Archaeology News

Real Function of Saudi Arabia’s Neolithic Monuments Exposed in New Research

Main architectural features of a mustatil located 55 km east of the modern city of Al Ula in Saudi Arabia. Image credit: Kennedy et al., 10.1371/journal.pone.0281904.
Mar 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Since the 1970s, monumental stone structures now known as mustatils (previously known as ‘gates’) have been documented across Saudi Arabia. However, it was not until 2017 that the first intensive and systematic study of these enigmatic monuments was undertaken, although that study could not determine their precise function. Recent excavations in the town of Al Ula have now determined that these structures fulfilled a ritual purpose, with specifically...

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East-West cut view of the Great Pyramid and front view of the North face Chevron area: (a) subterranean chamber; (b) queen’s chamber; (c) grand gallery; (d) king’s chamber; (e) descending corridor; (f) ascending corridor; (g) al-Ma’mun corridor; (h) north face Chevron area; (i) ScanPyramids Big Void with horizontal hypothesis (red hatching) and inclined hypothesis (green hatching). Image credit: Procureur et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36351-0.

Cosmic-Ray Muons Reveal Hidden Structure in Khufu’s Pyramid

Mar 6, 2023 by News Staff

Khufu’s Pyramid is one of the largest archaeological monuments all over the world, which still holds many mysteries. In 2016 and 2017, the ScanPyramids...

Oldowan tools from the site of Nyayanga in Kenya: a dorsal flake, a ventral flake, and a core. Image credit: Plummer et al., doi: 10.1126/science.abo7452.

3-Million-Year-Old Oldowan Tools and Cut-Marked Bones Unearthed in Kenya

Feb 10, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Oldowan tools, consisting of stones with one to a few flakes removed, are the oldest widespread and temporally persistent hominin tools. The oldest of...

The Lion Gate flanked by two towers in Hattusa, capital of the Hittite Empire. Image credit: Carole Raddato / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Severe Multi-Year Drought Caused Collapse of Hittite Empire: Study

Feb 9, 2023 by News Staff

The Hittites were one of the great powers in the ancient world across almost five centuries, between 1650 and 1200 BCE, with an empire centered in Anatolia...

The occasional use of stone tools as ‘strike-a-lights’ was a technocultural feature shared among Neanderthals in France.

Neanderthal Diet Included Crab Meat, Archaeologists Say

Feb 7, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists have unearthed a rich assemblage of human-accumulated terrestrial and marine faunal remains, including those of several crab species, in...

Reconstruction of the distal end of the Manis projectile point. Image credit: Waters et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ade9068.

13,900-Year-Old Projectile Point Found in Washington

Feb 3, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists have found fragments a human-made projectile point in a rib of an American mastodon (Mammut americanum) from the Manis site, Washington, the...

Professor Gaudzinski-Windheuser standing next to a life-size reconstruction of an adult male European straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) in the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle, Germany. Image credit: Lutz Kindler, LEIZA.

Neanderthals Hunted Straight-Tusked Elephants 125,000 Years Ago

Feb 2, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Straight-tusked elephants (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) were the largest terrestrial mammals of the Pleistocene epoch, present in Europe and western Asia between...

La Pasiega Cave, section C, cave wall with paintings: the ladder shape composed of red horizontal and vertical lines (center left) dates to older than 64,000 years and was made by Neanderthals. Image credit: P. Saura.

World’s Oldest Art Was Created by Neanderthals, Researcher Says

Jan 24, 2023 by The Conversation

Neanderthal art was perhaps more abstract than the stereotypical figure and animal cave paintings Homo sapiens made after Neanderthals disappeared about...

A barbed antler point found at the Mesolithic site near Scarborough in North Yorkshire, Britain. Image credit: University of Chester / University of Manchester.

10,500-Year-Old Settlement of Hunter-Gatherers Unearthed in Britain

Jan 23, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists excavating near Scarborough in North Yorkshire, Britain, have uncovered the remains of a small settlement — including bone, antler...

The 1,000-year-old remains of the Viking hall near Hune, Denmark. Image credit: Nordjyske Museer.

1,000-Year-Old Viking Hall Unearthed in Denmark

Jan 11, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists from Nordjyske Museer have unearthed the remains of a Viking-age structure near the village of Hune in Denmark. The 1,000-year-old remains...

