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Stories from Sarah Kuta

Researchers found this hand ax, which appears to have been shaped around a geological feature imprint.

These Big-Brained Ancestors May Have Loved Crystals Just as Much as Modern Humans Do, According to New Research

Archaeologists in Israel unearthed prehistoric hand axes that Homo erectus crafted from stones including fossils and crystals, perhaps a sign that they wanted to connect with the cosmos

The cave's floor is largely undisturbed, so archaeologists are hopeful it may help answer questions about the transition between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in Britain.

This Medieval Castle Sits Atop a Prehistoric Time Capsule. New Excavations Could Reveal the History of Neanderthals in Britain

In a cave tucked beneath the Welsh landmark, archaeologists have found evidence of human and animal visits over the past 120,000 years. Now, they’re starting a five-year excavation project

Grand Canyon National Park welcomes more than four million visitors per year.

Scientists Still Don’t Know How or When the Grand Canyon Formed. New Research May Hint at Its Ancient Origins

Researchers say the ancestral Colorado River formed an ancient lake in northern Arizona roughly 6.6 million years ago, which spilled out westward onto the landscape that would eventually become the Grand Canyon

As of April 10, 105 kakapo eggs had hatched, and 95 chicks were still alive.

A Bountiful Berry Harvest Put These Chunky, Endangered Parrots in the Mood. Now, Scientists Are Celebrating a Breeding Bonanza

New Zealand’s kakapo have laid 256 eggs, and around 100 of them have hatched, providing a bright spot in a decades-long conservation effort. The official chick count won’t be confirmed until the youngest birds are about 5 months old

Biologists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are working hard to eradicate nutria from the state.

Large Invasive Rodents Are Wreaking Havoc in California. New Research Suggests Someone Deliberately Introduced Them

Genetic testing revealed that nutria living in California since 2017 are most closely related to a population in central Oregon—too far for the creatures to have traveled on their own

The 125-foot-long Clough sank in September 1868.

A Sudden Squall Doomed This Stone-Hauling Vessel in Lake Erie. More Than 150 Years Later, Divers Just Found the Shipwreck

The “Clough,” a 125-foot-long bark, sank in September 1868 near Cleveland, with just one crew member surviving to explain what had happened

This illustration shows the size difference between a European pond turtle and the foot of a straight-tusked elephant.

Turtles May Have Been Tasty Snacks for Neanderthals 125,000 Years Ago. But Their Shells Were Probably the Real Prize

New research based on fragments discovered at the Neumark-Nord site in Germany suggests Neanderthals may have transformed the shells into tools

Nearly 200 hippos are estimated to roam in Colombia.

Colombia Plans to Euthanize Dozens of ‘Cocaine Hippos,’ Descendants of Animals Brought by Notorious Drug Trafficker Pablo Escobar

If nothing is done to control the invasive creatures, officials estimate the population could grow to 1,000 animals by 2035. So, they aim to cull about 80 individuals later this year

British geologist and naturalist William Pengelly identified the object as a badger tooth.

Long Misidentified, This Seal Tooth Pendant Was Carefully Crafted by a Prehistoric Human Roughly 15,000 Years Ago

Discovered in 1867, the artifact raises new theories about the Magdalenian people who inhabited southwest England during the Late Upper Paleolithic period

When male greater sage grouse attempt to attract a mate, they puff up their chest, droop their wings and fan their tail feathers into a starburst shape.

One of the American West’s Most Iconic Birds Is Attempting to Mate Near a Dangerous Airport. Could Robo-Birds Help Save Them?

Conservationists are deploying dancing animatronic birds to lure male greater sage grouse away from the Jackson Hole Airport, where dozens of the creatures have been struck and killed by planes

Initial excavations last month at Monticello revealed a layer of brick rubble.

Enslaved and Free Workers Built Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Brick by Brick. Archaeologists Just Discovered One of the Kilns They Used

Researchers think the newly unearthed structure was used to fire and cure bricks during construction of the site’s original mansion in the early 1770s

Adult emperor penguins have waterproof feathers. But they replace all of them every year during their catastrophic molt, which makes them vulnerable.

As Their Antarctic Habitat Melts Away, Emperor Penguins Are Now Considered an Endangered Species

The International Union for Conservation of Nature predicts that the birds’ population could be cut in half by the 2080s. The organization also changed the statuses of Antarctic fur seals and southern elephant seals

The original Shroud of Turin is housed at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, but replicas like the one shown here have been created for exhibitions and public displays.

Jesus’s Burial Cloth or Medieval Forgery? DNA Evidence Further Complicates the Debate Over the Shroud of Turin

A new analysis revealed traces of various plants, animals and humans on the controversial linen cloth. But outside experts are skeptical of the findings, which could complicate efforts to identify the shroud’s original wearer

This rendering shows what a polybolos might have looked like aimed at Pompeii's northern city walls.

Long Before Machine Guns, Ancient Roman Troops Used This 2,000-Year-Old Rapid-Fire Weapon in Pompeii, New Research Suggests

Ancient Roman forces may have used the polybolos to quell a rebellion at Pompeii in 89 B.C.E. The unique weapon was likely developed by a Greek engineer centuries earlier

Divers have recovered 1,200 artifacts from the site.

See the 2,000-Year-Old Ancient Roman Cargo From an Accidental Shipwreck Discovered at the Bottom of a Lake in Switzerland

Divers recovered weapons, tools, pieces of horse-drawn chariots, ceramic plates, platters and goblets. One archaeologist surmises that the loss would have been “immense” at the time

Cow sharks (one shown) and frilled sharks are members of the newly proposed lineage.

What Is a Shark? A New Genetic Analysis Throws an ‘Unexpected Wrench’ Into Our Understanding of the Ocean Predators

Some shark species might belong to their own distinct lineage, which is separate from all other sharks, rays and skates, according to a new study

Becoming an expert birder might support brain health, according to a new study.

Becoming an Expert Birder Can Reshape Your Brain and Might Help Protect It From Aging, New Research Suggests

Compared with novices, seasoned birders had denser, more structurally complex brain regions involved with tasks like object identification, visual processing, attention and working memory

Now part of Dry Tortugas National Park, Fort Jefferson was built starting in 1846.

This Soldier Died of Yellow Fever During a Hurricane 153 Years Ago. Archaeologists Just Found His Grave

George Tupper, a 22-year-old from Massachusetts, was nearly a year into his military service when a yellow fever outbreak struck Fort Jefferson

The last documented thylacine died at a zoo in Hobart in 1936, but people have reported hundreds of sightings of the extinct creature since then.

Rock Art Suggests the Tasmanian Tiger May Have Survived on Mainland Australia Longer Than Previously Thought

Archaeologists think some of the paintings may be less than 1,000 years old, even though the animals were thought to have disappeared from the continent roughly 3,000 years ago

Domino the warty frogfish is about the size of a pea.

Meet Domino, a Tiny, Bumpy Fish Making a Splash in Chicago

The warty frogfish, also known as a clown anglerfish, is believed to be the first of its kind born and raised in captivity

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