This article was originally featured on Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com. In the ancient Mediterranean, Corinth was an economic powerhouse. Built on a narrow isthmus—a natural choke point between north and south—the city controlled trade between northern Greece and the Peloponnese peninsula. Bound on […]
The mysterious ‘star dune’ in the Sahara is on the move
The desert’s enormous star dunes are mysterious structures. These sand dunes are found in some of Earth’s largest modern deserts, but also on the planet Mars and Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Star dunes are giant sand dunes that get their name from the arms of sand and rock that spread down from a central peak. […]
Human have been eating hazelnuts for at least 6,000 years
Humans’ early ancestors in Europe may not have spent their days eating Nutella on toasted bread, but hazelnuts were a valuable resource thousands of years ago. The way this vital source of energy was cultivated and harvested evolved as the landscape changed as giant glaciers retreated. Isotope analysis of the carbon in archaeological traces of […]
Neanderthals likely used glue to make tools
In addition to hunting cave lions, creating art, cooking crabs, and potentially being the ultimate morning people, Neanderthals in what is now Europe also used their own kind of glue. A study published February 21 in the journal Science Advances finds that their stone tools were held together by a multi-component adhesive. This is the […]
Iron Age humans found mysteriously buried with dogs and horses
Archaeologists and anthropologists often find ancient humans buried alongside dogs, cats, and even horses. We are still piecing together the mystery of why co-burials were common. An archeological site in northern Italy points to some potential reasons. The co-burials could have been meant to provide a meal and companionship in the afterlife. They could even […]
Europe’s oldest human-made megastructure may be at the bottom of the Baltic Sea
A stone wall underneath the Baltic Sea may be the oldest known megastructure built by humans in Europe. It dates back about 11,000 years to the Stone Age, and was first discovered in 2021 about six miles off of Germany’s Baltic coast. The findings are described in a study published February 12 in the journal […]
Shipwreck hunters find WWII-era ship in Lake Superior
A team of shipwreck hunters have found the wreckage of a merchant ship that sank in the icy waters of Lake Superior in 1940. The 244-foot bulk carrier Arlington was discovered 600 feet deep, roughly 35 miles north of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. [Related: Dead ships find solace under the treacherous surface of the Great Lakes.] […]
2,000 new characters from burnt-up ancient Greek scroll deciphered with AI
Damaged ancient papyrus scrolls dating back to the 1st century CE are finally being deciphered by the Vesuvius Challenge contest winners using computer vision and AI machine learning programs. The scrolls were carbonized during the eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE and have been all-but-inaccessible using normal restoration methods, as they have been […]
Neanderthals and modern humans intermingled in Europe 45,000 years ago
About a decade ago, the theory that Neanderthals had bred with Homo sapiens outside of Africa rocked the anthropological, archeological, and genetics worlds. Some scientists looked down on these now extinct human cousins, but quickly learned that they themselves could share as much as four percent of their DNA with Neanderthals. The question of how […]
Ancient Mesopotamian texts show when and why humans first kissed
Humans are born with instincts for crying and smiling, but not for kissing. Sometime in the past, our ancestors had the idea to smack their mouths together and call it romantic. And though we may not know who gave the first smooch, ancient records of these steamy sessions are helping us piece together when people […]