Archaeology

  1. Humans

    50 years ago, scientists debated when humans first set foot in North America

    In 1973, archaeologists debated when people first arrived in the Americas. Mounting evidence suggests its much earlier than they thought.

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  2. Archaeology

    Vikings brought animals to England as early as the year 873

    A chemical analysis of cremated remains offers physical evidence of the arrival of Norse animals to England in the ninth century.

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  3. Archaeology

    Chemical residue reveals ancient Egyptians’ mummy-making mixtures

    Chemical clues in embalming vessels reveal previously unknown ingredients used to prepare bodies for mummification and their far-flung origins.

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  4. Physics

    Muon scanning hints at mysteries within an ancient Chinese wall

    Density fluctuations within the ancient rampart encircling the city of Xi’an could be defects or yet-to-be-discovered archaeological finds.

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  5. Archaeology

    Mysterious marks on Ice Age cave art may have been a form of record keeping

    Hunter-gatherers during the Ice Age may have recorded when prey mated and gave birth, suggesting that these people possessed complex cognitive skills

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  6. Chemistry

    These chemists cracked the code to long-lasting Roman concrete

    Roman concrete has stood the test of time, so scientists searched ruins to unlock the ancient recipe that could help architecture and climate change.

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  7. Archaeology

    Complex supply chains may have appeared more than 3,000 years ago

    Finds from one of the world’s oldest shipwrecks hint that miners in Central Asia and Turkey provided a crucial metal to Mediterranean rulers.

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  8. Archaeology

    Lasers reveal sites used as the Americas’ oldest known star calendars

    By around 3,100 years ago, Mesoamerican ritual complexes tracked celestial cycles using a 260-day count, a huge lidar mapping project shows.

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  9. Earth

    Indigenous people may have created the Amazon’s ‘dark earth’ on purpose

    Modern Amazonians make nutrient-rich soil from ash, food scraps and burns. The soil strongly resembles ancient dark soils found in the region.

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  10. Anthropology

    Homo naledi may have lit fires in underground caves at least 236,000 years ago

    Homo naledi may have joined the group of ancient hominids who built controlled fires, presumably for light or warmth, new finds hint.

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  11. Archaeology

    A spider monkey’s remains tell a story of ancient diplomacy in the Americas

    A 1,700-year-old spider monkey skeleton unearthed at Teotihuacan in Mexico was likely a diplomatic gift from the Maya.

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  12. Anthropology

    Carvings on Australia’s boab trees reveal a generation’s lost history

    Archaeologists and an Aboriginal family are working together to rediscover a First Nations group’s lost connections to the land.

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