Latest articles by Kristina Killgrove
Who was the last Neanderthal?
We don't know when the last Neanderthal died, but many archaeologists think some of the last lineages lived in southern Iberia.
Did we kill the Neanderthals? New research may finally answer an age-old question.
Feature A complex picture of how Neanderthals died out, and the role that modern humans played in their disappearance, is emerging.
Rare skeletons up to 30,000 years old reveal when ancient humans went through puberty
An analysis of around a dozen teenagers who lived during the Paleolithic reveals that they hit puberty around the same time modern teens do.
DNA of 'Thorin,' one of the last Neanderthals, finally sequenced, revealing inbreeding and 50,000 years of genetic isolation
Thorin — nicknamed after a dwarf in J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" — is also called the "last Neanderthal" because he may have lived as recently as 42,000 years ago.
1,500-year-old gold coins from Byzantine Empire discovered in medieval dwelling in Bulgaria
Archaeologists in Bulgaria have discovered a medieval house that contained even older gold coins, which date to the reign of the Byzantine emperor Justinian the Great.
Remains of 14th-century gauntlet discovered in Oslo's medieval harbor
Archaeologists excavating Oslo's medieval harbor have unearthed the remnants of a 14th-century gauntlet.
'Stunning' Bronze Age burial chamber discovered on the English moor
The stone-lined tomb could provide an unprecedented look at life in Bronze Age England.
Humans reached Argentina by 20,000 years ago — and they may have survived by eating giant armadillos, study suggests
The discovery of butchered bones belonging to a glyptodont, a giant relative of the armadillo, suggests that humans were living in Argentina 20,000 years ago.
Missing pieces of 6th-century Byzantine bucket finally found at Sutton Hoo
Archaeologists at Sutton Hoo, a 1,400-year-old boat burial in England, have discovered pieces of a broken bucket from the Byzantine Empire.
Long-lost homestead of King Pompey, enslaved African who gained freedom, found in colonial New England
Archaeologists have discovered the homestead of Pompey, a formerly enslaved man from West Africa who was elected "king" by his community in the 1700s.
12,000-year-old Aboriginal sticks may be evidence of the oldest known culturally transmitted ritual in the world
Aboriginal artifacts in Australia that were likely used for ritual spells may be evidence of the oldest culturally transmitted ritual on record.
2,000 years ago, a bridge in Switzerland collapsed on top of Celtic sacrifice victims, new study suggests
A bridge that collapsed 2,000 years ago in what is now Switzerland may have fallen on Celtic sacrifice victims, a new study finds.
Easter Island's population never collapsed because it never got that big, researchers suggest
Easter Island never had a catastrophic population collapse, researchers propose in a new study that looks at archaeological rock gardens.
Skeletons of Incan kids buried 500 years ago found marred with smallpox
Archaeologists in Peru have discovered two 16th-century toddler burials with evidence of smallpox, indicating that the foreign illness spread quickly with European contact.
Mysterious 4,000-year-old 'palace' with maze-like walls found on Greek island of Crete
Archaeologists in Crete have discovered a 4,000-year-old structure that the Minoans may have used for rituals.
Humans didn't domesticate horses until 4,200 years ago — a millennium later than thought
Ancient DNA of nearly 500 horses reveals that humans didn't domesticate them until 2200 B.C., 1,000 years later than we previously thought.
Early Celtic elites inherited power through maternal lines, ancient DNA reveals
The early Celts may have inherited power through their mother's side, according to an ancient DNA analysis of lavish burials in Europe.
1,000 years ago, Baltic pagans imported horses from Scandinavia to behead them or bury them alive
Baltic pagans imported horses to be sacrificed from their Christian neighbors around 1,000 years ago.
1st Americans came over in 4 different waves from Siberia, linguist argues
The languages of the earliest Americans evolved in 4 waves, according to one expert.
DNA analysis spanning 9 generations of people reveals marriage practices of mysterious warrior culture
Researchers reconstructed the relationships among nearly 300 Avars, people from a 1,500-year-old mysterious warrior culture in the Carpathian Basin.
Rare 'porcelain gallbladder' found in 100-year-old unmarked grave at Mississippi mental asylum cemetery
Archaeologists have discovered the burial of a woman with a rare "porcelain gallbladder" who was interred at the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum's cemetery 100 years ago.
Ancient Indigenous lineage of Blackfoot Confederacy goes back 18,000 years to last ice age, DNA reveals
A new DNA study of living and historical members of the Blackfoot Confederacy in the U.S. and Canada suggests that they share a lineage with people from the last ice age.
1,500-year-old burial of lynx with 4 dogs stacked on it puzzles archaeologists
Archaeologists aren't sure why a lynx and four dogs were buried together in Hungary around 1,500 years ago.
