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A new paper introduces 570 examples of Maliwawa rock art in rock shelters in Western Arnhem Land in Australia’s Northern Territory. This image shows a rock art depiction of a Maliwawa macropod found in the Namunidjbuk clan estate of the Wellington Range. Source: (P. Taçon / Australian Archaeology)

Ancient Lifeforms and Odd Humans Depicted in Maliwawa Rock Art

The timeworn relationship between humans and animals has been found depicted on 570 ancient paintings discovered within 87 rock shelters in Western Arnhem Land in Australia’s Northern Territory. In...
The cave painting, believed to represent the now extinct giant sloth lemur, was discovered in the a limestone cave located in a nature reserve in western Madagascar. Source: gudkovandrey / Adobe Stock

Unique Painting of Extinct Giant Sloth Discovered in Madagascar Cave

A team of scientists exploring a cave in western Madagascar have discovered an ancient painting which they are calling the “only known drawing of an extinct giant lemur” that once lived in the island...
Uncovering the history of timekeeping through archaeological exploration and historic research. Source: jozefklopacka/Adobe Stock

A History of Timekeeping: Mankind’s Obsession With Time

From our humble hunter-gatherer beginnings to the most advanced of ancient civilizations, the sun and moon have always held a particular fascination for humanity. Several forms of tools, monuments,...
Assortment of the Aboriginal rock art found at the Yilbilinji site in Limmen National Park, Australia.    Source: L.M. Brady / Antiquity Publications Ltd

Study Reveals Rare Aboriginal Rock Art’s Link With Sorcery and Magic

In Australia , a team of researchers have made some dramatic new findings regarding one of the world’s most important rock art assemblages. This Aboriginal rock art is among the very few examples of...
Panel 2, graphic unit 3, which has been affected by calcite formations and humidity   Source: Blanca Ochoa et al. / Antiquity Publishers Ltd

40,000-Year-Old Cave Art Fills Basque Country Void

New cave paintings discovered in northern Spain date back 40,000 years and demonstrating two distinct artistic styles. According to a new paper published by lead author Blanca Ochoa, in journal...
Main: Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde, ruins of an Anasazi Pueblo people, near where the rock art was found. Source:  Dietmar / Adobe stock.             Inset: The spiral patterns that appear prominently in the rock carvings are thought to be a symbol among ancestral Pueblo people for the sky or the sun. Source: Jagiellonian University

Rock Art Puzzle of Pueblo People Solved

A mysterious series of petroglyphs made by the Pueblo people of southwestern United States have been deciphered. These beautiful examples of rock art have been proven to record the passage of the...
Ancient rock art discovered in Egypt

Art Before the Pharaohs: 10,000 BC Paintings Found in Egypt

In Egypt, a number of mysterious inscriptions and examples of rock art have been found in the Sinai. It is estimated that some of the images could be 12,000 years old. The find is providing insights...
The vandalism caused to 3000-year-old rock carvings in Pangaion Hills.	Source: 	Greece High Definition

What a Way to Start the Year! 3 Shocking Acts of Vandalism in First Week

The first week of January brings three shocking acts of vandalism on ancient monuments in Greece , England and Wales, and the ignorant vandals are accused of lacking education, knowledge and...
Baloon Cave, before (left) and after (right) the 2018 explosion that destroyed ancient Aboriginal rock art.       Source: Paul Tacon (after) / Selina Goodreid (Before)

8000-Year-Old Aboriginal Rock Art Destroyed During Bushfire

Archaeologists confirm the ancient Aboriginal rock art in Australia’s Baloon Cave cannot be restored after fire damage, caused by a recycled plastic walkway, ignited into a fireball in 2018. Ancient...
The Primordial art of the Lascaux Cave. Source: Public domain

Lascaux Cave and the Stunning Primordial Art of a Long Lost World

Glimpsing into the mind of the Paleolithic man is by no means an easy task. The veil of time is a continuous mystery, a fog that envelops the early history of humans and covers it with a shadow of...
The Indonesian cave art hunting scene panorama. Source: Credit: Adam Brumm, Agus Oktaviana

Indonesian Cave Art Demands Human Cultural Evolution Overhaul

A major discovery has been made in a limestone cave in Sulawesi, Indonesia - the earliest known hunting scene in the world has been identified on a hard to reach cliff face. At least 43,900 years ago...
Taurid meteor shower 13,000 years ago.

Prehistory Decoded at Gobekli Tepe: From a Cataclysmic Event Dawns the Origin and Perhaps the End of Civilization

Around 13,000 years ago, the Earth burned. A swarm of comet debris from the Taurid meteor stream had blasted the Americas and parts of Europe; the worst day in prehistory since the end of the ice age...
Digital tracing of Bison featured in rock art.

