Archaeologists reconstruct an ancient Aryan bow
A unique compound bow from the Bronze Age nearly 2 meters tall was reconstructed from authentic materials by SUSU specialists as part of an international team. This weapon had the greatest accuracy, shooting distance and killing power in its time......»»
Research unlocks supernova stardust secrets
Curtin University-led research has discovered a rare dust particle trapped in an ancient extra-terrestrial meteorite that was formed by a star other than our sun......»»
Elephant hunting by early humans may explain proximity between extensive Paleolithic stone quarries and water sources
Archaeologists from Tel Aviv University have uncovered the mystery surrounding extensive Paleolithic stone quarrying and tool-making sites: Why did Homo erectus repeatedly revisit the very same locations for hundreds of thousands of years? The answer.....»»
Researcher uses machine learning to help digitize ancient texts from Indus civilization
The civilization of Indus River Valley is considered one of the three earliest civilizations in world history, along with Mesopotamia and Egypt. Bigger geographically than those two as it unfolded starting in 3300 BCE across what is now Pakistan and.....»»
Team proposes using AI to reconstruct particle paths leading to new physics
Particles colliding in accelerators produce numerous cascades of secondary particles. The electronics processing the signals avalanching in from the detectors then have a fraction of a second in which to assess whether an event is of sufficient inter.....»»
Estimating coastal water depth from space via satellite-derived bathymetry
Since ancient times, knowing the depth of coastal waters has been key to safe and successful navigation and to exploit the sea's resources. Today, bathymetry—the measurement of sea depth—is even more important, playing essential roles in our unde.....»»
Plant material on obsidian blades on Rapa Nui suggests settlers there visited South America and returned
A team of archaeologists affiliated with several institutions in Chile reports evidence that early settlers on the island of Rapa Nui sailed to South America, interacted with people living there and then returned. In their study, published in PLOS ON.....»»
Ancient giant dolphin discovered in the Amazon
Paleontologists from the University of Zurich have announced the discovery of a new species of freshwater dolphin in the Peruvian Amazon region. Surprisingly, its closest living relatives can be found in the river dolphins of South Asia......»»
Scientists find one of the most ancient stars that formed in another galaxy
The first generation of stars transformed the universe. Inside their cores, simple hydrogen and helium fused into a rainbow of elements. When these stars died, they exploded and sent these new elements across the universe. The iron running in your ve.....»»
Study reveals "cozy domesticity" of prehistoric stilt-house dwellers in England"s ancient marshland
A major report on the remains of a stilt village that was engulfed in flames almost 3,000 years ago reveals in unprecedented detail the daily lives of England's prehistoric fenlanders......»»
New archive of ancient human brains challenges misconceptions of soft tissue preservation
Soft tissue preservation in the geological record is relatively rare, and except where deliberate intervention halts the process of decay (like embalming or freezing), the survival of entire organs is particularly unusual. The spontaneous preservatio.....»»
Unlocking the climate secrets of North China with ancient tree rings
A study published in the Journal of Geographical Sciences reveals a novel method for reconstructing historical warm season temperatures in North China. Utilizing the blue intensity (BI) of tree rings of Picea meyeri, researchers have developed a 281-.....»»
Study reveals ancient ice may still exist in distant space objects
A paper recently published in Icarus presents findings about the Kuiper Belt Object 486958 Arrokoth, shedding new light on the preservation of volatile substances like carbon monoxide (CO) in such distant celestial bodies......»»
Why eukaryotes, not bacteria, evolved complex multicellularity
Prokaryotic single-celled organisms, the ancestors of modern-day bacteria and archaea, are the most ancient form of life on our planet, first appearing roughly 3.5 billion years ago. The first eukaryotic cells appeared around 1–1.5 billion years la.....»»
Ancient scrolls are being "read" by machine learning—with human knowledge to detect language and make sense of them
A groundbreaking announcement for the recovery of lost ancient literature was recently made. Using a non-invasive method that harnesses machine learning, an international trio of scholars retrieved 15 columns of ancient Greek text from within a carbo.....»»
Prehistoric piercings may have been coming-of-age ritual
Archaeologists have discovered more than 100 ornaments for use in piercings in ~11,000-year-old adult burials in Türkiye, providing the earliest conclusive evidence for body perforation and suggesting that piercing may have been a coming-of-age ritu.....»»
Seismological study shows ancient lower mantle flow field under Philippine sea plate
Researchers from China and Japan have discovered distinct characteristics of Earth's lower mantle flow field. They investigated seismic anisotropy in the upper part of the lower mantle beneath the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) and found that the ancient.....»»
Nigeria"s ancient Ilorin city: Archaeologist uncovers more than 1,000 years of history
Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, is a Nigerian city with a long and rich history. However, much of its distant past is not well known. Archaeology is now uncovering more of this history and the relationships of Ilorin to other ancient parts of the.....»»
A trip to the coast, a dip in the pool, and a snow-chilled drink: How ancient Romans kept cool in summer
The dog days of summer are upon us. Or so the ancient Romans named the dies caniculares that followed the rise of the "dog star" Sirius which the ancients believed to signal the oncoming sweltering heat and drought of summer......»»
Ancient stone tools found in Ukraine date to over 1 million years ago, and may be oldest in Europe
Ancient stone tools found in western Ukraine may be the oldest known evidence of early human presence in Europe, according to research published Wednesday in the journal Nature......»»
Archaeologists uncover the heritage of a marginalized community
Archaeologists have excavated the former working-class neighborhood of Vaakunakylä near Oulu, west-central Finland and interviewed its previous inhabitants, revealing the rich heritage of this marginalized community......»»