Humans news stories

2,300-year-old glass workshop littered with Celtic coins is oldest known north of the Alps
28th July 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Archaeologists have unearthed a 2,300-year-old Iron Age glass workshop that could be one of the oldest in the world. See the study here.

Family trees from the European Neolithic shed light on social organization
28th July 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

The Neolithic lifestyle, based on farming instead of hunting and gathering, emerged in the Near East around 12,000 years ago and contributed profoundly to the modern way of life. See the research here.

Machu Picchu: Ancient DNA Sheds New Light on Lost City of The Incas
28th July 2023 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

Our international team of researchers has uncovered the incredible genetic diversity hidden within the ancient remains of those who once called Machu Picchu home. We detail our findings in a study published in Science Advances.

Early humans in the Hula Valley invested in systematic procurement of raw materials hundreds of thousands of years ago
24th July 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

A new study from Tel Aviv University and Tel-Hai College solves an old mystery: Where did early humans in the Hula Valley get flint to make the prehistoric tools known as handaxes?

Researchers Find Evidence of The Oldest Known Curry in Southeast Asia
24th July 2023 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

New research shows the trading of spices for culinary use goes way back – some 2,000 years, to be precise. A paper published in Science Advances details findings of what seems to be evidence of Southeast Asia’s oldest known curry. It’s also the oldest evidence of curry ever found outside India.

MDMA-assisted therapy might be effective in reducing chronic pain among individuals with PTSD
20th July 2023 | psypost.org | Humans, Misc.

An open label study of a group of individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who also reported suffering chronic pain showed that MDMA-assisted therapy led to significant reduction in pain intensity and pain-related disability in participants with highest levels of chronic pain. The study was published in Frontiers in Psychiatry.

How classic psychology warped our view of human nature as cruel and selfish – but new research is more hopeful
20th July 2023 theconversation.com | Humans, Misc.

There are a number of classic experiments and theories that every psychology student learns about, but more recent research has questioned their findings so that psychologists today are reevaluating human nature.

Image from: loc.gov (Wiki Commons)

Early humans were weapon woodwork experts, study finds
20th July 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

A 300,000-year-old hunting weapon has shone a new light on early humans as woodworking masters, according to a new study.

Look Up! One of The Year’s Best Meteor Showers Is Visible This Month
20th July 2023 | sciencealert.com | Humans, Space

Annually, between July 17 and August 24, the Perseid meteor shower puts on one of the brightest cosmic events of the year. This year the meteor shower is predicted to reach its peak on the night of August 13, as Earth passes through the densest part of the Comet 109/Swift-Tuttle’s trail.

3,000-year-old untouched burial of ‘charioteer’ discovered in Siberia
19th July 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Archaeologists in Siberia have discovered the untouched 3,000-year-old grave of a person thought to be a charioteer — indicating for the first time that horse-drawn chariots were used in the region.

New technique represents major breakthrough in search for aliens, scientists say
19th July 2023 | independent.co.uk | Humans, Space, Tech

A new technique is a dramatic breakthrough in the search for alien life, astronomers say. See the research here.

Two-Million-Year-Old Tooth Widens the Ancient Human Family Tree
18th July 2023 | discovermagazine.com | Ancient, Humans, Tech

Two-million-year-old teeth (four sets, in fact) tell new stories in a newly posted preprint paper that strips them of enamel and analyzes what the proteins have to say. This “proteomic” approach, which relied on the more rugged protein molecules instead of fragile DNA, revealed their relationship to the wider family tree of early humans.

Evidence of Roman-era ‘death magic’ used to speak with the deceased found near Jerusalem
18th July 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Ancient human skulls, oil lamps and parts of weapons hidden in a cave near Jerusalem are signs the site was used in the Roman era for attempts to speak to the dead — a practice known as necromancy, or “death magic” — according to a new study.

Stone tools and camel tooth suggest people were in the Pacific Northwest more than 18,000 years ago
17th July 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Although this is not the earliest date for human occupation of the Americas that has been proposed, the finding, which is not yet published in a peer-reviewed study, appears to be thousands of years older than any other archaeological site in Oregon.

Project uses AI and archaeological materials for network analyses from the Middle Stone Age to antiquity
17th July 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Humans, Tech

Publishing in the international journal Antiquity, a team of archaeologists from seven countries led by Kiel University has presented the “Big Exchange” project, which uses AI to better understand the networks and interactions of prehistoric and early historic people.

Mysterious Labyrinth Found Hidden Under a Church in Mexico
17th July 2023 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

Archaeologists working at the Mitla site in southern Mexico have come across a discovery worthy of an Indiana Jones movie: a labyrinth of chambers and passageways hidden below a church, representing an ‘entrance’ to the underworld.

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