Humans news stories

No one ‘expected to find what we did’: 4,000-year-old Canaanite arch in Israel may have been used by cult
15th September 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Archeologists discovered the mysterious arch at the end of a narrow, underground passageway that was sealed with sediment shortly after it was built in the Middle Bronze Age.

AZTEC CAPITAL OF TENOCHTITLAN RE-CREATED IN 3D
14th September 2023 | heritagedaily.com | Ancient, Humans

The project, called “A portrait of Tenochtitlan, a 3D reconstruction of the capital of the Aztec Empire”, is the result of 1.5 years of study, in which a team of specialists have used open-source software such as Blender, Gimp, and Darktable, to bring Tenochtitlan back to life how it looked in AD 1518. Visit “A portrait of Tenochtitlan” by Clicking Here

Psychedelic use linked to decreased alcohol and cocaine intake, but increased tobacco and cannabis consumption
14th September 2023 | psypost.org | Humans, Misc.

An online survey involving a vast number of adults revealed that after initiating psychedelic use, participants often reduced or stopped their intake of alcohol, antidepressants, and cocaine. Conversely, their consumption of cannabis and tobacco products increased. The study was published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.

Stone Age artists carved detailed human and animal tracks in rock art in Namibia
14th September 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

During the Later Stone Age in what is now Namibia, rock artists imbued so much detail into their engravings of human and animal prints that current-day Indigenous trackers could identify which animals’ prints they were depicting, as well as the animals’ general age and sex. See the study here.

‘I am horrified’: Archaeologists are fuming over ancient human relative remains sent to edge of space
14th September 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans, Space, Weird

Scientists are calling the Virgin Galactic mission that carried the bones of Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi to the edge of space a major ethical breach.

Pigment production adapted to cultural changes and availability of mineral resources 40,000 years ago in Ethiopia
12th September 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Earth, Humans

An international research team from Spain and France has carried out the chemical and technological analysis of the largest known collection of red and yellow mineral pigments, commonly called ochre, dated to the Middle Stone Age, between 300,000 and 40,000 years ago, and found at Porc-Epic cave, Ethiopia. See the research here.

‘I feel like a man from another era’: Neanderthal hunter Ludovic Slimak
12th September 2023 | theguardian.com | Ancient, Humans

Explorer Ludovic Slimak has dedicated decades to unearthing the mystery of our prehistoric ancestors. Now he has found a missing piece that radically reshapes our understanding – not just of the Neanderthals but of humanity itself

Archaeologists reveal largest paleolithic cave art site in Eastern Iberia
12th September 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Animal Life, Humans

More than 100 ancient paintings and engravings, thought to be at least 24,000 years old, have been found in a 500-meter-long cave in “Cova Dones” or “Cueva Dones”—a site located in Millares near Valencia in Spain. See the research here.

Paleolithic hunter-gatherer hearths reveal changing vegetation in response to climate
8th September 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

New research published in Quaternary Science Reviews has investigated how Paleolithic communities (Magdalenians) living in Cova del Parco (Iberian Pre-Pyrenees, southwest Europe) during the Late Pleistocene (16,400–12,700 years before present) may have been affected by the changing landscape in response to climate.

Centuries-old technique reveals hidden ‘3D’ animals in Paleolithic cave art
6th September 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

The hidden animals were revealed on cave walls in Spain with ‘Magic Eye’-style techniques.

Medical cannabis use in patients with chronic health issues linked to improvements in health-related quality of life
6th September 2023 medicalxpress.com | Humans, Misc.

Australian patients with chronic health issues prescribed medical cannabis showed significant improvements in overall health-related quality of life and fatigue in the first three months of use, along with improvements in anxiety, depression, and pain. See the study here.

Mysterious Stones May Represent an Ancient Quest For The Perfect Sphere
6th September 2023 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

Ancient rocks excavated from a site inhabited by early humans some 1.4 million years ago may represent attempts at achieving perfect geometry. The research has been published in Royal Society Open Science.

2,800-year-old figurines unearthed at Greek temple may be offerings to Poseidon
5th September 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Excavation of an ancient Greek temple has yielded a variety of figurines, possibly offerings to Poseidon.

Scientists Discover ‘Pure Math’ Is Written Into Evolutionary Genetics
5th September 2023 | sciencealert.com | Animal Life, Earth, Humans

A team of researchers has just uncovered another striking connection between math and nature: between one of the purest forms of mathematics, number theory, and the mechanisms governing the evolution of life on molecular scales, genetics. See the study here.

This Saudi Woman is Creating Psychedelic Community in the Arab World
4th September 2023 | Humans, Misc.

In the Arab world, psychedelics are considered “haram,” or forbidden. Haya Al-Hejailan is working to reframe them as medicines.

Archaeologists uncover complete Neolithic cursus on the Isle of Arran
4th September 2023 | theguardian.com | Ancient, Humans

The monument dates to between 4000 and 3000BC and is thought to be the only complete example in Britain.

News stories covering humans, psychology and health.