DNA tests conducted on four 4,000-year-old human hairs discovered in Greenland have linked the man who grew them to modern-day Arctic residents of Siberia. “We have an increasingly powerful forensic tool with which to ‘reconstruct’ extinct humans and the demographics of populations,” according to David Lambert and Leon Huynen of Griffith University in Australia.   Live Science has more information on the frozen hair. (The original article appears in the February 11 issue of Nature.)    Or, you can listen to the story on National Public Radio.

Don’t miss ARCHAEOLOGY’s report on the possibility of cloning Neanderthals.  

An Italian court has reportedly ordered the confiscation of the Greek bronze statue known as “Victorious Youth” from the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Villa in Malibu, California. The Getty bought the statue in 1977.  

Felony charges have been brought against a man who removed a large petroglyph from the Spring Mountains National Recreational Area near Pahrump, Nevada.  

A seventh-century village has been uncovered in Saudi Arabia.  

The Economist examines the impact of the recent flooding on Peru’s tourism industry.  

Residents of Bulgaria will have to register their metal detectors with the government.  

Researchers will study the impact of misinterpretations of ancient Maya culture on modern Maya communities. “It’s worrying that they’re giving another meaning to our vision, as Mayans, of ourselves,” said Jose Huchim of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Thursday, February 11, 2010. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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