Northumbria University is to play a leading role in a major study to assess the long-term impact of global warming on Siberia’s thawing permafrost
Tag: OLD WORLD
Ancient Egyptian manual reveals new details about mummification
Based on a manual recently discovered in a 3,500-year-old medical papyrus, University of Copenhagen Egyptologist Sofie Schiødt has been able to help reconstruct the embalming process used to prepare ancient Egyptians for the afterlife. It is the oldest surviving manual…
New dating techniques reveal Australia’s oldest known rock painting, and it’s a kangaroo
Two-meter kangaroo painting thought to be 17,300 years old
Medieval containers hint at thriving wine trade in Islamic Sicily
Researchers at the University of York have found chemical residues of grapes in medieval containers indicating a prosperous wine trade in Islamic Sicily. They found that a type of container from the 9-11th century, called amphorae, traditionally used for transporting…
Like it or not, history shows that taxes and bureaucracy are cornerstones of democracy
Statistical analysis of 30-premodern societies links economic systems and democracy–and yields insights for today
CT scans of Egyptian mummy reveal new details about the death of a pivotal pharaoh
New interpretations based on medical imaging suggest Seqenenre-Taa-II was executed by multiple attackers and embalmers had skillfully concealed some head wounds
Neanderthals and Homo sapiens used identical Nubian technology
Long held in a private collection, the newly analysed tooth of an approximately 9-year-old Neanderthal child marks the hominin’s southernmost known range. Analysis of the associated archaeological assemblage suggests Neanderthals used Nubian Levallois technology, previously thought to be restricted to…
Earliest known conch shell horn plays its tune for the first time in 17,000 years
First record of the sound produced by the oldest Upper Paleolithic seashell horn
Ancient seashell resonates after 18,000 years
Almost 80 years after its discovery, a large shell from the ornate Marsoulas Cave in the Pyrenees has been studied by a multidisciplinary team from the CNRS, the Muséum de Toulouse, the Université Toulouse – Jean Jaurès and the Musée…
Ancient Amazonian farmers fortified valuable land they had spent years making fertile to protect it
Ancient Amazonian communities fortified valuable land they had spent years making fertile to protect it from conflict, excavations show. Farmers in Bolivia constructed wooden defences around previously nutrient-poor tropical soils they had enriched over generations to keep them safe during…
Nehandertals’ gut microbiota and the bacteria helping our health
Neanderthals’ gut microbiota already included some beneficial micro-organisms that are also found in our own intestine. An international research group led by the University of Bologna achieved this result by extracting and analysing ancient DNA from 50,000-year-old faecal sediments sampled…
What did the Swiss eat during the Bronze Age?
Scientists from UNIGE and UPF have analyzed the skeletons of several Bronze Age communities that lived in Western Switzerland in order to reconstruct the evolution of their diet
Past river activity in northern Africa reveals multiple Sahara greenings
The analysis of sediment cores from the Mediterranean Sea combined with Earth system models tells the story of major environmental changes in North Africa over the last 160,000 years
Ancient proteins help track early milk drinking in Africa
New research shows milk consumption in eastern Africa began before the evolution of lactase persistence
History of the Champagne vineyards revealed
Although the reputation of Champagne is well established, the history of Champagne wines and vineyards is poorly documented. However, a research team led by scientists from the CNRS and the Université de Montpellier at the Institut des sciences de l’évolution…
First people to enter the Americas likely did so with their dogs
The first people to settle in the Americas likely brought their own canine companions with them, according to new research which sheds more light on the origin of dogs. An international team of researchers led by archaeologist Dr Angela Perri,…
The end of domestic wine in 17th century Japan
September 1632 document likely shows the order for the last batch of Japanese wine in the Edo period
Crikey! Massive prehistoric croc emerges from South East Queensland
A prehistoric croc measuring more than five metres long – dubbed the ‘swamp king’ – ruled south eastern Queensland waterways only a few million years ago. University of Queensland researchers identified the new species of prehistoric croc – which they…
Researchers track and analyze smallpox epidemics over three centuries
Researchers from McMaster University have studied and analyzed thousands of weekly records documenting the deaths of smallpox victims in London, England over the span of nearly 300 years. The analysis provides new and rare insights into the ecology of infectious…
The ‘crazy beast’ that lived among the dinosaurs
The bizarre features of this mammal have scientists perplexed as to how it could have evolved; “it bends and even breaks a lot of rules”
Study tracks elephant tusks from 16th century shipwreck
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In 1533, the Bom Jesus – a Portuguese trading vessel carrying 40 tons of cargo including gold, silver, copper and more than 100 elephant tusks – sank off the coast of Africa near present-day Namibia. The wreck…
A non-destructive method for analyzing Ancient Egyptian embalming materials
Ancient Egyptian mummies have many tales to tell, but unlocking their secrets without destroying delicate remains is challenging. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Analytical Chemistry have found a non-destructive way to analyze bitumen — the compound that gives mummies their…
Mummified baboons shine new light on the lost land of Punt
Findings help map the lost land of Punt
Fatty residues on ancient pottery reveal meat-heavy diets of Indus Civilization
New lipid residue analyses have revealed a dominance of animal products, such as the meat of animals like pigs, cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat as well as dairy products, used in ancient ceramic vessels from rural and urban settlements of…
