Science News of the Year: 1998
Back to Science News of 1998
Anthropology & Archaeology
- A 1-million-year-old skull of a human ancestor found in Africa fills
a large gap in the fossil record (June 6, vol. 153: p. 356).
- Disputed DNA data indicated that modern humans migrated out of Africa
around 100,000 years ago and founded modern East Asian populations (Oct. 3, vol. 154: p. 212*).
- An evolutionary precursor of modern humans reached an Indonesian
island by 800,000 years ago, raising the possibility of surprisingly early sea travel
(March 3, vol. 153: p. 164).
- Ancient residents of what is now Peru showed a flair for metalworking
(Nov. 7, vol. 154: p. 292) and maritime occupations (Sept. 26, vol. 154: p. 205).
- A specimen thought to be a Neandertal flute made from a bear bone may
instead have been punctured and gnawed by wolves or other carnivores (April 4, vol. 153:
p. 215).
- An analysis of small channels in fossil and modern skulls suggested
that humanlike speech abilities arose at least 400,000 years ago (May 2, vol. 153: p.
276).
- Cave explorers found that ancient Maya settlements were situated on
and around numerous caverns that held great political and spiritual meaning (Jan. 24, vol. 153: p. 56*).
- Second-millenium-B.C. Mesopotamians melted and slowly cooled silt to
make slabs of rock for construction projects and grinding grain (June 27, vol. 153: p.
407).
- By about 8,000 years ago, prehistoric North Americans had fashioned
sophisticated sandals and slip-on shoes (July 4, vol. 154: p. 7).
- New evidence suggested that humans inhabited an Australian rock
shelter 22,000 years ago, much more recently than previously estimated (May 30, vol. 153:
p. 343).
- Aerial radar maps helped to locate waterworks and temple remains of
an ancient Cambodian civilization (Feb. 21, vol. 153: p. 117).
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