http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/ Articles in anthropology, archaeology, evolution theory and paleontology. Read the latest discoveries from archaeological sites and research institutes around the world. Images, updated daily. en-us Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:05:01 EST Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106201613.htm Deep under the sea, a fossil the size of a sand grain is nestled among a billion of its closest dead relatives. Known as foraminifera, these complex little shells of calcium carbonate can tell you the sea level, temperature, and ocean conditions of Earth millions of years ago. That is, if you know what to look for. Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106201613.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105121050.htm Despite their fearsome fangs, male sabertoothed cats may have been less aggressive than many of their feline cousins, says a new study of male-female size differences in extinct big cats. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105121050.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105121209.htm A computer scientist has new evidence regarding a photograph of accused JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. He digitally analyzed the iconic image of Oswald pictured in a backyard setting holding a rifle in one hand and Marxist newspapers in the other, and he says the photo almost certainly was not altered. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105121209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105102726.htm Spanish researchers have studied the fossil record of hadrosaurs, the so-called "duck-billed" dinosaurs, in the Iberian Peninsula for the purpose of determining that they were the last of their kind to inhabit the European continent before disappearing during the K/T extinction event that occurred 65.5 million years ago. Most notable among these fossils is the discovery of a new hadrosaur, the Arenysaurus ardevoli, found in Huesca, Spain. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105102726.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm Breaking up may not be hard to do, say scientists who've found a population of tropical butterflies that may be splitting into two distinct species. The cause of this particular break-up? A shift in wing color and mate preference. In a new study, the researchers describe the relationship between diverging color patterns in Heliconius butterflies and the long-term divergence of populations into new and distinct species. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106110557.htm Archaeologists excavating the former Radcliffe Infirmary site in Oxford have uncovered evidence of a prehistoric monumental landscape stretching across the gravel terrace between the Thames and Cherwell rivers. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106110557.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106103510.htm Remains of one of the oldest known marsupials have been recovered in Charente-Maritime, France, by palaeontologists. This discovery raises a new hypothesis about the dispersal route of the earliest marsupial mammals. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106103510.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106095636.htm The seriousness of current global warming is underlined by a reconstruction of climate at Maxwell Bay in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula over approximately the last 14,000 years, which appears to show that the current warming and widespread loss of glacial ice are unprecedented. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106095636.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132652.htm When small earthquakes shake the central US, citizens often fear the rumbles are signs a big earthquake is coming. Fortunately, a new study instead shows that most of these earthquakes are aftershocks of big earthquakes (magnitude 7) in the New Madrid seismic zone that struck the Midwest almost 200 years ago. Aftershocks go on until the fault recovers, which takes much longer in the middle of a continent. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132652.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105084838.htm Archaeologists have discovered evidence of Hernando de Soto's 1540 journey through the Southeast. No evidence of De Soto's path from Tallahassee to North Carolina has been found until now, and few sites have been located anywhere. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105084838.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101623.htm Using portable 3-D laser technology, scientists have electronically preserved a rare 110 million-year-old fossilized dinosaur footprint excavated in 1933, and built into the wall of a bandstand at a Texas courthouse. The laser image preserves an original track used to describe a species of dinosaur identified in 1935 as ichnospecies Eubrontes glenrosensis. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101623.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132706.htm Scientists have an ambitious new strategy for untangling the evolutionary history of humans and their biological relatives: Create a genetic menagerie made of the DNA of more than 10,000 vertebrate species. The plan, proposed by an international consortium of scientists, is to obtain, preserve, and sequence the DNA of approximately one species for each genus of living mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132706.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104111725.htm New research examines some of the potential problems with current prediction methods and calls for the use of a range of approaches when predicting the impact of climate change on organisms. The study uses examples from recent paleoecological studies to highlight how climate variability of the past has affected the distributions of tree species, and even how events that occurred many centuries ago still shape present-day distributions patterns. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104111725.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101537.htm Three-dimensional computer graphics is moving into museums. Works of art are being digitally archived in 3-D, simplifying research into related artifacts and providing the public with fascinating three-dimensional displays. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101537.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103145603.htm A painstaking genomic and proteomic analysis has found a new evolutionary mechanism that accounts for some of the biological complexity of human beings. The scientists who found the mechanism say it helps humans cope with the consequences of inefficient natural selection. It fosters complexity by enabling human proteins to become more specialized over time. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103145603.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104122538.htm A long forgotten fossil skull in the collections of the Natural History Museum in London has now provided crucial clues to the early stages of the lengthy evolutionary history of Tyrannosaurus rex and related large carnivorous dinosaurs. