Ashleigh Murszewski

Unravelling the mysteries of the Mayans

Beneath the tropical rainforests of Guatemala lies what remains of ‘one of the foremost archaeological sites in the world’ (Sharer & Traxer, 1946). Its modern name is Tikal, but when it was one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya, it was known as Yax Mutul meaning "First Mutal".

Bones of the victims at Roman Herculaneum

Are human remains the archaeology of death or the archaeology of life? This strange paradox stated in Pearson (1999), addresses that the surviving bones, tissues and skin are more likely to reveal information about a person’s life, not a person’s death.

Global Implications for Homo Floresiensis

Excavations at Liang Bua Cave exhibit skeletal evidence of a new species named Homo floresiensis; grounded the mosaic of primitive and derived features.

Part II: Development of Behavioural Complexity

Language: a systematic means of communication. It may be the foremost feature when comparing Neanderthals to us as it is one factor which distinctly separates modern humans from animals. The cranial capacity of a Neanderthal man (1520cm3) is larger than that of a modern human (1400cm3) and can give indication into speech ability of these species (Jurmain et al., 2000).