Ancient news stories

Scientists led by the ESRF, the European Synchrotron, Grenoble, France and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, have discovered the composition of red and black inks in ancient Egyptian papyri from circa 100-200 AD, leading to a number of hypotheses about writing practices.

There is much debate surrounding the age of the Clovis—a prehistoric culture named for stone tools found near Clovis, New Mexico in the early 1930s—who once occupied North America during the end of the last Ice Age.

That the Inca sacrificed people to appease their gods is well known, but a discovery in Peru sheds new light on a far more common sacrificial practice: the ritual offering of highly prized and ornately decorated llamas.

Ancient Maya in the once-bustling city of Tikal built sophisticated water filters using natural materials they imported from miles away, according to the University of Cincinnati.

People thrive all across the globe, at every temperature, altitude and landscape. How did human beings become so successful at adapting to whatever environment we wind up in?

Sweat baths have a long history of use in Mesoamerica. Commonly used by midwives in postpartum and perinatal care in contemporary Maya communities, these structures are viewed as grandmother figures, a pattern that can also be traced to earlier periods of history.

Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed another trove of ancient coffins in a vast necropolis south of Cairo, authorities said Monday.

Image from Nazlet El-Semman, Al Haram, Giza Governorate, Egypt – panoramio (10).jpg (Wiki Commons)

“The initial purpose of this study was to refine the chronology of these two sites, which are amongst the oldest evidence of human presence in Western Europe, north of the 45°N latitude, before 500,000 years ago,”

Feline geoglyph from 200-100BC emerges during work at Unesco world heritage site

Ancient art throughout the catacombs of Rome, painted on the walls and carved into stone coffins, shows Jesus as he multiplies loaves of bread, heals the sick and brings the dead back to life. These images are unified by one surprising element: In each of them, Jesus appears to brandish a wand.

The group climbed the steep mountainside, clambering across an Alpine glacier, before finding what they were seeking: a crystal vein filled with the precious rocks needed to sculpt their tools.

The earliest “babies” known to science have been uncovered in the remains of a primitive fish found in Orkney.

More than 10,000 years ago, a woman or young man—a toddler balanced on one hip—set out on a harried trip northward through what is now White Sands National Park, New Mexico.

The drawings depict birds, monkeys, killer whales and more. Theories about their ultimate purpose abound.

The islands of the Caribbean used to be home to a huge array of unusual animals, including a group of rodents that weighed up to 200 kilograms.