Archaeology

Archaeology

Ancient beads found in northern Africa

Perforated shells found in a Moroccan cave indicate that northern Africans made symbolic body ornaments 82,000 years ago, long before Europeans did.

Archaeology

Peru’s Sunny View

Researchers have found the oldest solar observatory in the Americas, a group of 13 towers first used around 300 B.C. to mark the positions of sunrises and sunsets from summer to winter solstice.

Archaeology

Spicy finds from before Columbus

Ancient Americans cultivated and ate chili peppers at least 6,100 years ago, setting the stage for the spicy condiment to spread throughout the world after Columbus' voyages to the New World.

Archaeology

Suburb of Stonehenge: Ritual village found near famed rock site

Excavations at a 4,600-year-old village in southern England indicate that it was occupied by the builders of nearby Stonehenge and hosted feasts where people assembled before transporting the dead to the huge circle of stones, which served as an ancestor memorial.

Archaeology

Ancient rains made Sahara livable

New evidence indicates that seasonal rainfall more than 7,000 years ago turned Africa's eastern Sahara desert into a savannalike area that attracted an influx of foraging groups.

Archaeology

Shells may represent oldest known beads

Researchers have identified three perforated shells dating to around 100,000 years ago as beads, making these finds the oldest known examples of personal decoration.

Archaeology

Stones of Contention: Tiny Homo species tied to ancient tool tradition

Controversial new discoveries suggest that our half-size evolutionary cousins who lived on the Indonesian island of Flores as recently as 12,000 years ago carried on a stone-toolmaking tradition passed down from the island's original colonizers more than 700,000 years ago.

Archaeology

Jarring clues to Tut’s white wine

Chemical analyses of residue from jars found in King Tutankhamen's tomb have yielded the first evidence of white wine in ancient Egypt.

Archaeology

Ancient text gives Judas heroic glow

Researchers have announced the restoration and translation of a 1,700-year-old papyrus document containing the Gospel of Judas, an account that portrays Judas Iscariot as a hero, not as Jesus' betrayer.

Archaeology

Early farmers took time to tame wheat

Domesticated varieties of wheat emerged gradually in the prehistoric Near East over a roughly 3,000-year span.

Archaeology

Ancient Andean Maize Makers: Finds push back farming, trade in highland Peru

Fossilized plant remains recovered from a nearly 4,000-year-old house in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru show that highland inhabitants cultivated maize and imported other plant foods from lowland forests at around the time that large societies developed in the region.

Archaeology

Getting a read on early Maya writing

Excavators of a pyramid in northeastern Guatemala announced the discovery of the earliest known Maya writing.