Ancient news stories

Université de Bordeaux-led research reports that spatial statistics can discriminate potential Paleolithic Artificial Memory Systems from butchery and art, aligning prehistoric marked objects with memory devices in Africa and Europe. The study was published in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. 

A study of a handful of 300,000-year-old teeth revealed an ancient human group had a mix of archaic and modern tooth features. The study is published in the September issue of the Journal of Human Evolution.

In Gabon’s sprawling forest, archaeologists dig for ancient clues that could unlock the secrets of how prehistoric humans lived and interacted in the changing landscape of central Africa.

Ancient teeth found in Thailand show that the practice of chewing on betel nuts emerged at least 4,000 years ago during the Bronze Age. The discovery of 4,000-year-old dental plaque with trace compounds from betel nuts is detailed in a paper published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology.

For hungry Neanderthals, there was more on the menu than wild mammals, roasted pigeon, seafood and plants. Chemical signatures in the ancient bones point to a nutritious and somewhat inevitable side dish: handfuls of fresh maggots.

Researchers have discovered a 4,000-year-old handprint on a tomb offering from ancient Egypt, providing a rare glimpse into the life of its maker.

New evidence suggests Stone Age people really did move massive Stonehenge boulders more than 200 kilometers (arouind 125 miles) to the inner ring of Stonehenge, without the help of any glaciers. This research was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

A new analysis of ancient DNA from 15 people who lived in the Italian Alps around the same time as Ötzi the Iceman shows that Ötzi’s ancestry was decidedly different from his neighbors’. The study was published July 11 in the journal Nature Communications.

Excavations at the Roman fort of Magna near Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland in north east England have uncovered some very large leather footwear. Their discovery, according to some news coverage, has “baffled” archaeologists.

Ötzi the Iceman may have come to an unfortunate end while crossing the Alps more than 5,000 years ago, but thanks to his well-preserved remains, he’s still helping us understand our past. A new digital reconstruction of the mummy’s ribcage is providing fresh insights into modern human evolution.

The ancient meteor impact that formed Arizona’s Barringer Crater sent shock waves through the Grand Canyon — likely triggering a landslide that dammed the Colorado River, a new study suggests. The study, published on July 15 in the journal Geology, has linked two major events that were thought to be completely unrelated.

Over the past 2.5 million years, sea levels have waxed and waned around the islands of Southeast Asia, sometimes exposing a sunken landmass and forming a bridge between islands such as Borneo and Java and mainland Asia. This landscape, called Sundaland, let animals, including hominins, migrate onto the islands of Southeast Asia

Did Neanderthals have family recipes? A new study suggests that two groups of Neanderthals living in the caves of Amud and Kebara in northern Israel butchered their food in strikingly different ways, despite living close by and using similar tools and resources. Scientists think they might have been passing down different food preparation practices.

“This study provides the first direct evidence of Neanderthal activity on the Portuguese Atlantic coast, revealing their use of dune landscapes for movement and possibly hunting, and highlighting the ecological diversity of their diet and behavior,” the authors wrote in their study, published in Scientific Reports.

The psychedelic psilocybin, found in magic mushrooms, slows certain hallmarks of aging in human cells and older mice, a lab study suggests.

Recent excavations in Gantangqing, China, have produced the earliest known evidence of complex wooden tool technology in East Asia…A study presenting the new findings in the journal Science notes that the Gantangqing implements “document the use of wooden artifacts in a completely different type of environment from Europe or Africa.”