Natural History

Dogs lived alongide humans more than 15,000 years ago

Ancient DNA recovered from archaeological excavations in central Türkiye has revealed some of the earliest genetic evidence of domestic dogs, providing new insights into how dogs developed close relationships with humans and spread rapidly across prehistoric Europe and Anatolia.

Ice Age mammoth from Bavaria shows evidence of human butchery

A woolly mammoth unearthed in Bavaria bears signs that Ice Age humans butchered its carcass more than 25,000 years ago, offering an insight into life in one of the coldest periods of the last Ice Age.

Ötztal Alps: 6,000-year-old glacier archive is melting rapidly

Researchers, including members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, have extracted and analysed an ice core from the Weißseespitze peak in Tyrol, documenting millennia of climate and environmental history. The findings also highlight the rapid rate of glacier retreat in the Eastern Alps: compared to 2019, only about half of the ice mass remains on the summit today.

Archaeologists find ancient evidence of “Lost World” beneath the North Sea

A vast prehistoric landscape now hidden beneath the North Sea may have supported forests and wildlife thousands of years earlier than scientists previously believed.

New study finds indirect evidence for existence of Moctezuma’s Zoo

A recent archaeological study has renewed interest in the role of animals within the ceremonial and urban landscape of ancient Tenochtitlan.

Chicken breeding in Japan dates back to fourth century BC

Conclusive evidence of chicken breeding in the Yayoi period of Japan has been discovered from the Karako-Kagi site.

First evidence of sabertoothed cat inhabiting the state of Iowa

The discovery of a sabertoothed cat skull in southwest Iowa, United States, is the first evidence of the prehistoric predator roaming the state at the end of the Ice Age between 13,605 and 13,460 years ago.

Hidden history of horses in the American West

In a recent study published in the journal Science, a team of international researchers, including scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder, have conducted a comprehensive investigation into the history of early horses in North America.

Study at Chernobyl gives new insights into surviving in contaminated environments

A new study of dogs living in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has revealed new insights into living in contaminated environments.

50,000-year-old stone tools were made by monkeys

50,000-year-old stone tools found in Pedra Furada, located in the state of Piauí in north-eastern Brazil were made by monkeys.

New research project studies ancient feline migration into Europe

A new international project studying the origin and history of cats is investigating evidence of an ancient feline migration into Europe.

1 million-year-old marine DNA found in Antarctic sediment

An International study led by the University of Tasmania has discovered the oldest marine DNA in deep-sea sediments of the Scotia Sea north of the Antarctic continent.

Antarctica – The lost world

Antarctica is situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and covers an area of 14.2 million km2.

Loss of genes has implications in resurrecting mammoths

A new study shows that 87 genes have been affected by deletions or short insertions during the course of the mammoth’s evolution.

Ice Age wolf DNA reveals dogs trace ancestry to two separate wolf populations

An international group of geneticists and archaeologists have found that the ancestry of dogs can be traced to at least two populations of ancient wolves.

Frog mystery uncovered near Iron Age roundhouse

Archaeologists from MOLA Headland Infrastructure have discovered more than 8,000 amphibian bones near an Iron Age roundhouse at Bar Hill in Cambridgeshire, England.

Researchers discover world’s largest plant measuring 180 km’s in length

Biologists from the University of Western Australia and Flinders University have identified the worlds largest known plant, an ancient seagrass thought to be 4,500 years old.

Researchers reveal landscape of prehistoric forest

Scientists from the Pennsylvania State University have identified that the dipterocarps tree-group has dominated the forests on the island of Borneo for at least four million years.

New study reveals landscape 4,000 years before Stonehenge construction

A new study by the University of Southampton has revealed the landscape around Stonehenge, 4,000 years before the monument’s construction.

Ancient art and genetics reveals saffron crocus was first domesticated in Bronze Age Greece

Saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, is extracted from the flowers of the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus.

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