Turkeys were domesticated by both the pre-Aztec people in south-central Mexico and the Ancestral Puebloans on the Colorado Plateau, according to studies by Camilla Speller and Dongya Yang of Washington State University. The birds were initially kept for their feathers, and only became an important food source for the Ancestral Puebloans around 1100 A.D.

A Utah antiquities dealer has received an initial payment and monthly payments for secretly recording transactions with other collectors and sellers, as part of the FBI sting operation that ended in the arrest of 26 individuals. The informant has no felony or misdemeanor convictions or charges pending against him.    Charles Denton Armstrong has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for threatening the informant.   

Egypt has instituted stiffer punishments for the theft and smuggling of antiquities. Egyptians who own ancient objects will also have to report them to the Supreme Council of Antiquities. “Parliament agreed on article eight that forbids trade in antiquities but allows possession of antiquities with some individuals, on condition that they cannot use them to benefit others, or to damage and neglect them,” said Zahi Hawass, who heads the Council.   

Mitochondrial DNA testing of a skeleton unearthed in a Roman cemetery in southern Italy has revealed a maternal East Asian ancestry. Here’s more information on what scientists are calling “tantalizing evidence” of “globalization, human mobility, identity, and diversity in Roman Italy.”   

The three Neanderthal teeth discovered in a cave in Poland are still in the news today. Mikolaj Urbanowski of Szczecin University says that the teeth are the first bodily remains of Neanderthals to be found in the country.  

Writer Kent Ewing reviews the claims that the tombs of two rival generals, Cao Cao and Liu Bei, have been discovered in China.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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