News Desk

Ancient DNA helps researchers elucidate the structure of a prehistoric community from Southeast Asia
7th February 2024 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

“Our research examines the relationship between humans and their environments in the seasonal tropics. One crucial aspect is the exploration of the social structure of these prehistoric communities, as well as explaining their connections with other pre-Neolithic, Neolithic and post-Neolithic groups in this region”.

How long did Neanderthals and modern humans co-exist in Europe? Evidence is growing it may have been at least 10,000 years
7th February 2024 theconversation.com | Ancient, Humans

The idea that two different human species, Homo sapiens (us) and Neanderthals, co-existed in western Eurasia 50–40,000 years ago has long captured the imagination of academics and the public alike.

David Nutt explains how psychedelics can revolutionise mental-health treatment | Brave New World
6th February 2024 youtu.be | Humans, Misc.

Could LSD, Ketamine and ayahuasca revolutionise mental health treatment? The Brave New World podcast speaks to experts David Nutt and Amanda Feilding about the psychedelic renaissance. (10 min clip).

Image from: Justin Cooke (Wiki Commons)

Pterosaur: Unique flying reptile soared above Isle of Skye Published
6th February 2024 | bbc.co.uk | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth

A unique species of flying reptile, or pterosaur, that lived 168-166 million years ago has been discovered on the Isle of Skye…Scientists were surprised to find a pterosaur from this period off Scotland’s west coast – they were thought to mostly live in China.

AI helps scholars read scroll buried when Vesuvius erupted in AD79
6th February 2024 | theguardian.com | Ancient, Earth, Humans

Scholars of antiquity believe they are on the brink of a new era of understanding after researchers armed with artificial intelligence read the hidden text of a charred scroll that was buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago.

An asteroid may have exploded over Antarctica about 2.5 million years ago
6th February 2024 | sciencenews.org | Ancient, Earth, Space

The evidence comes from a chemical analysis of more than 100 tiny pieces of rock entrained within the White Continent’s ice, researchers report in the Feb. 1 Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

Farming began in North Africa about 7,500 years ago thanks to immigrants, DNA from Neolithic burials reveals
6th February 2024 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Recent research…points to rapid development in the Middle East, in the region known as the Fertile Crescent. The innovations that came about there subsequently spread, and were adopted by hunter gatherer communities in the Anatolian peninsula (present day Turkey).

MDMA may help prevent “bad trips” on psilocybin or LSD, study suggests
5th February 2024 | psypost.org | Humans, Misc.

New research suggests that low doses of MDMA can help to reduce the challenging effects associated with psychedelic drugs like LSD and psilocybin, the active component in magic mushrooms. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, shed new light on the effects of “candy flipping” and “hippy flipping”…

‘We were gobsmacked’: 350 million-year-old tree fossils are unlike any scientists have ever seen
5th February 2024 | livescience.com | Ancient, Earth

Rare tree fossils preserved with their leaves have an architecture unlike any plant known today and represent the earliest evidence of smaller trees growing beneath the forest canopy. See the study, published in the journal Current Biology.

Humans walk thanks to change in ape ears 6 million years ago
4th February 2024 cosmosmagazine.com | Ancient, Animal Life, Humans

New evidence from the fossilised skulls of a 6-million-year-old ape called Lufengpithecus has revealed important clues about how our quadrupedal ancestors made the transition to walking on two legs. The analysis is published in the journal Innovation.

Antarctica mysteries to be mapped by robot plane
4th February 2024 | bbc.co.uk | Animal Life, Earth, Humans, Tech

The autonomous plane will map areas of the continent that have been out of bounds to researchers.

 

Did art exist before modern humans? New discoveries raise big questions.
4th February 2024 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Scientists are finding ever-earlier examples of artistic expression in the archaeological record that reshape what we know about the cognitive abilities of our archaic human relatives, such as Neanderthals.

New study provides insights into MDMA’s potential for improving self-experience in PTSD patients
2nd February 2024 | psypost.org | Humans, Misc.

MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appears to have positive effects on mental processes related to self-experience, such as emotional awareness and self-compassion, which are often linked to poor treatment outcomes in traditional therapies, according to new research published in PLOS One.

Human fossil discovery upends history of Palaeolithic Europe
2nd February 2024 cosmosmagazine.com | Ancient, Humans

A surprise discovery of human remains in a German cave has “fundamentally changed” the story of our species’ migration into Europe. Their findings were published across three major research papers in the journal Nature.

Jade mask depicting Maya storm god unearthed in royal tomb in Guatemala
2nd February 2024 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Archaeologists have discovered a 1,700-year-old royal tomb in Guatemala that’s overflowing with funeral offerings, including an intricately designed jade mask depicting a Maya deity.

Experiments suggest ancient four-holed ivory baton was used to make rope
2nd February 2024 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

A pair of historians at the University of Tübingen have found evidence that an ancient baton, thought to be a work of art created by early humans thousands of years ago, is actually a device to assist with making rope. The study is published in the journal Science Advances. 

Daily alternative news articles at the GrahamHancock News Desk. Featuring science, alternative history, archaeology, Ancient Egypt, paranormal and much more. Check in daily for updates!