Spencer Wells
@spwells.bsky.social
📤 684
📥 362
📝 505
scientist • author • explorer Lombok, Indonesia 🇮🇩 lombokdiaries.substack.com
Evidence points to early goat and sheep dairy consumption in Neolithic Iran ⛏️🐏🇮🇷
phys.org/news/2026-02...
loading . . .
Evidence points to early goat and sheep dairy consumption in Neolithic Iran
Approximately 9,000 years ago, human communities in Southwest Asia underwent a dramatic transformation, known as the Neolithic revolution. This period was marked by pronounced changes in how they live...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-evidence-early-goat-sheep-dairy.html
1 day ago
0
8
2
1.77-Million-Year-Old Homo erectus Crania in China Challenge Long-Held Timelines of Human Dispersal 💀🇨🇳
arkeonews.net/1-77-million...
loading . . .
1.77-Million-Year-Old Homo erectus Crania in China Challenge Long-Held Timelines of Human Dispersal - Arkeonews
New 26Al/10Be burial dating shows China’s Yunxian Homo erectus skulls are 1.77 million years old, making them the oldest securely dated
https://arkeonews.net/1-77-million-year-old-homo-erectus-crania-in-china-challenge-long-held-timelines-of-human-dispersal/
2 days ago
7
142
32
More Than Kin: DNA Reveals 5,500-Year-Old Stone Age Clans in Sweden’s Gotland ⛏️🧬🇸🇪
arkeonews.net/more-than-ki...
loading . . .
More Than Kin: DNA Reveals 5,500-Year-Old Stone Age Clans in Sweden’s Gotland - Arkeonews
DNA analysis of 5,500-year-old Stone Age graves at Ajvide on Gotland reveals that hunter-gatherers buried close relatives together,
https://arkeonews.net/more-than-kin-dna-reveals-5500-year-old-stone-age-clans-in-swedens-gotland/
3 days ago
1
106
25
Massive ceramics haul from a 14th-century shipwreck reveals Singapore's trading past 🤿⛏️🇸🇬
phys.org/news/2026-02...
loading . . .
Massive ceramics haul from a 14th-century shipwreck reveals Singapore's trading past
Singapore was a thriving trading hub hundreds of years before popular narratives depicted it as a quiet fishing village, according to a study of the cargo of a centuries-old shipwreck. Sometime during...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-massive-ceramics-haul-14th-century.html
5 days ago
0
2
0
Japan's ancient 'tigers' were actually cave lions, DNA evidence shows ⛏️🧬🦁🇯🇵
phys.org/news/2026-02...
loading . . .
Japan's ancient 'tigers' were actually cave lions, DNA evidence shows
There aren't any native lion or tiger populations living in Japan today, but this was not always the case. Fossil evidence indicates that at least one species of large cat roamed the archipelago durin...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-japan-ancient-tigers-cave-lions.html
6 days ago
0
31
16
What's the Climate Cost of Growing Crops? 🌾🌏
www.wri.org/insights/cli...
loading . . .
What's the Climate Cost of Growing Crops?
New global maps show croplands produce nearly 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Rice, corn, wheat and oil palm drive most of the impact.
https://www.wri.org/insights/climate-emissions-growing-crops
7 days ago
0
6
1
Northern Britain's oldest human remains are of a young female child, DNA analysis reveals ⛏️🧬🇬🇧
phys.org/news/2026-02...
loading . . .
Northern Britain's oldest human remains are of a young female child, DNA analysis reveals
The oldest human remains ever found in Northern Britain have been identified as a young female three years after being discovered in a Cumbrian cave. Excavated at Heaning Wood Bone Cave in Cumbria's G...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-northern-britain-oldest-human-young.html
9 days ago
2
11
7
Scientists uncover Iron Age origins of Vietnamese tooth blackening practices ⛏️🦷🇻🇳
phys.org/news/2026-02...
loading . . .
