Archaeology News

Homo sapiens Reached Northern Europe by 45,000 Years Ago, Scientists Say

Stratigraphy with location of Homo sapiens bones, map of LRJ sites and stone tools from the site of Ranis, Germany. Image credit: Mylopotamitaki et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06923-7.
Jan 31, 2024 by News Staff

Homo sapiens associated with the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician culture were present in central and northwestern Europe long before the extinction of Neanderthals in southwestern Europe, according to a trio of papers published in the journal Nature and the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. The evidence that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals lived side by side is consistent with genomic evidence that the two species occasionally interbred. It...

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Rostain et al. discovered a dense system of pre-Hispanic urban centers, characterized by constructed platforms and plazas and connected by large, straight roads. Image credit: Rostain et al., doi: 10.1126/science.adi6317.

Archaeologists Discover 2,500-Year-Old System of Urban Centers in Amazonian Ecuador

Jan 22, 2024 by News Staff

When intact, the Amazonian forest is dense and difficult to penetrate, both on foot and with scanning technologies. Over the past several years, however,...

This artwork shows three mammoths being watched by a family of ancient Alaskans from the dunes near the Swan Point archaeological site, a seasonal hunting camp occupied 14,000 years ago. Image credit: Julius Csostonyi.

Female Woolly Mammoth’s Lifetime Movements Tied to Ancient Alaskan Hunter-Gatherer Camp

Jan 19, 2024 by News Staff

Woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) in mainland Alaska overlapped with the region’s first people for at least 1,000 years. However, it is unclear...

Cerne Abbas Giant was Muster Station for West Saxon Armies, Archaeologists Say

Jan 2, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

A huge, naked figure called Cerne Giant was cut into a Dorset hillside not, as many have supposed, in prehistory, nor in the early modern period, but in...

Map of Sahul showing the extent of the now-submerged continental shelf (dark gray), with the area of the Northwest Shelf demarcated by a dashed black box, and the present-day distribution of the Köppen climate groups (seasonal precipitation and temperature) showing the extent of modern-day Australia and New Guinea. The tropical distribution of Late Pleistocene sites containing early axe technology are shown as black circles, sites without early axe technology as gray circles, and sites demonstrating Late Pleistocene occupation of the now submerged continental shelves as white circles. Image credit: Peter Hiscock / Norman et al., doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108418.

Up To Half Million People Once Lived on Now-Submerged Northwest Shelf of Sahul

Dec 20, 2023 by News Staff

The new-submerged Northwest Shelf of Sahul — the combined landmass of Australia and New Guinea at times of lower sea level — was a vast area...

This ancient brick from the Slemani Museum dates to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (ca. 604 to 562 BCE) based on the interpretation of the inscription; this object was looted from its original context before being acquired by the Slemani Museum and stored in that museum with agreement from the central government. Image credit: Howland et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2313361120.

Cuneiform-Inscribed Bricks Unveil Strength of Ancient Geomagnetic Field in Mesopotamia

Dec 19, 2023 by News Staff

Reconstructing the behavior of Earth’s magnetic field during archaeological periods is crucial for both achieving a better understanding of the field...

Birch composite frame saddle from Urd Ulaan Uneet, Mongolia (top left) and an artist’s reconstruction. Image credit: P. Lopez Calle.

1,600-Year-Old Wooden Saddle Unearthed in Mongolia

Dec 15, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

New archaeological discoveries from Mongolia show that, despite a fragmentary archaeological record, horse cultures of the eastern Eurasian steppe were...

The Canaanite inscription on the 3,000-year-old jar. Image credit: Tal Rogovsky.

Rare Canaanite Inscription Found on 3,000-Year-Old Jar Fragments

Dec 13, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists in Israel have identified a very rare Canaanite inscription on fragments of a pottery jar from the reign of King David (10th century BCE). The...

Reconstructed life appearance of the straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus in (top) side and (bottom) frontal view, based on remains uncovered from the Neumark-Nord 1 site in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Image credit: Hsu Shu-yu.

Straight-Tusked Elephant Exploitation Was Widespread among Neanderthals, Archaeologists Say

Dec 7, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists from MONREPOS, the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and Leiden University have recently learned that around 125,000 years ago, hunting...

Castor sp. from the Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America by John Woodhouse Audubon.

Hominins Hunted Beavers At Least 400,000 Years Ago, Ancient Bones Reveal

Nov 29, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists from the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, the Leibniz Zentrum für Archäologie and Leiden University say they have found cut marks...

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.

Middle Paleolithic Human Diet was More Diverse than Previously Thought

Nov 28, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen have analyzed the ancient animal remains...

The facial reconstruction of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal. Image credit: Moraes et al.

Scientists Reconstruct Face of La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal

Nov 21, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleoanthropologists have reconstructed the face of a Neanderthal man whose 56,000-year-old remains were found at La Chapelle-aux-Saints in south-central...

Aerial view of Tell Jezer, Israel. Image credit: Webster et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293119.

New Radiocarbon Dates Provide Insights into Timing of Events in Ancient Levantine City of Gezer

Nov 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Gezer is an ancient southern Levantine city well-known from Egyptian, Biblical and Assyrian sources, associated with power struggles, conquests, and intriguing...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

31,000-Year-Old Spearthrower Points Unearthed in Belgium

Nov 7, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists in Belgium have demonstrated that spearthrowers were used for launching projectiles armed with tanged flint points at the Early Upper Paleolithic...

A sample of the newly-documented complex ancient Roman forts. Image credit: CORONA imagery / U.S. Geological Survey.

Archaeologists Discover Large Number of Ancient Roman Forts in Fertile Crescent

Oct 30, 2023 by News Staff

During a pioneering aerial survey of the Near East in the 1920s, the Jesuit French priest Father Antoine Poidebard recorded 116 fortified military buildings...

The brown seaweed Fucus serratus in its natural habitat. Image credit: Grubio-1 / CC BY-SA 4.0 Deed.

Neolithic Europeans Consumed Seaweed and Freshwater Aquatic Plants: Study

Oct 18, 2023 by News Staff

During the Mesolithic in Europe, there is widespread evidence for an increase in exploitation of aquatic resources. In contrast, the subsequent Neolithic...

The Paleolithic settlement at Abu Hureyra in what is now Syria may have been destroyed 12,800 years ago because of a comet. Image credit: Jennifer Rice, Comet Research Group.

Comet Airburst Initiated Transition to Agriculture 12,800 Years Ago, Scientists Say

Oct 16, 2023 by News Staff

Around 12,800 years ago, Earth collided with fragments of a disintegrating comet, triggering Younger Dryas climate change; this event created environmental...

Frontal view of the portrait of Homo heidelbergensis from Petralona, Greece, with hair and skin pigmentation. Image credit: Aidonis et al., doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104206.

Anthropologists Reconstruct Face of Homo heidelbergensis

Oct 13, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

Anthropologists in Greece have used facial reconstruction techniques to show how Homo heidelbergensis, a poorly understood relative of Neanderthals that...

Neanderthals butchering the freshly killed cave lion from Siegsdorf, Germany. Image credit: Julio Lacerda / NLD.

Neanderthals Were Hunting Cave Lions 48,000 Years Ago

Oct 12, 2023 by News Staff

During the Upper Paleolithic, lions become an important theme in Paleolithic art and are more frequent in anthropogenic faunal assemblages. However, the...

The 5,000-year-old wine jars at Abydos, Egypt. Image credit: Christiana Köhler.

5,000-Year-Old Wine Jars Unearthed at Abydos

Oct 10, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered hundreds of 5,000-year-old wine jars — some of which are still intact and contain traces of ancient wine —...

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