Archaeology

Archaeology

Skeleton of Western man found in ancient Mongolian tomb

A genetic analysis of a skeleton from an ancient Asian tomb illuminates the spread of Indo-Europeans.

Archaeology

Ancient hominids may have been seafarers

Researchers have discovered hundreds of African-style stone hand axes on Crete, suggesting that sea-going hominids reached the island hundreds of thousands of years ago en route to Europe.

Anthropology

Stone Age campers set up separate activity areas

Hominids displayed advanced organizational thinking almost 800,000 years ago

Anthropology

Macaws bred far from tropics during pre-Columbian times

Colorful birds possibly raised for ceremonial and trade purposes long before Spanish arrival

Anthropology

Stone Age twining unraveled

Plant fibers excavated at a cave in western Asia suggest that people there made twine more than 30,000 years ago.

Archaeology

Europe’s oldest stone hand axes emerge in Spain

Researchers report identifying Europe’s oldest stone hand axes at Spanish sites dating to 900,000 and 760,000 years ago.

Archaeology

Exhuming a violent event

Four graves containing 13 skeletons have given scientists a glimpse of a lethal raid that occurred in central Europe 4,600 years ago.

Archaeology

Fire engineers of the Stone Age

New evidence indicates that people used fires to heat stones in preparation for making cutting instruments at least 72,000 years ago in southern Africa.

Anthropology

Maize may have fueled ancient Andean civilization

A chemical analysis of skeletons from Peru’s Andes Mountains suggests that cultivation of key crop made building a prehistoric civilization possible.

Archaeology

Stone Age flutes found in Germany

Excavations in Germany have unearthed what may be the oldest known musical instruments.

Archaeology

Ancient granaries preceded the Agricultural Revolution

Granaries excavated in Jordan indicate that people stored large quantities of wild cereals by about 11,300 years ago, a practice that led to the cultivation of domesticated plants, a new study suggests.

Archaeology

Engraved pigments point to ancient symbolic tradition

Analyses of patterns incised on pieces of ancient pigment indicate that people in southern Africa passed along symbolic practices from 100,000 to 75,000 years ago, scientists say.