A room containing 22 mummies and eight sarcophagi were discovered within a 2,600-year-old tomb in Saqqara. The poorly preserved mummies had been placed in niches in the tomb’s walls.

Researchers think they may have found the oldest human-ancestor hairs imbedded in fossilized hyena dung. The coprolites were uncovered in a cave in South Africa, and are between 195,000 and 257,000 years old.  

A shipwreck off the coast of Sri Lanka was carrying soft drinks made in 1840 when it sank. Advertisements from the period suggest that bottled drinks were in demand during a cholera epidemic.  

Lucy received a CT scan during her stay in Texas. Scientists hope the new information about her bones will offer clues as to whether or not Australopithecus afarensis climbed trees as well as walked.   You can also listen to a National Public Radio story about Lucy’s scans.  

Here’s another article on the new study of underwater fossils and the level of the Black Sea 9,400 years ago. It had been thought that a catastrophic flood at the time may have inspired folklore such as Noah’s Ark, but marine geologist Liviu Giosan suggests that the water rose only 15 to 30 feet.  

In Britain, one in five archaeologists is expected to be unemployed by the end of the year, due to the credit crunch and the slow down in the construction industry.  

Composer Simon Thorne has imagined what Neanderthal music sounded like, and he brought it to life with four voices and stone instruments. This “soundscape” will “provide a musical backdrop” at an exhibit of Neanderthal artifacts at the National Museum Wales in Cardiff. You can listen to a sample of his composition at BBC News.  

Scottish archaeologist David Caldwell and enthusiast Daisuke Takahashi returned to Robinson Crusoe Island to look for evidence of real-life castaway, Alexander Selkirk. They found fire pits, charred bone, a Spanish ammunition chest, post holes, and a bronze piece that could have been part of Selkirk’s navigation equipment.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Monday, February 9, 2009. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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