archaeology

Archaeologists dug into a riverbank in Zambia and uncovered what they call the earliest known wood construction by humans. The half-million year-old artifacts could change how we see Stone-Age people.

World's oldest wooden structure defies Stone-Age stereotypes

3:30pm September 22, 2023

by Gabriel Spitzer

Archaeologists dug into a riverbank in Zambia and uncovered what they call the earliest known wood construction by humans. The half-million year-old artifacts could change how we see Stone-Age people.

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Ruins of housing believed to have been used by soldiers stationed at the garrison.

Archaeologists in Turkey have identified massive structures below a Roman-era castle

5:01am September 01, 2023

The multistory, below-ground structures in Diyarbakir — ID'ed by using ground-penetrating radar — may have sheltered some 10,000 people during wartime many centuries ago, archaeologists believe.

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A relief carved on a block in a stairway, one of the many exciting artifacts uncovered at Ocomtun in May.

How scientists lasered in on a 'monumental' Maya city — with actual lasers

12:13pm August 01, 2023

by Emily Olson

Light-mapping technology is expediting the pace of archaeological discovery in the dense jungles of central Mexico. The latest find could offer clues about how humans advanced agriculturally.

The Huallamarca pyramid sits in Lima's upscale San Isidro neighborhood, surrounded by homes, embassies and high rises.

World News

In Peru, discovery of ancient ruins outpaces authorities' ability to care for them

5:01am July 29, 2023

by John Otis

"Everywhere you dig, you will find something — because Lima was home to great civilizations," says a museum director in the capital. "But it's impossible to save everything in a poor country."

Macaques use stones as hammers to smash open food items like shellfish and nuts.

Stone flakes made by modern monkeys trigger big questions about early humans

4:40pm March 10, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Monkeys using stones to crack open nuts generate many stone flakes accidentally that look exactly like the ones archaeologists have long thought early humans made intentionally as tools. Oops.

A new study of ancient human remains finds that horse riding may have been common as early as 4,500 to 5,000 years ago.

Science

Scientists find signs of horse riding in ancient human remains

5:04pm March 03, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Researchers have found evidence of horseback riding in skeletal remains of people who lived about 5,000 years ago, adding to a body of research on when people first started using horses to get around.

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Policemen are silhouetted against the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt, in 2012.

A scan discovers a sealed, 30-foot-long hallway inside a Giza pyramid

11:52am March 02, 2023

by The Associated Press

The corridor is perched above the ancient wonder's main entrance, authorities said. The function of the chamber is unknown, although such corridors often lead to further archaeological discoveries.

A view inside what was the dome of the historic Habib-i Najjar Mosque in Antakya.

Turkey's Antakya is in ruins after the quake, erasing cultural and religious heritage

9:48am February 25, 2023

The city of Antakya, known in antiquity as Antioch, was at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries. After the Feb. 6 earthquake, many of its centuries-old monuments and sites lie in ruins.

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Statues at the site of the discovery of two dozen well-preserved bronze statues from an ancient Tuscan thermal spring in San Casciano dei Bagni, Italy on Nov. 3.

World News

Discovery of ancient bronze statues in Italy may rewrite Etruscan and Roman history

5:01am December 03, 2022

by Sylvia Poggioli

The discoveries shed light on what the Italian Culture Ministry calls a "unique multicultural and multilingual haven of peace" between Etruscans and Romans at a time when they were mostly at war.

Crates are brought out of King Tut's tomb in 1923, shortly after its discovery.

100 years after unearthing King Tut's tomb, archaeologists make new discoveries

5:00am November 07, 2022

by Giulia Heyward

Uncovered coffins, papyrus documents and other artifacts have recently been found at the Saqqara site in Giza, Egypt. It coincides with a new accusation that jewelry was stolen from the site.