The Tyrolean Iceman known as Otzi died in the Alps 5,000 years ago, but despite his relative youth, scientists have discovered that he has no genetic descendants.

Earlier study of the DNA showed that he belonged to the lineage, or “subhaplogroup,” known as K1. About 8% of modern Europeans belong to the K haplogroup, meaning that they share a common ancestor, and that group is divided into two “subhaplogroups,” K1 and K2. The K1 haplogroup, in turn, can be divided into three clusters.

In the new study, the researchers took advantage of advanced genome-sequencing technologies to shed more light on the Iceman’s genetics. They sequenced his entire mitochondrial genome and compared that sequence to other published human mitochondrial DNA sequences to construct his evolutionary (or phylogenetic) family tree.

“The surprise came when we found that the lineage of the Iceman did not fit any of the three known K1 clusters,” Rollo said. His team has informally named the newly discovered branch on the human family tree “Otzi’s branch.”

This is unexpected news. He’s not all that old, really. You’d think there’d be some direct genetic link between him and modern Europeans, but nope.

It seems he was a member of a genetic group that is extinct now, or at least so rare that scientists have yet to find it.

Archaeologists have long known that there was a burial ground in the ancient city of Himera, but they had no idea until recent construction in the area how gigantic it actually is.

“The necropolis is of an extraordinary beauty and notable dimensions,” Sicily’s regional councillor for culture, Antonello Antinoro, said Tuesday.

”Preliminary estimates indicate the presence of around 10,000 tombs, which gives the site a good claim to being one of the most important discoveries of recent years,” he said.

Among the most exciting finds are skeletons of newborn babies placed inside funerary amphorae along with the ancient version of babies’ beakers – small terracotta vases equipped with spouts to function as feeding bottles.

The tombs date from between the 6th and 5th c. B.C., and many contain skeletons that show signs of having seen the bad end of a battle or two. Some even have arrows still attached to them.

Himera was the site of two major battles with Carthage. The second battle in 409 B.C. ended up with Carthago doing the delendaing, which might explain why they needed a 10,000-tomb necropolis.

A team of Lebanese and Spanish archaeologists have uncovered a large cache of earthenware jars dating to the Phoenician era.

They weren’t for commercial use, though. No Tyrean purple destined for royal garments in those jars.

“The big jars are like individual tombs. The smaller jars are left empty, but symbolically represent that a soul is stored in them,” Ali Badawi, the archaeologist in charge in Tire, told Reuters Wednesday. […]

“These discoveries help researchers who work on past Phoenician colonies in Spain, Italy and Tunisia, to pin down a large number of their habits and traditions,” said Maria Eugenia Aubet, who leads the Spanish team.

War has taken a harsh toll on Lebanon’s efforts to uncover its rich history. This site has only recently seen work start up again. The last excavation before this was in 2005, before the war between Israel and Hezbollah made southern Lebanon too hot to handle.

The base of it anyway. It’s 16 feet high now, but Zahi Hawass, the indomitable secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, speculates that it was 50 feet plus when it was whole.

It’s ca. 4,300 years old, and Hawass thinks it was built for one Queen Sesheshet.

Hawass said that the ancient pyramid, the 118th to be found in Egypt, may be that of Teti’s mother because two of the Pharaoh’s wives are buried nearby in the necropolis. The archaeologists working on the site will only know for sure that it is Sesheshet once they enter the burial chamber and find inscriptions, Hawass said. It’s unlikely that they will find any treasure inside as there are signs that thieves from ancient times hacked into the structure by digging a shaft, he said.

References to Queen Sesheshet have been found in ancient papyrus texts. In one of them, the queen made a request to doctors to find her a cure for hair loss, Hawass said. It’s not clear if she was ever given one.

What, they didn’t have Rogaine made from scarabs and Nile silt?

Anyway, another supercool thing about this find is that there are large fragments of the casing still extant. The Great Pyramid of Giza has some of the casings visible down at the base, but most of the beautifully decorated limestone was either destroyed by earthquakes or by people who reused the casings to build something new over the years.