Geology; Prehistoric, Man; Middle East, Egypt, Orient, Europe, British Isles; Breaking History

Geology

• Crystal is 'oldest scrap of Earth crust'—"A tiny 4.4-billion-year-old crystal has been confirmed as the oldest fragment of Earth's crust."
• Boffins identify ancient Earth asteroid strike that dwarfed dinosaur killer—"Massive space rock impact may have set the continents sliding."
• Fragments of ancient continent buried under Indian Ocean

Prehistoric

• Mysteriously Intact T. Rex Tissue Finally Explained
• New find hits Cambrian fossil jackpot—again.—"Near site of famous Burgess Shale fossils, more turn up."
• Ice Age fossils discovered in L.A. subway construction
• Feathered dinosaur death site is an "animal Pompeii"—"Exquisitely preserved fossils come from a catastrophic event."
• Scientists Discover New Dinosaur Species Dubbed 'Chicken From Hell'
• The Hidden Dinosaur of Ta Prohm Temple
• Giant virus resurrected from 30,000-year-old ice—"Largest virus yet discovered hints at viral diversity trapped in permafrost."
• 700,000-Year-Old Horse Found in Yukon Permafrost Yields Oldest DNA Ever Decoded

Man

• 7,000-year-old male, blue eyes, dark skin, likes hunting
• Our Neanderthal heritage—"The scientist who sequenced the Neanderthal genome describes his quest to find what makes us human." Salon
• DNA 'switches' separate Neanderthals from modern humans: study
• Earliest footprints outside Africa discovered in Norfolk
• From study of 12,600-year-old DNA from Montana, clues to early colonization of the Americas
• Ancient Qiang people had vertically grown teeth and longer skeleton

Middle East

• A 4000-year-old tablet from ancient Mesopotamia contains the specifications for an ark pre-dating the story of Noah
• 'Priceless' bronze statue of Greek god Apollo found in Gaza Strip
• Pharaonic seal found in ancient coffin in Israel

Egypt

• 4,600-Year-Old Step Pyramid Uncovered in Egypt—"The pyramid, which predates the Great Pyramid of Giza, is one of seven for which its function remains a mystery."
• Tomb of ancient Egypt's beer maker to gods of the dead discovered
• Student deciphers 1,800-year-old letter from Egyptian soldier
• Two more colossal pharaoh statues unveiled in Egypt

Orient

• 15 Chinese Artifacts That Will Change How You Look at China
• Oldest signs of Japanese using tools uncovered in Okinawa—"Archaeologists have unearthed shell tools around 20,000 years old that could help clear up mysteries surrounding the ancestors of modern Japanese people...."
• Philippines' Oldest Artworks in Danger of Disappearing

Europe

• Ancient Gladiator School Discovered in Austria
• Archaeologists' findings may prove Rome a century older than thought—"As Italian capital approaches 2,767th birthday, excavation reveals wall built long before official founding year of 753BC."
• Archaeologists find 2,600-year-old Celtic Princess buried in Germany
• Swedish divers unearth a 'Stone Age Atlantis': 11,000-year-old ancient settlement discovered under the Baltic Sea

British Isles

• British experts say they have found London's lost Black Death graves
• 4,500 year-old path discovered near Galway Bay used by Celts
• Storms uncover 7,500-year-old 'drowned forest' on Ireland's west coast
• 10,000-year-old settlement found in Cork

Breaking History

• 2 former Boy Scout leaders plead guilty to toppling ancient Utah rock formation, avoid jail
• Student Breaks 19th Century Greco-Roman Statue While Taking a Selfie
• Graffiti defaces prehistoric rock art in Libya

National Science Fiction Day; World Robot Day: 9 Jan; Space; DNA; Discoveries, When in Rome, Destruction, History; Da Vinci, Art

National Science Fiction Day

• Isaac Asimov Predicts in 1964 What the World Will Look Like Today — in 2014
• It's the 10th Anniversary of Battlestar Galactica
• Clever Twitter Account Imagines Realistic, Bureaucracy-Filled Sci-Fi
• Starship Troopers: One of the Most Misunderstood Movies Ever—"The sci-fi film's self-aware satire went unrecognized by critics when it came out 16 years ago. Now, some are finally getting the joke."
• Science Fiction is Swiftly Becoming Fact—"Exponential technologies, from artificial intelligence to digital manufacturing to synthetic biology, are set to 'digitise, dematerialise, demonetise and democratise' entire industries, disrupting old business models and giving rise to new breakthroughs, say experts from the Silicon Valley-based Singularity University."

