There’s “no convincing scientific evidence” behind the extraordinary claims that the ancient human relative Homo naledi deliberately buried their dead and engraved rocks deep in a South African cave around 300,000 years ago, a group of archaeologists argues in a new commentary....
A 4,000-year-old stone-lined tomb discovered during construction work in Norway may provide new clues about the first farmers who settled the region, archaeologists say....
Stone Age people in Belgium were hunting with spear-throwers more than 30,000 years ago — the earliest known evidence of such a weapon in Europe, a new study suggests....
Ancient headless skeletons recovered from mass graves in China are the remains of victims who were massacred around 4,100 years ago in headhunting events, including the largest on record from Neolithic Asia, a new study finds....
While excavating an ancient Egyptian cemetery, archaeologists made a rare discovery: an ovarian tumor nestled in the pelvis of a woman who died more than three millennia ago. The tumor, a bony mass with two teeth, is the oldest known example of a teratoma, a rare type of tumor that typically occurs in ovaries or testicles....
In 1908, a group of Catholic priests discovered what looked like the skeletal remains of a man buried inside a cave in La Chapelle-aux-Saints, a commune in south-central France. The nearly complete skeleton lacked several teeth, earning him the nickname the “old man.”...
The hunter-gatherers who settled on the banks of the Haine, a river in southern Belgium, 31,000 years ago were already using spearthrowers to hunt their game. This is the finding of a new study conducted at TraceoLab at the University of Liège....
A re-analysis of more than 300 sets of 5,000-year-old skeletal remains excavated from a site in Spain suggests that many of the individuals may have been casualties of the earliest period of warfare in Europe, occurring over 1,000 years before the previous earliest known larger-scale conflict in the region....
Scientists in Sudan have discovered a tattoo with references to Jesus Christ on a 1,300-year-old body excavated in a cemetery near a medieval monastery....
A team of scientists from the Universities of Granada and Cambridge, as well as the Government of Catalonia, have identified the oldest pieces of Baltic amber ever found on the Iberian Peninsula, revealing that this luxury material used in jewelry and handicrafts around the world was already being imported more than 5,000 years...
More than 500,000 years ago, our human ancestors used large, stone tools known as “Acheulean handaxes,” to cut meat and wood, and dig for tubers. Often made from flint, these prehistoric oval and pear-shaped tools are flaked on both sides and have a pointed end....
Pioneering early farmers who arrived on the Baltic coast 6,000 years ago may have taken up fishing after observing indigenous hunter-gatherer communities, a major new study has found....
Beavers may seem like a recent arrival to the Netherlands, with their growing presence in recent years. The species became extinct there in the 19th century and was reintroduced in 1988. But before that beavers were widespread for thousands of years. “It really is a native species,” says Brusgaard. “In our research we...
A piece of rock with mysterious markings that lay largely unstudied for 4,000 years is now being hailed as a “treasure map” for archaeologists, who are using it to hunt for ancient sites around north-western France....
Cannibalism was common in northwest Europe between 14,000 and 19,000 years ago, when a population of prehistoric people known as the Magdalenians used it in their rituals to dispose of the dead, a new study finds....
The development of the earliest cities in Mesopotamia and the Middle East led to a substantial increase in violence between inhabitants. Laws, centralized administration, trade and culture then caused the ratio of violent deaths to fall back again in the Early and Middle Bronze Age (3,300 to 1,500 BCE). This is the conclusion of...
Archaeologists excavating an ancient necropolis in northeastern France have discovered an unlooted, unopened Roman-era sarcophagus dating to the second century A.D. The tomb likely holds the remains of an elite woman, archaeologists said.
Fragmentary remains of two ancient human relatives, Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi, were carried aboard a Virgin Galactic flight on Sept. 8. Departing from Spaceport America in New Mexico, the fossils, carried by South African-born billionaire Timothy Nash in a cigar-shaped tube, were rocketed to the edge of space....
'No scientific evidence' that ancient human relative buried dead and carved art as portrayed in Netflix documentary, researchers argue (www.livescience.com)
There’s “no convincing scientific evidence” behind the extraordinary claims that the ancient human relative Homo naledi deliberately buried their dead and engraved rocks deep in a South African cave around 300,000 years ago, a group of archaeologists argues in a new commentary....
More than 3,000 Roman coins and gems unearthed at 'magical place' in northern Italy (www.livescience.com)
Archaeologists in Italy have unearthed more than 3,000 coins and 50 gems, many of which were emblazoned with the images of ancient Roman deities....
Cult temples and sacrificial pit unearthed at ancient Roman camp in Germany (www.livescience.com)
Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of two Roman temples and a sacrificial pit in Germany....
4,000-year-old tomb discovered in Norway may contain region's 1st farmers (www.livescience.com)
A 4,000-year-old stone-lined tomb discovered during construction work in Norway may provide new clues about the first farmers who settled the region, archaeologists say....
Stone Age Europeans mastered spear-throwers 10,000 years earlier than we thought, study suggests (www.livescience.com)
Stone Age people in Belgium were hunting with spear-throwers more than 30,000 years ago — the earliest known evidence of such a weapon in Europe, a new study suggests....
Copper Age woman survived two skull surgeries up to 4,500 years ago (www.livescience.com)
Thousands of years ago, a woman underwent two surgeries to her head — and survived both procedures, her skull reveals....
Headless skeletons in China represent the largest known headhunting massacre from Neolithic Asia (www.livescience.com)
Ancient headless skeletons recovered from mass graves in China are the remains of victims who were massacred around 4,100 years ago in headhunting events, including the largest on record from Neolithic Asia, a new study finds....