New evidence: Neandertals buried their dead
Was burial of the dead practiced by Neandertals or is it an innovation specific to our species? There are indications in favour of the first hypothesis but some scientists remain sceptical. For the first time in Europe, however, a multi-disciplinary…
“Birthday” of the roof of the world recalibrated
Third Pole rose to modern height much later than previously thought
Paleontologists find pterosaur precursors that fill a gap in early evolutionary history
Here’s the original story of flight. Sorry, Wright Brothers, but this story began way before your time – during the Age of the Dinosaurs. Pterosaurs were the earliest reptiles to evolve powered flight, dominating the skies for 150 million years…
Archaeology: Palaeolithic sea voyage to Japanese islands beyond the horizon
Modern humans may have deliberately crossed the sea to migrate to the Ryukyu Islands of southwestern Japan, even though the islands would not have been visible on the horizon when they set out, according to a study published Scientific Reports…
Ancient migration was choice, not chance
Paleolithic people likely colonized the Ryukyu Islands intentionally
Videoscope analysis of a Neanderthal skeleton reveals detailed dental information
Article Title: In situ observations on the dentition and oral cavity of the Neanderthal skeleton from Altamura (Italy) Funding: This work was supported by Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca, PRIN 2015 grant to G.M., J.M.-C. and D.M., number 2015WPHSCJ,…
African trade routes sketched out by mediaeval beads
An analysis of archaeological glass beads discovered in sub-Saharan West Africa brings to light the full extent of the region’s international trade routes between the 7th and 13th centuries
When the rains stopped
Archaeologists analyze the impacts of climate change on human history
CU Anschutz researcher offers new theory on `Venus’ figurines
Investigators say humanity’s oldest sculptures may be linked to climate change, diet
First exhaustive review of fossils recovered from Iberian archaeological sites
An interdisciplinary team from several Spanish universities and research centres has analysed more than 600 fossils recovered from across the Iberian Peninsula
Ancient people relied on coastal environments to survive the Last Glacial Maximum
Humans have a longstanding relationship with the sea that spans nearly 200,000 years. Researchers have long hypothesized that places like coastlines helped people mediate global shifts between glacial and interglacial conditions and the impact that these changes had on local…
Middle Stone Age populations repeatedly occupied West African coast
Although coastlines have widely been proposed as potential corridors of past migration, the occupation of Africa’s tropical coasts during the Stone Age is poorly known, particularly in contrast to the temperate coasts of northern and southern Africa. Recent studies in eastern Africa have begun to resolve this, detailing dynamic behavioural changes near the coast of Kenya during the last glacial phase, but studies of Stone Age occupations along western Africa’s coasts are still lacking.
Middle Stone Age populations repeatedly occupied West African coast
Excavations at Tiémassas, Senegal, indicate roughly 40,000 years of behavioural continuity, in contrast to other African regions over this period
Archaeology: Transition to feudal living in 14th century impacted local ecosystems
The transition from tribal to feudal living, which occurred throughout the 14th century in Lagow, Poland had a significant impact on the local ecosystem, according to a study published in Scientific Reports . The findings demonstrate how historical changes to…
NO DRINKING! NO FIGHTING! The laws of early Edo Japan to keep the peace
The official document details how workers should act during the reconstruction of Sunpu Castle.
X-ray imaging of a beetle’s world in ancient earthenware
Visualization of insect impressions in 3600-year-old pottery from Kyushu, Japan
The unique hydraulics in the Barbegal water mills, the world’s first industrial plant
An elbow-shaped water flume as a special adaptation for the Barbegal mill complex and a symbol of the ingenuity of Roman engineers
Gender and age of prehistoric rupestrian artists revealed by fingerprints
Scientists determine, for the first time, the gender and age of the authors of prehistoric cave paintings using fingerprint analysis
Fossil shark turns in to mystery pterosaur
Palaeontologists have made a surprising discovery while searching through 100-year-old fossil collections from the UK — a new mystery species of pterosaur, unlike anything seen before
Altai Pastoralism Project funded by National Geographic Society and Wenner-Gren Foundation
The Rise of Altai Mountain Pastoralism Project (RAMPP) will investigate the enigmatic Afanasievo culture in the Altai region and the spread of dairying and herding practices
A more resistant material against microorganisms is created to restore cultural heritage
Solar radiation, rain, humidity and extreme temperatures. Cultural heritage is exposed to an array of external factors that deteriorate it over time. Among them, the most aggressive may well be microbial contamination, caused by an ample ecosystem of fungi, algae,…
Newly discovered fossil shows small-scale evolutionary changes in an extinct human species
Fossil cranium suggests environmental conditions drove rapid changes
Population dynamics and the rise of empires in Inner Asia
Genome-wide analysis spanning 6,000 years in the eastern Eurasian Steppe gives insights to the formation of Mongolia’s empires
A 520-million-year-old five-eyed fossil reveals arthropod origin
The arthropods have been among the most successful animals on Earth since the Cambrian Period, about 520 million years ago. They are the most familiar and ubiquitous, and constitute nearly 80 percent of all animal species today, far more than…
Bronze Age travel routes revealed using pioneering research method
Ancient land use on the Prehistoric Silk Road
Denisovan DNA found in sediments of Baishiya Karst Cave on Tibetan Plateau
One year after the publication of research on the Xiahe mandible, the first Denisovan fossil found outside of Denisova Cave, the same research team has now reported their findings of Denisovan DNA from sediments of the Baishiya Karst Cave (BKC)…