Ancient news stories

First European farmers’ heights did not meet expectations
8th April 2022 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

A combined study of genetics and skeletal remains show that the switch from primarily hunting, gathering and foraging to farming about 12,000 years ago in Europe may have had negative health effects as indicated by shorter than expected heights in the earliest farmers, according to an international team of researchers.

A Surprise Cave Finding Has Once Again Upended Our Story of Humans Leaving Africa
8th April 2022 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

Last year, a genetic analysis of bone fragments representing our earliest known presence in Europe raised a few questions over the steps modern humans took to conquer every corner of the modern world.

Ancient Chilean tsunami scared local people away for 1000 years
8th April 2022 | newscientist.com | Ancient, Earth, Humans

A tsunami 3800 years ago devastated the coastline of Chile and encouraged hunter-gatherers to move inland, where they stayed for the next 1000 years.

Fossil of dinosaur killed in asteroid strike found, scientists claim
7th April 2022 | bbc.co.uk | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth

Scientists have presented a stunningly preserved leg of a dinosaur. The limb, complete with skin, is just one of a series of remarkable finds emerging from the Tanis fossil site in the US State of North Dakota.

 

Tools reveal patterns of Neandertal extinction in the Iberian Peninsula
1st April 2022 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

Neandertal populations in the Iberian Peninsula were experiencing local extinction and replacement even before Homo sapiens arrived, according to a study published March 30, 2022 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Joseba Rios-Garaizar of the Archaeological Museum of Bilbao, Spain and colleagues.

Distant star found by Hubble telescope may be earliest we will ever see
31st March 2022 | theguardian.com | Ancient, Space, Tech

The most distant star ever seen has been captured by the Hubble space telescope in images that appear to give a remarkable glimpse into the ancient universe.

Ancient helium leaking from core offers clues of Earth’s formation
31st March 2022 phys.org | Ancient, Earth, Space

Helium-3, a rare isotope of helium gas, is leaking out of Earth’s core, a new study reports. Because almost all helium-3 is from the Big Bang, the gas leak adds evidence that Earth formed inside a solar nebula, which has long been debated.

Assam: ‘Mysterious’ giant stone jars found in India
31st March 2022 | bbc.co.uk | Ancient, Humans

Researchers have uncovered giant “mysterious” jars in India that may have been used for ancient human burial practices.

An Ancient Part of The Milky Way Is Much Older Than We Ever Knew
30th March 2022 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Space

The Milky Way is older than astronomers thought, or part of it is. A newly-published study shows that part of the disk is two billion years older than we thought.

Asteroid Ryugu harbors life’s building blocks
29th March 2022 earthsky.org | Ancient, Space, Tech

That’s according to researchers in Japan, who detailed their findings in two new papers presented at the 53rd annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas, March 7 to 11, 2022.

2,500-year-old burial mound found in Siberia’s ‘Valley of the Kings’
29th March 2022 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

The ancient tomb holds the remains of five people, including those of a woman and toddler who were buried with an array of grave goods, such as a crescent moon-shaped pendant, bronze mirror and gold earrings.

Built by an Unknown Culture, This Is The Oldest Sun Observatory in The Americas
29th March 2022 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

Long before the Incas rose to power in Peru and began to celebrate their sun god, a little known civilization was building the earliest known astronomical observatory in the Americas.

Testing the Dark Emu hypothesis
26th March 2022 cosmosmagazine.com | Ancient, Humans

One of the most interesting things going on in Australian archaeology is the idea that Aboriginal food production systems may have involved domestication of some plant species. Was there some level of food production going on in Aboriginal groups that goes well beyond hunter-gathering?

1,000-year-old oaks used to create ‘super forest’
26th March 2022 | bbc.co.uk | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth, Humans

“They’ve lived for so long; just think what they’ve seen.” Forester Nick Baimbridge is gazing fondly at a majestic oak that has stood for more than a thousand years. On this wintry afternoon, birds sing from lichen-covered branches and a deer runs through the undergrowth.

Rewriting the history books: Why the Vikings left Greenland
24th March 2022 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

One of the great mysteries of late medieval history is why did the Norse, who had established successful settlements in southern Greenland in 985, abandon them in the early 15th century?

Machu Picchu: Inca site ‘has gone by wrong name for over 100 years’
24th March 2022 | theguardian.com | Ancient, Humans

Peruvian historian and US archaeologist say the pre-Columbian town was called Huayna Picchu by the Inca people.

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