Archaeology News

Middle Paleolithic Tracks Offer Oldest Evidence Yet of Human Footwear

A shod-hominin track in the Garden Route National Park, South Africa. Image credit: Charles Helm.
Sep 15, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

New evidence from three tracksites on South Africa’s Cape coast suggests that early humans may have worn footwear while traversing dune surfaces during the Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age. A shod-hominin track in the Garden Route National Park, South Africa. Image credit: Charles Helm. “When and where did humans first fashion footwear?” said Nelson Mandela University vertebrate ichnologist Charles Helm and his colleagues. “Ichnology (study...

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The Paleolithic cave art site of Cova Dones, Spain: (a) painted aurochs head; (b) horse head made with clay; (c) panel with several motifs painted with clay, including animals and signs (some partly covered by calcite layers). Image credit: Ruiz-Redondo et al., doi: 10.15184/aqy.2023.133.

New Paleolithic Cave Art Site Discovered in Spain

Sep 12, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists have discovered and examined over a hundred Paleolithic paintings and engravings — thought to be at least 24,000 years old —...

Archaeologists Oriya Amichay and Hagay Hamer with one of the swords found in a cave near the archaeological site of ‘Ein Gedi in Israel. Image credit: Amir Ganor, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Four Well-Preserved Roman-Era Swords Found in Israeli Cave

Sep 11, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists have found four 1,900-year-old swords in a small cave located in an area of isolated and inaccessible cliffs north of the archaeological...

Wilkin et al. analyzed protein residues from 5,000-year-old copper alloy cauldrons. Image credit: Arnaud 25 / CC BY-SA 4.0.

5,000-Year-Old Cauldrons Shed Light on Diet of Ancient Caucasians

Aug 23, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists from the University of Zurich and elsewhere have analyzed protein residues from ancient cooking cauldrons and found that the people of Caucasus...

The 2,900-year-old clay brick from the National Museum of Denmark. Image credit: Arbøll et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-38191-w.

Ancient Plant DNA Extracted from 2,900-Year-Old Assyrian Clay Brick

Aug 22, 2023 by News Staff

Near the river Tigris, outside the ancient city of Kalhu, known today as Nimrud, northern Iraq, a brickmaker once prepared a clay brick for the construction...

The 5,500-year-old gate at Tell Erani, Israel. Image credit: Yoli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority.

5,500-Year-Old City Gate Unearthed in Israel

Aug 18, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have unearthed a 5,500-year-old city gate — the earliest known in Israel — and a...

Сeramic pipes excavated from Pingliangtai, China. Image credit: Li et al., doi: 10.1038/s44221-023-00114-4.

4,000-Year-Old Ceramic Drainage System Discovered in China

Aug 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The 4,000-year-old network of ceramic water pipes unearthed at the archaeological site of Pingliangtai on the Central Plains of China represents an unprecedented...

The Mörigen arrowhead. Image credit: Thomas Schüpbach.

2,800-Year-Old Arrowhead Was Made of Meteoritic Iron, Archaeologists Say

Aug 11, 2023 by Natali Anderson

The detection of the cosmogenic isotope aluminum-26; the concentrations of nickel, cobalt, germanium and gallium; and the presence of two minerals called...

The network of Roman roads in South West Britain. Image credit: Parcero-Oubina et al., doi: 10.5334/jcaa.109.

Archaeologists Find Evidence for Roman-Era Road Network in South West Britain

Aug 8, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The newly-discovered Roman road network system privileged the movement of animal-drawn wheel vehicles and is possibly the result of an evolutionary model,...

The 300,000-year-old fossil footprints at Schöningen 13 II-2 Untere Berme, Germany. Image credit: Altamura et al., doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108094.

300,000-Year-Old Footprints of Homo heidelbergensis Found in Germany

Jul 26, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

Archaeologists have discovered three footprints of Homo heidelbergensis — a direct ancestor of Neanderthals — and numerous footprints of elephants...

The footed grinding slab from the archaeological site of Oc Eo in Vietnam. Scale bar - 10 cm. Image credit: Wang et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adh5517.

Archaeologists Find Grinding Stones with Traces of 2,000-Year-Old Curry in Vietnam

Jul 23, 2023 by News Staff

The global spice trade has played an essential role in world history. However, because of poor preservation conditions, archaeobotanical remains of spices...

The 300,000-year-old double-pointed wooden stick at the site of Schöningen in Germany. Image credit: Peter Pfarr.

Middle Pleistocene Humans Possessed Sophisticated Woodworking Skills, Study Reveals

Jul 20, 2023 by News Staff

An analysis of a 300,000-year-old double-pointed wooden stick from the Middle Pleistocene site of Schöningen, Germany, shows it was scraped, seasoned...

An artist’s impression of the Santa Elina rock shelter, Brazil. Image credit: Júlia D’Oliveira.

Giant Sloth Pendants Push Back Timeline of Humans’ Arrival in South America

Jul 14, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists in Brazil say they have unearthed 25,000- to 27,000-year-old pendants made of bony material from the extinct giant ground sloth Glossotherium...

The 2,000-year-old fresco in Pompeii showing what may be an ancestor of modern pizza. Image credit: Pompeii archeological park.

Pompeii Fresco Depicts ‘Possible Ancestor’ of Italian Pizza

Jul 11, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A 2,000-year-old still life fresco depicting a flat focaccia (Italian flatbread) has been found among the ruins of Pompeii, an ancient Roman city frozen...

Rimrock Draw Rockshelter in Oregon, the United States. Image credit: University of Oregon.

Ancient Humans Occupied Oregon Rockshelter 18,250 Years Ago

Jul 7, 2023 by News Staff

Rimrock Draw Rockshelter in Oregon, the United States, is one of the oldest human-occupation sites in North America. Rimrock Draw Rockshelter in Oregon,...

Recreation drawing of ‘The Ivory Lady.’ Image credit: Miriam Luciañez Triviño.

New Scientific Method Reveals Female Leadership in Copper Age Iberia

Jul 7, 2023 by News Staff

The recently developed method of sex determination via sexually dimorphic amelogenin peptides in human tooth enamel represents a breakthrough for both...

The 300,000-year-old ‘giant handaxe’ from the Maritime Academy site in Frindsbury, Kent, England. Image credit: Ingrey et al., doi: 10.11141/ia.61.6.

300,000-Year-Old ‘Giant Handaxes’ Unearthed in England

Jul 5, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists have found several handaxes — two of which can be classed as ‘giant handaxes’ — at the Maritime Academy site in Frindsbury,...

A group of Australopithecus afarensis. Image credit: Matheus Vieeira.

Hominins Butchered One Another 1.45 Million Years Ago: Study

Jun 27, 2023 by News Staff

Paleoanthropologists have found multiple cut marks on a 1.45-million-year-old (Early Pleistocene) hominin fossil found in the Koobi Fora Formation in the...

The 57,000-year-old Neanderthal engravings discovered in La Roche-Cotard cave, France: the ‘circular panel’ (left) and the ‘wavy panel’ (right). Image credit: Jean-Claude Marquet / CC-BY 4.0.

57,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Engravings Discovered in France

Jun 21, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Non-figurative markings on the walls of La Roche-Cotard cave in France are the oldest known engravings made by our sister species. The 57,000-year-old...

The 12,000-year-old sound-making instruments from Eynan-Mallaha, Israel. Image credit: Davin et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-35700-9.

12,000-Year-Old Flutes Unearthed in Israel

Jun 9, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists have found seven flutes made of perforated bird bones at the Natufian site of Eynan-Mallaha in northern Israel. These instruments were intentionally...

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