Study puts the ‘Carib’ in ‘Caribbean,’ boosting credibility of Columbus’ cannibal claims
Christopher Columbus' accounts of the Caribbean include harrowing descriptions of fierce raiders who abducted women and cannibalized men - stories long dismissed as myths.
Otago scientist excavates medieval Uzbek cemetery
An Otago scientist has been digging up human remains in the backyards of Uzbek villagers to discover how people lived in the Middle Ages.
Scientists explore Egyptian mummy bones with x-rays and infrared light
Experiments at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) are casting a new light on Egyptian soil and ancient mummified bone samples that could provide a richer understanding of daily life and environmental conditions thousands of years ago.
Study reveals that humans migrated from Europe to the Levant 40,000 years ago
Who exactly were the Aurignacians, who lived in the Levant 40,000 years ago? Researchers from Tel Aviv University, the Israel Antiquities Authority, and Ben-Gurion...
Ancient bone protein reveals which turtles were on the menu in Florida, Caribbean
Thousands of years ago, the inhabitants of modern-day Florida and the Caribbean feasted on sea turtles, leaving behind bones that tell tales of ancient diets and the ocean's past.
DNA study sheds new light on the people of the Neolithic battle axe culture
In an interdisciplinary study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, an international research team has combined archaeological, genetic and stable isotope data to understand the demographic processes associated with the iconic Battle Axe Culture and its introduction in Scandinavia.
Preserving old bones with modern technology
A team of University of Colorado Boulder anthropologists is out to change the way that scientists study old bones damage-free.
Teeth offer vital clues about diet during the Great Irish Famine
Scientific analysis of dental calculus - plaque build-up - of the Famine's victims found evidence of corn (maize), oats, potato, wheat and milk foodstuffs.
Bones of Roman Britons provide new clues to dietary deprivation
Researchers at the University of Bradford have shown a link between the diet of Roman Britons and their mortality rates for the first time, overturning a previously-held belief about the quality of the Roman diet.
Researchers find earliest evidence of milk consumption
Researchers have found the earliest direct evidence of milk consumption anywhere in the world in the teeth of prehistoric British farmers.
Tiny ear bones help archaeologists piece together the past
Archaeologists from the University of Bradford have examined ear ossicles taken from the skeletons of 20 juveniles, excavated from an 18th and 19th century burial ground in Blackburn.
Student reveals the face of Iron Age female druid
A University of Dundee student has revealed the face of one of Scotland’s oldest druids, believed to have been more than 60 years old when she died during the Iron Age.
Murder in the Paleolithic? Evidence of violence behind human skull remains
New analysis of the fossilized skull of an Upper Paleolithic man suggests that he died a violent death, according to a study published by an international team from Greece, Romania and Germany led by the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany
Maize-centric diet may have contributed to ancient Maya collapse
The question of how to best adapt to extreme climate is a critical issue facing modern societies worldwide.
DNA from 31,000-year-old milk teeth leads to discovery of new group of ancient Siberians
Two children's milk teeth buried deep in a remote archaeological site in north eastern Siberia have revealed a previously unknown group of people lived there during the last Ice Age.
