Prehistoric armoured dinosaur may have been able to dig
Newly excavated skeletal remains of an ankylosaurid—a large armored herbivore that lived during the Cretaceous Period—may indicate that members of this family of dinosaurs were able to dig, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. Th.....»»
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......»»
Largest fish in Missouri"s records caught in Lake of the Ozarks: A 164-pound "dinosaur"
A fisherman on the Lake of the Ozarks brought ashore a world-record paddlefish Sunday that weighed more than 164 pounds—the biggest paddlefish ever caught and the largest fish of any kind in Missouri's record books......»»
Researchers discover a new species of carnivorous dinosaur in La Rioja, Spain
The first dinosaur to be described in La Rioja, Spain, is a spinosaurid about 7–8 meters long with an estimated body mass of 1.5 metric tons. It is bipedal and had mainly piscivorous habits, although, as a good predator, it would also have been cap.....»»
Alaska dinosaur tracks reveal a lush, wet environment
A large find of dinosaur tracks and fossilized plants and tree stumps in far northwestern Alaska provides new information about the climate and movement of animals near the time when they began traveling between the Asian and North American continent.....»»
New method finds higher carnivorous dinosaur biodiversity in Kem Kem beds of Morocco
An international team of paleontologists from The Netherlands, the UK, Argentina, Germany and Belgium applied recently developed methods to measure theropod (carnivorous) dinosaur species diversity. The newly applied method uses both traditional phyl.....»»
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.....»»
Stickiness in glacial space and time
Rising temperatures and melting ice play a central role in the unfolding Anthropocene—i.e., the most recent geologic period in Earth's history. What distinguishes the Anthropocene from prehistoric human impacts on the environment, mainly those caus.....»»
New analysis uncovers major issues with earlier suggestions that Spinosaurus pursued prey underwater
For years, controversy has swirled around how a Cretaceous-era, sail-backed dinosaur—the giant Spinosaurus aegyptiacus—hunted its prey. Spinosaurus was among the largest predators ever to prowl the Earth and one of the most adapted to water, but.....»»
Fossils of giant sea lizard with dagger-like teeth show how our oceans have fundamentally changed since the dinosaur era
Paleontologists have discovered a strange new species of marine lizard with dagger-like teeth that lived near the end of the age of dinosaurs. Their findings, published in Cretaceous Research, show a dramatically different ocean ecosystem to what we.....»»
Larger-than-expected prehistoric mammal species uncovered in Patagonia
A multi-institutional team of archaeologists and paleontologists has unearthed and identified a new species of mammal from the Maastrichtian age. In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers note that the mammal was muc.....»»
New approach to carbon-14 dating corrects the age of a prehistoric burial site
How old are these bones? This standard question in archaeology can be answered quite precisely in many cases with the help of the carbon isotope 14C. But there are exceptions. Certain living habits, such as that of prehistoric hunter-gatherer-fisher.....»»
Why two prehistoric sharks found in Ohio got new names
Until recently, Orthacanthus gracilis could have been considered the "John Smith" of prehistoric shark names, given how common it was......»»
Robo-dinosaur scares grasshoppers to shed light on why dinos evolved feathers
The feathers may have helped dinosaurs frighten and flush out prey. Enlarge / Grasshoppers, beware! Robopteryx is here to flush you from your hiding place. (credit: Jinseok Park, Piotr Jablonski et al., 2024) Scientists.....»»
Study traces the roots of longstanding cultural interactions across the Tibetan Plateau to prehistoric times
The 1 million-square-mile Tibetan Plateau—often called the "roof of the world"—is the highest landmass in the world, averaging 14,000 feet in altitude. Despite the extreme environment, humans have been permanent inhabitants there since prehistori.....»»
Scientists pinpoint growth of brain"s cerebellum as key to evolution of bird flight
Evolutionary biologists at Johns Hopkins Medicine report they have combined PET scans of modern pigeons along with studies of dinosaur fossils to help answer an enduring question in biology: How did the brains of birds evolve to enable them to fly?.....»»
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......»»
Evidence of a patrilineal descent system for western Eurasian Bell Beaker communities
Poignant prehistoric burials containing the remains of an adult and child laid in a grave as though embracing in death have long fascinated archaeologists......»»
Prehistoric chefs retained strong cooking traditions, ancient pottery and DNA analysis reveals
Archaeologists have combined DNA analysis with the study of pottery to examine the spread of broomcorn millet across Eurasia, revealing how regional culinary traditions persisted even as new crops were introduced......»»
Bronze jewelry sheds light on prehistoric ritual
Excavation at the dried-out lake site of Papowo Biskupie in north-central Poland has revealed more than 550 bronze artifacts, providing the most telling evidence of ritual deposition of metal by the occupants of the region from 1200–450 BC, known a.....»»
"The Meg" shark was actually quite thin, scientists say
The prehistoric megalodon is known as one of the most fearsome creatures the world has ever known, a horrifyingly giant shark immortalized in the monster movie "The Meg"......»»