Anthropology.net

NOVEMBER 8, 2024

High in the Zeravshan Valley of Tajikistan, the Soii Havzak rock-shelter has provided researchers with an invaluable glimpse into early human migration routes and daily life in Central Asia. Artifacts suggest that the Zeravshan Valley was not only a migration route but potentially a place of cultural exchange.

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Anthropology.net

MAY 2, 2025

Reshaping the Narrative on Neanderthal Technology The projectile point was discovered by a team led by Liubov Golovanova, who has spent decades investigating the archaeological layers of Mezmaiskaya. 2025 The artifact isn’t just evidence of tool use. But this artifact predates such interactions. Credit: Golovanova et al.

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Anthropology.net

NOVEMBER 23, 2024

These artifacts were found alongside skeletons, jewelry, pottery, and other items in a well-preserved tomb from the Early Bronze Age. Our artifacts are older and from a different area on the map, suggesting the alphabet may have an entirely different origin story than we thought," Schwartz noted.

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Anthropology.net

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

Recent analysis of artifacts from two Lusatian Culture cemeteries suggests that early metallurgists were not only working with iron from terrestrial sources but also incorporating metal from ataxite meteorites—an extremely rare form of nickel-rich iron that originates in space. Pin fragment (E) from Częstochowa-Mirów (4).

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Anthropology.net

JANUARY 6, 2025

Researchers have uncovered an extraordinary engraving on the cave floor, suggesting it may be the oldest known three-dimensional map. Dating back more than 20,000 years, this artifact provides a fascinating glimpse into how Ice Age hunter-gatherers perceived and interacted with their landscape.

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Anthropology.net

JANUARY 18, 2025

New research, published in Nature 1 by an international team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, delves into the lives of two neighboring Avar communities in Lower Austria. The graves, filled with artifacts like ornate belt fittings and everyday items, reflected a shared culture.

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Anthropology.net

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

These stones, excavated by researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reveal early examples of rotational tools, predating the invention of the wheel by thousands of years. Instead, the researchers hypothesize that these perforated stones were spindle whorls, early tools used for hand-spinning yarn.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 12, 2025

But what sets these artifacts apart is what they reveal: that some of our distant hominin ancestors were not just using stone—they were thinking beyond it. “What we’re seeing here is early evidence of cognitive flexibility,” said a researcher familiar with the findings. This isn't a one-off anomaly.

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Teaching Anthropology

SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

The SWP field school offers UTM students the opportunity to be trained in archaeological excavation within their campus grounds. Teaching prompted us to reassess our skills and rediscover the motivations that led us to pursue archaeology originally.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 10, 2025

Recent archaeological discoveries 1 are challenging long-held assumptions about the maritime capabilities of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. Huw Groucutt Evidence from Malta Excavations at the Latnija site in northern Malta have uncovered artifacts dating back approximately 8,500 years. ​ Related Research Mannino, M.

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Anthropology.net

JANUARY 17, 2025

“Melka Wakena’s unique high-altitude setting offers valuable insights into how early humans adapted to challenging environments,” the researchers wrote. Stone Selection as a Window into Hominin Cognition The researchers aimed to understand how early Acheulian toolmakers selected stones for their tools. Gneisinger, W.,

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Anthropology.net

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

A new study published in the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology 1 has upended this assumption. By directly comparing the stone tools (lithics) of these two cultures for the first time, researchers have found no meaningful technological connection between them. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology , 8 (1). But do they? Djakovic, I.,

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 30, 2025

These languages, many of which still survive today, are more than means of communication—they are archaeological strata encoded in speech. To ensure this wasn’t an artifact of sampling or contact with European languages, the team excluded creoles, mixed languages, and known colonial effects. Language , 83(2), 388–400.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 4, 2025

In a new study published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal 1 , researchers from institutions across Europe compiled the most comprehensive cross-cultural knot database to date. By analyzing 338 distinct knots from archaeological archives and museum collections, they discovered a surprisingly stable repertoire. .

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Anthropology.net

MAY 2, 2025

Rethinking the Archaeology of Contact For decades, the presence or absence of European trade goods—glass beads, iron knives, brass kettles—has guided archaeologists in determining whether a North American Indigenous site was occupied before or after European contact. If European objects were found, the site was “historic.”

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Anthropology.net

FEBRUARY 7, 2025

A recent study published in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 1 takes a significant step toward answering these questions. The Engraved Stones of the Levant The researchers focused on five artifacts from four archaeological sites: Manot Cave, Amud Cave, Qafzeh Cave, and Quneitra.

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 5, 2025

Researchers have uncovered a collection of systematically shaped bone tools at Olduvai Gorge, dating back to 1.5 Bone tools found in Olduvai, photographed in the Pleistocene Archaeology Lab of CSIC. Bone tools found in Olduvai, photographed in the Pleistocene Archaeology Lab of CSIC.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 29, 2025

While the southern lowlands began to host reindeer hunters and mobile foragers, the highlands and islands of Scotland remained largely uncharted in the archaeological record. Evidence has trickled in from sites in Yorkshire and Kent, but Skye, until now, was off the archaeological map. Suggested Related Research Grimm, S.

