Excavation at a 7,200-year-old Neolithic site in northern Bavaria is adding to the evidence that the advent of domesticated livestock (cattle and pigs) and grains in Europe came about through large-scale migration from the Middle East rather than limited migration coupled with rapid adoption by existing folks. Milk and cheese were on the menu!

The Tirnony Dolmen, a 5,000-year-old portal tomb in Northern Ireland, partly collapsed recently. Archaeologists will take advantage of the situation to investigate the tomb before repairs are done.

In a study that will stir up lots of debate, researchers Rosalie David and Michael Zimmerman say examination of hundreds of Egyptian mummies and review of Greek, Egyptian, and historical sources show that cancer was rare in antiquity but became more common in the past two centuries. Critics will likely point out that many cancers that do not affect bone, and the diagnosis/recognition of cancer in mummified tissue could be difficult.

Archaeologist Eduardo Tejeda Monroy has been teasing out new information about Maya warfare—weapons, military organization, communications, and tactics—from ancient murals in the northern Yucatán peninsula.

James Wright, a Bryn Mawr archaeology professor and chair of the excavation and survey committee of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, testified at a recent hearing of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee that “Greece’s rich cultural heritage [is]…in danger of being destroyed by the looting of archaeological sites and by thefts from museums and storerooms.”

Peruvian archaeologists have discovered two Inca funerary complexes in the outskirts of Cusco. The sites include clay floors, streets, plazas, houses, and terraced fields. Some of the constructions are believed to be from the pre-Inca Killke culture.

A New Jersey backhoe operator who took a bronze bell he uncovered in a Civil War-era building foundation some 14 years ago had an attack of conscience. While packing up to move to Arizona, he made arrangements for the artifact to go to Monroe Township, were it belonged in the first place.

Chang-Ho Ji, an archaeologist at La Sierra University, has completed excavation of a temple at Ataroth in modern-day Jordan. The town is mentioned in the Bible and on a stele in the Louvre as being captured by King Mesha.

This entry was posted by Archaeology Magazine on Friday, October 15, 2010. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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