Study at Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa uncovered some of the oldest evidence of deliberate fire use, over a million years old. Researchers used a new non-destructive luminescence method to spot burnt bones, proving early humans carried fire deep underground medium.com/the-academic...

New research on a 2,000-year-old Xiongnu cemetery in Mongolia shows that social status, not blood, decided who was buried where. One brother got a lavish tomb while another was placed on the margins, revealing hierarchies even within families. medium.com/science-spec...

Archaeologists in Israel just uncovered the first-ever mother-of-pearl stamp seal from the southern Levant—a 7th century BCE artifact engraved with the emblem of the Mesopotamian moon god. Likely worn as an amulet by an Assyrian newcomer medium.com/palaeopress/...

Two 500-year-old freeze-dried potatoes (chuño) were just unearthed at the Inca site of Tambo Viejo on Peru's arid south coast, remarkable because chuño can only be made high in the freezing Andes, not at the coast. medium.com/palaeopress/...

Two 500-year-old freeze-dried potatoes (chuño) were just unearthed at the Inca site of Tambo Viejo on Peru's arid south coast, remarkable because chuño can only be made high in the freezing Andes, not at the coast. medium.com/palaeopress/...

Scientists just confirmed Praearcturus gigas was the largest scorpion ever—over a meter long with 16cm pincers. And it may have been semi-aquatic, hunting prey both on land and in water during the Early Devonian. medium.com/fossils-et-a...

A skeleton from 6th-7th century Italy is the first physical proof of violence against Langobard women. Bearing two healed head wounds, she survived an attack that Lombard legal codes acknowledged but archaeology had never confirmed until now. medium.com/the-academic...

Why did T. rex have such tiny arms? New research shows giant predators dinosaurs repeatedly traded arm length for crushing skulls, because when your prey weighs more than a bus, powerful jaws beat puny arms. medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Why did T. rex have such tiny arms? New research shows giant predators dinosaurs repeatedly traded arm length for crushing skulls, because when your prey weighs more than a bus, powerful jaws beat puny arms. medium.com/fossils-et-a...

A skeleton from 6th-7th century Italy is the first physical proof of violence against Langobard women. Bearing two healed head wounds, she survived an attack that Lombard legal codes acknowledged but archaeology had never confirmed until now. medium.com/the-academic...

Chemical fingerprinting just confirmed that mysterious green stones buried in elite Panamanian tombs (AD 800–1000) are real emeralds & they came from Colombia, over 700 km away. It's the northernmost evidence of emerald use by Native Americans before European contact. medium.com/science-spec...

Iron Age Scythians were famous as "mare's milk drinkers", but protein analysis shows they actually relied on sheep and goat dairy, with only one individual showing horse milk. 7k8fxn80.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...

A glass bottle unearthed in the 1980s in York sat forgotten for 30 years, until a researcher realised it was an Egyptian kohl container, one of only a handful ever found outside Egypt. It may be evidence that an Egyptian soldier brought his eyeliner to 2nd-century Britain medium.com/the-academic...

A study of Europe's largest Copper Age burial in Spain found 92% of children's skeletons showed signs of respiratory disease (likely TB) nearly 5,000 years ago. Long before antibiotics, breathing itself could be a deadly battle. medium.com/palaeopress/...

Scientists extracted ancient proteins from 400,000-year-old H. erectus teeth in China and found a molecular signature unique to the species, plus evidence that H. erectus and Denisovans interbred. Could this be the mysterious "ghost lineage" lurking in Denisovan DNA? medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Scientists extracted ancient proteins from 400,000-year-old H. erectus teeth in China and found a molecular signature unique to the species, plus evidence that H. erectus and Denisovans interbred. Could this be the mysterious "ghost lineage" lurking in Denisovan DNA? medium.com/fossils-et-a...

A 19th-century dental bridge made of cattle bone and reinforced with toxic lead is the first of its kind ever found in Portugal. Too thin to chew with, it was likely worn purely for aesthetics. medium.com/the-academic...

A 19th-century dental bridge made of cattle bone and reinforced with toxic lead is the first of its kind ever found in Portugal. Too thin to chew with, it was likely worn purely for aesthetics. medium.com/the-academic...

A new study reveals the only known subtropical primate mummy from South America. The mummy is of a black-and-gold howler monkey dressed in rhea feathers, dating to the late pre-Hispanic era (ca. 1475–1644 CE). medium.com/palaeopress/...

Scientists just described a new extinct koala species (Phascolarctos sulcomaxilliaris) from Western Australia that had distinctive grooves in its skull, essentially giving it "dimples." It likely went extinct ~28,000 years ago when climate change wiped out its forests medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Archaeologists identified the earliest known restorative dental work in Scottish history: a 20-carat gold wire ligature on a medieval man's jaw from Aberdeen, likely fitted by a goldsmith between 1460 and 1670 CE. medium.com/the-academic...

Launching Palaeopress: where history buffs, paleontologists, and curious minds share their love for the past. If you're passionate about (pre)history, we'd love it if you followed or wrote for us! medium.com/palaeopress/...

Scientists just described a new extinct koala species (Phascolarctos sulcomaxilliaris) from Western Australia that had distinctive grooves in its skull, essentially giving it "dimples." It likely went extinct ~28,000 years ago when climate change wiped out its forests medium.com/fossils-et-a...

New study found scurvy in ancient California infants as young as 40 weeks but not in their mothers. Slower bone turnover in adults may have hidden signs of deficiency, possibly exacerbated by food taboos and pregnancy nutrient needs medium.com/palaeopress/...

