Archaeology

Animals

When were dogs domesticated? The oldest known dog DNA offers clues

Two new studies suggest that genetically stable dogs were living among humans in Europe by about 14,000 years ago.

Archaeology

Neandertals made antibacterial ointment, but may not have known it

A team of scientists re-created the way Neandertals made birch tar and found its antibacterial properties could fight off skin infections.

Archaeology

A new study questions when people first reached South America

Data suggest people lived at Chile’s Monte Verde site thousands of years later than thought, challenging key “pre-Clovis” evidence. Not all agree.

Anthropology

The ancient human ancestor ‘Little Foot’ gets a new face

A new digital reconstruction of the face of an early Australopithecus specimen helps add details about the origins of our own species.

Archaeology

Iron Age mass grave may hold unusual victims: mostly women and children

A land dispute may have led to the massacre 3,000 years ago, suggesting Europe’s transition to farming wasn’t always peaceful.

Archaeology

AI helps archaeologists solve a Roman gaming mystery

Researchers used AI-driven virtual players to test more than 100 rule sets, matching gameplay to wear patterns on a Roman limestone board.

Archaeology

The world’s oldest piece of clothing might be an Ice Age–era hide from Oregon

Two pieces of elk hide connected by a twisted-fiber cord are the earliest evidence of sewing. But what they were used for is still a mystery.

Archaeology

This ancient stick may be the world’s oldest handheld wooden tool

These 430,000-year-old wooden tools from Greece are a rare find and provide a glimpse at the technical know-how of our early human ancestors.

Anthropology

This hand stencil in Indonesia is now the oldest known rock art

The work suggests early Homo sapiens developed enduring artistic practices as they moved through the islands of Southeast Asia.

Archaeology

This ancient pottery holds the earliest evidence of humans doing math

Flower designs on 8,000-year-old Mesopotamian pots reveal a “mathematical knowledge” perhaps developed to share land and crops, archaeologists say.

Archaeology

60,000-year-old poison arrowheads show early humans’ skillful hunting

A new analysis uncovers traces of poison on the South African arrowheads, pushing back the timeline for poisoned weapons by more than 50,000 years.

Archaeology

Neandertals mastered fire-making tools 400,000 years ago

Archaeologists found flint, iron pyrite to strike it and sediments where a fire was probably built several times at an ancient site in England.