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A view over the smaller pyramids on the eastern side of Plaza de la Luna from Piramide de la Luna towards Piramide del Sol at Teotihuacan. Image credit: Daniel Case / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Teotihuacan is Unique among Ancient Mesoamerican Cities, Archaeologist Says

Sep 20, 2017 by News Staff

Arizona State University archaeologist Michael E. Smith has conducted a comparative analysis of Teotihuacan with earlier and later Mesoamerican urban centers...

Ancient Indian Manuscript Contains Oldest Example of Mathematical Symbol ‘Zero’

Sep 18, 2017 by News Staff

The Bakhshali manuscript, an ancient Indian mathematical manuscript written on more than 70 leaves of birch bark, is notable for having a dot representing...

General view of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi; the implication is that the oracular chamber below the temple complex lies on a line of minor fault movement. Image credit: Iain S. Stewart, doi: 10.1016/j.pgeola.2017.07.009.

Earthquakes May Have Had Great Cultural Significance in Ancient Greek World

Sep 13, 2017 by News Staff

The Ancient Greeks may have built their sacred sites deliberately on land previously affected by earthquake activity, according to University of Plymouth...

Sa and Seu Chiquinho sites featuring circular, square, and U-shaped earthworks. Image credit: Sanna Saunaluoma.

Researchers Uncover Purpose of Mysterious Amazonian Geoglyphs

Aug 31, 2017 by News Staff

Geometrical earthworks found in the Amazon rainforest — dubbed the Geoglyphs of Acre — were once important ritual communication spaces, says...

The French Frigates from Voyage de La Pérouse, by Louis Antoine Milet-Mureau. Image credit: State Library of New South Wales.

Australian Anthropologist Finds Clue to Fate of Famous French Explorer Jean Francois La Perouse

Aug 30, 2017 by News Staff

Australian National University anthropologist Garrick Hitchcock has stumbled across a clue to resolving one of the most enduring mysteries of Pacific history...

Plimpton 322, a 3,700-year-old Babylonian tablet held in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University in New York.

Mathematicians Crack Mystery of Babylonian Clay Tablet ‘Plimpton 322’

Aug 25, 2017 by News Staff

Plimpton 322, the most famous of Old Babylonian tablets (1900-1600 BC), is the world’s oldest trigonometric table, possibly used by Babylonian scholars...

Chemical traces of wine were found on these storage jars from the Bellitti gallery, Monte Kronio, Sicily. Image credit: Davide Tanasi, University of South Florida.

Chemical Analysis of Pottery Reveals First Winemaking in Italy Nearly 4,500 Years Ago

Aug 24, 2017 by News Staff

Copper Age people living in Sicily, Italy, were making wine nearly 4,500 years ago, according to a team of archaeologists led by Dr. Davide Tanasi of the...

Underwater archaeologists explore the submerged portion of Port Royal. Image credit: Texas A&M University.

Underwater Archaeologists Uncovering Secrets of Sunken Pirate City

Aug 23, 2017 by News Staff

Underwater archaeologists using a new state-of-the-art technology are mapping out the submerged portion of the 17th-century town of Port Royal in Jamaica. Underwater...

An iron element map (right) made with new X-ray technology reveals the underlying craftsmanship hidden beneath a damaged portrait of a Roman woman (left). Image credit: Roberto Alberti.

New X-Ray Imaging Technique Reveals Hidden Beauty of Ancient Roman Wall Painting

Aug 22, 2017 by News Staff

A research team led by Pratt Institute researcher Eleonora Del Federico has used a novel imaging technique, called high-resolution portable Macro-XRF scanning,...

Aerial view of the excavation area, with Rosh Ha-Ayin in the background. Image credit: Yitzhak Marmelstein.

Israeli Archaeologists Unearth 2,700-Year-Old Water System

Aug 18, 2017 by News Staff

A team of Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) archaeologists and students has discovered an Assyrian-period water system near Rosh Ha-Ayin, a city in the...

Still life with glass bowl of fruit and vases. Roman painting from the House of Julia Felix in Pompeii, 63-79 CE.

Citrus Fruits Were Symbols of High Social Status in Ancient Rome

Aug 18, 2017 by News Staff

Citrus fruits such as citrons and lemons were clear status symbols for the ancient Roman ruling elite, according to new research from Tel Aviv University. Still...

The Roman villa of Durrueli is located off the southern coast of Sicily. Image credit: University of South Florida.

Archaeologists Excavate Large Ancient Roman Villa in Italy

Aug 16, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of archaeologists led by the University of South Florida is the first to successfully excavate the 5,000 m2 Roman villa of Durrueli...

Artist’s reconstruction of an Asian caveman. Image credit: Peter Schouten.

Anatomically Modern Humans Arrived in Southeast Asia Far Earlier than Previously Thought

Aug 14, 2017 by News Staff

New excavations of a cave site in western Sumatra called Lida Ajer indicate modern humans reached Southeast Asia between 73,000 to 63,000 years ago —...

This female statue was uncovered at a citadel gate complex in Turkey by archaeologists from the Tayinat Archaeological Project. Initial speculations are that the figure is a representation of either Kubaba, divine mother of the gods of ancient Anatolia, or the wife of Neo-Hittite king Suppiluliuma, or Kupapiyas, who was the wife -- or possibly mother -- of Taita, the dynastic founder of ancient Tayinat. Image credit: Tayinat Archaeological Project.

3,000-Year-Old Female Statue Unearthed at Neo-Hittite Citadel in Turkey

Aug 14, 2017 by News Staff

A beautifully carved head and upper torso of a female figure have been found within a monumental gate complex near the upper citadel of Kunulua, the capital...

The Huntley and Palmer’s fruit cake from Cape Adare. Image credit: New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust.

Century-Old Fruit Cake Found in Antarctic Hut

Aug 10, 2017 by News Staff

A well-preserved 106-year-old fruit cake has been found in a hut on Cape Adare, Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica. The Huntley and Palmer’s fruit cake...

The solar eclipse petroglyph in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Image credit: J. McKim Malville, University of Colorado.

Strange Petroglyph in Chaco Canyon May Represent Ancient Total Solar Eclipse

Aug 10, 2017 by News Staff

A petroglyph on the south face of Piedra del Sol, a free-standing rock in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon, may depict the solar corona observed during the...

Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort just south of Hadrian’s Wall. The fort was founded in 85 CE by Belgian auxiliary soldiers and was inhabited in various forms and layouts until well after 410 CE. It was garrisoned at different times by several units, most importantly the First Cohort of Tungrians and the Third and Ninth Cohorts of Batavians. Image credit: Vindolanda Trust.

25 Ancient Writing Tablets Unearthed at Roman Fort of Vindolanda

Jul 31, 2017 by News Staff

Archaeologists have found a collection of 1,900 year old ink documents at the Vindolanda Roman fort in Northumberland, northern England, one of the most...

The Grapes of Canaan, c. 1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot. Image credit: Jewish Museum, New York.

Lebanese are Direct Descendants of Biblical Canaanites, Study Suggests

Jul 27, 2017 by News Staff

In the first study of its kind, a Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute-led team of researchers has uncovered the genetics of the ancient Canaanites and a firm...

Geographic and local position of the artifact at the summit of the Lötschenpass. Image credit: Rolf Wenger, Marcel Cornelissen & Badri Redha / Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern.

Archaeologists Find Frozen Bronze Age Wooden Container with Cereal Remains in Swiss Alps

Jul 26, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists have found a well-preserved Early Bronze Age wooden vessel in the Swiss Alps. The artifact could help researchers shed new light on the...