A new study of Neanderthal facial structure suggests that they were able to open their large mouths very widely. “Why were they able to do this? This is something that only a time machine could help us answer,” said anatomy professor Yoel Rak of Tel Aviv University.

Meanwhile, a new study of hominid skulls, as well as skulls of a gorilla, a chimpanzee, and Homo sapiens, classifies Neanderthals as clearly distinct cousins to Homo sapiens. Some scientists hold that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens may have interbred.  

Ireland’s massive road-building projects have unearthed so many artifacts that the National Museum of Ireland reportedly doesn’t have anywhere to store them. One storage area is so full that “curators cannot even gain access to the material let alone catalogue it,” said political party Fine Gael spokesperson Olivia Mitchell.  

In The Rocks neighborhood of Sydney, Australia, a colonial road dating to 1788 was uncovered during the renovation of a church.  

The digging is over at Stonehenge. This article from the Los Angeles Times reviews what the scientists hope to learn.  

Ohio archaeologist Brad Lepper worked with a part-time preacher to uncover the story behind Newark’s Holy Stones, which were said to prove that all men descended from Adam and Eve. They say that the fake artifacts were created in the days before the Civil War. “This discovery undermined polygenesis and the reason for slavery. We believe the stones were created as anti-slavery artifacts,” Lepper said.  

DNA tests prove that the bones in Friedrich Schiller’s tomb aren’t his. The German writer died in 1805, and what were thought to be his remains were moved and reburied in 1826.  

The electric battlefield map at Gettysburg National Park has been rendered obsolete by a new museum featuring films and computerized exhibits. But some Civil War buffs want  to keep the map out of storage. “The electric map is an artifact in and of itself,” said Emily Rosensteel O’Neil, daughter of the map’s creator.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Monday, May 5, 2008. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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