Paleontology

Discovery of a foot bone dated to around 1.7 million years ago from the site of Swartkrans having definite evidence of malignant cancer has ensured that the disease dates back in deep prehistory rather than from recent times.

For now, the researchers are not sure to which the foot bone belongs to, but one thing is clear that it is of a hominin. The foot bone was originally excavated between 1960 and 1980 from the Swartkrans cave, a part of a World Heritage Site in South Africa.

Researchers have unearthed fossils of a carnivorous dinosaur known as Murusraptor barrosaensis that lived around 80 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. The dinosaur discovered in Sierra Barrosa, in northwest Patagonia that was around 21 feet long was a violent predator that loved to kill its preys with sickle-shaped claws.

Archaeologists have discovered evidence as to how the first generations of Europeans in the Americas have mingled with indigenous population. Researchers from the British Museum and the University of Leicester have come to know through inscriptions found in the caves of a remote Caribbean island.

The research paper published in Antiquity is based on the finding of a large collection of early colonial inscriptions and commentaries being written by named individuals within a cave system provide an insight into dialogue between Europeans and Native Americans.

If you think turtles have been using their shells as shields since they have evolved then you are highly mistaken. A new study has unveiled that shells were evolved for a complete different reason. The researchers believe that the shell-like characteristics first evolved in turtle ancestors to burrow underground.

Study’s lead researcher Tyler Lyson, a paleontologist from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science said that in the same way as bird feathers did not initially evolve for flight, the starting of turtle shell was not meant for protection.

A research paper posted online in the journal Evolution has unveiled that not every dinosaur roared ferociously. As per researchers, there were some dinosaurs that used to mumble or cooed with closed mouths.

In the study, the researchers have closely studied a way using which birds emit sounds known as closed-mouth vocalization. In order to understand when and as to how closed-mouth vocalization evolved, international researchers used a statistical approach.

First evidence of Neanderthal cannibalism in northern Europe has been found by archaeologist while they were excavating the Goyet caves in Belgium. The remains found from the caves have unveiled that the Neanderthals were involved into butchering and used the bones of their peers as tools.

For the first time, researchers have discovered a type of non-cancerous facial tumor, found in humans, mammals and some reptiles, in fossil animals. An international team of researchers has found timorous facial swelling in the fossil of the jaw of the dwarf dinosaur Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus in Transylvania.

Humans aren’t alone who attire to hide themselves in forests etc, as some insects also followed the practice. Small bugs cover their bodies with pieces of plant matter, dirt, and even the exoskeletons of other insects to camouflage from predators and hunt for prey.

Roanoke Colony, established in late 16th century on Roanoke Island, has been a mystery for researchers since its sudden disappearance. Now, a team of archaeologists has discovered remains of the colony, also known as the Lost Colony, which could shed light on it.

Archaeologists at North Carolina's Roanoke Island announced that during a dig in the region, they found two pieces of blue-and-brown pottery. They believe the pottery pieces could be part of an apothecary jar that was used four centuries ago.

Large mammals like sloths, saber-toothed cats, giant bears and mammoths lived in South America and went extinct around 12,000 years ago. Evolutionary biologists and ecologists believe that blame two possible culprits for the disappearance of those gigantic mammals.

One possibility is that those ancient large mammals went extinct because of the peopling of the Americas. Supporters of this theory believe that humans hunted the big animals to extinction.