Changes to drylands with future climate change

by Washington State University
Arid chaco. Credit: Valerio Pillar, CC BY-SA 2.0

A research team led by Washington State University has found that while drylands around the world will expand at an accelerated rate because of future climate change, their average productivity will likely be reduced.


The study, published in Nature Communications on April 3, is the first to quantify the impact of accelerated dryland expansion under future climate change on their gross primary production. Drylands, which primarily include savannas, grasslands and shrublands, are important for supporting grazing and non-irrigated croplands around the world. They are also an important player in the global carbon cycle and make up 41% of Earth's land surface and support 38% of its population.

"Our results highlight the vulnerability of drylands to more frequent and severe climate extremes," said Jingyu Yao, a research assistant in WSU's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and lead author on the paper.

Using satellite data of vegetation productivity, measurements of carbon cycling from 13 sites and datasets from global models of future climate change, the researchers found that productivity of drylands will increase overall by about 12% by 2100 compared to a baseline from about 10 years ago. However, as drylands replace more productive ecosystems, overall global productivity may not increase. Furthermore, due to expected changes in precipitation and temperatures, the amount of productivity in any one dryland area will decrease.

In addition, the researchers found that expansion among different types of drylands will lead to large changes in regional and subtype contributions to global dryland productivity.

Drylands will experience substantial expansion and degradation in the future due to climate change, wildfire and human activities, including changes to their ecosystem structures as well as to their productivity, said Heping Liu, professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and corresponding author on the paper.

Because these regions are already water stressed, they are particularly sensitive to temperature or precipitation changes. Warming temperatures from climate change and more frequent and severe droughts threaten their biodiversity as well as their ability to take in and hold carbon.

Especially in developing countries, the degradation of dryland ecosystems could have strong societal and economic impacts, said Yao.

These changes have already started happening in the last few decades. In the U.S. Southwest, the introduction of invasive species has changed dryland regions from green to brown. Precipitation changes in Australia, which is composed almost entirely of drylands, have meant a dryer continent with dramatic impacts and Mongolia's grasslands have deteriorated because of warmer temperatures, less rainfall and overgrazing.

While the drylands' productivity is important for supporting people, these areas also play a critically important role in annual carbon cycling. They help the planet breathe, absorbing carbon dioxide every spring as plants grow and then breathing it out in the fall as they become dormant. Because the growth of dryland ecosystems is very sensitive to changes in rainfall and temperature, drylands show the most impact of any ecosystem in year-to-year changes in the carbon cycle.

Understanding their role in future carbon cycling can help researchers determine how to best preserve areas of high carbon uptake.

"In our society, we are not paying much attention to what's going on with dryland regions," Liu said. "Given their importance in global carbon cycling and ecosystem services, a global action plan involving stringent management and sustainable utilization of drylands is urgently needed to protect the fragile ecosystems and prevent further desertification for climate change mitigation."


Explore furtherNew research offers global drylands solution to climate change
More information: Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15515-2
Journal information: Nature Communications


Provided by Washington State University

Deep-sea worms and bacteria team up to harvest methane

by Robert Perkins, California Institute of Technology

Methane-consuming serpulid worms on the seafloor off the coast of Costa Rica. 

Credit: Alvin/WHOI

Scientists at Caltech and Occidental College have discovered a methane-fueled symbiosis between worms and bacteria at the bottom of the sea, shedding new light on the ecology of deep-sea environments.

They found that bacteria belonging to the Methylococcaceae family have been hitching a ride on the feathery plumes that act as the respiratory organs of Laminatubus and Bispira worms. Methylococcaceae are methanotrophs, meaning that they harvest carbon and energy from methane, a molecule composed of carbon and hydrogen.

The worms, which are a few inches long, have been found in great numbers near deep-sea methane seeps, vents in the ocean floor where hydrocarbon-rich fluids ooze out into the ocean, although it was unclear why the worms favored the vents. As it turns out, the worms slowly digest the hitchhiking bacteria and thus absorb the carbon and energy that the bacteria harvest from the methane.

That is to say, with a little help and some extra steps, the worms have become methanotrophs themselves.

"These worms have long been associated with seeps, but everyone just assumed they were filter-feeding on bacteria. Instead, we find that they are teaming up with a microbe to use chemical energy to feed in a way we hadn't considered," says Victoria Orphan, James Irvine Professor of Environmental Science and Geobiology and co-corresponding author of a paper on the worms that was published by Science Advances on April 3.

Orphan and her colleagues made the discovery during research cruises to study methane vents off the coast of Southern California and Costa Rica.

"We had a colleague on board who was an expert on these worms and noticed that the morphology was unusual. The respiratory plumes were much frillier than anyone had ever seen before, which was the first clue. It was enough to make us say, 'That's interesting. We should investigate,'" says Shana Goffredi, visitor in geobiology at Caltech and lead author of the Science Advances paper. Goffredi is an associate professor of biology at Occidental College in Los Angeles.

To probe the nature of the relationship between the worms and the bacteria, the scientists had to first use robotic submarines to take samples from deep-sea methane vents, which, in this case, lie 1,800 meters below the ocean surface.

