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A tribe of human ancestors, Homo erectus, wanders through the savannah past mammoth skeletons. Source: ratpack223/Adobe Stock)

The Risky Paleo Diets of Our Ancestors (Video)

The excavation of KNM-ER 1808, a Homo erectus specimen, in Kenya unearthed insights into the perilous dietary choices of our ancestors. The skeletal analysis revealed intriguing anomalies, such as...
The cranial remains of Vittrup Man, who ended up in a bog after his skull had been crushed by at least eight heavy blows. Source: Stephen Freiheit / Fischer et al., 2024, PLOS ONE / CC-BY 4.0

Research Reveals Complex Life of the Vittrup Man’s Danish Bog Body

An international team of scientists recently completed a comprehensive analysis of the remains of a body extracted from a peat bog in Denmark. Using DNA testing, plus various types of chemical...
A tribe of human ancestors, Homo erectus, wanders through the savannah past mammoth skeletons. Source: ratpack223/Adobe Stock)

The Risky Paleo Diets of Our Ancestors (Video)

The excavation of KNM-ER 1808, a Homo erectus specimen, in Kenya unearthed insights into the perilous dietary choices of our ancestors. The skeletal analysis revealed intriguing anomalies, such as...
Ancient human foraging for berries and edible plants in a dense forest. 	Source: Microgen/Adobe Stock

How Living Like a Hunter-gatherer Could Improve Your Health

By Nicholas Bourne /The Conversation Many of us want to live long, happy and healthy lives. Yet it’s often confusing to know the best way to achieve this, and many aspects of modern, westernized...
Aymara woman by the Titicaca Lake, collecting staples of an Andean Paleo diet.. Source: Rafal Cichawa/Adobe Stock

Andean Hunter-Gatherers Gathered Far More Than They Hunted!

A new study of human remains found at two archaeological sites in the mountains of Peru calls into question the primacy of hunting in ancient South American hunting-gathering cultures. While there is...
The excavated burial of Offord Cluny 203645. DNA has revealed he was a Sarmatian immigrant to Britain. Source: MOLA Headland Industry

Offord Cluny 203645: DNA Reveals Only Sarmatian Remains Known in Britain

After completing a DNA analysis of the remains of an individual who was buried near the village of Offord Cluny in Cambridgeshire, England in the second century AD, a team of scientists discovered...
(a) Photograph of the cauldron and what is left today. (b) artistic reconstruction of the cauldron as it would have looked when in use. Source: Wilkin et al. / iScience

Savoring the Past: Bronze Age Cauldrons' Residues Unveil Caucasus Cuisine

An analysis of protein residues from the Caucasus region (the transcontinental region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea) from the Maykop period (3700-2900 BC), has revealed a menu of deer,...
A perpetual stew or hunter’s stew, in a cauldron over an open fire. Source: shaiith/Adobe Stock

What is this Ancient Perpetual Stew Being Served in a Brooklyn Park?

Most folk have experienced the holistic satisfaction that comes after a good old bowl of stew, on a cold winter’s nights. However, this story tips traditional stew conventions on their head, as it’s...
‘Pompeii pizza’ fresco shows a flatbread with items on top. Source: Parco Archeologico Pompeii

Archaeologists Excavating In Pompeii Find Ancestral Pizza Revealed in Fresco

Earlier this year, a team of archaeologists delved into some delicious secrets hidden within the volcanic tomb that is Pompeii. Guess what? They have uncovered a fresco showcasing what looks like an...
A Neanderthal premolar tooth from the Almonda cave system, Portugal. Source: João Zilhão/University of Southampton

Tooth Enamel Reveals Differences Between Neanderthal and Human Survival Tactics

A team of archaeologists and earth scientists from the United Kingdom and Portugal have just completed a comparative study of Neanderthals who lived in western Europe approximately 100,000 years ago...
Pehlwani, also known as kushti, is a form of mud wrestling in South Asia. (Nikhilmore nimo / CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Exacting World of Kushti Mud Wrestling in India

Classical wrestling has its roots hidden far back in the history of the world. It has been present - in some form or other - in many of the world’s oldest civilizations. The ancient Greeks were mad...
The new research revealed that the giant snails were cooked on hot embers by hunter-gatherers in southern Africa thousands of years ago. (Gorodenkoff / Adobe Stock)

