https://phys.org/science-news/archaeology-fossils/ en-us The latest news on archaeology, archaeological research and archaeological advancements. Archaeologists have discovered a game board carved into the steps of a medieval bathhouse in the Moroccan town of Walīla (the Roman city of Volubilis). The find is a rare example of a medieval game board that can be securely dated. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-medieval-moroccan-bathhouse-reveal-rare.html Archaeology Mon, 15 Jun 2026 09:53:29 EDT news700735920 We see glass objects every day and often don't think much about them. Mass-produced glass has become so cheap we barely think about the things it allows us to do. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-glassblowing-everyday-life-ancient-rome.html Archaeology Sun, 14 Jun 2026 18:30:01 EDT news700232984 Archaeological evidence from the Canary Islands suggests that by the 11th century, people there were harvesting and processing a variety of fish and other marine organisms—indicating that coastal resources may have played a vital role in the economic system, according to a study published in PLOS One by Jonathan Santana of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain, and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-canary-island-relics-clues-north.html Archaeology Sun, 14 Jun 2026 14:00:06 EDT news700325786 Archaeologists digging at an Inca site on the arid coast of southern Peru have unearthed two rare, roughly 500-year-old freeze-dried potatoes. The potatoes are among the only ones found in more than a century and would have been transported across the empire from the freezing peaks of the Andes. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-rare-year-dried-potatoes-unearthed.html Archaeology Sun, 14 Jun 2026 11:10:01 EDT news700215525 A new study from the HistoGenes project, of which Patrick Geary, professor emeritus in the School of Historical Studies, is co-PI, is helping scholars frame a better picture of the early medieval people who inhabited Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire, as well as the societies they created. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ancient-dna-roman-europeans-reveals.html Archaeology Fri, 12 Jun 2026 09:00:01 EDT news700472282 Scientists analyzing 2,000-year-old grape seeds from ancient wells in Tuscany have mapped the most extensive genetic history of ancient grapevines recovered from a single site. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ancient-dna-tuscan-wells-reveals.html Archaeology Thu, 11 Jun 2026 19:00:01 EDT news700385461 A clay figurine, small enough to cradle in your hand, with 11 dots arranged in columns where its head should be, may depict the oldest known example of written numbers in Mesoamerica. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ancient-clay-figurine-guatemala-oldest.html Archaeology Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:40:02 EDT news700389498 At Kurd Qaburstan, an ancient site in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, archaeologists have uncovered the first substantial group of cuneiform administrative tablets found in the Erbil region, along with evidence of large-scale destruction, mass graves and citywide fortifications. Together, the discoveries are providing one of the clearest archaeological records yet uncovered of siege warfare and urban life during the Middle Bronze Age. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-archaeologists-uncover-year-evidence-siege.html Archaeology Wed, 10 Jun 2026 16:40:04 EDT news700317061 It is generally accepted by archaeologists that modern humans originated in Africa and dispersed worldwide, while other hominins went extinct. Yet how and when Homo sapiens dispersed out of Africa, and whether it was an abrupt event, is still debated. Even more uncertain is how and when humans went from being "archaic" to "modern." https://phys.org/news/2026-06-human-evolution-messy-gradual-abrupt.html Archaeology Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:20:46 EDT news700314854 It is difficult to identify funerary practices in Iron Age (c. 800 BC–AD 43) Britain, as human remains rarely survive. However, evidence is particularly prominent in north-west Scotland, because environmental conditions support the preservation of bone. To take advantage of this, a team of researchers from the U.K. and U.S. examined two individuals (one adult female and one juvenile male) buried in a low stone cairn at Loch Borralie in Sutherland, close to the north-west extremity of the Scottish mainland. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-brain-iron-age-scotland-burial.html Archaeology Tue, 09 Jun 2026 19:00:05 EDT news699715472 Archaeologists excavating Maya sites at Kaxil Uinik and Ayiin Winik in Belize have discovered the first reported Late Postclassic altar in the region, along with additional evidence that Postclassic Maya people continued to visit abandoned locations. The study, published in Latin American Antiquity, indicates that these activities fit into a broad pattern of Postclassic veneration of earlier Maya civilization after its decline. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-maya-altar-abandoned-belize-sites.html Archaeology Tue, 09 Jun 2026 13:07:59 EDT news700229260 A study led by a UAB research team of Biological Anthropology has analyzed the genome of 54 newborns with the aim of tracking the genetic history of their culture since it developed in the Early Iron Age until the start of the Roman period, some 2,700 to 2,100 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-iberian-dna-largely-unchanged-centuries.html Archaeology Tue, 09 Jun 2026 13:00:02 EDT news700223461 Archaeologists working at the ancient Maya site of El Palmar in Campeche, Mexico, have discovered what may be the earliest known Long Count calendar date in the Maya lowlands. It is carved into a stone monument and is interpreted as Aug. 31, AD 180, in our modern calendar. The finding could reveal insights into how the earliest Maya rulers used time to stake their claim to the throne. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-oldest-maya-calendar-date-reveal.html Archaeology Tue, 09 Jun 2026 12:20:06 EDT news700225629 The Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) has participated in a study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports on Sala Keimada, one of the rock art sanctuaries in Cueva Palomera, the main cave of the Ojo Guareña Karst Complex (Merindad de Sotoscueva, Burgos, Spain). https://phys.org/news/2026-06-dating-spain-sala-keimada-art.html Archaeology Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:40:01 EDT news700222021 A new study finds that ancient hominins nearly 800,000 years ago deliberately selected specific basalt sources for different stages of tool production rather than simply using whatever stone was available nearby. By tracing the geochemical "fingerprints" of stone tools to both exposed and now-buried basalt flows, the researchers demonstrated that these hominins possessed detailed environmental knowledge, advanced planning abilities, and long-term technological traditions that were maintained and repeated across generations. