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A compilation of evidence for ancient chickens in Central Asia: SEM images of a Bash Tepa egg shell, emphasizing morphologically distinct breathing pores at magnifications x30 (a), x150 (b), x750 (e, f); (c) a ceramic egg with clay balls from Bukhara dating between the tenth and twelfth centuries CE; (d) the Sophytes coin from Bactria in 300 BCE; (g) a fragment of an ossuary from Bash Tepa dating to the last centuries BCE, with an apparent chicken on the top; (h) a selection of eggshells from the Bukhara site, showing color (essentially all white) and burning, which was evident on many of the shells. Image credit: Peters et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46093-2.

Study: Chickens Were Widely Raised across Southern Central Asia as Early as 400 BCE

Apr 2, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The origins and dispersal of the chicken (Gallus gallus) across the ancient world is one of the most enigmatic questions regarding Eurasian domesticated...

The facial reconstruction (left) and the portrait (right) of the Chinese Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou dynasty. Image credit: Du et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.059.

Scientists Sequence Genome, Reconstruct Face of Chinese Emperor Wu

Mar 28, 2024 by News Staff

A team of researchers from Fudan University and elsewhere has successfully generated a genome of the Chinese Emperor Wu (Wudi) of the Xianbei-led Northern...

The ancient silver thimble found in Carew Community, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Image credit: Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales

Ancient Silver Thimble with Romantic Inscription Found in Wales

Mar 26, 2024 by News Staff

A Post Medieval silver thimble was found by Robert Edwards while metal detecting in Pembrokeshire, a county in the south-west of Wales. The ancient silver...

The 7,300-year-old canoe Marmotta 1 on display in the Museo delle Civiltà in Rome. It is a huge dugout canoe made from an oak trunk about 10.43 m long, 1.15 m wide at the stern and 0.85 m wide at the bow. It is 65 to 44cm high, depending on the part of the canoe. Image credit: Gibaja et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299765.

7,000-Year-Old Canoes Reveal Early Development of Nautical Technology

Mar 20, 2024 by News Staff

More than 7,000 years ago, Neolithic people navigated the Mediterranean Sea using technologically sophisticated boats, according to new research. The 7,300-year-old...

Recent findings document the domestication of cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) in the Ecuadorian Amazon region, its region of origin, by at least 5,300 years ago. Lanaud et al. demonstrate the large landscape of domestication of cacao, out of its area of origin, along the Pacific coast of South America, occurring concurrently during this same early time period and in subsequent time periods. Image credit: Fernando Graniel.

Cacao May Have Spread from Amazonia to Other South and Central American Regions 5,000 Years Ago

Mar 20, 2024 by News Staff

Humans have a long history of transporting and trading plants, contributing to the evolution of domesticated plants. The cacao tree (Theobroma cacao),...

First peopling of Europe. Image credit: Garba et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07151-3.

1.4-Million-Year-Old Stone Tools Found in Ukraine Document Earliest Hominin Occupation of Europe

Mar 7, 2024 by Sergio Prostak

Archaeologists have dated an assemblage of ancient stone tools excavated from the archaeological site of Korolevo on the Tysa River in western Ukraine...

Photographs, drawings, and details of stone tools from Le Moustier, France. Image credit: D. Greinert / Schmidt et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adl0822.

Neanderthals Created Stone Tools Held Together by Ochre-Based Adhesives, Scientists Say

Feb 21, 2024 by News Staff

Archaeologists have found traces of ancient ochre-based multicomponent adhesives on 40,000-year-old stone tools from Le Moustier, France. Photographs,...

The 4,750-year-old circular plaza is at center with the modern city of Cajamarca in the background. Image credit: Toohey et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adl0572.

4,750-Year-Old Monumental Stone Plaza Discovered in Peru

Feb 19, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of anthropologists from the University of Wyoming, the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of New Hampshire has discovered...

An artist’s reconstruction of the Blinkerwall in the Bay of Mecklenburg, Germany. Image credit: Michał Grabowski.

Stone Age Hunting Megastructure Discovered in Baltic Sea

Feb 14, 2024 by Sergio Prostak

A team of archaeologists from Germany has discovered a submerged Stone Age megastructure in the Western Baltic Sea at a water depth of about 21 m. The...

