Archaeology
- Genetics
DNA reveals early mating between Asian herders and European farmers
A new genetic analysis could upend assumptions about the origins of Indo-European languages.
- Anthropology
New dates narrow down when Denisovans and Neandertals crossed paths
Mysterious ancient hominids called Denisovans and their Neandertal cousins periodically occupied the same cave starting around 200,000 years ago.
- Anthropology
Why modern javelin throwers hurled Neandertal spears at hay bales
A sporting event with replica weapons suggests that Neandertals’ spears may have been made for throwing, not just stabbing.
- Archaeology
Our fascination with robots goes all the way back to antiquity
In the book ‘Gods and Robots,’ a scholar recounts how early civilizations explored artificial life through myths.
- Anthropology
Human smarts got a surprisingly early start
Human ingenuity began on treks across Asia and in fluctuating African habitats.
- Archaeology
Corn domestication took some unexpected twists and turns
A DNA study challenges the idea people fully tamed maize in Mexico before the plant spread.
- Archaeology
Stone Age people conquered the Tibetan Plateau’s thin air
Stone tools that are at least 30,000 years old suggest that people settled the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau earlier than scientists thought.
- Archaeology
Stone-tool makers reached North Africa and Arabia surprisingly early
Ancient Homo species spread advances in toolmaking far beyond East Africa.
- Archaeology
An exploding meteor may have wiped out ancient Dead Sea communities
An archaeological site not far from the Dead Sea shows signs of sudden, superheated collapse 3,700 years ago.
- Archaeology
A Bronze Age tomb in Israel reveals the earliest known use of vanilla
Residue of the aromatic substance in 3 jugs dates to around 3,600 years ago.
- Archaeology
A Bronze Age game called 58 holes was found chiseled into stone in Azerbaijan
A newly discovered rock pattern suggests that the game traveled fast from the Near East to Eurasia thousands of years ago.
- Ecosystems
How mammoths competed with other animals and lost
Mammoths, mastodons and other ancient elephants were wiped out at the end of the last ice age by climate change and spear-wielding humans.
