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 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:05:01 EDT Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:05:01 EDT 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/2008/09/080903172152.htm Large flightless birds of the southern continents -- African ostriches, Australian emus and cassowaries, South American rheas and the New Zealand kiwi -- do not share a common flightless ancestor as once believed. Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903172152.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905153759.htm Conventional wisdom suggests that stress accelerates aging -- but is it really true? Evolutionary studies of aging use short-lived animals under laboratory conditions -- constant temperature and humidity, no parasites, superabundant food. Researchers identified individual stilt-legged flies in their harsh natural environments while simultaneously monitoring their cousins in the lab. In males, the rate of aging was as least two times greater in the wild. For both sexes, life in the wild was dramatically shorter. More study of how environment affects gene expression is needed. Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905153759.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904151624.htm A researcher on a short trip to a foreign country, with little money, but a digital camera in hand has devised a novel approach to digitizing foreign archives that could speed up research. Sat, 06 Sep 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904151624.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904145058.htm In a surprising reversal of conventional wisdom, a DNA-based study has revealed that the last of the woolly mammoths--which lived between 40,000 and 4,000 years ago--had roots that were exclusively North American. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904145058.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904102756.htm Echolocation may have evolved more than once in bats, according to new research from the University of Bristol. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904102756.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902143322.htm Two fetuses found in the tomb of Tutankhamen may have been twins and were very likely to have been the children of the teenage Pharaoh, according to the anatomist who first studied the mummified remains of the young King in the 1960s. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902143322.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904112701.htm The capacity to drink and tolerate milk may have been of tremendous importance for the cultural development of Europe. Researchers will now study when and where this capacity emerged and what it entailed. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904112701.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902163920.htm Scientists have discovered the oldest known fossil of a gecko, with body parts that are forever preserved in life-like form after 100 million years of being entombed in amber. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902163920.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903172419.htm Molecular and evolutionary biologists have produced the full genome sequence of Trichoplax, one of nature's most primitive multicellular organisms, providing a new insight into the evolution of all higher animals. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903172419.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902095106.htm Scientists have developed a new computational method that they say will help them to understand how life began on Earth. The method has the potential to trace the evolutionary histories of proteins all the way back to either cells or viruses, thus settling the debate once and for all over which of these life forms came first. Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902095106.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902143324.htm One day soon, you may be able to pinpoint the geographic origins of your ancestors based on analysis of your DNA. New research uses DNA to predict the geographic origins of individuals from a sample of Europeans, often within a few hundred kilometers of where they were born. Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902143324.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080828135859.htm Researchers report the discovery of the first new living species of giant clam in two decades. Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080828135859.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080901085355.htm Hebrew University excavations in the north of Israel have revealed a prehistoric funerary precinct dating back to 6,750-8,500 BCE. The precinct, a massive walled enclosure measuring 10 meters by at least 20 meters, was discovered at excavations being undertaken at Kfar HaHoresh. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site in the Nazareth hills of the lower Galilee is interpreted as having been a regional funerary and cult center for nearby lowland villages. Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080901085355.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080828162604.htm Shedding some genetically induced excess baggage may have helped a tiny fish thrive in freshwater and outsize its marine ancestors, according to a new study in Science. Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080828162604.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080828162554.htm They aren't the lost cities early explorers sought fruitlessly to discover. But ancient settlements in the Amazon, now almost entirely obscured by tropical forest, were once large and complex enough to be considered "urban" as the term is commonly applied to both medieval European and ancient Greek communities. Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080828162554.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080828120312.htm The advantage of using two eyes to see the world around us has long been associated solely with our capacity to see in 3-D. Now, a new study has uncovered a truly eye-opening advantage to binocular vision: our ability to see through things. Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080828120312.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080827163818.htm A fall in levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, close to that of pre-industrial times, explains the transition from a mostly ice-free Greenland of three million years ago to the ice-covered region we see today. