A new analysis of the skeleton of a Neanderthal man that was discovered in France in 1957 confirms that he was right-handed. His muscular right arm and shoulder, and scratch marks on his teeth from holding objects, indicate that his right hand was used most often. According to a research team led by Virginie Volpato of the Senckenberg Institute, right handedness is a mark of left-brain dominance. “The long-known connection between brain asymmetry, handedness, and language in living populations serves as a proxy for estimating brain lateralization in the fossil record and the likelihood of language capacity in fossils,” they wrote.

The British Museum has announced it would discuss a short-term loan of some of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, but not a permanent return. Acropolis Museum director Demetrios Pantermalis had suggested at a UNESCO meeting earlier this summer that the British Museum return small fragments of the famous friezes. “I proposed an arrangement to colleagues from the British Museum, involving pieces—hands, heads, legs—that belong to bodies from the Parthenon sculptures and can be reattached,” he said.

Following a theft at the Colombo Museum and 125 looting cases this year, the Archaeology Department of Sri Lanka is proposing tougher penalties for treasure hunters, including no bail, mandatory jail terms, and in increase in fines. “For the most part, these are villagers who have been drawn into illegal excavation by some moneyed bosses. It appears that they somehow get away,” explained M.A.J.R. Madagammana, Archaeology Department Museum and Maintenance Deputy Director.

Bangladesh’s 2,500-year-old city of Pundranagar has been listed by the Global Heritage Fund as one of Asia’s top ten most endangered ancient sites. Once a center of Buddhist teaching, its buildings have been dismantled by squatters, who construct new dwellings with the ancient bricks. They also collect and sell artifacts, including the beads and coins that surface after heavy rains, and sell them. “The houses were built before the authorities could take a serious stand on conservation. We were late to wake up. Had we tried to stop this before, we could have saved many valuable artifacts,” said chief government archaeologist M. Sadequzzaman.

Continuing excavations at the site of Turkey’s Ilisu Dam have uncovered two Roman theater masks. One of the masks is made of iron, the other of bronze. “During ancient times there were no theater stages near Ilisu, so we think these masks came from traveling theater communities coming to Ilisu in ancient times,” said Davut Beliktay, Mardin Culture and Tourism Manager.

A New Zealand woman claims she was given outlaw Ned Kelly’s skull while traveling in Australia 30 years ago. “I have treated it with respect; I haven’t lit candles in it or drunk red wine out of it or anything bohemian like that,” she said. However, Gina McFarlane of Auckland University says that wires at the back of the skull suggest it had been used in teaching.

Archaeologists from Leicester University have unearthed stone walls that may be part of the friary where Richard III was buried after his defeat at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. The king is thought to have been buried under the medieval church’s altar or choir area. “The search for Richard goes on – it is still a long shot, but the archaeological work we have done so far is revealing more about the archaeology of the Greyfriars area than we ever knew before,” said excavator Richard Buckley. Researchers started investigating the site, which had been covered by a parking lot, after comparing modern and medieval maps.

A Neolithic figurine has been uncovered at the Links of Notland on the Orkney Island of Westray, where two similar Bronze Age figurines were found. One of those figurines is thought to be the earliest representation of a human face to be unearthed in Scotland. The coastal village site is being excavated before erosion destroys it.

Two 9,500-year-old stone figurines have been discovered near Jerusalem. One of the figures is of a ram made of limestone; the other is of an ox carved of dolomite. Some scholars think the objects had religious uses; others think they may have served as good luck charms for hunters or be related to the process of animal domestication.

For the past five years, Israeli archaeologist Yoram Haimi has been investigating the Nazi death camp of Sobibor, located in eastern Poland, where an estimated 250,000 European Jews were killed over an 18-month period. The Nazis closed the camp and leveled its buildings in October 1943, following an uprising there. “Because of the lack of information about Sobibor, every little piece of information is significant. No one knew where the gas chambers were,” explained Haimi. Dan Michman, head of Yad Vashem’s International Institute for Holocaust Research, adds: “His details are exact and that is an important tool against Holocaust denial. It’s not memories, it’s based on facts. It’s hard evidence.”

Archaeologists Arlen and Diane Chase of the University of Central Florida, and Sarah Parcak of the University of Alabama, tell of their experiences with using Lidar, or Light Detection and Ranging, as a tool to produce maps of archaeological sites in inaccessible places. Among other discoveries, these new maps suggest that Mesoamerican cities were larger and more densely populated at the time of the arrival of Europeans than had been previously thought. “It’s the most exciting time in history to be an archaeologist,” said Parcak.

The examination of submerged jetties off the coast of an ancient Viking village in Sweden suggests that the settlement was larger than had been thought, with a large marketplace and a harbor. “The remains of the port structures show that it was actually a port, not just small jetties jutting out onto the beach,” said team leader Andreas Olsson.