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The sarcophagi of Carajia, the emblematic image of the lost culture of the Chachapoya Cloud Warriors. Source: newfotografer / Adobe Stock

Craniums and Controversies of the Chachapoya Cloud Warriors

Over a thousand years ago, in the mists of the cloud forests of northern Peru, near the source of the mighty Amazon River, the Chachapoya Cloud Warriors reigned supreme. Long before the emergence of...
Adam and Eve illustration.  Source: Mariephotos/Adobe Stock

The Two People We're All Related To (Video)

Embedded within each individual lies the potential to unlock the profound saga of their ancient lineage . Mitochondria, inherited solely from the maternal line, and the Y chromosome, passed down...
Representative image of the impact of ancient retrovirus on evolution. Source: alexkich / Adobe Stock

Brain’s Evolutionary Explosion Linked to Ancient Retrovirus Infection

A new study has unraveled a mystery that is key to understanding the course of human and animal evolution. A team of genetic researchers from Altos Labs at the Cambridge Institute of Science in the...
The chamber under excavation. East side mould removed. The plastic tubes are samples for environmental DNA. Source: Karl-Göran Sjögren / University of Gothenburg

Missing Body Parts from 5000-Year-Old Dolmen in Sweden Poses Intriguing Questions

The first analysis results now confirm that the grave in Tiarp is one of the oldest stone burial chambers in Sweden . “It’s an early grave which dates to the Early Neolithic period, about 3500 BC,”...
Experts conducted testing on an Irish bog body found in Bellaghy, dating back over 2,000 years. Source: PSNI

Shattered Bog Body Dated To 2,500 Years Old Unearthed

Last October, police in Northern Ireland were perplexed after the discovery of human bones and body parts, in peatland. After extensive tests, it’s now known that the remains were not of a modern...
Image of books and family tree diagrams, tracing surname origins. Source: Bazoom

How to Sleuth Your Ancestral History From Your Surname

Have you ever wondered where your last name comes from or what hidden stories it might hold? Embarking on a surname search journey can be both enlightening and engaging. With curiosity and clever...
Artist's illustration symbolically depicting the research results. Source: Sayo Studio/Nature

Ancient DNA Reveals Reason for High Multiple Sclerosis Rates in Europe

Researchers have created the world's largest ancient human gene bank by analyzing the bones and teeth of almost 5,000 humans who lived across Western Europe and Asia up to 34,000 years ago. By...
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...
Representative image of a Neanderthal man. Source: sam / Adobe Stock

Do Morning People Have Neanderthals to Thank for Being Early Risers?

Are you a morning person? You might have Neanderthals to thank for that! In a revelatory study, scientists have unearthed a fascinating genetic link between modern humans and our Neanderthal...
Ötzi Tyrolean Iceman continues to be a perplexing mystery in the realm of archaeology. Source: YouTube screenshot/Ancient Geographic

Ötzi the Iceman: The Archaeological Discovery that Changed Everything (Video)

In the unforgiving terrain of the Alps, a 5,300-year-old saga unfolds as the Tyrolean Iceman, Ötzi , succumbs to a calculated act of violence . Shot from a distance, an arrow pierces him, severing a...
Wooly mammoth. Source: thejokercze / Adobe Stock.

Can This Man Bring Back the Woolly Mammoth? (Video)

Since 2015 a visionary geneticist in Boston, Professor George Church of Harvard Medical School, has been at the forefront of a scientific endeavor that challenges the boundaries of possibility. He...
Study reveals Denisovan genetic make-up may be responsible for modern day depression. Source: Bartek/Adobe Stock, Woraphon/Adobe Stock

Denisovan Genes Responsible for Modern Depression, Says New Study

Ancient humans inter-breeding with extinct Denisovans have created a genetic make-up and subsequent adaptations that have left many of us predisposed to certain mental health issues like depression,...
Scientists may have discovered why there is a discrepancy between the Neanderthal DNA present in modern-day Asian and European Homo sapiens. Source: Winters860 / Adobe Stock

Study Tracks Neanderthal DNA, and It’s A Cross-Continental Odyssey!

