New paper on the chimpanzees by ASU Prof

I just posted over at Primatology.org an overview of a new paper entitled "Genetic structure of chimpanzee populations." It finds that the three large populations of chimps in Africa are not just separated by geographic features, but are in fact different genetic populations (and that the taxonomic designation of each of them as a subspecies is entirely valids).

One of the co-authors is Dr. Anne C. Stone, a member of the faculty here at Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change.

Dig Vicariously in Mesoamerica

If you want to look over the shoulders of a team of archaeologists excavating in Mesoamerica, then you should hop over to the Blog for the 2007 field season at Calixtlahuaca.

Dr. Michael Smith from Arizona State University is leading the multi-year project, and is one of the primary contributors to the blog.

A Postclassic urban center, the site is of particular interest because it includes well-preserved public architecture and residential zones.

I particularly enjoyed reading about the likely ancient name for the city, which Smith says was populated by non-Nahuatl speakers (the language of the Aztecs).

One last note: the site of Calixtlahuaca is the source of one of the only suspected European artifacts discovered in a precolumbian New World context: the Roman Figurine. Most agree that it is not a Roman artifact, but Romeo Hristov at the University of New Mexico hasn't given up hope.

[I've also posted this item at Anthropology.net.]