Reviews Archaeology

‘Cities’ reveals common ground between ancient and modern urban life

A new book chronicles 6,000 years of metropolitan history

Tokyo

URBAN LEGEND  Tokyo (shown above) and other modern metropolises can trace their roots back some 6,000 years to Tell Brak, the oldest known city, located in what is now Syria.

Andre Benz/Unsplash

By Bruce Bower

This article is only available to Science News subscribers.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Science News is a nonprofit.

Support us by subscribing now.

More Stories from Science News on Archaeology

  1. scientists excavating a rock shelter in the Kalahari Desert
    Archaeology

    Stone Age culture bloomed inland, not just along Africa’s coasts

    By Bruce Bower
  2. archaeological structures from ancient city of Çatalhöyük
    Archaeology

    A tour of ‘Four Lost Cities’ reveals modern ties to ancient people

    By Bethany Brookshire
  3. bones of a man and woman with artifacts in a bronze age grave
    Anthropology

    Riches in a Bronze Age grave suggest it holds a queen

    By Bruce Bower
  4. scientist holding small piece of ancient dog bone
    Archaeology

    An ancient dog fossil helps trace humans’ path into the Americas

    By Anushree Dave
  5. Burned remains of a woman
    Anthropology

    A body burned inside a hut 20,000 years ago signaled shifting views of death

    By Bruce Bower
  6. Stonehenge monument seen from above
    Archaeology

    Stonehenge may have had roots in a Welsh stone circle

    By Bruce Bower
  7. ancient seashell
    Archaeology

    Humans made a horn out of a conch shell about 18,000 years ago

    By Bruce Bower
  8. ancient Egyptian mummy sarcophagus and mud shell
    Archaeology

    An ancient Egyptian mummy was wrapped in an unusual mud shell

    By Maria Temming

From the Nature Index

Paid Content