When ideas travel further than people
Researchers apply a combination of genetics and archaeology to show how the Neolithic way of life spread from the Fertile Crescent across Anatolia and into the Aegean.
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Cover Stories
Ancient canoe replica tests Paleolithic migration theory
Long-standing questions about migration of early modern humans in East Asia may finally be answered thanks to a rare and exciting voyage in a dugout canoe.
“Boomerang” made from mammoth tusk is likely one of the oldest known in Europe at around 40,000 years old, per analysis of this artifact from a Polish Upper Paleolithic cave
Ancient temple ruins discovered in Andes shed light on lost society
Doubts cast over suggestions incestuous ‘god-kings’ ruled during Neolithic Ireland
Skyscrapers of Babel: How Ancient Mesopotamia Shaped the Modern City
In the early 20th century, architects and artists like Hugh Ferriss drew on the myths and monuments of ancient Babylon to imagine futuristic skylines—melding ziggurats with modernism in a visionary blend of the...
How Much of the Past Should We Bring Back to Life?
With recent advances in genetic technology, de-extinction may be a possibility—but should we be doing it?
Long-debated age of ancient human tracks at White Sands, NM confirmed
Key evidence links Harbin individual’s nearly complete skull to a Denisovan
Before dispersing out of Africa, humans learned to thrive in diverse habitats
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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.
