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Just as today -or a little less often, as we tend to abuse our teeth quite a bit nowadyas – early humans had to deal with cavities. An infected 14,000 year old molar may give us a glimpse into how they treated such afflictions, and is the oldest known evidence of dentistry.
Norwegian Archaeologists have unearthed a unique Viking grave dated 1040 AD. Within the grave they found coins, a battle ax with a shaft coated in brass and a magnificent sword with intriguing silver and golden decorations. The sword almost certainly belonged to a wealthy man in the late Viking Era, quite possibly one that fought in […]
Archaeologists used innovative techniques to gain new insights about the third-millennium urban crisis in Mesopotamia some 4,000 years ago. This marked the fall of the Akkadian Empire – the very first empire in the world. The researchers also drew a comparison to modern-day Syria where current events in the wake of climate change and a violent […]
Archaeologists working in Bulgaria have confirmed that they uncovered the oldest prehistoric town in Europe. The town was likely home to some 400 people and dates back to between 4700 and 4200 BC - about 1,500 years before the emergence of the Greek civilization.
We tend to think of the Stonehenge as a lone giant, huge blocks of rock towering over the quiet British landscape. But as a new study has revealed, Stonehenge was likely a diverse and vibrant place, a complex of different religious and cultural settings. Painting Stonehenge in New Light Using geophysical techniques (mostly Ground […]
Two apparent bongs likely used by Scythian tribal chieftains have discovered by archaeologists in Russia. But unlike modern bongs, these ones are made of solid gold.
In 1921, archaeologists found the remains of a Bronze Age priestess, dubbed the Egtved Girl. Now, a new study reveals that the priestess, who was found in Denmark, likely traveled hundreds of kilometers and was born somewhere in Germany. The Egtved Girl was, according to all clues, an extraordinary person. She only lived to be […]
Archaeologists have uncovered a silver ring with an Arabic inscription in a Viking grave, adding support to the theory that the two cultures had fascinating connections. Different Cultures “I have never seen bodies as nearly perfect as theirs. As tall as palm trees, fair and reddish, they wear neither tunics nor kaftans. Every man wears […]
Megafloods likely wiped out one of the most significant American civilizations, a new study has concluded. Until now, the reason of their demise remained a mystery.
In most cultures, men are typically regarded as handy and it’s usually up to them to do the handy work – it’s quite a stereotype actually, but I think it’s among the few that really stick; but a new study reveals that women may actually be much more well suited for that job. Female chips […]
Homo is the genus of hominids that includes modern humans, as well as other species closely related to them… I mean us. The genus is estimated to be about 2.3 to 2.4 million years old and it features several species (though it’s still not clear how many). Here are the modern (<0.6 million years) Homo species […]
In December 1994, three explorers made a surprising discovery in southern France - a rumble of stones blocking the entrance to a spectacular cave, over 400 meters long and covered with archaeological and palaeontological remains, including the skulls and bones of cave bears, which hibernated there, along with the skulls of an ibex and two wolves. But it was the human traces that were most interesting...
Recent archaeological and anthropological research showed that Neanderthals weren't the mindless brutes we once thought they were - they were smart, organized, they had their own speech and interbred with early humans. Now, a new study has found evidence that 130,000 years ago, Neanderthals also designed elaborate jewelry, a degree of sophistication never seen before for that time.
A study conducted on 2000 year old tooth enamel found that ancient farmers traveled to the grassy plains southern Africa to develop herding away from the dangerous tsetse fly.
Archaeologists working in Oregon have uncovered a stone tool which seems to be way older than any previously documented site of human occupation in North America. When archaeologists date things, they use a relative law borrowed from geology, called the superposition law. The superposition law states that sedimentary layers are deposited in a time sequence, […]
Scientists in Finland have been keeping themselves busy testing two different beers... for science, of course. These are not just your average beers though - they're almost two centuries old, recovered by divers exploring a 1840s shipwreck in the Baltic Sea back in 2010.
