Article Abstract:
The most recent DNA analyses suggest that the New World was populated by a single wave of migration that may have extended for several thousand years. Previously, a three-migration model had been widely accepted based on evidence from linguistics, dental morphology, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). A more recent mtDNA survey using a larger sample has led Andrew Merriwether of the University of Michigan to propose the single migration hypothesis. All nine lineage subtypes found in mtDNA sequences of Native Americans occur throughout the New World. Mongolians rather than Siberians provide the closest match to Native Americans based on mtDNA lineages.
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Article Abstract:
New innovations in genetic archaeology are rekindling the debate about human origins. One breakthrough, polymerase chain reaction, permits making unlimited copies of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragments. A second innovation is the ability to recover DNA from hard tissues such as bones and teeth. Data gathered in these ways is being examined to discover whether modern humans originated in Africa and spread to Europe and Asia, or if humans came from several regional Homo erectus populations.
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Article Abstract:
Byzantine church treasures looted during the occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkish forces in 1974 are being located, recovered and restored. Tens of thousands of icons, chalices, crucifixes, frescoes, mosaics and bibles were taken. Efforts of former thieves and arrested dealers in stolen goods have resulted in three major recoveries since the mid-1980s.
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