Did the Hobbits of Flores teach humans to make simple tools?

The earthquake in central Italy has revealed vaulted caves used as prehistoric dwellings, according to geologist Gianluca Ferretti.  

Inca stone walls have been found during hotel construction in Cuzco, Peru. “What is odd is that research shows this sector as being used for agriculture – nonetheless, we see that it was occupied and formed part of the Inca urban layout,” said archaeologist Irwin Ferrandiz.  

A two-year mapping project of the Great Wall of China concludes that it is more than 5,000 miles long, or much longer than previously thought. The researchers also learned that much of the wall is threatened by climate change and construction projects.  

The Maya used palygorskite clay as one of the ingredients to create the pigment known as Maya Blue. Scientists want to be able to determine where the clay was obtained.  

Along the banks of South Carolina’s Saluda River, archaeologists have found more than 35,000 artifacts, including arrowheads, spear points, eating tools, pottery, post holes, and a hearth, some of which are 13,500 years old. “Rivers like that were prehistoric highways,” said Albert Goodyear of the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology.  

The museum and visitor programs at Ohio’s Fort Ancient earthworks could close, due to state budget cuts. The Ohio Historical Society is looking for an outside funding source and local partners to help manage day-to-day operations.  

Did the people of Fort Ancient carve this 200-pound boulder?  

Here’s some information about the early years of the English colonies at Jamestown and Bermuda.  

The search for Cleopatra and Marc Antony’s tombs remains in the news today. “This could be the most important discovery of the 21^st century,” Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s chief archaeologist, told reporters.    And, the New York Times has a profile of Hawass. “Whether we like it or not, he is a star, and he lives the life of a star,” commented Mahmoud Ibrahim Hussein of Cairo University.   Kathleen Martinez receives some attention from CNN. She’s been searching Abusir for Cleopatra’s tomb for the past three years.  

The story of cardiologist John Sotos, who thinks Abraham Lincoln may have suffered from a rare genetic disorder and cancer, has been picked up by the Associated Press. Sotos has petitioned the Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum and Library for permission to test a bit of pillowcase stained with the president’s blood. “I’m not interested in how Lincoln might have died. I’m interested in how he might have lived,”  he said.   

Britain’s Commonwealth War Graves Commission will use DNA to try to identify the remains of 400 soldiers killed at the Battle of Fromelles in 1916. Excavation will begin next month. “Most of the identifying features were removed from the bodies by German troops, in order to give them information on the units they were fighting against,” said the commission’s Peter Francis.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Monday, April 20, 2009. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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