What could be the ancient Indian Ocean trade hub of Muziris has been unearthed at Pattanam, in southwestern India. Archaeologists have found a 2,000-year-old brick wharf; a wooden canoe; pottery from Italy, Egypt, and Mesopotamia; spices; and rice.

Debbie Argue, a PhD student from the Australian National University, compared the bone fragments of the “hobbits,” or Homo floresiensis, with those from other hominids. She concluded that hobbits branched off the Homo family tree very early, some two million years ago. “This means that something very, very primitive came out of Africa,” she said.   

What was it about the caves of Spain’s Sierra de Atapuerca that made them so attractive to human ancestors for more than one million years?  

Two crates out of 64 that were packed with Buddhist artifacts from Mongolia’s Khamaryn monastery were recovered from their hiding place in the Gobi Desert over the weekend. The monastery and many of its treasures were destroyed by the Mongolian army in the 1930s.  

The grave of a princess has been excavated in Bulgaria’s medieval capital, Veliko Turnovo.   

Six small vases were found along with the 4,500-year-old skeleton on a beach south of Rome last week. The skeleton’s feet are missing.  

Was haggis actually invented by the Scots?

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Monday, August 3, 2009. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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