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Meskalamdug's Helmet: One of the world's oldest helmets depicts a Mesopotamian prince's man bunThis 15-karat gold helmet was discovered in a royal tomb at Ur, but it may only have been worn for ceremonial purposes.
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Ancient DNA suggests ancestors of Estonians, Finns and Hungarians lived in Siberia 4,500 years agoA study of genomes from ancient Siberian people shows genetic linkages with people living in Estonia, Finland and Hungary today.
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Ancient human relative cannibalized toddlers, 850,000-year-old neck bone revealsCut marks on a child's cervical vertebra found at Atapuerca in Spain suggests Homo antecessor was indiscriminate about cannibalism victims.
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Embattled 'arsenic life' paper retracted by journal Science 15 years after publicationA controversial 2010 study that suggested bacteria could grow using arsenic instead of phosphorus has been retracted by the research journal Science.
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'Extremely rare' bronze armor found in Czech Republic dates to Trojan War eraAncient metal artifact discovered in the Czech Republic is a rare example of bronze armor from the Trojan War era.
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78,000-year-old footprints from Neanderthal man, child and toddler discovered on beach in PortugalA Neanderthal trackway discovered in Portugal shows how an adult male and two children hunted for food 78,000 years ago.
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Vounous Bowl: A 4,000-year-old basin holding 4 miniature cows and 18 people — that was buried for mysterious reasons in a Bronze Age tomb in CyprusExperts have debated the meaning of this tomb offering for decades but generally agree it depicts some sort of ceremony or ritual.
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Ötzi the Iceman and his neighbors had totally different ancestries, ancient DNA study findsA study of prehistoric skeletons from the Italian Alps shows that society may have been organized around fathers and that Ötzi the Iceman had a unique family lineage.
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Thousands of leather shoes, bags and sword scabbards discovered during dig in medieval harbor in NorwayThousands of pieces of leather discovered in an Oslo harbor are giving archaeologists insight into everyday life in medieval Norway.
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600-year-old amethyst 'worthy of a duke' found in medieval castle moat in PolandThe amethyst was set in high-quality silver and probably once formed part of a brooch.
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4,000-year-old human rib discovered high in the Pyrenees still has an arrowhead from a brutal attackA human rib discovered high in the Pyrenees suggests that someone survived a shot in the back several millennia ago.
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Roman dodecahedron: A mysterious 12-sided object that has baffled archaeologists for centuriesThere are more than 50 theories for the function of this 12-sided, pentagonal-faced bronze object — but archaeologists have never quite figured it out.
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Penguin Vessel: 1,600-year-old Nazca depiction of a cold-water Humboldt penguin that lives in tropical PeruA rare penguin-shaped pot reveals the Nazca's interest in depicting the wildlife around them.
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Neanderthal DNA may refute 65,000-year-old date for human occupation in Australia, but not all experts are convincedA new DNA model suggests humans didn't reach Australia until 50,000 years ago, but archaeological data disagrees.
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Mesopotamia quiz: Test your knowledge about the ancient civilizations of the Fertile CrescentAre you as assured as Ashurbanipal about your knowledge of Mesopotamia, or as dim as Nimrud?
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'Alien' skull of toddler is actually evidence of long-standing practice of head shapingWorkers digging a pipeline in Argentina found the flattened skull of an ancient toddler, raising questions about its asymmetrical shape.
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8 ancient Roman shoes of 'exceptional size' discovered at Roman fort near Hadrian's WallEight XXL leather shoes have been recovered from Magna, a Roman-era fort along Hadrian's Wall.
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Monomachos Crown: The 1,000-year-old crown honoring 'the one who fights alone' found by a farmer in a fieldOne of only three surviving Byzantine crowns, it depicts a man and two sisters who jointly ruled the empire in the 11th century.
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Ancient 'female-centered' society thrived 9,000 years ago in proto-city in TurkeyGenetic analysis of skeletons buried in a Neolithic proto-city in Turkey reveals that female lineages were important in early agricultural societies.
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'God-king' born from incest in ancient Ireland wasn't a god or a king, new study findsA closer look at the burial of a man born of incest 5,000 years ago reveals he was unlikely to have been a god-king.
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40,000-year-old mammoth tusk boomerang is oldest in Europe — and possibly the worldA new analysis of a carved mammoth tusk first discovered four decades ago reveals it may be the world's oldest boomerang.
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Assyrian swimmers: 2,900-year-old carving of soldiers using inflatable goat skins to cross a riverA carved panel found at Nimrud depicts Assyrian soldiers swimming across a river and using inflatable goat skins as floaties.
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Women likely ruled in Stone Age China, DNA analysis of 4,500-year-old skeletons revealsGenetic analysis of 60 people buried in a Stone Age cemetery has revealed two clans headed by women that spanned 10 generations.
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Medieval gold ring found in castle in Slovakia has rare purple sapphire imported from Sri LankaAn analysis of a 700-year-old ring reveals a unique reddish-purple sapphire set in 18-karat gold with a lion decoration.
