Ancient Civilizations News

November 20, 2024

Top Headlines

The Chilling Sound of the Aztec Death Whistle

Nov. 19, 2024 — The Aztec skull whistle produces a shrill, screaming sound. A study shows that these whistles have a disturbing effect on the human brain. The Aztecs may have deliberately used this effect in sacrificial ...

Egyptians Drank Hallucinogenic Cocktails in Ancient Rituals, Study Confirms

Nov. 15, 2024 — Scholars for the first time identified chemical signatures of the components of a liquid concoction contained in a Bes mug. A new technique helped identify a sample flavored with honey, sesame seeds, pine nuts, licorice and grapes -- commonly used ...

Genetic Legacy of Jomon Hunter-Gatherers Linked to Increased BMI in Modern Japanese, Study Finds

Nov. 14, 2024 — New research exploring the roots of modern Japanese populations has linked the genetic signature of Jomon hunter-gatherers to a higher body mass index (BMI) among individuals, underlining that ...

12,000-Year-Old Stones May Be Very Early Evidence of Wheel-Like Technology

Nov. 13, 2024 — A collection of perforated pebbles from an archaeological site in Israel may be spindle whorls, representing a key milestone in the development of rotational tools including wheels, according to a new ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:26pm EST

DNA Evidence Rewrites Story of People Buried in Pompeii Eruption

Nov. 7, 2024 — Researchers have used ancient DNA to challenge long-held interpretations of the people of Pompeii. Contrary to physical appearances, the DNA evidence revealed unexpected variations in gender and ...

Indigenous Cultural Burning Has Protected Australia's Landscape for Millennia, Study Finds

Nov. 1, 2024 — Ancient cultural burning practices carried out by Indigenous Australians limited fuel availability and prevented high intensity fires in southeastern ...

The 'Urban Revolution' Was Slow in Bronze Age Arabia

Oct. 30, 2024 — Settlements in northern Arabia were in a transitional stage of urbanization during the third to second millennium BCE, according to a new ...

Have We Found All the Major Maya Cities? Not Even Close, New Research Suggests

Oct. 29, 2024 — Researchers used laser-guided imaging to uncover vast unexplored Maya settlements in Campeche, Mexico, revealing more than 6,500 pre-Hispanic ...

'Well-Man' Thrown from Castle Identified from 800-Year-Old Norse Saga

Oct. 25, 2024 — A passage in the Norse Sverris Saga, the 800-year-old story of King Sverre Sigurdsson, describes a military raid that occurred in AD 1197, during which a body was thrown into a well at Sverresborg ...

World's Oldest Cheese Reveals Origins of Kefir

Sep. 25, 2024 — Scientists successfully extracted and analyzed DNA from ancient cheese samples found alongside the Tarim Basin mummies in China, dating back approximately 3,600 years. The research suggests a new ...

Insights Into South African Population History from 10,000-Year-Old Human DNA

Sep. 19, 2024 — Ancient DNA has provided spectacular insights into human history, particularly in Europe and Asia, where researchers have reconstructed the genomes ...

Early Dingoes Are Related to Dogs from New Guinea and East Asia

Sep. 18, 2024 — New archaeological research has discovered for the first time clear links between fossils of the iconic Australian dingo, and dogs from East Asia and New ...

Study Reveals Isolation, Endogamy and Pathogens in Early Medieval Spanish Community

Aug. 28, 2024 — An archaeogenetic study sheds new light on the isolated medieval community Las Gobas in northern Spain. Besides isolation and endogamy, the ...

House Call: A New Study Rethinks Early Christian Landmark

Aug. 13, 2024 — Since its discovery by modern researchers a century ago, an ancient structure known as the 'Christian building' has become widely considered the cornerstone of early Christian architecture. ...

Carvings at Ancient Monument May Be World's Oldest Calendars

Aug. 6, 2024 — Markings on a stone pillar at a 12,000 year-old archaeological site in Turkey likely represent the world's oldest solar calendar, created as a memorial to a devastating comet strike, experts ...

Nanoscopic Imaging Aids in Understanding Protein, Tissue Preservation in Ancient Bones

July 23, 2024 — A pilot study shows that nanoscopic 3-D imaging of ancient bone not only provides further insight into the changes soft tissues undergo during fossilization, it also has potential as a fast, ...

First Ever 3D Reconstruction of 52,000-Year-Old Woolly Mammoth Chromosomes Thanks to Serendipitously Freeze-Dried Skin

July 11, 2024 — An international research team has assembled the genome and 3D chromosomal structures of a 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth -- the first time such a feat has been achieved for any ancient DNA sample. ...

