New findings suggest that the ancient human “cousin” known as the “Nutcracker Man” wasn’t regularly eating anything like nuts after all. Researchers used a combination of microscopy and fractal analysis to examine marks on the teeth of members of an ancient human ancestor species and found that what it actually ate does not correspond with the size and shape of its teeth. This finding suggests that structure alone is not enough to predict dietary preferences and that evolutionary adaptation for eating may have been based on scarcity rather than on an animal’s regular diet.
Enhancements have been made to The National Archives Global Search facility. The award-winning search engine searches all the databases on TNA’s website and can be accessed from the home page http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Improvements include: the addition of new resources, such as the Your Archives wiki and relevant books held by TNA Library; improvements to design based on customer feedback, and finally, and most importantly, cutting edge technology allows additional filtering and more targeted searching so that the search engine will make suggestions to you about how to refine your search. The problem with the original global search was that it was very difficult to narrow down what you wanted. Now it is easier, but still not perfect. Take for example my attempt to find files about canteens run by the NAAFI for the Army. A general search turns up 271 entries, including a Your Archives list of sources for records about the wartime ENSA (‘Every Night Something Awful’) entertainments service and a history in the library. Click on ‘refine search’ you can break down the search by year, by some thirty broad subjects (‘armed forces’, ‘government’ looked the most useful for the NAAFI search) or by database (‘Access to Archives’, ‘Bookshop’, ‘Moving Here’ etc). Curiously you can search the 1851 census but none of the others. But it wouldn’t let me easily just find War Office files relating to the NAAFI. By trial and error I found that to do this you needed to enter both NAAFI and War Office as search terms or, taking the low tech approach, plough through all 108 files found with just the armed forces filter turned on. Another search, just using the A2A, came up with 83 entries for records in local archives from Plymouth to Leeds. In conclusion it is much better than the first edition, but it still not always intuitive and the help pages in particular are unhelpful. It’s real use is to get an idea of what is available for a particular search across archives, large and small, in England (and to a lesser extent Wales, Scotland and Ireland).
Putting more meat on the theory that dinosaurs’ closest living relatives are modern-day birds, molecular analysis of a shred of 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex protein — along with that of 21 modern species — confirms that dinosaurs share common ancestry with chickens, ostriches, and to a lesser extent, alligators.
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The second batch of WW1 service records for soldiers is now available online. They are for men with surnames letters D-H. The best way to get access to these records is via http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/militaryhistory/?source=ddmenu_research0_e
I’ve just came across the new Old Bailey Proceedings site http://www.oldbaileyonline.org.uk. The original site (with a different URL) had fully searchable transcripts of trials which took place at the Old Bailey between about 1674 and 1834. It has now been extended to November 1913 when the proceedings end. The new trials have a different character than those from the earlier period. There are fewer cases of certain types of theft (animal theft, highway robbery, and shoplifting), but more cases of embezzlement, robbery, theft from the post, and property crimes involving deception (bankruptcy, forgery, and fraud). With respect to violent crimes, there are fewer murders but more cases of manslaughter, and more cases of minor violence such as assault, threatening behaviour, and wounding. In addition Ordinary’s Accounts published between 1690 and 1772 are now available. These richly detailed narratives of the lives and deaths of convicts executed at Tyburn have been linked to the relevant trials. Searching always was easy, but you can now search by key word as well as by person. The results can be revealing. For example, I’ve done some research for an article on dangerous drugs in the first half of the 20th century. Historians have suggested that the cocaine habit only really arrived with Canadian troops during the First World War. Yet, typing in ‘cocaine’ reveals at least two defendants who admitted to being "cocaine maniacs" in the early 1900s – at least a decade earlier than previously thought. The keyword also brings up a transcript of the trial of Hawley Harvey Crippen. In addition there are new background notes and you can search for crimes by street – using a neat little map. Click on Myddelton Street -the former home of the Family Records Centre, for example – and crimes which happened in the street come up (all thefts in the early 1830s). In short this is a superb resource for anybody who has an ancestor in London, interested in the capital’s local history or wants to put flesh on Henry Mayhew’s (and other writers) accounts of poverty and criminality in the metropolis.
I’ve been a bit remiss posting interesting websites – unfortunately running a magazine has to take priority. So here’s a miscellanea of recent sites I’ve come across. First up is Hertfordshire Names Online http://www.hertsdirect.org/libsleisure/heritage1/HALS, which is an online index to half a dozen or so indexes held by the Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies (HALS) including apprentices’ indentures, marriages, coroner’s reports, photographs from a selection of local papers and biographies of men from the Royston area who fought in the First World War. Despite the title you can search by place or keyword, which also makes it very useful for local historians. And if you can’t get to Hertford you can request a quote for copies of the items you are interested in. Too late for inclusion in the list of websites on MIs which accompanied the piece on NAOMI in May’s magazine was Gravestone Photographs http://www.gravestonephotos.com. The site provides a transcript of the genealogical information on the tombstone. It is possible to request a free photograph of the stone itself. Coverage is very patchy, but if you do find a parish you are interested in it could be very useful. Across the Irish Sea, Roscommon Historical Research http://www.roscommonhistory.ie is building up a history of the county. It is all a bit random with an emphasis on the modern rather than the old, and the Genealogy pages are still under construction, but there is some nice ephemera (bill heads, election material and the like). If you are researching Irish ancestry then you might like to know that Ancestry has put up indexes to Griffith’s Valuation and the Tithe Applotment Books http://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/rectype/alldblist.aspx. These are essential census surrogates as they provide many lists of landowners and tenants about the time of the Great Famine. I’m surprised they didn’t make more of this as they really are a key resource for Irish genealogy [later note - I have received a press release about the records which they will formally launch on 23 April]. Ancestry are also trialling a new search facility which at a cursory glance seems rather better than the old one, which I always found difficult to use. As you know I’m always happy to feature sites you recommend or are running, so keep suggestions coming.
New subscribers to Ancestors at the Who Do You Think You Are Live! Show will receive a free pedigree chart courtesy of Maxbal worth £7.50. Maxbal Genealogy is a leader in producing high quality family tree charts for displaying family history with one of the widest ranges of blank, personalised and custom designs available. The personalised charts offer a wide range of standard designs printed with you own family information and bridge the gap between a "you fill it in " blank chart and a full custom design.
Maxbal’s website has a range of products which now include custom designed charts printed on canvas. More details at http://www.maxbal.co.uk.
The Who Do You Think Show takes place at Kensington Olympia between 2 and 4 May. Ancestors Magazine will be sharing The National Archives stand no 175. Details at http://www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com. Incidentally, I will be there on the Saturday and Penny Law, the Deputy Editor, on Friday and Saturday – look out for us.
Fossilised faeces from a cave in Oregeon is linked to early Native Americans of east-Asian ancestry
World War II-era physiologists helped solve physiological problems related to flight, research that helped pave the way for an Allied victory in the air. Physiologists trained a 145-pound St. Bernard dog, Major, to parachute — simulating the jump of a man. Major wore protective clothing and an oxygen mask and dog paddled during his descent.
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Researchers have developed a technique to detect the ancestry of disease genes in mixed human populations. The technique determines how a set of DNA markers shows the ancestral origin of locations on each chromosome. The team constructed an algorithm for the technique that selects panels of DNA markers that render the best picture of ancestral origin of disease genes.
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