(One of the largest concentrations of hematite found in Site C at a place called the Belvedere, in Maastricht (Netherlands), contrasts with the background of stream sediment silt deposited by the Meuse to the Paleolithic.)

Red spots in the silt and the history of intelligence could be changed: discoveries in Maastricht, the Netherlands, these spots suggest that early Neanderthals engaged in symbolic activities long before modern man, Homo sapiens .

Conceptual thought leaves no archaeological traces. To apprehend, prehistorians … use the concept of “symbolic thinking”, that is to say, thought by symbols. A symbol is an object, word, sign, etc.. that represents something. For prehistorians, symbols play somewhat the role of concepts as children. And material symbols – the first head body ornaments – can leave archaeological traces. This explains why the dress is considered by prehistorians as a marker of symbolic thought, and hence, the emergence of modern thought.

The track of symbolic thought dated back so far in South Africa during the Middle Paleolithic (there are between 200,000 years and 30,000 years in Africa) and especially the site of Blombos Cave, where blocks of ocher striped lines, drilled shells impregnated with ocher and foliate bifacial retouched by pressure point to the existence of elaborate technical and artistic activities, so symbolic, since 75 000 years for Homo sapiens. 

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He was a relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex but was the size of a large parrot and one large finger the new dinosaur found in Inner Mongolia by an international group of researchers, which gives the news in an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ( PNAS ).

The new dinosaur – named Linhenykus monodactylus , named after the city of Linh. near the site of the discovery – belongs to Alvarezsauroidea, carnivorous dinosaurs of the group of theropods, which includes fearsome predators like Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor , and a branch of which has subsequently given rise to today’s birds.

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According to the results of a new study, this agile creature attacked and retreated again and again, quite accurate beaten to his prey.

This is the first detailed investigation on the style of predatory attack by a member of an extinct group of large birds, flightless but with a scary skull and often huge dimensions.

These birds evolved about 60 million years, isolated in South America, an island-continent until the last few million years, and have branched out into about 18 known species of varying sizes. Most of them, the Kelenken, reaching 2.1 meters in height.

As these birds have no analogues among terrifying modern birds, their habits of life have been a mystery.

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Inhabited the lost continent of LARAMID in the Late Cretaceous , were herbivores, of considerable size and with a great horn similar to that of Triceratops : this is what is known of the dinosaurs whose fossils were discovered in Grand Staircase- Escalante National Monument , in southern Utah (United States ) and are described in an article published in the journal online open access PLoSONE.

For most of the Late Cretaceous , the seas reached exceptionally high levels , invading the most depressed regions of many continents throughout the world. In North America, a sea warm shallow called the Western Interior Seaway stretched from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico, dividing the continent into two parts along a longitudinal axis , known respectively by the names of Appalachia and LARAMID.

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In what is an unprecedented discovery, a team of researchers from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, has been unearthed in the cave floor very well preserved fossils of the extinct marsupial Nimbadon lavarackorum, along with the remains of other ancient animals.

By comparing the skulls of 26 different individuals of Nimbadon who died in the cave in different stages of life, the team has failed to demonstrate that the young of the species was developed largely in the same way that existing marsupials. Probably born after only one month of pregnancy and crawled to the bag of the mother there to complete their initial development.

The team has led Karen Black, School of Biological Sciences, Earth and Environmental.

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Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a detailed 3D model of the only existing sample fossil of a unique creature , called Drakozoon lived in the oceans during the Cambrian period , between 444 and 416 million years ago. The research is described in an article in the magazine Biology Letters.

Finding remains of invertebrate animals without exoskeleton is an exceptional event , because normally decompose much faster than required because we realize the taphonomic processes . The sample of Drakozoon came to us thanks to a volcanic eruption that produced a significant amount of ash that are heavily and quickly impact the area where the animal lived , now a site rich in fossils in Herefordshire , UK .

about three millimeters long , Drakozoon had a slightly conical shape and was probably with a ” cap ” tough , it could use to hide from predators , and ” tentacles ” filamentary useful for capturing organic particles in water, which they feed.

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Fossils dating back 2.1 billion years and having all the characteristics of multicellular organisms. This was discovered by an international team Abderrazak El Albani hydrase Laboratory ( CNRS -University of Poitiers ), in a clay quarry exploited black Franceville in the south – eastern Gabon.

Around 250 fossils of 10-120 mm long, were excavated. All are made of pyrite , ie iron disulfide (FeS₂ ) . This composition is consistent with a process of fossilization in an environment rich in iron , produced by bacteria derive their energy from sulfate reduction. The analysis of isotopes of carbon and sulfur showed that the samples represented an entity of organic origin in the sediment. Above all , the microtomography ( CT ) at high resolution highlighted in different specimens developed an internal organization .

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The size and shape of teeth made him more vulnerable to fracture Compared with the current tusks Characteristics of the cats.

The slopes Obtained from bones and teeth Suggest That the beast is worth of Their forelimbs, plus of course historical tusks, to trap and kill Their prey.

The cats Have Fangs theme today rounded section, so as to withstand the forces on all directions. No matter WHERE the prey in Their Struggle to pull escape, it is Unlikely That the tusks are broken.
By contrast, the long tusks know-toothed tigers Were oval in cross section, Which made them more Likely to break Than Their cousins of conical teeth. Have Many scientists conclude, Therefore, That the know-toothed tigers Were Killed Their prey Differently Than Other cats do.

And That Different way of killing has finally Been Profiled in the new study. The Investigators’ conclusion is the toothed tigers know That Used Their forelimbs for prey and the muscle immobilizer Malthus Protect Their teeth from a broken Caused by a sudden victim of the Movement.

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The project coordinator, Beatriz Prieto Lamas, explains that one of the main problems affecting the heritage is the biological colonization. “This is algae and cyanobacteria, which are popularly known by the name scum” Says the researcher.

When these organisms are deposited on the stone, to carry out photosynthesis, produce a greenish color. Thus, quantifying this color is possible to detect and quantify the organisms, ie, if they are present in a given space and in what quantity. This represents a breakthrough because “so far was necessary to take samples and microbiological analysis of organisms, which is very tedious and time consuming. Also, avoid sampling in order to protect the heritage, “said Prieto.

The team has finalized a new methodology to quantify the biological colonization granite buildings, based on the realization of measures of color. This method avoids sampling, so that measures can be performed directly in the building and get results immediately.

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Dana Royer of Wesleyan University, Connecticut, and his colleagues wanted to determine whether it is possible to identify aspects of the life cycle of a plant fossil, such as its growth strategy based on their morphology rather than from parent has received. Questions were raised whether this technique could confirm the suspicion that these primitive plants were fast-growing species, and answer the question of how common the plant was 100 million years ago the strategy of its life cycle.

The study authors conducted a series of analysis that led to the measurement of 179 fossil specimens of 30 species from three paleontological sites of between 105 and 110 million years old located in areas other than the United States.

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