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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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.

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.

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.

Skeletal remains of Homo antecessor

World's oldest human DNA found in 800,000-year-old tooth of a cannibal

By Brandon Specktor

A protein analysis of an 800,000-year-old tooth suggests the supposed cannibal species Homo antecessor was only distantly related to humans and Neanderthals.

A closeup of the papyrus showing the Egyptian jackal-headed god Anubis shooting Kephalas with an arrow. Kephalas is depicted nude with an enlarged penis and scrotum. The arrow Anubis shoots is supposed to make Kephalas lustful for a woman named Taromeway.

Woman seeks man in ancient Egyptian 'erotic binding spell'

By Owen Jarus

An Egyptian papyrus dating to 1,800 years describes a spell conjuring a ghost to play matchmaker between a woman and the man of her dreams.

General view of the sacred plaza.

Ancient cultic area for warrior-god uncovered in Iraq

By Owen Jarus

A 5,000-year-old cultic area dedicated to a Mesopotamian warrior god has been discovered in an ancient city in Iraq.

A drawing (left) and a digital 3D model (right) of a stone slab found at the newly discovered kingdom.

Ancient Maya kingdom with pyramid discovered in southern Mexico

By Grant Currin

The kingdom has the remains of a temple and unique stone carvings.

Sonar scans show the wreck is broken in two parts on the seafloor. This scan shows the submarine's conning tower and bow section.

Explorers find Cold War-era submarine wreck off the coast of Oahu

By Tom Metcalfe

A team of explorers have found the wreck of a United States Navy submarine that sank more than 60 years ago in deep water near the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

Archaeologists found bones belonging to mammoths, reindeer, horses, bears, wolves, red foxes and Arctic foxes at the site.

Ice age 'house' made from bones of more than 60 mammoths mystifies archaeologists

By Laura Geggel

The structure was made from the bones of ice age animals, including mammoths.

Archaeologists and volunteers are working to preserve human bones exposed by recent storms in an ancient cemetery above a beach on the Orkney Islands.

Scottish storms unearth 1,500-year-old Viking-era cemetery

By Tom Metcalfe

Powerful storms on Scotland's Orkney Islands exposed ancient human remains in a Pictish and Viking cemetery.

Concealing the saint's remains likely prevented them from being destroyed during the Reformation.

Bones found in a church are earliest verified remains of an English saint

By Mindy Weisberger

Experts recently identified bones found behind a wall in a British church as the remains of a Kentish princess and one of England's first female saints.

The sword was mistakenly thought to be medieval. It is now thought to come from eastern Anatolia and to be about 5000 years-old – one of the oldest swords ever found.

Student discovers 5,000-year-old sword hidden in Venetian monastery

By Tom Metcalfe

A keen-eyed archaeology student made the find of a lifetime when she spotted one of the oldest swords on record, mistakenly grouped with medieval artifacts in a secluded Italian monastery.

MOLA archaeologists excavate the top of the cesspit, which had been backfilled and covered over with several layers of brick flooring.

Rare tile of mythical beast discovered in 14th-century cesspit

By Laura Geggel

The treasures include a gold-plated ring and a rare medieval tile depicting a mythical creature.

Archaeologists have surveyed the Mayan road with airborne LIDAR technology to reveal the ancient structures along its length.

Maya warrior queen may have built the longest 'white road' in the Yucatán

By Tom Metcalfe

A ruthless Maya warrior queen may have ordered the building of an elaborate road more than 1,000 years ago to invade a distant city and to counter the rising power of another.

Archaeologists digitally reconstructed the leopard image from fragments of a sarcophagus cover.

Hello kitty! Leopard face reconstructed from ancient Egyptian sarcophagus

By Mindy Weisberger

Archaeologists have reconstructed part of a colorful leopard painting that decorated the lid of an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus.

An illustration of the Roman dagger, sheath and belt.

'Rusty lump' turns out to be 2,000-year-old silver dagger used by Roman soldier

By Laura Geggel

It's rare to find daggers in Roman graves, as these soldiers weren't buried with weapons.

A local farmer discovered this stone half-submerged in an irrigation canal in Turkey. Inscriptions on the stone, dating back to the 8th century B.C. told the story of an ancient lost civilization in Turkey.

Ancient inscription reveals lost civilization in Turkey that may have defeated King Midas

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

The lost kingdom was one of the largest settlements to exist in ancient Turkey at the time.