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Remnants of the wooden bridge over the medieval moat found in Tewkesbury, England. Source: Cotswold Archaeology

Medieval Moat and Bridge Found Protecting Farmhouse in England

Driving through the business parks of Tewkesbury, you might miss the hidden pieces of a medieval past that lie discreetly among the modern structures. One such gem, Cowfield Farm, reveals a rich...
Oxen and goat hoofprints found at the site, which were found alongside the oldest plough marks (top left) in Europe, are evidence that cattle domestication existed very early in the Neolithic Revolution in agriculture. Source: Nature.com; ARIA SA

Europe’s Oldest Plough Marks Discovered in Switzerland, Dated to 7,000 Years Ago!

Excavations at the Anciens Arsenaux site in Sion, Switzerland, have changed the way we understand prehistoric agriculture in Europe forever. Compelling evidence has emerged suggesting that Neolithic...
Traditional farmers Ramón Nonato Tec Poot, Xuxcab, Yucatán.	Source: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center/CC BY-NC 2.0 Deed)

What Ancient Farmers Teach Us About Adapting to Climate Change

Chelsea Fisher /The Conversation In dozens of archaeological discoveries around the world, from the once-successful reservoirs and canals of Angkor Wat in Cambodia to the deserted Viking colonies of...
An artist’s depiction of the chinampas. Source: Archeomaps

The Chinampas: The Ingenious Aztec “Floating” Farms of Mexico

When faced with the seemingly impossible task of feeding a huge population in the ancient city of Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs came up with an ingenious solution about 1,000 years ago. Located in the...
The Bronze Age yoke in situ at the excavations in Este. Source: Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the metropolitan area of Venice and the provinces of Belluno, Padua and Treviso.

3,300-Year-Old Wooden Yoke Unveiled in Northern Italy After Extensive Restoration

Following a meticulous eight-year process of excavation, retrieval, and restoration, a unique 3,300-year-old wooden yoke has been unveiled to the public. It was unearthed from a Late Bronze Age stilt...
Chinampa, Mexico. Source: Maleny / Adobe Stock.

Saving Chinampas, Mexico’s Ancient Floating Farms (Video)

South of Mexico City lies Xochimilco, an area renowned for its distinctive floating farms, locally referred to as " Chinampas ." These floating islands have been a part of Mexico's agricultural...
Vanilla beans. Source: ankreative / Adobe Stock.

The Plight of Madagascar's Vanilla Farmers: A Battle Against Theft and Poverty (Video)

Vanilla, the second most expensive spice in the world, is worth its weight in gold . Its unique flavor and fragrance are highly sought after by chefs and food enthusiasts around the globe. However,...
A recent study has revealed that one particular Scottish settlement in the early Neolithic period didn’t use manure-based fertilizers though farmers adjacent to them did. Cow manure like this is still highly recycled and used all over Africa and Asia. Source: wisawa222 / Adobe Stock

Why One Neolithic Scottish Settlement Didn’t Need Any Fertilizer

People living in Western Europe and on the British Isles during the Neolithic Period (10000 to 2200 BC) had already discovered the powers of manure-based fertilizer to increase crop yields. In fact,...
Dolmen of Poloutin in a cornfield, representing the origins of farming.	Source: aluxum/Adobe Stock

Ice Age Hunters’ DNA Reveals The Origins Of Farming

What were the origins of the first farmers? Where did they come from and where did they go? This question was recently asked by a team of scientists studying the genomes of Europe's first farmers...
A duck effigy vessel made by mobile farmers during the period just prior to the climate catastrophe anomaly of 536 AD. Water birds hold great significance for modern Pueblo peoples, who were the descendants of ancient innovators that survived serious climate change.		Source: R. J. Sinensky / Antiquity Publications Ltd

How Ancestral Puebloans Thrived After The 536-541-AD Climate Catastrophe

A massive volcanic eruption in 536 AD resulted in dramatic climate catastrophe and the volcanic ash significantly cut the sunshine reaching Earth. As a direct result, temperatures dropped leading to...
Yacouba Sawadogo planting.

