A monumental gate decorated with stone sculptures has been unearthed in southeastern Turkey at the Neo-Hittite Tayinat citadel. “The lion is fully intact, approximately 1.3 meters in height and 1.6 meters in length. It is poised in a seated position, with ears back, claws extended and roaring. A second piece found nearby depicts a human figure flanked by lions,” explained Timothy Harrison of the University of Toronto.

Tens of thousands of artifacts confiscated from looters and smugglers are stored in Turkey’s archaeological museums. “The police and gendarmerie keep bringing new artifacts to the museum. We need to solve the storage room problem in the museum as soon as possible,” said a representative from the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.

An eighteenth-century brick foundation has been uncovered on the campus of William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia. “It’s a substantial outbuilding or dependency. Based on the time period, where it’s located and the dimensions, it’s probably a specific-function building like a kitchen building or maybe quarters for slaves,” said Joe Jones, director of the William and Mary Center for Archaeological Research.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Hawaii have completed a survey of World War II-era shipwrecks and sunken aircraft along Maui’s southern coast. “The wrecks along the coast are like windows into the past and they remind us of the sacrifices made during World War II,” said Hans Van Tilburg, NOAA maritime heritage coordinator.

A large shell midden on the central coastline of British Columbia could indicate the site of Luxvbalis, a village inhabited for 10,000 years and then lost during a smallpox epidemic in the 1800s.

Nature News offers a wrap-up of recent genetic studies of archaic humans.

The “Hobbit Wars”  are heating up again. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that Homo floresiensis was not a separate species, but a modern human child with a developmental disorder. Critics point out that the study does not compare the size of the Homo floresiensis brain to the size of its body.

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

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