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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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hunter-gatherer

Between 34,000 and 24,000 years ago, diverse European cultures from the Gravettian period utilized marine shells, teeth, beads, and other ornaments for personal adornment, shown here. Source: J. Baker, et al/Nature

Prehistoric Jewelry Unveils 9 Distinct Paleolithic European Cultures

A fascinating new study has explored the cultural behavior of prehistoric humans in Europe from tens of thousands of years ago, and learnt that our ancestors adorned themselves with a diverse array...
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...
A hunter returning with his kill (fotogurmespb / Adobe Stock)

Living Close To The Bone – A Day In The Life Of A Hunter-Gatherer

At the beginning of Herodotus’ Histories, the Athenian lawgiver Solon, one of the seven sages of ancient Greece, points out to his interlocutor Croesus, King of Lydia, that if a person lives to be 70...
Neanderthal remains, Shanidar Cave (CC by SA 4.0)

The Life and Death of a Neanderthal (Video)

In the ancient landscapes of what is now Iraq, approximately 50,000 years ago, a Neanderthal named Shanidar 1, or Nandy, navigated a challenging existence. Through the lens of contemporary scientific...
Weapons and defensive objects are evidence that show that hunter-gatherer communities in the Atacama Desert resorted to violence for conflict-solving. Source:  Standen et al., 2023, PLOS ONE/CC-BY 4.0

Hunter-Gatherers in the Atacama Desert Resorted to Brutal Violence

A couple of years ago, a study alluded to Neolithic farmers in Chile’s Atacama Desert engaging in violent battles over resources. Turn back the clock further, and a newer study points to ancient...
Prehistoric family. Source: Rawf8 / Adobe Stock.

Prehistoric Mothers and the Artifact that Ensured Our Survival (Video)

New research has shed light on the vital role that prehistoric mothers played in the Neolithic period, approximately 7,500 years ago. This era marked a significant shift in human civilization, with...
Representational image of an underwater city. Source: Henry Letham / Adobe Stock.

The Search for England’s Underwater City (Video)

In the depths of the English Channel lies a lost city that has been submerged for over 8,000 years. It is known as Doggerland. One maritime archaeologist , Garry Momber, has spent two decades...
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-...
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,...
The cranial profile of the female ‘Negrito’ skeleton found in Xiaoma Caves  Source: Hirofumi Matsumura / CC BY NC ND 4.0)

Scientists Prove Legends of “Negritos” on Taiwan

Archaeologists in Taiwan recently discovered an unusual female skeleton buried in a remote cave, which proves centuries-old legends about so-called “short, dark-skinned Negrito people” living in the...
Analysis of 23,000-year-old hunter camp shows that Ice Age Galileans thrived. Source: denissimonov / Adobe Stock

Ice Age Galileans Thrived During Global Ice Melts

A team of researchers have analyzed the remains of 22,000 animal bones discovered at a hunter camp dating back 23,000 years. Their new study shows how Ice Age Galileans, fisher-hunter-gatherers in...
Genetic Study of Romanian Skull Upends Previous Theories of Evolution

Genetic Study of Romanian Skull Upends Previous Theories of Evolution

A team of researchers led by the Swedish Uppsala University geneticist Mattias Jakobsson have fully sequenced the genome of a woman who lived in Europe at least 35,000 years ago. Her DNA was...
10,000-years-ago Irish Hunter-Gatherers Were Dark-Skinned

10,000-years-ago Irish Hunter-Gatherers Were Dark-Skinned

RTÉ, Ireland’s National Television and Radio Broadcaster, recently brought to our screens filmmaker Katrina Costello’s bold and groundbreaking two-part documentary – The Burren: Heart of Stone ...
Thanks to new DNA analysis, the Krems-Wachtberg infants discovered in 2005 have now been identified as the earliest twins discovered to date. Source: OREA / Austrian Academy of Sciences

DNA Reveals Earliest Twins Buried 30,000 Years Ago in Austria

Thanks to news DNA analysis, prehistoric remains discovered in Austria have been found to contain the earliest evidence of twins found to date anywhere in the world. The discovery of infant remains...
Discovery of 9,000-Year-Old Female Hunter in Peru Is Rewriting History

Discovery of 9,000-Year-Old Female Hunter in Peru Is Rewriting History

A grave in Peru has been shown to contain the world’s oldest female hunter. This news is potentially explosive. It may change our understanding of gender relations in the ancient Americas and even...
The Engare Sero footprint site, which preserves at least 408 prehistoric footprints dated to between 19,100 and 5,760 years ago. An eruption of Ol Doinyo Lengai, the volcano in the background, produced the ash in which the human footprints were preserved.   Source: Cynthia Liutkus-Pierce / Nature

400 Prehistoric Footprints Reveal Clues to Our Ancestors

Scientists reveal a volume of new data about the group of hunter-gatherers who left their prehistoric footprints in mud. In the shadow of the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano in Tanzania , the Engare Sero...
Researchers are challenging historic gender archetypes, revealing many “battle scars” on skeletal remains pointing to the existence of warrior women. Pictured: skeletons of two people buried in an ancient tomb in Mongolia include a woman (left) who may have been a horse-riding, bow-and-arrow-wielding warrior, scientists say. Source: Christine Lee / California State University

Are Skeletal Wounds On Hunter-Gatherer Women Battle Scars Or Execution Marks?

Historic gender archetypes of hunter-gatherer women are being challenged by a team of researchers whose new study presents further evidence of “warrior women” in prehistory. Traditional...
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...
Main: View over the excavations in Schöningen in Germany. Inset: The ‘killing stick’ that was unearthed at the excavation site.           Source: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

300,000-Year-Old ‘Killing Stick’ Sheds Light on Evolution of Hunting

In Germany, a team of experts have made a very important discovery. They have established that an ancient wooden artifact is a throwing stick (or ‘killing stick’). This is allowing them to understand...
The human heart have evolved to be longer and thinner. Source: unlimit3d / Adobe Stock.

Human Hearts Streamlined for Stamina by Neolithic Revolution

Farming caused the human heart to evolve less “ape-like” and be better for endurance and stamina. New research suggests human hearts significantly changed when we dropped hunting and began leading...
Archaeologists hope to learn more about pre-contact Aboriginal Australians from this skeleton and from architectural features in the landscape where it was found

Remote Australian Archaeological Site Provides More Evidence to Refute Traditional Theory of Entirely Nomadic Aborigines

Were the Australian Aborigines of years ago really hunter-gatherers, or did some have settled lives in villages with agriculture and architectural features? Some archaeologists are exploring this new...
The bird plaquette.

Rare Ritual Artifacts Reveal Details on Life at the Cusp of the Agricultural Revolution

A remarkable collection of etched limestone pebbles may change our knowledge of prehistory in the Levant. Moreover, a beautiful head of a bird, which was carved into a limestone plaque 16,500 years...
Illustration of a Paleoindian campsite

12,000-Year-Old Campsite and Hundreds of Artifacts Unearthed in Canada

First Nations archaeologists in New Brunswick, Canada, are unearthing hundreds of artifacts and exposing a campsite where their distant ancestors lived about 12,000 years ago. It is one of the...
Detail of one of the semicircular engravings recently discovered and interpreted as a hut.

Paleolithic Stone Slab Discovered in Spain May be the First Map of a Hunter-Gatherer Campsite

The Spanish archaeological site Moli del Salt (Vimbodi i Poblet, Tarragona) continues to provide new and pleasant surprises. The latest discovery is a stone slab that is over 13,000 years old. The...

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