Once the worms were brought topside, the scientists analyzed their tissues, cataloging the carbon isotopes that they had consumed. Carbon exists in two stable isotopic forms—different "flavors" of carbon, so to speak. Around 99 percent of all carbon is carbon-12, which has six neutrons and six protons in each atomic nucleus, and about 1 percent is carbon-13 (six protons and seven neutrons). Carbon-14, a radioactive isotope, exists in trace amounts.

Surface recovery of the human-occupied submersible Alvin, with the recovery team on 

the small boat in view. Taken from atop the R/V Atlantis. 

Credit: Shana Goffredi/Occidental College

All organisms require carbon—in some form—to survive, and they absorb it through metabolic processes. Studying the ratio of carbon-13 to carbon-12 in an organism's tissues can give clues to where that carbon came from and the conditions under which it formed. In the case of the deep-sea worms, their tissues had an unusually low ratio of carbon-13 to carbon-12, meaning that the carbon in the worm's body probably came from methane. Orphan and her collaborators reasoned that because the worms are incapable of processing methane directly, they must be getting their carbon from methanotrophic bacteria.

"The fact that we found this specific isotope of carbon throughout the worms' bodies and not just in their respiratory plumes indicates that they are consuming methane carbon from these bacteria," Orphan says. The research team followed up on this hypothesis by using molecular techniques and microscopy as well as experiments to test the ability of these worms to incorporate a modified, traceable version of methane.

Their research findings change our understanding of seep ecosystems and have implications for deep-sea stewardship, as methane seeps and hydrothermal vents are sure to experience increasing pressure because of human exploitation of energy and minerals.

The paper is titled "Methanotrophic bacterial symbionts fuel dense populations of deep-sea feather duster worms (Sabellida, Annelida) and extend the spatial influence of methane seepage."New method converts carbon dioxide to methane at low temperatures

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More information: Shana K. Goffredi et al. Methanotrophic bacterial symbionts fuel dense populations of deep-sea feather duster worms (Sabellida, Annelida) and extend the spatial influence of methane seepage, Science Advances (2020). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aay8562

SCIENTISTS IDENTIFY NEW SPECIES OF ANCIENT PORPOISE

A worm-like creature that lived more than half a billion years ago has been discovered which is the ancestor for almost all living creatures. 

The creature, called Ikaria wariootia, lived around 555 million years ago 

it is believed the animal measured between two and seven millimetres in length 

First known example of a bilaterian which most modern life descended from

By JOE PINKSTONE FOR MAILONLINE 23 March 2020 

A worm-like creature that lived more than half a billion years ago has been discovered which is the ancestor for almost all living creatures.

The creature, called Ikaria wariootia, lived around 555 million years ago and was found in Australia.

It is the earliest known bilaterian, a creature with both a front and back, two symmetrical sides and openings at either end connected by a gut.

This blueprint was a success and almost all life on Earth now follows this template.

The creatures were between two and seven millimetres long and up to 2.5mm wide, with the largest of the species being about the same size as a grain of rice.


Pictured, artist's rendering of Ikaria wariootia. The tiny worm-like creature lived more than 555 million years ago, according to geologists who made the find. They say it the first ancestor on the family tree that contains most familiar animals today, including humans

Researchers from the University of California Riverside believe the creature is the first ancestor on the family tree from which most existing animals, including humans, descended.

Older animals have previously been discovered but these creatures had variable shapes.

For example, Ediacaran Biota, which includes sponges and algal mats have previously been discovered that pre-date the latest find.

However, these creatures are not directly related to today's fauna.

Bilateral symmetry was a critical step in the evolution of animal life as it gave animal's the ability to move purposefully.

Scott Evans, a recent doctoral graduate from University of California, Riverside, and Professor Mary Droser studied ancient deposits from Australia.

The rock was dated to 555 million years ago and the burrows made by the worm-like creatures had been previously identified, but never the animal's themselves.

But the American academics noticed miniscule, oval impressions near some of the burrows.

With funding from NASA, they used a three-dimensional laser to see what was inside.

It revealed the regular, consistent shape of a cylindrical body with a distinct head and tail.

Dr Evans said: 'We thought these animals should have existed during this interval, but always understood they would be difficult to recognise.

'Once we had the 3D scans, we knew that we had made an important discovery.'

Professor Droser said: 'Burrows of Ikaria occur lower than anything else.

'It's the oldest fossil we get with this type of complexity.'

These are Ikaria wariootia impressions in stone. Older animals have previously been discovered but these complex creatures had variable shapes and are unrelated to most modern life


With funding from NASA, researchers used a three-dimensional laser to see what was inside. It revealed the regular, consistent shape of a cylindrical body with a distinct head and tail and faintly grooved musculature

'We knew that we also had lots of little things and thought these might have been the early bilaterians that we were looking for.'

In spite of its relatively simple shape, Professor Droser explainedthe creature burrowed in thin layers of well-oxygenated sand on the ocean floor in search of organic matter, indicating rudimentary sensory abilities.

The depth and curvature of Ikaria represent clearly distinct front and rear ends, supporting the directed movement found in the burrows.

Professor Droser said the burrows also preserve crosswise, 'V'-shaped ridges, suggesting Ikaria moved by contracting muscles across its body like a worm.

