Archeologists have identified a small African island off the continent’s western coast that “embodies the inception of the plantation economic system,” according to new research. Controlled by European expats, the island of São Tomé — which sits in the Gulf of Guinea and 150 miles west of the country Gabon — reportedly “became the first … Read more
Sink your teeth into this discovery. Archaeologists have found the remains of a so-called “vampire child” dating to the 1600s in a Pień, Poland, cemetery. The skeletal scraps were estimated to be from a child aged between 5 to 7. The remains were discovered lying face down with a triangular padlock attached to one of its … Read more
An international team of researchers has approximated the face of a woman whose 45,000-year-old remains were discovered more than 70 years ago. The severed skull of the Zlatý kůň woman — the oldest modern human to be genetically sequenced — was found buried in a cave system in the Czech Republic in 1950. Scientists created … Read more
An archaeologist claims the Bible’s King David could’ve ruled over a large kingdom, complete with roads connecting between cities, made up of fortified cities around Jerusalem. Yosef Garfinkel, a professor at Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, says he found evidence of urban settlement in organized cities dating to around 1,000 BCE, which … Read more
Tradies have unearthed a “splendid, intact” marble head during works in the historic center of Rome. The city’s mayor Roberto Gualtieri shared details of the incredible find, along with a photo, on Twitter. “#Roma continues to return precious evidence of its past: a splendid intact marble head was found during the works in Piazza Augusto … Read more
A 4,000-year-old religious burial ground has been discovered in the Netherlands. The mound — 65 feet in diameter — has the remains of around 60 men, women and children, Phys.org reported. It was also configured so that the sun would shine directly through on the winter and summer solstices. After six years of digging, it … Read more
Ure-ally brave for this one, ancient Roman doctors. Archaeologists in Rome have unearthed a treasure trove of illuminating artifacts at the site of an ancient hospital, including “urine flasks” — which doctors used to diagnose various ailments. A study describing the diagnostic tool was published last month in the journal Antiquity, in which researchers asserted … Read more
NEW YORK — The Tyrannosaurus rex is often shown baring massive, sharp teeth, like the ferocious creature in “Jurassic Park.” But new research suggests that this classic image might be wrong. The teeth on T. rex and other big theropods were likely covered by scaly lips, concludes a study published Thursday in the journal Science. The … Read more
In the new adult animated series “Digman!” — which premieres on Comedy Central Wednesday — comic actor Andy Samberg voices the title character of washed-up archaeologist Rip Digman. But the “Saturday Night Live” vet can also be seen in the feature-film flesh in the new comedy “Self Reliance,” which premiered at South by Southwest earlier … Read more
Peruvian police took a man into custody over the weekend who was carrying around a mummy up to 800 years old in a food delivery bag, according to the country’s Ministry of Culture. The man, identified as 26-year-old Julio Cesar Bermejo, named the mummy “Juanita” and referred to the ancient remains as his “spiritual girlfriend,” according to Agence … Read more
New treasures await discovery at a section of Pompeii that has remained virtually untouched for over 2,000 years. Described by the Times of London as an entire “city block” yet to be examined, archeologists are looking to uncover skeletons of the 79 AD Mount Vesuvius eruption in addition to rare mosaics and frescoes that have … Read more
Dil-do as the Romans do. UK archaeologists were flabbergasted after discovering that a 2,000-year-old “sewing tool” could potentially be the only known life-size Roman dildo. They detailed the alleged phallic first in the journal Antiquity. “I have to confess, part of me thinks it’s kind of self-evident that it is a penis,” said Dr. Rob … Read more
Archaeologists in Italy unearthed a massive hall where an emperor and knights partied some 2,000 years ago. The hall, discovered by researchers at the Università di Napoli L’Orientale in Naples, was located in the seaside home of Vedio Pollione, a Roman knight and politician who lived in the 1st century BCE, according to the school. Located … Read more
Archeologists unearthed a 5,000-year-old “tavern” in one of southwest Asia’s earliest cities. A team of researchers studying the archeological site of Lagash in southern Iraq uncovered the public eating space, which dates back to 2700 B.C., according to the University of Pennsylvania. The area was replete with benches, a type of clay refrigerator referred to … Read more
It’s just another way of “keeping it in the family.” A new DNA study revealed Monday that several parts of ancient Greece encouraged its citizens to marry their first cousins, according to the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. The Germany-based institute analyzed 102 different human genomes from Greece’s Bronze Age, and learned that Minoan … Read more
This “razor sharp” discovery points to new evidence of America’s earliest encounters with Asia. Archaeologists in Idaho have unearthed 13 projectile points that date back roughly 15,700 years — making them the oldest weapon heads ever documented in the Americas, according to a new study published in the journal Science Advances. Similar stone points found … Read more
Scientists have discovered 168 new geoglyphs in the soil of Peru’s desert — known as the Nazca lines. Peruvian and Japanese researchers from Yamagata University spent two years scanning the UNESCO World Heritage site on Peru’s southern Pacific coast using aerial photos, drones and field surveys. The drawings portray humans, camelids, birds, killer whales, felines, … Read more
The so-called “tramp stamp” isn’t a sign of trashiness — it’s early women’s tradition. A recent discovery has lead researchers to believe that ancient Egyptian women were adorned with lower back tattoos to protect themselves and others during childbirth. The hypothesis comes after experts from the University of Missouri and Johns Hopkins University examined the … Read more
British archaeologist Howard Carter spent a decade-plus in the early 1900s fruitlessly sifting through the sands of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings for his patron, Lord Carnarvon. But after 15 years of unsuccessful toil, Carter finally struck gold in 1922: He found steps going down into the desert floor that would reveal a buried tomb, … Read more