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First ancient genomes from the Green Sahara deciphered

An international team led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, has sequenced the first ancient genomes from the so-called Green Sahara, a period when the largest ...

Even the common people drank wine in Troy

For the first time ever, a team of researchers has found chemical evidence that wine was actually drunk in Troy, verifying a conjecture of Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the legendary fortress city in the 19th century. ...

The hidden hand of medieval female scribes

A team at the University of Bergen in Norway have determined that a minimum of 1.1% of medieval manuscripts from around 800 to 1626 CE were copied by female scribes, with a probable total exceeding 110,000 texts. This estimate ...

How ancient stone kitchens preserve food secrets

The mortar, pestle and cutting board in your kitchen are modern versions of manos and metates—ancient cooking implements found in archaeological sites around the world. A mano is a hand-held stone tool used with a metate ...

Decoding a medieval mystery manuscript

Two years ago, MIT professor of literature Arthur Bahr had one of the best days of his life. Sitting in the British Library, he was allowed to page through the Pearl-Manuscript, a singular bound volume from the 1300s containing ...

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Archaeology
Skeletal analysis in Tombos tombs finds hardworking individuals buried among the elite
Archaeology
Historical robber 'Schinderhannes' clearly identified: Skeletons were mixed up about 220 years ago
Archaeology
A mix of science and tradition helps restore relics in China's Forbidden City
Archaeology
Study suggests ancient hominins used unmodified volcanic rock spheres as tools
Archaeology
How can we ethically display the dead in museums? What about resin casts of those who died violently in Pompeii?
Archaeology
Rarely seen cave art holds prehistoric secrets in France
Archaeology
Why I'm training Colombian Amazonians to become archaeology tourist guides
Archaeology
Epi and Tongoa: How two cultures diverged after an island-splitting volcanic eruption
Archaeology
Investigating the psychedelic blue lotus of Egypt, where ancient magic meets modern science
Archaeology
Ivory Coast's epochal prehistoric finds pass unseen
Archaeology
Art historian solves riddle behind theft of famous portrait
Archaeology
Cinnabar-stained teeth—a mystery from an ancient Turpan burial
Archaeology
Researchers propose new hypothesis for the origin of stone tools
Archaeology
Iron shackles found at Ghozza suggest at least some gold miners during Egypt's Ptolemaic period were slaves
Archaeology
Bronze Age pottery reveals El Argar's economic and political boundaries
Archaeology
Smell like a god: Ancient sculptures were scented, Danish study shows
Archaeology
Putting ethics at the forefront in the use of human skeletal remains
Archaeology
Teeth from a 2100-year-old burial pit in Mongolia tell a tale of soldiers far from home
Archaeology
Ancient DNA reveals Maghreb communities preserved their culture and genes, even in a time of human migration
Archaeology
First burials: Compelling evidence that Neanderthal and Homo sapiens engaged in cultural exchange

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General Physics
An exception to the laws of thermodynamics: Shape-recovering liquid defies textbooks
Biotechnology
Certain sunflower strains can be induced to form seeds without pollination
Quantum Physics
Hot Schrödinger cat states created
Mathematics
Mathematicians uncover the hidden patterns behind a $3.5 billion cryptocurrency collapse
Cell & Microbiology
Scientists reveal new toxin that damages the gut
Evolution
Battle of the sex chromosomes: How competition affects X vs. Y sperm fitness
Earth Sciences
Oxygen is running low in inland waters—and human activities are to blame
Earth Sciences
Ancient lakes and rivers unearthed in Arabia's vast desert
Space Exploration
Four space tourists return to Earth after a private flight over the poles
Biotechnology
Drone and camera combo offers affordable drought-tolerance selection for corn
Cell & Microbiology
Planarian worms can regenerate into a more youthful version of themselves
Cell & Microbiology
Artificial sweetener shows surprising power to overcome antibiotic resistance
Molecular & Computational biology
Beyond photorespiration: A systematic approach to unlocking enhanced plant productivity
Condensed Matter
Iron nitride's magnetoelastic properties show potential for flexible spintronics
Bio & Medicine
Label-free fluorosensor detects enteroviral RNA with high selectivity and sensitivity
Plants & Animals
How do diverse plants get sick in the wild? Researchers head outdoors to answer a blue-sky question
Cell & Microbiology
Bacteria's viral defense mechanism linked to antibiotic resistance
Earth Sciences
Scientists discover deep-sea microplastic hotspots driven by fast-moving underwater avalanches
Polymers
Polymers with flawed fillers boost heat transfer in plastics, study reveals
Astrobiology
Microscopy reveals signs of life in Earth's extremes, boosting search for alien life

Ivory Coast's epochal prehistoric finds pass unseen

In the streets of Anyama, children play and braziers smoke on corners. There is little to show that the ground of this everyday Ivory Coast neighborhood conceals seminal prehistoric treasures.

Researchers propose new hypothesis for the origin of stone tools

Sharp stone technology chipped over three million years allowed early humans to exploit animal and plant food resources, which in turn played a large role in increasing human brain size and kick-starting a technological trajectory ...