Archaeology
- Anthropology
An ancient social safety net in Africa was built on beads
A Stone Age network of communities across southern Africans was established using ostrich shell beads by around 33,000 years ago.
- Anthropology
New fossils and artifacts show Homo erectus crafted a diverse toolkit
Ancient hominid made stone tools demanding a range of skills and planning, a study finds.
- Archaeology
South Asian toolmaking withstood the biggest volcanic blast in 2 million years
Toolmakers continued to strike sharp-edged flakes as usual after a volcano’s colossal eruption around 74,000 years ago on what’s now Sumatra Island.
- Archaeology
Ancient ‘megasites’ may reshape the history of the first cities
At least two ancient paths to urban development existed, some archaeologists argue.
- Archaeology
New cave fossils have revived the debate over Neandertal burials
Part of a Neandertal’s skeleton was found in a hole dug in the same cave in Iraqi Kurdistan where the “flower burial” was found in 1960.
- Archaeology
Food residues offer a taste of pottery’s diverse origins in East Asia
Clay pots emerged in different places and for different reasons, starting at least 16,000 years ago, a study suggests.
- Archaeology
An ancient skeleton from an underwater Mexican cave sheds light on early Americans
A nearly 10,000-year-old skeleton discovered in a submerged Mexican cave provides more clues to how and when people settled the Americas.
- Archaeology
Wasp nests provide the key to dating 12,000-year-old Aboriginal rock art
Dating wasp nest remnants found beneath and atop painted rock art in Australia suggests the pictures were made some 5,000 years later than thought.
- Archaeology
A Siberian cave contains clues about two epic Neandertal treks
Stone tools and DNA illuminate an earlier and a later journey eastward across Asia.
- Archaeology
A 3-D printed vocal tract lets an ancient mummy speak from beyond the grave
A re-created version of a mummy’s vocal tract reveals what this ancient Egyptian might have sounded like.
- Archaeology
Mount Vesuvius may have suffocated, not vaporized, some victims
A new study suggests people living near Pompeii who hid in stone boathouses died a slower death when the volcano erupted in A.D. 79.
- Archaeology
After the Notre Dame fire, scientists get a glimpse of the cathedral’s origins
Researchers will tackle the scientific questions behind rebuilding Notre Dame, and learn more about its history.