Scientists uncover Iron Age origins of Vietnamese tooth blackening practices
Not everyone wants their teeth to be white and gleaming. Tooth blackening is a recognized part of modern Vietnamese culture, and a recent discovery hints that the roots of this practice may stretch al...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-scientists-uncover-iron-age-vietnamese.html
9 days ago
0
8
0
"We expected a clear change between the older hunter-gatherer populations and the newer agriculturalists, but apparently in the lowlands and along the rivers of the Netherlands and Belgium, the change was less immediate. It's like a Waterworld where time stood still." 🧬
phys.org/news/2026-02...
loading . . .
Ancient DNA suggests hunter-gatherers in Europe's lowlands endured until 2500 BCE
Researchers at the University of Huddersfield have used ancient DNA to reveal that hunter-gatherers in one part of Europe survived for thousands of years longer than anywhere else on the continent—and...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-ancient-dna-hunter-europe-lowlands.html
11 days ago
2
12
1
‘I saw the writing on the wall’: Austria offers safe haven for US academics as Trump wages war on universities 🇺🇸🛫🇦🇹
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
loading . . .
‘I saw the writing on the wall’: Austria offers safe haven for US academics as Trump wages war on universities
Other countries benefit from the Trump brain drain as administration wages war on academia and research
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/10/academics-austria-safe-haven
12 days ago
1
6
2
Nature's 'engine is grinding to a halt' as climate change gains pace 🌎
phys.org/news/2026-02...
loading . . .
Nature's 'engine is grinding to a halt' as climate change gains pace, says study
Many ecologists hypothesize that, as global warming accelerates, change in nature must speed up. They assume that as temperatures rise and climatic zones shift, species will face local extinction and ...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-nature-halt-climate-gains-pace.html
12 days ago
0
10
5
Ancient Yangtze floods linked to Shijiahe decline, new 1,000-year rainfall record shows ⛏️🌊🇨🇳
phys.org/news/2026-02...
loading . . .
Ancient Yangtze floods linked to Shijiahe decline, new 1,000-year rainfall record shows
A new study involving researchers from Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences has finally solved the mystery of what caused the collapse of an Ancient Chinese civilization—finding that widespread flood...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-ancient-yangtze-linked-shijiahe-decline.html
14 days ago
0
7
5
Saltwater crocodiles crossed the Indian Ocean to reach the Seychelles — before humans arrived and wiped them out 🧬🐊🇸🇨
www.livescience.com/animals/alli...
loading . . .
Saltwater crocodiles crossed the Indian Ocean to reach the Seychelles — before humans arrived and wiped them out
A DNA study reveals crocs that lived in the Seychelles represented the westernmost population of saltwater crocodiles, having swam at least 1,800 miles to reach the island.
https://www.livescience.com/animals/alligators-crocodiles/saltwater-crocodiles-crossed-the-indian-ocean-to-reach-the-seychelles-before-humans-arrived-and-wiped-them-out
15 days ago
3
108
18
Siberia’s Last Shaman: DNA Study Uncovers a Woman Who Defied Empire and Time ⛏️🧬
arkeonews.net/siberias-las...
loading . . .
Siberia’s Last Shaman: DNA Study Uncovers a Woman Who Defied Empire and Time - Arkeonews
A DNA study of mummified remains in Siberia reveals the story of the last Yakut shaman, uncovering Indigenous resistance to Russian conquest
https://arkeonews.net/siberias-last-shaman-dna-study-uncovers-a-woman-who-defied-empire-and-time/
27 days ago
1
8
4
Social networks spanned thousands of square kilometers during the Upper Paleolithic period ⛏️🇪🇸
phys.org/news/2026-01...
V
loading . . .
Social networks spanned thousands of square kilometers during the Upper Paleolithic period, study finds
Researchers from several European institutions, led by scientists from the University of Barcelona and the University of Alcalá, have demonstrated that the hunter-gatherers who inhabited the interior ...
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-social-networks-spanned-thousands-square.html
about 1 month ago
0
4
2
Humanity’s oldest known cave art has been discovered in Sulawesi 🎨🇮🇩
theconversation.com/humanitys-ol...
loading . . .
