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1,400-year-old Zapotec tomb discovered in Mexico features enormous owl sculpture symbolizing death
The president of Mexico called the discovery of a 1,400-year-old Zapotec tomb in Oaxaca the "most significant archaeological discovery in a decade."
Some of the oldest harpoons ever found reveal Indigenous people in Brazil were hunting whales 5,000 years ago
The origins of whaling are highly debated. Now, some of the earliest signs of active whale hunting have appeared somewhere unexpected: southern Brazil.
5,500-year-old human skeleton discovered in Colombia holds the oldest evidence yet that syphilis came from the Americas
An ancient DNA analysis of a 5,500-year-old human skeleton reveals that an ancestor of the bacterium that causes syphilis was present in the Americas at least 3,000 years earlier than previously thought.
1,100-year-old mummy found in Chile died of extensive injuries when a turquoise mine caved in, CT scans reveal
The mummified remains of a man buried close to a turquoise mine in Chile's Atacama Desert suggest he was a miner who died in a tragic occupational accident.
Centuries-old 'trophy head' from Peru reveals individual survived to adulthood despite disabling birth defect
A researcher has documented a cleft lip in an ancient mummified head from the Andes, a condition that may have been seen as a "blessing" rather than a disability.
Lost Indigenous settlements described by Jamestown colonist John Smith finally found
Excavations along the Rappahannock River in Virginia have revealed the likely spot of Indigenous villages once described by John Smith.
Unusual, 1,400-year-old cube-shaped human skull unearthed in Mexico
Archaeologists discovered an unusually flat-topped skull at a pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican site.
Ancient DNA reveals mysterious Indigenous lineage that lived in Argentina for nearly 8,500 years — but rarely interacted with others
A previously unknown Indigenous population lived in central Argentina for nearly 8,500 years, a new genetic study finds.
