At www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/63888/description/Ancient_New_Guinea/ ... it seems that people in what is now New Guinea nearly 50,000 years ago fashioned stone tools known as 'waisted axes' which used their body as well as their arms to fell trees and clear patches of forest in a mountain valley deep in the interior of New Guinea - and yet they aren't thought to have practised horticulture or garden agriculture until around 10,000 years ago.

This is a story that has popped up in a variety of media sources and on the blogosphere - including Science Daily. This version of the story is at www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-cosmic-rays-20101001,0,454358,print,stp the web site of the Los Angeles Times, and concerns the IBEX satellite orbiting the Earth in order to study the solar system heliosphere, the invisible bubble that exists beyond the planets.

At www.physorg.com/print204991757.html (and variously at www.sciencedaily.com and http://geology.com ) at first reflection we seem to have another example of scientists rejecting a new theory without investigating the claims. A paper in October's Current Anthropology by two archaeologists says, '.. in so far as concerns the archaeological record, an extraterrestrial impact is an unneccessary solution for an archaeological problem that does not exist'.

SIS member Gary Gilligan sent this link in - www.gks.uk.com/gks18/ which might not be everyone's cup of tea but is worth taking a look at. I don't know if the translations, as given, are wholly credible - but take a peek and see what you think. It begins by analysing the name of Naram Sin, the Akkadian king. The last element is that of the god Sin that gave its name to Sinai, as an example. It is usually regarded as the Moon - but this is arguable.