Prehistoric Hunters Roasted and Ate Giant Snails 170,000 Years Ago

In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have unearthed the remains of enormous snail shells at a 225,000-year-old archaeological site in southern Africa. What makes this find truly remarkable is...
Throughout history probiotic bacteria has been used to attain good health, even if ancient cultures did not yet understand the science behind why they worked. Source: Dr_Microbe / Adobe Stock

Medicinal Microbes of Our Ancestors: Tracing the History of Probiotics

In order to understand the history of probiotics, one needs to imagine a time before modern medicine , when people looked to nature to heal their ailments. Many ancient civilizations consumed...
Neanderthals were eating brown crabs like this 90,000 years ago.	Source: davemhuntphoto/Adobe Stock

Proof Emerges that Neanderthals Harvested and Ate Crabs 90,000 Years Ago

New research has once again illustrated that the Neanderthals were neither primitive nor unsophisticated. It shows that Neanderthals living in a cave near Lisbon, Portugal 90,000 years ago enjoyed a...
Allegorical portrait of an elderly Elizabeth I, who is said to have suffered the effects of poor dental hygiene and black teeth. Source: Public domain

Queen Elizabeth I Had Beggarly Black Teeth

Queen Elizabeth I of England was particularly fond of sugar. This was a time of great conquests and explorations to the New World for the royal houses of Europe, accompanied by expanding trade and...
The modern paleo diet is also called the caveman diet, as it’s inspired by Paleolithic eating habits. But is this meat-heavy depiction of ancient diets accurate?          Source: Gorodenkoff / Adobe Stock

Three Ancient Diets That Are Still Popular Today

There is no denying that the weight loss and diet industry in the Western world is huge. For many people, inspiration comes from our very early ancestors, who are believed to have eaten a simple,...
Neanderthal Diet Was Carnivorous, Shows Study of Tooth Enamel

Neanderthal Diet Was Carnivorous, Shows Study of Tooth Enamel

A team of scientists from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), in collaboration with colleagues from several scientific institutions in Germany, have just published a new study...
Humans have been bonding over popcorn and beer for centuries. What other ancient foods are we still eating today? Source: Nejron Photo / Adobe Stock

12 Ancient Foods That We Still Love Today

There are few things humans love more than food. For centuries, humans have been creating new, delicious recipes to enjoy. While we may eat somewhat differently nowadays (after all, I don’t think our...
Indigenous dogs of America. Source: dinopedia

Dog Meat: Jamestown Colonists Killed and Ate Indigenous Dogs

A new study of dog remains excavated from Jamestown, the first English colony in North America that wasn’t abandoned, presented at the American Association of Biological Anthropologists annual...
The “Norse Power” deodorant was designed by Norse experts in York, England so that anyone can have the Viking smell and all its powers!		Source: Visit York

Smell Like a Viking - The Viking Odor Was Strangely Superior!

Sailing, exploring, and raiding. Three activities well-loved by Vikings in their time. These Scandinavian seafarers spent their days as brutal warriors, pillaging and colonizing cities all over...
Eating insects goes back to the beginning of human time and continues today in more ways than you might think of. 		Source: freshidea / Adobe Stock

Eating Insects: The History of the Human Hunger for Bugs

Have you ever thought about eating insects? Do cricket cookies, chocolate covered silkworms, or smoke cured mopper moth caterpillars make you froth at the mouth? This certainly was the case for our...
One of the natural mummies in San Bernardo, Colombia. Source: The Gringo / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Natural Mummies of San Bernardo: Created by Earth, Gas or Fruit?

Were extremely well preserved natural mummies discovered in Colombia made by special high altitude climatic conditions, or was it the fruit they consumed? The mausoleum of San Bernardo is located...
Top Stories This Week: A Big Stink, a Sacred Clean Up, a Magic Brooch and More

Top Stories This Week: A Big Stink, a Sacred Clean Up, a Magic Brooch and More

In this top story overview, we highlight our most read articles this week, including a look at a study dispelling the ‘meat made us human’ hypothesis, an almighty stink in London, and a controversial...
These 1.5 million year old fossil bones with cut marks from Koobi Fora, Kenya were used in the latest study to understand the evolution of the human meat diet, which revealed that the story is more complex and less meaty.	Source: Briana Pobiner / GWU

Study Dispels Human Meat Diet Hypothesis, Changing Evolutionary Story

In developed societies across the world today, many are converting to vegetarianism or veganism, following diets that completely exclude meat or animal products from their consumption habits. Over...

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