A jawbone and teeth discovered in a cave in southern China suggest that early modern humans arrived in Asia at least 100,000 years ago, and they may have interbred with Neanderthals and other archaic hominid species. It has been thought that modern humans migrated out of Africa about 60,000 years ago.

Armenia’s archaeology is in the news today. The bodies of adults and children who lived between the end of the Neolithic period and the beginning of the Bronze Age were unearthed in a cave in Armenia, according to this report from an Armenian news service.  Some skin and hair were preserved in one of the children’s burials. DNA testing may be possible.  A skirt made of reeds dating to the fourth millennium B.C. was found in a cave in Areni, as well as a mummified goat.  

More than 400 pieces of human bone from at least 97 different people have been recovered from the banks of a partially drained artificial lake that is situated between Bosnia and Serbia. DNA testing will be used to try to identify the victims.  

Sacred swords excavated in the early twentieth century have been identified as the ones placed under the Great Buddha of Todaiji Temple, one of the historic monuments of the ancient city of Nara, Japan. The swords were removed from the treasury and dedicated to the temple by Empress Komyo in the year 760.

Should museums display human remains?  

Yale University alumni living in Peru have called for their alma mater to resolve an ongoing dispute over Machu Picchu artifacts. In 1911, Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham found the Inca citadel and shipped many of its treasures home. “What is driving Yale to insist upon retaining this stuff? I think they get a lot of credit for the research they’ve done. But after the 100 years is over, it’s time to move on,” said Frederic Truslow, a lawyer living in Lima.  

An oil boom working on the clean-up in the Gulf of Mexico snagged a nineteenth-century anchor from the mouth of the Perdido River in Alabama.  

A decorated gunpowder gourd dated 1793 may have been used to store a handkerchief soaked in the blood of beheaded King Louis XVI. The handkerchief is gone, but brownish stains inside the squash were analyzed for DNA. Scientists are now looking for a known French royal sample for comparison.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Tuesday, October 26, 2010. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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