Archaeology News

Pottery Vessels Reveal Connections between Prehistoric European Hunter-Gatherer Communities

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.
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. Their findings suggest that pottery-making spread rapidly westwards from 5,900 BCE onwards and took only 300-400 years to advance over 3,000 km, equivalent to 250 km in a single generation. Dolbunova et al. explored the behavioral mechanisms that led to the emergence of pottery among hunter-gatherer...

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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...

The 1,950-year old half-shekel silver coin found in Jerusalem, Israel. Image credit: Tal Rogovski / Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Archaeologists Find Extremely Rare Silver Coin in Jerusalem

Dec 14, 2022 by News Staff

Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have unearthed an assemblage of Jewish coins, including a very rare...

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.

Ancient Mexicans Had Very Accurate Agricultural Calendar, Study Says

Dec 14, 2022 by News Staff

The accurate agricultural calendar allowed the ancient inhabitants of the Basin of Mexico to plan their agricultural cycle to feed one of the largest population...

Iberian owl-like plaques and local owl species: (a) engraved slate plaque found in Cerro de la Cabeza, Valencina de la Concepción, Sevilla, Spain; (b) wild little owl (Athene noctua) pictured in an agricultural area in Valencina de la Concepción in 2021; (c) slate plaque from Mértola, Alentejo, Portugal; the orifices on the upper part may have been used to insert actual feathers; (d) long-eared owl (Asio otus) with erected ear tufts, pictured in Valencina de la Concepción in 2021. Image credit: Juan J. Negro.

Iberian Owl-Shaped Plaques Were Toys Made by Copper Age Children: Study

Dec 5, 2022 by News Staff

In the Copper Age, around 5,000 years ago, owl-shaped, engraved plaques were produced massively in the southwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula. Researchers...

The Viking-age hoard consists of 46 silver objects; apart from two simple, complete finger rings, it includes Arab coins, a braided necklace, several bracelets and chains, all broken into small pieces. Image credit: Birgit Maixner.

Metal Detector Enthusiast Finds Viking-Age Hoard of Silver Objects

Nov 28, 2022 by News Staff

A metal detectorist in Norway has unearthed a 1,100-year-old trove of small silver objects: pieces of Arab coins, jewelry and wire. The Viking-age hoard...

A gold coin of the Roman emperor Sponsian. Image credit: Pearson et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274285.

Ancient Gold Coins Reveal Long-Lost Roman Emperor: Sponsian

Nov 24, 2022 by News Staff

In 1713, a collection of eight gold coins of five different design types, one of which featured the unknown Roman emperor Sponsian, was found in Transylvania,...

The Hand of Irulegi. Image credit: SC Aranzadi.

2,000-Year-Old Inscribed Bronze Hand Rewrites History of Basque Language

Nov 23, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists in Spain have found a hand-shaped bronze object engraved with words in a Vasconic language, a precursor to the modern Basque language. The...

Ancient inhabitants of the Gesher Benot Ya’aqov site in Israel likely used some kind of earth oven that maintained a temperature below 500 degrees Celsius to cook their fish. Image credit: Ella Maru / Tel Aviv University.

Scientists Find Earliest Evidence of Hominins Cooking with Fire

Nov 15, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists have found the 780,000-year-old remains of a cooked carp-like fish at the wetland Acheulean site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov in Israel. Ancient...

The corner of the newly-discovered temple (left) under excavation and the larger Tempio Grande (right) in Vulci, Italy. Image credit: Mariachiara Franceschini.

2,500-Year-Old Etruscan Temple Discovered in Italy

Nov 14, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of a monumental temple in Vulci, an ancient Etruscan city in Italy. The corner of the newly-discovered temple...

The 3,700-year-old ivory comb from Tel Lachish, Israel. Image credit: Dafna Gazit, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Archaeologists Find 3,700-Year-Old Ivory Comb Inscribed with Canaanite’s Wish to Eradicate Lice

Nov 9, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

The small inscribed ivory comb was found at Tel Lachish, a key Canaanite city-state in the 2nd millennium BCE, the second most important city in the Judean...

Several business premises were uncovered in the Byzantine quarter in Ephesus, Turkey. Image credit: OeAW-OeAI / Niki Gail.

Early Byzantine Quarter Unearthed in Ancient City of Ephesus

Nov 1, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences have uncovered the 1,400-year-old ruins of the business and gastronomy district in Ephesus, an ancient...

Part of a decorative ceramic pot of the Linearbandkeramik culture used for food storage from the Ensisheim site in Alsace, France. Image credit: Emmanuelle Casanova.

Neolithic European Farmers Used Milk as Early as 7,400 Years Ago

Oct 17, 2022 by News Staff

Archaeologists have detected traces of dairy fats on the walls of pottery vessels from the settlements of the Linearbandkeramik culture in Central Europe. Part...

Neanderthals (University of Utah via kued.org)

Study: Neanderthals and Homo sapiens Co-Existed in France and Spain for at least 1,400 Years

Oct 13, 2022 by News Staff

A new modeling study by Leiden University and University of Cambridge scientists predicts the appearance of Homo sapiens and the Protoaurignacian culture...

Stele with the scene of the falcon god and an inscription in Greek reading: ‘It is improper to boil a head in here. Image credit: Berenike Project / Sikait Project.

Falcon Shrine Unearthed at Ptolemaic-Roman Port of Berenike

Oct 6, 2022 by News Staff

During excavations at the ancient Hellenistic-Roman port of Berenike on the Red Sea coast of Egypt, an international team of archaeologists has documented...

A gold solidus coin found by IAA archaeologists in Israel. Image credit: Dafna Gazit, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Huge Trove of Byzantine Gold Coins Unearthed in Israel

Oct 4, 2022 by News Staff

A hoard of 44 gold coins dating to the 7th century CE has been unearthed by archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). A gold solidus...

Painted cylinder vase depicting a foaming drink in a vase and tamales in a plate. Image credit: Justin Kerr, mayavase.com, Kerr number: 6418 (88).

Cacao Was Not Food Exclusive to Ancient Maya Elite, New Study Says

Sep 30, 2022 by News Staff

Cacao, known as the money that grew on trees and as a food from the gods, was brought to the world stage by ancient Mesoamericans. The historical background...

A cinnabar-painted vessel from the Maya site of Kaminaljuyu in southern Guatemala. Image credit: Kidder et al. / Cook et al., doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2022.986119.

Settlements of Ancient Maya were Contaminated with Mercury, Scientists Say

Sep 23, 2022 by News Staff

The ancient Maya in Mesoamerica used mercury — predominantly cinnabar, but rarely elemental mercury — for decorative and ceremonial purposes,...

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