A mummy from ancient Egypt was heavily tattooed with sacred symbols, which may have served to advertise and enhance the religious powers of the woman who received them more than 3,000 years ago. Continue reading Symbols of protection against evil found on Egyptian mummy
Eight years of further excavations and study at the Indonesian cave site of Liang Bua have pushed back the time of disappearance of the ‘hobbits’ of Flores (Homo floresiensis) from as recently as 12,000 years ago to about 50,000 years ago, according to new findings published today (31 March, AEDT) in Nature. Continue reading Hobbits Died Out 50,000 Years Ago
Neanderthals, the closest known extinct relatives to humans, probably had to pick annoying bits of food out of their teeth from time to time. And now, scientists have evidence that these extinct cousins of modern humans may have done so with the help of prehistoric toothpicks.
Continue reading Neanderthal Table Manners: They Used Toothpicks, Too
A new discovery has revealed that the Vikings may have travelled hundreds of miles further into North America than previously thought. It’s well known that they reached the tip of the continent more than 1,000 years ago, but the full extent of their exploration has remained a mystery, writes historian Dan Snow.
People have been pointing out the resemblance of this recently discovered ancient mummy’s shoes to a pair of Adidas trainers, complete with their iconic stripes. Continue reading 1,500-Year-Old Mummy Appears To Be Wearing Adidas Trainers
EVANSTON, Ill. — A Northwestern University research team has taken CSI to a whole new level: employing sophisticated scientific tools to investigate details of the materials and methods used by Roman-Egyptian artists to paint lifelike mummy portraits more than 2,000 years ago. These visages of the dead are considered to be antecedents of Western portraiture. Continue reading Detective Scientists Discover Ancient Clues in Mummy Portraits
If you have ever composed a shirty email complaining about damaged goods, a mixed-up order or late delivery, you certainly weren’t the first.
An intricate tablet, thought to be the world’s oldest complaint ‘letter’ was written by a disappointed customer from ancient Babylonia, 3,766 years ago.
In it, ‘Nanni’ complains to a merchant about receiving the wrong grade of copper ore that’s arrived late and is slightly damaged.
Continue reading World’s oldest customer complaint translated
Finally a decent place to eat! Archaeologists digging in southern France have found a restaurant-like structure roughly 2,100 years old, making it one of the earliest such taverns in the western Mediterranean.
Continue reading 1st Century bar? Archaeological find in France offers glimpse
YORK, ENGLAND—An 11,000-year-old pendant has been discovered in lake-edge deposits at the Early Mesolithic site at Star Carr in North Yorkshire. It is triangular in shape, was carved from a single piece of shale, has a hole in one corner, and is engraved with a series of lines that scholars think could represent a tree, a map, a leaf, or tally marks. At first, the artifact was thought to be a natural stone, since the perforation was blocked by sediment. “It is unlike anything we have found in Britain from this period. We can only imagine who owned it, how they wore it, and what the engravings actually meant to them,” Nicky Milner of the University of York said in a press release. Shale beads, a piece of perforated amber, and two perforated animal teeth have also been recovered from the site. “The designs on our pendant are similar to those found in southern Scandinavia and other areas bordering the North Sea, showing a close cultural connection between northern European groups at this time,” added Chantal Conneller of the University of Manchester. Continue reading Beauty in antiquity: MESOLITHIC PENDANT DISCOVERED