Analysis of the shape of the “Hobbit” skull has led Karen Baab of the Department of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University to conclude that Homo floresiensis is a new species. She and her team suggest that the Hobbit was most likely a descendant of a species of archaic Homo in the online edition of the Journal of Human Evolution.

The construction of the fence along the U.S./Mexican border in Arizona revealed a prehistoric village of more than 20 pit houses, thermal pits, storage pits, five dog burials, and 69 human burials.  

Here’s a photograph of the rain-damaged Nazca Lines in Peru. Archaeologist Mario Olaechea of the National Institute of Culture says that the damage can be repaired.  

After a disappointing day with their metal detectors, two men spotted several mosaic tiles in a freshly plowed field near their village in the Cotswolds, England. “We revealed the leg of an animal and the bit we uncovered was not damaged at all. We didn’t go any further because we are not professional archaeologists,” explained one of the men.  

Metal detector enthusiasts have found so many artifacts in Norfolk, England, that the local museums cannot afford to purchase all of them. “There is a finite amount of this material and it is essential that we acquire a representative selection of these objects,” said John Davies, chief curator and keeper of archaeology at Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service.  

China wants two eighteenth-century bronze animal heads removed from the Christie’s auction of deceased fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent’s art collection. The two sculptures decorated the gardens of the Imperial Summer Palace in Beijing until they were stolen in 1860 by Lord Elgin.

Natural disasters drove the people of the Supe Valley away from the Peruvian coast 3,600 years ago, according to a Peruvian and American team of archaeologists. The Supe fished with nets; grew fruit, vegetables, and cotton; and built stone pyramids for 2,000 years before their society collapsed.

Runoff from heavy rains has deposited sand on top of a geoglyph in Peru’s Nazca lines. Archaeologist Mario Olaechea of the National Culture Institute says that the damage to the image was minor and will be repaired.  

Mosaic floors dating to the fifth century have been uncovered in the Adriatic town of Rijeka.  

The discovery of a diary that reportedly belonged to a man accused of murdering Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe has prompted requests that his body be exhumed from a church in Prague. “The matter is in the stage of consideration. As far as I know, no decision has been made yet,” said an assistant from the church.  

Students working with archaeologist Jay Haviser of the St. Maarten Archaeological Centre uncovered the original wooden pilings of the Simpson Bay Bridge. They had anticipated practicing their archaeological skills on the 1950s bridge, built of stone and cement.  

In New York City, some are wondering if construction work in Harlem will unearth traces of the original Dutch settlement, including an African burial ground.  

Here’s the history of the presidential limousine to mark the Presidential Inauguration today.