Hunter-Gatherers in the Atacama Desert Resorted to Brutal Violence
A couple of years ago, a study alluded to Neolithic farmers in Chile’s Atacama Desert engaging in violent battles over resources. Turn back the clock further, and a newer study points to ancient hunter-gatherers from the same region engaging in brutal interpersonal violence on a consistent basis. This evidence has been gleaned from researching skeletons, […]
Manipulated Human Remains Found at Cave Site in Spain
The Iberian Peninsula witnessed a particular form of human burials in caves, which were later manipulated and modified, over thousands of years! In the southern Iberian Peninsula, this practice became common around the 4th millennium BC, though the cultural connotations for manipulating the dead are still not fully understood. A new study zeroed in on […]
2,000-Year-Old Roman ‘Wow Glass’ Morphs Into Something Beautiful
Two millennia ago, delicate glass vessels that potentially served as containers for wine, water, exotic fragrances in ancient Rome, shattered and met their untimely demise. They found their way into the layers of the earth, going through the environmental changes that accompany erosion and corrosion, subject to humidity, temperature, mineral exposure, amongst others. In their […]
Kofun Burial Chamber and Two Iron Swords Uncovered in Parking Lot Shrubbery
A fairly ordinary parking lot in Japan’s Nara prefecture has revealed the Kofun tomb of an elite person from the ancient era, accidentally uncovered as the area was being cleared to prepare it for shrubbery. The area near the renowned Horyuji temple, under excavation since spring 2022, led to the unearthing of various artifacts, removed […]
Galileo Gives the Finger: Defiance of the Catholic Church Immortalized
Who hasn’t heard of the legendary Renaissance era polymath, astronomer, physicist and engineer, who was declared a heretic by the Catholic Church – Galileo Galilei? The Italian’s defiance towards authority has been immortalized in the Galileo Museum in Florence, Italy, carefully and lovingly preserved by his admirers in an ornate and gilded glass bubble – the middle […]
Evidence of ‘World’s Earliest Pilgrimage’ Unearthed in Northwest Arabia
Recent excavations and ensuing studies conducted at the ancient stone monuments ‘mustatil’ (literally meaning rectangle) in northwest Arabia have revealed the presence of a cultic ritual that was held way back in prehistory. Neolithic people from the late 6th millennium BC conducted a complex set of social, political, and religious rituals, as evidenced from the […]
Europe’s Oldest Artillery Cannon Found Off the Coast of Sweden
A shipboard cannon, found off the west coast of Sweden, may be the oldest piece of artillery ever found in Europe! Discovered in the waters off Marstrand, the cannon has been crafted from cast copper-alloy and of small, muzzle-loading design. It was discovered by a recreational diver at a depth of 20 meters (65.6 ft) […]
Saxon Palace in Warsaw Contains a Secret 45-Meter-Long Tunnel Underneath Its Ruins!
Tragically destroyed during the Nazi offensive in World War II, the 17th century Saxon Palace in Warsaw is a prominent historical site. Archaeological work being carried out at the site and its remnants have revealed the presence of a mysterious 45-meter (147.6 ft) long tunnel under the ruins of the old palace, which is a […]
1,000-Year-Old Long-Haired Mummy Unearthed in Peru
In the heart of Miraflores, a part of Lima’s bustling city center, the well-preserved Huaca Pucllana ceremonial center site has yielded the remains of a 1,000-year-old mummy, dated to the beginning of the pre-Incan Ychsma culture (1100-1469 AD). The specimen is an adult individual with an intact jaw and long, brown hair, and was found […]
Scientists Think 1.4 Million-Year-Old Stone Spheroids Were Deliberately Crafted
In the 1960s, when scientists conducted excavations at a site dating back 1.4 million years in northern Israel, they encountered a baffling discovery – they uncovered nearly 600 stone ‘balls’ amongst other more conventional stone tools. Now, scientists have analyzed 150 of these baseball sized stones and concluded that our ancestors intentionally crafted these spheroids! […]