Archaeology
- Archaeology
The oldest known horseback riding saddle was found in a grave in China
The well-used saddle, dated to more than 2,400 years ago, displays skilled leather- and needlework. Its placement suggests its owner was on a final ride.
- Archaeology
How an ancient solar flare illuminated the start of the Viking Age
Improved radiocarbon dating aided by a solar flare in the year 775 sheds light on the early days of Vikings and global trading in medieval times.
- Archaeology
How Asia’s first nomadic empire broke the rules of imperial expansion
New studies reveal clues to how mobile rulers assembled a multiethnic empire of herders known as the Xiongnu more than 2,000 years ago.
- Archaeology
Indigenous input revealed early hints of fiber making in the tropics
To decipher marks on nearly 40,000-year-old stone tools and figure out what they were used for, researchers turned to the Philippines’ Pala’wan people.
- Astronomy
50 years ago, a search for proof that the Maya tracked comets came up short
The mystery of whether the ancient civilization tracked comets endures, but recent evidence hints the Maya tracked related meteor showers.
- Archaeology
An old perfume bottle reveals what some ancient Romans smelled like
Chemical analyses reveal that an unopened flask of perfume from 2,000 years ago contained patchouli, a common ingredient in modern perfumes.
- Animals
When and why did masturbation evolve in primates? A new study provides clues
In a first-of-its-kind comparative study, researchers show that primates were masturbating 40 million years ago and that the behavior may help males keep their sperm fresh.
- Anthropology
Homo naledi may have dug cave graves and carved marks into cave walls
Proposed discoveries of humanlike activities by these ancient, small-brained hominids have elicited skepticism from some researchers.
- Humans
Oldest traces of a dysentery-causing parasite were found in ancient toilets
Scientists have found traces of giardia in two toilets used by wealthy residents of Jerusalem in the 7th and 6th century B.C.
- Archaeology
The oldest scaled-down drawings of actual structures go back 9,000 years
Rock engravings in Jordan and Saudi Arabia may be maps or blueprints of desert kites, massive structures once used to capture animal herds.
- Archaeology
Ancient human DNA was extracted from a 20,000-year-old deer tooth pendant
Insights into Stone Age people’s lives may soon come from a new, nondestructive DNA extraction method.
- Archaeology
A prehistoric method for tailoring clothes may be written in bone
A punctured bone fragment was probably a leatherwork punch board. Perforated leather sewn together may have been seams in clothing.
