This past year was an exciting one for archaeology, with scientists using cutting-edge technology to learn about humans and our close extinct relatives.
The array of tools available to archaeologists is impressive. One is lidar (light detection and ranging), which involves shooting lasers from an aircraft to map the ground's topography, which was used to discover ancient settlements hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest in January. Meanwhile scientists studying a Neanderthal's crushed remains in Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan analyzed the proteins in the deceased's tooth enamel and found that she was female, which helped experts create a facial reconstruction of her.
