This week in science: Archaeology fakes, hurricanes and lizards, and heat health effects - NPR

In archaeology, discoveries typically prompt more questions than answers. For Max Lehman, who studies Pre-Columbian art history, what we don’t know—and may never—about ancient peoples and civilizations is what makes the discipline so compelling. The ancient Mayans, for example, bedecked their elaborate temples with images on carved rock slabs, and the Aztec sun stone, or calendar stone, is a remarkable example of Mexica sculpture. Lehman’s work has one foot in the advanced civilizations of the past and another in the distant future, a time long after today’s developments around robotic and machine learning technologies. His current show Ancestral Androids at Hecho a Mano delves into a kind of future past inspired by science fiction, where modern tech and prehistoric visual culture merge in unexpected and idiosyncratic ways.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher Isaiah Santistevan led the development of three-dimensional simulations exploring how a nuclear device could deflect or disrupt an asteroid threatening Earth. Credit: Blaise Douros/LLNL Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers are developing three-dimensional simulations to examine how a nuclear device could be used to deflect or potentially disrupt an asteroid threatening Earth.