Prehistoric

An illustrated reconstruction of the Bronze Age stilt settlement unearthed at Must Farm in the East of England. Credit: Cambridge Archaeological Unit A major report on the remains of a stilt village that was engulfed in flames almost 3,000 years ago reveals in unprecedented detail the daily lives of England's prehistoric fenlanders. Must Farm, a late…

A groundbreaking study analyzing ancient DNA has revealed instances of Down and Edwards syndrome in prehistoric human remains, dating back as far as 4,500 years. This research indicates that individuals with these conditions were valued and integrated members of their ancient societies, offering new insights into the treatment and recognition of chromosomal disorders in history. Above are the remains of individual “CRU001”, who the researchers discovered had Down syndrome. The remains were found at a site in Spain dating…

Neanderthals were gluing handles onto their tools over 100,000 years ago, possibly making the species even smarter than previously thought. So says a new study that discovered the use of adhesives on ancient stone tools that were previously overlooked.The finding came after a team of researchers examined stone tools that had been wrapped up and largely forgotten since the 1960s at Berlin’s Museum of Prehistory and Early History. The fact that the tools had been well-stored enabled the researchers to find traces of bitumen…

Map of northeastern Europe indicating sites named in the text. Inset: The Koyka river valley at Sakhtysh with the locations of prehistoric sites (sampled burial sites highlighted). Credit: Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk2904 How old are these bones? This standard question in archaeology can be answered quite precisely in many cases with the help of the carbon isotope 14C. But there are exceptions. Certain…

Tokyo Metropolitan University researchers have made a significant breakthrough in understanding the use of Stone Age tools by crafting replicas and using them in various tasks. Their findings reveal that specific macroscopic and microscopic wear patterns can indicate whether tools were used for wood-felling or other purposes. Credit: SciTechDaily.comUsed stone edges might help illuminate timber use by early humans.Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University crafted replica Stone Age tools and used them for a range of…

More than 380 million years ago, a sleek, air-breathing predatory fish patrolled the rivers of central Australia. Today, the sediments of those rivers are outcrops of red sandstone in the remote outback.Our new paper, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology,describes the fossils of this fish, which we have named Harajicadectes zhumini.Known from at least 17 fossil specimens, Harajicadectes is the first reasonably complete bony fish found from Devonian rocks in central Australia. It has also proven to be a…

Caves and rock shelters dot the mountains in the northwestern highlands of Thailand. Over 40 in Mae Hong Son province contain wooden coffins on stilts, dating back 1,000–2,300 years. Credit: Selina Carlhoff Deciduous and evergreen forests dominate the limestone karst formations of the northwestern highlands of Thailand. A vast number of caves and rock shelters intersperse the mountains. …

Simulated "mobility highways" of farmer-herder interactions overlaid with the geolocated archaeological sites dated between ca. 3600 and 2200 before present. Credit: Xinzhou Chen The 1 million-square-mile Tibetan Plateau—often called the "roof of the world"—is the highest landmass in the world, averaging 14,000 feet in altitude. Despite the extreme environment, humans have been permanent inhabitants there since prehistoric…

January 1, 20242min readAn ancient frog, bird and dinosaur wore elusive yellow and orange shades, a new lab technique revealsBy Riley BlackThe bird Confuciusornis, which lived more than 120 million years ago, had warm-colored feathers. Credit: Millard H. Sharp/Science SourceThe prehistoric animal kingdom was a riot of colors, from iridescent-feathered dinosaurs to jet-black ink excreted by Jurassic squid relatives. Like modern-day animals, ancient species' hues helped them communicate, camouflage and even regulate body…

For eons, humans have worn personal ornaments that tether them to their people; precious items that reflect a clan identity through life and into the grave. But those cultural associations don't always follow family lines.A new study comparing thousands of pendants from across ice age Europe, dating to between 34,000 and 24,000 years ago, suggests there were at least nine distinct cultural groups of hunter-gatherers within the broader population referred to as the Gravettians, each with their own relatively distinct…