The remains of seven sacrificed children have been unearthed in an Inca building in Peru’s Cuzco Valley. Analysis of isotopes in their teeth indicates that at least two of the children came from distant parts of the Inca realm. “It was surprising that the figurines and other artifacts found with children buried at this low-altitude site are nearly identical to finds at high-altitude child sacrifices,” said Valerie Andrushko of Southern Connecticut State University.

French archaeologists have found a Sumerian temple in southern Iraq.  

A new study conducted in South India suggests that animals such as water buffalo and goats can have an impact on muddy archaeological sites. “Prehistoric humans often camped near water sources or in areas that receive lots of seasonal rain. When we saw those deep footprints left over from the previous monsoon season, it occurred to us that animal trampling in muddy, saturated sediments might distort artifacts in a different way than dry sediments. Given the importance of artifact context in the interpretation of archaeological sites and age, it seems like an obvious thing to test for, but to our surprise it never had been,” explained Metin I. Eren, a student at Southern Methodist University.  

A gene variant in some urban populations reduces the chance of contracting diseases such as tuberculosis and leprosy. “The results show that the protective variant is found in nearly everyone from the Middle East to India and in parts of Europe where cities have been around for thousands of years,” explained Mark Thomas of the University College London.  

A mass grave dating to the seventeenth century has been discovered near Golancz Castle in northern Poland. As many as 80 Polish gentry, clergy, and peasants who died while trying to save the castle from the Swedish army could be buried here.  

The Monmouthshire council has damaged a Norman defensive ditch in Wales, according to archaeologist Stephen Clarke, head of the Monmouth Archaeological Society. The council claims it was cleaning up a dumping ground and creating ponds. “Everyone knows if you take a metal detector down there or start digging it up you’ll end up in jail – why should it be any different for the council?” asked Clarke.

A seventeenth-century letter retrieved from a crumbled church in northern Peru records a number system from an extinct language, according to Jeffrey Quilter of Harvard University’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. “I think a lot of people don’t realize how many languages were spoken in pre-contact times,” he said.

Construction work in Albania reportedly often destroys archaeological sites, but this time a public building project has been halted to save a sixth-century tomb. “We have seen so many times that old tiles, stones and parts of ancient statues come out when excavators dig the foundations of new buildings,” said a passerby.  

Neanderthals “were far more resourceful than we have given them credit for,” said Julien Riel-Salvatore of the University of Colorado. He has been examining Neanderthal sites in Italy, and thinks that the hominids learned how to adapt and make better tools independently of modern humans.  

Here’s a profile of Mayanist Arthur Demarest of Vanderbilt University and his work in Guatemala.  

The remains of two U.S. servicemen who died during World War II on the remote Pacific atoll of Tarawa have been recovered. Scientists of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command will now work to identify the men. “Any time we can come back with even just one, that’s a good thing,” said spokesman Army Maj. Ramon Osorio.  

NASA satellite data and ground-penetrating radar are used at archaeological sites to save time and money. “GPR and other geophysical techniques allow us to collect data on parts of the site we might otherwise not be able to investigate,” commented Philip Mink II of the University of Kentucky.  

Irish archaeologists have been experimenting with ancient beer recipes and traditions, including those made by the invading Vikings.  

A resident of Ireland’s Errislannan peninsula has been trapping fish in a series of weirs and dams that may date to the Mesolithic period. The National Museum of Ireland has asked him to construct a trap for its folk-life collection.  

In England, newly restored Anglo-Saxon artifacts from the Staffordshire Hoard have gone on display at the Potteries Museum in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.  

Did a steering error cause the RMS Titanic to hit the iceberg? Louise Patten, the granddaughter of the only senior office to survive the disaster, claims that the mistake was covered up in order to avoid lawsuits and the end of the White Star Line.