She explained that evidence of sediment displacement in the burrows indicates the organism fed on buried organic matter and probably had a mouth, anus, and gut.

Professor Droser added: 'This is what evolutionary biologists predicted.

'It's really exciting that what we have found lines up so neatly with their prediction.'

The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Fish fingers: Prehistoric sea creature that swam in the oceans and walked on land 380 million years ago is a 'missing link' in the evolution of the human hand

The prehistoric creature is thought to be one path in the evolution of fingers 

It was discovered in Quebec in 2010 but has recently been studied by scientists

It is 5ft long with powerful sharp fangs, flat head, long snout and round eyes

The fingered fish was unearthed in Miguasha National Park on the Quebec coast

By RYAN MORRISON FOR MAILONLINE18 March 2020
A prehistoric sea creature that swam in the oceans and walked on land 380 million years ago had 'fingers', making it a 'missing link' in the evolution of the human hand.

The fish 'fingers' on 'Elpistostege watsoni' enabled our primitive sea-dwelling 'relative' to make the transition from water to land, experts claim.

An international team of palaeontologists from Flinders University in Australia and Universite du Quebec studied the fossilised remains of our evolutionary cousin.

The 5ft long 'missing link' looked like a shark with powerful sharp fangs, a flat head, long snout and small round eyes - but it was the fins that fascinated scientists.


The unusual fins on all four limbs provide the first evidence in fossil form of skeletal digital appendages - finger-like bones that gave rise to hands.

An animation showing the 5ft Elpistostege fish as it may have looked millions of years ago. It is not our direct ancestor but is part of the evolutionary process that led to human hands

The evolution of fishes into tetrapods - four-legged vertebrates of which humans belong - was one of the most significant events in the history of life.

The creature had four limbs and each had the unusual 'finger' like bones - making it similar to a tetrapod - a group including humans and most modern animals.

Corresponding author Professor John Long, a palaeontologist at Flinders University in Adelaide, said it was an incredible discovery and important finding to able to study the complete fossil of a tetrapod-like fish.

'It revealed extraordinary new information about the evolution of the vertebrate hand,' Long said.

'This is the first time we have unequivocally discovered fingers locked in a fin with fin-rays in any known fish.

'The articulating digits in the fin are like the finger bones found in the hands of most animals.'

Professor John Long with Elpistostege fish fossil found in Miguasha, Canada which has revealed new insights into how the human hand evolved from fish fins

Tetrapods are four-footed animals that include todays amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals - including humans.

The fish was unearthed in Miguasha National Park on the Quebec coast - a graveyard of animals from the Devonian Period known as the 'Age of Fishes'.

Using CT (computed tomography) scans, the international team found it had arms, wrists and fingers - hand bones or 'phalanges' organised in digits.

The discovery pushes back the origin date of digits in vertebrates to the fish level - rather than at the later land dwellers.

'It also tells us the patterning for the vertebrate hand was first developed deep in evolution - just before fishes left the water,' said Long.

The evolution of fishes into tetrapods - four-legged vertebrates of which humans belong - was one of the most significant events in the history of life.

These back-boned animals were then able to leave the water and conquer land. In order to complete this change they needed hands and feet.

To understand the evolution from a fish fin to a tetrapod limb, palaeontologists study the fossils of lobe-finned fish and tetrapods from 393 to 359 million years ago - known as the Middle and Upper Devonian.

These animals are called 'elpistostegalians' and include Tiktaalik from Arctic Canada.

This is a freshwater creature that reached ten feet long but only its partial skeleton have been unearthed by scientists so far.

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This is the evolutionary fish family tree showing significance of Elpistostege in understanding the origin of tetrapods. It was on the path towards most modern mammals, birds and reptiles

Over the past decade fossils informing the fish-to-tetrapod transition have shed light on anatomical changes including breathing, hearing and feeding.

This happened as Earth's habitat changed from water to land.

Co-author Richard Cloutier, of Quebec University, said the origin of digits coincides with the ability for the fish to support its own weight in shallow water or on land.

'The increased number of small bones in the fin allows more planes of flexibility to spread out its weight through the fin,' he said.

'The other features the study revealed concerning the structure of the upper arm bone or humerus, which also shows features present that are shared with early amphibians,' Cloutier said.

'Elpistostege is not necessarily our ancestor, but it is closest we can get to a true 'transitional fossil', an intermediate between fishes and tetrapods.'

It was the largest predator living in the shallow mudflats of Quebec at the time.

The ancient sea creature would have fed upon several of the larger extinct lobe-finned fishes found fossilised in the same deposits in Quebec.

The remarkable new complete specimen of Elpistostege was discovered in 2010. It has only now been described in detail for the first time.

The research has been published in the journal Nature.
Ancient fish with fingers solves missing link in evolution


WHAT IS CONVERGENT EVOLUTION?

Convergent evolution is the process by which two unrelated species independently evolve similar features to adapt to similar problems or habitats.

Modern-day examples of convergent evolution are the hedgehog and the tenrec - a Madagascan animal which closely resembles the hedgehog but is totally unrelated.

An example of convergent evolution is the similar nature of the flight/wings of insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats.

All four serve the same function and are similar in structure, but each evolved independently.


