The discovery of an 8,600-year-old piece of bread at Catalhoyuk in south-central Turkey unveils fascinating insights into the ancient culinary practices and lifestyles of early urban settlers during the Neolithic period. Catalhoyuk stands as one of the earliest known urban settlements globally, offering a window into the lives of its approximately 8,000 inhabitants and their … Read more
Carbon dating, also known as radiocarbon dating, is a revolutionary scientific technique that has transformed the field of archaeology by providing researchers with a powerful tool for dating organic materials and determining the chronology of archaeological sites and artifacts. Since its development in the 1940s by Willard Libby and his colleagues, carbon dating has become … Read more
The discovery of Ötzi the Iceman, one of the most remarkable archaeological finds of the 20th century, has provided invaluable insights into the lives of prehistoric humans and has sparked widespread interest and intrigue among scientists and the general public alike. Ötzi, named after the Ötztal Alps where his remains were found, is a remarkably … Read more
It’s a small piece of obsidian, just over 5 centimeters long, likely found on a hard-scrabble piece of ranchland in the Texas panhandle. But when SMU anthropologist Matthew Boulanger looks at it, he gets a mental image of Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado making his way across the plains more than 470 years ago … Read more
Following the arrival of the first farmers in Scandinavia 5,900 years ago, the hunter-gatherer population was wiped out within a few generations, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden, among others. The results, which are contrary to prevailing opinion, are based on DNA analysis of skeletons and teeth found in what is … Read more
In autumn 2021, geologists discovered an unusual row of stones, almost 1 km long, at the bottom of Mecklenburg Bight. The site is located around 10 kilometers off Rerik at a 21-meter water depth. The approximately 1,500 stones are aligned so regularly that a natural origin seems unlikely. A team of researchers from different disciplines … Read more
The 1 million-square-mile Tibetan Plateau—often called the “roof of the world”—is the highest landmass in the world, averaging 14,000 feet in altitude. Despite the extreme environment, humans have been permanent inhabitants there since prehistoric times. Farming and herding play major roles in the economy of the Tibetan Plateau today—as they have throughout history. To make … Read more
In the ongoing discourse among anthropologists and archaeologists about the emergence of archery in the Americas and its societal implications, a recent study led by a University of California, Davis, anthropologist sheds new light on this enigma. Published in Quaternary International, the research focuses on the Lake Titicaca Basin in the Andes mountains. Contrary to … Read more
Archaeology, as a discipline, is the scientific study of the human past through the examination of material remains, artifacts, structures, and environmental data. It seeks to reconstruct and understand the lives, cultures, and societies of people who lived in the past by analyzing the physical traces they left behind. Archaeology is a multidisciplinary field that … Read more
The timing and means of human migration to North America have long been debated in archaeological circles. The conventional view suggests that humans traversed an ice-free corridor around 13,000 years ago between ice sheets. However, recent archaeological and genetic discoveries, including human footprints in New Mexico dating back approximately 23,000 years, challenge this timeline, indicating … Read more
The “Out of Africa” theory, also known as the recent African origin of modern humans, is a widely accepted model explaining the migration and dispersal of Homo sapiens from Africa to populate the rest of the world. This theory posits that anatomically modern humans originated in Africa and then migrated and replaced archaic human populations … Read more
The origin of Homo sapiens, the species to which all modern human beings belong, is a complex and intriguing topic that has captivated the attention of scientists, anthropologists, and researchers for many years. The prevailing theories about the origin of Homo sapiens are based on a combination of fossil evidence, genetic studies, and archaeological findings. … Read more
A bog body refers to a human cadaver that has been naturally preserved in a peat bog. These unique archaeological finds provide invaluable insights into ancient human societies, shedding light on aspects of life, death, and culture from periods long past. The preservation process in bogs is extraordinary, often resulting in the conservation of soft … Read more
Archaeological findings challenging the presumed link between climate and cultural advancements in Middle Stone Age humans of southern Africa have been unveiled in a study by Patrick Roberts and colleagues from the University of Oxford. While the Middle Stone Age witnessed transformative shifts in early human behavior, attributing these changes solely to climate has been … Read more
In a recent study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, our exploration of human migration into Western Europe unfolds. Examining two skull fragments from 37,000 to 36,000 years ago, our research proposes that Homo sapiens ancestors originated in Eastern Europe and journeyed westward. These individuals intermingled with Neanderthals and the initial Homo sapiens in Europe, … Read more
The concept of what it means to be human has evolved over time. Initially, Homo sapiens were seen as the pinnacle of humanity, with our complex thoughts and deep emotions setting us apart. Other early human species like Neanderthals were considered steps in our evolutionary journey, eventually fading away because we were deemed superior. However, … Read more
A groundbreaking study published in 2015 sheds light on a significant archaeological find at the Sima de los Huesos site in northern Spain. The site, located deep within an underground cave system, contains the remains of at least 28 individuals dating back around 430,000 years to the Middle Pleistocene. One of the most intriguing discoveries … Read more