The Sears Point archaeological site in Arizona has been vandalized. Boulders were rolled out of place and petroglyphs were fractured.

A team restoring huts built by Australian polar explorer Sir Douglas Mawson has found historic camera parts. Photographer James “Frank” Hurley was the official photographer on Mawson’s 1911-14 expedition. “We’re not 100 percent sure if it’s a component of Hurley’s cameras yet, as we are waiting on verification, however it’s definitely a component of a very old camera used here in Antarctica which in itself makes it an interesting find,” said archaeologist Jody Steele.  

The 3,000-year-old skeleton of a woman with worn teeth was uncovered in California during construction work.  

Neanderthals enjoyed eating fresh shellfish, and collecting decorative shells, according to research by University of Bristol archaeologist Joao Zihao.   

Architecture professor Kim Sexton explains that porticos and loggias served important cultural functions during the Roman period and the Renaissance. “If you see them empty, you’re not getting what it’s about. You have to see it when they’re full of activity,” she explained.  

There’s more information at the newly designed National Geographic Daily News on the site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov in northern Israel, where researchers have found an encampment used by human ancestors some 750,000 years ago. The camp is organized into different areas for the completion of different tasks, long thought to be a hallmark of modern human behavior.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Wednesday, January 13, 2010. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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