Archaeology

Archaeology

Twisted textile cords may contain clues to Inca messages

A writing system from the 1700s may illuminate even older knotty Inca messages.

Archaeology

First settlers reached Americas 130,000 years ago, study claims

Mastodon site suggests first Americans arrived unexpectedly early.

Archaeology

Oldest evidence of patterned silk loom found in China

Chinese finds offer earliest look at game-changing weaving machine.

Archaeology

How the house mouse tamed itself

When people began to settle down, animals followed. Some made successful auditions as our domesticated species. Others — like mice — became our vermin, a new study shows.

Archaeology

Shock-absorbing spear points kept early North Americans on the hunt

Ancient Americans invented a way to make spear points last on an unfamiliar continent.

Archaeology

Stone Age hunter-gatherers tackled their cavities with a sharp tool and tar

Late Stone Age hunter-gatherers scraped and coated away tooth decay.

Anthropology

Neandertals had an eye for patterns

Neandertals carved notches in a raven bone, possibly to produce a pleasing or symbolic pattern, scientists say.

Archaeology

Palace remains in Mexico point to ancient rise of centralized power

An ancient royal structure gets new life in southern Mexico.

Archaeology

Ancient Romans may have been cozier with Huns than they let on

Nomadic Huns and Roman farmers shared ways of life on the Roman Empire’s fifth century frontier.

Archaeology

Ancient dental plaque tells tales of Neandertal diet and disease

Researchers have reconstructed the diet and disease history of ancient Neandertals.

Archaeology

Ancient dental plaque tells tales of Neandertal diet and disease

Researchers have reconstructed the diet and disease history of ancient Neandertals.

Archaeology

Ancient nomadic herders beat a path to the Silk Road

Herders’ mountain treks helped mold the Silk Road, an ancient, cross-continental trade network.