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Prehistoric

Detail of a fallen tree trunk from the world’s oldest fossilized forest discovered in Somerset. Source: BBC / Chris Berry.

390 Million-Year-Old Fossilized Forest in Somerset is World’s Oldest

Remnants of the world’s oldest fossilized forests and trees, dating back 390 million years, have been uncovered along the Devon and Somerset coast among high sandstone cliffs. The trees likely...
Section of a Stone Age megastructure in the Bay of Mecklenburg, Germany. Source: Philipp Hoy/PNAS

Nearly 11,000-Year-Old Megastructure Is Oldest Ever Found in Europe

The oldest known megastructure built by humans has been found in Europe in the form of a Stone Age wall, almost an entire kilometer in length! Located at a depth of 21 meters (69 feet) in the Bay of...
Artist's reconstruction of a group of Neanderthals butchering a straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus). (It is unknown whether Neanderthals wore any type of clothing, so the depiction reflects artistic license). Source: Alex Boersma/PNAS

Neanderthals Hunted Elephants Twice the Weight of Modern Ones

Evidence has emerged from Germany dated to 125,000 years ago showing Neanderthals hunted elephants twice the size of contemporaneous ones. Building on that information, which provides new insight...
Did a tribe of cannibals encounter the Denisovans. Source: to_go / Adobe Stock.

Did A Tribe of Cannibals Interbreed with the Denisovans? (Video)

In the untamed landscapes of Island Southeast Asia, scientists investigating the mysterious a group of hominins called the Denisovans have stumbled upon a revelation that challenges conventional...
Prehistoric slingstones used for warfare 7200 years ago in Israel. Source: Emil Aladjem/Israel Antiquities Authority

Evidence of Earliest Warfare and Organized Arming Uncovered in Modern Israel

Researchers have unearthed the earliest evidence of warfare and organized arming in the Southern Levant, dating back approximately 7,200 years. This finding, centered in what is now modern Israel,...
A female prehistoric hunter stands before a mammoth. Source: nsit0108 / Adobe Stock.

Men Hunted, Women Gathered… Or Did They?

Prehistoric men hunted; prehistoric women gathered. At least this is the standard narrative written by and about men to the exclusion of women. The idea of “Man the Hunter” runs deep within...
Was this the world’s first zoo? Source: YouTube Screenshot / Smithsonian Channel.

Was This Ancient Egyptian Site The World's First Zoo? (Video)

In the world of ancient mysteries lies a peculiar Egyptian burial ground that challenges our understanding of the past. Archaeologist Dr Renée Friedman and her team have discovered a prehistoric...
The reconstructed Sweet Track is a walkway aged 5830 years, situated in England's Somerset Levels. Source: International Journal of Heritage Studies/CC BY 4.0

Sweet Track, a 6,000-year-old Testament of Prehistoric Ingenuity

Ancient history, before the major civilizations emerged, is a world full of secrets and hidden knowledge. People often have a skewed view of these periods of humanity, thinking that the people of the...
Stone Age scene recreation in Theopetra cave.

The Theopetra Cave and the Oldest Human Construction in the World

The Theopetra Cave is an archaeological site located in Meteora , in the central Greek region of Thessaly. As a result of archaeological excavations that have been conducted over the years, it has...
The majority of the prehistoric world remains uncharted, as shown by the blank areas of this map. This visualization is based on a Kernel Density Estimate of assemblages in ROAD. Sites with higher densities of assemblages appear more intense in color. Source: Christian Sommer (ROCEEH); made with Natural Earth/Public domain)

Huge New Prehistoric Sites Database Transforms Understanding of Human History

In another step towards unraveling the intricate tapestry of human history, a huge database of prehistoric sites spanning a history from 3 million to 20,000 years ago has been unveiled. This...
The prehistoric Siberian bear. Source: YouTube Screenshot / Reuters.

3,500-Year-Old Bear Found in Siberian Permafrost Dissected (Video)

A unique discovery was made in early 2023, that has no known precedents worldwide: the fully preserved carcass of a 3,460-year-old brown bear , found in the Siberian permafrost. Before this, only...