Archaeologists Identify First Prehistoric Figurative Cave Art in Balkans - It’s Symbolic!

There was an explosion of symbolism in human culture during the Paleolithic period. Around the world, examples of cave art, some of it rather strange , began cropping up over 35,000 years ago. But...
Matriarchal woman

Uncovering the Truth Behind Matriarchal Societies in the Ancient World

A theme common amongst the mythology of ancient cultures is a belief in the existence of a Golden Age , when humans lived uncorrupted, in peace and harmony, experiencing prosperity and societal...
Key images from the top human origins stories of 2018: Sophisticated tools and large, all-purpose handaxes from the Olorgesailie Basin in Kenya. (Human Origins Program, Smithsonian) Drawing of a Neandertal mother and a Denisovan father with their child, a girl, at Denisova Cave in Russia. (Petra Korlević) Neanderthal cave art in La Pasiega, Spain (C.D Standish, A.W.G. Pike and D.L. Hoffmann) Photograph of a footprint beside digitally-enhanced image of the same feature. (Duncan McLaren) The left hemi-maxilla

Five Things We Learned About Our Human Origins in 2018

The question of what makes us human is one that is fascinating to most of us, and for many the answer lies in looking back to our roots as a species. 2018 was a fantastic year for learning new and...
A piece of hematite found in Denisova cave was used as a crayon for art work in the cave.

Ancient Colored ‘Pencil’ Up To 50,000-Years-Old Found in Siberia

Cave-dwellers used hematite crayon for art work in Altai Mountains, say archeologists investigating a latest find in Siberia. The pre-historic artists were not Homo sapiens but Denisovans - a long-...
Hand images at Cosquer Cave. Researchers believe that Upper Paleolithic cave art depicting hands missing fingers may be explained by prehistoric ritual amputation practices.

Does Upper Paleolithic Cave Art with Missing Fingers Really Provide Evidence for Ritual Amputation?

In a research paper published in the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, three scientists: Brea McCauley, David Maxwell, and Mark Collard from the Simon Fraser public research university in British...
Some of the world's oldest cave paintings have revealed people had an ancient, yet advanced, astronomy. Animal symbols represent star constellations in the night sky, and are used to mark dates and events such as comet strikes, analysis from the University of Edinburgh suggests.

Wild Animals in the Sky? Prehistoric Cave Art Suggests Ancient Advanced Astronomy

Some of the world's oldest cave paintings have revealed how ancient people had relatively advanced knowledge of astronomy. The artworks, at sites across Europe, are not simply depictions of wild...
Figurative art depicting wild cattle, dated at about 40,000 years old, in a cave in East Kalimantan, Borneo.

Figurative Art Discovered Deep in Indonesian Cave is the Oldest in the World

Cave paintings offer an invaluable insight into the lives and minds of early humans. Experts, working in Borneo, Indonesia have made a potentially historic discovery in a remote karst cave system...
Uluru, also referred to as Ayers Rock, is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area. It has many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a World Heritage Site.

Aboriginal languages could reveal scientific clues to Australia’s unique past

The loss of Australian aboriginal languages could obstruct access to unique scientific information regarding Australia’s ancient geological history, according to a story reported this week by BBC...
Hand prints, animals and human forms found in Yucatan cave. Source: Sergio Grosjean / Youtube Screenshot

Uncertain Origins of Ancient Cave Paintings Found in the Yucatan Peninsula

A major discovery has been reported by archaeologists in the Yucatan Peninsula, in south-eastern Mexico. A team of experts has discovered some astonishing cave paintings deep in a remote jungle. The...
A carving of an extinct deer in the Asphendou Cave on Crete.

Greek Art Goes Palaeolithic: Cretan Cave Art Includes an Animal Extinct for 11,000 Years

More than 11,000 years ago, an Ice Age artist carefully carved the images of deer into the floor of a cave on Crete. Others would follow this person’s lead and soon the engravings became a jumble of...
Ancient art in the Altai Mountains, Russia. While the world’s best-known cave art exists in France and Spain, examples of it abound throughout the world.

Did Humans Speak Through Cave Art? Ancient Drawings and Language's Origins

When and where did humans develop language? To find out, look deep inside caves, suggests an MIT professor. More precisely, some specific features of cave art may provide clues about how our symbolic...
Paintings in the Kapova cave (Southern Urals).

A Double-humped Camel Provides Clues to Long-distance Paleolithic Travel

Researchers have discovered an unexpected painting after graffiti was removed at a cave in the Southern Urals – a double-humped camel. Now they are explaining what it means about Upper Paleolithic...

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