Tag: archaeology
-
Neanderthals’ Crimean Crayons: Ancient Red and Yellow Pigments for Symbolic Art
New light on Neanderthal creativity in Crimea Researchers have uncovered intriguing evidence that Neanderthals in the Crimean region used red and yellow pigments as early “crayons” to create symbolic drawings. The study, which analyzes pigment tools and wear patterns on objects found at Crimean sites, suggests that these ancient people possessed not only practical painting…
-
Europe’s Longest Dinosaur Highway Found in Oxfordshire Quarry
Introduction: A Remarkable Jurassic Discovery Archaeologists and paleontologists have unveiled Europe’s longest known dinosaur trackway, a chain of footprints carved into the limestone of an Oxfordshire quarry in the United Kingdom. Dating to roughly 166 million years ago in the Middle Jurassic, this discovery provides a vivid snapshot of dinosaur life in a time when…
-
Training AI to Identify Ancient Artists: Griffith Researchers Map Finger Fluting Through Digital Archaeology
Unveiling Ancient Hands Through Digital Archaeology Griffith researchers have taken a bold step into the deep past by marrying artificial intelligence with digital archaeology to study one of humanity’s oldest rock art traditions: finger fluting. These marks, created by fingers sliding across a soft mineral film known as moonmilk on cave walls, offer a doorway…
-
Could Lead Poisoning Have Shaped Human Evolution? New Research Sparks Debate
Lead, An Ancient Influence: Rethinking a Modern toxin A provocative new study published in Science Advances suggests that lead exposure was not merely a modern problem. Instead, researchers argue that lead and other toxic metals may have subtly shaped the evolutionary trajectory of our species, influencing brain development and even social behavior in ancient humans.…
-
UK’s Ancient Trail: 650-Foot Dinosaur Footprints Unearthed, One of the World’s Longest
Unveiling a Remarkable Paleontological Discovery Scientists have uncovered a remarkable record-breaking trace in the United Kingdom: a series of dinosaur footprints stretching over 650 feet. This astonishing trackway ranks among the longest of its kind ever documented, offering a rare window into the movements and behaviors of ancient reptiles that roamed the land millions of…
-
Lead Exposure May Have Gave Ancient Humans an Edge Over Neanderthals
Lead Exposure: A Surprising Thread in Human Evolution Lead is commonly painted as a modern toxin, but a provocative new study suggests the metal has haunted humanity for nearly 2 million years. More striking still, episodic exposure to lead might have given Homo sapiens an evolutionary nudge over Neanderthals and other early relatives. By examining…
-
Paranthropus Invented Stone Tools: A Hidden Chapter in Early Tool Use
The Unexpected Toolmakers: Paranthropus and Oldowan Technology For decades, the story of our cognitive and technological origins centered on the genus Homo. The prevailing view was that tool-making began with Homo habilis and spread through later species. A groundbreaking study published in Science challenges this narrative, presenting compelling evidence that Paranthropus, a robust, early hominin…
-
How a 3,000-Year-Old Workshop May Unravel the Iron Age Origins
New clues from a 3,000-year-old workshop The Iron Age transformed human civilization with durable tools, improved farming, and new forms of conflict. Yet the origin story of how iron became central to technology remains debated. A fresh examination of a 3,000-year-old site in southern Georgia—Kvemo Bolnisi—offers compelling evidence that iron may have entered metallurgical practice…
-
How Copper Smelters Accidentally Sparked the Birth of the Iron Age
Introduction: A Hidden Spark in Copper Minds The Iron Age is usually painted as a decisive leap from bronze to iron. Yet new research from Cranfield University suggests a more circuitous path: copper smelters may have stumbled upon iron metallurgy by experimenting with iron oxide as a flux. In doing so, they didn’t produce iron…
-
Yunxian 2 Skull and the Rewriting of Human Origins in Asia
Reconstructing a fossil as a new scientific reference The Yunxian 2 skull, unearthed in Hubei and dated to roughly 940,000–1.1 million years ago, has become a case study in how modern methods transform archaeology into a testable science. In a Nature publication by María Martinón-Torres, Wu Xiujie, José María Bermúdez de Castro, and colleagues, the…