The tenrec (TOP) and the hedgehog (BOTTOM) are the perfect example of convergent evolution. One is commonly found in UK gardens and the other is exclusive to the island of Madagascar. They are not related

Paintings are discovered inside the coffin of a 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy after she was lifted out of it for the first time in more than a century

Paintings on the coffin of mummy 'Ta-Kr-Hb' depict Egyptian goddess Amentet

Amentet (Ament, Amentit, Imentet, Imentit) was the Egyptian goddess and friend of the dead, and the personification of the Land of the West, 'Amenti'. It was she who welcomed the deceased to their new dwelling place in the netherworld.

'Ta-Kr-Hb' is a 3,000-year-old believed to be a priestess or princess from Thebes

She is set to be displayed to the public at the Perth City Hall Museum from 2022

By JONATHAN CHADWICK FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 2 April 2020

Paintings have been discovered inside the coffin of an Egyptian mummy after she was lifted out of it for the first time in more than 100 years.

Scottish conservators made the discovery during work to conserve Ta-Kr-Hb – pronounced ‘takerheb' – believed to be a priestess or princess from Thebes.

The mummy, which is nearly 3,000 years old, was in fragile condition after being targeted by grave robbers throughout history.

Work has been required to ensure her condition did not deteriorate further before her remains are displayed in the new City Hall Museum in Perth, Scotland.

Conservators were surprised to find painted figures of an Egyptian goddess on both the internal and external bases of the coffin trough when Ta-Kr-Hb was lifted out.

Conservators at Perth Museum and Gallery cleaning the 3,000 old mummy Ta-Kr-Hb's coffin

Both figures are representations of the Egyptian goddess Amentet or Imentet, known as the 'She of the West' or sometimes 'Lady of the West'.

'It was a great surprise to see these paintings appear,' Dr Mark Hall, collections officer at Perth Museum and Art Gallery, told the PA news agency.

'We had never had a reason to lift the whole thing so high that we could see the underneath of the trough and had never lifted the mummy out before and didn't expect to see anything there.

+6

Photo issued by Perth Museum and Art Gallery showing paintings of the Egyptian goddess Amentet discovered inside the coffin. Amentet, meaning 'She of the West', was a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religion

'So to get a painting on both surfaces is a real bonus and gives us something extra special to share with visitors.'

Further research will be carried out on the paintings to find out more about the history of the mummy, believed to date from somewhere between 760 and 525 BC.

The painting on the interior base of the coffin trough was previously hidden by Ta-Kr-Hb and is the best preserved of the two.


The underside of the coffin, which is slightly less well preserved, also shows a portrait of Amentet

It shows Amentet in profile, looking right and wearing her typical red dress.

Her arms are slightly outstretched and she is standing on a platform, indicating the depiction is of a holy statue or processional figure.

Usually, the platform is supported by a pole or column and one of these can be seen on the underside of the coffin trough.

Conservators clean the front of the coffin in preparation for its presentation at the new Perth City Hall, which will open as a museum in 2022

The mummy was donated to Perth Museum by the Alloa Society of Natural Science and Archaeology in 1936.

It was presented to the society by a Mr William Bailey, who bought it from the curator of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

In 2013, Ta-Kr-Hb was transferred temporarily for a 'check-up' at Manchester Royal Children’s Hospital, which included a CT scan and X-rays of her coffin.

Amentet (right) greeting Pharaoh Horemheb in his tomb. According to some sources, Amentet was often depicted on tombs to welcome the deceased into the afterlife

Radiographic examinations revealed that her skeleton had suffered extensive damage to the chest and pelvis, sometime after the body had been mummified, according to SCBP Perth.

While the skull remains intact, radiography revealed that as part of the mummification process the brain mass was removed through the sinuses.

But the full removal of Ta-Kr-Hb's remains this year allow today's researchers to closely observe the paintings beneath.

Perth Museum and Art Gallery are now hoping to save 'Ta-Kr-Hb' – as written in hieroglyphics on the lid of her coffin – for future generations.

'The key thing we wanted to achieve was to stabilise the body so it didn't deteriorate any more so it has been rewrapped and then we wanted to stabilise the trough and upper part of the coffin which we've done,' said Dr Hall.

Remains of a hide beetle - which is associated with decomposing remains - that was taken from inside the coffin

'Doing this means everybody gets to find out a lot more about her.

'One of the key things is just physically doing the work so we have a better idea of the episodes Ta-Kr-Hb went through in terms of grave robbers and later collectors in the Victorian times so we can explore these matters more fully and we can share that with the public.'

Conservators Helena Jaeschke and Richard Jaeschke have been working closely with Culture Perth and Kinross on the project, which started work in late January.

Culture Perth and Kinross is campaigning to raise money for the conservation of Ta-Kr-Hb as she prepares to go on display at the Perth City Hall Museum, which is set to open in 2022.

HOW DID EGYPTIANS EMBALM THEIR DEAD?

It is thought a range of chemicals were used to embalm and preserve the bodies of the dead in ancient cultures.

Russian scientists believe a different balm was used to preserve hair fashions of the time than the concoctions deployed on the rest of the body.

