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The School of Athens, fresco by Raphael (1509–1510), of an idealized Academy.

Caves in Paradise: The Elite School of Aristotle

Thirty kilometers (18.6 miles) from Vergina, a place where the tomb of Philip II is located, there is a city called Naoussa. Naoussa was a place where nymphs were worshiped for centuries, and the...
The Walanae River at Paroto, east of Talepu, where some of the tools were found. Inserts: Professor Mike Morwood in 2009 examining stone artifacts collected near Talepu and Hand stencils in the Cave of Fingers.

Sulawesi Discoveries: Earliest Human Occupation Pushed Back 60,000 Years and Some of the Oldest Cave Paintings in the World

New research on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi shows the possible presence of an archaic species of hominins there dating back more than 100,000 years—at least 60,000 years earlier than the island...
The Iceman's hand.

Further Tales of the Family of the Iceman Come to Light

Just last week it became known that the Iceman (also known as Ötzi) was infected with the bacterium H. pylori when he was killed. Now, researchers looking at his mtDNA have pinpointed the origins of...
Newly discovered artifacts at ancient ruins in Honduras believed to be the legendary ‘White City’.

New Discoveries at Ancient ‘White City’ Ruins in Honduras May Shed Light on Mysterious Civilization

Just three days into excavations at archaeological ruins in the jungle of Honduras - believed to be the legendary ‘White City’ – and researchers have already unearthed a dozen ancient artifacts which...
Re-creation of the port at Eridu, an ancient “Court of the King of the World”.

The Royal Road of the King of the World, and the Ancient Center of the Earth

The Royal Road of the King of the World is a 20-degree band around the Earth that has 30 degrees north latitude as its center. This band is not, technically, the geographical center of the Earth,...
The Alchymist, in Search of the Philosopher's Stone by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1771.

Alchemy and Immortality – The Tale of Nicolas Flamel and the Lapis Philosophorum

For mankind, immortality has always been a remarkably fascinating idea. Throughout time, the quest to eliminate death in order to achieve indefinite life in the physical body has taken various forms...
Excavations are underway at Longvek, a site that was capital of Cambodia after Angkor fell in the 15th century.

New Discoveries at Ancient Cambodian Capital Dispel Old Beliefs

After the Siamese (Thai) people sacked Angkor in 1431 AD, the usual view is that Cambodia descended into a centuries-long dark age of isolation at the new capital its people established, called...
19th century watercolor of the Tomb of the Dancers.

Ancient Burial Rituals Prove You Can Take it With You ... and What You Take Says a lot

Death is inevitable, but what death shows us about the social behaviors of the living is not. And recent University of Cincinnati research examining the ancient bereavement practices from the Central...
Anonymous Venetian Orientalist painting, The Reception of the Ambassadors in Damascus, 1511, the Louvre.

Damascus: The Ancient City that was Fought Over by Numerous Civilizations is Facing its Biggest Crisis Today

The city of Damascus, which lies in the southwestern part of Syria, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. This city is located in a desert oasis on the eastern foothills of...
Archaeologists work from scaffolding to excavate a roundhouse that collapsed into the river after a fire.

Houses from 3,000 Years Ago Are Among Best-Preserved of the Era in Britain

Archaeologists in England are making headway excavating two remarkably well-preserved Bronze Age dwellings that were burned in a fire and collapsed from their stilts into a river below about 3,000...
The prosthesis of the man with a fused knee, femur and tibia helped him walked, which would have been difficult for him otherwise.

Chinese Man with Fused Knee used a Prosthetic Leg with a Horse Hoof Tip 2,200 Years Ago

A man of modest means who lived in China 2,200 years ago had a deformed leg and compensated with a prosthesis with a horse hoof on the end of it. The discovery was made in a tomb in an ancient...
Two examples of Meroitic Hieroglyphs (not found at Abu Erteila)

Archaeologists Find Hieroglyphics That Shed New Light on the Golden Age of the Meroitic Civilization

A team of Italian and Russian archeologists says that they have made one of the most important discoveries connected with the history of Nubia. According to the Sudan Antiquities Service, the...
Bottlenose Dolphin, dolphins jumping at sunset.

