Egalitarian oddity found in the Neolithic
Men, women, and immigrants all seemed to have similar dietary inputs. Enlarge / A skeleton found during 1950's excavations at the Barman site. (credit: Université de Genève) Did ancient people practice equality? While.....»»
Stone Age mass grave contains mostly adult males who were related
A team of archaeologists and paleo-geneticists from Université de Bordeaux, working with colleagues from Université Côte d'Azur, both in France, has found that a mass grave from the Neolithic contains the remains of mostly adult males who were rel.....»»
Neolithic bones reveal isolated Yersinia pestis infections, not pandemics
Since the catastrophic pandemics of the Middle Ages, one disease has almost proverbially symbolized contagion and death: the plague. It is now known that the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis has been present in Central and Northern Europe for more th.....»»
A space oddity—small exoplanet challenges existing theories on planet formation
A research team led by Lund University in Sweden has discovered a small planet that displays peculiar orbital motion. The shimmying planet, located 455 light-years from Earth, shows that planetary systems can be considerably more complex than researc.....»»
Study links fear of conflict to population changes in Neolithic Europe
Since the end of the last Ice Age, growth of the human population has been far from uniform, marked instead by periods of rapid expansion followed by sharp declines. The reasons behind these fluctuations remain only partially understood......»»
New evidence of Neolithic occupations in the Aragonese site of Huerto Raso
Researchers from the UAB and the University of Zaragoza who have carried out the first extensive excavation campaign of the Huerto Raso site (Huesca) have made new discoveries that reinforce the hypothesis of its occupation during the ancient Neolith.....»»
Perceptions of income inequality drive consumers" interests in counterfeit luxury goods, study finds
The study found that as perceptions of income inequality increased, consumers value counterfeit luxury products for their "egalitarian value," a worth associated with the fake goods' perceived ability to restore equality in society......»»
Did plague really decimate Neolithic farmers 5,200 years ago, as a new study suggests?
Around 5,200 years ago, plague was not just present but common in six generations of one Swedish family, according to a new study. The researchers analyzed both the ancient DNA of these people's skeletal remains and the pathogens that left traces in.....»»
Egalitarian oddity found in the Neolithic
Men, women, and immigrants all seemed to have similar dietary inputs. Enlarge / A skeleton found during 1950's excavations at the Barman site. (credit: Université de Genève) Did ancient people practice equality? While.....»»
Evidence shows ancient Saudi Arabia had complex and thriving communities, not struggling people in a barren land
To date, little has been known about people living in north-western Saudi Arabia during the Neolithic—the period traditionally defined by the shift to humans controlling food production and settling into communities with agriculture and domesticate.....»»
Isotopic evidence reveals surprising dietary practices of ancient hunter-gatherers
It has long been thought that meat played an important role in the diet of hunter-gatherers before the Neolithic transition. However, due to the scarcity of well-preserved human remains from Paleolithic sites, little information exists about the diet.....»»
Social change may explain decline in genetic diversity of the Y chromosome at the end of the Neolithic period
The emergence in the Neolithic of patrilineal social systems, in which children are affiliated with their father's lineage, may explain a spectacular decline in the genetic diversity of the Y chromosome observed worldwide between 3,000 and 5,000 year.....»»
Bodies found in Neolithic pit were likely victims of ritualistic murder
One victim may have been hogtied alive in pit, à la Mafia-style ligature strangulation. Enlarge / Three female skeletons found in a Neolithic storage pit in France show signs of ritualistic human sacrifice. (credit: . Beeching/L.....»»
First insights into the genetic bottleneck characterizing early sheep husbandry in the Neolithic period
Modern Eurasian sheep predominantly belong to only two so-called genetic matrilineages inherited through the ewes, so previous research has assumed that genetic diversity must already have decreased rapidly in the early stages of domestication of wil.....»»
Team finds evidence of commonly conducted ritualized human sacrifice across Europe in the Stone Age
A team of archaeologists affiliated with several institutions in France and one in Germany has found that ritualized human sacrifice was common across Europe during the Neolithic......»»
Neolithic boats excavated in the Mediterranean reveal advanced nautical technology
More than 7,000 years ago, people navigated the Mediterranean Sea using technologically sophisticated boats, according to a study published March 20, 2024, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Juan F. Gibaja of the Spanish National Research Council.....»»
Relationship anarchy is about creating bonds that suit people, not social conventions
By its very nature, friendship is anarchic: it has few rules and is not regulated by the government. Our friendships are usually egalitarian, flexible and non-exclusive. We treat our friends as individuals and care about their interests. We support t.....»»
Birds have been adapting to human activity for millennia, research suggests
Roughly 14,500 to 10,500 years ago, in the transition from the last glacial period, Epipaleolithic and Neolithic peoples harvesting vegetation from the wetlands of eastern Jordan created a habitat for birds that would otherwise have migrated, a new s.....»»
Study reveals Neolithic groups from the south of the Iberian Peninsula first settled in Andalusia 6,200 years ago
The first Neolithic farmers and shepherds in Andalusia settled permanently on the island of San Fernando, Cadiz, 6,200 years ago, where they continued to collect and consume shellfish throughout the year, preferably in winter......»»
European immigrants introduced farming to prehistoric North Africa, new research shows
The Neolithic age—when agriculture and animal farming were adopted—has become one of the most widely studied periods of social and economic transition in recent years. It was a period that drove great change in the evolution of human society......»»
Space oddity: Uncovering the origin of the universe"s rare radio circles
It's not every day astronomers say, "What is that?" After all, most observed astronomical phenomena are known: stars, planets, black holes and galaxies. But in 2019 the newly completed ASKAP (Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder) telescope pi.....»»