Mitochondrial DNA from a tiny finger bone uncovered in a Siberian cave has shown it to be distinct from that of Neanderthals and modern humans. “The human family tree has got a lot of branching. It’s entirely plausible there are a lot of branches out there we don’t know about,” commented Ian Tattersall of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The new creature has been dubbed “X-woman.” 

Looting archaeological sites is big business in Lebanon, where laws and penalties are lax and ancient sites are neglected.  

Law enforcement agents and scholars have gone to great lengths to round up looters in the Ozarks and the surrounding area. Many pot hunters here also use illegal drugs.  

A team of archaeologists has until 2013 to investigate Tushan, an ancient Assyrian city in southeastern Turkey that could be flooded by dam waters. “This is a pragmatic, conservationist rescue dig,” said Tim Matney of the University of Akron.  

In the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, a bus depot sits on the site of a church cemetery where enslaved and free people of African descent were buried between the early seventeenth century and 1856. In 2008, church leaders, activists, historians, and elected officials joined forces to try to win recognition of the burial ground as a significant historical site.  

Hawaii’s State Historic Preservation Division, which is responsible for protecting the state’s archaeological and cultural sites, important architecture, and human remains, has been criticized for inadequate staffing, the lack of a suitable database, and an out of date statewide historic preservation plan. It could now lose its federal funding, or half of its budget. “We don’t have the technical expertise or money to get (SHPD) to the level the National Park Service wants,” said Laura H. Thielen, director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.   

A letter postmarked February 12, 1934, turned up at a Duke University post office. Mike Trogdon, director of operations for postal services, tracked down the intended recipient.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Thursday, March 25, 2010. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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