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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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An aerial view of the Tel Arad fortress that stands in what was once the Kingdom of Judah.

Ancient people in the Kingdom of Judah may have gotten high off weed

By Laura Geggel

This is the oldest known evidence of marijuana from the Kingdom of Judah.

Mammoths congregated here during the last ice age, when it was on the shores of Lake Xaltocan.

A giant mammoth graveyard was just discovered outside Mexico City

By Laura Geggel

Excavators have already found the remains of about 60 mammoths and 15 pre-Hispanic indigenous people.

In Göbekli Tepe, archeologists have uncovered a handful of circular neolithic structures such as this one (Enclosure C), which consist of two T-shaped pillars surrounded by a bunch of slightly smaller inward-facing pillars.

The world's oldest temple was built along a grand geometric plan

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

The construction of Göbekli Tepe was "a deviation from the hunting and gathering way of life."

Co-director of the excavation Barak Monnickendam-Givon standing in the subterranean chambers.

Hidden underground chambers unearthed near Israel's Western Wall

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

It's not clear why ancient people dug up these chambers, but evidence suggests they used them in everyday life.

The bronze coin has the words "Year Two of the Freedom of Israel" with a cluster of grapes in the middle.

When the Romans turned Jerusalem into a pagan city, Jews revolted and minted this coin

By Laura Geggel

A newly discovered coin was minted during a failed Jewish revolt against Rome.

Mitten found at Lendbreen, made from different pieces of woven fabric. Radiocarbon-dated to the ninth century.

Viking 'treasure' of rare artifacts revealed on a long-lost mountain trail

By Mindy Weisberger

Melting ice revealed a long-lost trail in Norway that was strewn with objects dating to the Viking Age.

A radar scan revealed the Viking ship buried underground.

Fungus is destroying a buried Viking ship. Here's how Norway plans to save it.

By Laura Geggel

Archaeologists in Norway are racing to save a buried Viking ship from fungus.

Archaeological investigations following the opening of a sinkhole in Piazza della Rotonda in front of the Pantheon in Rome have unearthed the ancient pavement of the imperial era.

Sinkhole opens near the Pantheon, revealing 2,000-year-old Roman paving stones

By Laura Geggel

A sinkhole that opened in front of the Pantheon in Rome has revealed 2,000-year-old stone pavers.

The remains of the older warrior woman (left) and her husband, which were excavated from the Airagiin Gozgor archaeological site, in the Orkhon province of northern Mongolia.

Two 'warrior women' from ancient Mongolia may have helped inspire the Ballad of Mulan

By Laura Geggel

An ancient Mongolian cemetery held the remains of two 'warrior women.'

Remains of the entrance gate to the ancient city of Megiddo.

Welcome to Armageddon: Meet the city behind the biblical story

By Owen Jarus

Megiddo, a place known in the Book of Revelation as "Armageddon," was occupied between roughly 7000–300 B.C. A prophecy states that in the end times a final battle will be fought near this site.

Archaeologists excavate the Bronze Age burials at Lechlade Skate Park in southwestern England.

4,200-year-old burial of Bronze Age chieftain discovered under UK skate park

By Laura Geggel

The Bronze Age leader's burial had a copper dagger and a 'strike-a-light kit.'

Upper part of the body in Grave 43, during excavation. The girl had an artificially deformed skull; she was buried with a necklace, earrings, a comb and glass beads.

Deformed 'alien' skulls offer clues about life during the Roman Empire’s collapse

By Mindy Weisberger

By studying artificially deformed skulls from a graveyard dating to more than 1,000 years ago, archaeologists are piecing together clues about an ancient community's culture.

The teenage girl's coffin

Mummy of ancient Egyptian teenager, buried in fine jewelry, discovered in Luxor

By Laura Geggel

This teenager was decked out in priceless jewelry.

A team of scientists has found an alignment that occurs between the rising sun and a major street in Turin that was constructed around 28 B.C.

Does an ancient street's 'solar alignment' honor Roman emperor Octavian? Scholars disagree.

By Owen Jarus

Scientists in Turin, Italy, have discovered that a couple of days each year, the rising sun perfectly aligns with one of the city's main streets that was constructed around 28 B.C.

The undated file photo shows human bones remains in kneeling position unearthed from the Chaizhuang site in Jiyuan, central China's Henan Province. Archaeologists have discovered human bones in kneeling position in a sacrificial pit of ruins dating back to the late Shang Dynasty (1600 BC-1046 BC) in central China's Henan Province, which proves a glyph in oracle bone inscription of the burial.

Decapitated, kneeling skeleton found in a pit in China linked to ancient ritual sacrifice

By Mindy Weisberger

Archaeologists discovered a decapitated skeleton of a human sacrifice in a burial pit dating to more than 3,000 years ago.

A lidar map showing the geography and location of Mount Key on Florida's Gulf Coast.

Long-lost Spanish fort found on Florida island

By Laura Geggel

With laser and radar technology, archaeologists have uncovered a Spanish fort built more than 450 years ago in Florida.

Different sides of a prehistoric stone crafted ball found at Qesem Cave in Israel.

Mystery of 2 million-year-old stone balls solved

By Laura Geggel

These stone balls would have helped early butchers.

Known as the Nazareth Inscription and the Nazareth Decree, this carved marble slab preserves an edict issued by a Roman emperor identified as "Caesar."

Was the 'Nazareth Inscription' a Roman response to Jesus' empty tomb? New evidence says it wasn't.

By Mindy Weisberger

The origins of the Nazareth Inscription, a Roman emperor's edict threatening grave robbers with severe punishment, have been hotly debated for decades.

Archaeologists examined these rock-cut features under the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

Biblical story of Jesus possibly explained by excavations in his hometown of Nazareth

By Owen Jarus

Excavations at Jesus' hometown of Nazareth may help to explain some stories told in the bible.

The skull fragment of a 2-million-year-old Homo erectus child found in South Africa

Child's shattered skull may be oldest Homo erectus fossil on Earth

By Brandon Specktor

Researchers dated a Homo erectus skull in South Africa to 2 million years ago — the oldest known H. erectus fossil on Earth.