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104122538.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171204.htm The legendary "man-eating lions of Tsavo" that terrorized a railroad camp in Kenya more than a century ago likely consumed about 35 people -- far fewer than popular estimates of 135 victims, according to a new analysis. The study also yields surprises about the predatory behavior of lions. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171204.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121449.htm Ever since the Falklands wolf was described by Darwin himself, the origin of this now-extinct canid found only on the Falkland Islands far off the east coast of Argentina has remained a mystery. Now, researchers who have compared DNA from four of the world's dozen or so known Falklands wolf museum specimens to that of living canids offer new insight into the evolutionary ancestry of these enigmatic carnivores. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121449.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171726.htm A major conclusion of the work is that for some organisms, possibly including humans, continued evolution will not translate into ever-increasing fitness. Moreover, a population may accrue mutations at a constant rate --- a pattern long considered the hallmark of "neutral" or non-Darwinian evolution --- even when the mutations experience Darwinian selection. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171726.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027103107.htm Italian researchers have developed a technique to effectively remove old polymer layers from sensitive historic artworks. The new cleaning system involves only a tiny proportion of volatile organic compounds. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027103107.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102212153.htm An ancient South American civilisation which disappeared around 1,500 years ago helped to cause its own demise by damaging the fragile ecosystem that held it in place, a study has found. Archaeologists examining the remains of the Nasca, who once flourished in the valleys of south coastal Peru, have uncovered a sequence of human-induced events which led to their "catastrophic" collapse around 500 AD. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102212153.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102111847.htm Leprosy still affects hundreds of thousands of people today throughout the entire world. An international team has traced the history of the disease from ancient Egypt to today and in doing so has made a public health study essential for combating the disease. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102111847.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121454.htm Teenage tyrannosaurs got into some serious fights with their peers. The evidence can be found on Jane, a prized juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex, discovered in 2001 in Montana. The dinosaur's fossils show that it sustained a serious bite that punctured through the bone of its upper jaw and snout. The researchers determined that another juvenile tyrannosaur was responsible for the injury. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121454.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027101415.htm When Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species 150 years ago, he deliberately avoided the subject of the origin of life. This, coupled with the mention of the 'Creator' in the last paragraph of the book, led us to believe he was not willing to commit on the matter. An international team now refutes that idea and shows that the British naturalist did explain in other documents how our first ancestors could have come into being. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027101415.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027170853.htm Isotopic measurements performed on fossil land snail shells found in ancient soils on the subtropical eastern Canary Islands resulted in oxygen isotope ratios that suggest the Spanish archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa has become progressively drier over the past 50,000 years, according to new research. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027170853.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029125532.htm Biologists have shown that independent but similar molecular changes turned a harmless digestive enzyme into a toxin in two unrelated species -- a shrew and a lizard -- giving each a venomous bite. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029125532.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026105742.htm The Batavians, who lived in the Netherlands at the start of the Christian era were far more Roman than was previously thought. After just a few decades of Roman occupation, the Batavians had become so integrated that they cooked, built and bathed in a Roman manner. A Dutch researcher discovered this during recent archaeological research. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026105742.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030125046.htm Paleontologists have discovered a new species of dinosaur that lived 112 million years ago during the early Cretaceous of central Montana. The new dinosaur, a species of ankylosaur is the biological version of an army tank. It is protected by a plate-like armor with two sets of sharp spikes on each side of the head, and a skull so thick that even 'raptors' could leave barely more than a scratch. Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030125046.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026152816.htm Why do crosses between two species often yield sterile or inviable progeny (for instance, mules emerging from a cross between a horse and a donkey)? New research suggests that the solution to this problem lies in the "dark matter of the genome": heterochromatin, a tightly packed, gene-poor compartment of DNA found within the genomes of all nucleated cells. Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026152816.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091031002314.htm Paleontologists Mark Goodwin and Jack Horner have dug for 11 years in Montana's Hell Creek Formation in search of every dinosaur fossil they can find, accumulating specimens of all stages of development. Their new report on the growth stages of dome-headed dinosaurs shows that two named species are really just young pachycephalosaurs. They say that perhaps one-third of all named dinosaurs may not be separate species, but juvenile or subadult stages of other known dinosaurs. Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091031002314.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029113756.htm Spanish researchers have confirmed that the largest bat in Europe, Nyctalus lasiopterus, was present in north-eastern Spain during the Late Pleistocene. The Greater Noctule fossils found in the excavation site at Abric Romani prove that this bat had a greater geographical presence more than 10,000 years ago than it does today, having declined due to the reduction in vegetation cover. