Archaeology

Archaeology is fundamentally the study of humanity and its past. Archaeologists study things that were created, used or changed by humans. They do this by studying the material remains, in other words, the stuff we leave behind.

Related Topics: Anthropology, Fossils, Human Origins, Shipwrecks

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Farmers damaged the huaca and mural during the expansion of their plantations.

Knife-wielding spider god mural unearthed in Peru

By Mindy Weisberger

Archaeologists in Peru are taking steps to preserve and study a 3,200-year-old temple painted with a mural of a spider deity holding a knife.

An above ground burial site dating back to the Neolithic-Chalcolithic era in AlUla in Saudi Arabia.

Pet dog buried 6,000 years ago is earliest evidence of its domestication in Arabia

By Harry Baker

Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia have uncovered bones at a burial site that reveal the domestication of dogs in the area happened much earlier than previously believed.

The "Lost Golden City" has been buried under Luxor for the past 3,000 years.

3,000-year-old 'Lost Golden City' discovered in Egypt

By Laura Geggel

Archaeologists have found what may be the greatest Egyptian discovery since King Tut's tomb.

This gold "Memento Mori" ring, dating to the Tudor period, sports an enamel skull.

Medieval gold coin hoards and skull ring discovered in Wales

By Laura Geggel

Metal detectorists have uncovered a handful of medieval and post-medieval treasures in Wales.

Feathers excavated from one of the Iron Age boat burials, Valsgärde 7, were very well preserved, though still brittle and entangled.

Iron Age warriors were buried lying on feather-stuffed cushions, near a headless owl

By Mindy Weisberger

In Iron Age boat burials, 1,400-year-old feathers filled comfy cushions under warriors' bones. Down in the bedding belonged to different birds and may have had symbolic importance.

European rabbits dug up Stone and Bronze Age artifacts on Skokholm Island.

Rabbits dig up 9,000-year-old artifacts on 'Dream Island'

By Laura Geggel

Burrowing rabbits have helped uncover artifacts from the Stone and Bronze Ages on a U.K. island.

The Shigir Idol, which is considered the world’s oldest wooden sculpture, is on display at the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore in Russia.

Creepy sculpture with human faces is even older than experts thought

By Owen Jarus

A human-shaped wooden idol decorated with an eerie human face and considered the oldest of its kind ever discovered may date back even further in time, researchers now say.

It's thought the ancient cemetery dates from about 5500 years ago. Seven barrows more than 130 feet long have been excavated so far and there may be more than a dozen.

Sprawling 5,000-year-old cemetery and fortress discovered in Poland

By Tom Metcalfe

The Ten Commandments stones, seen here in Devon in the U.K.

Did a scholar really find an early copy of the Ten Commandments?

By Owen Jarus

A biblical text dismissed as a forgery in the 19th century is not only authentic but is actually a predecessor to the Book of Deuteronomy, a scholar now says. Not everyone agrees.

One of the two vessels discovered in the ambassador's burial shows seated figures wearing headdresses performing a fire ritual.

Ancient Maya power broker died in obscurity, hieroglyphics show

By Laura Geggel

Hieroglyphics in a stairway near a burial tell the tale of an elite Maya ambassador's life.

A rare 15th-century Chinese bowl bought for $35 at a yard sale was just sold for over $700,000.

$35 yard sale bowl sells for over $700,000

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

A $35 bowl sold at a yard sale was estimated to be worth up to $500,000. It sold for over $700,000.

Three early churches found in Egypt's Western desert date to the fourth to seventh centuries A.D.

Early Christian monks' quarters and churches found in Egypt

By Laura Geggel

Archaeologists in Egypt have found three early churches and the living quarters of monks.

Part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets scroll, written in Greek.

Biblical scroll discovered in 'Cave of Horror' in Israel

By Owen Jarus

Fragments of a biblical scroll dating back 1,900 years have been discovered in the "Cave of Horror" in the Judean Desert in Israel.

The 3-D recreation of the Antikythera mechanism.

Scientists unlock the 'Cosmos' on the Antikythera Mechanism, the world's first computer

By Ben Turner

Scientists may have finally made a complete digital model for the Cosmos panel of a 2,000-year-old mechanical device called the Antikythera mechanism that's believed to be the world's first computer.

The pottery figurine is carved in the shape of a scarf-wearing woman with her arms folded beneath her uncovered breasts.

11-year-old boy discovers biblical-era amulet during Negev Desert hike

By Mindy Weisberger

A boy's desert hike with his family led to the discovery of a rare statuette of a bare-breasted woman, used as a protective amulet during the biblical era.

The silver diadem could have been worn upward or downward, although it was found positioned downward on the woman's head in this burial.

'Powerful, maybe even frightening' woman with diadem may have ruled in Bronze Age Spain

By Laura Geggel

A Bronze Age woman buried with a silver diadem may have ruled a kingdom in what is now southeastern Spain.

The buckle after conservation, with textile remnants visible on the head.

Gold and precious gems unearthed in a 5th-century grave in Bohemia

By Mindy Weisberger

Archaeologists in the Czech Republic recently discovered a 1,600-year-old grave holding the remains of a woman and several precious artifacts.

Part of the medieval tunnel discovered by electrical workers.

Power technicians discover secret medieval tunnel under footpath in Wales

By Harry Baker

Secret medieval tunnels have been accidentally unearthed in Wales by electrical workers digging a hole in a customer's back yard.

The medieval birthing scroll has illustrations from Christian imagery to protect a woman from the dangers of childbirth, including the wound on the side of the crucified Christ, dripping blood (upper left); a rubbed-away crucifix and holy monograms (lower left); and a tau (headless) cross adorned with a sacred heart and shield, alongside a standing figure that may be Jesus.

'Magical' girdle worn in hundreds of medieval childbirths discovered in England

By Tom Metcalfe

Here, the best preserved of the gold foil figures that were recently found at the site of Aska in Sweden. All the figures show couples embracing.

When unfolded, these ancient gold foil figures reveal embracing couples

By Owen Jarus

Archaeologists in Sweden have discovered nearly two dozen gold foil figures from 1,300 years ago that have engravings of couples embracing each other.