Pre-Colombian Seafarers of Panama may have been Dolphin Hunters

Precolombian seafarers left what is now mainland Panama to settle on Pedro González Island in the Perlas archipelago about 6,000 years ago, crossing 50-70 kilometers (31-44 miles) of choppy seas --...
Divers with one of the Nanhai No. I’s artifacts.

More Artifacts from a Song Dynasty Chinese Shipwreck Revealed

A Chinese cargo ship from the Song Dynasty that was salvaged from the depths of the South China Sea in 2007 has revealed more of its rich cargo to archaeologists. Gold, silver, and copper artifacts...
An Elegant Party (detail), painting of a small Chinese banquet hosted by the emperor for scholar-officials from the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

Leaf Buds Discovered in Tomb of Early Chinese Emperor May Be the Oldest Example of Fine Tea

Archaeologists have identified the oldest known tea in the tomb of Jing Di, a Han Dynasty Chinese emperor who went into the afterlife well-provisioned with food, weapons, a ceramic-animal army and...
Traité des Fardements et Confitures, Lyon 1556.

Treatise on Make-up and Jam: A Bestselling Cookbook by Nostradamus

It is undeniable that Michel de Nostredame (more commonly known as Nostradamus) is most renowned for his published collection of prophecies known as Les Prophéties , or in English as The Prophecies...
Pirate Bellamy sailing in search of treasure

Samuel Bellamy and the Treasure of Whydah

Samuel Bellamy was one of the most famous pirates of the Caribbean Sea. He was also lucky to finish his life on the sea on the ship which carried the greatest treasure discovered by the pirate...
Roman baths in Bath, England

Why the Romans were not quite as clean as you might have thought

Prior to the Romans, Greece was the only part of Europe to have had toilets. But by the peak of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century AD, the Romans had introduced sanitation to much of their domain,...
Royal Maya Burial at El Zotz Ruins in Guatemala

Archaeologists discover Royal Maya Burial at El Zotz Ruins in Guatemala

Archaeologists with the University of Southern California (USC) have discovered a burial chamber in the Five Temples section of El Zotz, an ancient Maya city lying in ruins in Guatemala’s Maya...
Artist’s rendering of the palace of Knossos.

Knossos Thrived Well into the Iron Age and Was Much Larger than Once Believed

Current research on the ancient Greek city of Knossos in Crete suggests that it not only recovered from the Bronze Age collapse that brought down many of the Aegean palaces, but actually flourished...
The Olbia gear.

Unraveling the Mystery of the Ancient Olbia Gearwheel

The restoration of the gearwheel found in Olbia (Sardinia, Italy) in 2006 by the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage, dated between the mid-2nd century and the end of the 3rd century BC, has...
The outline of the phallus can be faintly seen in the left image. It is from Roman times, was found in Lincolnshire in 1995, and will go on display in a Lincoln, England, museum. The object is also thought to depict a vagina or an evil eye.

Ancient Roman Garden Ornament of a Phallus Revealed to the Public

The ancient Romans were obsessed with phallic images in art and architecture. Now, The Collection , a museum in Lincoln, England, will put on display a Roman phallus carved in stone that a family in...
A “were-jaguar” effigy, likely representing a combination of a human and spirit animal, is part of a still-buried ceremonial seat, discovered in a cache in ruins deep in the Honduran jungle.

Honduras to Begin Investigations of Ancient Jungle Ruins Believed to be the Legendary White City

The President of Honduras has announced that scientists will begin exploring an ancient archaeological site in the jungle where they believe the legendary ‘White City’, otherwise known as ‘City of...
‘Le Moustier Neanderthals, AMNH.’ (1920) By Charles Robert Knight.

Improving Our First Line of Defense: Neanderthal Genes

Our close cousins the Neanderthal and Denosivan people interbred with Homo sapiens and gave us genes that help us fight off infections, according to two new studies coming out this month...

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