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Archaeology news
Maya altar and offerings at abandoned Belize sites highlight enduring ritual activities
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 ...
Iberian DNA remained largely unchanged for six centuries before Roman influence, study finds
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 ...
Archaeology
4 hours ago
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Oldest Maya Long Count calendar date may reveal how royalty turned time into power
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 ...
New dating of Spain's Sala Keimada rock art sanctuary reveals thousands of years of continuous use
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, ...
Archaeology
6 hours ago
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Ancient hominins selected basalt sources for specific tools nearly 800,000 years ago, study reveals
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 ...
Archaeology
Jun 8, 2026
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Headless skeletons offer new insights into farming societies 7,000 years ago
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 ...
Archaeology
Jun 8, 2026
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X-ray scans uncover Nazi symbols hidden beneath postwar painting
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 ...
Archaeology
Jun 8, 2026
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Technology used to monitor conservation efforts at Rome's Colosseum to be used at the Ipiranga Museum
The same three-dimensional laser scanning technology used to monitor the Colosseum in Rome will be used in a conservation project at the Ipiranga Museum in São Paulo, Brazil. Beatriz Kuhl, a professor at the University of ...
Archaeology
Jun 8, 2026
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Ancient dental calculus uncovers regional and historical shifts in Japan's oral microbiome
Researchers have characterized the oral microbiomes of the Japanese population across time by analyzing the DNA preserved in dental calculus of human skeletal remains. The researchers compared microbial composition in dental ...
Archaeology
Jun 8, 2026
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Wonderwerk Cave bones reveal possible fire use by human ancestors 1.79 million years ago
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, ...
Helmet hoard off Benicarló coast trades its Roman label for far stranger medieval origins
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.
Archaeology
Jun 5, 2026
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Charred Bronze Age teeth unlock age at death despite cremation
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 ...
Stonehenge Altar Stone's epic transportation across ancient Britain detailed in new study
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 ...
Archaeology
Jun 4, 2026
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Tanzania's iconic heritage sites face damage from state-backed tourism
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 ...
Archaeology
Jun 3, 2026
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Britain's oldest cave art may have been rediscovered in Bacon Hole cave
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.
Under Notre Dame cathedral, a 'dig of the century' unearths 1,700 years of history
Wilting in the summer sun, a line of tourists waits to climb Notre Dame cathedral and meet its gargoyles.
Archaeology
Jun 2, 2026
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First deliberately injured Langobard woman in skeletal record reshapes view of male-only violence
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 ...
Thirty years at El Mirón cave uncover 40,000 years of Iberian prehistory
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.
Archaeology
Jun 1, 2026
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In Senegal, a 2,000‑year‑old iron workshop sheds new light on the past
How was iron produced 2,000 years ago in Senegal? A recent study at the Didé West 1 archaeological site, in the Falémé Valley in eastern Senegal, sheds light on an ancient iron production technique.
Archaeology
May 31, 2026
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A kohl bottle from York may hint at an ancient Egyptian in Roman-Britain
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 ...
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