The remains of an extinct metre-high human species have become virtually as hidden as they were before their discovery last year rocked the world of palaeontology.
One of Indonesia's leading palaeontologists is refusing to hand back the remains to the team that found them on the Indonesian island of Flores.
As reported last year, Professor Teuku Jacob, of Gadjah Mada University, grabbed the remains of the seven creatures - dubbed "hobbits" - and locked them in his safe, refusing to let other scientists study them. He was not in the Australian-Indonesian team that found the bones, but was given them by an Indonesian team member.
Professor Jacob told the Australian press that he would return the bones on January 1. But The Age has learnt he has not done so and does not plan to.
Only vaguely archaeology, but interesting New George Washington Depictions 'Will Shock'
A forensic investigation of America's first president, George Washington, has led to numerous revelations about the Revolutionary War commander-in-chief's physical appearance that debunk popular myths.
The results will lead to new depictions of Washington that "will shock" most of the public, according to a spokesperson for the Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, where the former president used to reside.
Historians believe the findings could forever change public perception of Washington (1732-1799). For example, according to experts, his image on the dollar bill is not entirely accurate and it is perhaps the least flattering of all known Washington portraits and depictions.
Artist's conception of what George Washington may have looked like (no, really):
Hmmmmmm. . . . 'Man the Hunter' theory is debunked in new book
You wouldn't know it by current world events, but humans actually evolved to be peaceful, cooperative and social animals.
In a new book, an anthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis goes against the prevailing view and argues that primates, including early humans, evolved not as hunters but as prey of many predators, including wild dogs and cats, hyenas, eagles and crocodiles.
Despite popular theories posed in research papers and popular literature, early man was not an aggressive killer, argues Robert W. Sussman, Ph.D., professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences.
We're not seeing anything particularly ground-breaking here. We don't know of anyone who has seriously argued that A. afarensis (or any Australopithecine for that matter) were hunters (the old Raymond Dart school of 'Osteo-donto-keratic' stuff which no one has bought for the last 20 years anyway, excepted). Most would, we believe, agree that hunting proper, or at least strong evidence for it, started with H. erectus. Plus the fact that Australo's were a prey species is nothing new either. This might be latching onto the controversy over whether H. erectus et al. were active hunters or scavengers, so perhaps there is something of value here. But, based on this article, this probably isn't something we'll rush out to buy.
Mohr from Mehr 8000-year-old stone tool workshop discovered in northeast Iran
A team of Iranian experts recently discovered an 8000-year-old stone tool-making workshop during the first comprehensive archaeological area study at an ancient site south of the city of Shahrud in the northeastern Iranian province of Semnan, team member Kurosh Rustai announced on Tuesday.
The excavations carried out over the past few years by Iranian and Japanese experts in Deh-Kheyr and Tappeh-Chakhmanq, south of Shahrud, resulted in the discovery of traces from the Neolithic era (circa 9000–8000 B.C.), putting the region on the archaeological map.
Shahrud is located 398 kilometers east of Tehran
Lost city. . .(not) found! Archaeologist tells of lifelong quest
He has criss-crossed Malaysia to unearth prehistoric ruins but the possible lost city in Johor is one that has proven elusive all these years.
“I have always wanted to locate it.
“My search for the lost kingdom is to satisfy my curiosity and finding it would prove my theories are true,” said archaeologist Prof Datuk Dr Nik Hassan Suhaimi Nik Abdul Rahman of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation.
Not as weird as it sounds Science to test Argonaut myth
Gold jewelry found last year in an unplundered Mycenaean royal tomb on the outskirts of Volos will be tested for links with one of the most enduring ancient Greek myths, the Argonauts’ expedition, an archaeologist said yesterday.
The 14th century BC treasure — gold beads from necklaces and jewelry made of gold and semiprecious stones — was found with vases and other offerings in four pits inside the tholos tomb, a beehive-like subterranean structure usually associated with Late Bronze Age royal burials.
According to local antiquities director Vassiliki Adrimi-Sismani, the Culture Ministry has approved tests, to be conducted by June with Louvre Museum experts, to determine the gold’s provenance. “We want to investigate to what extent our area had contacts with the Black Sea, that is to what extent the myth of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece has to do with the gold we found,” she said. The myth tells how King Jason of Iolkos, near Volos, led an expedition to Colchis, in modern Georgia, to steal a golden ram’s skin. This may allude to trade deals with the gold-rich region.
That's the whole thing.
IU reinstates archaeology study program in Israel
Indiana University has reinstated a summer archaeology study program in Israel at a time when Middle Eastern leaders were working toward new peace agreements, school officials said.
The university suspended the program at the ancient biblical site of Tel Beth Shemesh in 2002, when the U.S. State Department issued a warning against travel in Israel. But Kathleen Sideli, director of overseas study for IU, said officials decided to resume the course in response to declining violence in Israel and assurances that the students would be safe.
Insert Bobby Knight joke here.
And finally. . . . someone wrote to the EEF list querying how the flow of antiquities seems to be continuing unabated out of Egypt. Mark Rose of Archaeology Magazine provided what we think is probably the answer that goes straight to the heart of the matter:
It doesn't help when the Wall Street Journal runs, in its Feb. 4th
"Collecting" column a piece titled "Return of the Mummy." It starts "Brace
for the Tut offensive. Relics of ancient Egypt are selling better than they
have in years." This is followed by blather about the Tut exhibition, a
dealer quote, prices, and an obligatory "Buying Egyptian antiquities carries
some risks, as Egypt has made an increasingly aggressive effort to recover
national treasures." There is mention of Egypt's 1983 law and US
enforcement. Prospective buyers are told to "verify that the piece came to
the U.S. before 1983." Good luck doing that (plus plundering is plundering,
regardless of any legal issue, so this approach is morally bankrupt). The
final paragraph is just wonderful--it shows just how divorced consumers of
antiquities as objets d'art are from the realities of looting and site
destruction: "Some interior designers are welcoming the return of the mummy
era. At the...fair in Palm Beach...New York designer Juan Montoya will pair
Egyptian gold bracelets and a stone head with modern Argentinian and French
art. Ancient sculpture 'balances today's decor,' he says."
We've never really seen the allure of a few gold trinkets crafted during the New Kingdom over and above that of, say, a nice bar of gold bullion (frankly, the more the better as far as we're concerned), but as long as this sort of attitude among the public persists, the trade will continue unabated.