You never know what’s hidden in food these days… but you also never know what’s hidden under supermarkets. Organized rows of over 200 skeletons have been found in a communal grave under a Monoprix supermarket in central Paris. The site is thought to be a hospital cemetery dating back to the 1100s. When building constructors encounter […]
An expedition in the Honduras has emerged from the jungle with a spectacular announcement: they have discovered the remains of a lost city belonging to an unknown, mysterious culture. The team was investigating a lead regarding the site of a storied “White City,” also referred to in legend as the “City of the Monkey God.” La […]
A broken jaw unearthed in Ethiopia pushes back the origin of the homo linage – of which homo sapiens sapiens are the only surviving members – by 400,000 years. The finding might prove important in explaining how our ancestors diverged from more apelike relatives, like Australopithecus, to big brained beings, filling a blank spot two […]
An ancient tomb possibly belonging to Amenhotep, the second Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. Photographs distributed by the ministry show a tomb with bright green and brown paintings with hieroglyphics and is one of the most spectacular findings in recent years. “The tomb contains many stunning scenes with bright colours painted on plaster,” Antiquities Minister […]
According to a new study, ancient hunter-gatherer Britons imported wheat from mainland Europe, showing a surprising level of sophistication for such an old population.
A partial skull fragment found in Kenya seems to indicate that early humans were much more diverse than previously thought. The 22,000-year-old skull clearly belongs to a human species, but is unlike anything else previously discovered.
Using CT-scans, researchers at the Netherlands-based Drents Museum imaged a mummified monk who lived 1,000 years ago inside a Buddha statue. Encased inside the golden cast, lie the the remains of Buddhist master Liuquan of the Chinese Meditation School. His organs were removed prior to becoming encased, which isn't a surprise being a standard mummification practice. What was surprising however were the rolls of paper scraps covered in Chinese writing which were placed where the organs used to sit.
A rare Neolithic-era burial site was discovered by the northern entrance of the Alepotrypa (“Foxhole”) Cave in southern Greece. The skeleton remains show how a couple was laid to rest in embrace, close to a burial of another male and female who were found in fetal position - the most common burial position during the Neolithic. The embracing couple’s skeletons were dated with the C14 method to 3800 BC while their DNA analysis confirmed the remains were those of a male and female.
Using a new X-Ray technique, archaeologists may be able to read the words from the charred, rolled up scrolls that survived the Vesuvius eruption that wiped out the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum nearly 2000 years ago. This could open up a new window to the past, revealing much information about the way the Romans lived and is a spectacular technological achievement in itself.
A far from definite, yet highly interesting explanation for the origin of language was recently proposed – not by linguists or geneticists, but by a psychologists who took an archaeological route. Thomas Morgan, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley presents us with a chicken or the egg dilemma: was tool use proliferated by language […]
The long sought resting place of Genghis Khan might be finally discovered, using space based technology. The grave of the great conqueror may be found by crowdsourcing satellite data.
We know that ancient populations really liked olive oil, and it’s not that uncommon to find oil-filled pots from Ancient Greece. However, archaeologists were really excited to find that pressed olive oil goes as back as 8,000 years ago. Researchers found residues of the Mediterranean-diet staple on ancient clay pots dating back to the 6th millennium B.C. […]
Over the years, many exciting discoveries have been made in Egypt – so many that most people have this idea that there is not much you can find in terms of Egyptian Archaeology. This recent find proves them as wrong as it gets: over a million mummies have been discovered in an ancient Egyptian cemetery, […]
Vikings are often depicted as brutes – raiding, pillaging, killing the men and raping the women. But according to a new study, coloniozing may have actually been a family affair. Maternal DNA from ancient Norsemen suggests that more often than not, women also traveled alongside the men. Vikings were excellent seafarers – this was the key […]
A major Viking hall measuring over 50 metres in length has been identified near Vadstena in Sweden. Archaeologists from Stockholm University and Umeå University used non-invasive geophysical techniques to identify the hall, and they have a very good idea how it looked like, even without actually digging it. The Viking Age is the period from 793 AD to […]
Three new mosaics have been uncovered in the ancient Greek city of Zeugma, which is actually located in today’s Turkey. The incredibly well preserved mosaics date back to the 2nd century BC, but they’re still as beautiful as the first day. There are actually two ancient cities called Zeugma – one in Dacia (probably today’s Romania), […]
It’s one of England’s better kept secrets – Old Sarum is a hidden gem among gems, one of the most spectacular ancient sites in Europe and in the world. Old Sarum is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury in England. The site contains evidence of human habitation as early as 3000 BC, but only […]
Archaeologists have identified the oldest engraving known to mankind – a 500,000 shell scratched by a human ancestor. In 2007, Stephen Munro was a graduate student in archaeology; while he was studying some shells from Java, Indonesia, he had the shock of his life: he found that one shell had a pattern of zig-zag lines […]
Look at this incredibly big rock. Take a moment, ponder its dimensions, and its weight. Oh, but if you’re looking at the one in the middle, that’s not it – look over to the right. The one to the right, not fully excavated yet, is the biggest ancient stone block, weighing an impressive 1,650 tons (that’s 3,300,000 […]
The Washington University received some unusual patients to scan: three Egyptian mummies. The scanning took place Sunday, Oct. 12, at the Center for Advanced Medicine on the Medical Campus. The mummies, two of which are on long-term loan to the Saint Louis Art Museum from the Kemper Art Museum, were scanned using state-of-the-art CT scans. […]
A notebook that laid under the cover of Antarctic ice for the past 100 years was discovered by Newzealand’s Antarctic Heritage Trust. The notebook belonged to one of the members of Robert Scott’s scientific crew, an English explorer who raced against Roald Amundsen to be the first to reach the South Pole. While Scott eventually […]
It may be a highly complex prayer, written on clay.
