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An artist’s imaginary depiction of a pharaoh burning herbs in a ritual. Source: Fair use

Dealing in the Past: How Did Ancient Egyptians Get Nicotine and Cocaine?

The discovery of traces of nicotine and cocaine within 3,000-year-old human remains, which came to be known as Egypt’s cocaine mummies, raised curious questions amongst historians. Challenging...
Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, where some of the projectiles used to date the introduction of archery in the Andes were found. Source: SL-Photography/Adobe Stock

Rise of Archery in Andes Mountains Now Dated to 5,000 Years Ago

By Greg Watry/ UC Davis When did archery arise in the Americas? And what were the effects of this technology on society? These questions have long been debated among anthropologists and...
Artist's reconstruction of a woolly dog by Karen Carr (The Conversation) and the pelt of Mutton, a Coast Salish wool dog who died in 1859. (Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution/ Science)

Mutton’s Legacy: The Last Woolly Dogs of the Americas

By Audrey T. Lin, Chris Stantis, Logan Kistler/The Conversation Dogs have been in the Americas for more than 10,000 years. They were already domesticated when they came from Eurasia with the first...
Aztec daily life seen in the Mural of the Aztec market of Tlatelolco by Diego Rivera. Palacio Nacional, Mexico City. Source: Diego Rivera/CC BY-SA 3.0

Daily Life of the Aztecs: A Blend of Agriculture, Hierarchy, and Culture

In the history of the Mesoamerican civilizations, the Aztecs occupy a major position. A lot of their history is known to us, mostly because of their contact with the Spanish conquistadors. But we...
Native Alaskan Eskimo woman - could have Chinese lineage.   Source: Agnieszka/Adobe Stock

Breakthrough in Peopling of the Americas Finds a Female Lineage from China

A groundbreaking new study has harnessed the power of mitochondrial DNA to trace a marvelous female lineage from northern coastal China all the way to the Americas. This has revealed compelling...
Ancient voyages set off to discover new realities. Source: XaMaps/Adobe Stock

8 Ancient Voyages That Changed the World

Throughout human history, the call of the unknown has driven explorers to embark on daring voyages into uncharted waters. These intrepid explorers have braved treacherous seas, and unknown dangers,...
The new study shows how horses were domesticated by the Native Americans before the Europeans came. Source: André Ulysses De Salis

Study Upends European Narrative of Horse Domestication in the USA

Horses and the American West – not just a recipe for the classic Western films of 20th century Hollywood, but a long and storied association. Now a study has revealed this extends further back into...
Stone projectile points discovered buried inside and outside of pit features at the Cooper’s Ferry site, Area B. Source:Oregon State University

Cooper’s Ferry Site Yields Oldest Stone Weaponry Found in the Americas

Examination of stone tools excavated at the Cooper Ferry’s site in Idaho has revealed the presence of humans in North America 16,000 years ago. Having left behind distinctive Clovis points, their...
New study refutes idea that the settling of the Americas took place earlier than previously thought. Source: JohanSwanepoel / Adobe Stock  By Sahir Pandey

Claims for Early Settling of the Americas Challenged By New Study

When were the Americas settled? When did humans first set foot there? These leading questions continue to baffle scientists and historians alike, as ever emerging new evidence sets the date back, or...
Portrait of Native American man. The study of Native American origins has long obsessed archaeologists and anthropologists. Source: Chinnachote / Adobe Stock

Study of Ancient Teeth Reveals Native American Origins Lie in Siberia

A team of researchers has launched another attempt answering questions about Native American origins, in other words when and how the Americas were first populated. By analyzing DNA samples and a...
The thirteen towers of Chankillo, Peru

Chankillo: The Oldest Solar Observatory in the Americas

Located in the Peruvian coastal desert at the Casma-Sechin Oasis stands the incredible monumental complex of Chankillo. The archaeological site consists of a fort located on a hilltop and thirteen...

Controversy at Hueyatlaco: When Did Humans First Inhabit the Americas?

