Scientists have sequenced mitochondrial DNA taken from a 38,000-year-old Neanderthal bone. “For the first time, we’ve built a sequence from ancient DNA that is essentially without error,” said Richard Green of the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Who would win the most Olympic events: Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, or Australopithecus afarensis?  

The fourteenth-century palace of the governor of Bulgaria’s Rhodoppe region was reportedly found at Perperikon, next to a standing battle tower. Medieval coins and pottery were also uncovered.  

Venusmania is being celebrated in Austria, where the prehistoric figurine known as the Venus of Willendorf was discovered 100 years ago. Reproductions of the sculpture have been created in chocolate, marzipan, and soap for the occasion.  

Farming, highways, and housing obstruct the views and are causing water damage at Abydos, an Egyptian funerary center and home to the temples of Seti I and his son, Ramses II. Changes planned for the next six years are intended to “develop the whole site in a way that matches its archaeological and historical importance,” according to this article in Al-Ahram.  

Protesters halted construction of a house on the Hawaiian Island of Kaua’i. Some 30 sets of human remains have been found on the property, but state and local authorities gave the landowner permission to build. “If they can do this here, they can do this on all Hawaiian burial sites throughout the Hawaiian Islands,” said Hanalei Colleado of Maui.  

Canadian archivists revealed what is thought to be the oldest document ever printed in Australia. The playbill was printed in 1796. “We’re incredibly grateful first of all that they should have saved and guarded this thing for so long and especially that … they were generous enough to give this very special item to Australia,” said Jan Fullerton of the National Library of Australia.  

A mysterious document surfaced at the Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum in Philadelphia during its move to a new location. Curators are trying to determine if the document, which carries the terms and conditions of Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox in 1865, is the general’s missing copy. “We have an original document of some kind, but we don’t want to make claims about it. It’s important to be skeptical,” said curator Andrew Coldren.  

Here’s another article on the slave trade and the excavation at the site of Lumpkin’s Jail, in Richmond, Virginia. “We want to find as much of the complex as we can. We’re hopeful we’ll find evidence of the jail,” said archaeologist Matthew R. Laird.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Friday, August 8, 2008. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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