Archaeology News: April 4, 2012

Good Morning Ancient Diggers. There are so many interesting archaeology headlines today so grab a cup of tea or coffee and take some time to enjoy the discoveries.

Scientists studying 1,600-year-old cotton from the banks of the Nile have found what they believe is the first evidence that punctuated evolution has occurred in a major crop group within the relatively short history of plant domestication.

An international team led by the University of Toronto and Hebrew University has identified the earliest known evidence of the use of fire by human ancestors. Microscopic traces of wood ash, alongside animal bones and stone tools, were found in a layer dated to one million years ago at the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa.

An ancient Greek statue confiscated last month from suspected smugglers and described as «priceless» is actually a fake, a culture ministry source said on Tuesday.

Two decorated covers of coffins that once contained mummies have been seized by Israeli authorities, authenticated and dated to thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt.

The fighting in northern Mali could damage the World Heritage Site of Timbuktu, the UN's cultural agency Unesco has warned.

Further scientific investigation is needed to determine the age of a Neolithic skeleton recently found on Liang Island located some 200 miles west of Taiwan, according to the Council for Cultural Affairs April 2.

Tens of thousands of the indigenous Aboriginal rock art, which are scattered over the mineral-laden region, will be researched and catalogued under a six-year agreement between the University of Western Australia and miner Rio Tinto.