Working bone into a streamlined, aerodynamic spear point, then hafting it onto a shaft with tar that had to be […]
Tag: Archaeology
Research roundup: Tattooed tardigrades and splash-free urinals
April is the cruelest month Also: The first live footage of a colossal baby squid; digitally unfolding an early medieval […]
A 2,000-year-old battle ended in fire, and a tree species never recovered
Then everything changed when the Fire Nation—sorry, the Han Empire—attacked. Han rose to power in the wake of Qin’s collapse, […]
Painted altar in Maya city of Tikal reveals aftermath of ancient coup
It’s always about colonialism The altar marks the presence of an enclave of foreign elites from Teotihuacan. This rendering shows […]
Prehistoric bone tool cache suggests advanced reasoning in early hominins
A prehistoric bone tool “factory” Credit: CSIC Bone tools shaped by knapping, however, were much rarer until about 500,000 years […]
Study: Hot Vesuvian ash cloud really did turn a brain to glass
According to Petrone et al., usually such brain matter would be “saponified” by the extreme heat—that is, turned to soap […]
Seven cool science stories we almost missed this month
Peruvian mummy tattoos, the wobbly physics of spears and darts, quantum “cat states,” and more. Lasers revealed tattoos on the […]
A telltale toilet reveals “lost” site shown in Bayeux Tapestry
Seats of power The Bayeux Tapestry, showing King Harold riding to Bosham, where he attends church and feasts in a […]
Skull long thought to be Cleopatra’s sister’s was actually a young boy
Scientists have demonstrated that an ancient human skull excavated from a tomb at Ephesos was not that of Arsinoë IV, […]
Archaeologists just mapped a Bronze Age megafortress in Georgia
pastoral nomads, please stop here This recently mapped Bronze Age fortress is just one among hundreds. This orthographic photo shows […]