https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Fragmented bones and skull pieces found in hearths, beneath floors and in other domestic settings in early Scandinavian settlement sites are providing fresh insights into Iron Age and Viking Age violence. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-broken-bones-ancient-homes-viking.html Archaeology Fri, 09 Oct 2026 10:20:26 EDT news710757548 There is even more evidence that Neanderthals were far from the simple cave dwellers we once thought them to be. The discovery of a clublike artifact and other wooden tools from an archaeological site near Barcelona, Spain, suggests they may have been skilled woodworkers. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-rare-wooden-tools-reveal-neanderthals.html Archaeology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 13:30:01 EDT news710683617 Societal changes do not follow a linear path—this also holds true for Neolithic Europe, approximately 8,000 to 4,000 years ago. Two researchers from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) and the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA) in Germany have looked at factors driving these dynamics. Using a mathematical model, they analyzed the interplay between population size, production capacity and information exchange. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-pottery-styles-reveal-contrasting-paths.html Mathematics Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:20:14 EDT news710668621 A new study on ancient food production in tropical Belize, co-led by the University of New Mexico and published in Communications Earth & Environment, provides evidence that people in the Maya-speaking region were dedicated farmers thousands of years before the first large villages emerged. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-soil-evidence-early-farming-maya.html Archaeology Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:20:06 EDT news710591281 A team of researchers from Sivas Cumhuriyet University in Turkey is investigating a long-standing claim: that a boat-shaped geological formation in the country's east contains the remains of Noah's Ark. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-people-noah-ark-natural-formation.html Social Sciences Tue, 06 Oct 2026 11:20:15 EDT news710501462 One of the unresolved mysteries about the history of the Americas is when the first people arrived. Despite extensive debate centering on genetic, archaeological and environmental evidence, there is still no consensus or conclusive proof. Did they enter before, during or after the coldest period of the last ice age, known as the Last Glacial Maximum? Evidence from recent analysis of ancient DNA is providing fresh clues. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ancient-dna-evidence-narrows-people.html Archaeology Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:00:12 EDT news710425242 Over 500 years before the building of the Great Pyramid in Egypt, First Dynasty kings were buried in a tomb surrounded by many burials of household officials and artisans—many of which seem to have taken place at the same time, a suspiciously high number of simultaneous deaths. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-modern-forensics-reveals-human-sacrifice.html Archaeology Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:01 EDT news710092141 When you swim through the azure waters of the Great Barrier Reef, there is one creature on the seafloor that's almost impossible to miss: the giant clam. Its huge, fluted shell frames a soft mantle shimmering with electric blue, green and gold. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-giant-clam-monthbymonth-diary-great.html Ecology Sun, 04 Oct 2026 14:00:01 EDT news709899071 While scientists are known for their dedication to their research, crawling on the floor to avoid electrocution for the sake of a measurement seems a little excessive. But this is what British physicist John Cockcroft and Irish physicist Ernest T.S. Walton had to do in the early 1930s while studying the structure of atomic nuclei. Luckily, their efforts led to their receiving the Nobel Prize in 1951. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-physicists-uncovered-particle-honored-nobel.html General Physics Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:00:01 EDT news710159048 Nearly 3,000 years ago, in central Italy, dozens of Picene people were laid to rest curled up on their sides, as if asleep. When their eternal slumber was disturbed thousands of years later, researchers noted a curiously familiar pattern, one many modern parents and doctors fret over: As infants, many of them had developed a flat spot on their heads. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-iron-age-skulls-reveal-babies.html Archaeology Fri, 02 Oct 2026 12:00:01 EDT news710150310 Community-led archaeology has uncovered the remains of an early medieval monastery in Argyll, western Scotland, identifying it as the high-ranking ecclesiastical center of Lios Mòr, previously known only from historical references and local traditions. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-community-archaeology-uncovers-major-monastery.html Archaeology Wed, 30 Sep 2026 19:00:06 EDT news709545481 Although it is not always obvious, sound guides how we experience the world around us. And the latest archaeoacoustic techniques show that even the world's earliest architects understood this. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-demons-acoustic-ai-technology-brought.html Archaeology Wed, 30 Sep 2026 18:40:04 EDT news710004001 For centuries, historians have drawn the boundaries of where ancient people lived based on the evidence they left behind. By studying their remains, burial practices and other archaeological clues, they can determine the types of relationships they had with other people in the area. However, this can all change when new archaeological evidence is found. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-peruvian-mummies-wari-conquest-nasca.html Archaeology Wed, 30 Sep 2026 18:20:16 EDT news709993502 Underwater archaeological investigations have been taking place in Lake Arendsee (Altmarkkreis Salzwedel) for several years. The discovery of Neolithic fish weirs, a high medieval barge (flat-bottomed cargo ship) and a late medieval dugout canoe attracted considerable attention. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-wood-beneath-german-lake-reveal.html Archaeology Wed, 30 Sep 2026 16:20:01 EDT news709987608 La Trobe archaeologists have described 18 new hominin fossils, including a second Homo erectus skull fragment that confirms the species first appeared in southern Africa 2.0 million years ago—200,000 years earlier than traditionally thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-adult-fossil-evidence-homo-erectus.html Evolution Wed, 30 Sep 2026 14:00:02 EDT news709983601 Researchers have used some of the most detailed simulations yet of the early universe to investigate how the first stars and galaxies formed. Led by researchers at the University of Bath in the U.K., alongside collaborators at the University of Chicago in the U.S. and the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris in France, the MEGATRON project uses advanced simulations to explore how the first stars and galaxies lit up the previously dark cosmos and enriched it with the chemical elements that would later become the building blocks of everything around us. