Leveraging a unique statistical analysis and applying it to ancient DNA extracted from human skeletal remains, a team of researchers has revealed new insights into how ancient Europeans adapted to their environments over 7,000 years of...
The Aztec skull whistle produces a shrill, screaming sound. A study shows that these whistles have a disturbing effect on the human brain. The Aztecs may have deliberately used this effect in sacrificial rituals.
Some of the first human beings to arrive in Tasmania, over 41,000 years ago, used fire to shape and manage the landscape, about 2,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Scholars for the first time identified chemical signatures of the components of a liquid concoction contained in a Bes mug. A new technique helped identify a sample flavored with honey, sesame seeds, pine nuts, licorice and grapes --...
New research exploring the roots of modern Japanese populations has linked the genetic signature of Jomon hunter-gatherers to a higher body mass index (BMI) among individuals, underlining that ancient human ancestors can leave a genetic...
A collection of perforated pebbles from an archaeological site in Israel may be spindle whorls, representing a key milestone in the development of rotational tools including wheels, according to a new study.
Researchers have used ancient DNA to challenge long-held interpretations of the people of Pompeii. Contrary to physical appearances, the DNA evidence revealed unexpected variations in gender and kinship, revising the story as written...
Ancient cultural burning practices carried out by Indigenous Australians limited fuel availability and prevented high intensity fires in southeastern Australia for thousands of years, according to new research.
With the 'time-traveling ability' of archaeogenetic studies it has become possible to shed light onto the dynamic past of human populations world-wide. Integrated with archaeological and anthropological data, it has been shown that...
A new study of human skeletal remains from the wreck of the 16th century English warship Mary Rose suggests that whether a person is right- versus left-handed may influence how their clavicle bone chemistry changes as they age.
Researchers used laser-guided imaging to uncover vast unexplored Maya settlements in Campeche, Mexico, revealing more than 6,500 pre-Hispanic structures, including a previously unknown large city with stone pyramids. Their study enhances...
Using new technology, researchers have been able to confirm the location of the world's oldest ochre mine and trace how ochre from the mine was dispersed to nearby communities.
A passage in the Norse Sverris Saga, the 800-year-old story of King Sverre Sigurdsson, describes a military raid that occurred in AD 1197, during which a body was thrown into a well at Sverresborg Castle, outside Trondheim in central...
The transition from water to land is one of the most significant events in the history of life on Earth. Now, a team of roboticists, palaeontologists and biologists is using robots to study how the ancestors of modern land animals...
Scientists analyzed hairs extracted from the broken teeth of two 19th century 'man-eater' lions. Their analysis revealed DNA from giraffe, human, oryx, waterbuck, wildebeest and zebra as prey, along with hairs that originated from the...
On a bright autumn afternoon, a plain wooden box crafted by a local cabinet shop containing skeletal remains was returned to its final resting place during a simple reburial ceremony in Brentwood. Researchers and students from the...
Studying microscopic layers of dirt dug from the Tam Pa Ling cave site in northeastern Laos has provided a team of archaeologists further insights into some of the earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in mainland Southeast Asia. The site,...
Archaeological surveys suggest that coastal and underwater cave sites in southern Sicily contain important new clues about the path and fate of early human migrants to the island.
A new study concludes that the Iberian culture (8th to 1st centuries BCE) newborns buried within domestic spaces died of natural causes, such as complications during labor or premature births, and not due to ritual practices. Researchers...
New research shows that the Vikings traveled more than 6,000 kilometers to the Arctic to hunt for walrus. DNA analyses reveal that walrus ivory from Greenland was brought to Europe and probably as far as the Middle East [M1] via...
Scientists successfully extracted and analyzed DNA from ancient cheese samples found alongside the Tarim Basin mummies in China, dating back approximately 3,600 years. The research suggests a new origin for kefir cheese and sheds light...
The skeletal remains of a senior officer of Sir John Franklin's 1845 Northwest Passage expedition have been identified using DNA and genealogical analyses.
A new, wide-ranging exploration of human remains casts doubt on a long-standing theory in archaeology known as the Kurgan hypothesis -- which, among other claims, suggests that humans first domesticated horses as early as the fourth...
