The study of the Past’s dynamic character is exemplified by a find that just may prove an old legend true…to a point. Neil Prior has the story how two scholars combined possibly to uncover “Fact within Folklore.” Now a medieval map has been uncovered that seems to confirm a Welsh legend of a lost land. Elsewhere, a combination of archaeology and genetic study “rewrites the textbooks on why drinking milk was an advantage,” per the lead author of a new study. What’s more, as Smithsonian Magazine Science Correspondent Brian Handwerk explains, the finding nourishes a batch of theories on just Why Did Europeans Evolve Into Becoming Lactose Tolerant? And here’s a new twist on how archaeology can help with modern problems: consult Marc Galdes’ Shipwrecks Could Act as Benchmarks to Measure Marine Litter – Maltese Marine Archaeologist. It happens that Underwater Cultural Heritage sites may presently be better gauges of submarine pollution than projected deep-water surveying. And the University of Queensland may have solved an issue that’s weighed heavily on the minds of palaeontologists for decades: see Prehistoric Podiatry: How Dinos Carried Their Enormous Weight. And we’re talking sauropods here, “like Brontosaurus and Diplodocus,” for goodness’ sake—but the method behind this determination should have wide application to other extinct animals. (WM)
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