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-simulations-stars-cosmic-fingerprints-visible.html Astronomy Wed, 30 Sep 2026 08:00:06 EDT news709899721 For centuries, a life-size petroglyph has stood over the rocky landscape of Miseeda in northern Sudan. Exactly who the figure carved into a granite hill represents remains uncertain, but researchers suspect it may depict an ancient Kushite ruler. In the 7th century CE, local builders constructed a Christian church directly around it. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-mysterious-giant-kushite-ruler-ancient.html Archaeology Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:20:02 EDT news709911508 At the end of the last ice age, early humans crisscrossed the Americas following seasons, rivers and game, often with a trusty spear in hand. Nearly 13,000 years later, archaeologists are using those spearheads to study how America's first inhabitants understood risk. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ancient-spearheads-reveal-ice-age.html Archaeology Mon, 28 Sep 2026 17:20:05 EDT news709824662 In the 1960s, a miner working at a mineral extraction site in Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, struck something far more valuable than any mineral in the area: a skull with distinctly humanlike features. After an initial examination, archaeologists excavated further and uncovered more remains, which they estimated to be around 40,000 years old. They identified the main skull as an African Neanderthal and named it Irhoud 1. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ancient-human-emerges-pieced-moroccan.html Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 28 Sep 2026 08:00:02 EDT news709546556 In 1967, a Malawian farmer stumbled upon a hidden hoard of eight copper ingots buried beneath a tree. Now, more than half a century later, scientists have traced the metal to its source: a copper mine nearly 800 km (500 miles) away. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-isotopes-malawi-mysterious-copper-ingot.html Archaeology Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:40:02 EDT news709288088 Since 1995, archaeologists have excavated hundreds of human bones from Göbeklitepe, an archaeological site in southeastern Türkiye. The ancient remains are around 10,000 years old and date to a time when humans were beginning to settle into permanent farming communities. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ancient-burial-sites-mystery-gbeklitepe.html Archaeology Fri, 25 Sep 2026 11:20:01 EDT news709547675 In 2023, in preparation for the construction of an underwater gas pipeline, divers were sent to clear a cluster of anomalies in the Bay of Greifswald, a sheltered lagoon in northern Germany. But as they dove deeper into the murky depths, they discovered things they had not expected: shoe soles, pulley blocks, and a rusty anchor. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-year-shipwreck-pipeline-survey-germany.html Archaeology Fri, 25 Sep 2026 06:40:01 EDT news709460366 A monumental complex of ritual baths, most likely used by Jewish pilgrims visiting the Temple in Jerusalem, has been uncovered at the foot of the Temple Mount. Dating to the late Second Temple period (first century BCE–70 CE), the exceptionally well-preserved complex includes three large ritual baths (mikva'ot), a monumental plastered pool, a paved plaza and an extensive water system. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-monumental-reveal-pilgrims-purified-jerusalem.html Archaeology Thu, 24 Sep 2026 14:20:10 EDT news709463643 Young adults, not families, drove migration in Bronze Age communities. Using skeletal samples from archaeological sites in Greece, researchers mapped mobility during the region's Middle and Late Bronze Age. The study suggests that young people sought out new communities. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bronze-age-migration-greece-largely.html Archaeology Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:00:18 EDT news709460389 An ancient wall discovered in central Paris was hailed as a "major breakthrough" on Wednesday, as the archaeological find may have settled a long-standing debate about the location of the city's original settlement. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-archaeological-breakthrough-paris.html Archaeology Thu, 24 Sep 2026 04:19:27 EDT news709442351 Southeastern Europe and the Balkans are a key region for understanding the European Neolithic. Many ways of life and economic systems that continue to shape our lives today first emerged there in Europe and later spread across the continent. An archaeological culture named after the Vinča site in present-day Serbia marks a late phase of the Neolithic period in the region. More than 6,500 years ago, people there lived in large settlements for extended periods for the first time. They maintained extensive trade networks. Pottery and stonework demonstrate extensive knowledge of materials and a wide range of decorative styles. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-reinvestigation-year-site-serbia-reveals.html Archaeology Wed, 23 Sep 2026 14:20:15 EDT news709383857 What should we do about dingoes? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-dingo-debate-animals-future.html Ecology Wed, 23 Sep 2026 10:40:14 EDT news709371422 When an abstract-looking ivory artifact emerged from the Hohle Fels cave in southern Germany in 2015, archaeologists didn't know quite what to make of it. Previously, the same cave had yielded what may be the world's oldest musical flutes, as well as one of humanity's earliest pieces of figurative art, the iconic Venus of Hohle Fels. At first glance, this strange new discovery—a 20-centimeter (8-inch) rod perforated with four small holes—seemed comparatively unspectacular. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-rope-twine-thread-invisible-technologies.html Archaeology Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:20:04 EDT news709286574 When we talk about climate change, the debate usually centers on energy, biodiversity, carbon emissions or the economic costs of the transition. But another aspect of the problem remains largely underestimated: the impact of climate change on our cultural heritage. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-climate-poses-threat-cultural-heritage.html Environment Mon, 21 Sep 2026 23:40:01 EDT news709216447 About 100 years ago, archaeologists unearthing pottery sherds in Tampa Bay found something unexpected. Some of the fragments they recovered had designs nearly identical to decorated pottery found hundreds of miles to the north. At least on the surface, the pottery appeared to be Mississippian, a culture that emerged more than 1,000 years ago and brought social, economic and political transformation across southeastern North America. For years, archaeologists excluded peninsular Florida from maps of its range, but the artifacts suggested a different story. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-archaeologists-uncover-centuries-mystery-tampa.html Archaeology Mon, 21 Sep 2026 18:20:03 EDT news709219261