Skulls

Skeletons unearthed at a 3,000-year-old cemetery in Vanuatu.

31 December, 2015 - 00:52 Natalia Klimczak

Ancient Skulls Give Insights into Origins of Polynesians

Due to an analysis of the oldest-known cemetery in the South Pacific, the long-standing debate over the origins and ancestry of Polynesians may finally be resolved. A group of scientists, who studied...

Main: A cenote in Tulum, Mexico. Inset: Ancient skull found in Tulum cenote.

6 September, 2015 - 21:54 aprilholloway

10,000-year-old human remains found in underwater cave in Mexico shed light on ancient migrations

In May last year, archaeologists made the exciting announcement that a complete Ice Age skeleton had been found in an underwater cave in Tulum, Mexico. Since then, more than eight well-preserved...

Newly discovered skulls at the Templo Mayor complex in Mexico.

22 August, 2015 - 14:56 Robin Whitlock

Archaeologists unearth Aztec human skull trophy rack in Mexico temple

A trophy rack of human skulls that had once belonged to victims of human sacrifice has been discovered by archaeologists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History at the Templo...

Profound cranial injuries on the frontal skull bone of a child approximately 8 years old. Other such injuries are evidence of a prehistoric massacre or torture at a mass grave at Schoeneck-Kilianstaedten, near Frankfurt, Germany.

19 August, 2015 - 15:20 Robin Whitlock

Archaeologists discover evidence of prehistoric massacre: Broken bones, smashed skulls

Archaeologists from the University of Mainz in Germany have discovered a mass grave at Schoeneck-Kilianstaedten, near Frankfurt. The discovery may be evidence of an ancient massacre and dates to...

The Votive Pyramid of the archeological zone of La Quemada, Mexico

5 May, 2015 - 15:56 aprilholloway

La Quemada civilization in Mexico ate their enemies and displayed their bones

A new study that analyzed human bones found at the La Quemada archaeological site in Mexico, has revealed that the ancient people that inhabited the site 1,500 years ago ate their enemies and hung up...

Boudicca led her people in a revolt against the Romans in Camulodunum, Londinium, and Verulamium.

27 April, 2015 - 15:29 aprilholloway

Human bones in pot may reflect gruesome ritual conducted by army of Queen Boudicca

A 2,000-year-old cooking pot filled with cremated human bones has been found by the banks of the Walbrook river in London, in what was known in ancient times as Londinium, a thriving capital of a...

18 September, 2014 - 02:45 aprilholloway

3,300-year-old Egyptian woman with hair extensions discovered in Armana

Archaeologists carrying out excavations at Tell el-Amarna in Egypt, the capital city built by Pharaoh Akhenaten in c. 1330 BC, have found a number of human remains containing well-preserved elaborate...

17 July, 2014 - 23:55 ancient-origins

Ring of Skulls: Ancient and Modern Sacrifices to the Water Gods

Liz Leafloor | Mysteriorum The macabre discovery of a ring of children’s skulls buried in the earth around lakes in Germany and Switzerland has revealed an age-old tradition of making offerings and...

Ancient child skulls gifts for Bronze Age lake gods

11 July, 2014 - 04:14 aprilholloway

Ancient child skulls may have been gifts for Bronze Age lake gods

A new study published in the journal Antiquity has revealed that a number of Bronze Age child skulls discovered around the perimeter of ancient settlements in Switzerland and Germany show signs of...

20 June, 2014 - 03:33 aprilholloway

Ancient skulls belong to unknown species that preceded the Neanderthals

A new analysis of ancient skulls retrieved from a deep bone pit in the Atapuerca Mountains of northern Spain, suggests they belong to an unknown species that has characteristics of Neanderthals, as...

3 March, 2014 - 01:11 aprilholloway

Hopewell skulls pose a mystery

The Hopewell culture describes a widely dispersed set of related Native American populations that flourished along The Ohio River Valley from 200 BC to 500 AD. The culture is characterised by its...

27 February, 2014 - 12:32 aprilholloway

Sacrificial altar uncovered in ancient Neolithic city in China

Archaeologists have uncovered a number of altar relics , including jade artefacts and pits for offerings, at the Shimao ruins, a Neolithic city in China. The findings suggest a religious culture at...

8 February, 2014 - 00:13 ancient-origins

Interview with Brien Foerster – Unravelling the Genetics of Elongated Skulls

In this revealing interview, Brien Foerster sheds lights on DNA testing undertaken on one of the Paracas elongated skulls. More than 300 of these elongated skulls have already been found and physical...

Artistic representations of the Paracas people. Credit: Marcia K. Moore

5 February, 2014 - 13:47 aprilholloway

Initial DNA analysis of Paracas elongated skull released – with incredible results

Paracas is a desert peninsula located within the Pisco Province in the Inca Region, on the south coast of Peru. It is here were Peruvian archaeologist, Julio Tello, made an amazing discovery in 1928...

18 January, 2014 - 04:40 aprilholloway

The plastered skulls of Jericho

Jericho (also called Tell es-Sultan) is a city with an incredibly rich history located in Palestine, near the Jordan River in the West Bank, some 55 kilometres from Jerusalem. It represents one of...

17 January, 2014 - 00:59 aprilholloway

Elongated skulls and a mythical underwater Mayan cave

A flooded sinkhole in southern Mexico that terrifies local villagers was recently explored by underwater archaeologists , who found the submerged cavern littered with elongated skulls and human bones...