Hair was treated with a balm made of a combination of beef fat, castor oil, beeswax and pine gum and with a drop of aromatic pistachio oil as an optional extra.

Mummification in ancient Egypt involved removing the corpse’s internal organs, desiccating the body with a mixture of salts, and then wrapping it in cloth soaked in a balm of plant extracts, oils, and resins.

Older mummies are believed to have been naturally preserved by burying them in dry desert sand and were not chemically treated.

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) techniques have been deployed in recent years in find out more about the ancient embalming process.

Studies have found bodies were embalmed with: a plant oil, such as sesame oil; phenolic acids, probably from an aromatic plant extract; and polysaccharide sugars from plants.

Thew recipe also featured dehydroabietic acid and other diterpenoids from conifer resin.

Amentet | Ancient Egypt Online

https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk › amentet

The ancient Egyptian Goddess Amentet (also known as Ament, Amentit, Imentet and Imentit) was the consort of Aken (the ferryman of the dead). Her name means “She of the west”. This was not just a geographical statement, although some scholars consider that she originated from Libya (west of Egypt).

IImentet - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Imentet

Imentet was a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religion representing the necropolises west of the ... Additionally, amenti (or amentet) was thought to be where the sun set, and where the entrance to the Underworld was located, although later the ...

Amentet, Ancient Egyptian Goddess of the Dead - thekeep.org

www.thekeep.org › ~kunoichi › kunoichi › themestream › amentet

Jun 25, 2002 - Amentet (Ament, Amentit, Imentet, Imentit) was the Egyptian goddess and friend of the dead, and the personification of the Land of the West, Amenty - imnty. It was she who welcomed the deceased to their new dwelling place in the netherworld.

Shipwreck buried in Maine beach that remained a mystery for over 60 years is finally identified as the British cargo ship that went missing during a storm in 1769

A shipwreck has been trapped in a Maine beach that has gone unidentified since being spotted in the 1950s 

Experts now determine it was a British cargo ship built in 1754 that was carrying four men and supplies

It was forced ashore on York Beach during a fierce storm in 1769 - the crew survived but the boat was lost

By STACY LIBERATORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM 3 April 2020

Skeletal remains of a shipwreck have appeared on the Maine coastline nearly every 20 years, but have remained a mystery for more than six decades – until now.

Researchers have finally identified the wooden wreck as a British cargo ship that dates back before the Revolutionary War – making it older than America itself.

Using drones equip with geographical dating technology to determine it was built in 1754 and laid to rest in a sandy grave sometime during 1769.

Stefan Claesson who is a certified unmanned aircraft (UAS) mapping scientist and head of the project told DailyMail.com that the ship was carrying a four man crew along with flour, pork and English goods when it encountered a fierce storm that forced it ashore onto York Beach.


Skeletal remains of a shipwreck have appeared on the Maine coastline nearly every 20 years, but have remained a mystery for more than six decades – until now. Researchers have finally identified the wooden wreck as a British cargo ship that dates back before the Revolutionary War – making it older than America itself

'Following the 2018 storm exposure, there remained questions about the age and origin of the shipwreck,' Claesson shared.

'The sample timbers matched a New England tree-index indicating a felling date of approximately 1753.'

'Shipwrecks like this can also be thought of as living organisms, or environmental warehouses that store and can reveal information about regional climate variations through the study of tree rings.'

'In this initial study, we now have tree-ring data for multiple species from the early 1600s to the 1700s.'

Using drones equip with geographical dating technology to determine it was built in 1754 and laid to rest in a sandy grave sometime during 1769

Stefan Claesson who is a certified unmanned aircraft (UAS) mapping scientist and head of the project told DailyMail.com that the ship was carrying a four man crew along with flour, pork and English goods when it encountered a fierce storm that forced it ashore onto York Beach


A storm had first revealed the ship in the 1958 (pictured) then again in 1960, 1983, 2013 and finally in 2018 - giving experts the opportunity to investigate its origins

The team used a range of archaeological techniques during this project, including scientific dating and documentary research.

Using his specialty, Claesson unleashed a drone with geographic information system (GIS) to map and survey the site, allowing him and his team to unravel the shipwreck's secrets.

They determined the ship dates back to the mid-eighteenth century and was constructed in 1754 with wood that was cut down from trees in 1753.

It was about 60 feet long when it sailed the ocean, but the remaining structure only spans 50 feet


'Historical research revealed an account documenting a sloop called Defiance that wrecked at the York Beach location in 1769,' Claesson wrote in the email. 'The account details that a sloop Defiance was sailing out of Salem, MA bound for Portland, ME'

It was about 60 feet long when it sailed the ocean, but the remaining structure only spans 50 feet.

After determining the dates, Claesson set out to identify the ship itself.

He looked at the archives at Peabody Essex Museum and searched the records of Daniel Moulton, a local notary who documented all the wrecks in Maine between 1750 and 1794.

'Historical research revealed an account documenting a sloop called Defiance that wrecked at the York Beach location in 1769,' Claesson wrote in the email.

'The account details that a sloop Defiance was sailing out of Salem, MA bound for Portland, ME.'


'Following the 2018 storm exposure, there remained questions about the age and origin of the shipwreck,' Claesson shared. 'The sample timbers matched a New England tree-index indicating a felling date of approximately 1753.'

