering food and using tools for hunting and defense. The findings are among the first to identify the significance of 'downclimbing' in the evolution of apes and early humans.
Published The scent of the afterlife unbottled in new study of ancient Egyptian mummification balms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers has recreated one of the scents used in the mummification of an important Egyptian woman more than 3500 years ago.
Published Three-eyed distant relative of insects and crustaceans reveals amazing detail of early animal evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists use cutting edge scanning technology to reconstruct 'fossil monster' that lived half a billion years ago. The creature's soft anatomy was well-preserved, allowing it to be imaged almost completely: It fills a gap in our understanding of the evolution of arthropods such as insects and crustaceans.
Published Malaysian rock art found to depict elite -- Indigenous conflict
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have dated drawings of Gua Sireh Cave in Sarawak, uncovering a sad story of conflict in the process.
Published Newly discovered 'primitive cousins of T rex' shed light on the end of the age of dinosaurs in Africa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered the fossils of two new abelisaurs in Morocco, showing the diversity of dinosaurs in this region at the end of the Cretaceous period.
Published Researchers extract ancient DNA from a 2,900-year-old clay brick, revealing a time capsule of plant life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For the first time, a group of researchers have successfully extracted ancient DNA from a 2,900-year-old clay brick. The analysis provides a fascinating insight into the diversity of plant species cultivated at that time and place, and could open the way to similar studies on clay material from other sites and time periods.
Published Did sabertooth tigers purr or roar?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When a sabertooth tiger called out, what noise did it make -- a mighty roar or a throaty purr? A new study examined the data behind the arguments for each vocalization and found that the answer was more nuanced than they thought -- and that it could depend on the shape of a few small bones.
Published Spear thrower weapon use by prehistoric females equalized the division of labor while hunting
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has demonstrated that the atlatl (i.e. spear thrower) functions as an 'equalizer', a finding which supports women's potential active role as prehistoric hunters.
Published Ancient metal cauldrons give us clues about what people ate in the Bronze Age
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Archaeologists have long been drawing conclusions about how ancient tools were used by the people who crafted them based on written records and context clues. But with dietary practices, they have had to make assumptions about what was eaten and how it was prepared. A new study analyzed protein residues from ancient cooking cauldrons and found that the people of Caucasus ate deer, sheep, goats, and members of the cow family during the Maykop period (3700--2900 BCE).
Published Unveiling Japan's ancient practice of cranial modification: The case of the Hirota people in Tanegashima
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 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 Iceman Ötzi: Dark skin, bald head, Anatolian ancestry
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team has used advanced sequencing technology to analyze Ötzi's genome to obtain a more accurate picture of the Iceman's appearance and genetic origins.
Published 'Resurrecting' the legendary figure behind Count Dracula
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Vlad III, known as Vlad the Impaler, was a 15th century prince and military leader who was so terrifying, he's thought to have inspired the creation of the literary vampire, Count Dracula. Now, a scientific examination of his letters is giving new insights into his health. Researchers say the results suggest that Vlad probably had skin and respiratory conditions and could have even cried literal tears of blood.
Published Fossil feces infested with parasites from over 200 million years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fossilized feces preserve evidence of ancient parasites that infected an aquatic predator over 200 million years ago, according to a new study.
Published Drops of seawater contain traces of an ancient world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research links chemical changes in seawater to volcanic activity and changes.
Published New research links early Europeans' cultural and genetic development over several thousand years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new DNA study has nuanced the picture of how different groups intermingled during the European Stone Age, but also how certain groups of people were actually isolated. Researchers produced new genetic data from 56 Central and Eastern European individuals from the Stone Age.
Published Whale-like filter-feeding discovered in prehistoric marine reptile
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A remarkable new fossil from China reveals for the first time that a group of reptiles were already using whale-like filter feeding 250 million years ago.
Published 'Time-traveling' pathogens in melting permafrost pose likely risk to environment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 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
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 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 Wormlike animals are first amphibians shown to pass microbes to their offspring
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Caecilians are an illusive type of snakelike amphibian that live in aquatic and subterranean environments. In some species, mothers produce a special type of nutrient-rich skin that juveniles consume, similar to the way in which humans breastfeed their children. A new study shows this behavior passes on microbes to juvenile caecilians, inoculating them to jump-start a healthy microbiome.
Published Paleontologists identify two new species of sabertooth cat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Sabertooth cats make up a diverse group of long-toothed predators that roamed Africa around 6-7 million years ago, around the time that hominins -- the group that includes modern humans -- began to evolve. By examining one of the largest global Pliocene collections of fossils in Langebaanweg, north of Cape Town in South Africa, researchers present two new sabertooth species and the first family tree of the region's ancient sabertooths. Their results suggest that the distribution of sabertooths throughout ancient Africa might have been different than previously assumed, and the study provides important information about Africa's paleoenvironment.