Archaeology & Fossils news

Ancient Pacific islanders brought to light

Dec 21, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (5) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A find of 60 headless skeletons summer 2009 may reveal the identity of the people who first inhabited the Pacific Ocean archipelago Vanuatu 3000 years ago.

Scientists retrieve Caravaggio's presumed remains

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

Dec 21, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Italian scientists Monday collected from a small chapel bones that are presumed to be the remains of celebrated Renaissance artist Caravaggio who died 400 years ago.

Researchers reveal ancient origins of modern opossum

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

Dec 16, 2009 | 4 / 5 (2) | 0

A University of Florida researcher has co-authored a study tracing the evolution of the modern opossum back to the extinction of the dinosaurs and finding evidence to support North America as the center of ...

World's first skeletal mount of Paluxysaurus jonesi reveals new biology

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

Dec 15, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (11) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Early Cretaceous sauropod Paluxysaurus jonesi weighed 20 tons, was 60 feet long and had a neck 26 feet long, according to scientists who prepared the world's first full skeletal mount ...

The mammoths' swan song revised

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

Dec 14, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (12) | 4

This is shown by samples of ancient DNA, analysed by an international team of research scientists under the leadership of Professor Eske Willerslev from Copenhagen University. Analyses of ancient DNA thereby ...

Ancient pygmy sea cow discovered

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

Dec 14, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (6) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The discovery of a Middle Eocene (48.6-37.2 million years ago) sea cow fossil by McGill University professor Karen Samonds has culminated in the naming of a new species. This primitive "dugong" ...

Flying dinosaur controversy resolved

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

Dec 10, 2009 | 3.5 / 5 (17) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- New research appears to have ended a scientific debate that has vexed palaeontologists for almost 100 years.

Fossils shake dinosaur family tree

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

Dec 10, 2009 | 5 / 5 (5) | 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- Paleontologists have unearthed a previously unknown meat-eating dinosaur in New Mexico, settling a debate about early dinosaur evolution, revealing a period of explosive diversification and ...

Before 'Lucy,' there was 'Ardi': Oldest hominid skeleton provides new evidence for human evolution (w/ Video)

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

Oct 01, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (35) | 1

In a special issue of Science, an international team of scientists has for the first time thoroughly described Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiop ...

Earliest toothless bird found

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

Dec 10, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (5) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new species of bird from the Cretaceous period in China has been identified. It had toothless upper and lower jaws, and provides significant information on the diversification in the evolution ...

Dinosaurs hop, skip and jump into 21st century

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

Dec 09, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (3) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Dinosaurs have literally been put through their paces by a new supercomputer, allowing scientists to get closer to understanding how they once moved.

French introduced farming to Britain: study

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

Dec 08, 2009 | 3.1 / 5 (7) | 7

(PhysOrg.com) -- Simon Fraser University archeologists Mark Collard and Kevan Edinborough and colleagues from University College London have uncovered evidence that French farmers introduced agriculture to Britain some 60 ...

Studying hair of ancient Peruvians answers questions about stress

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

Dec 09, 2009 | 4 / 5 (3) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Recent studies show that one in three Canadians suffer from stress and the number is on the rise. But stress isn't a new problem.

First archaeological survey of Paphlagonia published

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

Dec 16, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Project Paphlagonia is the first fully published multi-period archaeological and historical survey of the little explored region of north-central Turkey. Today this region includes the provinces ...