news 2012

The first unequivocal evidence that humans in prehistoric Northern Europe made cheese more than 7,000 years ago is described in research by an international team of scientists, led by the University of Bristol, published today in Nature. By analysing fatty acids extracted from unglazed pottery pierced with small holes excavated from archaeological sites in Poland, the researchers showed that dairy products were processed in these ceramic vessels.

Researchers involved in a new study led by Oxford University have found that between three million and 3.5 million years ago, the diet of our very early ancestors in central Africa is likely to have consisted mainly of tropical grasses and sedges. The findings are published in the early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .

Medieval objects including a 4,000 year old Bronze Age arrowhead have been uncovered in East Oxford after five weeks of digging and research by archaeologists, local volunteers and university staff. Archeox (the Archaeology of East Oxford Community Project) has been excavating a medieval nunnery at Minchery Paddock, between Blackbird Leys and Littlemore.

University Home Analysing ancient footprints in major BBC series Professor Robin Crompton, from the University's Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease , will appear in the final episode of the major BBC series, Prehistoric Autopsy , to discuss how ancient footprints found in Laetoli, Tanzania, could explain the history of human walking.

Illuminated manuscripts are revealing their secret histories thanks to the application of techniques more commonly found in scientific laboratories. Art historical and linguistic research can take you a long way towards answering questions but scientific analysis can clinch arguments and dispel myths." —Dr Stella Panayotova Fairy-tale pinnacles stretch to the horizon in an azure sky, scarlet flags flutter, an angel plays a golden horn, and the Madonna, shrouded in folds of tumbling ivory, serenely cradles her newborn baby.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham studying New Caledonian crows have discovered why these birds, which are famed for their intelligence, are able to use tools with such accuracy. The answer lies in their vision, according to research published today (9 October 2012) .

The material remains of the First World War on the British Home Front will be investigated by researchers at the University of Bristol and the University of York, thanks to £39,500 funding from English Heritage. The material remains of the First World War on the British Home Front will be investigated by researchers at the University of Bristol and the University of York, thanks to £39,500 funding from English Heritage.

In the last decade a raft of legislation has attempted to bring about equality for people of all religions and beliefs within British society. A University of Derby-led research team who have been investigating what and how much has really changed over this decade will present their preliminary findings at a series of workshops around the UK this autumn.

German Idealism changed the world and influenced politics. art and numerous other fields. The ways in which it shaped the modern world have been the subject of a three-year research project, which reaches its conclusion in Cambridge this week. —Nick Boyle The culmination of an international project which aims to trace the legacy of German Idealism – an explosion of philosophical ideas which emerged from Germany during the 19th century – begins in Cambridge today (Thursday, 6 September).

An ancient Italian town whose remains are buried beneath the earth has been mapped by a team of researchers, revealing evidence of a bustling social and economic settlement 1,500 years ago. Having the complete streetplan and being able to pick out individual details allows us to start zoning the settlement and examine how it worked and changed through time." —Martin Millett An ancient Italian town, which disappeared after its abandonment 1

An archaeologist from the University of Sheffield has revealed the origin and trading routes of razor-sharp stone tools 4,200 years ago in Syria. Ancient sites and cultural heritage are under threat in Syria due to the current conflict. An interdisciplinary research team hopes this new discovery, which has major implications for understanding the world's first empire, will help to highlight the importance of protecting Syria's heritage.

Excavations at Britain's largest prehistoric hillfort have given archaeologists from Cardiff and Cambridge universities a glimpse of what life was like inside the fort more than 2000 years ago. Niall Sharples of Cardiff's School of History, Archaeology and Religion and Chris Evans of Cambridge's Archaeological Unit are jointly leading a team excavating Ham Hill in Somerset.

A second season of excavations at Britain's biggest Iron Age hill-fort has uncovered remains of Roman weaponry, and the site of the first "ham stone" house. The fort's construction marked a major transformation of the landscape as a considerable area of farmland had to be abandoned." —Chris Evans, Cambridge Archaeological Unit.

A newly-discovered manuscript may represent Edward Gibbon's earliest experiment in the irony for which he would become famous, an Oxford University English academic has found. Professor David Womersley of Oxford University's English Faculty discovered the manuscript written by the 19-year old Edward Gibbon, which had been left in the attic of a house in Lausanne for many years.

Exciting new fossils discovered east of Lake Turkana confirm that there were two additional species of our genus - Homo - living alongside our direct human ancestral species, Homo erectus , almost two million years ago. The finds, announced in Nature today, include a face, a remarkably complete lower jaw, and part of a second lower jaw.

Studies of how rats and ants rescue other members of their species do not prove that animals other than humans have empathy, according to a team led by Oxford University scientists. Empathy - recognising and sharing feelings experienced by another individual - is a key human trait and to understand its evolution numerous studies have looked for evidence of it in non-human animals.

Community policing methods - based on dialogue, support and trust - are significantly helping counter-terrorism efforts in post 7/7 Britain, new research at the University of Birmingham has revealed. Researchers looked at the effective use of partnership work with Muslim groups, including those deemed as 'radicals', in so called 'soft' policing methods, and found that the increased trust and access to community-based expertise is helping to prevent extremist propaganda and acts of violence.

Ceramics found on the coast of the Adriatic attest to a hitherto unknown artistic culture which flourished during the last Ice Age, thousands of years before pottery was commonly used. We are starting to see that several distinct Palaeolithic societies made art from ceramic materials long before the Neolithic era, when ceramics became more common." —Preston Miracle Evidence of a community of prehistoric artists and craftspeople who "invented" ceramics during the last Ice Age - thousands of years before pottery became commonplace – has been found in modern-day Croatia.

Models to accurately predict the future of military conflicts based on classified information from the Afghan war revealed by whistleblower website Wikileaks have been created by scientists at the University of Sheffield. Using war logs with about 77,000 events including location, day and time of occurrence and other details from the war in Afghanistan between 2004 and 2009, the team of scientists - including scientists from the universities of Edinburgh and Columbia, USA - were able to predict armed opposition group activity way into the future of the battle.

The traditional image of Neanderthals as gritty people who spent most of their time out hunting might not be entirely accurate, according to a new study revealing that they may have had to devote hours to daily subsistence tasks instead. —Colin Shaw Our extinct prehistoric cousins, the Neanderthals, may have spent less of their time living the rugged life of the hunter and more of it carrying out tedious domestic chores, a new study suggests.