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Archaeology

Avebury stands some 25 miles north of Stonehenge and is large enough to fit two Stonehenge-sized circles.

Stone Circles at Avebury May Have Surrounded House for Neolithic ‘One Percent’

Researchers theorize that the monument, near Stonehenge, was erected to commemorate the site of later generations’ ancestral home

The arrestingly modern hominin at the Neanderthal Museum, near Dusseldorf, is the work of renowned paleo-artists Adrie and Alfons Kennis.

What Do We Really Know About Neanderthals?

Revolutionary discoveries in archaeology show that the species long maligned as knuckle-dragging brutes deserve a new place in the human story

Desert kites, stone structures used for hunting, discovered in the U2 images.

Cool Finds

U-2 Spy Plane Images Reveal Ancient Archaeological Sites in the Middle East

Two patient archaeologists organized and scanned the images to find structures destroyed or covered up over the last 60 years

Cherokee syllabary inscription from 1.5km into Manitou Cave (average element vertical height approximately 80mm)

Cave Markings Tell of Cherokee Life in the Years Before Indian Removal

Written in the language formalized by Sequoyah, these newly translated inscriptions describe religious practices, including the sport of stickball

The so-called "Govan stones" date back to 10th and 11th centuries. Originally found in the 19th century, the stones were thought to be destroyed in the 1970s. Until this Scottish student found them again during a community dig.

14-Year-Old Boy Finds ‘Lost’ Medieval Gravestones in Scotland

The new discoveries belong to a collection known as the ‘Govan Stones,’ imposing relics of a once-great kingdom

A recently uncovered thermopolia in the ruins of Pompeii.

Trending Today

Recently Uncovered Thermopolium Reminds Us That Romans Loved Fast Food as Much as We Do

Similar snack counters dug up throughout Pompeii were once destinations for on-the-go Romans looking for a quick bite

Twitter helped identify the identities of the women involved in excavations at Skara Brae, Orkney, in 1929.

Internet Sleuths Were on the Case to Name the Women Archaeologists in These Excavation Photos

A caption in a book about the excavation at Skara Brae, Scotland, had identified them as ‘visitors’ to the dig

Typical Tiwanaku-period offerings at Khoa Reef in Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, including stone carvings and sacrificial animal bones.

Before the Inca Ruled South America, the Tiwanaku Left Their Mark on the Andes

Artifacts including gold medallions and sacrificial llama bones reveal the ritual pilgrimages taken around Lake Titicaca

Cool Finds

Mariner’s Astrolabe Recovered From Shipwreck Is the World’s Oldest

The navigational gadget comes from the wreck of the Esmerelda, part of Vasco da Gama’s fleet that sunk off the coast of Oman in 1503

Archaeologists from the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration found this 19th-century clay pipe at the excavation site that contained the DNA of a woman who had connections to the region that is now modern-day Sierra Leone.

DNA From 200-Year-Old Pipe Links Enslaved Woman to Sierra Leone

A new genetic analysis suggests that certain artifacts can help descendants of enslaved people piece together their ancestral heritage

Exterior view of the entrance of Fa-Hien Lena cave in Sri Lanka, where archaeological evidence suggests humans lived about 45,000 years ago.

Ancient Monkey Bone Tools Shake Up the Narrative of Early Human Migration to the Rain Forest

New evidence pushes back the date for human settlement in jungles, challenging the idea that our ancestors preferred the savannas and plains

Artist's depiction of "Henry," a teenaged sailor on the Mary Rose.

Cool Finds

DNA Shows Ethnically Diverse Crew Sailed Henry VIII’s Flagship

The research on the skeletons found near the wreck suggests there were sailors and marines on board who came from North Africa and the Mediterranean

Hungry Otters Are Creating a Unique Archaeological Record

By bashing mussel shells onto stones, otters leave behind traces of their activity

Cool Finds

Birds and Humans Are Depicted Together in This Rare Scene From 12,000 Years Ago

Researchers believe the discovery, detailed in a new study, represent an “exceptional milestone in European Paleolithic rock art”

Woman's shoe found at the site of the March 1945 massacre

400 Artifacts Unearthed at Site of Nazi Massacre Targeting Polish, Soviet P.O.W.s

In March 1945, German soldiers shot 208 Polish and Soviet forced laborers in a series of three mass executions across the Arnsberg Forest

Alcatraz's recreation yard, where the structures were discovered.

Cool Finds

Radar Scans Reveal Traces of 19th-Century Fort Beneath Alcatraz

Before Capone took up residence, the island was home to military installation that guarded San Francisco Bay

Cool Finds

Cave Full of Untouched Maya Artifacts Found at Chichén Itzá

The intact offerings will allow researchers to understand changes over time at the site

Trending Today

Site Where Julius Caesar Was Stabbed Will Finally Open to the Public

The curia in Pompey’s Theater where Caesar died in the Largo di Torre Argentina is currently a fenced-off feral cat colony

Researchers analyzed the orthodentin and the cementum in the sloth tooth. Pits mark locations where samples were collected for analysis.

Found: The Remains of a 27,000-Year-Old Sloth That Got Stuck in a Sinkhole

The sloth’s tooth, which was discovered in a deep pool in Belize, is helping scientists learn about the animal’s diet and the climate in which it lived

New Research

Lake Sediment and Ancient Poop Track Environmental Changes at Cahokia

The research reveals the largest pre-Hispanic settlement north of the Mexican border experienced flood and drought near its end

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