New fossil discovery from Israel points to complicated evolutionary process

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Analysis of recently discovered fossils found in Israel suggest that interactions between different human species were more complex than previously believed, according to a team of researchers including Binghamton University anthropology professor Rolf Quam. The research team,…

National Geographic Society grant to fund research into Easter Island

Binghamton University anthropologists Robert DiNapoli and Carl Lipo received a $60,280 grant from the National Geographic Society’s Committee for Research and Exploration to explore how ancient populations managed freshwater scarcity.

Researchers link ancient wooden structure to water ritual

A Cornell University team led by Sturt Manning, Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Classics and director of the Tree-Ring Laboratory, used dendrochronology and a form of radiocarbon dating called “wiggle-matching” to pinpoint, with 95% probability, the years in which an ancient wooden structure’s two main components were created: a lower tank in 1444 B.C., and an upper tank in 1432 B.C. Each date has a margin of error of four years.

Archaeology: Prehistoric violence at Jebel Sahaba may not have been single event

Reanalysis of the prehistoric cemetery Jebel Sahaba (Sudan), one of the earliest sites showing human warfare (13,400 years ago), suggests that hunter-fisher-gatherers engaged in repeated, smaller conflicts. The findings are published in Scientific Reports. Healed trauma on the skeletons found…