Archaeology News

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

The network of Roman roads in South West Britain. Image credit: Parcero-Oubina et al., doi: 10.5334/jcaa.109.
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, integrating pre-existing Prehistoric routeways with Roman military and civilian roads, most of which were probably still in use in Medieval times. The network of Roman roads in South West Britain. Image credit: Parcero-Oubina et al., doi: 10.5334/jcaa.109. The wide-reaching, convincing network of...

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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...

Two silver bracelets of queen Hetepheres. Image credit: Sowada et al., doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.103978.

Queen Hetepheres’ Silver Bracelets Shed Light on Trade Networks in Ancient Egypt

May 30, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Egypt has no domestic silver ore sources and silver is rarely found in the Egyptian archaeological record until the Middle Bronze Age. Bracelets found...

The 153,000-year-old footprint, lightly ringed with chalk, in the Garden Route National Park, South Africa; it appears long and narrow because the trackmaker dragged their heel. Image credit: Charles Helm.

153,000-Year-Old Homo sapiens Footprint Discovered in South Africa

May 26, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

The 153,000-year-old footprint, which was found in the Garden Route National Park, a national park in the Garden Route region of the South African Western...

Oblique aerial picture of a desert kite in Jordan. Image credit: Globalkites Project.

Neolithic Engravings are Oldest Architectural Plans of Humanmade Mega-Structures

May 18, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Two prehistoric engravings in Jordan and Saudi Arabia depict ‘desert kites’ — humanmade mega-traps that are dated to at least 9,000 years ago...

Neanderthals are commonly thought to have relied on dangerous close range hunting techniques, using non-projectile weapons like the thrusting spears depicted here; this hunting approach is thought to have brought them into violent contact with large mammals, resulting in high levels of injury especially to the head and neck when compared to modern humans; Beier et al found similar head injury levels in both Neanderthals and Upper Paleolithic humans, casting doubt on this hypothesis. Image credit: Gleiver Prieto.

Strontium Isotope Analysis Provides Insights into Hunting Habits and Diets of Neanderthals

May 10, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

In new research, scientists examined chemical properties locked inside tooth enamel of two Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals and a Magdalenian human from...

Overview of the non-destructive DNA extraction method: (a) workflow of the gradual, non-destructive DNA extraction method using sodium phosphate buffer at elevated temperatures; (b) four 3D surface texture measurements indicated on the outline of a tooth used for testing before and after non-destructive DNA extraction showing no substantial surface alterations; (c) photographs of the Denisova Cave tooth pendant before and after cleaning and non-destructive DNA extraction. Image credit: Essel et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06035-2.

Scientists Extract Human and Deer DNA from Paleolithic Pendant Found in Denisova Cave

May 4, 2023 by News Staff

Application of a novel non-destructive DNA extraction method to a Paleolithic deer tooth pendant from Denisova Cave, Siberia, resulted in the recovery...

The 6,000-year-old copper fish hook from Ashkelon, Israel. Image credit: Israel Antiquity Authority.

6,000-Year-Old Fish Hook Found in Israel

May 2, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists with the Israel Antiquity Authority (IAA) have found an ancient copper fishing hook — possibly for hunting sharks — in the Agamim...

The Monolith of the Stone of the Sun, also known as the Aztec calendar stone, in the National Museum of Anthropology and History, Mexico City, Mexico. Image credit: El Comandante / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scholars May Have Finally Deciphered Secrets of Maya 819-Day Calendar

May 1, 2023 by News Staff

Arguably the most enigmatic of the Maya calendar cycles, the 819-day count has challenged modern scholars for decades. Even today it is not completely...

Innovative methods revealed new information, including previously unrecorded markings and further evidence of the Stone of Destiny’s provenance. Image credit: Historic Environment Scotland.

New Analysis Reveals Hidden Markings on Stone of Destiny

Apr 28, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Stone of Destiny is an ancient symbol of Scotland’s monarchy, used for centuries in the inauguration of its kings. Seen as a sacred object, its earliest...

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