Humanity’s oldest known cave art has been discovered in Sulawesi
People were creating cave art in Indonesia 67,800 years ago – before modern humans reached Australia.
https://theconversation.com/humanitys-oldest-known-cave-art-has-been-discovered-in-sulawesi-273364
about 1 month ago
0
13
4
Rock art from at least 67,800 years ago in Sulawesi 🎨🇮🇩
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
loading . . .
Rock art from at least 67,800 years ago in Sulawesi - Nature
A hand stencil painted on a cave wall on a small island off the coast of Sulawesi more than 67,800 years ago suggests a very early occupation of Wallacea.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09968-y
about 1 month ago
0
10
3
Neanderthals took reusable toolkits with them on high-altitude treks through the Alps ⛏️🇮🇹
phys.org/news/2026-01...
loading . . .
Neanderthals took reusable toolkits with them on high-altitude treks through the Alps
When Neanderthals in Italy were crossing the Alps, it's likely they took refuge in high-altitude bear caves. A new study of stone tools in Caverna Generosa, a cave sitting 1,450 meters up in the mount...
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-neanderthals-reusable-toolkits-high-altitude.html
about 1 month ago
0
4
0
Top 10 Discoveries of 2025: The First Indo-European Speakers ⛏️🧬
archaeology.org/issues/onlin...
loading . . .
Top 10 Discoveries of 2025 - The First Indo-European Speakers - Archaeology Magazine - January/February 2026
Eastern Ukraine and Southern Russia
https://archaeology.org/issues/online/collection/the-first-indo-european-speakers/
about 1 month ago
0
5
0
One of Europe’s Most Mysterious Languages May Share Ancient Roots with Iberian 📜
arkeonews.net/one-of-europ...
loading . . .
One of Europe’s Most Mysterious Languages May Share Ancient Roots with Iberian - Arkeonews
New linguistic research suggests that Basque, one of Europe’s most mysterious languages, may share ancient roots with the undeciphered Iberian language.
https://arkeonews.net/one-of-europes-most-mysterious-languages-may-share-ancient-roots-with-iberian/
about 1 month ago
0
5
0
Home at last: ‘Java Man’ fossils anchor new National Museum exhibit 💀🏛️🇮🇩
www.thejakartapost.com/culture/2026...
loading . . .
(Gift Article)Home at last: ‘Java Man’ fossils anchor new National Museum exhibit - Art & Culture - The Jakarta Post
The return of the Dubois Collection from the Netherlands places Indonesia at the heart of human evolution studies, opening new ground for research and public education.
https://www.thejakartapost.com/culture/2026/01/14/home-at-last-java-man-fossils-anchor-new-national-museum-exhibit.html?unlock_code=cqG2KZYJpbA07oDC
about 1 month ago
0
5
1
“Unlike the harsh polar desert conditions of glacial Beringia, this coastal zone offered comparatively stable marine and terrestrial resources.” ⛏️🇯🇵🌎
arkeonews.net/the-first-am...
loading . . .
The First Americans May Not Have Crossed Beringia at All — Hokkaido Could Be the Starting Point - Arkeonews
New archaeological evidence suggests the First Americans may not have crossed Beringia, pointing instead to Hokkaido as a possible starting point for early coastal migration into the Americas.
https://arkeonews.net/the-first-americans-may-not-have-crossed-beringia-at-all-hokkaido-could-be-the-starting-point/
about 1 month ago
0
6
2
The earliest Homo species did not look human, partial skeleton shows 💀
www.science.org/content/arti...
loading . . .
The earliest Homo species did not look human, partial skeleton shows
Homo habilis, 2 million years old, was known mainly from teeth and jaw bones
https://www.science.org/content/article/earliest-homo-species-did-not-look-human-partial-skeleton-shows
about 1 month ago
0
6
4
Scientists reveal what drives homosexual behavior in primates 🐒🦍
phys.org/news/2026-01...
loading . . .
Scientists reveal what drives homosexual behavior in primates
Homosexual behavior in primates has a deep evolutionary basis and is more likely to occur in species that live in harsh environments, are hunted by predators or live in more complex societies, scienti...