New study found scurvy in ancient California infants as young as 40 weeks but not in their mothers. Slower bone turnover in adults may have hidden signs of deficiency, possibly exacerbated by food taboos and pregnancy nutrient needs medium.com/palaeopress/...

Archaeologists just identified ~55,000-year-old heat-treated chert at Nauwalabila I in Australia making it the oldest in the world, predating Eurasian examples by at least 40,000 years. medium.com/the-academic...

Bronze Age Chinese oracle bones recorded inquiries about "disaster." Interestingly, the disaster character resembles jagged flood waves. A study links these inscriptions to intensified typhoon activity that drove population declines & site abandonment medium.com/science-spec...

Archaeologists uncovered a late Roman grave with a purse full of broken metal and coins minted 300 years apart. The find suggests communities coped with vanishing bronze currency by valuing metal by weight, not face value. medium.com/the-academic...

A house being built during COVID lockdown accidentally uncovered the oldest known human burials on Patagonia's Atlantic coast. 2 children laid to rest over 10,000 years ago. The find pushes back the timeline of coastal settlement in the region by thousands of years medium.com/science-spec...

A 252-million-year-old Lystrosaurus embryo curled inside a soft-shelled egg is the first solid fossil evidence that our ancient mammal ancestors laid eggs. Turns out the platypus isn't a weirdo, it's just holding onto the old ways. medium.com/fossils-et-a...

A 252-million-year-old Lystrosaurus embryo curled inside a soft-shelled egg is the first solid fossil evidence that our ancient mammal ancestors laid eggs. Turns out the platypus isn't a weirdo, it's just holding onto the old ways. medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Quartz crystal is a nightmare to knap, yet Clovis people shaped it into points anyway. New research suggests the rarity, beauty, and triboluminescence may have given these points symbolic meaning without sacrificing their use as everyday hunting tools. medium.com/the-academic...

Quartz crystal is a nightmare to knap, yet Clovis people shaped it into points anyway. New research suggests the rarity, beauty, and triboluminescence may have given these points symbolic meaning without sacrificing their use as everyday hunting tools. medium.com/the-academic...

Archaeologists in China just identified the first known case of a cleft lip in Chinese archaeology, a young man buried in the early 1800s. Unlike in many societies that marginalized people with deformities, he was treated like anyone else in his community. medium.com/science-spec...

Archaeologists in China just identified the first known case of a cleft lip in Chinese archaeology, a young man buried in the early 1800s. Unlike in many societies that marginalized people with deformities, he was treated like anyone else in his community. medium.com/science-spec...

Scientists just identified the first-ever emperor butterfly fossil: a stunning 30-million-year-old specimen from southern France with preserved wing patterns and eyespots. The find pushes the group's origins back millions of years. medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Scientists just identified the first-ever emperor butterfly fossil: a stunning 30-million-year-old specimen from southern France with preserved wing patterns and eyespots. The find pushes the group's origins back millions of years. medium.com/fossils-et-a...

New research from Gnith, Senegal reveals that pearl millet reached West Africa's coast around AD 200; driven by expanding arid conditions pushing dryland farming practices westward. medium.com/the-academic...

New research from Gnith, Senegal reveals that pearl millet reached West Africa's coast around AD 200; driven by expanding arid conditions pushing dryland farming practices westward. medium.com/the-academic...

Researchers snorkeled through an underwater Texas cave and found giant tortoises and lion-sized armadillo-like creatures that had no business being there, rewriting what we knew about the region's ancient ecosystem. medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Monte Verde, long considered the oldest human site in South America at ~14,500 years old, has been redated to just 4,000–8,600 years ago. Turns out a nearby creek washed younger deposits into older layers, causing dating inaccuracies. medium.com/the-academic...

Monte Verde, long considered the oldest human site in South America at ~14,500 years old, has been redated to just 4,000–8,600 years ago. Turns out a nearby creek washed younger deposits into older layers, causing dating inaccuracies. medium.com/the-academic...

Archaeologists finally solved why only horse skulls were buried at Mongolia's 3,000-year-old Bronze Age monuments turns out the meat was eaten far away, and only the skull was brought back to guide the dead's soul into the afterlife. medium.com/the-academic...

Meet Jirahgorgon ceto, a 265-million-year-old predator just discovered in South Africa that's rewriting what we know about ancient apex predators! Turns out large, heavily-built gorgonopsians evolved way earlier than scientists thought medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Archaeologists finally solved why only horse skulls were buried at Mongolia's 3,000-year-old Bronze Age monuments turns out the meat was eaten far away, and only the skull was brought back to guide the dead's soul into the afterlife. medium.com/the-academic...

Meet Jirahgorgon ceto, a 265-million-year-old predator just discovered in South Africa that's rewriting what we know about ancient apex predators! Turns out large, heavily-built gorgonopsians evolved way earlier than scientists thought medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Scandinavia's largest 'burial mound' may never have held a burial at all. New research suggests Norway's Raknehaugen was built as a response to a catastrophic 6th-century landslide, not to honor a king. medium.com/the-academic...

Scandinavia's largest 'burial mound' may never have held a burial at all. New research suggests Norway's Raknehaugen was built as a response to a catastrophic 6th-century landslide, not to honor a king. medium.com/the-academic...

A recent study of an Iron Age mass grave reveals a chilling prehistoric massacre where women and children were selectively targeted from across the region. Biomolecular analysis suggests this wasn't a random raid, but a deliberate, organized act of violence medium.com/teatime-hist...

New research built an oviraptorid model to test how these dinosaurs incubated their eggs. The results? Turns out they were neither full-on bird brooders nor croc-style nesters, but something in between medium.com/fossils-et-a...