La Prele bone bead showing polished ends (upper) and side view with incisions (lower). Image credit: Surovell et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-53390-9.

12,940-Year-Old Bone Bead Found in Wyoming

Feb 13, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient tube-shaped bead made of hare bone at the La Prele Mammoth site in Wyoming, the United States. This is the oldest...

Stratigraphy with location of Homo sapiens bones, map of LRJ sites and stone tools from the site of Ranis, Germany. Image credit: Mylopotamitaki et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06923-7.

Homo sapiens Reached Northern Europe by 45,000 Years Ago, Scientists Say

Jan 31, 2024 by News Staff

Homo sapiens associated with the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician culture were present in central and northwestern Europe long before the extinction...

Rostain et al. discovered a dense system of pre-Hispanic urban centers, characterized by constructed platforms and plazas and connected by large, straight roads. Image credit: Rostain et al., doi: 10.1126/science.adi6317.

Archaeologists Discover 2,500-Year-Old System of Urban Centers in Amazonian Ecuador

Jan 22, 2024 by News Staff

When intact, the Amazonian forest is dense and difficult to penetrate, both on foot and with scanning technologies. Over the past several years, however,...

This artwork shows three mammoths being watched by a family of ancient Alaskans from the dunes near the Swan Point archaeological site, a seasonal hunting camp occupied 14,000 years ago. Image credit: Julius Csostonyi.

Female Woolly Mammoth’s Lifetime Movements Tied to Ancient Alaskan Hunter-Gatherer Camp

Jan 19, 2024 by News Staff

Woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) in mainland Alaska overlapped with the region’s first people for at least 1,000 years. However, it is unclear...

Cerne Abbas Giant was Muster Station for West Saxon Armies, Archaeologists Say

Jan 2, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

A huge, naked figure called Cerne Giant was cut into a Dorset hillside not, as many have supposed, in prehistory, nor in the early modern period, but in...

Map of Sahul showing the extent of the now-submerged continental shelf (dark gray), with the area of the Northwest Shelf demarcated by a dashed black box, and the present-day distribution of the Köppen climate groups (seasonal precipitation and temperature) showing the extent of modern-day Australia and New Guinea. The tropical distribution of Late Pleistocene sites containing early axe technology are shown as black circles, sites without early axe technology as gray circles, and sites demonstrating Late Pleistocene occupation of the now submerged continental shelves as white circles. Image credit: Peter Hiscock / Norman et al., doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108418.

Up To Half Million People Once Lived on Now-Submerged Northwest Shelf of Sahul

Dec 20, 2023 by News Staff

The new-submerged Northwest Shelf of Sahul — the combined landmass of Australia and New Guinea at times of lower sea level — was a vast area...

This ancient brick from the Slemani Museum dates to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (ca. 604 to 562 BCE) based on the interpretation of the inscription; this object was looted from its original context before being acquired by the Slemani Museum and stored in that museum with agreement from the central government. Image credit: Howland et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2313361120.

Cuneiform-Inscribed Bricks Unveil Strength of Ancient Geomagnetic Field in Mesopotamia

Dec 19, 2023 by News Staff

Reconstructing the behavior of Earth’s magnetic field during archaeological periods is crucial for both achieving a better understanding of the field...

Birch composite frame saddle from Urd Ulaan Uneet, Mongolia (top left) and an artist’s reconstruction. Image credit: P. Lopez Calle.

1,600-Year-Old Wooden Saddle Unearthed in Mongolia

Dec 15, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

New archaeological discoveries from Mongolia show that, despite a fragmentary archaeological record, horse cultures of the eastern Eurasian steppe were...

The Canaanite inscription on the 3,000-year-old jar. Image credit: Tal Rogovsky.

Rare Canaanite Inscription Found on 3,000-Year-Old Jar Fragments

Dec 13, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists in Israel have identified a very rare Canaanite inscription on fragments of a pottery jar from the reign of King David (10th century BCE). The...

Reconstructed life appearance of the straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus in (top) side and (bottom) frontal view, based on remains uncovered from the Neumark-Nord 1 site in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Image credit: Hsu Shu-yu.

Straight-Tusked Elephant Exploitation Was Widespread among Neanderthals, Archaeologists Say

Dec 7, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists from MONREPOS, the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and Leiden University have recently learned that around 125,000 years ago, hunting...