Humans news stories

Men and women might have had their fingers deliberately chopped off during religious rituals in prehistoric times, according to a new interpretation of palaeolithic cave art.

The sea off the north-west of Australia used to host islands and even a huge landmass, big enough to support half a million people, according to new archaeological research. A study published in Quaternary Science Review has mapped a world that appeared and disappeared with changing sea levels over the past 70,000 years.

In the study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, the researchers examined 57 pot sherds with foodcrusts mainly attributed to the Songze cultural period (ca. 5800–5300 BP).

A world-first, non-invasive AI system can turn silent thoughts into text while only requiring users to wear a snug-fitting cap.

The research, published in the Planetary Science Journal, introduces a novel approach to simulating the energy deposition from a nuclear device on an asteroid’s surface.

The application of modern methods of dating fossil human remains has catalysed major revisions in our understanding of human evolution. A new review… shows how the reanalysis of fossils discovered across the world brings into question our current ideas of human evolution, some of which may be incorrect.

Now, a research team from the Center de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France has reported the first discovery of black carbon-based art in Dordogne’s Font-de-Gaume cave…The team’s findings…are published in Scientific Reports.

Ancient bricks inscribed with the names of Mesopotamian kings have yielded important insights into a mysterious anomaly in Earth’s magnetic field 3,000 years ago, according to a new study involving University College London researchers.

In a recent study, scientists from UC Davis, the Alaska Whale Foundation, and SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) teamed up. Their mission: Communicate with whales. And they did just that.

In research presented on Friday, 15 December at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting (AGU23) in San Franciso, paleoclimate reconstructions of the Pacific Northwest hint that sea ice may have been one way for people to move farther south.

The art is the first ancient pictorial art, which depicts images of nature with human-like and animal-like figures, to be found in Madagascar.

The Amnya archaeological sites were officially unearthed from 1987 onwards, but recent radiocarbon dating has found the main pit house at Amnya Site I and its fortifications date back 8,000 years or so. The study was published in Antiquity.

In a recently published study, scientists developed new compounds derived from psilocybin, the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms.” These compounds are designed to reduce the psychedelic effects associated with psilocybin while maintaining its therapeutic benefits.

Scientists find genes inherited from our prehistoric cousins increase tendency to rise early – useful in regions with short winter days.

In a study published Dec. 13 in Science Advances, an international team of researchers…report archaeologically and genetically confirmed evidence for domestic yak, dating back 2,500 years, by far the oldest record.

Although associated with psychedelic drugs, this state of mind can also be accessed in daily life. See the study here.