Ancient Maya cities were dangerously contaminated with mercury
Exposure to mercury may have posed health hazard for ancient Maya.
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Cover Stories
The Anglo-Saxon migration: new insights from genetics
Genetic and archaeological study reveals large-scale continental migration into the East of England during the early Medieval Period.
Greek volcano mystery: Archaeologist narrows on date of Thera eruption
Paleontologists at the University of Malaga reveal new data on the evolution of the hominid cranium
They show changes in the development of the dimensions, based on the analysis of four new hominid fossils.
Archaeological excavations in Romania show life of earliest modern humans in Europe
Why do humans walk upright? The secret is in our pelvis
New study shows how pelvis evolved for walking upright.
Modern humans generate more brain neurons than Neanderthals
Researchers from Dresden uncover a greater neuron production in the frontal lobe during brain development in modern humans than Neanderthals, due to the change of a single amino acid in the protein TKTL1.
Neolithic culinary traditions uncovered
Ancient Monumental Statue from Saudi Arabia on Loan to Louvre
A magnificent 2.3-meter-high statue carved from sandstone and presumably depicting an ancient Lihyanite king is on five-year loan from the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) to the Louvre Museum.
Ancient DNA provides comprehensive genomic history of the “cradle of civilization”
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Other Stories
Research reveals ancient Maya lessons on surviving drought
Huge variety of plant foods made their starvation unlikely.
Nits on ancient mummies shed light on South American ancestry
New technique means head lice can provide clues about ancient people and migration.
Scientists digitally ‘unwrap’ mummy of pharaoh Amenhotep I for the first time in 3,000 years
Study shows that 21st dynasty restorers ‘lovingly restored’ mummy, dispelling theory that they were bent on reusing old royal burial equipment.
New dates for Viking trade
Solar flare throws light on ancient trade between the Islamic Middle East and the Viking Age.
Humans Reached Remote North Atlantic Islands Centuries Earlier Than Thought
Faroes Settled Well Before Vikings Arrived, Lake Sediments Show.
Mystery solved: Footprints from site A at Laetoli, Tanzania, are from early humans, not bears
Findings provide conclusive evidence that multiple species of hominins co-existed on the landscape.
Volcanic eruptions contributed to collapse of China dynasties
Eruptions create sulfuric acid clouds in the upper atmosphere and can cool the climate.
A Child of darkness
The first partial skull of a child of Homo naledi begins to give us insight into all stages of life of this remarkable species.
More than ceremonial, ancient Chaco Canyon was home, new study says
Early puebloans impacted the ecosystem around Chaco Canyon earlier than previously believed.
Multispectral imaging reveals ancient Hebrew inscription undetected for over 50 years
Military correspondence from the First Temple period discovered on reverse side of well-studied artifact at The Israel Museum, Tel Aviv University researchers say.