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-scientists-reveal-homosexual-behavior-primates.html
about 1 month ago
0
6
3
“Taken together, researchers say, the findings suggest that as SARS-CoV-2 continues evolving in its preferred host (humans), successive variants may be losing their affinity for non-human animals.” 🦠
medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01...
loading . . .
SARS-CoV-2 is on the decline in animals, researchers find
During the first few years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus SARS-CoV-2 was detected in an increasing number of non-human animal species. This included many wild animal species as well as domestic a...
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-sars-cov-decline-animals.html
about 1 month ago
0
8
1
Deep Sulawesi cave dig could reveal overlap between extinct humans and us ⛏️🇮🇩
phys.org/news/2026-01...
loading . . .
Deep Sulawesi cave dig could reveal overlap between extinct humans and us
Could Homo sapiens and an archaic and now-extinct species of early human have lived alongside each other on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi more than 65,000 years ago?
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-deep-sulawesi-cave-reveal-overlap.html
about 1 month ago
0
11
2
‘Extraordinary’ iron age war trumpet find in Britain may have Boudicca links ⛏️📯🇬🇧
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
loading . . .
‘Extraordinary’ iron age war trumpet find in Britain may have Boudicca links
Bronze instrument or carnyx dug up in Norfolk in area inhabited by Celtic tribe led by warrior who fought Romans
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/07/iron-age-war-trumpet-find-britain-norfolk-boudicca-links
about 2 months ago
0
6
0
"Our leading idea is that there's a particular kind of E. coli that lives in the bowels of young people today that wasn't there in the past." 🦠☠️
www.bbc.com/news/article...
loading . . .
Century-old tumours could reveal why more young people are getting bowel cancer
Bowel cancer in people under the age of 50 is increasing worldwide and scientists are striving to find out why.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgxpv9k822o
about 2 months ago
0
1
1
Eye-opening research: Greenland sharks maintain vision for centuries through DNA repair mechanism 🧬👁️🦈
phys.org/news/2026-01...
loading . . .
Eye-opening research: Greenland sharks maintain vision for centuries through DNA repair mechanism
Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk sits in her office, eyes fixed on the computer monitor in front of her. "You see it move its eye," says the UC Irvine associate professor of physiology and biophysics, point...
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-eye-greenland-sharks-vision-centuries.html
about 2 months ago
3
113
29
Yes — Camels Really Lived in Basel During the Roman Era ⛏️🐪🇨🇭
arkeonews.net/yes-camels-r...
loading . . .
Yes — Camels Really Lived in Basel During the Roman Era! - Arkeonews
Evidence from recent archaeological research in Basel shows that hybrid camels really lived in the city during the Roman era.
https://arkeonews.net/yes-camels-really-lived-in-basel-during-the-roman-era/
about 2 months ago
15
419
91
Evidence of upright walking found in 7-million-year-old Sahelanthropus fossils ⛏️🦴🇹🇩
phys.org/news/2025-12...
loading . . .
Evidence of upright walking found in 7-million-year-old Sahelanthropus fossils
In recent decades, scientists have debated whether a seven-million-year-old fossil was bipedal—a trait that would make it the oldest human ancestor. A new analysis by a team of anthropologists offers ...
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-evidence-upright-million-year-sahelanthropus.html
about 2 months ago
1
10
3
Genomic study reveals how people moved pigs across the Pacific 🐖⛵️🌏
phys.org/news/2025-12...
loading . . .
Genomic study reveals how people moved pigs across the Pacific
A new study, published in the journal Science, reveals how millennia of human migration across Pacific islands led to the introduction of invasive pig species all over the Asia-Pacific region.
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-genomic-reveals-people-pigs-pacific.html
about 2 months ago
2
40
12
All of our religions, stories, languages and norms were muddled and mixed through mobility and exchange throughout history 🌎🌍🌏
aeon.co/essays/there...
loading . . .
There are no pure cultures – we have always been global | Aeon Essays
All of our religions, stories, languages and norms were muddled and mixed through mobility and exchange throughout history
https://aeon.co/essays/there-are-no-pure-cultures-we-have-always-been-global
about 2 months ago
0
7
1
Anatolia’s First Phoenician Find: Human-Faced Glass Beads and Baby Jar Burials Unearthed ⛏️🇹🇷
arkeonews.net/anatolias-fi...
loading . . .