'The sloop and 4-man crew encountered a fierce storm, they took anchor, but in heavy seas the crew was forced to cut the anchor cables, and they were pushed ashore onto York Beach.'

'The ship was carrying a cargo of flour, pork, and English goods. The ship was a total loss, but the crew survived.

'Research also identified a sloop of the same name that was coincidentally built in 1754 in Massachusetts, which fits well with our tree-ring dates of circa 1753.

'However, additional historical research and archaeological investigations are needed to confirm the identification of the wreck as Defiance. It is assumed that the timbers were used to build the vessel shortly after felling.'

Oldest human genetic material' ever found reveals a 'sister group' to modern people, Neanderthals and Denisovans that lived 800,000 years ago

Genetic material was extracted from the tooth enamel of Homo antecessor

Found ancient proteins from DNA which dated back 800,000 years

Proves the species was closely related to humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans

Scientists say they are confident it shows the species is a 'sister group' of the three more modern species

By JOE PINKSTONE FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 2 April 2020

The oldest genetic material ever extracted from a human has revealed a 'sister group' of hominins related to Homo sapiens, Denisovans and Neanderthals.

Ancient proteins in the teeth of a fossil were discovered, analysed and dated to reveal the secrets of its owner.

It was found this primitive human, a member of the species Homo antecessor, lived 800,000 years ago

Researchers in Denmark say they are confident their study shows that Homo antecessors were a 'sister group' of the last common relatives of modern humans.
Scientists have long debated the place of Homo antecessor in human evolution and the genetic material, twice as old as any DNA ever previously found, helps clear up the mystery.

Pictured, a digital reconstruction of specimen ATD6-69 

from the Homo antecessor collection that was analysed in the study

Researchers in Denmark say they are confident their study shows that

 Homo antecessors (pictured, skeletal remains of the ancient species) 

were a 'sister group' to the last common relatives of modern humans

Study author Dr Frido Welker, at Copenhagen University, said: 'Ancient protein analysis provides evidence for a close relationship between Homo antecessor, us - Homo sapiens - Neanderthals, and Denisovans.

'Our results support the idea that Homo antecessor was a sister group to the group containing Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans.'

The Homo antecessor specimen was first found in 1994 at Sierra de Atapuerca, an archaeological site in northern Spain.

A new method to find tiny fragments of genetic material called palaeoproteomics was deployed to see if it could uncover anything in the remains.

Inside the tooth enamel of the ancient individual were proteins dating back 800,000 years.

This is far older than any human DNA ever found because the molecule degrades naturally after 400,000 years, scientists say.

The molecular sequencing enables scientists to retrieve evidence to accurately reconstruct human evolution from further back in time than ever before.

Study co-author Professor Jesper Velgaard Olsen, from Copenhagen University, said: 'This study is an exciting milestone in palaeoproteomics.

'Using state of the art mass spectrometry, we determine the sequence of amino acids within protein remains from Homo antecessor dental enamel.

'We can then compare the ancient protein sequences we 'read' to those of other hominins, for example Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, to determine how they are genetically related.'

Pictured, a phylogenetic tree showing how the researchers believe Homo antecessor fits in to the complex evolutionary history of hominins and when human species branched off from the Great Apes

A new method to find tiny fragments of genetic material

 called palaeoproteomics was deployed to see if it found 

anything in the remains. Inside the tooth enamel of the

ancient individual (pictured) were ancient proteins dating

 back 800,000 years

The human and the chimpanzee lineages split from each other about nine to seven million years ago, the researchers explained.

Since this genetic branch was discovered scientists have been trying to iron out the timeline of hominid evolution.

Lead study author Professor Enrico Cappellini, also from Copenhagen University, said: 'Much of what we know so far is based either on the results of ancient DNA analysis, or on observations of the shape and the physical structure of fossils.

'Because of the chemical degradation of DNA over time, the oldest human DNA retrieved so far is dated at no more than approximately 400,000 years.'

Initially scientists thought that Homo antecessor was the last common ancestor to modern humans and Neanderthals, based on fossils' physical shape and appearance.

But they began to intensely debate the exact relationship between Homo antecessors and other human groups, like ourselves and Neanderthals.

New studies confirmed that Homo antecessor's facial features are very similar to those of Homo sapiens and very different from those of the Neanderthals and their more recent ancestors.

Professor Cappellini added: 'I am happy that the protein study provides evidence that the Homo antecessor species may be closely related to the last common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans.

'The features shared by Homo antecessor with these hominins clearly appeared much earlier than previously thought. Homo antecessor would therefore be a basal species of the emerging humanity formed by Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans.'

The research team is now looking forward to seeing what else can be learned about our evolutionary history thanks to their new DNA sequencing method.

WHO WERE THE HOMO ANTECESSORS?

A lifelike model of a Homo antecessor female is posed scooping out the brains of decapitated head

Homo antecessor is one of the earliest known varieties of human discovered in Europe, dating as far back as one million years ago.

Believed to have weighed around 14 stone, Homo antecessor was said to have been between 5.5 and 6ft tall.