Roman gladiators – some of the most feared warriors in history were mostly vegetarian, a new anthropological study has shown. Gladiators fought to entertain audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations; they fought each other, wild animals, and convicted criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked not only their social standing, but also […]
A magnificent Viking treasure has been unearthed in Scotland, in Dumfries and Galloway. More than 100 objects, including solid gold jewelry, arm bands and silver ingots, were discovered not by archaeologists, but by an amateur researcher working with a metal detector. The artifacts are thought to have been buried between the 9th and 10th century and they […]
A breakthrough finding in Armenia where thousands of ancient cutting tools were found beautifully preserved casts doubt on a currently prevailing hypothesis that these were solely invented in Africa. The tools discovered are between 325,000 and 335,000 years old. The age suggests the ancient paleolithic cultures of the time that inhabited the region independently developed the […]
Some relationships last a lifetime – but some last even more than that. University of Leicester archaeologists uncover a trove of relics and remains at Chapel of St Morrell in Leicestershire, including two skeletons who have been holding hands underground for the past 700 years. The archaeological excavations uncovered not only the couple, but also fragments of […]
An ancient Egyptian woman who lived 3300 years ago was found to have no less than 70 hair extensions. This incredibly elaborate hairstyle was probably made especially for her resting place. Interestingly enough, she wasn’t mummified, her body was simply wrapped in a mat, said Jolanda Bos, an archaeologist working on the Amarna Project. “Whether or […]
Archaeologists are intrigued by the discovery of a complete and well preserved warrior armor made from bones. This highly valuable find was probably a war trophy, and was worn by an elite warrior or warchief. The armour was in ‘perfect condition’, and nothing similar was ever found in the area (or anywhere else). It was buried […]
Stonehenge is one of Britain’s greatest national treasure, but while magic, myth and mystery surrounding the monumental site has been time and time again dispelled by science, there is still much to learn. One major debate regarding Stonehenge is whether or not the site once formed a complete circle. Now, a short hosepipe and a […]
A study suggests that humanity's transition to civilization coincided with a drop in testosterone. Less of the hormone is associated with less aggressive behavior and showing tolerance - both essential qualities to a thriving community.
When the huge reconstruction work began at the World Trade Center following 2001’s tragedy, constructors uncovered something no one was expecting to find there – a wooden ship, right under where the twin towers used to stand. Measuring 22 feet (6.7 meters), the skeleton of the ship went unexplained for years. Now, scientists analyzing the […]
An ancient burial stash containing chariots, gold artifacts and potentially human sacrifices was unearthed in the country of Georgia, in Europe. The burial site was constructed for a very important person, in a time archaeologists call the Early Bronze Age (4000 years ago). Archaeologists dug and discovered the burial chamber made from wood inside a 39-foot-high […]
Rock lines discovered in Peru predate the famous Nazca lines by over 300 years, a new study concludes. However, the purpose of these lines was very different – to direct people to big trading sites and fairs. The lines were developed by the Paracas culture, which inhabited the Andes area around 800 B.C. – 100 B.C. […]
Prostitution may or may not be the oldest job in the world, but rigging goes a long way too. Researchers have recently deciphered a Greek document that shows an ancient wrestling match was fixed. The document, which was dated from the year 267, is a contract between two teenagers who had reached the final of a very […]
