
Kristina Killgrove
Kristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Killgrove holds postgraduate degrees in anthropology and classical archaeology and was formerly a university professor and researcher. She has received awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science writing.
Latest articles by Kristina Killgrove

Dolní Věstonice Portrait Head: The oldest known human portrait in the world
By Kristina Killgrove published
A tiny head carved from mammoth ivory looks back at us from the Stone Age.

Ice age Europeans as young as 10 years old rocked cheek piercings 30,000 years ago
By Kristina Killgrove published
A study of Paleolithic skeletons from Central Europe suggests people's teeth were worn down and crowded together because of cheek piercings.

Human evolution quiz: What do you know about Homo sapiens?
By Kristina Killgrove published
This human evolution quiz will test your knowledge of our species, including when and how we evolved.

4,000-year-old footprints near Pompeii show people fleeing Mount Vesuvius eruption thousands of years before the famous one
By Kristina Killgrove published
Footprints from people and animals feeling the eruption of Vesuvius in 1995 B.C. were recently discovered in a town near Pompeii.

1,600-year-old Roman padlock with spring mechanism discovered in Germany — and it's tiny
By Kristina Killgrove published
A miniature gold lock dated to the third to fourth centuries was found by a metal detectorist in Germany.

1,900-year-old papyrus 'best-documented Roman court case from Judaea apart from the trial of Jesus'
By Kristina Killgrove published
A newly translated papyrus found in Israel provides information about criminal cases and slave ownership in the Roman Empire.

Over 400 gold and silver Roman-era coins unearthed in the Netherlands depict rulers from Rome, Britain and Africa
By Kristina Killgrove published
A hoard of over 400 coins dated to the first century is a rare mix of Roman and British money.

1,200-year-old remains of dismembered pregnant woman in Ecuador hint at 'enigmatic' sacrifice to thwart El Niño
By Kristina Killgrove published
The unusual burial of a woman and fetus in prehistoric Ecuador may reflect the community's fear of her power.

Bayeux Tapestry: A 1,000-year-old embroidery depicting William the Conqueror's victory and King Harold's grisly death
By Kristina Killgrove published
A long roll of cloth embroidered with key scenes from British history is a unique medieval chronicle.

Neanderthal quiz: How much do you know about our closest relatives?
By Kristina Killgrove published
Quiz Think you know everything about Neanderthals? Take our quiz to find out.

What is the world's deadliest food?
By Kristina Killgrove published
Organisms from three different natural kingdoms battle it out for the title "deadliest food."

Neanderthals' blood type may help explain their demise, new study finds
By Kristina Killgrove published
Human populations that left Africa evolved quickly whereas Neanderthals stayed the same, according to an analysis of blood group systems.

Bad Dürrenberg headdress: An elaborate 9,000-year-old headpiece worn by a female shaman in Europe
By Kristina Killgrove published
A lavish 9,000-year-old grave in central Germany revealed the burial of a powerful female shaman.

'ELIZA,' the world's 1st chatbot, was just resurrected from 60-year-old computer code
By Kristina Killgrove published
Researchers discovered long-lost computer code and used it to resurrect the early chatbot ELIZA.

Stone Age people made sun stone 'sacrifice' to banish 'darkened sun' after a volcanic eruption, archaeologists say
By Kristina Killgrove published
Hundreds of stone artifacts discovered on a Danish island may have been offered to the gods to ward off a climate crisis.

Were the Celts matriarchal? Ancient DNA reveals men married into local, powerful female lineages
By Kristina Killgrove published
An analysis of dozens of British Iron Age skeletons has revealed that Celtic society was organized around women.

Curse tablet found in Roman-era grave in France targets enemies by invoking Mars, the god of war
By Kristina Killgrove published
Excavation of a Roman-era cemetery in France yielded nearly two dozen lead tablets inscribed in Latin and Gaulish.

Lasers reveal hidden patterns in tattoos of 1,200-year-old Peru mummies
By Kristina Killgrove published
A new method for imaging tattoos reveals intricate designs on Chancay mummies from Peru.

10th-century woman buried with weapons in Hungary is 1st of her kind, but researchers are hesitant to call her a warrior
By Kristina Killgrove published
A woman buried with archery equipment in 10th-century Hungary is unusual but may not necessarily have been a warrior.

Doban-kun: A 'cute' human-shaped counting tool from prehistoric Japan
By Kristina Killgrove published
This anthropomorphic clay tablet was likely used in an ancient ritual by the Jōmon culture in Japan.

'Big surprise' reveals supposed skull of 'Cleopatra's sister' actually belongs to an 11-year-old boy
By Kristina Killgrove published
A cutting-edge analysis of a skull found in Turkey in 1929 proves once and for all that it is not Arsinoë IV, Cleopatra's half sister.

Medieval crowns of Eastern European royalty hidden in cathedral wall since World War II finally recovered
By Kristina Killgrove published
A cache of precious metal regalia recently discovered in a Lithuanian cathedral sheds light on medieval royalty.

2,000-year-old painted penis bone found in quarry shaft from Roman Britain
By Kristina Killgrove published
A canine baculum (penis bone) covered in red ochre may be from a long-lost Romano-British ritual.
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