September/October 2015 Issue

AUSTRALIA: In 1916, Australian soldiers were preparing to make their name on the world stage, fighting for the Allies in WWI (such as at Gallipoli, shown here). But first they had to train for the trenches. Near Canberra, archaeologists have uncovered evidence of this preparation. Using aerial photos, researchers identified and have begun to excavate an area where Australian soldiers dug training trenches. Their dig is revealing how the military experimented with trench styles, and then trained soldiers to re-create them in the field. —Samir S. Patel

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Mummies are created around the world, usually by some form of drying. Among the Anga people of the Aseki region, mummies are smoked. Until recently, the Anga smoked the deceased and displayed their bodies on cliffsides out of reverence and to mark territory, but exposure to the elements has left them deteriorated. Researchers from the United States and Canada recently helped conserve one, a leader named Moimango, using materials found in the jungle. The project was a success, and Moimango now sits again in the cliffside roost where he has overseen his descendants for some 60 years. —Samir S. Patel

LAOS: Skull fragments recovered from a cave represent the earliest known modern human in Southeast Asia. Between 46,000 and 63,000 years old, the find is better dated and more clearly modern than similar fossils that have been found in East Asia. The bone was found in the north of the country, which suggests that the previous assumption that early modern humans migrated solely along the coast is incomplete, and that they spread into a range of environments early in the migration out of Africa. —Samir S. Patel