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 10, 2025

Unlike many other archaeological sites that have been repeatedly excavated over decades, this cave has only recently been investigated systematically. As researchers continue to study the material from Grotta della Lea, the site promises to deepen our understanding of the people who thrived in Europe’s last great Ice Age.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 2, 2025

Credit: Ben Marwick At Longtan, researchers uncovered 53 Quina scrapers and 14 cores—blocks of stone from which scrapers were struck. These artifacts suggest that the inhabitants of Longtan were engaging in complex tool-making behavior typically attributed to Neanderthals in Europe. Or, more likely, could we find a Denisovan?

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Anthropology.net

AUGUST 18, 2024

While genetic data has estimated the arrival of Homo sapiens in Australia to be under 50,000 years ago, archaeological findings suggest an earlier presence, possibly as far back as 65,000 or even 80,000 years ago. Until recently, most archaeological efforts concentrated on the southern route.

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Anthropology.net

JULY 30, 2024

The deserts of northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula have long been the focus of archaeological research, revealing their roles as cradles of early human civilization and migration routes through so-called “green corridors.” Describing sediments and sampling them for dating at Narabeb.

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Anthropology.net

FEBRUARY 18, 2025

One such discovery has emerged from the archaeological site of Jebel Faya, a rock shelter nestled in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Examples of retouched artifacts from the stratigraphically youngest Middle Palaeolithic assemblage at Jebel Faya, Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 23, 2025

A Quiet Revolution in Clay In the archaeological record of East and Central Asia, the earliest ceramics are often associated with the late Upper Paleolithic to Mesolithic transition—typically tied to slow-burning hearths, storage pits, and seasonal camps. Related Research and Further Reading Kuzmin, Y. link] Kuzmin, Y.

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 17, 2025

. “This is the first time we’ve been able to document half a millennium of continuous, large-scale production of mollusk-based purple dye in a single place,” said Golan Shalvi, lead author of the study and director of excavations at the University of Haifa’s Zinman Institute of Archaeology. link] Mylona, D.

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 25, 2025

Stone tools are often thought of as deliberately crafted artifacts, chipped and shaped by early hominins to serve a particular function. But new research suggests that at least some of the earliest tools may not have been made, but rather, found.

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Anthropology.net

FEBRUARY 7, 2025

For centuries, the study of prehistoric life has relied on the fragile remnants of bones and artifacts. The researchers at El Mirón extracted this ancient genetic material to uncover the presence of humans, wolves, cave lions, and even hyenas, whose very existence in Iberia at this time had previously been uncertain. No Problem.

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 10, 2025

In a new paper published in Advances in Archaeological Practice 1 , Ward and his colleagues are calling for museums to take a more ethical, culturally informed approach to caring for the bones of animals, particularly those tied to Indigenous traditions. Are they places where we treat archaeological objects as inanimate things?

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Sapiens

APRIL 3, 2024

In museum archives, researchers found photos of remains from Paleolithic children who had belonged to a group of early Homo sapiens in Eurasia. Their remains and the artifacts found with them shed light on this major turning point in human evolution. Not all fossil discoveries happen in the field. No such cast was made of Ksâr ‘Akil 4.

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Anthropology.net

AUGUST 26, 2024

Recent archaeological findings 1 in West Papua have unveiled new insights into one of the most significant migrations in human history—the journey of early Homo sapiens into the Pacific Islands. This site, rich in archaeological deposits, provided a window into the lives of the early humans who inhabited the region.

Humanities 104

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Teaching Anthropology

SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

The SWP field school offers UTM students the opportunity to be trained in archaeological excavation within their campus grounds. Teaching prompted us to reassess our skills and rediscover the motivations that led us to pursue archaeology originally.

Archaeology 130

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Anthropology.net

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

Recent archaeological findings suggest that the Bronze Age board game, Hounds and Jackals—also known as Fifty-Eight Holes—may have originated not in Egypt, as previously believed, but in Asia. According to Crist and co-author Rahman Abdullayev, more precise evidence is needed from securely dated archaeological contexts.

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Anthropology.net

OCTOBER 14, 2024

Archaeological discoveries in East Timor’s Laili rock shelter have unveiled evidence 1 of ancient human habitation dating back approximately 44,000 years. Excavations revealed thousands of stone artifacts and animal bones, indicating human presence approximately 44,000 years ago.

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Anthropology.net

MAY 24, 2024

Introduction: A Landmark Discovery in Qaleh Kurd Cave In a momentous archaeological breakthrough, French and Iranian researchers have unearthed compelling evidence of early human habitation in Iran's Central Plateau, pushing back the known timeline of human settlement in the region by an astonishing 300,000 years.

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Anthropology.net

MAY 16, 2024

Discovered in Poland, this artifact challenges our understanding of their cognitive abilities and symbolic culture. This 130,000-year-old relic captivates researchers, hinting at the cognitive prowess of our distant relatives. Journal of Archaeological Science , 166 (105971), 105971. Image credit: T. 1 Płonka, T.,

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Anthropology.net

SEPTEMBER 21, 2024

However, the researchers caution that this type of skeletal change is not exclusive to riding; other activities, such as prolonged sitting or riding in carts, can also produce similar alterations. Hosek said, “In archaeology, there are vanishingly few instances in which we can tie a particular activity unequivocally to skeletal changes.”

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Anthropology.net

APRIL 6, 2024

In 1994, the Schöningen open-cast coal mine yielded an astonishing archaeological treasure: remarkably well-preserved hunting weapons dating back 300,000 years. Unveiling Woodworking Expertise The meticulous examination of wooden artifacts has uncovered a sophisticated understanding of woodworking among early humans. 1 Leder, D.,

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