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60,000-year-old poison arrows from South Africa are the oldest poison weapons ever discovered
By Sophie Berdugo published
Five quartz arrowheads found in a South African cave were laced with a slow-acting tumbleweed poison that would have tired prey during long hunts.

9,500-year-old cremation pyre of a hunter-gatherer woman is the oldest of its kind in the world
By Margherita Bassi published
Hunter-gatherers cremated the headless body of a woman in a pyre around 9,500 years ago in what is now Malawi.

One of the last Siberian shamans was an 18th-century woman whose parents were related, DNA study reveals
By Kristina Killgrove published
A new DNA analysis of the mummies of historical Indigenous Yakuts reveals resistance to 17th-century Russian conquest.

Last common ancestor of modern humans and Neanderthals possibly found in Casablanca, Morocco
By Kristina Killgrove published
A collection of bones from Casablanca holds important new clues to the origins of modern humans and Neanderthals.

1,100-year-old burials of elite warriors and their ornate weapons discovered in Hungary
By Owen Jarus published
The 1,100-year-old burials of three elite warriors — two of whom were possibly father and son — have been discovered in Hungary.

The Alfred Jewel: A 1,100-year-old treasure from England's first king that proclaims 'Alfred ordered me to be made'
By Kristina Killgrove published
This gold-encrusted jewel has an inscription revealing who made it.

Mysterious Voynich manuscript may be a cipher, a new study suggests
By Tom Metcalfe published
A newly invented cipher may shed light on how the mysterious Voynich manuscript was made in medieval times.

Centuries-old 'trophy head' from Peru reveals individual survived to adulthood despite disabling birth defect
By Aristos Georgiou published
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.
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