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ancient-hominins-basalt-sources-specific.html Archaeology Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:40:03 EDT news700144321 Dozens of human skeletons, lying apparently randomly on and next to each other, with their skulls missing, present a terrifying sight at first glance. Since 2022, this is what researchers have been excavating in a 7,000-year-old settlement near the present-day town of Vráble in Slovakia. Are the headless skeletons the remains of a Neolithic massacre, representing gruesome evidence of a crisis in ancient society? https://phys.org/news/2026-06-headless-skeletons-insights-farming-societies.html Archaeology Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:00:04 EDT news700139281 Erich Mercker (1891–1973), a painter from Munich, was quite successful in his day. Between 1933 and 1945, he painted works containing Nazi symbolism, including "Die Stätte des 9. November," which depicts the Feldherrnhalle monument in Munich commemorating the NSDAP's failed coup in 1923. After the war, Mercker, like many other German artists, simply continued his career. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ray-scans-uncover-nazi-hidden.html Archaeology Mon, 08 Jun 2026 12:00:02 EDT news700134843 The discovery of fire was a major milestone in human evolution, giving our ancestors a way to stay warm, ward off predators, and eventually start cooking food. But exactly when this first happened is still intensely debated, as unambiguous evidence is difficult to find. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-wonderwerk-cave-bones-reveal-human.html Archaeology Sun, 07 Jun 2026 14:40:01 EDT news699881346 For more than three decades, it was thought to be a relic of the Roman era. New research, however, has shown it to be a key source of evidence for understanding the commercial and military networks of the Late Medieval Mediterranean. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-helmet-hoard-benicarl-coast-roman.html Archaeology Fri, 05 Jun 2026 13:20:01 EDT news699881387 Over 3,000 years ago, the people of Bronze Age Poland burned their dead and placed their ashes in urns, often destroying the intimate records of their lives preserved in their bones. Now, researchers have shown that some of these records can still be read, hidden in the charred roots of their teeth. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-charred-bronze-age-teeth-death.html Archaeology Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:20:04 EDT news699783146 New research by Curtin University has revealed how one of Stonehenge's most mysterious stones was likely transported hundreds of kilometers across Britain through challenging terrain, highlighting the remarkable capabilities of ancient communities. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-stonehenge-altar-stone-epic-ancient.html Archaeology Thu, 04 Jun 2026 04:00:01 EDT news699725761 Assessment of four heritage sites in Tanzania finds that all are under threat from the institutions meant to steward them, prioritizing income from tourism over the sites' preservation and refusing to engage with community protection initiatives. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tanzania-iconic-heritage-sites-state.html Archaeology Wed, 03 Jun 2026 19:00:04 EDT news699279061 The oldest cave art in Britain may have been discovered, or more likely rediscovered, in a cave on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales, possibly dating back around 17,000 years. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-britain-oldest-cave-art-rediscovered.html Archaeology Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:40:01 EDT news699613540 Wilting in the summer sun, a line of tourists waits to climb Notre Dame cathedral and meet its gargoyles. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-notre-dame-cathedral-century-unearths.html Archaeology Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:08:55 EDT news699617320 The Langobards are frequently depicted as fierce warrior-like people, with all known archaeological evidence of violence restricted to men. However, nearly 1,400 years ago, a Langobard woman took two severe injuries to the head, one a clean slice made by a blade, the other a crushing blow, making her the first direct evidence of interpersonal violence in Langobard females. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-langobard-woman-skeletal-reshapes-view.html Archaeology Mon, 01 Jun 2026 19:00:03 EDT news699542886 For the past three decades, a team of archaeologists have been uncovering some of the field's most recent monumental discoveries, relying on gut instinct, persistent hard work, and cutting-edge methods and technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-years-el-mirn-cave-uncover.html Archaeology Mon, 01 Jun 2026 14:20:07 EDT news699535561 Ancient Egyptians are often depicted wearing black eyeliner, known as kohl, which was stored in small containers. While kohl containers are typically found throughout Egypt and Sudan (Nubia), their presence beyond these areas is limited to only a handful of examples. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-kohl-bottle-york-hint-ancient.html Archaeology Sun, 31 May 2026 11:40:01 EDT news698998416 Nearly 5,000 years ago, respiratory infections, possibly including tuberculosis, were ravaging the children buried at Camino del Molino (CMOL), Spain. The massive circular burial cave carved into rock is Europe's largest Copper Age mass burial, containing over 1,300 individuals, and has been the subject of years of excavation and analysis. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-europe-largest-copper-age-tomb.html Archaeology Sat, 30 May 2026 08:40:01 EDT news698927145 More than 1,000 years ago, Panama elites were buried together with translucent green stones long suspected to be emeralds. However, scientific analysis confirming the suspicion has never been conducted. Now, scientists have confirmed for the first time that these green gems were emeralds that traveled more than 700 km through complex trade networks linking Central and South American societies. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-green-stones-panama-ancient-chiefs.html Archaeology Thu, 28 May 2026 10:40:03 EDT news699178345 Well-preserved archaeological bone samples have different microbial communities than heavily degraded bone samples, providing a new understanding of how microbes contribute to bone degradation, according to a study published in PLOS One by Damla Kaptan from the University of Stavanger, Norway, and colleagues. This study combines detailed analyses of archaeological bone degradation with analyses of microbiome diversity, providing new insights into how microbes may contribute to long-term bone preservation and decay. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-link-specific-microbiomes-archaeological-bone.html Archaeology Wed, 27 May 2026 14:00:19 EDT news699026160