Ancient DNA has provided spectacular insights into human history, particularly in Europe and Asia, where researchers have reconstructed the genomes of thousands of people. However, fewer than two dozen ancient genomes have been recovered...
New archaeological research has discovered for the first time clear links between fossils of the iconic Australian dingo, and dogs from East Asia and New Guinea.
Scientists have unravelled a mystery about the disappearance of dwarf hippos and elephants that once roamed the picturesque landscape on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus before palaeolithic humans arrived. Cyprus only had two species...
A new study challenges the theory that warrior groups with a 'Steppe' genetic component originating from Eastern Europe violently replaced the male population of the Iberian Peninsula some 4,200 years ago and presents a different...
Geologists examined a submerged 25-foot bridge to tackle a long-lasting archaeological controversy: When humans settled on the islands in the western Mediterranean. Their findings narrow a historical gap between the settlement timelines...
A new study showing how a prehistoric sea cow was preyed upon by not one, but two different carnivores -- a crocodilian and a shark -- is revealing clues into both the predation tactics of ancient creatures and the wider food chain...
A new study sheds light on how Viking Age societies in Norway and Denmark differed in their experiences with violence and the role social structures played in shaping those patterns.
An archaeogenetic study sheds new light on the isolated medieval community Las Gobas in northern Spain. Besides isolation and endogamy, the researchers have also identified the variola virus which can offer a new explanation on how...
New research has revealed how an underwater avalanche grew more than 100 times in size causing a massive trail of destruction as it traveled 2000km across the Atlantic Ocean seafloor off the North West coast of Africa. Researchers...
Archeologists say new findings might help resolve the debate about Clovis points and reshape how we think about what life was like roughly 13,000 years ago. After an extensive review of writings and artwork -- and an experiment with...
A new interpretation of the runic inscription on the Forsa Ring (Forsaringen in Swedish), provides fresh insights into the Viking Age monetary system and represents the oldest documented value record in Scandinavia. The inscription...
Since its discovery by modern researchers a century ago, an ancient structure known as the 'Christian building' has become widely considered the cornerstone of early Christian architecture. Constructed around 232 C.E. in the ancient city...
An archaeological strategy adapted for space used daily photos to reveal how astronauts actually use areas aboard the International Space Station -- and how this differs from intended uses.
The first-ever archeological survey in space has provided new insights into how astronauts use and adapt their living space on the International Space Station, which could influence the design of new space stations after the ISS is...
Markings on a stone pillar at a 12,000 year-old archaeological site in Turkey likely represent the world's oldest solar calendar, created as a memorial to a devastating comet strike, experts suggest.
Clues to future sea level rise have been revealed by the first detailed maps of the underside of a floating ice shelf in Antarctica. An international research team deployed an unmanned submersible beneath the Dotson Ice Shelf in West...
A pilot study shows that nanoscopic 3-D imaging of ancient bone not only provides further insight into the changes soft tissues undergo during fossilization, it also has potential as a fast, practical way to determine which specimens are...
An international research team has assembled the genome and 3D chromosomal structures of a 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth -- the first time such a feat has been achieved for any ancient DNA sample. The fossilized chromosomes, which are...
Ancient DNA from bones and teeth hints at a role of the plague in Stone Age population collapse. Contrary to previous beliefs, the plague may have diminished Europe's populations long before the major plague outbreaks of the Middle Ages,...
A trove of ancient plant remains excavated in Kenya helps explain the history of plant farming in equatorial eastern Africa, a region long thought to be important for early farming but where scant evidence from actual physical crops has...
A study of ancient dingo DNA revealed that the distribution of modern dingoes across Australia, including those on K'gari (formerly Fraser Island), pre-dates European colonization and interventions like the dingo-proof fence.
Archaeologists face a major challenge when they intend to acquire information about buildings or facilities of which only ruins remain. This was a particular challenge for the remnants of the Roman water mills in Barbegal in Southern...
Researchers have identified the likeliest timeline of the famous Hellenistic-era Kyrenia shipwreck, discovered and recovered off the north coast of Cyprus in the 1960s.