Evidence of 77,000-year-old sleeping mats  made from plants has been found in South Africa’s Sibudu Cave. “It is unlikely that this site was occupied for more than a few weeks at a single stretch. The rock shelter would have been abandoned when food supplies became low, or when the site became unpleasant to live in because it smelled bad, had lots of decaying organic material, or was overrun with pests such as insects or rodents,” said Lyn Wadley of the University of the Witwatersrand.

A bronze bell excavated in the 1930s in Northern Ireland is now being hailed as the world’s oldest church bell.

Additional fragments of the Paleolithic sculpture known as “Lion Man” have been unearthed in southwestern Germany’s Stadel Cave. Scientists hope to be able to answer some of the many questions raised by the Ice Age figurine. “We will figure out the gender,” said one of the excavators.

Two Korean students at the University of New Mexico are accused of inscribing their names on El Morro National Monument, which is known for its historic signatures and 1,000-year-old rock art. “Both state they struggle with reading English and misunderstood the signs, believing they (the signs) stated it was legal to carve into the cliff,” reads the complaint against them.

A golden monkey head, looted from a Moche tomb in 1987, has been returned to Peru.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Friday, December 9, 2011. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

Comments posted here do not represent the views or policies of the Archaeological Institute of America.