Archaeology News

13,900-Year-Old Projectile Point Found in Washington

Reconstruction of the distal end of the Manis projectile point. Image credit: Waters et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ade9068.
Feb 3, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists have found fragments a human-made projectile point in a rib of an American mastodon (Mammut americanum) from the Manis site, Washington, the United States. The projectile point is about 13,900 years old and is morphologically different from later cylindrical points of the 13,000-year-old Clovis culture. The artifact, which is made of mastodon bone, shows that people predating Clovis made and used osseous weapons to hunt megafauna in the...

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Professor Gaudzinski-Windheuser standing next to a life-size reconstruction of an adult male European straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) in the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle, Germany. Image credit: Lutz Kindler, LEIZA.

Neanderthals Hunted Straight-Tusked Elephants 125,000 Years Ago

Feb 2, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Straight-tusked elephants (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) were the largest terrestrial mammals of the Pleistocene epoch, present in Europe and western Asia between...

La Pasiega Cave, section C, cave wall with paintings: the ladder shape composed of red horizontal and vertical lines (center left) dates to older than 64,000 years and was made by Neanderthals. Image credit: P. Saura.

World’s Oldest Art Was Created by Neanderthals, Researcher Says

Jan 24, 2023 by The Conversation

Neanderthal art was perhaps more abstract than the stereotypical figure and animal cave paintings Homo sapiens made after Neanderthals disappeared about...

A barbed antler point found at the Mesolithic site near Scarborough in North Yorkshire, Britain. Image credit: University of Chester / University of Manchester.

10,500-Year-Old Settlement of Hunter-Gatherers Unearthed in Britain

Jan 23, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists excavating near Scarborough in North Yorkshire, Britain, have uncovered the remains of a small settlement — including bone, antler...

The 1,000-year-old remains of the Viking hall near Hune, Denmark. Image credit: Nordjyske Museer.

1,000-Year-Old Viking Hall Unearthed in Denmark

Jan 11, 2023 by News Staff

Archaeologists from Nordjyske Museer have unearthed the remains of a Viking-age structure near the village of Hune in Denmark. The 1,000-year-old remains...

Collection location and distinctive features of the ancient Roman concrete samples used by Seymour et al. Image credit: Seymour et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.add1602.

Scientists Solve Mystery of Why Ancient Roman Concrete Was So Durable

Jan 10, 2023 by News Staff

Ancient Roman concretes have survived millennia, but mechanistic insights into their durability is an enigma. To solve the mystery, researchers from MIT...

Obsidian tools from the Maya site of Q’umarkaj and the surrounding region in Guatemala. Image credit: R. Horowitz.

Ancient K’iche’ Maya Utilized Market-Based Economics, Archaeologist Says

Jan 9, 2023 by News Staff

According to a paper by Washington State University anthropologist Rachel Horowitz, the ruling Maya elite in the K’iche’ region of what is now Guatemala...

An examples of animal depiction associated with dots. Image credit: Bacon et al., doi: 10.1017/S0959774322000415.

Archaeologists Uncover Upper Paleolithic Proto-Writing System

Jan 6, 2023 by News Staff

In at least 400 European caves such as Lascaux, Chauvet and Altamira, Upper Paleolithic humans drew, painted and engraved non-figurative signs from at...

The 2,200-year-old silver tetradrachma coins found in Israel. Image credit: Shai Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Hoard of Silver Coins from Maccabean Revolt Found in Israel

Dec 26, 2022 by News Staff

The hoard was in a wooden box and contained 15 silver tetradrachma coins from the reign of Antiochos IV Epiphanes, a Hellenistic king who ruled the Seleucid...

The 15,700-year-old stone projectile points from the Area B of the Cooper’s Ferry site in Idaho, the United States. Image credit: Loren Davis.

15,700-Year-Old Projectile Points Found in Idaho

Dec 26, 2022 by News Staff

Archaeologists have unearthed an assemblage of 14 stemmed projectile points at the Cooper’s Ferry site, located on a terrace of the lower Salmon River...

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.

320,000-Year-Old Cutmarked Bones Provide Evidence for Exploitation of Bear Skins

Dec 23, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Researchers from the University of Tübingen and elsewhere have unearthed the cutmarked bones of cave bears at the Middle Pleistocene site of Schöningen...

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.

Pottery Vessels Reveal Connections between Prehistoric European Hunter-Gatherer Communities

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....

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,...

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