Archaeology, features and articles | Educational Science

Apr 30, 2022

Largest known cave art images in US by Indigenous Americans discovered in Alabama

Archaeologists in Alabama have discovered the longest known painting created by early Indigenous Americans, a new study finds. Indigenous Americans crafted this 1,000-year-old record-breaking image — of a 10-foot-long (3 meters) rattlesnake — as well as other paintings, out of mud on the walls and ceiling of a cave, likely...

Apr 30, 2022

Fertility cult complex discovered under Turkish home dates to the Iron Age

A bungled looting scheme has led archaeologists to an underground Iron Age complex in Turkey that may have been used by a fertility cult during the first millennium B.C., a new study finds. The ancient complex, which has yet to be fully investigated due to the instability of the structure,...

Apr 30, 2022

Stonehenge builders ate parasite-infested meat during ancient feasts, according to their poop

In addition to a Neolithic monument, the builders of Stonehenge left behind something a little less celebratory: fossilized clumps of poop. A new analysis of these so-called coprolites suggests that during epic winter feasts, the ancient workers and their dogs ate undercooked meat littered with the eggs of parasitic worms....

Apr 30, 2022

What did ancient Egypt's pharaohs stash inside the pyramids?

When British archaeologist Howard Carter cracked open King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, he reported seeing wonderful things. Tut's tomb was filled with extraordinary treasures, including the golden death mask of Tutankhamun, a golden throne and even gold sandals. But did all royal tombs in ancient Egypt have such plush grave...

Mar 31, 2022

Stonehenge was a hunting hotspot long before the monument was built

Long before Neolithic people erected Stonehenge's majestic bluestones and sarsen stones, Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age hunter-gatherers frequented the site, using it as a hunting ground. Later, farmers and monument builders moved into the region, a new study finds. Earlier research had suggested that before Stonehenge was built, the surrounding...

Feb 28, 2022

Cleopatra: Biography of the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt

Cleopatra VII, often simply called Cleopatra, was the last of a series of rulers called the Ptolemies who ruled ancient Egypt for nearly 300 years. Cleopatra ruled an empire that included Egypt, Cyprus, part of modern-day Libya and other territories in the Middle East. Modern-day depictions of Cleopatra VII tend...

Jan 31, 2022

Astronauts spot an ancient heart-shaped oasis in Egypt just in time for Valentine's Day

Soaring 250 miles (400 kilometers) over Earth, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) looked down on our planet last May and saw a heart-shaped oasis blooming in the Egyptian desert. Today (Feb. 14), our friends in space are sharing the striking image as a special Valentine for the whole...

Dec 31, 2021

5 archaeological 'digs' to watch in 2022

There are a number of archaeological finds and stories we might hear about in 2022. These include discoveries from Egypt's lost golden city, new finds from Qumran — the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in nearby caves — as well as finds that may shed light on...

Dec 31, 2021

Child mummies in Sicily's Capuchin Catacombs to be X-rayed

The mummified and skeletal remains of more than 160 children lie preserved in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo in northern Sicily, and soon, scientists hope to uncover some of the mysteries surrounding their lives and deaths using X-ray technology. The catacombs contain at least 1,284 mummified and skeletonized corpses of...

Dec 31, 2021

Pendants from Holocaust victims found near gas chamber in Poland

Archaeologists in Poland have discovered three pendants that belonged to people who were murdered at Sobibor, a Nazi death camp in eastern Poland. The researchers discovered two of the pendants in places where Holocaust victims were forced to undress before guards herded them into gas chambers; they discovered the third...

Nov 30, 2023

Temple linked to Hercules and Alexander the Great discovered in ancient megacity in Iraq

Archaeologists in Iraq have unearthed twin temples built on top of each other. The newer, Hellenistic temple dates to the fourth century B.C. and may have a link to Alexander the Great. The temple contained a fired brick with an Aramaic and Greek inscription that references the giver of two...

Nov 30, 2023

2,200-year-old tiles found in Jerusalem provide direct link to the history of Hanukkah

A pile of ancient ceramic roofing tiles found at a national park in Jerusalem may be linked to the history of Hanukkah. Archaeologists made the discovery during excavations at City of David National Park, located outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, according to a Facebook post by...

Nov 30, 2023

'Unique' cave art discovered in Madagascar hints at connections with ancient Egypt and Borneo

Unique, prehistoric rock art drawings have been discovered in the Andriamamelo Cave in western Madagascar. I was part of a team that discovered and described these ancient treasures. They’re the first truly pictorial art, depicting images of nature with human-like and animal-like figures, to be seen on the island. Until...

Nov 30, 2023

Discovery of 'calendar' rock carvings from Ancestral Pueblo in US Southwest surpasses 'wildest expectations'

While investigating a site in the US Southwest, archaeologists discovered a series of ancient rock carvings that early Native Americans may have used as a calendar. The site, known as the Castle Rock Pueblo, is on the Mesa Verde plateau straddling the Colorado-Utah border and is best known for the...

Nov 30, 2023

Skull with 'execution-style wounds' suggests woman died due to enslavement or suspected sorcery in colonial Indonesia

A possibly enslaved woman may have been executed with a sharp weapon in what is now the Papua province of Indonesia, a new study finds. Only the skull of the victim is available for analysis, but it revealed that the woman was between 26 and 42 years old when she...