Anthropology.net

DECEMBER 3, 2024

Researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP) and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) have identified semi-domesticated maize specimens from caves in Brazil’s Peruaçu Valley, revealing a unique chapter in the crop’s evolutionary history.

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MARCH 18, 2025

13075 The research, published in Archaeometry 1 , suggests that before the first intentional toolmakers, hominins may have relied on "naturaliths"—sharp rock fragments created by natural geological or biological processes. These specimens and additional specimens can also be seen in figures S1-S28. Image by Michelle R. Bebber, Metin I.

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MARCH 14, 2025

By analyzing genetic divergences in early Homo sapiens populations, researchers argue that the biological capacity for language must have been present at least 135,000 years ago. The researchers propose that language might have played a key role. What Came First: Language or Symbolic Thought?

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Anthropology.net

NOVEMBER 24, 2024

Archaeology, the science of unearthing and interpreting humanity’s ancient past, is entering a transformative era. Researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Faculty of Arts have unveiled an innovative approach, combining Mixed Reality (MR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies with excavation practices.

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Anthropology.net

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

A collection of 15 marine fossils, deliberately transported to the cave over 39,800 to 54,600 years ago, reveals that Neanderthals may have been the first fossil collectors in human evolutionary history. “They have become the earliest fossil collectors known in our evolutionary history,” Benito Calvo emphasized.

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 26, 2025

The early human settlement of South America stands as one of the last great migrations in human history, yet the environmental conditions that shaped this journey remain debated. The archaeological evidence does not establish a clear causal link between human activity and megafaunal decline.

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Anthropology.net

DECEMBER 4, 2024

A recent study, published in the European Journal of Archaeology 1 , suggests these plaques may represent one of humanity's earliest attempts at recording genealogy—a non-verbal precursor to modern ancestry documentation. Journal : European Journal of Archaeology , 2004. Journal : Cambridge Archaeological Journal , 2009.

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Anthropology.net

DECEMBER 4, 2024

The Study of Ancient Alaskan Canids To explore this complex history, a team of archaeologists led by François Lanoë from the University of Arizona analyzed 111 sets of bones from canids unearthed at archaeological sites across interior Alaska. Selected terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene specimens ( C. lupus/familiaris ).

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Sapiens

FEBRUARY 25, 2025

A scientific study with important implications for archaeology in Britain and France was published in January. leading research excavations, the Durotriges project of the University of Bournemouth. While some of the press coverage about the new research portrayed the findings as a surprise, archaeologists were far from shocked.

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Anthropology.net

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

2025 The study, published in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 1 , examined 26 iron objects from burial sites at Częstochowa-Raków and Częstochowa-Mirów. The researchers propose that the meteoritic iron used in these artifacts likely came from a locally observed meteorite fall. Credit: Jambon et al.

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 26, 2025

Archaeology often deals with what remains—the bones, the stone tools, the charred remnants of ancient hearths. Anthropologist Lisbeth Loutderback extracting plant residues from a metate at an archaeological site on public land in southcentral Oregon.

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 27, 2025

​ a) Location of early metallurgical activities in Anatolia and Gre Fılla archaeological site. Among the architectural remnants and everyday artifacts, researchers have uncovered compelling evidence of early copper use and production.​ b) The context where the vitrified material (GRE-VRF) was found.

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Anthropology for Beginners

DECEMBER 20, 2023

style='mso-element:field-begin'> TOC o "1-4" h z u Archaeology of power and identity: the political use of the discipline. style='mso-element:field-begin'> TOC o "1-4" h z u Archaeology of power and identity: the political use of the discipline.

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Anthropology.net

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

The Archaeological Indicators of Intentional Burial Determining intentional burial practices relies on distinguishing human-placed items from naturally occurring elements. For this study, researchers examined skeletal positioning, potential grave goods, and signs of deliberate excavation. Been et al., 1 Been, E., & Barzilai, O.

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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. Such results hold a lot of potential for future research in various disciplines." Related Research **Pohl, W.

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DECEMBER 17, 2024

The researchers argue that the victims’ treatment was an act of dehumanization—an attempt by the attackers to reduce their enemies to the status of animals. The researchers propose that the violence may have been driven by social tensions rather than resource competition. Early Bronze Age Britain (c. link] Smith, G.

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 11, 2025

For years, researchers debated who these people were. Now, a study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science 1 has used ancient DNA and isotopic analysis to answer that question—and in doing so, has provided new insight into a war that shaped the history of East Asia. Further support came from isotopic analysis.

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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. Discovered 1 only recently, this rock-shelter sits 40 meters above a tributary of the Zeravshan River, approximately 10 kilometers north of Panjakent.

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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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Society for Classical Studies

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

This includes a core strength in archaeological and allied approaches to the study of the ancient Mediterranean and the Near East, complemented by scholarship focused on the ancient Americas and East Asian antiquity.