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080827163818.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080827152614.htm A 75-million-year-old fossil of a pregnant turtle and a nest of fossilized eggs that were discovered in the badlands of southeastern Alberta are yielding new ideas on the evolution of egg-laying and reproduction in turtles and tortoises. Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080827152614.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080826205936.htm Misinterpreted fragments of leg bones, teeth and brow ridges found in Palau appear to be an archaeologist's undoing, according to researchers at three institutions. They say that the so-called dwarfs of these Micronesian islands actually were modern, normal-sized hunters and gatherers. Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080826205936.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080825203924.htm New research has struck another blow to the theory that Neanderthals became extinct because they were less intelligent than our ancestors. The research team has shown that early stone tool technologies developed by our species, Homo sapiens, were no more efficient than those used by Neanderthals. Their discovery debunks a textbook belief held by archaeologists for more than 60 years. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080825203924.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080825103553.htm The ostentatious, sometimes bizarre qualities that improve a creature's chances of finding a mate may also drive the reproductive separation of populations and the evolution of new species, say two Indiana University Bloomington biologists. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080825103553.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080821164558.htm The origin of the Tahitian vanilla orchid has long eluded botanists. The orchid is found to exist only in cultivation; natural, wild populations have never been encountered. Now, a team of investigators claims to have traced Tahitian vanilla back to its true origins. The researchers argue that Tahitian vanilla began its evolutionary journey as a pre-Columbian Maya cultivar inside the tropical forests of Guatemala. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080821164558.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814112212.htm Archaeologists in the UK have discovered two rare Roman stone sarcophagi. The 1800-year-old sandstone coffins were uncovered at a dig on the site of former chapel and office buildings in Newcastle upon Tyne They are the first such find -- and arguably the most impressive -- in the area for more than 100 years. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814112212.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080821164306.htm Research into single-celled, aquatic algae called dinoflagellates is showing that these and related organisms may have evolved more than one way to tightly pack their DNA into chromsomes. Even so, the evolution of chromosomes in dinoflagellates, humans and other mammals seem to share a common biochemical basis. Sun, 24 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080821164306.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080819092017.htm A stalagmite in a West Virginia cave has yielded the most detailed geological record to date on climate cycles in eastern North America over the past 7,000 years. The new study confirms that during periods when Earth received less solar radiation, the Atlantic Ocean cooled, icebergs increased and precipitation fell, creating a series of century-long droughts. Sat, 23 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080819092017.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080821163848.htm For Charles Darwin, the problem of the peacock's tail, in light of his theory of natural selection, was vexing in the extreme. A team of Wisconsin scientists has turned from the question of why such male traits exist to precisely how they evolved. They have worked out the molecular details of how a simple genetic switch controls decorative traits in male fruit flies and how that switch evolved. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080821163848.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080820163117.htm Researchers have traced the origins of one of the most important steps in animal evolution -- the development of nerves. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080820163117.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080820194843.htm A famous Neolithic Iceman is dressed in clothes made from sheep and cattle hair, a new study shows. The researchers say their findings support the idea that the Iceman was a herdsman, and that their technique has use in the modern clothing industry. Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080820194843.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080818184248.htm A new study of the ribosome, the cell's protein-building machinery, sheds light on the oldest branches of the evolutionary tree of life and suggests that differences in ribosomal structure between the three main branches of that tree are "molecular fossils" of the early evolution of protein synthesis. Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080818184248.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080815130417.htm Computer scientists working with archaeologists in Greece has developed a new technology that has the potential to change the way people do archaeology. Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080815130417.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080812135517.htm A new study of transfer RNA, a molecule that delivers amino acids to the protein-building machinery of the cell, challenges long-held ideas about the evolutionary history of protein synthesis. Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080812135517.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814210006.htm Ecologists and evolutionary biologists analyzed body size measures of 7,209 species of birds and found that avian families that have experienced the greatest diversification in body size tend to be those with brains larger than expected for their body size. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814210006.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080815101317.htm The largest Stone Age graveyard found in the Sahara, which provides an unparalleled record of life when the region was green, has been discovered in Niger by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and University of Chicago Professor Paul Sereno, whose team first happened on the site during a dinosaur-hunting expedition. