archaeology

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Fossil Find Shakes Up Evolution Timeline

Ardipithecus ramidus lived in trees and walked upright

(Newser) - A primate fossil found in Africa in 1994 predates the famous “Lucy” skeleton by 1 million years and offers clues to human evolution, researchers say. “This is huge,” a paleoanthropologist tells the Washington Post. “This is the biggest discovery really since” Lucy. The researchers believe “...

Pair's Remains May Date to Trojan War

Find in ancient Troy could date to 1200 BC

(Newser) - In a discovery one professor calls “electrifying,” archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a couple believed to have lived during the Trojan War era in Turkey’s ancient city of Troy, Reuters reports. “If the remains are confirmed to be from 1200 BC it would coincide with...

Dozens of Sacrificed Girls Found at Inca Site

(Newser) - Dozens of carefully buried human sacrifices have been found in a coastal Inca site in Peru, reports the Telegraph. Most of the dead are teenage girls, and one appears to have been pregnant. The bodies, which still contain skin and hair, all bear signs of knife slashes along the neck....

Statue of Busty Woman May Be World's Oldest

Sexualized carving done 35K years ago: German scientists

(Newser) - German scientists have unearthed what may be the world’s oldest statue, a 35,000-year-old ivory carving of a busty woman. The 2.4 inch sculpture with extra-large breasts and an enlarged vulva was found in the same cave as a penis-shaped stone discovered in 2005, and may be an...

Opening Her Tomb Won't Tell Us Who Cleopatra Was
Opening Her Tomb Won't Tell Us Who Cleopatra Was
OPINION
Apr 22, 2009 10:05 AM CDT

Opening Her Tomb Won't Tell Us Who Cleopatra Was

Even Shakespeare had a hard time improving on her true story

(Newser) - If the tomb that archaeologists are about to start excavating in Egypt really is Cleopatra’s, what will that really tell us about the legendary queen? Aside from possibly clearing up questions about her heritage and cause of death, probably not much, writes Cleopatra expert Stacy Schiff in the New ...

China Finds Vast New Stretches of Great Wall

High-tech study finds hundreds of hidden miles

(Newser) - Chinese scientists have discovered huge sections of the Great Wall of China that have been concealed by sandstorms over time, reports the BBC. A high-tech study using infrared and GPS technology found that the barrier built to protect against northern invaders is up to 1000 miles longer than experts previously...

Archaeologist: Cleopatra, Mark Antony Tomb Is Close

Artifacts unearthed in Egypt hint at lovers

(Newser) - An eccentric Egyptian archaeologist believes he knows where Mark Antony and Cleopatra were buried, the AP reports. An excavation team has uncovered a mask fragment with an Antony-style cleft chin, coins bearing Cleopatra’s likeness, and 10 mummies from the same time period in the Toposiris Magna temple, hinting that...

Skeleton Hints at Cleopatra's African Heritage

But experts point out holes in BBC documentary's claim

(Newser) - Egyptian queen Cleopatra may have been of African rather than Greek ancestry, new findings suggest. A BBC archaeological documentary claims to have found the tomb of Cleopatra’s sister, Arsinoe, in Ephesus, Turkey. Arsinoe, who, according to legend, was killed on orders from her sister, had skull dimensions consistent with...

'Vampire' Unearthed in Venice
 'Vampire' Unearthed in Venice 
Mar 14, 2009 2:04 AM CDT

'Vampire' Unearthed in Venice

Gravediggers took steps to stop corpse feasting on other plague victims

(Newser) - Italian archeologists have discovered evidence of an ancient vampire-slaying ritual in a 16th-century plague pit near Venice, the AP reports. A female skeleton was unearthed with a brick wedged between her jaws, in what experts believe was an attempt by superstitious gravediggers to stop the corpse from eating through its...

