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Research led by the University of Leeds has discovered genetic evidence that overturns existing theories about human migration into Island Southeast Asia (covering the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysian Borneo) - taking the timeline back by nearly 10,000 years. Prevailing theory suggests that the present-day populations of Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) originate largely from a Neolithic expansion from Taiwan driven by rice agriculture about 4,000 years ago - the so-called "Out of Taiwan" model. However an international research team, led by the UK’s first Professor of Archaeogenetics, Martin Richards, has shown that a substantial fraction of their mitochondrial DNA lineages (inherited...

Archaeologists continue debate, search for battle site lost for centuries in Alabama It's out there. Somewhere underneath cat claw briars or mud flats or even modern subdivision tracts, there are shards of Spanish metal, burned clay and a palisaded wall waiting to be found, answering one of the South's famous mysteries: Where is Mauvilla? Historians gleaning descriptions from written accounts of Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto's expedition across the South say the earliest and bloodiest battle between Europeans and Indians happened at Mauvilla, a fortified village that researchers spell a variety of other ways, including Mabila and Mavila. It sat...

New weapon wielded in old tomb debate By REIJI YOSHIDA Staff writerInformation disclosure law reveals uncertainty over emperor's graves A law enacted six years ago has given historians a new powerful weapon to challenge a long-held taboo preserved by the Imperial Household Agency: investigating the secrets of ancient emperors' tombs. A booklet that assistant professor Noboru Koike found at a bookstore (below) and a copy of it obtained from the Imperial Household Agency suggest the agency had questions about the way some ancient tombs were linked to past emperors. The weapon is the public information disclosure law, which has allowed...