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080815101317.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080801094300.htm Scientists discovered the underlying process in tumor formation is the same as for life itself -- evolution. This suggests a molecular "survival of the fittest" scenario plays out in every living creature as gene mutations strive for ultimate survival through cancerous tumors. This finding improves our understanding of how evolution shapes life in all forms, while laying a foundation for new cancer drugs and treatments. Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080801094300.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811200028.htm Scientists sheds new light on the role that our ancestors played in the extinction of Australia's prehistoric animals. Their study suggests that the mass extinction of Tasmania's large prehistoric animals was the result of human hunting, and not climate change as previously believed. Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811200028.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811072503.htm Ruins of a Roman temple from the second century CE have recently been unearthed in the Zippori National Park. Above the temple are foundations of a church from the Byzantine period. The excavations shed light on the multi-cultural society of ancient Zippori (Sepphoris). Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811072503.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807112607.htm Researchers have identified just 200 positions within the curves of the DNA helix that they believe capture much of the genetic diversity in European Americans, a population with one of the most diverse and complex historic origins on Earth. Their findings narrow the search for the elusive ancestral clues known as single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, that cause disease and account for the minute variations in the European American population. Sat, 09 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807112607.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807144246.htm Fingerprints can reveal critical evidence, as well as an identity, with the use of a new technology that detects trace amounts of explosives, drugs or other materials left behind in the prints. The new technology also can distinguish between overlapping fingerprints left by different individuals -- a difficult task for current optical forensic methods. Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807144246.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807130824.htm The complete mitochondrial genome of a 38,000-year-old Neanderthal has been sequenced. The findings open a window into the Neanderthals' past and helps answer lingering questions about our relationship to them. Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807130824.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807144242.htm A newly discovered function for a hormone in melons suggests it plays a role in how sexual systems evolve in plants. The finding offers new insights into the molecular basis for sex determination. Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807144242.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080804111634.htm Peru is one of the Latin American countries, like Argentina and Brazil, where rock art is thought to have developed throughout a period stretching from 10,000 BC to 1500 AD. The wealth and diversity of the series of pictorial representations made during this period are now beginning to be appreciated by archaeologists. Recent investigations have given insights into the daily lives of human communities who lived in the coastal and mountainous areas of Peru during that era. Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080804111634.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805192720.htm With long limbs and a soft body, the duck-billed hadrosaur had few defenses against predators such as tyrannosaurs. But new research on the bones of this plant-eating dinosaur suggests that it had at least one advantage: It grew to adulthood much faster than its predators, giving it superiority in size. Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805192720.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805124052.htm Scientists working in an ice-free region of Antarctica have discovered the last traces of tundra -- in the form of fossilized plants and insects -- on the interior of the southernmost continent before temperatures began a relentless drop millions of years ago. Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805124052.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080804190635.htm Researchers peering at history's footprints on human DNA have found new evidence for how prehistoric people shared knowledge that advanced civilization. Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080804190635.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080804222910.htm Metabolic changes responsible for the evolution of our unique cognitive abilities indicate that the brain may have been pushed to the limit of its capabilities. Research published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology adds weight to the theory that schizophrenia is a costly by-product of human brain evolution. Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080804222910.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080804190705.htm Tiny fossilized teeth excavated from an Indian open-pit coal mine could be the oldest Asian remains ever found of anthropoids, the primate lineage of today's monkeys, apes and humans. Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080804190705.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080801152137.htm Researchers have shown, for the first time, that an extremely fast climate change occurred in Western Europe. This took place long before human-made changes in the atmosphere, and is causatively associated with a sudden change in the wind systems. Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080801152137.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080731140227.htm Geoscientists have long presumed that, like today, the tropics remained warm throughout Earth's last major glaciation 300 million years ago. New evidence, however, indicates that cold temperatures in fact episodically gripped these equatorial latitudes at that time. Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080731140227.htm