Ancient

Paleontologists from the University of Bonn have examined, for the first time, an almost complete skeleton of a juvenile Plateosaurus and discovered that it looked very similar to its parents even at a young age. That could have important…

For centuries, historians and scientists mostly agreed that when early human groups sought food, men hunted and women gathered. However, a 9,000-year-old female hunter burial in the Andes Mountains of South America reveals that gender…

A chemical analysis of the bones of ancient Nubians shows that they were regularly consuming tetracycline, most likely in their beer. The finding is the strongest evidence yet that the art of making antibiotics, which officially dates to…

The ancient Incan sanctuary of Machu Picchu is considered one of humanity's greatest architectural achievements. Built in a remote Andean setting atop a narrow ridge high above a precipitous river canyon, the site is renowned for its…

Since first appearing in late 2019, the novel virus, COVID-19, has had a range of impacts on those it infects. There are several factors that influence your susceptibility to having a severe reaction, like age and other medical conditions.…

For decades, scholars have assumed that the reason humans are so commonly afflicted with back problems is because we walk on two legs. A new study, published in the journal ‘Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health’, is the first to show a…

Earth turned faster at the end of the time of the dinosaurs than it does today, rotating 372 times a year, compared to the current 365, according to a new study of fossil mollusk shells from the late Cretaceous. This means a day lasted 23…

The El Algar society thrived in complex hilltop settlements across the Iberian Peninsula from 2200-1550 cal BCE, says a report in the journal PLOS ONE Researchers decided to find out what they ate and conducted carbon and nitrogen isotope…

A new study, led by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, says that cereals from the Fertile Crescent and broomcorn millet from northern China spread across the…

Despite significant advancements in protection from ballistics and blunt impacts, old military helmets, especially the French Adrian helmet, actually performs better than modern designs, biomedical engineers from Duke University say. Notes…

Human activity thousands of miles away managed to reach Himalayan glaciers contaminating them even before humans set foot on them, research from the Ohio State University shows. The study indicates that the byproducts of burning coal in…

For decades, an ancient Egyptian known as Merit Ptah has been celebrated as the first female physician and a role model for women entering medicine. Yet a researcher from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus says she never…

Archeologists say that people chewed gum as far back as 5,700 years ago. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have not only found an ancient chewing gum but have also managed to get a hitherto untapped source of DNA. The gum, which…

University of Cincinnati archaeologists have discovered two Bronze Age family tombs near the grave of the Griffin Warrior, a Greek military leader who was buried with armour, weapons and jewellery, and was found in 2015. Among the priceless…

Scientists at Cardiff University have reconstructed the cooking techniques of the early inhabitants of Puerto Rico by analysing the remains of clams. With cooking temperatures getting up to around 200oC according to the new analysis, the…

If you’re a man reading this, thank your stars that you don’t live in the mid-19th century! Apparently, men of that time, who had problems in the bedroom, had a drastic cure offered to them - electric shock therapy to the ‘weak’ body part!…

Neanderthals disappeared around 40,000 years ago -- about the same time that anatomically modern humans began migrating into the Near East and Europe. So, did modern humans cause their extinction? No, says a study published in the journal…

An ancient Aztec agricultural technique could benefit 21st century horticultural needs, says the American Society for Horticultural Science. The Aztecs used chinampas or floating gardens, which were raised fields on small artificial islands…

The Romans were some of the most sophisticated builders of the ancient world. Over the centuries, they adopted an increasingly advanced set of materials and technologies to create their famous structures. New research published in ‘EPJ…

Fire starting is a skill that many modern humans struggle with in the absence of a lighter or matches. The earliest humans likely harvested fire from natural sources, yet when our ancestors learned the skills to set fire at will, they had…

It's easy to assume that topics like climate change, global warming, and renewable energy are exclusive to the modern world. But a huge collaborative study in the journal ‘Science’ reveals that early humans across the entire globe were…

During the last ice age - some 100,000 to 15,000 years ago - woolly mammoths were widespread in the northern hemisphere from Spain to Alaska. Due to the global warming that began 15,000 years ago, their habitat in Northern Siberia and…

Tel Aviv University researchers have uncovered evidence of that some 400,000 years ago, early Palaeolithic people saved animal bones for up to nine weeks before feasting on them. Deer leg bones, for instance, were kept at the cave, covered…

Want to make a book last for over 2000 years? Check out a unique ancient technology of parchment-making to better preserve precious historical documents. First discovered in 1947 by Bedouin shepherds looking for a lost sheep, placed in jars…

Even with a highly skilled neurosurgeon, and all the other advances of modern medicine, most of us would cringe at the thought of undergoing cranial surgery today. But, according to a study led by the University of Miami Miller School of…

Tyrannosaurus rex, one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs on the planet, had an air conditioner in its head, suggest scientists from the University of Missouri, Ohio University and University of Florida. In the past, scientists believed…