Tag: ancient history

Archaeologists Find Grisly Evidence of Medieval Public Punishment

Archaeologists in England have uncovered gruesome evidence of a Medieval-era public punishment which occurred along the River Thames more than 1,200 years ago, according to a new study (via Ancient Origins).

Researchers conducted a full bioarchaeological analysis on the remains of a woman, known as UPT90 sk 1278, who had been beaten to death and was originally unearthed in 1991.

“The burial treatment of UPT90 sk 1278 lets us know that her body was meant to be visible on the landscape, which could be interpreted as a warning to witnesses,” said the study’s lead author, Madeline Mant. “We can tell from the osteobiography that she was executed, but the specific offense is impossible to know for certain.”

Mant and her team found that, as opposed to traditional burials of the time, the woman’s body was not buried but left out in the open to decompose, likely as a warning to other residents of the community. Her body was placed in an area between the river and the shore, which would ensure her corpse would be alternately revealed and hidden by the tides. This was a location frequently chosen for those found to be “socially deviant.” She had been placed between two sheets of bark on top of a reed mat with pads of moss affixed to areas on her face, which Mant believed to be symbolic gestures from her peers.

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Archaeologists Discover 140,000-Year-Old Hidden City Beneath the Ocean

Near Indonesia’s Madura Street in the ocean researchers have discovered a city submerged which dates back around 140,000 years. This incredible discovery has had a ripple effect through the anthropological and archaeological communities around the world. They found this submerged city between the islands of Java and Madura, as it was once part of a prehistoric land mass.

It was discovered during marine sand, mining operations and artifacts, as well as fossilized remains, were discovered. Excavations followed, which revealed homo erect skull fragments and over 6000 other fossils that represents 36 different species such as the Komodo dragon and some other extinct fauna.

The wall land mass that connected parts of Southeast Asia was known as Sundaland. In the modern day, it encompasses Malaysia, Indonesia, and other surrounding oceans. Because of lower sea levels back in the day, this land mass was exposed and was a terrestrial habitat that supported human populations and diverse ecosystems.

Because of climate change, the climate has warmed over time, and the glaciers melted approximately 14,000 to 7000 years ago, making the sea levels rise gradually. This resulted in the Sundaland being submerged and becoming the archipelagic geography we see today. One can only assume that the Submersion of this prehistoric gland mass had incredible implications for prehistoric human populations.

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Ancient DNA Study Uncovers Mysterious “Ghost” Lineage in Tibet

Discovery of a 7,100-Year-Old Genetic Enigma

A recent genomic analysis of over 100 ancient individuals from China has revealed a previously unknown “ghost” lineage, shedding light on the genetic diversity of early populations in the region. The findings, published on May 29 in the journal Science, center on a 7,100-year-old female skeleton unearthed at the Xingyi archaeological site in China’s Yunnan province.

The study, led by researchers including paleontologist Qiaomei Fu from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, examined 127 ancient human genomes, most dating between 1,400 and 7,150 years ago. The oldest individual, a woman referred to as Xingyi_EN, provided crucial insights into an elusive ancestral group that may have contributed to modern Tibetan populations.

Tracing the Origins of Tibetans

One of the key questions in East Asian prehistory has been the origins of Tibetan populations. Previous research indicated that Tibetans possess a mix of northern East Asian ancestry and an unidentified genetic component—now potentially linked to the newly discovered ghost lineage.

Xingyi_EN, a hunter-gatherer from the Early Neolithic period, exhibited ancestry distinct from other East and South Asians. Instead, her DNA aligned more closely with a deeply diverged Asian population that had remained genetically isolated for millennia.

The Basal Asian Xingyi Lineage

The researchers identified Xingyi_EN as part of a previously unknown lineage, which they named the Basal Asian Xingyi lineage. This group is believed to have separated from other human populations at least 40,000 years ago and remained genetically distinct due to prolonged isolation.

