Ancient Cultures
When Did Human-Neanderthal Hook Ups End?
Upper Paleolithic humans coming out of Africa lost romantic interest in Neanderthals about 47,000 years ago
October 08, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Maya Holy Snake Queen’s Tomb Unearthed in Guatemala
Glyphs carved into a ceramic jar indicate that scientists found the burial chamber of Lady K'abel, a seventh-century Maya Holy Snake Lord who is considered one of the great queens of Classic Maya civilization
October 04, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Zoom Around This Detailed Map of the Ancient World
Now, you can zoom around this huge, detailed map of the ancient world labeled with cities from all sorts of archaeological records, classical text references and European imagery
October 04, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
UNESCO-Listed Medieval Souk in Syria Burned, Bombed
Aleppo, the site of an ancient UNESCO-listed souk in Syria, went up in flames on Sunday as clashes between troops and rebels infiltrated the market quarter.
October 03, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Are These Two Toes the World’s First Prostheses?
This is probably the world's first prosthetic—a wooden toe that dates back to before 600 BC
October 03, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
The Unsolved Mystery of the Tunnels at Baiae
Did ancient priests fool visitors to a sulfurous subterranean stream that they had crossed the River Styx and entered Hades?
October 01, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
Fossil Finding Goes High Tech
A new high tech approach to digging in the dirt is helping paleontologists dig smarter: artificial intelligence
September 28, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Carved From Meteorite, This Thousand-Year-Old Statue Was Taken From Tibet by the Nazi SS
Crafted from a meteorite fragment, Nazis may have taken this early Tibetan relic because it displayed a swastika
September 27, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
6,500-Year Old Beeswax May Be Oldest Known Dental Filling
From the archives of an Italian museum, researchers may have found the oldest dental filling
September 21, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Honey Was the Wonder Food That Fueled Human Evolution (And Now It’s Disappearing)
Energy-rich honey could have been the food that let humans get so brainy
September 20, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Flooding in Pakistan Threatens Remains of 4500-Year-Old Civilization
Strong flooding fueled by the annual monsoon threatens the ancient town of Mohenjo-Daro
September 14, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Skeleton Found Under a Parking Lot May Be English King Richard III
A skeleton consistent with that of the long-dead king was unearthed recently in Leicester
September 13, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Help Illustrate the Internet With Wikipedia’s Photo Contest
The Wikimedia Foundation is hosting a photo contest, and you could win a trip to Hong Kong.
August 30, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Crafty Bonobo Shows Humans Aren’t the Only Stone Tool-Makers
Not satisfied with knowing sign language or creating "words" for banana or juice, a 30-year-old male bonobo chimp named Kanzi has proven that ancient humans aren't the only ones capable of making stone tools
August 24, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
How to Learn a Language Nobody Speaks
After hundreds of years, and multiple attempts to develop a universal language the same problem still remains: no one wants to learn it
August 22, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Better, Faster, Taller – How Big can Buildings Really Get?
The race for the tallest structure in the world has been with us since humans built structures, and today it is going strong. But where's the limit?
August 20, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Archaeologists Excavate Death Pit, Finding Hundreds of Sacrificed Soldiers in Denmark
Archaeologists are excavating hundreds of skeletons from the boggy swamps, and the remains belong to men who all sacrificed around the time of Christ
August 15, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Hot for Hominids – Did Humans Mate With Neanderthals Or Not?
Geneticists are busy figuring out whether humans and Neanderthals got busy
August 15, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Google Earth Probably Didn’t Just Find New Pyramids
Amateur archaeologist claims to have found lost pyramids using Google Earth. Real archaeologists are skeptical
August 14, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
The Demonization of Empress Wu
"She killed her sister, butchered her elder brothers, murdered the ruler, poisoned her mother," the chronicles say. But is the empress unfairly maligned?
August 10, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