Their brain sizes were roughly between 1,000 and 1,150 cm³, which is smaller than the average 1,350 cm³ brains of modern humans.

The species is believed to have been right-handed, making it different from other apes, and may have used a symbolic language, according to archaeologists who found remains in Burgos, Spain in 1994.

How Homo antecessor may be related to other Homo species in Europe has a subject of fierce debate.

Many anthropologists believe there was an evolutionary link between Homo ergaster and Homo heidelbergensis.

Archaeologist Richard Klein claims Homo antecessor was a separate species completely, that evolved from Homo ergaster.

However, others claim Homo antecessor is actually the same species as Homo heidelbergensis, who lived in Europe between 600,000 and 250,000 years ago in the Pleistocene era.

In 2010 stone tools were found at the same site in Happisburgh, Norfolk, believed to have been used by Homo antecessor.

Scientists believe that these early human species would breed with one another on a regular basis.

Dr Matthias Meyer, a palaeogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in Leipzig, Germany said: 'The evolutionary history of archaic humans in the Middle Pleistocene was quite complex.

'It could be that both the ancestors of the Sima people and Denisovans interbred with another archaic group like Homo antecessor or Homo erectus.

'Or it is possible that the mitochondrial DNA we know from late Neanderthals came in from another group that left Africa.'

Ancient ritual site of a Mesopotamian war god that was used for animal sacrifices 5,000 years ago is uncovered in Iraq

Archaeologists have uncovered a sacred plaza dedicated to a war god in Iraq 

The area was used some 5,000 years ago to worship the god Ningirsu

People would hold festivals and sacrifice animals to appease him 

The team found bowls and cups, along with animal bones 

ALSO FOUND WAS A BRONZE DUCK SACRED TO THE GODDESS OF THE MARSH; NANSHE
By STACY LIBERATORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM 2 April 2020

Archaeologists uncovered a 5,000-year-old sacred plaza in Iraq that was used for rituals to appease a Mesopotamian warrior-god.

The team working at the site in Telloh believe it was used for feasts, animal sacrifices and other processions dedicated to Ningirsu – the hero god of war, hunting and weather. In side the pit were cups, bowls, jars and animals bones that experts say are the remains from animal sacrifices.

However, a bronze object shaped like a duck was also found that may have been dedicated to Nanshe, a goddess associated with water, marshlands and aquatic birds, LiveScience reported.

The ritual site is located in what was once Girus, which was city of ancient Sumer -one of the earliest cities in the world.

A sacred plaza has laid hidden in Iraq for 5,000 years that was used for rituals to appease a Mesopotamian warrior-god and a recent excavation has uncovered its gruesome past. Archaeologists working at the site in Telloh discovered the area was used for feasts, animal sacrifices and other processions dedicated to Ningirsu – the hero god of war, hunting and weather

The area has been of interests to archaeologists for years, as it holds important Sumerian remains and artifacts.

Recently experts have been investigating the center of Girsu where the temple of Ningirsu was once standing.


Here they have found over 300 ceremonial ceramic cups, bowls, jars and spouted vessels, all which have been damaged over time.

There was also a trove of animal bones hiding under the dirt, which archaeologists believe are remains from the animal sacrifices held in the ritual pit.

Here they have found over 300 ceremonial ceramic cups, bowls, jars and spouted vessels, all which have been damaged over time

There was also a trove of animal bones hiding under the dirt, which archaeologists believe are remains from the animal sacrifices held in the ritual pit

The cite was used some 5,000 years ago to appease a Mesopotamian war god

A bronze figurine that resembles a duck was also discovered, which the team, who told LiveScience in an email, believes may have been dedicated to Nanshe, a goddess associated with water, marshlands and aquatic birds, along with a vase inscribed with text about the goddess.

Sebastien Rey, director of the British Museum's Tello/Ancient Girsu Project, and Tina Greenfield, a zooarchaeologist at the University of Saskatchewan, led that excavation at the site.

The area has been of interests to archaeologists for years, as it holds important Sumerian remains and artifacts. Recently experts have been investigating the center of Girsu where the temple of Ningirsu was once standing

The ritual site is located in what was once Girus, which was city of ancient 

Sumer -one of the earliest cities in the world

Because a thick layer of ash was found lying the ground, the team speculates massive feasts were held in the area.

These clues connects the area to the place 'where according to the cuneiform texts religious festivals took place and where the population of Girsu gathered to feast and honour their gods,' Rey and Greenfield said in the email.

Clay tablets, also known as Cuneiform tablets found at Girsu describe residents holding religious ceremonies in the sacred plaza.

The text tells of a religious feast in honor of Ningirsu that was held twice throughout the year and lasted for three or four days, Rey and Greenfield explained.

WHAT WAS ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA?

A historical area of the Middle-East that spans most of what is now known as Iraq but also stretched to include parts of Syria and Turkey.

The term 'Mesopotamia' comes from Greek, meaning 'between two rivers'.

The two rivers that the name refers to are the Tigris river and the Euphrates.

Unlike many other empires (such as the Greeks and the Romans) Mesopotamia consisted of several different cultures and groups.

Mesopotamia should be more properly understood as a region that produced multiple empires and civilisations rather than any single civilisation.

