Ancient news stories

A star cluster in the Milky Way appears to be as old as the universe
26th June 2023 | sciencenews.org | Ancient, Space

Star cluster M92, a densely packed ball of stars roughly 27,000 light-years from Earth, is about 13.8 billion years old, researchers report in a paper submitted June 3 to arXiv.org. The newly refined age estimate makes this clump of stars nearly the same age as the universe.

Mystery Human Relative Appears to Have Been Butchered And Eaten 1.45 Million Years Ago
26th June 2023 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

It’s not an unknown behavior, over the years. But the tibia, marked with cuts, and belonging to a mystery human relative who used to live in what is now Kenya, may represent the oldest example we’ve seen yet of hominin-on-hominin butchery. The findings have been published in Scientific Reports.

Neanderthal cave engravings identified as oldest known, more than 57,000 years old
22nd June 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

Markings on a cave wall in France are the oldest known engravings made by Neanderthals, according to a study published June 21, 2023, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Jean-Claude Marquet of the University of Tours, France and colleagues.

4,000 Year Old ‘Stonehenge’ Monument First of Its Kind in The Netherlands
22nd June 2023 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

Dutch archaeologists on Wednesday revealed an around 4,000-year-old religious site – dubbed the “Stonehenge of the Netherlands” in the country’s media – which included a burial mound serving as a solar calendar.

Fossil-rich site in China offers new insights into early mammal evolution in the Jurassic
21st June 2023 cosmosmagazine.com | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth

Researchers studying the sites have determined that the Yanliao Biota date back to between 164 million and 157 million years ago. Their results are published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

Maya civilisation: Archaeologists find ancient city in jungle
21st June 2023 | bbc.co.uk | Ancient, Humans

Experts found several pyramid-like structures measuring more than 15m (50ft) in height.Pottery unearthed at the site appears to indicate it was inhabited between 600 and 800 AD, a period known as Late Classic.

10 temples, tombs and monuments that align with the summer solstice
21st June 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Earth, Humans

From the Mediterranean to North America, there’s a lot of evidence that the day the ‘sun stands still’ has been important to humans for thousands of years.

Ancient Britons built Stonehenge – then vanished. Is science closing in on their killers?
20th June 2023 | theguardian.com | Ancient, Humans

New clues from an ancient plague are pushing us to rethink where Britons were ‘really’ from – and the answer is complicated.

An unseen industry: When Neanderthals turned bone into tools
20th June 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Humans, Tech

Were anatomically modern humans the only ones who knew how to turn bone into tools? A discovery by an international team at the Chez-Pinaud-Jonzac Neanderthal site settles the question. Published in PLOS ONE, it sheds light on a little known aspect of Neanderthal technology.

This Ancient Blob May Be The Oldest Phallic Depiction Ever Found
20th June 2023 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

An ancient oblong artifact made about 42,000 years ago bears a carving that looks suspiciously penis-like. Some archaeologists think it could be the earliest known phallic figurine in the world. See the research here.

Vast cemetery of Bronze Age burial mounds unearthed near Stonehenge
19th June 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Archaeologists have discovered a vast cemetery of Bronze Age burial mounds, thought to be up to 4,400 years old, ahead of a building development less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Stonehenge.

Archaeologists discover rare evidence for early Homo sapiens in Britain
19th June 2023 | abdn.ac.uk | Ancient, Humans

Archaeologists have discovered extremely rare evidence for early Homo sapiens in Britain. The finds of stone tools and animal bones, dating to the last Ice Age, were found during archaeological excavations at Pembroke Castle’s Wogan Cavern. Their excavations will continue this summer.

Ancient DNA points to Irish language’s 4,500-year-old roots
19th June 2023 | irishnews.com | Ancient, Humans

At the start of the week of the Summer Solstice, many will once again marvel at the magnificent structures built across Ireland thousands of years ago, including Newgrange in Co Meath. The structures were built by the descendants of the first peoples that landed on the island in what is believed to be two migratory waves from around 10,000 years ago.

New Study shows Early Native Americans in Alaska were freshwater fishermen 13,000 years ago
16th June 2023 arkeonews.net | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth, Humans

A team led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers has discovered the earliest known evidence that Native Americans living in present-day central Alaska may have begun freshwater fishing around 13,000 years ago during the last ice age. See the study here.

Peru archaeology: Ancient mummy found under rubbish dump Published
16th June 2023 | bbc.co.uk | Ancient, Humans

Archaeologists in Peru conducting a dig at the site of a rubbish dump in the capital Lima have found a mummy they think is around 3,000 years old.

 

Museum exhibit in Norway reveals new details on Neanderthals
16th June 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

When the first Neanderthal skeleton was found in the Neandertal (Neander Valley) in Germany in 1856, scientists imagined the person to have been a dull-witted cave dweller. The German zoologist Ernst Haeckel went so far as to give this first individual the name Homo stupidus.

News stories covering history, archaeology, ancient Egypt, and mysteries of the past.