Jewel of Maya Art Unearthed in Guatemala

Rare panels found in jungle city depict ancient legend of creation

(Newser) - Archaeologists reclaiming the Mayans' biggest city from the Guatemalan jungle have uncovered the oldest known depiction of the ancient civilization's creation myth, reports Reuters. The carvings depict the heroic twins of Maya legend emerging from the underworld surrounded by cosmic monsters. They appear on a pair of 26-foot-long panels at...

Ancient Footprints Reveal Path to Humanity

Tracks in Kenya are 1.5 million years old

(Newser) - Scientists have unearthed ancient footprints that reveal humanity's ancestors walked with a modern stride as long as 1.5 million years ago, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Researchers believe the tracks—left beside a muddy river bank in Kenya and preserved when the river changed course—belong to human ancestor Homo ...

4,300-Year-Old Tombs Unveiled Near Cairo

(Newser) - A pair of 4,300-year-old pharaonic tombs discovered at Saqqara indicate that the sprawling necropolis south of Cairo is even larger than previously thought, Egypt's top archaeologist said today. "We announce today a major, important discovery at Saqqara, the discovery of two new tombs dating back to 4,300...

Scientists Find 2,000-Year-Old Brain in Britain

Experts ask if head was severed by sacrifice or ritual burial

(Newser) - British archaeologists have unearthed an ancient skull carrying a startling surprise—an unusually well-preserved brain. Scientists said today that the mass of gray matter was more than 2,000 years old, making it the oldest ever discovered in Britain, the AP reports. One expert unconnected with the find called it...

The 11th Commandment: 'Thou Shalt Not Forge'

Unscrupulous scholars fake history to make a buck

(Newser) - Fraudulent biblical artifacts come a dime a dozen, but reputable archaeologists are turning out to be far less common, Nina Burleigh writes in the Los Angeles Times. The latest example involves an Israeli collector who claimed to have relics from the time of Christ. Declaring the items forgeries, authorities prosecuted...

Oldest-Known Nuclear Family Unearthed

Murdered Stone Age family found buried in group hug

(Newser) - The oldest nuclear family ever discovered has been found in a group hug in a Stone Age burial site, the Independent reports. Genetic testing revealed that the four skeletons buried in each other's arms at the site in Germany were a father, mother, and their two young sons. All had...

Jesus-Era Bling Dug Up in Jerusalem

2000-year-old earring discovered

(Newser) - A spectacular gold, pearl, and emerald earring, dating to the time of Jesus, has been discovered in Jerusalem, AP reports. The 2,000-year-old find, close to the Old City walls, is causing a sensation because Roman-era jewelry is rare as the city was ultimately destroyed and what survived was often...

Traces of the Real Crusoe Unearthed

Character was based on marooned Scotsman

(Newser) - A dig has unearthed remnants of the real-life Robinson Crusoe’s stay on an island west of Chile, the BBC reports. Daniel Defoe’s character is said to have been based on a sailor who was rescued from the island in 1709. Traces of his four-year presence include post-holes from...

Oldest Hebrew Text May Shed Light on Bible's David

(Newser) - Archeologists in Israel say they have dug up the oldest known example of Hebrew text, a find that could answer questions about the scope and power of the ancient kingdom of David, Reuters reports. Researchers found the 3,000-year-old pottery shards at an excavation site near where the Bible says...

Dig May Confirm Solomon's Mines

Biblical account matches unearthed copper center in Jordan

(Newser) - Science and the Bible have a rare moment of “confluence,” says an archaeologist who helped unearth possible proof of King Solomon's reign, Newsweek reports. In present-day Jordan, scientists have found a 10th-century BC copper production center that coincides with the rule of the Biblical king of Israel. A...

Vikings Recast as Cultured Fashionistas

(Newser) - Vikings were just as interested in preening and handicrafts as they were in war and pillaging, the Telegraph reports. In a bid to educate youngsters who could well have Viking ancestry, British researchers are trying to change the popular view of the Norse explorers. "It seems that the Vikings...

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