Explosive changes in DNA called copy number variations are the likely cause of what makes humans and great apes unique, according to an article in Nature. “These are really like volcanoes in the genome, blowing out pieces of DNA,” said geneticist Evan Eichler of the University of Washington.    A second article gives a further explanation of the new study, and its possible implications. “It is unclear why, but the common ancestor of humans, chimps, and gorillas had an unusual activity of duplication,” said Jeffrey Kid, also of the University of Washington.

Seven houses in a ring-shaped American Indian village dating to 300 to 450 A.D. have been uncovered in Oakville, Iowa. The village is in pristine condition.  

A statement from the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation has reportedly rejected claims that German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt deceived Gustave Lefebvre, Egypt’s inspector of antiquities, to obtain the famed bust of Nefertiti in 1913.  

In Belfast, archaeologists have been asked to find unmarked mass graves where hundreds of infants had been buried because they died before they were baptized, and were therefore not eligible to be buried in Catholic cemeteries.

See Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt’s antiquities department, and his team open a sarcophagus, and catch a glimpse of the newly discovered tomb, in this video from BBC News.  

This video at National Geographic News offers more information about the mass grave of 49 Aztecs discovered in Mexico City.

A mass grave containing 49 Aztec skeletons was unearthed in Mexico City’s Tlatelolco area, where archaeologists were searching for a palace complex. “We were completely taken by surprise. We didn’t expect to find this massive funeral complex,” said archaeologist Salvador Guilliem.

The excavated Assyrian palace of Ashurnasirpal at Nimrud, Iraq, is crumbling after 20 years of neglect, and has been listed as one of the most endangered sites by the World Monuments Fund since 2002. “Before, there was more attention paid to it. From the occupation to date, there has been no renovation at all – there’s no money,” said the Iraqi site manager.  

A votive stupa was found at the Buddhist monastery at Vadnagar, in western India. The stupa was probably built by a devotee as a sign of gratitude.  

In Ankara, Turkey, police arrested two men selling looted Byzantine coins, belt buckles, a bracelet, and copper artifacts.  

A dig in Scotland uncovered a thirteenth-century ceramic face jug.  

Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s chief archaeologist, opened a newly discovered, 2,600-year-old sarcophagus for the press yesterday.  

Live Science has picked up on Tim Stinson’s idea to build a DNA database for the animal-skin pages of medieval manuscripts. The English professor from North Carolina State University has suggested that knowing where and when an animal lived will help provide scholars with dates and places of origin for manuscripts made with parchment pages.