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Representational image of hunter-gatherer in nature. Source: Fractal Pictures / Adobe Stock

Harmony with Nature Revealed at 10,500-year-old Hunter-Gatherer Site in Yorkshire

At a site near Scarborough in North Yorkshire , the exceptionally well-preserved remains of a small settlement dating back 10,500 years have been found which was once inhabited by a group of hunter-...
Reconstruction of Kap København formation two-million years ago in a time where the temperature was significantly warmer than northernmost Greenland today.          Source: Beth Zaiken / Nature

Ancient Environmental DNA Reveals Thriving 2-Million-Year-Old Life on Greenland

A “breakthrough” has been made in understanding the history of our planet. Studying ancient environmental DNA a team of researchers has now tracked and mapped the evolution of biological communities...
Oldest Tool Use Thrown Back To Two million Years In Oldupai Gorge Find

Oldest Tool Use Thrown Back To Two million Years In Oldupai Gorge Find

An interdisciplinary team of researchers have unearthed the oldest stone tools at the oldest archaeological site in the famous Oldupai Gorge, popularly known as the Cradle of Humankind. Their...
Window looking into the Iceman's refrigerated cell. A new study explores the environment in which the Tyrolean Iceman (Otzi) died. Source: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Ochsenreiter

New Study Raises Questions about the Tyrolean Iceman’s Murder Scene

A new study of ice cores at a previously unexplored ice dome in the Ötztal Alps on the border of Austria and Italy has examined the environment in which the Tyrolean Iceman, popularly known as Otzi,...
2,000-Year-Old Maya Water Purification System Would Still Work Today

2,000-Year-Old Maya Water Purification System Would Still Work Today

The Maya were able to build a spectacular civilization in one of the World’s most inhospitable environments. How they were able to survive and flourish has always been something of a mystery. Now,...
Several past human species went extinct due to climate change. Source: regis allouet /Adobe Stock

Scientists Warn That What Killed Past Human Species Could End Us Too

One of the greatest mysteries in science is why there is only one species of humans in the world today. In the past, there were several and they often co-existed for considerable periods. These past...
The arrival of humans helped Ice Age foxes. Source: DragoNika / Adobe Stock

Ice Age Foxes Feasted On Our Reindeer Meat Leftovers

A study into the dietary habits of Ice Age foxes is showing German scientists the impact humans had on the ecosystem in that region 40,000 years ago. They believe that tracking what those small...
Experts have examined the long-term environmental impact of prolonged warfare and regime change during the Baltic Crusades, revealing clues to a model for rewilding. Pictured: the iconic European bison who were brought back from the brink of extinction through rewilding in Poland.          Source: szczepank / Adobe stock

Can the Baltic Crusades Teach Us About Bringing Nature Back to Life?

By Aleks Pluskowski, Alex Brown & Rowena Banerjea / The Conversation The Forest of Białowieża, which straddles the border of Poland and Belarus, is unique in Europe: it is incredibly ancient...
Adaptation to harsh climates and isolated lands helped Late Pleistocene humans outlive other hominins.        Source: Gorodenkoff

Last Hominin Standing: Extreme Adaptation of Late Pleistocene Humans

How is our species unique compared to other hominins? What did Late Pleistocene humans have that their neighbors lacked? They obviously interacted, but Homo sapiens survived when others could not. A...
Example of a small farm on a river island in the Amazon in Brazil. 10,000 years ago people made forest islands by domesticating plants in the Amazon. Source: Silvio /Adobe Stock

Earliest Amazon Inhabitants Created Thousands of 'Forest Islands'

The earliest human inhabitants of the Amazon created thousands of artificial forest islands as they tamed wild plants to grow food, a new study shows. The discovery of the mounds is the latest...
Representation of an open pit mine to show what the Adivasi tribe are trying to fight against in their home.    Source: Parilov / Adobe stock

Adivasi Tribe Fights to Save Indian Forest From Mining

In India , the land of an indigenous community is under threat from a mining company. A huge area of forest is going to be destroyed due to the proposed mine. This is despite the fact that the...
Photograph of the ‘dogleg’ part of the Neolithic wall at Tel Hreiz, Israel. Source: E. Galili and J. McCarthy

