* Astronomy

Swedish archaeologists have uncovered signs of a Viking precursor to Mickey Mouse. Among the objects found during excavations at Uppåkra in southern Sweden is an iron age figure bearing a strong resemblance to the classic cartoon character.
But archaeologist Jerry Rosenberg from Lund University is confident that the bronze brooch - used as a clasp to fasten women's clothing - was in fact intended to represent a Lion King rather than a mere mouse.

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Archaeologists from the Group of Recent Prehistoric Studies (GEPRAN) of the Universidad de Granada, Spain, have reconstructed for the first time, in a scientific and systematic way, life in the Bronze Age in the site of La Motilla del Azuer, La Mancha (Spain).

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Hill of Tara in world's top 100 endangered heritage sites
Ireland's ancient Hill of Tara, once the seat of the high kings, was today named one of the world's 100 most endangered heritage sites.
The New York-based World Monument Fund placed Tara on its crisis list after campaigns and court battles failed to reroute a controversial motorway away from it.
Since 1965, the body has saved 420 irreplaceable sites around the world, including the ancient Buddhist temple of Preah Khan at Angkor, Cambodia, built in 1191.

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A prehistoric hunter known as Oetzi whose well-preserved body was found on a snow-covered mountain in the Alps died more than 5,000 years ago after being struck in the back by an arrow, scientists said in an article published Wednesday.
Researchers from Switzerland and Italy used newly developed medical scanners to examine the hunter's frozen corpse to determine that the arrow had torn a hole in an artery beneath his left collarbone, leading to a massive loss of blood.
That, in turn, caused Oetzi to go into shock and suffer a heart attack, according to the article published online in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Even today, the chances of surviving such an injury long enough to receive hospital treatment are only 40 percent, according to the article.
Oetzi, also known as the Iceman, caused a sensation after his body was discovered by hikers in 1991 on a glacier 10,500 feet above sea level on the border between Austria and Italy.
The body has provided researchers with a wealth of information about the late Neolithic Age, or 3,300 to 3,100 B.C. Archaeologists believe Oetzi, who was carrying a bow, a quiver of arrows and a copper axe, may have been a hunter or warrior killed in a skirmish with a rival tribe.
The fact that the arrow's shaft was pulled out before his death may have worsened the injury, said Frank Ruehli of the University of Zurich, who carried out the research with scientists from Bolzano, Italy, where the iceman's body is preserved.
The findings confirm earlier suspicions that linked the arrowhead embedded in Oetzi's body with his death, and virtually rule out other theories that he had been the victim of a ritual sacrifice or had gotten caught in a storm.
The use of high-resolution computer tomography - normally used to diagnose living patients - allowed the researchers to create three-dimensional images of Oetzi without having to use surgical procedures that would have damaged the body.

"They've applied non-invasive techniques from medical imaging to a specific question and have confirmed that it was the arrow which killed Oetzi, without having to thaw him out. I think it's very illustrative of the importance of these new techniques to science" - Dean Falk, professor of anthropology at Florida State University,  who had previously studied the corpse but did not take part in the latest research.

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