Archaeology

Archaeology

Blasts from the Past

Dig into the latest archaeological news reports, updated daily, from around the world at Archaeologica. The site also features links to Web pages on a wide range of archaeological topics, including ancient Egypt and North American rock art, and forums for discussing a variety of issues. Go to: http://www.archaeologica.org/

Archaeology

Grave surprise rises in Jamestown fort

Excavations in the 17th-century fort at Jamestown, Va., have yielded a grave containing the skeleton of a high-ranking male colonist.

Archaeology

Farming sprouted in ancient Ecuador

Analyses of microscopic plant remains from two archaeological sites indicate that people began to grow squash in Ecuador's lowlands between 10,000 and 9,000 years ago, when agriculture was also taking root in Mexico.

Archaeology

Old legend dies hard

People who first entered King Tutankhamen's tomb did not suffer from a legendary curse but instead lived long lives.

Archaeology

Digging into Ancient Texts

For both scholars and amateur archaeologists, the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative Web site offers fascinating glimpses of a distant past. Visitors can view images of thousands of carefully catalogued cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia. The texts include early creation myths, legal codes, medical prescriptions, and recipes for beer. Many are more mundane–ledgers, deeds, receipts, and lists […]

Archaeology

Maya warfare takes 10 steps forward

The discovery of hieroglyphic-covered steps on the side of a Maya pyramid has yielded new information about warfare between two competing city-states around 1,500 years ago.

Archaeology

Visit Ancient Corinth

Hosted at the University of Pennsylvania, this elaborate, regularly updated Web site features historical, literary, and archaeological information about the ancient Roman colony of Corinth in Greece. Browser plug-ins allow you to fly through the city, traverse digital maps, and view three-dimensional models of various structures. Go to: http://corinth.sas.upenn.edu

Archaeology

Could the Anasazi have stayed?

New computer simulations of the changing environmental conditions around one of the Anasazi cultural centers in the first part of the last millennium suggest that drought wasn't the only factor behind a sudden collapse of the civilization.

Archaeology

Ancient birth brick emerges in Egypt

Investigations at a 3,700-year-old Egyptian town have yielded a painted brick that was used in childbirth rituals.

Archaeology

Ancient site yields a copper whopper

Excavations in Jordan revealed the largest known Early Bronze Age metal-production facility, where workers crafted high-quality copper tools and ingots beginning around 4,700 years ago.

Archaeology

The Original Cocoa Treat: Chemistry pushes back first use of the drink

Analysis of residues from ancient Maya vessels has revealed that the pots held cocoa almost 1,000 years before its previously known earliest use.

Archaeology

Openings to the Underworld

Archaeological finds indicate that ancient groups in Mexico and Central America, including the Maya, held beliefs about a sacred landscape that focused on natural and human-made caves as sites of important ritual activities and burials.