Scientists trace the evolution and migration of ancient hominins to the edges of India Human history can be characterised perhaps by one skill above all else: the ability to make tools that vastly expand our technological abilities. In fact, for scientists tracing the fascinating, branching tree of human evolution, non-perishable stone tools provide a priceless …Continue readingHuman evolution: a last archaic hominin stronghold in India
Tag:archeology
Let the Eurasian games begin
This area of northwest China may have been the venue for Eurasia’s oldest ball games. A team of Swiss, German and Chinese researchers has used radiocarbon dating to analyse three leather balls found in graves in a cemetery near the modern city of Turfan and dated them to between 1189 and 911 BCE. That’s not …Continue readingLet the Eurasian games begin
An ancient story of change and adaptation
Archaeologists are continuing to unravel the complex history of Australia’s Aboriginal people, the world’s oldest civilisation. A new study shows they have occupied South Australia’s Riverland region for 29,000 years – since before the Last Glacial Maximum – which is 22,000 more than previously thought. It also offers insights into how the first Australians adapted …Continue readingAn ancient story of change and adaptation
New clues to early human innovation
Archaeologists have found some rare treasures in a 48,000-year-old cache of bone tools and artefacts excavated from a Sri Lankan cave. They include the earliest known bow-and-arrow technology found outside Africa and implements possibly used to make clothing – a development traditionally believed to have arisen only as protection against cold. Also uncovered were decorative …Continue readingNew clues to early human innovation
Roman city revealed without any digging
British and Belgian archaeologists have comprehensively mapped an ancient Roman city without turning a single sod of earth. Advanced ground penetrating radar (GPR) allowed them not only to discover how it looked around 700 CE, but also – by looking at different depths – how it evolved over hundreds of years. Located 50 kilometres north …Continue readingRoman city revealed without any digging
Cannabis identified at Judahite shrine
Israeli researchers say they have identified traces of cannabis and frankincense at an ancient shrine, suggesting both were used as part of cult practices in the Kingdom of Judah. Excavations at Tel Arad in the Beer-sheba Valley in southern Israel 50 years ago revealed two superimposed fortresses, dated to the 9th to early 6th centuries …Continue readingCannabis identified at Judahite shrine