260-Million-Year-Old Killing Machine Exposed
Previously thought of as heavy, slow and sluggish, the 260-million-year-old predator, Anteosaurus, was a ferocious hunter-killer. Judging by its massive, bone-crushing teeth, gigantic skull, and…
Archaeology
New Evolutionary Theory: The Human Brain Grew as a Result of the Extinction of Large Animals
A new paper by Dr. Miki Ben-Dor and Prof. Ran Barkai from the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University proposes an…
First Humans in New England May Have Shared the Landscape With Woolly Mammoths
Researchers trace the age of a rib fragment of the Mount Holly mammoth. Woolly mammoths may have walked the landscape at the same time as…
Chemical Residues of Grapes in Medieval Containers Hint at Thriving Wine Trade in Islamic Sicily
Researchers at the University of York have found chemical residues of grapes in medieval containers indicating a prosperous wine trade in Islamic Sicily. They found…
New Research Shows Neanderthals Had the Capacity to Perceive and Produce Human Speech
Neanderthals — the closest ancestor to modern humans — possessed the ability to perceive and produce human speech, according to a new study published by…
Rare “Mud Carapace” Mortuary Treatment of Egyptian Mummy Uncovered – And a Case of Mistaken Identity
And reveals a potential case of mistaken identity: the mummy and associated coffin did not originally belong together! New analysis of a 20th Dynasty mummified…
42,000-Year-Old Trees Enable Accurate Analysis of Earth’s Last Magnetic Field Reversal
Radiocarbon measurements on the remains of 42,000-year-old New Zealand kauri trees provide the basis for better calibration of geological archives of this period. The last…
Scientists Investigate the Believed Remains of Two Christian Apostles – Here’s What They Found
A Roman church has since the sixth century AD held relics, believed to be the remains of two apostles. Now, they have undergone scientific analysis,…
An Ancient Economy: Chumash Indians Used Currency 2,000 Years Ago
Archaeologist argues the Chumash Indians were using highly worked shell beads as currency 2,000 years ago. As one of the most experienced archaeologists studying California’s…
Cretaceous Amber Fossil Sheds Light on Evolution of Bioluminescence in Beetles
Bioluminescence has fascinated people since time immemorial. The majority of organisms able to produce their own light are beetles, specifically fireflies, glow-worm beetles, and their…
Archaeologists Discover Neanderthals and Homo sapiens Used Identical Nubian Technology
Long held in a private collection, the newly analyzed tooth of an approximately 9-year-old Neanderthal child marks the hominin’s southernmost known range. Analysis of the…
Climate Change – Not Overhunting by Humans – Likely Drove the Extinction of North America’s Largest Animals
New research suggests that overhunting by humans was not responsible for the extinction of mammoths, ground sloths, and other North American megafauna. A new study…
Vast Portions of Today’s Sahara Desert Were Green Thousands of Years Ago
Past River Activity in Northern Africa Reveals Multiple Sahara Greenings The analysis of sediment cores from the Mediterranean Sea combined with Earth system models tells…
Ancient Conch Shell Horn Plays Its Tune for the First Time in 18,000 Years – Hear It Here
Almost 80 years after its discovery, a large shell from the ornate Marsoulas Cave in the Pyrenees has been studied by a multidisciplinary team from…
Analyzing Ancient DNA From 50,000-Year-Old Poop Reveals Secrets of Neanderthals’ Gut Microbiota
Neanderthals’ gut microbiota already included some beneficial micro-organisms that are also found in our own intestine. An international research group led by the University of…
Medieval Injuries: Inequality in Cambridge Was “Recorded on the Bones” of Its Residents
Social inequality was “recorded on the bones” of Cambridge’s medieval residents, according to a new study of hundreds of human remains excavated from three very…
Incredible 635 Million-Year-Old Fungi-Like Microfossil That Bailed Our Planet Out of an Ice Age
When you think of fungi, what comes to mind may be a crucial ingredient in a recipe or their amazing ability to break down dead…
Ancient European Money: Hoards Full of Standardized Bronze Rings, Ribs and Axe Blades
Early Bronze Age cultures traded in bronze objects of standardized weight. In the Early Bronze Age of Europe, ancient people used bronze objects as an…