While Neanderthals went extinct approximately 40,000 years ago, they left a legacy hidden inside the genetic codes of humans, in the form of traces of their Neanderthal DNA. Even though Neanderthals...
Neanderthal man, now shown to have DNA from modern human relatives 250,000 years ago.	Source: iridescentstreet/Adobe Stock

Shock Discovery - Humans First Interbred with Neanderthals 250,000 Years Ago

A groundbreaking study has shattered the conventional timeline of human-Neanderthal interactions. The prevailing belief was that Homo sapiens ancestors first mingled with Neanderthals in Eurasia...
A Neanderthal hunting. Source: Bartek / Adobe Stock.

Amazing Things That the Neanderthals Did (Video)

Around 300,000 years ago, before humans roamed the Earth, another species known as Neanderthals inhabited much of Eurasia. Their name comes from the Neander Valley in Germany, where the first remains...
Portrait of Neanderthal man. Source: iridescentstreet / Adobe Stock.

Evolutionary Genetics and the Neanderthal Inside Us (Video)

Utilizing advanced techniques, scientists have delved into the genetic code of our Neanderthal ancestors. Extracting DNA from 400,000-year-old Neanderthal bones in Spain, they've achieved a high-...
The clay brick from the National Museum of Denmark and from which scientists have extracted ancient plant DNA. Source: Arnold Mikkelsen og Jens Lauridsen

Ancient Plant DNA Extracted from 2,900-Year-Old Assyrian Brick

DNA testing in an archaeological context has been improving by leaps and bounds, resulting in many new discoveries relating to ancient human, animal and plant genetics. New ground in DNA analysis of...
New study challenges what was initially believed about 5,300-year-old Ötzi the Iceman genes. (Inset: The Ötzi mummy)  Source: OetziTheIceman/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 (Inset; Cell Press)

Ötzi the Iceman Genes Trace to Early Anatolian Farmers, and He Had a Receding Hairline

The world’s oldest Alpine celebrity, fodder for many different kinds of studies and analyses over the years since his discovery on the mountainous border between Austria and Italy in 1991, ‘ Ötzi the...
AI robot as an archaeologist, uncovering an ancient artifact.  Source: Hatia/Adobe Stock

Beyond Shovels and Brushes: The AI-driven Evolution of Archaeological Exploration

It seems pretty clear right now that AI is likely the “next big thing.” This exciting (and perhaps scary) technology seems set to change the world and revolutionize our lives in a myriad of ways. But...
The 3D Digital Facial Zoom of Zlatý kůň, the oldest remains to have been genomically sequenced. Source: Cícero Moraes/CC  BY 4.0

World’s Earliest Known Woman ‘Zlatý Kůň’ Has Her Face Reconstructed!

Over 70 years after her severed skull was first discovered buried deep within a cave in the Czech Republic in two different halves, scientists conducted genome sequencing to determine that it was the...
Representational image of a magical Viking rune or Viking Code. Source: Artur / Adobe Stock

Unlocking the Cryptic Viking Code Using Runic Writing and Ancient DNA

Runic script is an alphabetic system based on a non-alphabetical order row. This means that it has letters, like in many languages, but the letters are not arranged in a standard alphabetical order...
Capstones at the Bryher burial site in the Isles of Scilly, where the tomb of the female warrior was discovered. Source: Isles of Scilly Museum Association

Curious 2,000-Year-Old Isles of Scilly Burial Mystery Solved

On one of the small and lightly populated Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall in southwestern England, archaeologists uncovered a unique stone-lined burial chamber in 1999. The grave goods...
Colonists arrive in America. Source: Archivist / Adobe Stock.

DNA Breakthrough: Solving the Roanoke Colony Mystery (Video)

The mystery surrounding the fate of the Roanoke colonists , who vanished without a trace in 1590, may be unravelling thanks to DNA testing. The Roanoke colony , also known as the Lost Colony , has...
Illustration depicting the Kaspar Hauser legend of his incarceration. Source: Public domain

Smallpox Vaccine Sheds New Light on Mysterious Kaspar Hauser Legend

In May 1828, the Bavarian city of Nuremberg was gripped by the sudden appearance of a young man named Kaspar Hauser. Clutching two letters of introduction, his arrival revealed a story of isolation...

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