Mesopotamia is known as the 'cradle of civilisation' primarily because of two developments: the invention of the 'city' as we know it today and the invention of writing.

Mesopotamia is an ancient region of the Middle-East that is most of

 modern-day Iraq and parts of other countries. They invented cities, 

the wheel and farming and gave women almost equal rights

Thought to be responsible for many early developments, it is also credited with the invention of the wheel.

They also gave the world the first mass domestication of animals, cultivated great swathes of land and invented tools and weaponry.

As well as these practical developments, the region saw the birth of wine, beer and demarcation of time into hours, minutes, and seconds.

It is thought that the fertile land between the two rivers allowed hunter-gathers a a comfortable existence which led to the agricultural revolution.

A common thread throughout the area was the equal treatment of women.

Women enjoyed nearly equal rights and could own land, file for divorce, own their own businesses, and make contracts in trade.

Landmark 'Broken Hill' skull fossil surprises scientists who find it is 'younger than thought' at just 300,000 years old

Skull is almost completely intact and was first found by miners in Zambia in 1921 

Analysis of the remains revealed it is most likely 299,000 years old 

Estimate indicates the individual lived more recently than previously thought

Reshapes timeline of ancient Africa to indicate Homo sapiens, Homo heidelbergensis and Homo naledi at the same time 

ANOTHER DISCOVERY IN THE MUSEUM STORAGE ROOMBy JOE PINKSTONE FOR MAILONLINE  1 April 2020

A skull which helped shape the understanding of human evolution when the fossil was first discovered almost a century ago has finally been dated by scientists.

The so-called Broken Hill skull belongs to the ancient human ancestor Homo heidelbergensis and is believed to be 300,000 years old.

The skull is one of the best-preserved fossils of the early human species and was previously thought to be 500,000 years old after being discovered in 1921 by miners in Zambia.

Dubbed Rhodesian Man when it was uncovered, it possesses primitive features such as a large face, flat forehead and huge brow ridges but it did have a large brain size.

The skull is currently on display at the Natural History Museum and fresh analysis revealed it to be far younger than previously thought.



The skull (pictured) , dubbed Rhodesian Man when it was discovered, possesses primitive features such as a large face, flat forehead and huge brow ridges. Its brain size fits in the range of our species

The new study estimates the fossil to be between 274,000 and 324,000 years old, with a best guess of 299,000 years.

Scientists said the skull, which represents a potential evolutionary link in the chain that led to modern humans, does not appear to share significant similarities with Homo sapiens.

Professor Chris Stringer from the Natural History Museum in London said: 'Through years of painstaking work including direct dating of the skull itself and other materials found around the Broken Hill site, I, geochronologist Rainer Grün, and other colleagues have produced a best age estimate of about 299,000 years for the Broken Hill skull.

'This is surprisingly young, as a fossil at about 300,000 years would be expected to show intermediate features between H. heidelbergensis and H. sapiens, but Broken Hill shows no significant features of our species.'

Scientists said the skull, which represents a potential evolutionary link in the chain that led to modern humans, does not appear to share significant similarities with Homo sapiens


The Natural History Museum's Professor Chris Stringer is seen holding the Broken Hill skull, Homo heidelbergensis, a fossil of an extinct human species found in Zambia in 1921

This indicates the species represented by the skull was unlikely to have been a direct ancestor of Homo sapiens as some had thought. Our species first appeared more than 300,000 years ago in Africa, later spreading worldwide.

Scientists initially assigned the skull to a species they called Homo rhodesiensis.

Most scientists now assign it to the species Homo heidelbergensis, which inhabited parts of Africa and Europe starting about 600,000 years ago.

Anthropologist Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London said its age indicates at least three human species inhabited Africa around 300,000 years ago: Homo sapiens in places like Morocco and Ethiopia, Homo heidelbergensis in south-central Africa, and Homo naledi in South Africa.

It suggests Africa may have been 'a melting pot' involving interbreeding among multiple human species, the researchers said.

'It's a surprisingly late age estimate, as a fossil at about 300,000 years might be expected to show intermediate features between Homo heidelbergensis and Homo sapiens, but Broken Hill shows no significant features of our species,' said Stringer, a study co-author.

'Also, the latest research suggests that the facial shape of Homo heidelbergensis fossils does not fit an ancestral pattern for our species.'

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT HOMO HEIDELBERGENSIS?

Homo heidelbergensis lived in Europe, between 650,000 and 300,000 years ago, just before Neanderthal man.

Homo heidelbergensis, shares features with both modern humans and our homo erectus ancestors.

The early human species had a very large browridge, and a larger braincase and flatter face than older early human species.

Homo heidelbergensis lived in Europe, between 650,000 and 300,000 years ago, just before Neanderthal man

It was the first early human species to live in colder climates, and had a ­­­short, wide body adapted to conserve heat.

It lived at the time of the oldest definite control of fire and use of wooden spears, and it was the first early human species to routinely hunt large animals.

This early human also broke new ground; it was the first species to build shelters, creating simple dwellings out of wood and rock.

Males were on average 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) and weighed 136lb (62kg) while females averaged 5 ft 2 in (157 cm) and weighed in at 112 lbs (51 kg).

Source: Smithsonian