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Lamprey in Sala Maremagnum of Aquarium Finisterrae in Corunna, Galicia, Spain. Image credit: Drow Male / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Stomach-Turning Medieval Delicacy: Archaeologists Unearth Teeth of Lamprey Fish in London

Nov 6, 2018 by News Staff

A team of archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) has uncovered keratin ‘teeth’ of lamprey at a site near Mansion House station...

Zarrillo et al report the earliest evidence of cacao use in the Americas and the first archaeological example of its pre-Columbian use in South America. Image credit: Stana.

Birthplace of Cacao Identified in Amazon Region

Nov 5, 2018 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has found that the upper Amazon region gave birth to the domesticated Theobroma cacao, the plant from which chocolate...

The newly-discovered mosaic floor of a Roman-era villa. Image credit: Niki Davidov, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Israeli Archaeologists Uncover Impressive Roman-Era Mosaic

Oct 30, 2018 by News Staff

Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists have uncovered a 1,700-year-old floor mosaic at the city of Lod (ancient Lydda). The newly-discovered mosaic...

A 15,000-year-old stemmed point at the Debra L. Friedkin site, Texas. Image credit: Waters et al, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aat4505.

Archaeologists Find 15,500-Year-Old Spear Points in Texas

Oct 26, 2018 by News Staff

Through excavation of the Debra L. Friedkin site northwest of Austin, Texas, a team of archaeologists has identified a particular style of projectile point...

The world’s oldest intact shipwreck discovered in the Black Sea. Image credit: Black Sea MAP / EEF Expeditions.

Underwater Archaeologists Find ‘World’s Oldest Intact Shipwreck’

Oct 24, 2018 by News Staff

Marine archaeologists from the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project (Black Sea MAP) have discovered the 2,400-year-old intact shipwreck of an ancient...

This is an artist's impression of Çatalhöyük. Image credit: Dan Lewandowski.

8,000-Year-Old Ceramic Vessels from Çatalhöyük Reveal Hidden Cuisine of Early Farmers

Oct 18, 2018 by News Staff

An analysis of ancient food proteins preserved in ceramic vessels found at the key early farming site of Çatalhöyük in central Anatolia, in what is...

Stone tools from the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize. Image credit: Louisiana State University.

Ancient Maya Produced Salt and Salted Fish: Study

Oct 9, 2018 by News Staff

Like the ancient Roman, Asian, and other civilizations, the ancient Maya produced salt and salted fish — storable commodities for marketplace trade,...

Lape et al describe the earliest-known use of nutmeg as a food ingredient. Image credit: Quique.

Archaeologists Find Traces of 3,500-Year-Old Nutmeg-Spiced Food

Oct 5, 2018 by News Staff

Residue on ceramic potsherds found at an archaeological site on the island of Pulau Ay (Ai), Indonesia, shows the nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) was used...

Archaeologist Dr. Marcello Canuto sits beside the ancient Maya altar he and his colleagues discovered in the jungles of northern Guatemala. Image credit: National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Guatemala City / La Corona Regional Archaeological Project.

Archaeologists Uncover 1,500-Year-Old Maya Altar in Guatemala

Sep 18, 2018 by News Staff

An international group of archaeologists has found a carved limestone altar at the Maya site of La Corona, located in jungle forest of the Petén in Guatemala. Archaeologist...

The puma (Puma concolor). Image credit: Jbarreirol / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ancient Maya Captured and Traded Big Cats: Study

Sep 17, 2018 by News Staff

The ancient Maya routinely captured and traded wild jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) for symbolic and ritual purposes, according to an...

(A) the location of Raqefet Cave and three additional Natufian sites in Mt. Carmel, Israel; (B) field photos of the studied boulder mortars (BM 1, 2) and the location of BM3 on the cave floor; scale bar and arrow - 20 cm; (C) a functional reconstruction of the mortars: a boulder mortar used to store plants in a basket with a stone slab on top, and a bedrock mortar used for pounding and cooking plants and brewing beer. Image credit: Dror Maayan / Anat Regev-Gisis.

13,000-Year-Old Brewery Found in Israel

Sep 17, 2018 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from Stanford University and the University of Haifa has found the oldest archaeological evidence of cereal-based...

Image of the Blombos Cave silcrete flake displaying the drawn lines that form a cross-hatched pattern. Image credit: C. Foster.

Earliest Known Drawing by Human Discovered in South Africa

Sep 14, 2018 by News Staff

A cross-hatched pattern drawn with an ochre crayon on a small piece of siliceous rock (silcrete) is 73,000 years old. It pre-dates the earliest previously...

Four Eastern box turtle rattles tied to leather legging with leather string with stone flakes inside of the shells. Image credit: Andrew Gillreath-Brown / McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Tennessee.

North American Indigenous Peoples Used Turtle Shells as Symbolic Musical Instruments

Sep 11, 2018 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE, turtles served as more than tasty treats for Native American tribes throughout North America;...

Pottery Analysis Reveals Earliest Mediterranean Cheese Production 7,200 Years Ago

Sep 7, 2018 by News Staff

An analysis of fatty residue in pottery from two Neolithic archaeological sites in Croatia has revealed evidence of fermented dairy products (soft cheeses...

The ‘Early Acheulean’ and ‘Late Acheulean’ handaxes produced by knappers. Image credit: A.J.M. Key & C.J. Dunmore, doi: 10.7717/peerj.5399.

500,000-Year-Old Artifacts Reveal Modern Human-Like Gripping Capabilities

Sep 4, 2018 by News Staff

New research published in the journal PeerJ demonstrates that a technique used to produce ‘Late Acheulean’ handaxes is likely to have needed a modern...

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

Study: Climate Change Contributed to Neanderthal Demise

Aug 30, 2018 by News Staff

The transition from Neanderthals to modern humans in Europe occurred during a period of recurring cold climate cycles. In a new study, a team of researchers...

Rapanui people. Image credit: © Santiago Caruso.

Tools of Ancient Easter Islanders Hint at Sophisticated Society

Aug 21, 2018 by News Staff

By analyzing the chemical makeup of toki, tools that were used by Easter Island’s inhabitants to create the giant moai statues, Field Museum researcher...

Jar and canvas discovered inside the tomb of Ptahmes, Mayor of Memphis during the XIX dynasty. Image credit: Greco et al, doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b02535.

World’s Oldest Solid Cheese Found in 3,200-Year-Old Jar in Egypt

Aug 16, 2018 by News Staff

The world’s oldest solid cheese has been found inside the tomb of Ptahmes in Saqqara, part of the necropolis of the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis. Jar...

This is an artist's reconstruction of Homo erectus. Image credit: Yale University.

Homo erectus Were Technologically Conservative, Used Least-Effort Strategies, Researchers Say

Aug 13, 2018 by News Staff

Archaeological excavations at the Acheulean site of Saffaqah near Dawadmi in central Saudi Arabia have found that Homo erectus, an extinct hominid species...