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Rakau Momori Moriori tree carvings. Source: Royston Vasey / CC BY-SA 3.0

Endangered Heritage: The Rakau Momori Tree Carvings of the Moriori

Wood carving, or whakairo , has a long and rich history in Maori culture. Traditionally, Maori artisans, utilizing woods like totara, kauri and pohutukawa, crafted intricate designs laden with...
Large boab tree with coiled snake carving, northern Tanami Desert. Source: Darrell Lewis / Antiquity Publications Ltd

Tracking Down Ancient Artwork Carved into Australian Boab Trees

Archaeologists and historians from Australian National University, the University of Western Australia and the University of Canberra recently teamed up with a group of First Nations Australian...
Section of X-ray image of Vincent van Gogh self-portrait discovered at the back of another van Gogh painting housed in Edinburgh. Source: National Galleries of Scotland

Hidden Faces: Vincent van Gogh's Secret Self-Portrait

Vincent van Gogh, one of the most famous figures in 19th-century Western art history, is still surprising us. According to the National Galleries of Scotland, a previously hidden self-portrait of van...
Charcoal drawings from the Chauvet Cave in France, fabulous examples of artwork created by the Aurignacians. (Claude Valette / CC BY-SA 4.0)

Aurignacians: The First Artistic Culture?

Since the evolution of Homo sapiens approximately 1.8 million years ago, humans have advanced in many aspects of life, especially art. According to historians, the earliest record of humans engaging...
Archaeology Magazine has published its top ten discoveries for 2021. Source: Gorodenkoff / Adobe Stock

Archaeology Magazine’s Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries 2021

The top 10 ancient discoveries for 2021 have been announced by Archaeology Magazine . For the last 70 years Archaeology Magazine has been published by the Archaeological Institute of America and this...
Da Vinci Bust Myth Debunked By French Scientists

Da Vinci Bust Myth Debunked By French Scientists

We like to live by moral codes such as “credit where credit is due,” but in this story about Leonardo da Vinci it seems he was given credit for a famous artwork were it definitely was not due. The...
Anthony Romilio argues that the geese depicted in the 4,600-year-old- tomb painting at Meidum is actually an extinct goose species. Source: Public domain

'Mona Lisa of Ancient Egypt' Contains Extinct Goose

A University of Queensland paleontologist claims to have found evidence of an extinct goose species in a 4,600-year-old tomb painting dubbed the “Mona Lisa of Ancient Egypt.” The ancient painting was...
A trio of anthropomorphic figures from the Tanzanian cave art at the Amakhee 4 site.

Ancient Tanzanian Paintings of Bizarre Humanoids Perplex Experts

Rare, multidimensional art has been discovered in a Tanzanian cave shelter. However, the ritual scenes depicted in the ancient art don’t tally up the traditions of the modern Sandawe people...
Beached Canadian Artwork Sparks Controversy

Beached Canadian Artwork Sparks Controversy

An archaeologist from the Royal British Columbia Museum in Canada is being attacked online for “speculating” that a curious carved stone figure found on a western Canadian beach in British Colombia...
Tiara of Saitaphernes postcard

The Tiara of Saitaphernes: Wow Antique? Fake? Fine Art? Find Out

Some objects are especially prized because the story about them is so precious. The Tiara of Saitaphernes is certainly one of these “priceless” objects and its story is long and surprising. The Tiara...
Murillo’s original work (left), the botched restoration and an attempt to fix it. Source: Provided by Collector /Europa Press

Rare 17th Century Painting Deformed in Botched Restoration Job

Yet another piece of valuable Spanish religious art has been destroyed in a botched restoration job. The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables, is a 1678 AD oil painting by Spanish artist Bartolomé...
The Aboriginal rock art of Uluru that has been damaged, with stains of a dark fluid that can clearly be seen.    Source: Emma Haskin / ABC

Greasy Scumbags Vandalize Sacred Uluru’s Ancient Aboriginal Rock Art

Uluru, or Ayers Rock , is the massive natural sandstone monolith standing at the sacred heart of Australia’s Northern Territory’s ‘Red Centre’ and after years of abuse, now, ancient Aboriginal rock...
The leader of the excavation, archaeologist Daniele Morandi Bonacossi, and one of the Assyrian relief carvings unearthed in the northern Kurdistan region of Iraq.    Source: Alberto Savioli / Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project / University of Udine

3000-Year-Old Assyrian Reliefs Unearthed in ISIS Stomping Ground

Archaeologists have unearthed ancient carved Assyrian reliefs of a king in a procession of gods and goddesses riding on animals and mythical creatures. The Assyrian carvings are almost 3,000 years...
Detail of a self-portrait of Raphael, aged approximately 23.

Did Iconic Renaissance Artist Raphael Die From Too Much Sex?

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (known more commonly as Raphael) was a painter and architect who lived in Italy between the late 15th and early 16th centuries, during a period known as the High...
Amazing artwork was found on walls on a stone tomb in Siberia. Picture: Vladimir Kubarev/IAET SB RAS

5,000 Years Ago, Ancient Scientists Used Chemical Reactions to Create Pigments in Altai Mountains

By The Siberian Times reporter Scientists have unlocked intriguing 5,000-year-old secrets of prehistoric illustrators behind the stunning artwork of Karakol. These magnificent paintings found in the...
Fire in the frame of Notre Dame cathedral.

Notre Dame: How a Rebuilt Cathedral Could Be Just as Wonderful

The destruction of Notre Dame cathedral is lamentable. A wonderful icon has been largely destroyed by fire . However, we should not despair. Part of the reason this loss is so upsetting is because we...
Felice Varini artwork on Carcassonne Citadel, France.

Controversy Over Art Installation on the Stonework of one of France’s Greatest Medieval Sites

There has been a decidedly mixed reaction to an artist attaching geometric aluminium ring strips to, Carcassonne Fort one of the most famous medieval sites in France. Reports claim that the artist’s...
12,300-Year-Old Bone Pendants discovered in Alaska

12,300-Year-Old Bone Pendants May be Oldest Artwork Ever Discovered in Alaska

Carved bone pendants have been found at a prehistoric site in Alaska that may prove to be the very first known examples of artwork in the northern region of North America. Two pairs of pendants were...