Unlike Neanderthals or Denisovans—archaic humans known to have contributed DNA to modern populations—this ghost lineage represents a unique branch in human ancestry. “The possible isolation allowed this ancestry to persist without apparent admixture with other populations,” Fu explained in an email to Live Science.

Genetic Legacy in Modern Tibetans

At some point, descendants of the Basal Asian Xingyi lineage interbred with other East Asian groups, introducing their genetic material into the ancestral Tibetan gene pool. “The mixed population has lasted for quite a long time and contributed genes to some Tibetans today,” Fu noted.

However, the researchers caution that these conclusions are based on a single individual’s genome. Further studies with additional samples will be necessary to confirm the relationship between this ancient lineage and modern Tibetan populations.

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‘Sacred’ pyramid built by forgotten civilization in Amazon rainforest may be world’s tallest ancient structure

A strange peak in the middle of the Amazon rainforest may actually be the largest pyramid ever built in the ancient world.

Known as Cerro El Cono, this massive, pyramid-shaped formation is cloaked in mystery due to both its striking structure and the extreme difficulty of reaching it. 

The 1,310-foot-tall, pyramid-shaped hill sits in Peru’s Sierra del Divisor National Park, near the Ucayali River in the Amazon. 

Unlike other mountains, however, this extremely steep peak has a set of distinct flat surfaces – like the Great Pyramid of Giza – which have been covered by vegetation over the centuries.

Moreover, this one great peak sticks out from the completely flat rainforest around it, adding to the speculation that Cerro El Cono may not be a natural formation.

While scientists believe the giant hill is just a geological oddity, possibly a volcano or natural rock formation, local Indigenous tribes revere Cerro El Cono as a sacred mountain spirit which protects their communities, calling it ‘Andean Apu.’

This ancient tradition of worshipping mountain spirits dates back to a time before the Inca Empire, between 500 and 1000 CE, but another theory surrounding Cerro El Cono predates even these ancient myths.

Although the few studies of this area have yet to find evidence to prove it, local legends claim that Cerro El Cono sits on the ruins of an ancient pyramid built by a long forgotten civilization that lived in the Amazon.

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Archaeologists Unearth 5,000 Year-Old Tomb That’s Challenging Beliefs About Ancient Society

Buried for five millennia and forgotten beneath what was once a coastal dump, the tomb of a powerful woman from Peru’s ancient Caral civilization has just resurfaced—and it’s rewriting the script on who held status at the dawn of American civilization. This discovery offers fresh insight into a society that may have valued women’s roles far more than history has given credit for.

“This is an important burial because it has elements that correspond to a woman of high status,” archaeologist David Palomino told Reuters. The find was made in Áspero, a site once used as a municipal dump just 112 miles north of Lima, along the Pacific coast. A video of the tomb and women’s findings was shared via @ntc’s Instagram Post.

Far from an ordinary burial, the woman—believed to have died between the ages of 20 and 35—was wrapped with extraordinary care, her body still preserving traces of skin, hair, and even fingernails. She was covered in a mantle woven with blue and brown feathers, possibly from Amazonian macaws, and buried alongside baskets filled with offerings, vases, gourds, and even a toucan’s beak.

Palomino believes the details of the tomb point to more than just individual status—they hint at broader cultural values. “Not only men had an important association in this civilization,” he said, “but this was also complementary with that of women.”

The Caral civilization, active around 3000 B.C., thrived in isolation at the same time as the Egyptian pyramids were rising and Mesopotamia was inventing writing. But unlike those ancient giants, Caral developed without influence from other parts of the world. That makes this discovery all the more fascinating: it suggests gender roles may have been more balanced than previously assumed in one of humanity’s earliest urban experiments.

The site of the tomb—once a forgotten dump—now tells a much older, richer story. And it’s one that might just shift the way we think about power, prestige, and the role of women at the dawn of civilization. The artifacts below were found alongside the burial site at Aspero and serve as physical proof of that the oldest city in the Americas was more advanced than some countries in modern day today.

