Antarctica

Antarctica Preindustrial farmers were the SUV drivers of the first millennium A.D., according to scientists who have studied 2,000-year-old ice cores from Antarctica. By analyzing gas bubbles trapped in the ice, they have determined that methane levels rose steadily during the first millennium A.D. Much of this "greenhouse gas" came from the burning of biomass, such as wood and other vegetation, to clear land for farming, according to a report in Science.

(Photos.com)

South America

Bolivia
A team of Bolivian and Japanese researchers has launched a three-year study into the ancient Mojos of the Bolivian Amazon. This little-known civilization radically altered its environment with a system of more than 20,000 artificial hills connected by thousands of miles of roads and canals extending across the Amazonian floodplain. The archaeologists have already discovered well-made pottery, including large and small funeral urns.

Europe

Belarus
The remains of more than 210 French soldiers were found in a sand pit during a military exercise about 50 miles northwest of Minsk. They were preliminarily identified by 115 associated buttons from uniforms that were worn by men in Napoleon's army, and the remains are believed to be of troops who participated in the emperor's failed 1812 invasion of Russia.

Bulgaria
An exquisite silver rhyton, a type of drinking vessel, was one of dozens of precious artifacts discovered in a Thracian tomb in Zlatinitsa, 180 miles east of the Bulgarian captial of Sophia. Archaeologists believe the tomb may belong to a Thracian king who lived 2,400 years ago.

Near & Middle East

Afghanistan
Japanese archaeologists at Bamiyan have announced a number of recent discoveries, including an as-yet-undated residence and meeting house for Buddhist monks near the base of one of the destroyed statues, as well as a 1,400-year-old mural depicting the Buddha and other Buddhist deities, below.

Iran
Government heritage officials insist that the ancient city of Pasargadae, first capital of the Persian Empire, will not be submerged by the reservoir created when the Sivand Dam goes online next year. They claim "foreign opposition groups" are "spreading rumors" in the international archaeological community that the city and the Tomb of Cyrus will be destroyed.

Jerusalem
Has King David's palace been found? The excavator of an enormous stone structure in Jerusalem thinks so, based on pottery found at the site. But other archaeologists believe the pottery dates from centuries after the king. The argument about whether Jerusalem was a powerful city or a small settlement during the time of David continues.

North America

Arkansas
Some methamphetamine users are equally addicted to hunting for arrowheads, according to a law-enforcement official responsible for shutting down meth labs. White County Sheriff Pat Garrett told the Associated Press that he frequently found extensive collections of arrowheads in the homes of makers and users of the drug. The methodical and concentrated activity appeals to people high on the stimulant, says the sheriff.

For more news, see "From the Trenches."

© 2005 by the Archaeological Institute of America archive.archaeology.org/0511/newsbriefs/world.html