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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The birds shown in this image from the facsimile are rock pigeons, which can still be found year-round in Egypt.

Ancient Egyptian 'masterpiece' is so realistic, researchers identified the exact bird species it depicts

By Owen Jarus published

An ancient Egyptian painting is so detailed, researchers can determine which species of birds were featured in it.

The archaeologists first found the bones from a human leg, and then a pelvis and a lower jaw with some teeth still attached.

5,000-year-old 'bog body' found in Denmark may be a human sacrifice victim

By Tom Metcalfe published

The bones of a possible ancient human sacrifice victim have been found in a bog in Denmark.

A skull of a young boy who died in early medieval Germany.

Disease-riddled skeletons suggest leprosy and smallpox ravaged medieval German village

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

Researchers examined medieval burials in a German cemetery and discovered a rural community tormented by illness.

Scientists at the Toulouse forensic medicine laboratory open a sarcophagus, which shows that the individual's skull had been sawn off at the time of his death.

Notre Dame's spire had 2 hidden coffins beneath it. Now, scientists know who was buried there.

By Kristina Killgrove published

Remains of two wealthy men — one clergy and the other young and noble — have been discovered in the lead sarcophagi found buried at Notre Dame.

A reconstruction of the early medieval necklace (left) next to an illustration of it (right).

Gold-and-garnet cross necklace found buried with wealthy medieval British woman

By Kristina Killgrove published

Archaeologists in England were surprised to discover an elaborate cross with human faces and a gold-and-garnet necklace in an early medieval burial.

A male figure holding his phallus and flanked by leopards is part of the world's oldest known narrative scene.

Man holding penis and flanked by leopards is world's oldest narrative carving

By Kristina Killgrove published

The 11,000-year-old carved relief, found in Turkey, is the oldest narrative carving on record.

One of the newfound mummy portraits, seen here, is painted on a linen shroud.

Ancient mummy portraits and rare Isis-Aphrodite idol discovered in Egypt

By Owen Jarus published

For the first time in 50 years, archaeologists have discovered Fayum mummy portraits at an ancient Egyptian site.

A photo of the Elgin Marbles, also known as the Parthenon Marbles, at the British Museum. This marble shows two men on horseback.

The Elgin Marbles may finally return to Greece, 200 years after being removed by British nobility

By Owen Jarus published

The British Museum and the Greek government are reportedly in talks about returning the Parthenon Marbles, also called the Elgin Marbles, to Greece.

An image of the manuscript with "Eadburg" — a female Old English name — written in the top left corner.

Woman's name and tiny sketches hidden in 1,200-year-old manuscript

By Tom Metcalfe published

Researchers have discovered secret scribbles and sketches that were likely scratched by an elite woman into a medieval manuscript more than 1,200 years ago.

Individual Ł3/66/90, a man with two forms of skeletal dysplasia, including achondroplasia.

Medieval man buried in Poland had two kinds of dwarfism

By Kristina Killgrove published

Archaeologists in Poland excavating a cemetery by a monastery have discovered the remains of a medieval man who had two different forms of dwarfism.

A slate carving of an owl next to a photograph of a little owl (Athene noctua).

'Sacred' owl carvings from Copper Age may actually be children's toys

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

Ancient owl carvings from the Iberian Peninsula were likely toys that children carved themselves.

The remains of a gold tongue found on a mummy from ancient Egypt.

Gold tongues found in 2,000-year-old mummies in Egypt

By Owen Jarus published

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered several ancient mummies with gold tongues, which were thought to help transform the deceased into divine beings.

The archaeological excavations at the site of the mediaeval Jewish cemetery in the German city of Erfurt unearthed 47 graves; ancient DNA was recovered from the teeth of 33 individuals.

14th-century Ashkenazi Jews had more genetic diversity than their descendants do today

By Tom Metcalfe published

A rare look at ancient DNA from the teeth of medieval Ashkenazi Jews reveals that this group had more genetic diversity 800 years ago than it does today.

Before the discovery of penicillin in the 20th century, syphilis was a common bacterial infection during the 16th century.

See how syphilis ravaged a woman’s face 500 years ago, in an artistic interpretation

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

A facial approximation of an Icelandic woman shows that she suffered from syphilis during her lifetime about 500 years ago.

A model re-creation of an elderly woman who lived in Norway 800 years ago.

Meet a medieval woman named 'Tora' who lived 800 years ago in Norway

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

Using skeletal remains unearthed in Norway, researchers created a realistic-looking model of what this medieval woman may have looked like.

The tomb's chapel, part of which is seen here. A statue of a governor was supposed to be placed in here, and the chapel is aligned in such a way that the statue would be bathed with sunlight during the winter solstice.

Tomb aligned with winter solstice sunrise excavated in Egypt

By Owen Jarus published

An ancient tomb whose chapel was oriented toward the sunrise on the winter solstice may be the oldest of its kind in Egypt.

A front-and-back view of a penny from the reign of Edward I

Medieval coin hoard could be one of the largest ever discovered in Scotland

By Tom Metcalfe published

The discovery, known as the 'Dunscore hoard,' is made up of more than 8,400 silver coins that date from the 13th and 14th centuries.

This sonar image from the autonomous underwater vehicle shows the distinctive shape of the wooden frame of a clinker-built vessel.

Medieval shipwreck discovered in Norway during hunt for WWII ammunitions

By Tom Metcalfe published

What could be one of Norway's oldest shipwrecks has been found on the bottom of a lake near Oslo, during an effort to locate the tons of unexploded ammunition dumped there since World War II.

A gold mummy that is part of the museum exhibition.

Ancient Egyptian mummification was never intended to preserve bodies, new exhibit reveals

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

It's long been believed that mummification was meant to preserve the dead. It turns out that notion is dead wrong.

Disk of Enheduanna, an Akkadian priestess and poet

Who was the world's first author?

By Charles Q. Choi published

The oldest known writing dates back more than 5,000 years. But who was the first author we know by name?