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20,000-Year-Old Stone Tools Unearthed in South Africa

A team of archaeologists from Chicago’s Field Museum has uncovered thousands of stone tools in coastal caves near South Africa’s southern tip. Some of the tools date back as far as 24,000 years. The discovery, detailed in a recent Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology study, reveals advanced blade-making techniques developed during the Last Glacial Maximum. These findings offer new insights into how Ice Age humans connected, adapted, and exchanged knowledge over long distances.

The excavation was led by Dr. Sara Watson, a postdoctoral researcher at the museum’s Negaunee Integrative Research Center. It focused on caves near what would have been an inland plains region 20,000 years ago. At that time, lower sea levels had pushed the coastline miles beyond its current boundary. The area, rich with antelope and other megafauna, gave hunter-gatherers a strategic place to live and hunt.

The tools, crafted between 24,000 and 12,000 years ago, include small, razor-sharp bladelets and stone cores—the parent rocks from which blades were systematically chipped. By analyzing minuscule striations and reduction patterns on these artifacts, the team reconstructed the meticulous methods used to produce them. Notably, the cores exhibited a distinctive reduction strategy known as “Robberg” technology, named after the region’s caves, where tiny bladelets were precision-struck in sequences to maximize efficiency.

“The core is the storyteller,” Watson explained. “It reveals the intentionality behind each strike—a shared ‘recipe’ repeated across sites.” Strikingly, this method mirrors techniques identified in sites hundreds of miles away in modern-day Namibia and Lesotho. “The repetition of these patterns isn’t accidental. It signals a transmission of knowledge, likely through direct interaction between groups,” Watson added.

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Archaeologists Found a 3,000-Year-Old Lost City That May Hold Secrets of a Royal Past

Just like scientific hypotheses are ever-evolving, so is our understanding of history. 15 years ago, researchers began excavating what they thought were the remains of a military outpost, built to guard against Roman attacks—but their recent findings prove to be much more exciting. The site in Northern Macedonia, known as the archaeological site of Gradishte, might actually be an entire ancient city. And not just any city; it may have a direct connection to the lineage of Alexander the Great.

Using advanced drone-deployed LiDAR and ground penetrating radar technologies, researchers from Macedonia’s Institute and Museum–Bitola and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt) are uncovering the mysteries of this once thriving city. The team announced their findings in a university press release.

“We’re only beginning to scratch the surface of what we can learn about this period,” Engin Nasuh—curator-advisor archaeologist at the National Institute and Museum–Bitola—said in the press release.

Ancient Macedonia was a small, initially insignificant kingdom in Greece. Fighting among major powers in the region—such as between the Athenians and Persians or the Spartans and Athenians, respectively—made it easy for Macedonia (under the heavy hand of King Philip II to stake its claim to power. The kingdom eventually expanded into an empire, most notably under Philip II’s son, Alexander the Great, but eventually fell under Roman control due to internal power struggles.

According to the release, experts initially dated the city back to King Philip V’s reign (221-179 B.C.), but later archaeological findings pushed estimates further back. A coin minted between 325 and 323 B.C. points to the city’s existence during Alexander the Great’s lifetime. But other artifacts including axe fragments and ceramic vessels have led researchers to believe humans could have inhabited the area as far back as the Bronze Age (3,300-1,200 B.C.).

Of the structures uncovered at the site, a Macedonian-style theater and textile workshop are among the most notable. Archaeologists have also discovered coins, axes and textile tools, game pieces, pottery, and even a clay theater ticket at the site, suggesting that the area was a thriving city before Rome’s rise to power, according to Nasuh.

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Cave discovery could rewrite 1,000 years of Mediterranean history

Evidence discovered in a cave on Malta indicates hunter-gatherers visited the picturesque Mediterranean island long before they began farming on mainland Europe. If true, the 8,500-year-old archeological site appears to contradict commonly held assumptions about societal development among the continent’s last Mesolithic communities. Researchers published their findings on April 9 in Nature, and argue that as much as a millennium’s worth of Maltese prehistory may warrant reevaluation.

