Archaeology, features and articles | Educational Science

Mar 6, 2024

Earliest known stone tools in Europe are 1.4 million years old. And they weren't made by modern humans.

Stone tools in Ukraine dated to 1.4 million years ago may be the earliest solid evidence of humans in Europe, a new study reveals. The makers of these tools likely weren't Homo sapiens but a close, now-extinct relation. Scientists analyzed finds from the archaeological site of Korolevo in western Ukraine,...

Mar 7, 2024

Ancient humans used cave in Spain as burial spot for 4 millennia, 7,000 bones reveal

Starting about 7,000 years ago, ancient humans in what is now northeastern Spain buried their dead deep in a cave, creating a necropolis of sorts that spans about four millennia and now contains more than 7,000 bones, according to archaeologists. And there are signs it may have been used for...

Mar 7, 2024

Obsidian blade could be from Coronado expedition fabled to be looking for 'Cities of Gold'

A greenish obsidian blade, believed to have been found on the Texas Panhandle, may be from the 16th-century expedition led by the Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, a new study suggests. The sharp tool's provenance is hazy, but a chemical analysis of the obsidian reveals that it came from...

Mar 10, 2024

When did humans start wearing clothes?

As early humans evolved from ape-like ancestors, they came down from the trees, began to walk upright and lost their fur. But without fur, our ancestors would have been exposed to the elements. They would have needed clothing for protection. So when did humans start wearing clothes? This is a...

Mar 11, 2024

3,300-year-old tablet from mysterious Hittite Empire describes catastrophic invasion of four cities

A 3,300-year-old clay tablet from central Turkey describes a catastrophic foreign invasion of the Hittite Empire, a mysterious Bronze Age state. The invasion took place during a Hittite civil war, apparently in an effort to aid one of the warring factions, according to a translation of the tablet's cuneiform text....

Mar 11, 2024

India's evolutionary past tied to huge migration 50,000 years ago and to now-extinct human relatives

Researchers have gleaned new insights into India's evolutionary history after conducting the largest genome study of its kind. Scientists analyzed more than 2,700 modern Indian genomes from 17 states, including DNA from individuals from most geographic regions, speakers of all major languages, tribal and caste groups. They revealed that one...

Mar 11, 2024

Mass grave of plague victims may be largest ever found in Europe, archaeologists say

Plague pits containing the remains of at least 1,000 victims have been unearthed in southern Germany. The pits could together form the largest mass grave ever discovered in Europe, archaeologists say. The excavations, which were carried out ahead of construction work in the city of Nuremberg, revealed eight pits each...

Mar 14, 2024

Winged 'basilisk' on medieval pilgrim's badge discovered in Poland

A pilgrim badge from the Middle Ages featuring the design of a basilisk — a fearsome mythological creature akin to a dragon — has been discovered in southeast Poland. Such finds are rare and can help archaeologists chart the routes taken by Christian pilgrims hundreds of years ago. Independent archaeologist...

Mar 18, 2024

20 biggest historical mysteries that will probably never be solved

There are some historical mysteries that may never be solved, from the date that Jesus was born to the identity of Jack the Ripper to the location of Cleopatra's tomb. Sometimes, that's because the relevant excavated material has been lost or an archaeological site has been destroyed. Other times, it's...

Dec 7, 2014

Viking Women Colonized New Lands, Too

Vikings may have been family men who traveled with their wives to new lands, according to a new study of ancient Viking DNA. Maternal DNA from ancient Norsemen closely matches that of modern-day people in the North Atlantic isles, particularly from the Orkney and Shetland Islands. The findings suggest that...

Dec 11, 2014

Beer and Beef: Why the Vikings' Elaborate Feasts Died Out

Vikings have a reputation for their ruthless marauding ways, but new evidence from an ongoing archaeological dig shows that the Vikings who settled in Iceland spent more time brewing beer and basting beef than pillaging and plundering. These meals of beef and booze were served during elaborate feasts that were...

Feb 23, 2015

Vikings Were 'Global Investors,' Not Just Pillagers

This article was originally published on The Conversation. The publication contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The connections between technology, urban trading, and international economics which have come to define modern living are nothing new. Back in the first millennium AD, the Vikings were expert...

Mar 17, 2015

'For Allah' Inscription Found on Viking Era Ring

Ancient tales about Viking expeditions to Islamic countries had some elements of truth, according to recent analysis of a ring recovered from a 9th century Swedish grave. Featuring a pink-violet colored stone with an inscription that reads “for Allah” or “to Allah,” the silver ring was found during the 1872-1895...

May 16, 2015

Vikings Traded First (Then Plundered), Study Suggests

The Viking Age may not have started with the plundering of England, but with the peaceful trading of handcrafted combs made out of reindeer antlers, a new study suggests. Until now, researchers thought the Viking Age began in June 793, when Norwegian Vikings raided Lindisfarne, an island off the northeast...

Apr 1, 2016

Possible Viking Settlement in Canada Revealed in Satellite Images

Scientists have uncovered what may be a previously unknown Viking settlement in Newfoundland, Canada, news sources report. The newly identified site, known as Point Rosee, contains a hearthstone that was likely used for working iron, making it only the second known pre-Columbian, iron-processing site in North America, the researchers told...