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Representative image of a Denisovan. Several studies have recently explored the spread of Denisovan genes. Source: ginettigino /Adobe Stock
11 July, 2019 - 15:44 Alicia McDermott

March of the Denisovans: Evidence of Archaic Human Gene Now Detected In the Orient

The Denisovan story keeps evolving. This group of ancient hominins has been something of a mystery ever since they were first discovered in 2010 as an extinct sister group to the Neanderthals. Bits...
A skull from a 10th-9th century BC burial in the excavation of the Philistine cemetery in Ashkelon. New research on Philistine DNA reveals their southern European origins. Source: Tsafrir Abayov/Leon Levy Expedition
3 July, 2019 - 22:28 ancient-origins

DNA Shows Biblical Philistines Came From Europe

New research on Philistine DNA reveals that the Biblical enemies of the Israelites were newcomers to the region in the 12th century BC. Where did they come from? Their genes suggest Southern Europe...
A new study explores why humans are ‘the fat primates.’ Source: Vadym / Adobe Stock
27 June, 2019 - 20:50 ancient-origins

What Made Humans 'The Fat Primate'? (It’s Far Deeper Than Diet)

Blame junk food or a lack of exercise. But long before the modern obesity epidemic, evolution made us fat too. "We're the fat primates," said Devi Swain-Lenz, a postdoctoral associate in biology at...
Representation of a Neanderthal. A new study of Neanderthal DNA tells the story of their migrations between Europe and Siberia. Source: procy_ab /Adobe Stock
27 June, 2019 - 19:05 Alicia McDermott

DNA Study Suggests Early Neanderthals Had Europe As Their Homebase

The Neanderthal story began around 430,000 years ago and (mostly) ended with their demise about 40,000 years ago . They left their mark in Europe and central Asia and on the genes of many people...
A new study of the Japanese population reveals the true origin of the Japanese people. Source: Monkey Business / Adobe Stock.
20 June, 2019 - 15:52 ancient-origins

Archeological Mystery Solved with Modern Genetics: Y Chromosomes Reveal Population Boom and Bust in Ancient Japan

The current thinking on the origins of the Japanese population holds that the original inhabitants, the Jomon people , were met about 2,500 years ago by a separate group coming mainly from the Korean...
Life on Mars
19 June, 2019 - 20:35 Nathan Falde

DNA Sequencing Microchip Could Detect Earth-Like Life on Mars

Conditions on Mars are harsh. Its atmosphere is made up mostly of carbon dioxide and is 100 times thinner than Earth’s. Temperatures on the surface can plummet to minus-126 degrees Celsius. But the...
Ezekiel’s vision ‘The Valley of Dry Bones”. Source: loswl / CC BY-SA 2.0.
17 June, 2019 - 23:00 Dr. Eran Elhaik

Resurrecting the Ancient Israelites From the Valley of Dry Bones

The Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones prophecy is one of the most powerful prophecies of the prophet Ezekiel . In this vision, Ezekiel finds himself in a valley full of dry human bones of Israelite...
Grape DNA sources around Europe had been connected with ancient Roman seeds. Source: Grecaud Paul / Adobe Stock
12 June, 2019 - 02:02 Ed Whelan

French Wine With a Hint of Rome Revealed By Ancient Grape DNA

Seeds of grapes used in the production of wine, found in archaeological sites across Europe, have been genetically tested and tell a story of continuity from ancient Rome until this very day. It...
The Pleistocene wolf’s head discovered in Yakutia. Source: Albert Protopopov / Fair Use.
10 June, 2019 - 23:03 ancient-origins

Still Snarling After 40,000 Years, a Giant Pleistocene Wolf Discovered in Yakutia

By: The Siberian Times reporter Reports of a the sensational find of head of a toothy beast with its brain intact that has been preserved since prehistoric times in permafrost , have been a delight...
Two men found at the Yana Rhinoceros Horn Site in northern Siberia in Russia date to about 32,000 years ago, providing the earliest direct evidence of humans in the region. Source: Elena Pavlova
6 June, 2019 - 14:05 ashley cowie

Ancient Origins Of North Americans Settled - And Hard Evidence Of “Russian” Collusion Unearthed

For at least the last century archaeologists and anthropologists have generally agreed that the first humans arrived in North America having struggled across the icy wastes of Beringia, a vast land...
The ancient Crusaders' DNA can help us understand historical events. Source: Alessandro Cristiano / Adobe.
19 May, 2019 - 18:58 ancient-origins

A History of the Crusades As Told by Crusaders' DNA

History can tell us a lot about the Crusades , the series of religious wars fought between 1095 and 1291, in which Christian invaders tried to claim the Near East. But the DNA of nine 13th century...
Finger bone fragment containing Denisovan DNA. Source: Thilo Parg / CC BY-SA 3.0.
18 May, 2019 - 18:49 Glenn Dahlem

Did the Denisovans Walk to North America?

For a people from whom one 41,000 year old finger bone fossil from a nine year old girl, along with a bracelet she wore, were (until recently) the only authenticated known artifacts, the mysterious...
One of the chewing gums containing the oldest Scandinavian DNA from Huseby Klev with two plastelina casts for each side.
18 May, 2019 - 16:39 ancient-origins

DNA of First Settlers of Scandinavia Gleaned from Ancient Chewing Gums

The first humans who settled in Scandinavia more than 10,000 years ago left their DNA behind in ancient chewing gums, which are masticated lumps made from birch bark pitch. This is shown in a new...
16 May, 2019 - 22:27 ancient-origins

Tooth Study Has Modern Humans Splitting From Neanderthals 400,000 Years Earlier Than Thought

Neanderthals and modern humans diverged at least 800,000 years ago, substantially earlier than indicated by most DNA -based estimates, according to new research by a UCL academic. The research,...
The tomb dubbed Prittlewell burial, contained 40 artifacts including treasures from other kingdoms. Source: MOLA
9 May, 2019 - 16:34 Ed Whelan

Anglo-Saxon Burial in England Is Compared to King Tut's Tomb

Archaeologists are expected to reveal to the public what is now believed to be one of the most significant archaeological finds in England in recent decades. They will announce their findings of a...
The mass grave of 15 skeletons and grave goods at the Koszyce burial. Source: H Schroeder et al / PNAS.
8 May, 2019 - 14:00 ashley cowie

5000-Year-Old Family Found In Mass Burial Was Brutally Murdered

New research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America ( PNAS ) entitled “Unravelling ancestry , kinship, and violence in a Late...

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