Anatolia’s First Phoenician Find: Human-Faced Glass Beads and Baby Jar Burials Unearthed - Arkeonews
Discover a historic first in Anatolia as archaeologists uncover Phoenician human-faced glass beads and rare baby jar burials at Oluz Höyük,
https://arkeonews.net/anatolias-first-phoenician-find-human-faced-glass-beads-and-baby-jar-burials-unearthed/
about 2 months ago
2
142
32
There is still good science being posted on X, despite Ⓜ️elon’s efforts to make it a…well, you know. The bot-posted precious metal silliness is absolutely ridiculous, though. 🤖📱
about 2 months ago
0
1
1
Ancient Puebloans kept macaws and parrots in great houses for ceremonial use ⛏️🦜🌎
phys.org/news/2025-12...
loading . . .
Ancient Puebloans kept macaws and parrots in great houses for ceremonial use
In a recent study, Dr. Katelyn Bishop conducted a zooarchaeological and archival data reanalysis of macaws and parrots recovered from Chaco Canyon to better understand their depositional contexts, mat...
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-ancient-puebloans-macaws-parrots-great.html
about 2 months ago
0
5
2
“The bone skates would have allowed residents to travel efficiently across [the] frozen [Kerch Strait], likely for purposes related to trade, communication, seasonal movement, or economic activity.” ⛸️⛏️🇷🇺
arkeonews.net/archaeologis...
loading . . .
Archaeologists Discover Ancient Horse-Bone Skates - Arkeonews
Archaeologists have discovered ancient horse-bone skates in Russia’s Kuban region, revealing how early communities adapted to winter conditions
https://arkeonews.net/archaeologists-discover-ancient-horse-bone-skates/
about 2 months ago
1
3
2
Humans and other hominins in Sulawesi 50,000 years ago: 'These two populations may have met and interacted with each other' 💀🇮🇩
www.bbc.com/indonesia/ar...
loading . . .
Manusia purba dan manusia modern kemungkinan bertemu di Sulawesi - BBC News Indonesia
Penelitian arkeologi di Sulawesi menemui babak baru dengan temuan krusial transisi antara masa hidup hominin atau manusia purba dan Homo sapiens puluhan ribu tahun lalu. Kedua spesies itu pernah hidup...
https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/articles/c9d9wzyn794o
about 2 months ago
0
2
0
How did Bronze Age plague spread? A sheep might solve the mystery. 🦠🧬⛏️
phys.org/news/2025-12...
loading . . .
How did Bronze Age plague spread? A sheep might solve the mystery
In the Middle Ages, a plague killed a third of Europe's population. Fleas carried the plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, transmitting the Black Death from infected rats to millions of people.
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-bronze-age-plague-sheep-mystery.html
about 2 months ago
0
4
1
New Guineans and Aboriginal Australians descend from two groups who arrived 60,000 years ago, research suggests 🧬🌏
phys.org/news/2025-12...
loading . . .
New Guineans and Aboriginal Australians descend from two groups who arrived 60,000 years ago, research suggests
A collaboration between the University of Huddersfield's Archaeogenetics Research Group and the University of Southampton's Center for Maritime Archaeology, has clarified the first settlement of New G...
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-guineans-aboriginal-australians-descend-groups.html
about 2 months ago
1
9
4
Merry Christmas from Lombok! 🎄🏝️🇮🇩
about 2 months ago
2
18
2
“Until now, mainstream scholarship held that Oghuz Turkish only became a written language in the 13th century, following the spread of Arabic script during the Seljuk and post-Seljuk periods.” ⛏️🇰🇿
arkeonews.net/kultobe-insc...
loading . . .
