DNA remnants that may have originated with an unknown, extinct human cousin have been identified in the genomes of 15 living hunter-gatherers from Africa. Five of the tested individuals are Pygmies from Cameroon, and five Hadza and five Sandawe are from Tanzania. Statistical analysis suggests that the unknown species split from the ancestors of modern humans more than one million years ago, but then interbred with modern humans more recently, sometime between 30,000 and 70,000 years ago, before the three ethnic groups of people in the study separated. “There is a signal that demands explanation, and archaic admixture seems to be the most reasonable one at this point,” commented genome biologist Richard Green of the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Archaeologist Steven Wernke and engineer Julie A. Adams of Vanderbilt University have developed a product intended to reduce the time it takes to create a three-dimensional model of an archaeological site. A small, unmanned aerial vehicle and a software system small enough to fit into a backpack capture the information and transform it into a map quickly and easily. Tests of the system are now underway. “The SUAVe system should be a way to create a digital archival registry of [endangered] archaeological sites before it’s too late. It will likely create the far more positive problem of having so much data that it will take some time to go through it all properly,” said Wernke.

U.S. troops deployed all over the world have been given access to playing cards imprinted with information about archaeological sites located in combat zones. That information has paid off—educated troops protect cultural property and thus enhance their relationships with local people. Some veterans have even been inspired to study archaeology.

A Roman sarcophagus stolen more than 20 years ago from a church in Aquino, Italy, has been returned. The sarcophagus, which dates to the second or third centuries B.C., is carved with scenes of chariot races at the Circus Maximus. It had been in a private collection in London.

Two Egyptian sarcophagi without proper paperwork have been seized by customs agents in Laredo, Texas. The artifacts will be returned to Egypt. No information has been released about where they had come from, or where they were headed.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Wednesday, August 1, 2012. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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