• European Arrival in the Caribbean Tied to Reptile Extinctions

    JENA, GERMANY—According to a statement released by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the examination of 43,000 reptile bones recovered from six of the Guadeloupe Islands suggests that the arrival of European colonists brought about the extinction of 50 to 70 percent of local snakes and lizards. Corentin Bochaton of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and his colleagues found that the islands’ snakes and lizards were able to withstand the i
  • Apse Dated to Third Century B.C. Uncovered in Istanbul

    ISTANBUL, TURKEY—Hurriyet Daily News reports that a semicircular structure dated to the third century B.C. has been uncovered at the site of the Haydarpașa train station in Istanbul, which is located on the Asian side of the Bosporus. Archaeologist Mehmet Ali Polat said the region was once the northwestern port for the ancient city of Chalcedon. This apsidal structure is thought to have been used as a sacred space, but the investigation has also uncovered traces of a large building th
  • Bark Beetle Infestation Leads to Damage of Medieval Cemetery

    PÍSEK, CZECH REPUBLIC—According to a Radio Prague International report, archaeologists are investigating an early medieval cemetery on municipal land in the southeastern Czech Republic. Six of the burial mounds were severely damaged last winter by the large-scale removal of trees infested with bark beetles. “There are many burial mounds in South Bohemia,” said Tomáš Hiltscher of the Prácheň Museum. “However, most date back to the Bronze Ag

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