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Archaeology

Exotic animals including parrots and monkeys served as pets and entertainment in California in the 1850s.

The Monkeys and Parrots Caught Up in the California Gold Rush

Researchers combed through 19th-century records and found evidence of the species, which joined a menagerie that included Galapagos tortoises and kangaroos

Archaeologists found the remains of roughly 350 frogs near an Iron Age roundhouse.

How Did Thousands of Frog Bones End Up Buried at an Iron Age Settlement?

Archaeologists are trying to make sense of the remains, found in a ditch in England

Bronze sacrificial altar unearthed at the Sanxingdui archaeological site

Cool Finds

Trove of 13,000 Artifacts Sheds Light on Enigmatic Chinese Civilization

The Bronze Age Sanxingdui culture is known for its intricate masks and artworks

Johan Danckerts, The Wreck of the Gloucester Off Yarmouth, 6 May 1682, circa 1682

Cool Finds

Wreck of Long-Lost Royal Battleship Discovered Off English Coast

Divers discovered the H.M.S. “Gloucester” in 2007, but authorities kept the news buried for 15 years as they waited to secure the site

A new exhibition in Marseille recreates the famous cave and the art found within. 

Innovation for Good: Game Changers

Tour a Submerged Cave Packed With Paleolithic Art—Without Ever Venturing Underwater

As sea levels rise, an immersive new exhibition in Marseille lets visitors explore an inaccessible cavern’s archaeological treasures

The depiction of a young Maya maize god is consistent with other portrayals of beheaded Maya deities. 

Cool Finds

1,300-Year-Old Corn God Statue Shows How the Maya Worshipped Maize

The deity was linked to renewal and creation in Mesoamerican culture

The marble tablet celebrates the achievement of about 30 Greek youths. 

Cool Finds

2,000-Year-Old ‘Yearbook’-Like Tablet Celebrates a Group of Ancient Greek Grads

Attikos and his friends were ready to become full Athenian citizens

Archaeologists got brief access to the city during another drought in 2018, but this is the first time they managed a comprehensive site study.

Cool Finds

Drought in Iraq Reveals 3,400-Year-Old City

Archaeologists raced against time to map the once-submerged ancient metropolis

Archaeologists inside Cueva de Ardales

Cool Finds

Artists Have Been Painting Inside This Spanish Cave for 58,000 Years

Archaeologists finally understand who decorated the Cueva de Ardales

Archaeologists have located 134 ancient settlements north of Hadrian's Wall in what is now Scotland.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover 134 Ancient Settlements North of Hadrian’s Wall

LiDAR helped researchers find sites once inhabited by those who lived outside Rome’s rule of Britain

Construction workers stumbled on this Maya city while building an industrial park. 

Cool Finds

Construction Crew Stumbles on 1,400-Year-Old Ruins of Maya City

Researchers say the pre-Hispanic metropolis they call Xiol was once home to some 4,000 people

Hundreds of sarcophagi have been excavated from the Saqqara archaeological site thus far.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Uncover Hundreds of Colorful Sarcophagi at Saqqara—and They’re Not Done Yet

The 2,500-year-old coffins are the latest in the site’s seemingly endless parade of ancient treasures

Minnesota River from Gifford Lake Unit, Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area

Human Skull Found by Minnesota Kayakers Dates Back 8,000 Years

The skull fragment will be turned over to Upper Sioux Community tribal officials

Researchers have long tried—and failed—to sequence the complete genome of someone who died in Pompeii. 

This Man Was Encased in Volcanic Ash in Pompeii. Here’s What His DNA Reveals

The adult man’s genome is the first to be fully sequenced from remains found in the ancient city

The House of Slaves on Senegal’s Island of Gorée is one of 284 significant African coastal sites included in a recent assessment of climate risk.

Climate Change Threatens Important African Coastal Sites

Dozens of important cultural, social, and ecological places are already at risk from climate hazards.

The ceiling was once so filthy, these depictions of Egyptian goddesses could not be seen.

Temple Restoration Reveals Vibrant Art of Vulture-Like Egyptian Goddesses

Millennia of grime, soot and bird poop had covered up—and preserved—the archaeological treasure

A group of Chinchorro mummies, dated between 5000 B.C.E. and 3000 B.C.E.

Cool Finds

Can the World’s Oldest Mummies Survive Climate Change and Other Threats in the Coming Decades?

Up to 7,000 years old, the mummified remains are treasured by local residents

Part of the Field Museum’s new permanent exhibition "Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories."

Past Imperfect

Field Museum Confronts Its Outdated, Insensitive Native American Exhibition

Co-created with Indigenous partners, the new permanent installation reckons with past harm

This Roman copy of a Greek bronze depicts an idealized male figure. 

This Ancient Roman Statue Embodies the ‘Perfect’ Man. But Was It Stolen?

Italy wants a Roman replica of “Doryphoros” in the Minneapolis Institute of Art returned

A 3D animation created using data from LiDAR shows the urban center of Cotoca.

Innovation for Good: Game Changers

Lost Cities of the Amazon Discovered From the Air

Mapping technology cut through the canopy to detect sprawling urban structures in Bolivia that suggest sophisticated cultures once existed

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