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Death

Archaeologists have discovered at least five seated burials in Dijon, France.

Archaeologists Are Mystified by These 2,000-Year-Old Bodies Found Seated Upright and Facing West in France

Researchers previously discovered 13 sets of human remains buried in a similar manner at the same grave site in Dijon

Ramses' wooden coffin is the centerpiece of the exhibition.

See Ramses II’s Intricately Decorated Coffin and Rare Treasures From His Reign at This New Immersive Exhibition

Now on display in London, “Ramses and the Pharaohs’ Gold” features 3,000-year-old artifacts alongside virtual reality experiences that transport museumgoers to the 13th century B.C.E.

The illustration depicts the scribe Ramose and a jackal figure that may represent the god Wepwawet.

Cool Finds

The Egyptians Used an Ancient Version of Wite-Out to Correct Their Mistakes on This Papyrus Scroll 3,300 Years Ago

An ancient artist applied a white substance to an illustration of a jackal, slimming down its appearance, according to researchers at the Fitzwilliam Museum in England

This 1804 depiction of Jane McCrea's death cemented a dramatized version of her killing in the public imagination.

America's 250th Anniversary

A Native Soldier Allied With the British Killed a Young White Woman in 1777. Propaganda Transformed Her Into a Martyr of the American Revolution

The patriots weaponized Jane McCrea’s death to demonize their enemies and paint Indigenous people as uniquely violent

Little Foot's skull was distorted and damaged, so researchers spent years digitally reassembling the bones to understand what the individual's face might have looked like 3.67 million years ago.

New Research

See How Scientists Reconstructed the Face of Little Foot, a Human Ancestor Who Lived 3.67 Million Years Ago

For the first time, researchers have digitally reconstructed the facial fragments of the individual, who belonged to the Australopithecus genus

The coffin of Margrave Philipp Wilhelm of Brandenburg-Schwedt (middle)

The Berlin Cathedral Is Reopening Its Massive Crypt—Home to the Bones of One of Europe’s Most Powerful Dynasties

The crypt, which has been closed for renovations for the past six years, houses coffins containing members of the House of Hohenzollern

Bird flu devastated a colony of northern gannets, seabirds almost the size of albatrosses, on Bass Rock in Scotland. Researchers working with the birds are holding onto hope that the breeding population will slowly build the colony back.

After a Devastating Bird Flu Outbreak, Scotland’s Seabirds Are Slowly Recovering—and So Are the Scientists Who Witnessed Their Decline

The world’s largest colony of northern gannets was decimated by bird flu in 2022. Now, as their numbers climb again, researchers are collecting data to understand the virus’ lasting effects

The Reverend Jesse Jackson attends an event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington.

Jesse Jackson Witnessed Martin Luther King Jr.’s Assassination. Here’s How He Carried the Torch for the Civil Rights Movement Into the Future

He emerged as a leader in the 1960s and championed unity among marginalized groups across the U.S.

Researchers found the remains of ten individuals in a burial pit near Cambridge, England.

Archaeology Students Unearth an Early Medieval Burial Pit During a Training Dig in England

Likely related to clashes between the kingdoms of Mercia and East Anglia, the site included the remains of a 6-foot-5 man who had undergone brain surgery

The owl symbolizes night and death in Zapotec culture.

Cool Finds

This Carved, Painted Zapotec Tomb Is Mexico’s Most Important Archaeological Discovery in a Decade

The tomb features the carvings of a huge owl head and at least three probable ancestors

A juvenile harbor seal lies on a beach in the Netherlands.

Seals Are Seemingly Vanishing Off the Dutch Coast. These Scientists Are Trying to Get to the Bottom of the Mysterious Disappearances

Recent counts of the Wadden Sea’s adult harbor seal population have revealed a surprising trend of decline, prompting a consortium of researchers to investigate whether the animals are dying off, relocating or experiencing something else altogether

The Prince of Arene Candide is displayed wearing a reconstructed headdress in the Ligurian Archaeological Museum in Genoa, Italy.

New Research

Researchers Say This Paleolithic Teenage Boy Died a Slow Death After a Bear Mauled Him

A new analysis of “il Principe,” an ancient, decorated skeleton found in northwest Italy, confirms that the child died up to three days after being brutally attacked

The remains were found at the base of Mount Hora, in northern Malawi.

New Research

Archaeologists Say This 9,500-Year-Old Burial Is the Oldest Known Evidence of Intentional Cremation Discovered in Africa

Located in Malawi, the site could also be the world’s earliest example of an in situ cremation pyre for an adult, according to a new study

Outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish have threatened the Great Barrier Reef since the 1960s.

These Hungry Starfish Are Spiraling Out of Control in Australia. Now Scientists Say They Have a New Plan to Fight Back

Synthetic pheromones may be a promising tool in attracting and culling troublesome crown-of-thorns starfish, which rapidly eat large amounts of coral on the Great Barrier Reef

This late 16th-century portrait of Anne Boleyn (left) closely resembles a circa 1590 portrait of Elizabeth I (right), as well as two separate likenesses of Mary I and Edward IV. The paintings appear to share the same established “face pattern” of the then-queen, Elizabeth.

Why Do These Tudor-Era Portraits of Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I Look So Strikingly Similar?

The artist behind the works may have used Elizabeth’s likeness as a template in other royal portraits to visually emphasize her resemblance to previous monarchs and reinforce her status as the legitimate Tudor heir

The bones of the horse and riders have mostly eroded away in the region's acidic, sandy soils, leaving only "sand silhouettes" behind.

These High-Status Individuals Were Given a ‘Princely’ Burial Alongside a Fully Harnessed Horse in an Early Medieval Cemetery

Archaeologists in England recently discovered the sixth- and seventh-century graves, which also contained numerous weapons and personal items

Ada Blackjack was the only survivor of a 1921 expedition to Wrangel Island, a remote landmass above the Arctic Circle.

Meet 13 People Who Survived on Deserted Islands, From a Real-Life Robinson Crusoe to a Noblewoman Marooned With Her Lover

Ahead of the release of Sam Raimi’s “Send Help,” revisit the stories of Alexander Selkirk, Marguerite de la Rocque, the Tongan castaways and others who endured in remote locales

Ötzi the Iceman is housed at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, where conservationists periodically humidify his remains.

Ötzi the Iceman May Have Carried a Cancer-Causing Strain of HPV, a Common Virus Still Plaguing Humans Today

A new study, which also found evidence of the high-risk strain in 45,000-year-old remains, suggests HPV has evolved alongside humans for many millennia

The box was discovered in the Roman-era grave of a young woman. Archaeologists suspect it may have contained ointment for pain relief, as the woman's remains show signs of lesions and joint inflammation.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Intricately Decorated Box Carved From Deer Bone That May Have Once Held Ancient Ointments

The box was excavated from a Roman-era grave in England. It was found among a trove of artifacts spanning roughly 8,000 years of human activity

Aerial view of Vardo, Norway, the fishing town at the center of the 17th-century Finnmark witch trials

How a Sudden Winter Storm in 1617 Sparked the Deadliest Witchcraft Trials in Norwegian History

During the 17th-century Finnmark witch trials, 91 people were executed in Norway’s northernmost region, mainly by burning at the stake

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