World Robot Day: 9 Jan

• Of Her And Humanoids: The Year In Robotics
• Robots of death, robots of love: The reality of android soldiers and why laws for robots are doomed to failure
• Siri says 'dump him'? How mobile devices could run (or ruin) your life
• The Only Thing Weirder Than a Telemarketing Robot—The future is (almost) here.
• Watch This Automated Tokyo Sushi Restaurant in Action

Space

• 6-year-old boy tries to save NASA
• What Happened to Comet ISON?
• Found: A planet with no star, free-floating in space
• Making Contact with the Very Large Array—"VLA: New video narrated by Jodie Foster about radio astronomy."
• NASA finds water on planets 1000 light years from Earth that orbit star, could be prime candidates for life
• The myth of NASA's expensive space pens
• Yes, That Picture of the Moon and the Andromeda Galaxy Is About Right

DNA

• DNA Shows That Native Americans Actually Came From Siberia
• DNA Research Sheds Light On Ancestry of Ashkenazi Jews
• Oldest Known Early Human DNA Recovered
• Scientists discover double meaning in genetic code
• Neanderthal woman's genome reveals unknown human lineage

Discoveries

• Ancient City Discovered Beneath Mound in Northern Iraq—"The ancient city of Idu, which dates back more than 3,000 years, is one of the largest archeological discoveries in Iraq's Kurdish region."
• Oldest Royal Wine Cellar Uncorked in Israel
• Perfectly preserved 1.8 million-year-old skull 'could re-write history of human evolution'
• How the Music of Ancient Greece Actually Sounded
• Stonehenge archaeologists have been digging in the wrong place - for 90 YEARS

When in Rome

• A Roman bathhouse still in use after 2,000 years
• Roman eagle found by archaeologists in City of London—"The 1,800-year-old sculpture of the imperial symbol is regarded as one of the best pieces of Romano-British art ever found."
• Virtual archaeologist turns clock back to uncover secrets of ancient Rome
• 'Secret' Labyrinth of Roman Tunnels Mapped
• Significance of sun alignment with two Roman monuments

Destruction

• Nazca archaeological sites in danger near Ica, Peru
• Two German students have vandalised part of the Pyramid of Khufu to help 'prove' their Lost Civilisation theory
• Ancient 'candi' crushed by Malaysian developer—"Malaysians online were incensed over reports that a 1,200-year-old temple ruin had been razed by a developer clearing land for a residential housing project. "

History

• The milk revolution
• Scientists study evolution of 'Little Red Riding Hood'
• Blast from the Past: Israeli woman dies, had 1,400 descendants

Da Vinci

• Hingston: King strips away myths surrounding Da Vinci
• Leonardo da Vinci painting lost for centuries found in Swiss bank vault—"It was lost for so long that it had assumed mythical status for art historians. Some doubted whether it even existed." Calling Dan Brown.
• Leonardo Da Vinci Mural Discovered Under Layers Of Paint During Sforza Castle Restoration In Italy
• Leonardo Da Vinci's wacky piano is heard for the first time, after 500 years

Art

• German police recover 1,500 modernist masterpieces 'looted by Nazis'—"Works by Chagall, Klee, Matisse and Picasso – worth up to £860m – had been considered lost until raid on flat in Schwabing."
• German recluse wants to keep Nazi-looted art trove
• Imelda Marcos aide found guilty of Monet painting sale

Cavemen, Discoveries, When in Rome, History, Nazism, Communism, WWII

Cavemen

• Europeans did not inherit pale skins from Neanderthals
• Mesolithic man find could rewrite Stone Age history
• Neanderthal Me
• Homo Heidelbergensis as Skilled Hunter
• Cave paintings are older than we thought
• Cave paintings were Stone Age animations
• Cavemen were better at drawing animals than modern artists

Discoveries

• 'Britain's Atlantis' found at bottom of North sea - a huge undersea world swallowed by the sea in 6500BC
• Lost Egyptian Pyramids Found?
• Drilling discovers ancient Antarctic rainforest
• Tomb of Maya Queen Found—"Lady Snake Lord" Ruled Centipede Kingdom
• Mysterious elk-shaped structure discovered in Russia
• Stonehenge up close: digital laser scan reveals secrets of the past--"Most detailed analysis yet of prehistoric stone circle shows how masons spent more time making key areas look the best."
• They Cracked This 250 Year-Old Code, And Found a Secret Society Inside

When in Rome

• Treveri Versus Romans In The Conquest Of Celtic Gaul
• Roman cavalry helmet makes £2.2 million at auction
• Colosseum in Rome is leaning, officials say
• A hotel? An archaeology site? Or both?
• Roman ship found laden with cargo
• Roman jewellery found in ancient Japan tomb
• First-time Berkhamsted metal-detector finds one of UK's largest Roman coin hoards, worth £100,000

History

• The Most Spectacular Mutation in Recent Human History--"How did milk help found Western civilization?"
• Researcher finds slaves quarried sandstone used to build Smithsonian Castle
• Historian mashes up historical images with modern-day reality
• Oliver Stone's 'untold American history'
• People Celebrated 12/12/12 100 Years Ago by 'Writing a Great Many Letters'

Nazism

• How fiction fooled Hitler--"Pulitzer Prize-winner Tina Rosenberg discusses the novelist who helped defeat the Nazis." Salon
• "I liked to shoot women pushing prams": Secret Nazi tapes shocking Germany
• Britain favoured execution over Nuremberg trials for Nazi leaders--"Declassified account shows Britain would have preferred to see Nazi leaders executed or imprisoned at end of second world war."
• D For Deception: Tina Rosenberg on the British spy novelist who hoodwinked Hitler
• Norway's police apologize for deporting Jews
• Secretly taped Nazi PoWs reveal the banality of war
• xkcd: Kill Hitler