The Plague May Have Caused the Downfall of the Stone Age Farmers

July 10, 2024 — Ancient DNA from bones and teeth hints at a role of the plague in Stone Age population collapse. Contrary to previous beliefs, the plague may have diminished Europe's populations long before the ...

Archaeologists Report Earliest Evidence for Plant Farming in East Africa

July 10, 2024 — A trove of ancient plant remains excavated in Kenya helps explain the history of plant farming in equatorial eastern Africa, a region long thought to be important for early farming but where scant ...

Ancient Dingo DNA Shows Modern Dingoes Share Little Ancestry With Modern Dog Breeds

July 8, 2024 — A study of ancient dingo DNA revealed that the distribution of modern dingoes across Australia, including those on K'gari (formerly Fraser Island), pre-dates European colonization and ...

The World's Oldest Wine Discovered

June 18, 2024 — A white wine over 2,000 years old, of Andalusian origin, is the oldest wine ever ...

Ancient Syrian Diets Resembled the Modern 'Mediterranean Diet'

June 12, 2024 — Thousands of years ago, people in ancient Syria likely ate mostly grains, grapes, olives and a small amount of dairy and meat -- similar to today's 'Mediterranean diet,' according to a ...

Ritual Sacrifice at Chichén Itzá

June 12, 2024 — Rising to power in the wake of the Classic Maya collapse, Chichen Itz was among the largest and most influential cities of the ancient Maya, but much about its political connections and ritual life ...

Tiny New Species of Great Ape Lived in Germany 11 Million Years Ago

June 7, 2024 — Ancient apes in Germany co-existed by partitioning resources in their environment, according to a new ...

Blood Sausages and Yak Milk: Bronze Age Cuisine of Mongolian Nomads Unveiled

June 5, 2024 — Bronze cauldrons were used by the inhabitants of the Mongolian steppe around 2,700 years ago to process animal blood and milk. This is shown by a protein analysis of archaeological finds from this ...

Crucial Shift in River Nile's Evolution During Ancient Egypt Discovered

June 3, 2024 — Researchers have explored how the River Nile evolved over the past 11,500 years and how changes in its geography could have helped shape the fortunes of ancient Egyptian civilization. Research ...

Kinship and Ancestry of the Celts in Baden-Württemberg, Germany

June 3, 2024 — The Celtic culture of the pre-Roman Iron Age in Western and Central Europe has left numerous traces to this day, not least in the form of enormous burial mounds and spectacular archaeological ...

Could the World Famous Roman Baths Help Scientists Counter the Challenge of Antibiotic Resistance?

May 31, 2024 — A new study has uncovered a diverse array of microorganisms within the hot waters of the Roman Baths, regularly listed among the UK's most popular tourist attractions. Tests showed 15 of the ...

Ancient People Hunted Extinct Elephants at Tagua Tagua Lake in Chile 12,000 Years Ago

May 22, 2024 — Thousands of years ago, early hunter-gatherers returned regularly to Tagua Tagua Lake in Chile to hunt ancient elephants and take advantage of other local resources, according to a new ...

3,500-Year-Old Mycenaean Armor Was Suitable for Extended Battle

May 22, 2024 — A 3,500-year-old suit of Mycenaean armour may have been used in battle -- and not just for ceremonial purposes as previously thought -- new research ...

Pagan-Christian Trade Networks Supplied Horses from Overseas for the Last Horse Sacrifices in Europe

May 17, 2024 — Horses crossed the Baltic Sea in ships during the Late Viking Age and were sacrificed for funeral rituals. Studies on the remains of horses found at ancient burial sites in Russia and Lithuania show ...

Origin of Roman Lead

May 7, 2024 — Three ingots from the site of Los Escoriales de Do a Rama (Belmez) and dating from the Roman era demonstrate the importance of lead production and exportation in northern ...

In Medieval England, Leprosy Spread Between Red Squirrels and People, Genome Evidence Shows

May 3, 2024 — Evidence from archaeological sites in the medieval English city of Winchester shows that English red squirrels once served as an important host for Mycobacterium leprae strains that caused leprosy in ...

More Plants on the Menu of Ancient Hunter-Gatherers

Apr. 29, 2024 — It has long been thought that meat played an important role in the diet of hunter-gatherers before the Neolithic transition. However, due to the scarcity of well-preserved human remains from ...