Newsdesk Archive

10,000-year-old Middle Stone Age ‘crayon’ used to paint animal skin discovered in England
2018-01-29
The reddish-brown crayon was found in England at a site called Star Carr in Scarborough, Yorkshire, near what was once Lake Flixton.
Everything you need to know about AJ129, the 2018 ‘Super Bowl asteroid’
2018-01-29
Despite some alarming press coverage, NASA tweeted out to a concerned citizen (in Spanish) telling them that any cries of armageddon are "a lie."
Hunting for the ancient lost farms of North America
2018-01-28
2,000 years ago, people domesticated these plants. Now they’re wild weeds. What happened?
Archaeologists Find Oldest Human Remains Out of Africa, From Nearly 200,000 Years Ago
2018-01-28
The discovery of a prehistoric human jawbone in a cave near Haifa pushes back the clock on the evolution of Homo sapiens and our ancestors’ first exodus out of Africa.
65,000 people want the Aboriginal flag to fly every day on the Harbour Bridge
2018-01-28
On Australia Day 2017, Cheree Toka started a campaign calling for the Aboriginal flag to fly every day on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
We’re One Step Closer to Non-Invasively Reading Ancient Papyri Hidden in Mummy Masks
2018-01-28
Researchers at the University College of London are working to find a way to read the ancient scraps without destroying the artefacts in the process.
Ancient Human Genomes Reveal Complicated Split into Europeans and Asians
2018-01-28
There were at least two periods of time where Neanderthals and humans interbred: one event 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, and another more than 37,000 years ago.
Researchers find first evidence of sub-Saharan Africa glassmaking
2018-01-25
Scholars have found the first direct evidence that glass was produced in Sub-Saharan Africa centuries before the arrival of Europeans, thus representing a new chapter in the history of glass technology.
The Evolution of Round Brains Ushered in the ‘Human Revolution’
2018-01-25
New research suggests early Homo sapiens brains entered the range of modern human brain size as early as 300,000 years ago, but its globular, round features emerged only 40,000 years ago.
Ethiopia could be sitting on one of world’s great untapped gold deposits
2018-01-25
Much more treasure might be buried under the surface of this east African country than was previously thought.
Channel 4 will reveal the face of ‘Cheddar Man’ – world’s oldest Brit – in new special
2018-01-25
A documentary will unveil a prototype of the face of the first British man by analysing the DNA of Britain's oldest complete skeleton, in the UK's most ambitious and cutting-edge Ancient DNA project to date.
Frozen in time: Glacial archaeology on the roof of Norway
2018-01-24
What could have caused the chronological patterning of artifacts - human activity and/or past climate change? These questions are the focus of a new study published today.
Two planets in unusual star system are very likely habitable, scientists say
2018-01-24
Exoplanets orbiting Trappist-1 have thrilled astronomers since their discovery last year thanks to their Earth-like potential to harbor water.
Massacres and protest: Australia Day’s undeniable history
2018-01-24
The 26 January debate started with Indigenous people wanting the brutal past acknowledged.
University of Haifa Researchers Decipher One of the Last Two Remaining Unpublished Qumran Scrolls
2018-01-24
The reward is fresh insight into the unique 364-day calendar used by members of the Judean Desert sect, including the discovery of the name given by the sect to the special days marking the transitions between the four seasons.
‘First Face of America’ explores how humans reached the New World
2018-01-23
“First Face of America” provides a closeup look at two dangerous underwater expeditions that resulted in the discovery and salvaging of bones from one of the earliest known New World residents, dubbed Naia.
Bizarrely, A Tiny Town In Australia Is Actually Sitting On A Part Of Ancient North America
2018-01-23
This means that part of Australia was attached to and was part of North America, around 1.7 billion years ago.
Scientists say humans could have left Africa up to 70,000 years earlier than had been thought
2018-01-23
Scientists at Aberystwyth University have published a 150,000-year climatic record from Ethiopia, which shows conditions would have allowed early modern humans to move from Africa to Asia.
The world’s most powerful acoustic tractor beam could pave the way for levitating humans
2018-01-22
For the first time, engineers have shown it is possible to stably trap objects larger than the wavelength of sound in an acoustic tractor beam.
