A row is brewing over the bones of hobbit-sized humans unearthed in Indonesia after a prominent researcher borrowed the remains, upsetting local and Australian scientists who found them.
The remains of Homo floresiensis were found in a cave on the remote island of Flores in 2003.
Some Indonesian researchers have complained the project has been hijacked by foreigners and that they have not been given access.
Dr. Teuku Jacob laments the conclusions drawn about the remains:
(Hattip: Football Fans For Truth)
Tut Update Part Deux (NPR) Interviews: Zahi Hawass, Egyptologist
Hawass, who is also the director if the Giza and Saqqara pyramid sites, says 2005 will be "a very good year for King Tut.
"It will bring back all the memories," he tells Chadwick. "If you ask an American, he will tell you exactly when did he go, what day to visit the (first) exhibit -- whom was with him, his girlfriend or his father or his mother. It is... a memory that cannot be forgotten, and therefore I can say King Tut, or Tutankhamun, is back."
Includes a link to the actual interview (audio) and a gallery of images.
Archaeology Looking to Future, Says Visiting Professor
WHILE archaeology is the study of the past, today it is the future that is challenging those in the field.
According to leading American-based archaeologist Professor Brian Fagan, if thinking about the future is not a priority then much of the past could well be lost.
"Archaeology is changing and we really are at a turning point. Worldwide there is a lot of debate going on," said Prof Fagan who arrived in New Plymouth yesterday.
He said it was vital archaeological sites and resources were well managed to ensure their future.
As long-time readers know, this is a subject we return to as often as we can. Both the archaeological community and the piblic at large must start to think about the long-term conservation of both sites and already-excavated artifacts. As Rene Belloq (Raiders) put it: "We are simply passing through history; this is history."