Why did Appolonia trade so few enslaved people? Short answer: unique economy and sacred beliefs.

A 7,000-year-old village may have practiced a haunting skull ritual that left bodies behind

Rare charcoal fragments from an ancient lakeshore campsite are offering new clues about fire use, resource management, and the environmental knowledge of some of humanity’s earliest fire users. Long before cities, farms, or written language existed, some of humanity’s ancestors had already discovered a resource that would transform the course of human evolution: fire. But [...]

A multidisciplinary study has uncovered new details about a centuries-old burial in northern Finland, revealing genetic links to Sámi populations and evidence of a remarkably mobile life. A new study by the University of Turku and its partners has revealed new details about a man buried near Lake Kitka in Kuusamo, Finland, around the turn [...]

A century after they were discovered, they're finally getting some appreciation.

Wild chimpanzees in Uganda split into two separate communities and later engaged in deadly attacks against each other. Researchers believe the conflict shows how social relationships alone can fuel polarization and violence. The world’s largest known community of wild chimpanzees has permanently divided into two separate groups. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin [...]

Summary: Scientists have uncovered evidence that the domestication of potatoes in the Andes influenced the evolution of human metabolism. A new study suggests ancient potato farming in the Andes may have shaped human evolution in an unexpected way. Indigenous communities in the Andes were the first to domesticate the potato, turning this starch-rich crop into [...]

A Scottish crannog older than Stonehenge has been mapped in new detail using a shallow-water 3D imaging technique. Archaeologists at the University of Southampton have excavated and documented a large wooden platform concealed beneath what now looks like a stone island in a Scottish loch. Using stereophotogrammetry, they recorded the artificial island above and below [...]

Burned fossils reveal a vivid snapshot of early Homo sapiens life.

A newly named crocodile species from Ethiopia likely lived alongside Lucy’s species and dominated the wetlands of Hadar more than 3 million years ago. More than 3 million years ago, when early human relatives such as the famous Lucy moved across the African landscape, they likely shared their world with a formidable crocodile that had [...]

An archaeologist uses climate data and tailoring tools to trace the invention and evolution of apparel in the world's colder climates.

The dingo would have only been between 4 and 7 years old but clearly left a lasting impression.

Scientists say the mystery of why humans are so right-handed may trace back to our first steps on two legs. Why do humans overwhelmingly prefer their right hand while other primates do not? Scientists have debated that question for decades, but a new study suggests the answer may be rooted in two defining moments of [...]

Rock art around the world shows our ancestors saw nature as sacred.

In Laos, one stone vessel reveals a long ritual life among the ancestors.

Someone destroyed the ancient treasure before burying it.

Neanderthal dentists used stone drills to treat cavities nearly 60,000 years ago,

It's one of the most "ambitious" time capsules.

A genetic study of a prehistoric burial site near Paris reveals a sharp break between two populations, suggesting a major decline followed by the arrival of new groups from distant regions. An international team led by the University of Copenhagen has uncovered evidence that one of France’s largest Stone Age burial sites records a dramatic [...]

A new study of a 2,200-year-old Roman shipwreck reveals that ancient sailors used sophisticated organic coatings to waterproof their vessels. Since the earliest seafaring journeys, people have needed ships that could resist saltwater, stay watertight, and endure damage from marine organisms such as worms. Despite this long history, research into non-wood materials used in ship [...]

The country’s largest Viking Age coin hoard has emerged from a quiet field.

Their meals were richer, stranger, and more varied than the old caveman stereotype.

Brain size can matter across the broad sweep of primate evolution but among humans isn't the best way to estimate intelligence.

A new genetic analysis of Neanderthal remains from Stajnia Cave offers an unusually detailed glimpse into a small group that lived together roughly 100,000 years ago. An international team has analyzed ancient mitochondrial DNA from eight Neanderthal teeth recovered in Stajnia Cave in Poland. The study, published in Current Biology, offers something rarely possible in [...]

Brain size can matter across the broad sweep of primate evolution but among humans isn't the best way to estimate intelligence.

Ancient skeleton evidence suggests congenital infection doesn’t prove syphilis, pointing instead to multiple treponemal diseases in history. New research led by a Charles Sturt University scientist is challenging a long-held assumption about ancient diseases. The findings could reshape a major debate in medical history: where syphilis originated. The research underscores the increasing…

New interpretations suggest that Neanderthal and Sapiens interactions were shaped by biology and social structure, not simple romantic preference. Media portrayals have turned a nuanced genetic finding into a narrative of prehistoric romance, despite the research offering only cautious, model-based explanations for patterns in Neanderthal DNA. When viewed alongside archaeological and…

Decoded cuneiform tablets reveal early societies’ magic, politics, and bureaucracy, including rare rituals, king lists, and daily records. For more than a century, the National Museum has preserved a vast collection of inscribed clay tablets from some of the earliest Middle Eastern civilizations. Many of these artifacts are over 4,000 years old and written in [...]

The oldest stories we tell might be older than humanity's exodus.

A grieving mother’s desperate ritual sparked an accidental copper-based mummification.