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Anthropology.net

FEBRUARY 15, 2025

Could natural selection alone turn wolves into early dogs quickly enough to match the archaeological record? Led by David Elzinga and colleagues from multiple universities, the research suggests that, under the right conditions, wolves could have evolved into dogs much faster than previously thought—possibly within just 8,000 years.

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Anthropology.net

NOVEMBER 9, 2024

Recent research 1 has unveiled that multiple Denisovan populations existed, each uniquely adapted to their environments and contributing beneficial genes to various human populations through several distinct interbreeding events. Yet, many questions remain unanswered.

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Anthropology.net

OCTOBER 30, 2024

Collaborating with the team behind First Weapons , a television series aired by ABC, researchers employed state-of-the-art biomechanical tools to measure the energy, speed, and overall efficiency of these tools in combat. Australian Archaeology , 82 (1), 2–11. 1 Diamond, L. link] 2 Hiscock, P., O’Connor, S.,

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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

MARCH 11, 2025

For decades, researchers have debated the nature of their interactions. Exposed section of archaeological sediments dated to to 110 thousand years ago at Tinshemet cave A new study, published in Nature Human Behaviour 1 , brings fresh insight into this question. "Our Related Research Hublin, J.-J. Credit: Yossi Zaidner.

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Anthropology.net

JANUARY 30, 2025

A new study published in Science 1 offers the most detailed genetic reconstruction yet of the domestication and dispersal of sheep, revealing how their history is intertwined with human migration, trade, and technological innovation. Sheep in arid landscape, southeastern Morocco. Photo by J. Read more

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Anthropology.net

NOVEMBER 23, 2024

A New Chapter in the Alphabet's History Previously, scholars believed the alphabet emerged in or near Egypt as a tool for simplifying the complex hieroglyphic and cuneiform systems of the time. The find also highlights the importance of interdisciplinary archaeological work.

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Anthropology.net

DECEMBER 4, 2024

By analyzing one million words of Akkadian cuneiform, researchers unearthed fascinating connections between emotional states and specific body parts, offering fresh insights into human emotional experience through time. However, researchers caution that linguistic descriptions alone may not capture the full scope of emotional experience.

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Anthropology.net

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

However, the scale of ochre extraction and the evident skill involved at Lion Cavern marks this site as a unique focal point in the history of human creativity and ritual. The Archaeological Process: Tracing Ochre’s Journey The analysis at Lion Cavern involved 173 ochre samples from 15 different sites across Africa.

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Anthropology.net

JANUARY 19, 2025

An Ancient Cave with Modern Questions Franchthi Cave, nestled in the Peloponnesian peninsula of Greece, has been a silent witness to 40,000 years of human history. It serves as a critical archaeological site for understanding the transition from Mesolithic hunter-gatherers to Neolithic agriculturalists.

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Anthropology.net

FEBRUARY 7, 2025

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. This study highlights the resilience of prehistoric populations and the hidden histories still waiting to be uncovered.

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Anthropology.net

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

This research not only illuminates the genetic identity of the Picenes but also provides valuable insights into the broader demographic shifts that shaped Central Italy before and after the Roman conquest. Our understanding of them has primarily come from archaeology—richly adorned graves, weapons, and evidence of trade.

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Anthropology.net

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

A groundbreaking study 1 of ancient human DNA from the Oakhurst rock shelter in South Africa is shedding new light on population history in one of the world’s earliest regions of modern human activity. ” Despite these challenges, the research team was able to construct a time series of genomes spanning 10,000 to 1,300 years ago.

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NOVEMBER 5, 2024

Ancient Mud Unlocks 130,000 Years of Australia’s Fire Management History Australia’s relationship with fire extends back thousands of years, with Indigenous land management practices deeply shaping the continent’s ecology.

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Anthropology.net

FEBRUARY 24, 2025

Within a few decades, they built an empire that stretched from the Eurasian steppe to the heart of Central Europe, reshaping political landscapes and leaving an imprint on European history. The researchers found no widespread East Asian ancestry among the European populations of the Carpathian Basin following the Huns' arrival.

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Anthropology.net

MARCH 13, 2025

A new genetic and archaeological study 1 has revealed that leopard cats ( Prionailurus bengalensis ), small wild felines native to East Asia, lived alongside people in China’s early agrarian societies for at least 3,500 years—only to disappear from human settlements centuries before the arrival of domestic cats via the Silk Road.

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Anthropology.net

AUGUST 19, 2024

While the answer remains elusive, a combination of archaeological and biological evidence provides clues, suggesting cooking may have begun as early as 2 million years ago. Archaeological Evidence: Fire Control and Cooking Sites The archaeological search for the origins of cooking hinges on evidence of fire control.

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