Tag: ancient
Ancient Tooth Proteins Rewrite the Rhino Family Tree—Are Dinosaurs Next?
Ancient Tooth Proteins Rewrite the Rhino Family Tree—Are Dinosaurs Next? Molecules from the 20-million-year-old teeth of a rhino relative are among the oldest ever sequenced, opening tantalizing possibilities to scientists By Ewen Callaway & Nature magazine Rhinos’ evolutionary relationships became a little clearer with the sequencing of the oldest proteins yet. Researchers have described proteins…
First Human Genome from Ancient Egypt Sequenced from 4,800-Year-Old Teeth
4,800-Year-Old Teeth Yield First Human Genome from Ancient Egypt Forty years after the first effort to extract mummy DNA, researchers have finally generated a full genome sequence from an ancient Egyptian, who lived when the earliest pyramids were built By Ewen Callaway & Nature magazine The Ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom (2686–2125 B.C.) produced many lasting…
Skeleton found in pot is first ancient Egyptian to undergo whole genome analysis
Unusual burial of man, thought to have been a potter, in sealed vessel may have helped DNA survive past four millennia A man whose bones were shaped by a lifetime of hard labour more than 4,500 years ago has become the first ancient Egyptian to have his entire genetic code read and analysed by scientists.…
First Near-Complete Denisovan Skull Reveals What This Ancient Human Cousin Looked Like
First Near-Complete Denisovan Skull Reveals What This Ancient Human Cousin Looked Like A Denisovan skull has been identified for the first time. The find was based on proteins and calcified dental plaque By Dyani Lewis & Nature magazine A reconstruction of the hominin source of the ‘Dragon Man’ cranium in his habitat. The fossil has…
Ancient Roman masterpieces emerge from a London demolition pit
By Willem Marx Thousands of vibrant fragments, which once adorned a high-status Roman building, offer an unprecedented glimpse into the artistic sophistication and daily life of ancient Londinium, and their rearrangement is showcasing artworks that have remained hidden for over 1,800 years. The discovery, made at “The Liberty” development site in the city’s Southwark neighborhood,…
Scientists Use Ancient Chinese Poetry to Study Endangered Yangtze Porpoise
Ancient Poems Reveal the History of the Endangered Yangtze Porpoise Mentions of the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise in ancient Chinese poetry have revealed missing information about the habitat of the world’s only freshwater porpoise By Gennaro Tomma edited by Andrea Thompson Yangtze finless porpoise. Join Our Community of Science Lovers! Around 1745, Chinese emperor…
Ancient DNA Reveals Phoenicians’ Surprising Ancestry
Ancient DNA Reveals Phoenicians’ Surprising Ancestry Phoenician civilization spread its culture and alphabet across the Mediterranean but not, evidently, its DNA By Ewen Callaway & Nature magazine A death mask from the third or second century bc found in the Phoenician trading city of Carthage in what is now Tunisia. Join Our Community of Science…
In Japan, an Iceless Lake and an Absent God Sound an Ancient Warning
For centuries, residents in central Japan have chronicled a mysterious natural phenomenon in winter. They see its disappearance as a bad omen. By Martin Fackler and Hisako Ueno Reporting from Suwa, Japan For at least six centuries, residents along a lake in the mountains of central Japan have marked the depth of winter by celebrating…
Ancient DNA Shows Stone Age Europeans Voyaged by Sea to Africa
Ancient DNA Shows Stone Age Europeans Voyaged by Sea to Africa Roughly 8,000-year-old remains unearthed from present-day Tunisia held a surprise: European hunter-gatherer ancestry By Ewen Callaway & Nature magazine Stone Age people might have crossed the Mediterranean on wooden canoes, navigating from island to island by sight. Join Our Community of Science Lovers! Thousands…
Toast, Trees and a Wassailing Queen: An Ancient English Ritual Is Back
England Dispatch The centuries-old tradition of wassailing is making a comeback in rural England, with rituals and revelry meant to chase away evil spirits and the winter blues. England Dispatch The centuries-old tradition of wassailing is making a comeback in rural England, with rituals and revelry meant to chase away evil spirits and the winter…
Pristine Ancient Forest ‘Frozen in Time’ Discovered in Rocky Mountains
Pristine Ancient Forest Found Frozen in Time in Rocky Mountains A melting ice patch in the Rocky Mountains uncovered an ancient forest, and these trees have stories to tell about dynamic landscapes and climate change By K.R. Callaway & LiveScience Long-frozen whitebark pines emerge from a melting ice patch in the Yellowstone region. Join Our…