Norwegian houses reused for over 1000 years during Stone Age
2018-01-22
We've always heard that Stone Age people lived in caves. It turns out that they often lived in earthen huts, which they reused for centuries and kept up rather than building new ones.
Zahi Hawas heads archaeological mission for tomb of Tutankhamun’s family
2018-01-22
The Ministry of Antiquities announced the start of excavation work in the Valley of the Monkeys on the West bank of the Nile in Luxor, to uncover a tomb dating back to the 18th Dynasty.
The American Indian museum comes of age by tackling this country’s lies
2018-01-20
Its curators have found a voice, and one every museum should emulate: They are going to address difficult questions with nuance and courage.
Georgetown in northern Queensland once part of North America – geologists
2018-01-20
Researchers found rocks in the area 412km west of Cairns were unlike any others in Australia, but similar to those in Canada.
Turkish Professor Claims Koran Flood Story Tells of Muslim Noah Calling Son on Cell-Phone
2018-01-20
Ornek explained his theory, saying that technologies were much more advanced 10,000 years ago than most people realize.
Meteorites recovered from Michigan meteor explosion
2018-01-20
With the size of this asteroid, it was a near certainty that pieces of it would reach the ground as meteorites, so in the days after, the hunt was on.
No, an Asteroid Is Not Going to Collide with Earth in February
2018-01-20
In recent days, a few media outlets have reported (rather sensationally) that a "potentially hazardous" asteroid will fly close to Earth on Feb. 4. Are the reports correct? Absolutely! Is there any need to panic? Absolutely not!
Hidden Ancient Egyptian Paintings Revealed Thanks To New Digital Imaging Tool
2018-01-20
Scientists have used a new imaging technique to re-examine Egyptian art and find details that were previously missing.
New research challenges existing models of black holes
2018-01-19
The results, which were a collective effort among several researchers, are deeply enlightening about some of the most mysterious objects in space.
CASSINI FINDS SATURN MOON HAS ‘SEA LEVEL’ LIKE EARTH
2018-01-18
Saturn’s moon Titan may be nearly a billion miles away from Earth, but new research reveals a new way this distant world and our own are eerily similar.
What the Marijuana Genome Map Means for the Future of Pot
2018-01-18
A breakthrough in genetic research opens the door to more-targeted products and maybe even pharmaceuticals.
Divers Found The World’s Largest Underwater Cave, And It’s Full of Maya Secrets
2018-01-18
After 10 months of intensive exploration, scientists in Mexico have discovered the world's largest flooded cave system – and it's truly an underwater wonderland.
Complex engineering and metal-work discovered beneath ancient Greek ‘pyramid’
2018-01-18
Latest find on Cyclades’ Keros includes evidence of metal-working and suggests the beginnings of an urban centre, say archaeologists.
Bright meteor sets off earthquake sensors in Michigan
2018-01-18
Residents were shaken up on Tuesday night as a bright meteor fireball exploded north of Detroit, registering as a magnitude 2.0 earthquake.
Ancient Egypt: Archaeologists now searching for the tomb of King Tutankhamun’s wife Ankhesenamun
2018-01-18
Archaeologists have begun excavating in an area known as the Valley of Monkeys, looking for the tomb of Ankhesenamun.
Not just for Christmas: Study sheds new light on ancient human-turkey relationship
2018-01-18
For the first time, research has uncovered the origins of the earliest domestic turkeys in ancient Mexico.
This Is What The Entire Known Universe Looks Like in a Single Image
2018-01-17
Created by musician and artist Pablo Carlos Budassi, the image is based on logarithmic maps of the Universe put together by Princeton University researchers and images produced by NASA.
The Montmaurin-La Niche mandible reveals the complexity of the Neanderthals’ origin
2018-01-17
A team of scientists has examined the Middle Pleistocene Montmaurin-La Niche mandible, which reveals the complexity of the origin of the Neanderthals.
Archaeologists Uncover Pottery With Parthenon Scene in Biblical Village
2018-01-17
Ceramic decorated with birth of Athena copied from Parthenon frieze and other imported luxuries signal that the textile dyeing business was thriving in Bethsaida 2,300 years ago.
DNA solves the mystery of how these mummies were related
2018-01-17
The finding highlights the importance ancient Egyptians placed on maternal lines of descent, Drosou’s group contends.