What happens when an archaeological site is so extraordinary, that it threatens to eclipse everything we knew about history up to that point? Some discoveries are just too hard to fully grasp, and...
10,000-Year-Old Dog Bone Supports Theory of Coastal Route to the Americas

10,000-Year-Old Dog Bone Supports Theory of Coastal Route to the Americas

Researchers have found the oldest known dog remains in the Americas and they believe the ancient dog bone fragment reveals how the canine and its brethren likely reached that part of the world. How...
Discovery of 9,000-Year-Old Female Hunter in Peru Is Rewriting History

Discovery of 9,000-Year-Old Female Hunter in Peru Is Rewriting History

A grave in Peru has been shown to contain the world’s oldest female hunter. This news is potentially explosive. It may change our understanding of gender relations in the ancient Americas and even...
Team members entering the Chiquihuite cave, a key site in researching the peopling of the Americas. Source: Devlin A. Gandy

New Evidence Pushes Back Peopling of the Americas Almost 20,000 Years

New research supports the idea that the Clovis-first theory is outdated. Two studies published in the journal Nature provide more evidence that the peopling of the Americas took place well before 13,...
Professor Charles Hapgood believed strange, unexplained maps were signs of a long-forgotten civilization of ancient sea kings. Source: Freesurf / Adobe Stock

Charles Hapgood and the Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings

Charles H. Hapgood began his book, Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings , by stating, after studying composite maps at least partially derived from ancient sources, that ancient voyagers traveled from pole...
The first waves of Caribbean inhabitants were diverse. Source: pxfuel / Public Domain.

DNA Studies Reveals True Origins of First Inhabitants of the Caribbean

Archaeologists and anthropologists know that the Caribbean was one of the last parts of the Americas settled by humans, but a new study of DNA has revealed when, how, and where the original Caribbean...
Representation of Vikings in South America. Source: Nejron Photo / Adobe stock

Were Vikings in South America Over 400 Years Before Columbus?

Here is presented the widely dismissed account that probably sometime in the mid-11th century, Danish Vikings from Schleswig and the Danelaw (as ascertained from runic rock inscriptions) arrived at...
Original position of the skeletal remains inside submerged cave of Muknal.    Source: Jerónimo Avilés /© 2020 Hubbe et al CC BY 4.0

First Americans Were More Diverse Than Thought

Scientists are claiming current theories “over-simplify” how the Americas were populated. Many of us were once taught that the Americas were void of humans until around 13,000 years ago. Authors like...
Native Americans see the arrival of an explorer’s ship. Credit: ginettigino / Adobe Stock

Amerigo Vespucci: The Forgotten Explorer Who Named America

The age of discovery is certainly one of the most dramatic periods of European history - a period of revolutionary voyages and contacts with the fascinating and mysterious New World . Many prominent...
One of the mummies found in the Tuna El-Gebel burial site. (Ministry of Antiquities) Head and torso of god Xipe Totec found at Ndachjian–Tehuacán archaeological site. (Melitón Tapia/ INAH) A sword from the Talaiotic civilization has been found in Mallorca, Spain. (Diario de Mallorca) Carvings made by people in Vichama, Peru 3,800 years ago suggest rain arrived just in time. (Ministerio de Cultura de Perú ) Temple remains found at Heracleion. (Christoph Gerigk - Frank Goddio/ Hilti Foundation / Egyptian Anti

The Biggest and Best Archaeological Discoveries of 2019

2019 was another exciting year for archaeology. Modern technology and extensive excavations have revealed a slew of fascinating finds – from mummies with masks to a mini Göbekli Tepe, we’ve been...
Everything is distinct in the shaman’s secret world. Source: Ammit /Adobe Stock

The Shaman’s Secret World: Living in Light and Darkness

Shamanism is described in Shamanism, Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy as a every ancient coherent system of esoteric beliefs and practices that attempt to organize and explain the interrelationship...
Stone cist graves on Saba represent the burial practices of British settlers. Source: J Haviser/ Antiquity Publications Ltd

Tiny Caribbean Island is the Only Place with Cist Graves in the Americas

Stone cist graves on the Caribbean island of Saba are found to represent a cultural continuity with the burial practices of rural 17th-century British settlers. It is known that since the Bronze Age...
The residents of San Miguel De Gualdape were overcome with sickness in the swampy environment. (NPS / Public Domain)

To the Shores of Distant Death: The Failed Colony of San Miguel De Gualdape

The year is 1526. Onto the wild and wooded lands of what is today Georgia in the United States, European feet had never permanently walked. These forests and river valleys, the wild rolling hills of...

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