Latest articles by Kristina Killgrove
330-year-old coin hoard hidden in Scottish fireplace may have been buried moments before MacDonald clan massacre
Archaeologists in Scotland have discovered a rare pot of coins in the fireplace of Alasdair "Maclain" MacDonald, the massacred chief of the MacDonald clan.
Jelling Stone analysis reveals runestone carver's name and identifies a powerful Viking queen
New 3D scans have revealed new information about Denmark's famous Jelling Stone, including the identity of a powerful Viking queen.
The 1st American cowboys may have been enslaved Africans, DNA evidence suggests
DNA from cattle suggests some of the first cowboys in the Americas were enslaved Africans, who herded cows that were brought with them on slave ships.
Archaeologists in Zambia discover oldest wooden structure in the world, dating to 476,000 years ago
A new finding in Zambia reveals the oldest known wooden construction shaped by the hands of a human ancestor and demonstrates the ingenuity and technical prowess of our ancient relatives.
'I am horrified': Archaeologists are fuming over ancient human relative remains sent to edge of space
Scientists are calling the Virgin Galactic mission that carried the bones of Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi to the edge of space a major ethical breach.
Centuries-old technique reveals hidden '3D' animals in Paleolithic cave art
The hidden animals were revealed on cave walls in Spain with 'Magic Eye'-style techniques.
Famous Neanderthal 'flower burial' debunked because pollen was left by burrowing bees
A new study debunks the idea that Neanderthals buried a man on a bed of flowers about 75,000 years ago.
Plantation slavery was invented on this tiny African island, according to archaeologists
A 16th-century sugar estate on the tiny African island of São Tomé is the earliest known example of plantation slavery.
Strange, 300,000-year-old jawbone unearthed in China may come from vanished human lineage
Fragments of a jaw bone unearthed in China have a mosaic of features that are present in both modern and archaic humans, making it difficult to place on the human evolutionary tree.
Rare 'Ides of March' dagger coin minted by Brutus after Julius Caesar's murder goes to auction
Brutus minted the silver denarius as a way to pay his troops in the aftermath of Julius Caesar's assassination.
Machu Picchu's servants hailed from distant lands conquered by the Incas, genetic study finds
A new DNA analysis of human remains buried at Machu Picchu yields information about servants to the Incas.
Stone tools and camel tooth suggest people were in the Pacific Northwest more than 18,000 years ago
One of the earliest North American human occupation sites, dating to more than 18,000 years ago, was discovered in Oregon.
Elite Roman man buried with sword may have been 'restrained' in death
A skeleton found facedown in Wales with a sword, silver brooch and restraints may be that of an elite Roman soldier.
Zapotec 'entrance to underworld' discovered under Catholic church in Mexico
A hidden "underworld" linked to the Zapotec "cult of the dead" has been discovered beneath a church in Mexico.
Humans were in South America at least 25,000 years ago, giant sloth bone pendants reveal
Humans were living in Brazil earlier than previously thought, prehistoric sloth-bone pendants suggest.
Kentucky man finds over 700 Civil War-era coins buried in his cornfield
A man unearthed a huge hoard of Civil War-era gold and silver coins on his Kentucky farm.
2,000-year-old 'not a pizza' fresco discovered in Pompeii
A 2,000-year-old Pompeian fresco offers a mouthwatering taste of the Roman diet.
Neanderthals created Europe's oldest 'intentional' engravings up to 75,000 years ago, study suggests
Neanderthals likely made Europe's oldest engravings in a French cave as long as 75,000 years ago, a study suggests.
86,000-year-old human bone found in Laos cave hints at 'failed population' from prehistory
The discovery of a skull and shin bone fragment in a cave in Laos pushes back the earliest known date of Homo sapiens in Southeast Asia.
Oldest evidence of humans in Greece is 700,000 years old, a quarter of a million years older than previous record
A prehistoric site in Greece pushes back the earliest known hominin presence in the region by up to 250,000 years.
153,000-year-old footprints from South Africa are the oldest Homo sapiens tracks on record
A modern dating method has revealed the oldest Homo sapiens' footprints yet, placing bipedal humans in South Africa around 153,000 years ago.
2,500-year-old poop from Jerusalem toilets contain oldest evidence of dysentery parasite
A fecal analysis from two toilets dating to biblical times in Jerusalem has revealed the oldest evidence yet of the parasite that causes dysentery.
8,000-year-old rock carvings in Arabia may be world's oldest megastructure blueprints
Around 8,000 years ago, Middle Eastern hunters carved to-scale plans of their 'desert kite' traps onto rocks.