Rare tumor with teeth discovered in Egyptian burial from 3,000 years ago (www.livescience.com)
While excavating an ancient Egyptian cemetery, archaeologists made a rare discovery: an ovarian tumor nestled in the pelvis of a woman who died more than three millennia ago. The tumor, a bony mass with two teeth, is the oldest known example of a teratoma, a rare type of tumor that typically occurs in ovaries or testicles....
Weathered face of 'old man' Neanderthal comes to life in amazing new facial reconstruction (www.livescience.com)
In 1908, a group of Catholic priests discovered what looked like the skeletal remains of a man buried inside a cave in La Chapelle-aux-Saints, a commune in south-central France. The nearly complete skeleton lacked several teeth, earning him the nickname the “old man.”...
Long-distance weaponry identified at the 31,000-year-old archaeological site of Maisières-Canal (phys.org)
The hunter-gatherers who settled on the banks of the Haine, a river in southern Belgium, 31,000 years ago were already using spearthrowers to hunt their game. This is the finding of a new study conducted at TraceoLab at the University of Liège....
'Spectacular' hall, likely used by Nordic Bronze Age royalty, unearthed in Germany (www.livescience.com)
Archaeologists in Germany have discovered the remains of a massive hall that was likely used by royalty roughly 3,000 years ago....
Larger-scale warfare may have occurred in Europe 1,000 years earlier than previously thought (phys.org)
A re-analysis of more than 300 sets of 5,000-year-old skeletal remains excavated from a site in Spain suggests that many of the individuals may have been casualties of the earliest period of warfare in Europe, occurring over 1,000 years before the previous earliest known larger-scale conflict in the region....
Cold war satellite images reveal hundreds of unknown Roman forts (www.theguardian.com)
Cold war satellite images reveal hundreds of unknown Roman forts...
Ancient Egyptian cemetery holds rare 'Book of the Dead' papyrus and mummies (www.livescience.com)
Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a 3,500-year-old cemetery that contains a “Book of the Dead” papyrus....
'Christ' tattoo discovered on 1,300-year-old body in Sudan (www.livescience.com)
Scientists in Sudan have discovered a tattoo with references to Jesus Christ on a 1,300-year-old body excavated in a cemetery near a medieval monastery....
Earthquake reveals giant Aztec snakehead beneath Mexico City university (www.livescience.com)
An earthquake last year revealed a big surprise beneath a law school in modern-day Mexico City: a giant, colorful snakehead from the Aztec Empire....
The oldest pieces of Baltic amber found on the Iberian Peninsula indicates imports began over 5,000 years ago (phys.org)
A team of scientists from the Universities of Granada and Cambridge, as well as the Government of Catalonia, have identified the oldest pieces of Baltic amber ever found on the Iberian Peninsula, revealing that this luxury material used in jewelry and handicrafts around the world was already being imported more than 5,000 years...
A 15th century French painting depicts an ancient stone tool (phys.org)
More than 500,000 years ago, our human ancestors used large, stone tools known as “Acheulean handaxes,” to cut meat and wood, and dig for tubers. Often made from flint, these prehistoric oval and pear-shaped tools are flaked on both sides and have a pointed end....
Early Neolithic farmers arriving on the Baltic coast bucked trends and incorporated fish into their diets (phys.org)
Pioneering early farmers who arrived on the Baltic coast 6,000 years ago may have taken up fishing after observing indigenous hunter-gatherer communities, a major new study has found....
Study shows beavers had a big influence on how people in the Stone Age lived (phys.org)
Beavers may seem like a recent arrival to the Netherlands, with their growing presence in recent years. The species became extinct there in the 19th century and was reintroduced in 1988. But before that beavers were widespread for thousands of years. “It really is a native species,” says Brusgaard. “In our research we...
How a Bronze Age rock became a 'treasure map' for researchers (phys.org)
A piece of rock with mysterious markings that lay largely unstudied for 4,000 years is now being hailed as a “treasure map” for archaeologists, who are using it to hunt for ancient sites around north-western France....
Cannibalism was a common funerary rite in northwest Europe near end of last ice age (www.livescience.com)
Cannibalism was common in northwest Europe between 14,000 and 19,000 years ago, when a population of prehistoric people known as the Magdalenians used it in their rituals to dispose of the dead, a new study finds....
Research finds dramatic increase in cranial traumas as the first cities were being built, suggesting a rise in violence (phys.org)
The development of the earliest cities in Mesopotamia and the Middle East led to a substantial increase in violence between inhabitants. Laws, centralized administration, trade and culture then caused the ratio of violent deaths to fall back again in the Early and Middle Bronze Age (3,300 to 1,500 BCE). This is the conclusion of...
'Exceptional' 1,800-year-old sarcophagus unearthed in France held woman of 'special status' (www.livescience.com)
Archaeologists excavating an ancient necropolis in northeastern France have discovered an unlooted, unopened Roman-era sarcophagus dating to the second century A.D. The tomb likely holds the remains of an elite woman, archaeologists said.
'I am horrified': Archaeologists are fuming over ancient human relative remains sent to edge of space (www.livescience.com)
Fragmentary remains of two ancient human relatives, Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi, were carried aboard a Virgin Galactic flight on Sept. 8. Departing from Spaceport America in New Mexico, the fossils, carried by South African-born billionaire Timothy Nash in a cigar-shaped tube, were rocketed to the edge of space....