The trajectory of paleohistorical societies often goes something like this: first farming, then the open ocean. That’s because, generally speaking, the tools and techniques needed to craft seafaring technology such as sails only arrived after the invention of farming tools. Because of this, most archeologists long believed Mediterranean islands like Malta were some of the last wildernesses to encounter humans.

However, a cave site known as Latnija in Malta’s northern Mellieħa region is forcing experts to consider alternative historical narratives. There, researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology and the University of Malta have uncovered evidence indicating a human presence on the island at least 8,500 years ago—roughly 1,000 years before the first known farmers arrived. More specifically, Latnija contained stone tools and hearth fragments, as well as cooked food waste. Some of this food even came from animals believed to have already died out on the island.

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This 7,000-year-old mummy DNA has revealed a ‘ghost’ branch of humanity

Today, the Sahara Desert is one of the most inhospitable places on our planet. But it wasn’t always this way. 

Roll the clock back 7,000 years, and the Sahara was a lush, green savannah, teeming with wildlife, dotted with lakes – including one the size of modern-day Germany. It was, in other words, the perfect place for our ancient ancestors to settle.

But who were they? We might finally know.

Scientists have successfully analysed the DNA of two naturally mummified individuals from the Takarkori rock shelter, in what is now southwestern Libya. Their findings reveal something extraordinary: these ancient people belonged to a previously unknown branch of the human family tree.

The two women belonged to a so-called ‘ghost population’ – one that had only ever been glimpsed as faint genetic echoes in modern humans, but never found in the flesh.

“These samples come from some of the oldest mummies in the world,” Prof Johannes Krause, senior author of the new study, told BBC Science Focus. It is, he explained, remarkable that genome sequencing was possible at all, given hot conditions tend to degrade such information. 

Genome sequencing is the process of reading the complete set of genetic instructions found in an organism’s DNA – a kind of biological blueprint.

Earlier studies had examined the mummies’ mitochondrial DNA, which is much more limited. It’s passed down only through the maternal line, and is far shorter than the full genome found in the cell nucleus.

“There are around 16,000 base pairs in mitochondrial DNA,” Krause said. “That might sound like a lot, but compared to the whole genome, which has 3.2 billion, it’s just a fraction.”

So what did the team discover from this newly unlocked genetic treasure trove?

First, they found that this lost lineage split from the ancestors of sub-Saharan Africans around 50,000 years ago – about the same time other groups were beginning to migrate out of Africa. 

Remarkably, this group then remained genetically isolated from other groups of humans for tens of thousands of years, all the way through to the time when these two women died around 7,000 years ago. 

“It’s incredible,” Krause said. “At the time when they were alive, these people were almost like living fossils – like something that shouldn’t be there. If you’d told me these genomes were 40,000 years old, I would have believed it.” 

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Ancient Hunting Tools Unearthed in Texas Cave

Archaeologists have uncovered a remarkable collection of prehistoric hunting equipment in a remote cave near Marfa, Texas. Dating back approximately 6,500 years, the assemblage includes fragments of an atlatl (spear-throwing device), a curved wooden object resembling a boomerang, and multiple darts tipped with stone and wood. Discovered alongside remnants of a small fire and preserved fecal matter, these artifacts offer a rare window into the lives of North America’s early inhabitants. Researchers from Sul Ross State University and the University of Kansas suggest this may be one of the oldest near-intact sets of organic and stone tools ever found on the continent.

The discovery site, known as the San Esteban Rockshelter, appears to have served as a temporary shelter for ancient hunters. Evidence suggests that early humans used the cave to assess and repair damaged gear. ‘This wasn’t just a campsite—it functioned as a toolkit maintenance station,’” explained Dr. Bryon Schroeder, lead researcher at Sul Ross State University. “They’d discard broken items here while preparing for their next hunt.” Among the finds were wooden tips that may have delivered toxins to prey, highlighting sophisticated hunting techniques. The team theorizes that nomadic groups traversing the arid landscape periodically used the shelter to regroup and re-equip.

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