North America was populated by migrants traveling by both land and sea, according to a new genetic study published in Current Biology. A team led by population geneticist Antonio Torroni of the University of Pavia suggests that two genetically separate groups, who spoke different languages, left Beringia at about the same time by different routes.

Europeans probably colonized Ireland in 3700 B.C., where they built rectangular houses, planted wheat and barley, and made flint tools and pottery for nearly 100 years. Then their settlements were mysteriously abandoned.  

The designation of sites on the Aleutian Islands of Attu, Kiska, and Ataka as part of the new World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument means that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be able to develop a management plan for the Japanese camp, the crash site of a B-24D Liberator, and the site of the only World War II land battle fought in North America. “Unlike World War II sites anywhere else in the world, no one else lives on these islands. Everything is still in place, nothing has been cleaned or altered,” said archaeologist Debbie Corbett.  

Thirty-one test pits were dug at the site of a new sports training center at the University of California, Berkeley. No evidence of prehistoric American Indian artifacts or human remains was found. Protesters had staged a tree-sit at the site, arguing that it is an ancient burial ground.  

In Clayton County, Georgia, family members and civil rights organizations are trying to halt the move of 311 African-American graves, including those of some slaves, by a developer.   

Mexico may encourage its gum aficionados to chew chicle, the resin of the Sapodilla tree chewed by the ancient Maya to clean their teeth. Modern, synthetic gum is building up on the newly-restored public areas of historic Mexico City.  

Here’s some more information on the discovery of the HM colonial schooner Mermaid. “The anchor is significant. You wouldn’t have usually found this, but the coral and the sand have helped to preserve what is left,” said maritime archaeologist Kieran Hosty of the Australian Maritime Museum.

A mummy discovered in Egypt last year is thought to be Queen Seshestet, mother of a Sixth Dynasty pharaoh. Her burial chamber was ransacked in antiquity, but archaeologists found her sarcophagus, linen-wrapped body parts, pottery, and her gold finger wrappings.

Turkey’s Ilisu dam project has been suspended for 180 days by German, Swiss, and Austrian export credit agencies. A joint statement issued by the agencies said that the project has failed to meet the World Bank’s minimum standards. Critics of the dam point out that it will flood the ancient city of Hasankeyf and 300 other archaeological sites, destroy river ecosystems, and displace 65,000 people.  

A visitor to Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland spotted bone fragments and a uniform button near a groundhog hole last fall.  

Human bones discovered last year in a gravel pit in Phelps, New York, have been examined by forensic experts, who have determined they belonged to a woman from the Seneca Nation.  

The World Monuments Fund and Iraq’s State Board of Antiquities and Heritage will develop a master plan to promote conservation and tourism in Babylon. “In the immense task of caring for its world heritage, Iraq welcomes help from and collaborations with the international preservation community,” said Samir Sumaida’ie, Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S.  

This article from Macedonia describes what the authorities there are doing to combat treasure hunting.  

In a twist to the usual story of plunder, the head of Great Lakes Exploration Group, Stephen Libert, says that the state of Michigan has put what may be the 300-year-old wreck of Le Griffon in danger. “For seven years I kept the site protected and now it’s been breached because the state didn’t take proper security precautions. As soon as the weather changes I can tell you it will happen – it will be looted,” he said.  

A man who discovered a 2,500-year-old vase while gardening in his yard is asking to be paid for the artifact 20 years after he dropped it off at a museum.  

Plans to lengthen an airport runway in Massachusetts have changed, in order to preserve a ceremonial site sacred to the Narragansett Indian Tribe.  

PhD candidate Tom Chandler of Australia’s Monash University has developed a virtual Angkor with input from archaeologists. “In comparison to the research you’d find for virtual Greece, or Rome, or Egypt, what’s out there for Angkor is still pretty thin,” he said.  

Travel to Tikal with Elin McCoy and Bloomberg News.  

ARCHAEOLOGY’s list of Top 10 Finds of 2008 has made news in Turkey.