This Intricately Decorated Deer Antler Was Used as a Battle Ax Before Being Repurposed as a Fishing Harpoon
During the sixth millennium B.C.E., carvers in present-day Sweden etched patterns into the artifact before redecorating it in a new style. It was likely deposited into a river as part of a ritual
Are These Mysterious 400,000-Year-Old Artifacts the Oldest Ivory Objects Made by Humans?
Found in Ukraine, the fragments show signs of human manipulation—though researchers still haven’t ruled out the possibility that they were shaped by natural forces
How Well Did the Mysterious Antikythera Mechanism Actually Work?
Historians think the 2,000-year-old device was used to predict the positions of celestial bodies. A new digital simulation suggests that its gears may have frequently malfunctioned
Archaeologists Uncover a ‘Monumental’ Hunting Kit in Texas That May Be the Oldest Found in North America Yet
The artifacts discovered in a cave—which include dart tips, a boomerang and a spear-throwing tool—were dated to as far back as 7,000 years ago
Stone Tools Discovered in China Resemble Neanderthal Technology Used in Europe, Creating a Middle Stone Age Mystery
Archaeologists previously assumed that East Asia did not see considerable tool development during the Middle Paleolithic, but new findings might change that widely held idea
Human Ancestors Were Making Bone Tools One Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought
Archaeologists have discovered a collection of prehistoric animal bones in Tanzania that suggests early humans figured out how to transfer tool-making techniques “from stone to bone” 1.5 million years ago
Humans May Have Lived in Tropical Rainforests Much Earlier Than Scientists Previously Thought, Study Finds
New research suggests that humans inhabited the rainforests of West Africa roughly 150,000 years ago, providing new insights into our ancestors’ ability to adapt to challenging environments
Homo Erectus Thrived in a Desert, Study Finds, Suggesting the Early Humans Could Adapt to Extreme Environments
New research suggests modern humans aren’t the only hominin species capable of “ecological flexibility”
These Delicate Needles Made From Animal Bones May Have Helped Prehistoric Humans Sew Warm Winter Clothing
Researchers have discovered 32 needle fragments made from the bones of smaller animals. The tiny tools may have been used to sew insulated garments during the last ice age
An Ice Age Infant’s Bones Reveal Early Americans Ate Woolly Mammoths as a Protein Staple
New research examines chemical signatures to determine the diet of a prehistoric boy and his mother, suggesting the Clovis people relied on mammoths for a large portion of their menu
A Little Boy Found a Strange Stone on the Beach. Archaeologists Told Him It Was a Neanderthal’s Hand Ax
The artifact is now on display at a museum in southern England. Experts say the find is “so rare that most qualified archaeologists would never find one themselves”
A 65,000-Year-Old Hearth Reveals Evidence That Neanderthals Produced Tar for Stone Tools in Iberia
While Neanderthals have been found to create glue-like substances with other materials, this finding, if confirmed, would be the first sign of Neanderthals burning the rockrose plant to make tar
These Mysterious 12,000-Year-Old Pebbles May Be Early Evidence of Wheel-Like Tools, Archaeologists Say
Researchers in Israel suggest the roughly donut-shaped artifacts could be spindle whorls, representing one of the oldest examples of rotational technology
These Elephants Can Use Hoses to Shower—and Even ‘Sabotage’ Each Other, Study Suggests
Mary, a 54-year-old Asian elephant at the Berlin Zoo, is the “queen of showering,” but her companion Anchali seems to have figured out how to exploit that habit to play pranks
Archaeologists Unearth ‘Astonishing’ Wooden Spade, Preserved in an English Trench for 3,500 Years
While most wooden artifacts disintegrate after thousands of years, the newly unearthed oak tool has remained in remarkable condition
How Did Ice Age Humans Kill Huge Animals Like Mammoths? Probably Not by Throwing Spears, Study Finds
New research theorizes that hunters used pikes planted in the ground—with their sharp tips pointing upward—to impale approaching wildlife using the creature’s own weight and momentum
Archaeologists Crack Open a 2,000-Year-Old Coffin in Italy’s ‘Tomb of Cerberus’
The stone coffin likely contains the leader of the family that built the frescoed chamber in Naples
Gravitational Wave Scientists Are Unraveling the Mysteries of the World’s Oldest Analog Computer
A new study challenges a core assumption about the Antikythera mechanism, a 2,000-year-old device that inspired the latest “Indiana Jones” film
Centuries-Old Maya Beekeeping Tools Unearthed in Mexico
Archaeologists in the Yucatán Peninsula found several stone lids used by the pre-Columbian civilization to collect honey from stingless bees
This Neolithic Monument Found in France Has No Equal
A trio of interlocking enclosures, the structure may date to the time of the Bell Beaker culture, but experts are unsure of its exact age and purpose
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