Collection location and distinctive features of the ancient Roman concrete samples used by Seymour et al. Image credit: Seymour et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.add1602.

Scientists Solve Mystery of Why Ancient Roman Concrete Was So Durable

Jan 10, 2023 by News Staff

Ancient Roman concretes have survived millennia, but mechanistic insights into their durability is an enigma. To solve the mystery, researchers from MIT...

Obsidian tools from the Maya site of Q’umarkaj and the surrounding region in Guatemala. Image credit: R. Horowitz.

Ancient K’iche’ Maya Utilized Market-Based Economics, Archaeologist Says

Jan 9, 2023 by News Staff

According to a paper by Washington State University anthropologist Rachel Horowitz, the ruling Maya elite in the K’iche’ region of what is now Guatemala...

An examples of animal depiction associated with dots. Image credit: Bacon et al., doi: 10.1017/S0959774322000415.

Archaeologists Uncover Upper Paleolithic Proto-Writing System

Jan 6, 2023 by News Staff

In at least 400 European caves such as Lascaux, Chauvet and Altamira, Upper Paleolithic humans drew, painted and engraved non-figurative signs from at...

The 2,200-year-old silver tetradrachma coins found in Israel. Image credit: Shai Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Hoard of Silver Coins from Maccabean Revolt Found in Israel

Dec 26, 2022 by News Staff

The hoard was in a wooden box and contained 15 silver tetradrachma coins from the reign of Antiochos IV Epiphanes, a Hellenistic king who ruled the Seleucid...

The 15,700-year-old stone projectile points from the Area B of the Cooper’s Ferry site in Idaho, the United States. Image credit: Loren Davis.

15,700-Year-Old Projectile Points Found in Idaho

Dec 26, 2022 by News Staff

Archaeologists have unearthed an assemblage of 14 stemmed projectile points at the Cooper’s Ferry site, located on a terrace of the lower Salmon River...

Bear skins have high insulating properties and might have played a role in the adaptations of Middle Pleistocene hominins, such as Homo heidelbergensis depicted here, to the cold and harsh winter conditions of Northwestern Europe. Image credit: Benoît Clarys.

320,000-Year-Old Cutmarked Bones Provide Evidence for Exploitation of Bear Skins

Dec 23, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Researchers from the University of Tübingen and elsewhere have unearthed the cutmarked bones of cave bears at the Middle Pleistocene site of Schöningen...

Dolbunova et al. explored the behavioral mechanisms that led to the emergence of pottery among hunter-gatherer communities in Europe during the mid-Holocene; illustrated here are reconstructions from the (1) Eastern Baltic, (2) Western Baltic, (3) Upper Dnieper, (4) Bug-Dniester, (5) Middle Don, (6) Lower Don, (7) Northern Caspian, (8) Lower Volga, (9) Middle Volga and (10) Upper Volga regions. Image credit: Dolbunova et al., doi: 10.1038/s41562-022-01491-8.

Pottery Vessels Reveal Connections between Prehistoric European Hunter-Gatherer Communities

Dec 22, 2022 by News Staff

Archaeologists have analyzed the remains of 1,226 pottery vessels from 156 hunter-gatherer sites across nine countries in Northern and Eastern Europe....

The 3,000-year-old scarab seal found in Azor, Israel. Image credit: Israel Antiquity Authority.

3,000-Year-Old Scarab Seal Unearthed in Israel

Dec 21, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

The scene depicted on this ancient scarab seal ‘represents the bestowing of legitimacy on a local ruler,’ according to archaeologists from the Israel...

The 2,200-year-old lead sling bullet from Yavne, Israel. Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority.

2,200-Year-Old Inscribed Sling Bullet Found in Israel

Dec 20, 2022 by News Staff

The ancient sling bullet, dated to the Hellenistic period, bears a magic inscription in Greek: ‘Victory of Heracles and Hauronas.’ The 2,200-year-old...

The flint chips from Schöningen, Germany, which were created as ‘waste’ during the re-sharpening of knife-like tools; they are sorted by size in millimeters. Scale bar - 3 cm. Image credit: Flavia Venditti.

300,000-Year-Old Microartifacts Provide Glimpse into Life of Middle Pleistocene Hominins

Dec 15, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists at the University of Tübingen have performed a careful and in-depth analysis of tiny resharpening flakes from the famous Middle Pleistocene...

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