Tech & Engineering

Lasers are mapping Scotland’s subterranean Iron Age structures

Archaeologists from AOC Archaeology have been using lasers to map subterranean Iron Age structures, such as the Cracknie Souterrain, an Iron Age passageway in the Borgie Forest, Scotland.

Dedicated archaeology community launches on Mastodon

Whilst Twitter appears to be going extinct with all the turmoil and public drama, a new haven for archaeology has been launched on the social network, Mastodon.

Gold from ancient Troy, Poliochni and Ur had the same origin

Scientists, using an innovative mobile laser method have determined that gold found in ancient Troy, Poliochni and Ur had the same origin.

Researchers discover lost fragments of the Hipparchus Star Catalogue

Researchers from the CNRS, Sorbonne Université and Tyndale House (affiliated with the University of Cambridge) have discovered fragments of the Hipparchus Star Catalogue, composed by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus during the 2nd century BC.

Scientists uncover traces of fire-use 800,000 years ago

Scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science have been able to detect nonvisual traces of fire dating back at least 800,000 years, one of the earliest known examples for the controlled use of fire.

New Nasca lines found in Peru

Thanks to the latest advances in space archaeology and aerial drone surveys, archaeologists have discovered 50 new examples of Nasca and Paracas lines in Peru.

We’re mapping wartime shipwrecks to explore the past – and help develop green energy projects

Wartime shipwrecks such as the USS Juneau – recently discovered in the Pacific Ocean by philanthropist Paul Allen and his team – are of great interest to both military historians and the general public.

How we recreated a lost African city with laser technology

Now the same technology which located those Mayan cities has been used to rediscover a southern African city that was occupied from the 15th century until about 200 years ago. This technology, called LiDAR, was used to “redraw” the remains of the city, along the lower western slopes of the Suikerbosrand hills near Johannesburg.

Human dispersion through southern Europe in Early Pleistocene

Geochronologists from the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) have led a study published in the journal Quaternary Geochronology about the chronology of the archaeological site of Gran Dolina, situated in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos), whose results confirm a pulse of human dispersion in southern Europe around one million years ago.

Earliest cave paintings were made by Neanderthals, scientists discover

Scientists have found the first major evidence that Neanderthals made cave paintings, indicating they may have had an artistic sense similar to our own.

Mass grave dates from Viking Era

Archaeologists from the Anthropology and Archaeology department at the University of Bristol has revealed that a mass grave discovered in the 1980s dates from Viking era thanks to Radiocarbon dating.

Did ancient irrigation technology travel Silk Road?

Using satellite imaging and drone reconnaissance, archaeologists from Washington University in St. Louis have discovered an ancient irrigation system that allowed a farming community in arid northwestern China to raise livestock and cultivate crops in one of the world's driest desert climates.

How to launch a website for an archaeology project

A website can seem like quite a daunting undertaking for any archaeology project... after all, there's coding, graphic design, email servers, hosting and often expensive fees associated with it.

New approach measures early human butchering practices

Researchers, led by a Purdue University anthropology professor, have found that statistical methods and 3D imaging can be used to accurately measure animal bone cut marks made by prehistoric human butchery, and to help answer pressing questions about human evolution.

Ink from ancient Egyptian papyri contains copper

Until recently, it was assumed that the ink used for writing was primarily carbon-based at least until the fourth and fifth centuries AD. But in a new University of Copenhagen study, analyses of 2,000-year-old papyri fragments with X-ray microscopy show that black ink used by Egyptian scribes also contained copper - an element previously not identified in ancient ink.

Science meets archaeology with discovery that dental X-rays reveal Vitamin D deficiency

Human teeth hold vital information about Vitamin D deficiency, a serious but often hidden condition that can now be identified by a simple dental X-ray, McMaster anthropologists Lori D'Ortenzio and Megan Brickley have found.

Isotopic analyses link the lives of Late Neolithic individuals to burial location in Spain

An isotopic analysis of megalithic graves and caves in Spain may suggest the existence of a degree of differentiation in the lifeways of people buried in these different funerary sites

How aerial thermal imagery is revolutionizing archaeology

A Dartmouth-led study has demonstrated how the latest aerial thermal imagery is transforming archaeology due to advancements in technology.

3-D analysis of dog fossils sheds light on domestication debate

In an effort to settle the debate about the origin of dog domestication, a technique that uses 3-D scans of fossils is helping researchers determine the difference between dogs and wolves.

Virtual reality breathes new life into African fossils, art and artefacts

Digital technology has become an integral part of our everyday lives. So it was only a matter of time before the ways people interact with the past and ancient artefacts in museum settings became digital, too.

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