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Archaeology news
Hannibal's famous war elephants: Single bone in Spain offers first direct evidence
Historical accounts of the Punic Wars—and many other ancient wars—often paint a picture of soldiers riding in on imposing "war elephants." Yet, no skeletal remains of these war elephants had ever been found from the Punic ...
Scents of the afterlife: Identifying embalming recipes by 'sniffing' the air around Egyptian mummies
If you have ever stood close to an ancient Egyptian mummy, you may remember a distinctive, lingering odor. For a long time, it was assumed that this was simply due to age and decay. However, scientists have discovered that ...
Petra aqueduct survey uncovers rare 116-meter lead conduit beside terracotta pipe
In a recent study, Niklas Jungmann from the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin conducted a survey and investigation of the 'Ain Braq aqueduct of the ancient city of Petra. It was discovered that, unlike previously believed, ...
Breathing in the past: How museums can use biomolecular archaeology to bring ancient scents to life
Recent advances in biomolecular archaeology have revealed that ancient objects can retain the molecular fingerprints of past aromatic practices. These molecules provide unprecedented insight into ancient perfumery, medicine, ...
Archaeology
Feb 5, 2026
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Beyond climate: Connection and mobility were key drivers in early human innovation, research suggests
A new study challenges the idea that climate change drove early human innovation. Instead, researchers find that cultural developments arose under different environmental conditions, shaped by movement, interaction, and knowledge ...
Archaeology
Feb 4, 2026
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Olives have been essential to life in Italy for at least 6,000 years—far longer than we thought
How far back does the rich history of Italian olives and oil stretch? My new research, published in the American Journal of Archaeology, synthesizing and reevaluating existing archaeological evidence, suggests olive trees ...
Archaeology
Feb 4, 2026
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Poop as medicine? A Roman vial's chemistry backs up ancient medical texts
When some ancient Romans were feeling a little under the weather, they were treated with human feces. While this practice was mentioned in ancient Greco-Roman medical texts by figures such as Pliny the Elder, there was no ...
Genetic analysis of Deep Maniot Greeks reveals a unique lineage in the Balkans
A new genetic study has revealed that the people of Deep Mani, who inhabit one of the remotest regions of mainland Greece, represent one of the most genetically distinctive populations in Europe, shaped by more than a millennium ...
Archaeology
Feb 4, 2026
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Medieval women used falconry to subvert gender norms
Hawks are taking cinematic flight. In two recent literary adaptations, they are entwined with the lives and emotions of their respective protagonists – Agnes Shakespeare (née Hathaway) and Helen Macdonald.
Archaeology
Feb 3, 2026
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Not an artifact, but an ancestor: Why a German university is returning a Māori taonga
Restitution debates—the questions of whether a cultural object should be returned from a museum or other collection to a person or community—often begin with a deceptively simple question: Who owns an object?
Archaeology
Feb 3, 2026
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CT scans unwrap secrets of ancient Egyptian life
Keck Medicine of USC radiologists use computed tomography (CT) scanners to diagnose and treat patients' diseases and injuries. Recently, however, this advanced technology was put to a far more novel use: examining the bodies ...
Archaeology
Feb 3, 2026
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Ancient Alaskan site may help explain how the first people arrived in North America
New evidence has emerged that sheds light on the possible first people to populate the Americas. Dating of stone and ivory tools found at an archaeological site in Alaska suggests that these early pioneers traveled through ...
Two rare 5th millennium BC fetal burials in Iran reveal variable prehistoric practices
In a study conducted by Dr. Mahdi Alirezazadeh and Dr. Hanan Bahranipoor, published in Archaeological Research in Asia, two exceptionally well-preserved fetal burials from Chaparabad, Iran, dating to the mid-5th millennium ...
Earliest hand-held wooden tools found in Greece date back 430,000 years
An international team has discovered the earliest known hand-held wooden tools used by humans. A study jointly led by Professor Katerina Harvati from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the ...
Archaeology
Feb 1, 2026
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Aerial lidar mapping can reveal archaeological sites while overlooking Indigenous peoples and their knowledge
Picture an aircraft streaking across the sky at hundreds of miles per hour, unleashing millions of laser pulses into a dense tropical forest. The objective: map thousands of square miles, including the ground beneath the ...
Archaeology
Jan 29, 2026
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Rethinking Troy: How years of careful peace, not epic war, shaped this bronze age city
Imagine a city that thrived for thousands of years, its streets alive with workshops, markets and the laughter of children, yet that is remembered for a single night of fire. That city is Troy.
Archaeology
Jan 29, 2026
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Ancient DNA reveals 12,000-year-old case of rare genetic disease
Researchers led by the University of Vienna and Liège University Hospital Center have identified genetic variants associated with a rare inherited growth disorder in two prehistoric individuals who lived more than 12,000 ...
Archaeology
Jan 29, 2026
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Ochre used in ancient graves in Finland reflects identity of deceased
Roughly 5,500–6,000 years ago, the area including present-day Finland was inhabited by hunter-fisher-gatherers living in small village-like clusters. Traveling via waterways, these people established permanent fishing systems, ...
Archaeology
Jan 27, 2026
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141
In ancient Mesopotamia, what was a ziggurat?
A ziggurat (also spelled ziqqurat) was a raised platform with four sloping sides that looked like a tiered pyramid.
Archaeology
Jan 27, 2026
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Hafted stone tools in China suggest early hominins were more inventive than thought
A newly excavated archaeological site in central China is reshaping long-held assumptions about early hominin behavior in Eastern Asia. Led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, an international team of researchers conducted ...
Archaeology
Jan 27, 2026
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More news
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Anglo-Saxon center unearthed near Skipsea castle
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