The Test Pit

When experts opened the albums they were stunned by the colour images of the excavation of the grave believed to be that of the Anglo Saxon king Raedwald. The pictures were taken by two female teachers who were amateur photographers and were on holiday in the area. Mercie Lack and Barabara Wagstaff's visit to the early 7th century burial was known of but the collection of the unseen photos has proved invaluable to archaeologists.

Kennewick Man, referred to as the Ancient One by Native Americans, is a male human skeleton discovered in Washington state (USA) in 1996 and initially radiocarbon-dated to 8,340–9,200 calibrated years before present (BP)1. His population affinities have been the subject of scientific debate and legal controversy. Based on an initial study of cranial morphology it was asserted that Kennewick Man was neither Native American nor closely related to the claimant Plateau tribes of the Pacific Northwest, who claimed ancestral relationship and requested repatriation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The morphological analysis was important to judicial decisions that Kennewick Man was not Native American and that therefore NAGPRA did not apply. Instead of repatriation, additional studies of the remains were permitted2. Subsequent craniometric analysis affirmed Kennewick Man to be more closely related to circumpacific groups such as the Ainu and Polynesians than he is to modern Native Americans2. In order to resolve Kennewick Man’s ancestry and affiliations, we have sequenced his genome to ~1× coverage and compared it to worldwide genomic data including the Ainu and Polynesians. We find that Kennewick Man is closer to modern Native Americans than to any other population worldwide. Among the Native American groups for whom genome-wide data are available for comparison, several seem to be descended from a population closely related to that of Kennewick Man, including the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (Colville), one of the five tribes claiming Kennewick Man. We revisit the cranial analyses and find that, as opposed to genomic-wide comparisons, it is not possible on that basis to affiliate Kennewick Man to specific contemporary groups. We therefore conclude based on genetic comparisons that Kennewick Man shows continuity with Native North Americans over at least the last eight millennia.

12,000-year-old remains of puppy were discovered perfectly intact sealed inside permafrost. Scientists in the Russian Far East have carried out a post-mortem examination of the remains of the only mummified dog ever found in the world.Found sealed inside permafrost during a hunt for traces of woolly mammoths, the perfectly-preserved body is 12,450 years old.

A rock shelter in the Weld Range provides evidence of the oldest human occupation in the Mid-West region of Western Australia, a research project partnered between The University of Western Australia and Wajarri Traditional Owners has discovered.

Many of the carvings record the food items of the area, which change as the last ice age ended and melting icecaps caused sea levels to rise, turning inland plains into coastal headlands.

The new national museum portal is a gateway that allows the general public around the world to simply, easily and quickly access the collections of Israel’s museums online on any computer, tablet or Smartphone.

NASC Australia Want to learn how to technically draw artefacts on the archaeological field? As a part of the NASC2015 'Opening Day' at Macquarie University, conference attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a drawing workshop with PhD candidate Mary Hartley of Macquarie University. Mary has extensive experience as an archaeological illustrator on the field, especially in Egypt; and regularly teaches drawing workshops at Macquarie University every year. If you have already registered for NASC2015 and are interested in participating in this workshop, please email your RSVP by July 15th to [email protected] so we can confirm numbers! We are very grateful to Mary for giving her time towards NASC2015!