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029113756.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029141217.htm Geoscientists have corroborated evidence that oxygen production began in Earth's oceans at least 100 million years before the Great Oxidation Event (GOE). The researchers analyzed 2.5 billion-year-old black shales, which revealed that episodes of hydrogen sulfide accumulation in the oxygen-free deep ocean occurred nearly 100 million years before the GOE. Scientists have long believed that the early ocean was characterized by high amounts of dissolved iron. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029141217.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030095507.htm For pulmonary ailments, certain medieval physicians had a useful medical textbook on hand offering detailed information remarkably similar to those a modern doctor might use today. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030095507.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016224153.htm The Cambrian Explosion is widely regarded as one of the most relevant episodes in the history of life on Earth, when the vast majority of animal phyla first appear in the fossil record. However, the causes of its origin have been object of debate for decades. A novel theory formulates that the geologically induced increase on marine calcium, as a result of volcanic activity, might be the key for understanding this important stage in evolution. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016224153.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026220018.htm Researchers have discovered a genetic mechanism in fruit flies that prevents two closely related species from reproducing, a finding that offers clues to how species evolve. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026220018.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709132057.htm Europe's southern-most skeletal remains of a mammoth were unearthed in a moor on the 37 degree N latitude. This is considerably south of the inhospitable habitat than one usually imagines for mammoths, and for the characteristically dry and cold climate that prevailed during the ice ages in the north of Eurasia. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709132057.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026093728.htm There is a likely chance of tsunami waves reaching the shores of Israel, says one researcher, following geoarchaeological research at the port of Caesarea. Tsunami events in the Mediterranean occur less frequently than in the Pacific Ocean, but recent findings reveal a moderate rate of recurrence. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026093728.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026152934.htm Just in time for Halloween, researchers have announced the discovery of a new, real-world "monster" -- what they are calling a "unicorn" fly that lived about 100 million years ago and is being described as a new family, genus and species of fly never before observed. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026152934.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021115147.htm Researchers have carried out molecular genetic analysis of the Y chromosome (transmitted only by males) of the aboriginal population of the Canary Islands to determine their origin and the extent to which they have survived in the current population. The results suggest a North African origin for these paternal lineages which, unlike maternal lineages, have declined to the point of being practically replaced today by European lineages. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021115147.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026132932.htm Researchers here have discovered the pivotal role that volcanoes played in a deadly ice age 450 million years ago. Perhaps ironically, these volcanoes first caused global warming -- by releasing massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. When they stopped erupting, Earth's climate was thrown off balance, and the ice age began. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026132932.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091025205016.htm Why did Barack Obama win the US election and did the fact he is over six feet tall influence the voters? Researchers argue that due to 'a hangover from our evolutionary past' factors like age, sex, height and weight play a major part in the determining our choice of leaders. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091025205016.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709095427.htm Galileo knew he had discovered a new planet in 1613, 234 years before its official discovery date, according to a new theory. Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709095427.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022182412.htm Thirty million years ago, Ethiopia had warmer soil temperatures, higher rainfall and different atmospheric circulation patterns than it does today, according to new research of fossil soils found in that central African nation. Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022182412.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020094100.htm Genetic information from an extinct species of bison preserved in permafrost for thousands of years could help improve modern agricultural livestock and breeding programs, according to researchers. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020094100.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022101702.htm The fossil remains of some of the first animals with shells, ocean-dwelling creatures that measure a few centimeters in length and date to about 520 million years ago, provide a window on evolution at this time, according to scientists. Their research indicates that these animals were larger than previously thought. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022101702.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090623150619.htm A new study describes recent excavations in Jordan that reveal evidence of the world's oldest known granaries. Scientists provide evidence that these granaries precede the emergence of fully domesticated plants and large-scale sedentary communities by at least 1,000 years. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090623150619.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022122321.htm A new study of chimpanzees living in the wild adds to evidence that our closest primate relatives have cultural differences, too. The study shows that neighboring chimpanzee populations in Uganda use different tools to solve a novel problem: extracting honey trapped within a fallen log. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022122321.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020203420.htm Researchers report the oldest archaeological evidence of early human activities in a grassland environment, dating to two million years ago. The article highlights new research and its implications concerning the environments in which human ancestors evolved. Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020203420.htm