Deciphering The Meaning of Stone Age Rock Art (Video)

Prehistoric rock art presents a fascinating challenge for archaeologists seeking to decipher its meaning. Stone Age rock carvings in Scotland offer valuable insights into ancient cultures, including...
The Burton Agnes drum. Source: Chris Trebble / CC by SA 4.0.

The Burton Agnes Drum Changed our Understanding of Prehistoric Britain (Video)

The recent discovery of a 5,000-year-old chalk drum in the UK has transformed our understanding of prehistoric Britain . Unearthed during an excavation near Burton Agnes in East Yorkshire, the drum...
Diver in a cenote in Mexico. Public Domain.

13,700-Year-Old Skeleton in Mexican Cenote Reveals Human Origins (Video)

Deep within Mexico's subterranean realm lies a site of immense archaeological significance. Recent discoveries have reshaped our understanding of the earliest human presence in the Americas,...
A diver examines the wreck in Zambratija, Croatia. Source: Philippe Groscaux/AMU-CNRS

The Oldest Hand-sewn Boat Wreck in the Mediterranean to Resurface

An ancient marvel is set to emerge from the depths of Croatia's waters in the Mediterranean. Meet the Zambratija boat, a remarkable testament to maritime history that has defied the ravages of time...
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...
39 stones near the main attraction here at Carnac have been totally destroyed. Source: Karl Allen Lugmayer / Adobe Stock

39 Prehistoric Megaliths At ‘The French Stonehenge’ Destroyed by Developers

DIY chain Mr. Bricolage is under fire for ‘accidentally’ destroying a vital part of the deeply ancient historical heritage of Brittany – ‘The French Stonehenge’. The unfortunate destruction of thirty...
Stone axe and knife (representational). Source: JPS / Adobe Stock.

700,000-Year-Old Tools Found in Greece Rewrite History

The rich historical tapestry of Greece has been dramatically expanded with the recent discovery of hunting tools dating back an astonishing 700,000 years. Unearthed in a coal mine in Megalopolis,...
Cromeleque dos Almendres, Portugal. Source: dudlajzov / Adobe Stock.

Neolithic Marvel: Almendres Megalithic Complex (Video)

The Cromlech of the Almendres in Evora, Portugal, stands as a remarkable testament to ancient civilizations and their profound connection with the cosmos. Dating back an astonishing 7,000 years, this...
Image showing how the ring-shaped artifacts would have been used as spear-thrower grips, using one or two loops. Source: Justin Garnett & Frederic Sellet / University of Kansas

20,000-year-old Rings Cleverly Deduced to be Prehistoric Spear-thrower Grips

Archaeologists digging at certain sites in France have unearthed some curious ring-shaped artifacts over the years that seemed to have no clear purpose. Dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period (...
Lying in a foetal position, the remains were found during a dig near Kraków. Credit: Paweł Micyk

7,000-Year-Old Skeleton in Foetal Position Discovered in Poland

Archaeologists in Poland have discovered a remarkably well preserved 7,000-year-old skeleton lying in the foetal position. The loosely packed soil with a non-acidic chemical composition acted as a...
Left to Right: Photograph of the engraved stone at the time of discovery at the Jibal al-Khashabiyeh, Jordan location. Sketch of position of plans on the engraved monolith from Jibal al-Khashabiyeh. Location of the engraved rock in Wadi az-Zilliyat, Saudi Arabia. Source: SEBAP & Crassard et al. 2023 PLOS One

8,000-Year-Old Rock Carvings Are Earliest Scale Diagrams By Prehistoric Architects

While exploring two remote sites on the Arabian Peninsula, an international team of archaeologists found a pair of rocks that each featured a most unique set of engravings. It seems that the stars...
Prehistoric hunter with his weapon. Source: Daniel Eskridge / Adobe Stock.

Mastering the Atlatl: The Ultimate Prehistoric Hunting Tool (Video)

Have you ever heard of the atlatl ? It's a prehistoric hunting tool that has been used for thousands of years, predating the bow and arrow . It consists of a long stick, usually made from wood or...
A reconstruction of Lucy, an Australopithecus afarensis. Source: procy_ab / Adobe Stock.

The Life and Death of ‘Lucy’ on The Prehistoric Savanna (Video)

Imagine a world vastly different from ours, teeming with creatures long extinct, and ancient human ancestors struggling to survive against all odds. That was the African savanna roughly 3.5 million...

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