Archaeology

  1. Earth

    Mexican silver made it into English coins

    Chemical tests of currency help reveal where New World riches flowed.

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  2. Humans

    Oldest examples of hunting weapon uncovered in South Africa

    A common ancestor of people and Neandertals may have flung stone-tipped shafts at animal prey.

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  3. Humans

    An ancient civilization’s wet ascent, dry demise

    Cave data suggest that ancient rainfall patterns swayed the course of Classic Maya societies.

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  4. Humans

    Ancient blades served as early weapons

    African find reveals complex toolmaking 71,000 years ago.

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  5. Humans

    Feather finds hint at Neandertal art

    Plumage found at ancient sites may indicate capability for abstract thought among humans’ Stone Age cousins.

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  6. Archaeology

    What the Maya really have to tell us about the end of the world

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  7. Humans

    Herders, not farmers, built Stonehenge

    Farming’s temporary demise in ancient Britain may have spurred the creation of the iconic stone circle.

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  8. Humans

    Good times led to grisly custom

    Ancient Chileans developed artificial mummification after an increase in the numbers of living and dead people made naturally preserved bodies hard to ignore.

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  9. Anthropology

    Sticks, stones and bones reveal emergence of a hunter-gatherer culture

    A cave in southern Africa was occupied by people very much like those living in the region today.

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  10. Humans

    Apocalypse, not so fast

    Guatemalan find suggests mention of a date far in the future served a Maya king’s immediate needs.

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  11. Archaeology

    Oldest pottery comes from Chinese cave

    New dates show that East Asian hunter-gatherers fired up cooking vessels 20,000 years ago.

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  12. Humans

    Ancient North Africans got milk

    Pottery study unveils early dairy practices among Saharan cattle herders.

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