Spitzer and Hubble Telescopes Provide 3D Journey through Magnificent Orion Nebula
2018-01-16
By adding depth and structure to the amazing images, this fly-through helps elucidate the Universe for the public, both educating and inspiring.
Life Is Common in the Universe, New Analysis of Meteorites Suggests
2018-01-16
Two meteorites, one found outside of Morocco and the other in Texas, both in 1998, have now been analyzed and the results are enticing.
Four Thousand Fish and Broken Glass connect Sydney’s Aboriginal past to its present
2018-01-16
Setting these works on the same lands where actual events plays out connects the impact of colonisation on practices that existed for thousands of years to how they contribute to our being Aboriginal today.
In conquered Mexico, almost a million died of salmonella in just five years
2018-01-15
DNA analysis finds a terrible epidemic was caused not by plague, but by the bacteria behind food poisoning.
The asteroids most likely to hit Earth
2018-01-15
If you glean any politics from this article, take away the moral imperative for our civilization to improve our long-term thinking and invest well in planetary asteroid detection and deflection.
The stories behind Aboriginal star names now recognised by the world’s astronomical body
2018-01-15
This represents a step forward by the world’s roughly 12,000 professional astronomers in recognising the importance of traditional language and Indigenous starlore.
New technology is changing the way Guatemala views its ancient past
2018-01-15
New laser technology is helping expand scientific knowledge of ancient Mayan sites, and has enabled scientists to uncover an ancient city in the rainforest of Guatemala.
Swiss archaeologist discovers the earliest tomb of a Scythian prince
2018-01-14
All the evidence suggests that this is not only the largest Scythian princely tomb in South Siberia, but also the earliest – and that it may be harbouring some outstandingly well-preserved treasures.
Lucky find gives archeologists glimpse into early hunting technology in Yukon
2018-01-14
Recent radiocarbon dating confirms that the arrow blade point is one of the earliest examples of copper metallurgy ever found in Yukon.
Huge Water Reserves Found All Over Mars
2018-01-12
New NASA images show layers of ice peeking out of eroded cliffs—a potential boon for future humans on the red planet.
Great Pyramid May Contain An ‘Iron Throne’ Made Of Meteorites, Says New Theory
2018-01-12
Archaeoastronomy professor thinks pharoahs used the throne to travel to the afterlife.
Ingredients for life revealed in meteorites that fell to Earth
2018-01-11
This opens up many possibilities for how organic matter may be passed from one host to another in space.
DNA FROM MYSTERIOUS ANCIENT CIVILIZATION SHOWS THEY WERE EXPLORERS, NOT CONQUERORS
2018-01-11
A new MtDNA study suggests that the ancient Mediterranean seafaring civilisation, the Phoenicians, enjoyed an inclusive, multicultural society focused on exploration, not subjugation.
Extraterrestrial Hypatia stone rattles solar system status quo
2018-01-11
Micro-mineral analyses of the pebble have now provided unsettling answers that spiral away from conventional views of the material our solar system was formed from.
Ancient DNA sheds light on the mysterious origins of the first Scandinavians
2018-01-11
One could say that – in Scandinavia at that time – the geographic west was the genetic east and vice versa.
Rajahmundry: Excavations reveal tools, crystal beads
2018-01-11
State archaeology authorities have found an ancient civilisation along the banks of Godavari river dating back to 10,000 BC in which people used tools from the stone age as well as from the metal age.
Marijuana taxes and a surplus expected to boost California budget
2018-01-10
The 2018-2019 budget will include anticipated taxes on sales of marijuana, which became legal for recreational use Jan. 1, estimated to eventually reach $1 billion.
Ancient rock drawing could be oldest image of a supernova
2018-01-10
The carving was found in the Burzahama region in Kashmir, India, in the 1960s and is believed to date back to between 2100 and 4100 BC.
Peru’s Alpine Herders Revive Ancient Technologies to Face the Future
2018-01-10
To improve access to water and save livestock, indigenous groups in Canchayllo and Miraflores have restored abandoned dams, reservoirs and canals that date back over 3,000 years.
