Latest science news in Paleontology & Archaeology
Scientists reconstruct pre-Columbian human effects on the Amazon Basin
Small, shifting human populations existed in the Amazon before the arrival of Europeans, with little long-term effect on the forest. The finding overturns the idea the Amazon was a cultural...
'Living fossil' fish still evolving
BOCHUM, Germany, June 14 (UPI) -- A fish dubbed a "living fossil" that hasn't changed fundamentally for 400 million years is still able to genetically adapt to its environment,...
Red dot becomes 'oldest cave art'
New tests on Spanish cave motifs show them to be thousands of years older than previously thought.
Ice to clear from Northeast Passage early
BERLIN, June 14 (UPI) -- The Northeast Passage, the sea route along the north coast of Russia, is expected to be free of ice early again this summer, German...
Recipient of First Chi-Bin Chien Award for Zebrafish Research Named
The zebrafish research community and the Genetics Society of America announce David Kokel, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, as the first recipient of...
Calcium offers clues in mass extinction
Ocean acidification during Permian period may have caused the Great Dying
City of Windsor wants to photograph parking violations
It may become more difficult for people in Windsor, Ont., to dodge a parking ticket because the city will soon have photographic evidence of infractions.
VIDEO: Sri Lanka debates elephant capture
A debate is under way in Sri Lanka over how to tackle an acute shortage of elephants used in religious ceremonies.
Phillip Tobias
Renowned palaeoanthropologist at the heart of the Sterkfontein excavations in South AfricaPhillip Tobias, who has died aged 86, was born on the right continent, in the right country, at the right time. He...
Pitcher plant uses rain drops to capture prey
During heavy rain, the lid of Nepenthes gracilis pitchers acts like a springboard, catapulting insects that seek shelter on its underside directly into the fluid-filled pitcher, new research has found.
US scientists celebrate return of the cougar to the American midwest
Nearly extinct in the 1990s, cougars are expanding their presence in the country, with male found as far as ConnecticutCougars are recolonising the mid-western United States, according to scientists, reversing 100 years of...
Research sheds light on how Southeast Asia evolved from hunter gatherer to farming society
The possible discovery of the earliest toilet in Southern Vietnam could give up clues about how Southeast Asia evolved from a traditional hunter gatherer society to a farming community, new...
Relax: Young Earth Creationists Can't Even Convince Other Christians They Are Right
So a young earth creationist museum put some dinosaurs in its advertising. Ho-hum.While the atheist panic machine lumbers into action once again - after all, kids like dinosaurs, what if...
UNC's Saskia Neher selected as 2012 Pew Scholar
Saskia B. Neher, PhD, assistant professor in the department of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, was one of twenty-two of America's most promising...
Testing Their Metal: Small Exoplanets Abound in Diverse Stellar Environments
ANCHORAGE--In planet formation, slow, steady and small wins the race. [More]
Video: Mysterious Easter Island 'heads' have bodies too
Recent excavations are revealing new discoveries about the towering statutes of Easter Island. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown speaks with Dr. Jo Anne Van Tilburg, archaeologist and director of the Easter Island...
Prehistoric animal tracks found near Hay River, N.W.T.
A paleontologist has confirmed that a prehistoric animal left tracks across a rock ledge by Alexandra Falls near Hay River, N.W.T.
New species of crab has been found hiding in the seabed of Galicia (Spain)
Despite Europe's marine fauna being the best documented on Earth, there are still some new species to be discovered. This is the case of Uroptychus cartesi, a crab between 5...
Where humans split from sharks: Common ancestor comes into focus
The common ancestor of all jawed vertebrates on Earth resembled a shark, according to a new analysis of the braincase of a 290-million-year-old fossil fish that has long puzzled paleontologists....
New Secret Passages Discovered in Carlsbad Caverns
Explorers uncover deepest pit ever found in Lechuguilla Cave.
Should Father in Molester Killing Be Charged?
A Texas father killed a man allegedly sexually assaulting his daughter; should he be tried?
Inner ear may hold key to ancient primate behavior
CT scans of fossilized primate skulls or skull fragments from both the Old and New Worlds may shed light on how these extinct animals moved, especially for those species without...
Research punctures 'modern' fathers myth -- except for diapers, that is
"Modern" fathers have been around for far longer than we think, but they have only recently started to change diapers according to new research.
Victims In Psychic-Inspired Hoax Sue Police
Though the incident became an embarrassment, the police refused to apologize.
Little mighty creature of the ocean inspires strong new material for medical implants and armour
A scientist may be onto an ocean of discovery because of his research into a little sea creature called the mantis shrimp. The research is likely to lead to making...
Largest group of fossil humans are Neanderthals after all
(Phys.org) -- The world's largest known sample of fossil humans has been classified as the species Homo heidelbergensis but in fact are early Neanderthals, according to a study by Prof...
Supporters struggle to buy time for endangered state parks
Whether it's a wealthy donor writing a check, $5 donations or management by a nonprofit, backers are seeking to prevent closures until a lasting solution can be found.SAN RAFAEL —...
Scientists to follow disappearing penguins
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, June 12 (UPI) -- New Zealand scientists say they want to try to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a rapidly declining penguin species every...