Neolithic Wall is the World’s Oldest Sea Defense System

In Israel, archaeologists have found evidence of what could be the oldest sea defense wall. The Neolithic wall is up to 7000 years old and was built by a community as they battled against rising sea...
The Minoan cup, shown here next to a modern throwaway container that washed up in the Pacific.    Source: Trustees of the British Museum

3500-Year-Old Minoan Cup Proves Ancients Weren’t Green Either

A disposable Minoan cup forged by the early Mediterranean civilization will be displayed in a “stunning showcase,” which evaporates the cultural myth that ‘single-use’ crockery is a modern creation...
Ancient ecosystems were very different from those found today. Source: Heinrich Harder (1858-1935) / Public Domain

Early Humans Evolved in Ecosystems Unlike Any Found Today

To understand the environmental pressures that shaped human evolution, scientists must first piece together the details of the ancient plant and animal communities that our fossil ancestors lived in...
Aborigines using fire to hunt kangaroos by Joseph Lycett (ca. 1817)  Source: The Conversation / National Library of Australia

New Research Turns Tasmanian Aboriginal History On Its Head

Ted Lefroy et al / The Conversation American farmer and poet Wendell Berry said of the first Europeans in North America that they came with vision, but not with sight. They came with vision of former...
Student studying artifacts in a museum. Credit: Monkey Business / Adobe Stock

Swedish Schools to Ditch Ancient History in Favor of Gender Roles

A controversial new proposal might see Swedish state schools dropping history classes from the national education curriculum to make space for “postmodernism and democratic values”, such as gender...
The Amazon’s new record-breaking tree. Source: Tobias Jackson

A 400-Year-Old ‘Carbon Colossus’ Heralds Hope for Amazonia

At a staggering 88 meters tall, a 400-year-old tree found in the Brazilian Amazon has been declared the region’s largest tree. Researchers are now trying to figure out how it grew to such heights...
Siberian puppy frozen in permafrost for 14,300 years gives scientists major RNA breakthrough. Source: Siberian Times

Siberian Puppy Frozen for 14,300 Years is a Major RNA Breakthrough

By Svetlana Skarbo/Siberian Times Never before has RNA - Ribonucleic acid - sequencing been carried out from so far back in time. Finding RNA on the puppy found preserved in permafrost in Tumat in...
Humans Began Mass Ecological Destruction 3,000 Years Ago

Humans Began Mass Ecological Destruction 3,000 Years Ago

A new paper with 250 scientific authors suggests human beings had impacted Earth’s fragile ecosystems much earlier and to a far greater extent than currently believed. This huge collaborative study...
Ek Balam Maya Archeological Site. Maya Ruins, Yucatan Peninsula. Credit: bobiphil / Adobe Stock

Mexico Wants to Run a Tourist Train Through its Maya Heartland — Should It?

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has a dream for the Yucatan Peninsula. He wants to build a train that will leverage the tourism economy of Cancun by bringing more visitors inland to the...
Example skull of Neolithic people. Source: (Author provided/ The Conversation)

Who Were the Mysterious Neolithic People That Enabled the Rise of Ancient Egypt?

By Joel D. Irish , Czekaj- Zastawny Agnieszka , and Jacek Kabacinski / The Conversation To many, ancient Egypt is synonymous with the pharaohs and pyramids of the Dynastic period starting about 3,100...
Ellesmere Island Canada where researchers are reviving frozen lifeforms. Source: James / Adobe Stock.

Long Frozen Organisms in the Arctic Awakened, Hinting at Life on Other Planets

In recent years, researchers have reawakened life in frozen organisms in the Arctic permafrost, bringing them back to life. These studies are now challenging accepted ideas as to the resilience of...
King Naram-Sin of Akkad, grandson of Sargon, leading his army to victory.

How Climate Change Caused the World’s First Ever Empire To Collapse

By Vasile Ersek / The Conversation Gol-e-Zard Cave lies in the shadow of Mount Damavand, which at more than 5,000 metres dominates the landscape of northern Iran. In this cave, stalagmites and...
Trash cans	in a city park

Making America Great Again, With Some Seriously Ancient Trash Talk

I bet it’s been a while since you stopped to think about the garbage you generate? As we navigate the corridors of life we each leave behind us a trail of trash but with trash cans and dumpsters in...

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