Burn, Baby, Burn: Australian Birds Steal Fire to Smoke Out Prey
2018-01-10
This is not news to Aboriginal groups, who have reported about Firehawks in oral traditions for millennia.
Granite feet discovered in Egyptian parking lot traced back to ancient statue of King Amenhotep III
2018-01-09
The stone fragment includes hieroglyphics that detail the pharaoh's birth name and coronation.
Magic Mushrooms Do The Opposite of Anti-Depressants, But That May Be Why They Work
2018-01-08
Psilocybin delivers therapeutic effects to people with depression, and researchers think this is because the drug helps to revive emotional responsiveness in the brain.
Mysterious ‘stick-like figures’ spark theories about ancient creatures on Mars
2018-01-08
The formations captured by the Curiosity rover are one to two millimetres wide and up to five millimetres long.
Suspected alien probe turns out to be lump of rock
2018-01-08
An unusual asteroid thought by many to be evidence of ET has been identified as natural in origin.
Stone age hunter-gatherers’ ‘paradise’ discovered next to major Israeli road
2018-01-08
Archaeologists find hundreds of hand-axes used by early humans over half a million years ago at Jaljulia, north-east of Tel Aviv.
Chemists discover plausible recipe for early life on Earth
2018-01-08
Their experiments demonstrate that key chemical reactions that support life today could have been carried out with ingredients likely present on the planet four billion years ago.
Genetics Rewrites the History of Early America—And, Maybe, the Field of Archaeology
2018-01-06
Welcome to the real struggle with the story of human history: the question of whose facts come first, those of archaeologists or those of geneticists.
MYSTERIOUS METEORITE IN AUSTRALIA POINTS TO HUGE UNDISCOVERED ASTEROID
2018-01-06
Either there is another big asteroid that we haven’t found yet, or the asteroid that Bunburra Rockhole originated from has evolved over time through space weathering and impact processing.
1,000-Year-Old Stone Structure in Mexico May Depict Creation of Earth
2018-01-06
A 1,000-year-old stone structure in Mexico may represent how some people in ancient Mesoamerica believed the Earth was created, an archaeologist suggests.
What the ancient DNA discovery tells us about Native American ancestry
2018-01-04
A new genome from a Pleistocene burial in Alaska allegedly confirms the longstanding Beringian Standstill model for the initial peopling of the Americas.
RECORD-BREAKING 2,000 NEW ASTEROIDS APPROACHED EARTH IN 2017 AND ASTRONOMERS EXPECT TO SPOT EVEN MORE IN 2018
2018-01-04
This brings the total number of so-called near-Earth asteroids identified to 17,446.
Ancient Mauryan technology brings water, hope to dry Magadh in Bihar
2018-01-04
Ancient Mauryan engineering has brought water back to Magadh, the grain bowl of Bihar that had turned almost entirely arid because of abortive modern irrigation policies.
How Indigenous knowledge advances modern science and technology
2018-01-04
Although the value of integrating Indigenous science with Western science has been recognized, we have only begun to scratch the surface of its benefits.
Glassy debris points to relatively recent asteroid impact in southeast Asia
2018-01-04
A kilometer-size asteroid slammed into Earth about 800,000 years ago with so much force that it scattered debris across a 10th of our planet’s surface. Yet its impact crater remains undiscovered.
Did ancient irrigation technology travel Silk Road?
2018-01-04
1,600-year-old system allowed farming in arid northwestern China, one of world’s driest climates.
ANCIENT CAVE IN CHINA FILLED WITH 45,000-YEAR-OLD STONE TOOLS AND ANIMAL BONES, NEW EXCAVATION REVEALS
2018-01-04
Researchers have speculated that this region was one of the earliest to cultivate wheat, and that it might have been the point of origin from which the grain spread, via trade, out into other populations.
Study may shed new light on dispersal of early modern humans
2018-01-03
The occupation of the Levant by early modern humans during the Pleistocene was not as simple and straight-forward as the traditionally accepted paradigm has depicted.
Roman Temple of Mithras May Align with Sun on ‘Jesus’ Birthday’
2018-01-03
An 1,800-year-old temple in northern England that is dedicated to the god Mithras was built to align with the rising sun on Dec. 25, a physics professor has found.
