Paleontologists in Argentina's remote Patagonia region have discovered fossils of what may be the largest dinosaur ever, amid a vast cache of fossils that could shed light on prehistoric life. Picture taken on May 16, 2014 showing a technician next to the femur of a dinosaur—likely to be the largest ever to roam the earth—in Rawson, Chubut, some 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) south of Buenos...
An illegal excavation in Turkey's northern Anatolian province of Corum’s Sungurlu district has unearthed a 1,900-year-old sarcophagus. The sarcophagus, which dates back t 1,900 years ago, has been unearthed during an illegal excavation in Corum’s Sungurlu district. The tomb cover were broken by smugglers who wanted to enter it [Credit: Hurriyet]The sarcophagus has been removed from the...
Over the last couple of years, GUARD Archaeology teams led by GUARD Archaeologists Warren Bailie and Kevin Mooney, have undertaken excavations at Dunragit in Dumfries and Galloway, which have discovered a range of prehistoric archaeology including the earliest known house in south-west Scotland dating to the Mesolithic period, as well as a Neolithic structure, Neolithic/Early Bronze Age stone lined...
The fate of one of the largest archaeological finds in Hong Kong - and the Sha Tin-Central rail link - was left undecided last night after the man in charge of studying the dig stopped short of a recommendation. Construction on the Sha Tin to Central rail link has been stalled by the Song-dynasty discoveries [Credit: SCMP]Dr Liu Wensuo, of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, the lead archaeologist...
Archaeologists working at the Tambo Colorado archaeological complex in the Pisco province of Ica have discovered a multicolored geometric mural created before the arrival of the Spanish in Peru. Investigators say the mural was likely intentionally hidden in order to hide it from the Spanish invaders [Credit: Peruvian Ministry of Culture]Andina news agency reports that the mural (part of which...
English Heritage and Cotswold Archaeology are to excavate the London and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council's Museums Service to display the ship's finds. A CGI reconstruction of the London wreck [Credit: Touch Productions]One of England's most important 17th century shipwrecks, the London, which is rapidly deteriorating on the seabed off Southend-on-Sea in Essex is being excavated by English Heritage...
New analysis of ancient Jian wares reveals the distinctive pottery contains an unexpected and highly unusual form of iron oxide. This rare compound, called epsilon-phase iron oxide, was only recently discovered and characterized by scientists and so far has been extremely difficult to create with modern techniques. Modern replica of a Tenmoku tea bowl (top) with “oil spot” surface patterns. Close-up...
In a paper released today in the journal Science, an international team of researchers and cave divers present the results of an expedition that discovered a near-complete early American human skeleton with an intact cranium and preserved DNA. The remains were found surrounded by a variety of extinct animals more than 40 meters (130 feet) below sea level in Hoyo Negro, a deep pit within the Sac Actun...
It's common knowledge that all organisms inherit their mitochondria -- the cell's "power plants" -- from their mothers. But what happens to all the father's mitochondria? Surprisingly, how -- and why -- paternal mitochondria are prevented from getting passed on to their offspring after fertilization is still shrouded in mystery; the only thing that's certain is that there must be a compelling reason,...
A first-of-its-kind study this week suggests that the genomes of new species may evolve in a similar, repeatable fashion -- even in cases where populations are evolving in parallel at separate locations. Researchers used a combination of ecological fieldwork and genomic assays to see how natural selection is playing out across the genome of Timema cristinae, a California stick insect that...
A University of Southampton oceanographer is working with experts from around the globe to warn against lasting damage to the deep-ocean, caused by fishing, oil and gas development, industrial-scale mining, waste disposal and land-based pollution. Experts around the globe are warning that human-related activity - like fishing, oil and gas development, industrial-scale mining, waste disposal and...
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which holds enough water to raise global seas by several feet, is thinning. Scientists have been warning of its collapse, based on theories, but with few firm predictions or timelines. Photo of the Thwaites ice shelf taken during an October 2013 Operation IceBridge aerial survey [Credit: James Yungel / NASA]University of Washington researchers used detailed topography...
New images of Earth's Moon reveal more than can be seen with the naked eye, thanks to the combined efforts of the two largest radio telescopes of their kind—the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia and the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Mare Serenitatis / Sea of Serenity [Credit: Bruce Campbell (Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space...
The first galaxies evolved only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. But why do they have such a great variety of shapes and structures? How did the universe evolve as a whole? Two German-Chinese Partner Groups at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching are using observations and simulations to investigate how the early universe evolved: Cheng Li and Guinevere Kauffmann, as...
Magnetars are the bizarre super-dense remnants of supernova explosions. They are the strongest magnets known in the Universe -- millions of times more powerful than the strongest magnets on Earth. A team of European astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) now believe they've found the partner star of a magnetar for the first time. This discovery helps to explain how magnetars form -- a conundrum...
The skeletal remains of a teenage female from the late Pleistocene or last ice age found in an underwater cave in Mexico have major implications for our understanding of the origins of the Western Hemisphere's first people and their relationship to contemporary Native Americans. In this June 2013 photo provided by National Geographic, diver Susan Bird, working at the bottom of Hoyo Negro, a large...
According to archaeologists aerial infrared images suggest the existence of a late Iron Age settlement, possibly the largest such find ever in the Åland Islands or all of mainland Finland. The highest point of Åland Islands: summit of Orrdalsklint, in Saltvik [Credit: RainoL/Panoramio]The aerial imaging highlighted a depression 40 metres deep and 12 metres wide which might have been the site of a massive...
A handful of tree ring samples stored in an old cigar box have shed unexpected light on the ancient world, thanks to research by archaeologist Sturt Manning and collaborators at Cornell, Arizona, Chicago, Oxford and Vienna, forthcoming in the June issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science. A view of Ipi-ha-ishutef’s coffin when originally sampled in 1938 [Credit: Cornell University]The samples...
An Iron Age village along with a host of ancient artefacts including tools and jewellery have been discovered on a construction site of a new bypass for a Scottish town. Archaeologists have uncovered a range of artefacts and sites, including an Iron Age village, ahead of construction of a new road in southwest Scotland [Credit: Historic Scotland]The treasure trove unearthed during the building of the...
A Limoges statue of the Virgin Mary dating from the 13th century has been found during renovations of a small church in the eastern Jutland town of Soby. The Virgin Mary cleaned up nicely [Credit: National Museum]Archaeologist Hans Mikkelsen from the National Museum and a local craftsman were sifting through the soil under the church floor when they made the find. The icon would have probably sat atop...