Kültöbe Inscription Found by Chance in Kazakhstan Pushes Oghuz Writing Back Four Centuries - Arkeonews
The Kültöbe Inscription, accidentally discovered in a village school museum in Kazakhstan, proves that the Oghuz Turks used writing four
https://arkeonews.net/kultobe-inscription-found-by-chance-in-kazakhstan-pushes-oghuz-writing-back-four-centuries/
2 months ago
0
5
1
Late Miocene megalake regressions in Eurasia 🌊🌏
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
loading . . .
Late Miocene megalake regressions in Eurasia - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Late Miocene megalake regressions in Eurasia
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-91001-z
2 months ago
0
9
2
No Mortar, No Cement, No Metal – How Sardinia’s Nuragic Towers Have Defied Gravity for 3,500 Years ⛏️🏰🇮🇹
arkeonews.net/no-mortar-no...
loading . . .
No Mortar, No Cement, No Metal - How Sardinia’s Nuragic Towers Have Defied Gravity for 3,500 Years? - Arkeonews
No mortar, cement, or metal—yet Sardinia’s Nuragic towers have stood for 3,500 years. New scientific research reveals the ancient engineering and physics behind these gravity-defying Bronze Age struct...
https://arkeonews.net/no-mortar-no-cement-no-metal-how-sardinias-nuragic-towers-have-defied-gravity-for-3500-years/
2 months ago
2
11
2
7 of the Most Fascinating Archaeological Finds of 2025 ⛏️
www.history.com/articles/arc...
loading . . .
7 of the Most Fascinating Archaeological Finds of 2025
Neanderthal fingerprint art was among the discoveries.
https://www.history.com/articles/archaeology-discoveries-2025
2 months ago
6
276
72
“By sequencing the DNA, the research team was, on a weekly basis, able to identify the presence of 2,700 organism groups within several miles of the station, and track how their populations increased or decreased over 34 years.” 🧬💨
phys.org/news/2025-12...
loading . . .
DNA caught on old air filters reveals hidden past of ecosystems
DNA captured on air filters and stored since the 1960s acts as an ecological time capsule, according to a recent publication in Nature Communications. The findings show that tiny fragments of genetic ...
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-dna-caught-air-filters-reveals.html
2 months ago
1
15
1
Stories from traditional knowledge combined with archaeological work trace 2,300km of Songlines 🗺️🇦🇺
theconversation.com/stories-from...
loading . . .
Stories from traditional knowledge combined with archaeological work trace 2,300km of Songlines
Rock art images show Songlines reached from Murujuga beside the Indian Ocean to the eastern Simpson Desert, 2,300 kilometers away.
https://theconversation.com/stories-from-traditional-knowledge-combined-with-archaeological-work-trace-2-300km-of-songlines-269400
2 months ago
0
4
2
8.2 ka event triggered social transformation, not destruction, at China's Jiahu site ⛏️🇨🇳
phys.org/news/2025-12...
loading . . .
8.2 ka event triggered social transformation, not destruction, at China's Jiahu site
In a recent study, Dr. Yuchen Tan and colleagues examined the response of the North China Plain settlement of Jiahu to the abrupt climatic 8.2 ka event. They found that Jiahu not only survived but als...
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-ka-event-triggered-social-destruction.html
2 months ago
1
59
14
A Warming Arctic May Be Changing Polar Bears’ DNA 🧬🐻❄️ Wild…
nautil.us/a-warming-ar...
loading . . .
A Warming Arctic May Be Changing Polar Bears’ DNA
A Warming Arctic May Be Changing Polar Bears’ DNA: Some polar bears have shown surprising genetic changes that may help them adapt.
https://nautil.us/a-warming-arctic-may-be-changing-polar-bears-dna-1254348/
2 months ago
0
3
1
New biomolecular technique uncovers millet in medieval Ukrainian dental calculus 🌾🦷 Very cool.
phys.org/news/2025-12...
loading . . .
New biomolecular technique uncovers millet in medieval Ukrainian dental calculus
A study has, for the first time, identified minute traces of broomcorn millet consumption directly from human dental calculus, offering an unprecedented window into medieval diets and expanding the to...
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-biomolecular-technique-uncovers-millet-medieval.html
2 months ago
1
8
2
Load more
feeds!
log in