The Man Who Stopped a Desert Using Ancient Farming

Desertification is a serious problem facing numerous countries in the world today. Various measures have been taken to counter the negative effects, with some providing better results than others. A...
The winepress discovered at the Byzantine-era farmstead found under the modern suburb of Ramat Hasharon, Tel Aviv, Israel. Source: Yoli Schwartz / Israel Antiquities Authority

Large Byzantine-Era Farmstead Found Beneath Suburban Tel Aviv

In anticipation of an upcoming residential construction project in suburban Tel Aviv, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have been carrying out excavations to make sure the...
The ceremonial circle was found at an agricultural site occupied for thousands of years. Source: BBC / Albion Archaeology

Sacred Farming: Huge Monument Find Showcases Neolithic Earth Worship

Archaeologists excavating near the village of Biddenham in Bedfordshire, England, have uncovered several ancient structures dating back 6,000 years. But most recently, a huge ritualistic monument has...
Did Ancient Swiss Farmers Genetically Modify Opium Poppies?

Did Ancient Swiss Farmers Genetically Modify Opium Poppies?

When it comes to plants with powerful medical applications Asia can be called the ‘traditional home.’ However, this is not the case when it comes to opium poppies, for new research has shown their...
Mesopotamian relief of Assyrian warriors. Credit: kmiragaya / Adobe Stock

Ancient Mesopotamia and the Rise of Civilization

In ancient times, Mesopotamia, meaning ‘land between two rivers’, was a vast region that lay between the Tigris and Euphrates river systems, and it is where civilization emerged over 7,000 years ago...
Bronze Age skull in situ in the Tollense valley Source: ©: Stefan Sauer / Tollense Valley Project

Ancient Warriors Show Europeans Were Late Adopters of Dairy Produce

Research undertaken on Bronze Age warriors who died in a battle in Germany has revealed something remarkable about the evolution of human digestion. It established that it is only in the past few...
Ancient banana cultivation site at Wagadagam, Mabuyag.   Source: Australian National University

Australia’s First People Were “Hunter-Banana Cultivators”

Archaeologists from the Australian National University excavating at Wagadagam, on the island of Mabuyag, in the western Torres Strait, have published new evidence of early Indigenous communities...
Ancient Burial Brings New Date Of First Maize Use In Mesoamerica

Ancient Burial Brings New Date Of First Maize Use In Mesoamerica

An international team of researchers has investigated the earliest humans in Central America and how they adapted over time to new and changing environments, and how those changes have affected human...
Left: Skull of a desert hare (Lepus capensis) from the Neolithic Chinese farming community in Yangjiesha, which was used in the study (S. Hu / Antiquity Publications Ltd).        Right top: Jade carving of a rabbit from a Western Zhou Dynasty (1046–771 BC) tomb in Shaanxi Province. (P. Sheng / Antiquity Publications Ltd).        Right bottom: Bronze ornament for a chariot in the shape of a rabbit recovered from Yulin. (P. Sheng / Antiquity Publications Ltd).

Neolithic Chinese Had a Special Relationship with Hares

Researchers in China have found evidence that Stone Age people had a close relationship with hares. While they never domesticated them as they did with dogs, it appears that humans changed the...
A new study of Neolithic pottery fragments has revealed ancient Britons were among the first people to farm dairy. Pictured: Cow and her calf in sunset. Source:  lassedesignen / Adobe stock

Thirsty Brits Turned to Drinking Cow’s Milk 7,000 Years Ago

Molecular food remains sampled from Neolithic pottery determines dairy farming “took hold” in what is modern-day Britain and Ireland . A new study of pottery fragments by a team of scientists led by...
Some of the Papua New Guinea artifacts, including stone tools and art, that were dug up at the Waim dig site. Source: UNSW / Ben Shaw

5000-Year-Old Papua New Guinea Artifacts Rewrite Neolithic History

Scientists unearth ancient Papua New Guinea artifacts in the highlands of the island that settle a longstanding archaeological argument regarding the emergence of complex culture on the island. About...
Development of ancient farming: representation of early human protecting his farm. Source: benevolente / Adobe stock

As Farming Developed, So Did Cooperation – And Violence

The growth of ancient farming / agriculture led to unprecedented cooperation in human societies, a team of researchers, has found, but it also led to a spike in violence, an insight that offers...
The oldest wooden structure unearthed at the excavation site in Czech Republic.        Source: Michal Rybníček / Mendel University

Stone Age Well is World’s Oldest Wooden Structure

In ancient past, the majority of architectural structures and buildings were made of wood. This has meant that many structures have decayed and been lost in history. However, in the Czech Republic ,...
Maya ruins.  Source: Byron Ortiz / Adobe Stock

Dozens of Ancient Maya Farms Revealed by Laser Scanning

Ancient Maya civilization thrived for thousands of years beneath the cover of tropical forest in Central America, but once their civilization disappeared, so did much of the evidence of it. For a...

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