Tools near Mumbai beach trace human settlements to Middle Stone Age
2018-01-03
It is exciting to find traces from the Mesolithic era in Mumbai as people usually determine the city’s existence from the time the Portuguese landed.
The people of the whale
2018-01-03
The Inupiat are an indigenous community from North Slope Alaska, whose lifestyle and culture is dependent on subsistence harvest of marine mammals. The Inupiat have a rich spiritual life that centres around the gift of the whale to the community.
Explainer: the seasonal ‘calendars’ of Indigenous Australia
2018-01-03
There is no beginning or end, and as such, there is no “New Year”. Instead, both seasons and humans are viewed as components of cycles.
Photographer turns focus to Cherokee Nation
2018-01-03
"Everyone was just so warm and friendly," Downey said of Tahlequah residents. "It was really heartwarming, I've got to say; beautiful people down there."
Nasa’s to-do list for 2018: Robots in Mars, asteroid visits, touching the sun and more
2018-01-03
2018 is slated to be an exciting year for Nasa and its fans.
NASA asteroid hunter spies Earth from far, far away
2018-01-03
The Osiris-Rex spacecraft sent back a striking view of Earth and the moon looking tiny against the backdrop of space.
Speed breeding technique sows seeds of new green revolution
2018-01-02
Speed breeding offers a potential new solution to a global challenge for the 21st century.
Astronauts Have Identified Unknown Microbes in Space For The First Time
2018-01-02
Now that the technique has been shown to work in space, there's no telling what astronauts might find next.
A science news preview of 2018
2018-01-02
From next steps in the commercial space revolution to a rocket-powered supercar, there's much to look forward to in 2018.
Scan technique reveals secret writing in mummy cases
2018-01-02
Researchers have developed a scanning technique that leaves the cases intact but allows historians to read what is on the papyrus.
Lost Roman roads could be found as Environment Agency laser scans whole of England from air
2017-12-31
All the data gathered will be made available for free for the public and industry including archaeologists, urban planners and even game developers.
130 million-year-old nest of perfectly preserved dinosaur eggs discovered in China
2017-12-31
The eggs were found by workers who were excavating the ground for the construction of a school in Jiangxi province.
Did Prehistoric Middle Eastern Culture Visit Europe, Spawn Artistic Culture, and Leave?
2017-12-31
Evidence from a cave in Israel suggests that prehistoric tools and artwork from Western Europe could possibly owe their existence to an earlier culture from the Middle East.
Magical new 4,500 year old finds add to ‘oldest toy collection in the world’
2017-12-29
The rare discoveries of the pre-historic toys were made at the Itkol II burial ground in the Republic of Khakassia, southern Siberia.
‘Near-Earth’ asteroid set to pass us by today at 21,000mph
2017-12-29
An asteroid will pass by Earth today, only three days after it was first spotted by astronomers. At its closest point, the asteroid will be around 140,000 miles away from Earth.
Experts bowled over by ancient urn found on bed of Lake Biwako
2017-12-29
It remains a mystery why so much pottery from such a wide time span have been found at this site.
Sol Bellear: Indigenous Australian civil rights leader, rugby player and veteran of the land rights movement
2017-12-29
A black power salute cost Sol Bellear his athletic career, but he returned to both sport and politics to fight for a people demanding recognition in their own country.
Plants Are Better at Complex Decision-Making Than We Ever Realised
2017-12-28
We know that plants can learn, and make decisions, and we now have a new level of insight into the decision-making process plants go through when put under pressure.
Iberian Brown Bears not descended from fleeing ice age bears
2017-12-28
Data suggests that the Pleistocene lineage was lost, and the Holocene bears, after the last glacial maximum, entered the peninsula from some unidentified area 5,000 years after colonizing the British Isles.
Ancient Axes, Spear Points May Reveal When Early Humans Left Africa
2017-12-28
More than 1,000 stone artifacts, some of which may be up to 1.76 million years old, have been discovered at Wadi Dabsa, in southwest Saudi Arabia near the Red Sea.
Lighting of Serpent canceled
2017-12-26
A 13-year winter solstice tradition at Serpent Mound was canceled this year and the organization that sponsored it and other local residents are not happy.
14 Ways Our Perception of The Universe Changed Forever in 2017
2017-12-26
2017 was an incredible year for space science.
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