Communism

• New dig launched in Poland for victims of communist terror
• Declassified documents add to proof that US helped cover up 1940 Soviet massacre
• Solzhenitsyn's One Day: The book that shook the USSR

WWII

• Reporter's untold story of Pearl Harbor attack is finally published--"On Dec. 7, 1941, Elizabeth McIntosh was a reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. She wrote a first-person account of the attack on Pearl Harbor, but editors thought it was too graphic. Now, it is finally published."
• Eric Lomax, World War II Prisoner Who Forgave, Dies at 93 NYT
• Weighty memento: war veteran's secret revealed after his death
• Can you crack the code?--"A dead pigeon discovered recently in a chimney in Surrey may be able to provide new answers to the secrets of World War II."
• Postcard mailed during WWII arrives at NY home

When in Rome, Dead Sea, Books, Death of Jesus, Lost and Found, History, Nazis, Stranger than...

When in Rome

• Hoard of Roman coins found near Roman Baths in Bath
• $800-million ancient Rome theme park planned - in Rome
• Greek experts find Roman wrecks nearly a mile deep--"Two Roman-era shipwrecks have been found in deep water off a western Greek island, challenging the conventional theory that ancient shipmasters stuck to coastal routes rather than risking the open sea...."

Dead Sea

• Cores reveal when Dead Sea 'died'
• Suppression of Dead Sea Scrolls, anti-hacker mentality have more in common than you think
• Q&A: 'James the Brother of Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls'--The other two parts are available.

Books

• "The Aleppo Codex": The bizarre history of a precious book Salon
• Oxford University and the Vatican Library to digitize 1.5 million pages of ancient texts and images and make them freely available online
• Jordan battles to regain 'priceless' Christian relics--These seventy metal books... labeled most important find in Christian history are very likely to be fake.

Death of Jesus

• Quake reveals day of Jesus' crucifixion, researchers believe
• Pope: Jews not to blame for Jesus' death
• Jesus was mortal, never crucified, analysis of controversial gospel claims
• John Adams tests his own faith tackling the Crucifixion of Jesus--"'The Gospel According to the Other Mary' is told from Mary Magdalene's viewpoint. The composer wondered if his spiritual powers were strong enough for the work."
• Turin Shroud produced after Jesus' crucifixion, says historian

Lost and Found

• King airbrushed out of coronation portrait
• A Long Lost Leonardo
• Traces of lost da Vinci painting found hidden behind wall after 500 years, researchers claim

History

• Lost civilizations
• Ecuador seeks answer to riddle of Inca emperor's tomb
• Huge Ancient Civilization's Collapse Explained
• American Indians originated in one region of Siberia
• Spain claims top spot for world's oldest cave art--"Archaeologists say red disk that is more than 40,000 years old could have been painted by Neanderthals."

Nazis

• The 'Iranian Schindler' who saved Jews from the Nazis
• Leaked documents show 9,000 Nazi war criminals fled to South America after World War 2
• Why Irish soldiers who fought Hitler hide their medals
• Nazi looted poster art must be returned to Peter Sachs
• Art experts discuss recovering art looted by Nazis

Stranger than...

• 7 Myths Mythbusters Proved That We Still Can't Believe Are True
• 33 Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out To Be True, What Every Person Should Know...
• 6 Ridiculous History Myths (You Probably Think Are True)

History: Suffer the Children, B.C., When in Rome, Roots, Hystery

Suffer the Children

• British children deported to Australia
• Report: South Dakota Removes Hundreds Of Native American Children From Their Homes, Collects Millions In Federal Funds
• Spain's stolen baby scandal--"Docs and nuns took thousands of infants at birth and sold them to childless couples. The painful truth is now emerging."

B.C.

• Why'd It Take So Long To Invent The Wheel?
• Gay caveman: 5,000-year-old male skeleton 'outed' by way he was buried
• Outdoor BBQ: A 700,000-year-old Ritual
• Next 'Great Pyramid' made in Germany?
• Oldest Skeleton in Americas Found in Underwater Cave?
• Archaeologists discover Iron Age Mickey Mouse
• Walrus Fossil Goes for $8,000
• Mystery of the 'couple' buried arm in arm 1,000 years ago: Not husband and wife but Saxon warriors
• Gods In Color: Painted Sculpture Of Classical Antiquity
• History Lesson

When in Rome

• Warners nabs 'Rome, Sweet Rome'--Check out its humble beginning.
• Huge ancient Roman shipyard unearthed
• Roman 'factory town' for oil lamps found
• Roman history comes to life in Google Earth
• Roman-era shipwreck reveals ancient medical secrets
• Sensational Find in Austria: Radar Helps Locate a Roman Gladiator School
• Romanes Eunt Domus

Roots

• Rethink on the origins of European men
• From Fermilab, a New Clue to Explain Human Existence?
• Caveman Science Fiction

Hystery

• Historically Hardcore
• Epic Rap Battles of History
• 6 Civil War Myths, Busted