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Venetian glass trade beads found in northern Alaska. Image credit: Kunz & Mills, doi: 10.1017/aaq.2020.100

Venetian Glass Beads Found in Arctic Alaska Predate Arrival of Columbus

Feb 16, 2021 by News Staff

Archaeologists have found Venetian glass trade beads at three prehistoric Inuit sites in Alaska. In the absence of trans-Atlantic communication, the most...

Reconstruction of the seashell horn being played. In the background, a red dotted buffalo decorates the walls of Marsoulas Cave; similar motifs decorate the instrument. Image credit: Gilles Tosello.

Listen to Sound of 18,000-Year-Old Seashell Horn

Feb 12, 2021 by News Staff

About 18,000 years ago, the Magdalenian occupants of Marsoulas Cave in what is now France transformed a shell of the predatory sea snail Charonia lampas...

The 2,100-year-old silver coins found in the ancient city of Aizanoi, Turkey. Image credit: Pamukkale University.

Huge Trove of Roman Silver Coins Unearthed in Turkey

Feb 11, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Hundreds of silver coins dating to the first century BCE have been unearthed by archaeologists from Pamukkale University. The 2,100-year-old silver coins...

A trio of anthropomorphic figures from the Amak’hee 4 site in Tanzania. Image credit: Maciej Grzelczyk, Jagiellonian University.

Tanzanian Rock Art Depicts Trios of Bizarre Anthropomorphic Figures

Feb 8, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Motifs featuring trios of anthropomorphic figures with stylized buffalo heads have been discovered at a newly-discovered rock art site in the Swaga Swaga...

A Minoan clay tablet inscribed with Linear A, which is on display in Crete’s Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. Image credit: Ester Salgarella.

Scientists One Step Closer to Cracking Minoan Linear A Script

Feb 8, 2021 by News Staff

Linear A is a logo-syllabic script used for administrative purposes on Bronze Age Crete. Together with Cretan Hieroglyphic, it is one of two writing systems...

The 120,000-year-old engraved bone with six deliberately produced incisions from the Nesher Ramla site, Israel. Image credit: Prévost et al., doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2021.01.002.

120,000-Year-Old Engraved Aurochs Bone Found in Israel

Feb 5, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The 120,000-year-old animal bone fragment with six incised lines is one of the oldest representations of abstract patterns produced by Middle Paleolithic...

An artist’s impression of the Tlingit fort. Image credit: Sitka National Historical Park.

Researchers Locate Elusive Tlingit Fort in Alaska

Feb 2, 2021 by News Staff

Using geophysical imaging techniques and ground-penetrating radar, a team of scientists from Cornell University and the U.S. National Park Service has...

The 357,000-year-old abrading tool from Tabun Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel. Image credit: Shimelmitz et al., doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102909.

357,000-Year-Old Abrading Tool Unearthed in Israel

Feb 1, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The 357,000-year-old abrader found in the Lower Paleolithic layers of Tabun Cave in Israel is presently the earliest documented artifact of its kind. The...

Chumash cupped beads from purple dwarf olive sea snails (Olivella biplicata). Image credit: Lynn Gamble / SBMNH Collection.

Chumash Indians Were Using Shell Bead Money 2,000 Years Ago

Jan 29, 2021 by News Staff

The Chumash Indians, hunter-gatherers centered on the south-central coast of Santa Barbara, were using highly worked shells as currency as early as 2,000...

3,000-year-old wool fibers dyed pink-purple hue. Image credit: Dafna Gazit / Israel Antiquities Authority.

3,000-Year-Old Fragments of Royal Purple Dyed Textile Found in Israel

Jan 29, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

While evidence for the important role of purple dyes in the ancient Mediterranean goes back to the early 2nd millennium BCE, finds of dyed textiles are...

The 1,500-year-old ‘Christ, born of Mary’ inscription. Image credit: Tzachi Lang, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Israeli Archaeologists Find 1,500-Year-Old Christian Inscription

Jan 25, 2021 by News Staff

A 1,500-year-old inscription that reads ‘Christ, born of Mary’ has been discovered by a team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority...

Ancient May paneled flask with narrow aperture (top), sculpted flask with narrow aperture (bottom left) and sculpted flask with wide aperture (bottom right). Image credit: Zimmermann et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-81158-y.

Archaeologists Find Traces of Tobacco, Mexican Marigold in Ancient Maya Flasks

Jan 18, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of archaeologists from the United States and Mexico have detected mixtures of tobacco and a non-tobacco plant called the Mexican marigold (Tagetes...

The 45,500-year-old Sulawesi warty pig figure in the rock art panel at Leang Tedongnge cave, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Image credit: Brumm et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abd4648.

45,500-Year-Old Sulawesi Warty Pig Painting Found in Indonesian Cave

Jan 14, 2021 by News Staff

A team of archaeologists from Australia and Indonesia has discovered two figurative paintings of the Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis) — a species...

2-Million-Year-Old Stone Tools Unearthed in Tanzania

Jan 11, 2021 by News Staff

An international team of archaeologists and paleoanthropologists has discovered a large collection of 2-million-year-old stone tools, fossilized bones...

The ruins of the Byzantine-period church and a Second Temple-period mikveh were found near Gethsemane, Israel. Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority.

Byzantine-Period Church Uncovered in Israel

Jan 5, 2021 by News Staff

A team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum has discovered the ruins of a 1,500-year-old...

The Beit Nattif lamps. Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority.

Archaeologists Unearth 1,700-Year-Old Oil-Lamp Workshop in Israel

Jan 4, 2021 by News Staff

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have discovered an ancient ceramic oil-lamp workshop near Beit Nattif, a village about 20 km (12.4...

Aerial view of Tel Megiddo in northern Israel. Image credit: Avram Graicer / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Turmeric and Other Exotic Foods Reveal Contacts between Near East and South Asia 3,000 Years Ago

Dec 28, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

In new research, an international team of scientists examined the dental calculus of individuals who lived during the 2nd millennium BCE in the Southern...

2,000-Year-Old Fast Food Shop Uncovered in Pompeii

Dec 27, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists have unearthed a frescoed thermopolium (a hot-food-drink shop) in Pompeii, an ancient Roman city frozen in time after the catastrophic eruption...

The archaeological site of Tel Dor, Israel. Image credit: Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Archaeologists Find Evidence of Neolithic Mega-Tsunami in Israel

Dec 24, 2020 by News Staff

A catastrophic tsunami occurred sometimes between 7,910 and 7,290 BCE with an extreme 16 m (52.5 feet) wave height and 1.5-3.5 km (0.93-2.2 mile) run-up...