Ancient

Gene for ‘toy’ dog breeds found in ancient wolves | Science

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When humans began intensively breeding dogs in 19th century Great Britain, they created a cornucopia of canines seemingly out of whole cloth: hulking bullmastiffs, graceful golden retrievers, and pint-size Yorkshire terriers. But the real key to their success, a new study reveals, was taking advantage of two tiny but powerful genetic ratchets that have controlled … Read more

Two Colossal Sphinx Statues Discovered Inside Ancient Egyptian Temple

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Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered two colossal limestone statues of King Amenhotep III that are fashioned to look like sphinxes, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.   An Egyptian-German archaeological mission discovered the sphinx-like statues, which were originally about 26 feet (8 meters) long when they were created for King Amenhotep III, an … Read more

These Ornate 3-Foot-Long Tubes May Be The Oldest Known Straws

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Slender gold and silver tubes crafted during the Bronze Age are the world’s oldest drinking straws, a new study finds.  Archaeologists found the 3-foot-long (1 meter) metal tubes in 1897 while excavating a burial mound known as a kurgan from the ancient Maikop (also spelled Maykop) culture in the northwestern Caucasus, which primarily includes modern-day … Read more

Spectacular Lost Highways of Ancient Arabia Discovered by Archaeologists

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The road to life in the Arabian desert might once have been paved with the dead. In what is now Saudi Arabia, archaeologists have revealed an impressive network of lost highways, marked by human tombs, that link one oasis to another.   Many thousands of years ago, these roads would have led Bedouin people and … Read more

Gene Variant May Have Helped Ancient Humans Survive Starvation

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About a million years ago a small mutation might have unlocked a big advantage for ancient humans. A recent study in Science Advances suggests that a variant of a critical stretch of DNA called the growth hormone receptor gene protected against starvation—in part by limiting individuals’ body size during periods of resource scarcity. The variant … Read more

These Ancient ‘War Donkeys’ Were Likely The 1st Human-Bred Hybrid Animals

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Mesopotamians were using hybrids of domesticated donkeys and wild asses to pull their war wagons 4,500 years ago – at least 500 years before horses were bred for the purpose, a new study reveals.   The analysis of ancient DNA from animal bones unearthed in northern Syria resolves a long-standing question of just what type of animals … Read more

This Ancient Peruvian Empire Put Hallucinogenics in Beer For Political Reasons

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The ancient Wari empire of Peru might have used hallucinogenic beer to rally support in new territories. The remnants of a large feast, found at a Wari outpost from the ninth century CE, strongly suggest the seeds of a psychoactive plant called vilca (Anadenanthera colubrina) were once mixed with chicha, a beer made from the fruit … Read more

Latest Study Finds No Trace of Aliens in 4-Billion-Year-Old Martian Meteorite

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To date, we’ve found over a hundred precious Mars rocks that have travelled from the red planet and landed on Earth at some point. Among those, specimen ALH84001 might well be one of the most enigmatic.   This meteorite fragment was picked up during a snowmobile ride in the ice field of Alan Hills in Antarctica … Read more