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Amenhotep I ruled Egypt from around 1525 to 1504 BC and his pristine mummy has never been unwrapped, but CT scans have now allowed us to peer inside Humans 28 December 2021 By Alex Wilkins Face mask of the never-before unwrapped mummy of pharaoh Amenhotep I S. Saleem and Z. Hawass One of the last … Read more
Some 60,000 years ago, in what is now western France, a Neanderthal picked up a chunk of hyena femur and a stone tool and began to work. When the task was complete, the bone bore nine notches that were strikingly similar and approximately parallel, as if they were meant to signify something. Francesco d’Errico, an … Read more
The remains of an ancient female child, no more than two months of age, have been found lavishly decorated with pendants and beads in northwest Italy. The precious skeleton was discovered in the Arma Veirana cave in 2017 and has now been dated to about 10,000 old. This time is known as the early Holocene, … Read more
Ancient whale poo, known as ambergris, has long been prized by perfumiers – but it also contains precious information about ancient oceans that could help save today’s whales Humans 15 December 2021 By Claire Ainsworth Peter Crowther THEY say, where there’s muck, there’s brass. Anyone who has stumbled upon ambergris will confirm this. The weathered … Read more
When Neanderthals lived at a site called Neumark-Nord in Germany, the region had far fewer trees than surrounding areas, suggesting they may have cleared the forest on purpose Humans 15 December 2021 A lakeside archaeological site at Neumark-Nord in Germany Wil Roebroeks, Leiden University Neanderthals may have reshaped part of the European landscape 125,000 years … Read more
In 1900 diver Elias Stadiatis, clad in a copper and brass helmet and a heavy canvas suit, emerged from the sea shaking in fear and mumbling about a “heap of dead naked people.” He was among a group of Greek divers from the Eastern Mediterranean island of Symi who were searching for natural sponges. They … Read more
The Antikythera mechanism is one of the most astonishing discoveries in archaeology. Salvaged from a 2,000-year-old shipwreck in Greece in 1900, the intricately geared contraption was quickly recognized as a machine for calculating the movement of the moon and planets. It continues to surprise, as researcher Tony Freeth reveals. The gears are more delicate and … Read more
Horses kick and stamp on rocks to keep their hooves in good shape, and archaeologists have now realised this can result in a collection of sharp stones that look like the work of an ancient human toolmaker Life 1 December 2021 By Graham Lawton Horses climbing over rocks Shutterstock / Valentin Finaev Some stone tools … Read more
Centuries before the pharaohs emerged in Egypt, the local elites used a thick porridge-like beer in their ceremonies Humans 3 December 2021 By Jason Arunn Murugesu Reconstruction of beer cups and jars from early Egypt Dr. Renee The elite members of early Egyptian society – before the emergence of the pharaohs – probably drank beer, … Read more
Rocks that formed in a swamp in what is now Spain 110 million years ago contain both dinosaur bones and amber rich in invertebrate fossils Life 7 December 2021 By Carissa Wong Part of a feather preserved in amber from the Santa Maria coal mine Sergio Alvarez-Parra An impressive trove of fossil-filled amber has come … Read more