Lost Treasures News

November 22, 2024

Top Headlines

Innovating Archaeology: Scholars Utilize Immersive 3D Tech to Document and Study the Human Past

Nov. 21, 2024 — Archaeology studies the human past through the excavation of things people made and used thousands of years ago -- from architecture to objects like pottery bowls and animal bones from meals. ...

Oldest Known Alphabet Unearthed in Ancient Syrian City

Nov. 20, 2024 — Researchers have discovered evidence of the oldest alphabetic writing in human history. The writing was etched onto clay cylinders discovered during a dig at an ancient Syrian ...

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 kinship, revising the story as written since 1748. The ...

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 structures, including a previously unknown large city ...

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updated 11:26pm EST

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 ...

Scientists Create Geochemical Fingerprints

Oct. 28, 2024 — Using new technology, researchers have been able to confirm the location of the world's oldest ochre mine and trace how ochre from the mine was dispersed to nearby ...

Underwater Caves Yield New Clues About Sicily's First Residents

Oct. 9, 2024 — Archaeological surveys suggest that coastal and underwater cave sites in southern Sicily contain important new clues about the path and fate of early human migrants to the ...

The Vikings Were Part of a Global Network Trading in Ivory from Greenland

Sep. 30, 2024 — New research shows that the Vikings traveled more than 6,000 kilometers to the Arctic to hunt for walrus. DNA analyses reveal that walrus ivory from Greenland was brought to Europe and probably as ...

Another Franklin Expedition Crew Member Has Been Identified

Sep. 24, 2024 — The skeletal remains of a senior officer of Sir John Franklin's 1845 Northwest Passage expedition have been identified using DNA and genealogical ...

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 ...

What a Submerged Ancient Bridge Discovered in a Spanish Cave Reveals About Early Human Settlement

Aug. 30, 2024 — Geologists examined a submerged 25-foot bridge to tackle a long-lasting archaeological controversy: When humans settled on the islands in the western ...

New Study Reveals Devastating Power and Colossal Extent of a Giant Underwater Avalanche Off the Moroccan Coast

Aug. 21, 2024 — New research has revealed how an underwater avalanche grew more than 100 times in size causing a massive trail of destruction as it traveled 2000km ...

International Space Station Crew Carries out Archeological Survey in Space

Aug. 7, 2024 — An archaeological strategy adapted for space used daily photos to reveal how astronauts actually use areas aboard the International Space Station -- and how this differs from intended ...

Findings from First Archaeology Project in Space

Aug. 7, 2024 — The first-ever archeological survey in space has provided new insights into how astronauts use and adapt their living space on the International Space Station, which could influence the design of new ...

Underwater Mapping Reveals New Insights Into Melting of Antarctica's Ice Shelves

July 31, 2024 — Clues to future sea level rise have been revealed by the first detailed maps of the underside of a floating ice shelf in Antarctica. An international research team deployed an unmanned submersible ...

Evidence for Butchery of Giant Armadillo-Like Mammals in Argentina 21,000 Years Ago

July 17, 2024 — Cut marks on fossils could be evidence of humans exploiting large mammals in Argentina more than 20,000 years ago, according to a new ...

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 ...

Layers of Carbonate Provide Insight Into the World of the Ancient Romans

July 1, 2024 — Archaeologists face a major challenge when they intend to acquire information about buildings or facilities of which only ruins remain. This was a particular challenge for the remnants of the Roman ...

Almonds, Pottery, Wood Help Date Famed Kyrenia Shipwreck

June 26, 2024 — Researchers have identified the likeliest timeline of the famous Hellenistic-era Kyrenia shipwreck, discovered and recovered off the north coast of Cyprus in the ...

New Study Finds Dinosaur Fossils Did Not Inspire the Mythological Griffin

June 20, 2024 — For centuries, scientists thought they knew where the griffin legend came from. A new study takes a closer look at the data and folklore's influence on ...

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 ...

Greek Island Was Home to Bronze Age Purple Dye Workshop

June 12, 2024 — The Greek island of Aegina was home to a Late Bronze Age purple dye workshop, according to a new ...

Origin and Spread of Malaria

June 12, 2024 — Researchers have reconstructed the evolutionary history and global spread of malaria over the past 5,500 years, identifying trade, warfare, and colonialism as major catalysts for its ...

Researchers Solve 2,000-Year-Old Mystery of the Shipworm

June 5, 2024 — They bedeviled ancient Greek navies, helped shipwreck Christopher Columbus, aided in the sinking of the Spanish Armada and caused the wharves in San Francisco Bay to collapse into the sea, but until ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Early Arrival and Expansion of Palaeolithic People on Cyprus

May 17, 2024 — The patterns of dispersal of early humans across continents and islands are hotly debated, but researchers have found that Pleistocene hunter-gatherers settled in Cyprus thousands of years earlier ...

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 ...

How Evolving Landscapes Impacted First Peoples' Early Migration Patterns Into Australia

Apr. 30, 2024 — Scientists have applied a dynamic model of the landscape to patterns of human migration into Sahul, the combined continent of Australia, Tasmania and New ...

Decoding Avar Society

Apr. 24, 2024 — A multidisciplinary research team has combined ancient DNA data with a clear archaeological, anthropological and historical context to reconstruct the social dynamics of Avar-period steppe descent ...

'Forgotten City:' the Identification of Dura-Europos' Neglected Sister Site in Syria

Apr. 19, 2024 — The Dura-Europos site in modern-day Syria is famous for its exceptional state of preservation. Like Pompeii, this ancient city has yielded many great discoveries, and serves as a window into the ...

First Evidence of Human Occupation in Lava Tube Cave in Saudi Arabia

Apr. 17, 2024 — New research has highlighted an area in Arabia that once acted as a key point for cultural exchanges and trades amongst ancient people -- and it all took place in vast caves and lava tubes that have ...