Archaeology

  1. Anthropology

    ‘The Dawn of Everything’ rewrites 40,000 years of human history

    A new book recasts human social evolution as multiple experiments with freedom and domination that started in the Stone Age.

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  2. Genetics

    DNA from mysterious Asian mummies reveals their surprising ancestry

    Ancient DNA indicates that an enigmatic Bronze Age group consisted of genetic, but not cultural, loners.

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  3. Archaeology

    Lidar reveals a possible blueprint for many Olmec and Maya ceremonial sites

    An Olmec site forged a building plan more than 3,000 years ago for widespread Olmec and Maya ritual centers across Mexico’s Gulf Coast.

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  4. Anthropology

    Lasers reveal construction inspired by ancient Mexican pyramids in Maya ruins

    Archaeologists have uncovered structures in Guatemala that are remarkably similar to La Ciudadela and its temple at the ancient city of Teotihuacan.

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  5. Archaeology

    Vikings lived in North America by at least the year 1021

    Wooden objects provide the most precise dating yet of a Norse settlement in Newfoundland.

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  6. Archaeology

    The earliest evidence of tobacco use dates to over 12,000 years ago

    Burned seeds at an archaeological site in Utah hint at tobacco’s popularity long before it was domesticated.

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  7. Archaeology

    Dog DNA reveals ancient trade network connecting the Arctic to the outside world

    People in Siberia were exchanging canines and probably other goods as early as 7,000 years ago with cultures as far off as Europe and the Near East.

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  8. Anthropology

    ‘Ghost tracks’ suggest people came to the Americas earlier than once thought

    Prehistoric people’s footprints show that humans were in North America during the height of the last ice age, researchers say.

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  9. Genetics

    DNA offers a new look at how Polynesia was settled

    Modern genetic evidence suggests that statue builders on islands such as Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, had a shared ancestry.

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  10. Archaeology

    Stone Age people used bone scrapers to make leather and pelts

    African cave finds include remains of skinned creatures and hide scrapers made from animal ribs.

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  11. Anthropology

    Ancient DNA shows the peopling of Southeast Asian islands was surprisingly complex

    Ancient DNA from a hunter-gatherer skeleton points to earlier-than-expected human arrivals on Southeast Asian islands known as Wallacea.

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  12. Archaeology

    A 1,000-year-old grave may have held a powerful nonbinary person

    A medieval grave in Finland, once thought to maybe hold a respected woman warrior, may belong to someone who didn’t have a strictly male or female identity.

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