Researchers from the University of Cambridge think that Neanderthals and modern humans probably shared similar DNA because of a common ancestor, and not because of interbreeding. Using computer simulations, evolutionary biologists Anders Eriksson and Andrea Manica found that the amount of DNA shared by modern humans from Eurasia and Neanderthals could be explained if both groups descended from isolated populations that shared a common ancestor from North Africa between 300 and 350 thousand years ago. David Reich of Harvard University disagrees. “The patterns observed [in our analyses] are exactly what one would expect from recent gene flow,” he said.

Archaeologists think they may have unearthed a seventh-century Christian monastery on the Scottish island of Eigg. Local folklore holds that St Donnan brought Christianity to the region, founded the monastery, and was killed with 50 other monks on Easter Sunday in the year 617. “The building that was found pre-dates the medieval one on site and it could be Donnan’s. It is hoped, subject to funding, to do more investigations in the future,” said Karen Helliwell, a dig volunteer.

Excavation of the remains of hundreds of warriors found in a bog in Denmark continues. The men had died a violent death some 2,000 years ago, shown by the fractured skull, fractured thigh bone, and numerous weapons that have been recovered. Scholars are also digging test pits across the landscape in order to try to reconstruct what happened.

The elaborate funerary practices of the Chinchorro probably developed during a time when resources in South America’s extremely dry Atacama Desert were more plentiful and the population of this hunter-gatherer culture was increasing, according to a new environmental study led by Pablo Marquet of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Chinchorro mummies were made by removing the organs and muscle tissue, reinforcing the bones, and decorating the bodies in styles that changed over time. “Environmental change [in this case] acted as a positive and creative force in the building up of social complexity,” said Marquet.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Tuesday, August 14, 2012. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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