The skeleton of Australopithecus sediba is characterized by traits typical of Australopithecus and early Homo, and it may have formed an evolutionary link between the two, according to Darryl de Ruiter of Texas A&M University and Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand. The fossils of A. sediba were first described last year, although it is possible that they represent a late-surviving form of Australopithecus africanus, and not a new species. 

The bones of a slaughtered herd of gazelles have been unearthed at Tell Kuran, in northeastern Syria. Guy Bar-Oz of the University of Haifa thinks the gazelles had been herded into long wall formations called desert kites by hunter-farmers 6,000 years ago. “They had no refrigerators; they would have to consume this meat in a very short time. This is why you’d connect it to some ritual get-together or feasting,” he explained. 

A megalithic tomb in the Netherlands has been damaged by a fire that was probably started by partying teens. One of the tomb’s massive stones was cracked and shattered by the heat. 

Mining companies in Australia have allegedly dodged cultural heritage laws and damaged Aboriginal cultural heritage sites in Queensland. 

In Turkey, ground-penetrating radar was used to check the route of a tunnel running underneath the Bosporus and on the European shoreline. 

The main street through Herculaneum has been opened to the public. The ancient Roman city of Herculaneum was buried in ash during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. 

More than 100,000 people have seen the artifacts from Machu Picchu that were returned to Peru from Yale University. The exhibit opened on April 5 in Peru’s Government Palace.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Tuesday, April 19, 2011. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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