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Ancient Civilizations News
January 27, 2021

Top Headlines
 

Climate Change in Antiquity: Mass Emigration Due to Water Scarcity

The absence of monsoon rains at the source of the Nile was the cause of migrations and the demise of entire settlements in the late Roman province of Egypt. This demographic development has been ...

Rocks Show Mars Once Felt Like Iceland

A comparison of chemical and climate weathering of sedimentary rock in Mars' Gale Crater indicate the region's mean temperature billions of years ago was akin to current conditions on ...

On the Origins of Money: Ancient European Hoards Full of Standardized Bronze Objects

In the Early Bronze Age of Europe, ancient people used bronze objects as an early form of money, even going so far as to standardize the shape and ...

Scientists Identify Contents of Ancient Maya Drug Containers

Scientists have identified the presence of a non-tobacco plant in ancient Maya drug containers for the first time. The researchers detected Mexican marigold (Tagetes lucida) in residues taken from 14 ...
Latest Headlines
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Earlier Headlines
 

Fatty Residues on Ancient Pottery Reveal Meat-Heavy Diets of Indus Civilization

New lipid residue analyses have revealed a dominance of animal products, such as the meat of animals like pigs, cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat as well as dairy products, used in ancient ceramic ...

Ancient Migration Was Choice, Not Chance

The degree of intentionality behind ancient ocean migrations, such as that to the Ryukyu Islands between Taiwan and mainland Japan, has been widely debated. Researchers used satellite-tracked buoys ...

Pyroclasts Protect the Paintings of Pompeii Buried but Damage Them When They Are Unearthed

A study shows that pyroclasts may be putting the conservation of the paintings of Pompeii at risk. Specifically, the ions leached from these materials and the underground ion-rich waters from the ...

Geoscientists Discover Ancestral Puebloans Survived from Ice Melt in New Mexico Lava Tubes

New study explains how Ancestral Puebloans survived devastating droughts by traveling deep into the caves of New Mexico to melt ancient ice as a water ...

The Unique Hydraulics in the Barbegal Water Mills, the World's First Industrial Plant

The Barbegal watermills in southern France are a unique complex dating back to the 2nd century AD. The construction with 16 waterwheels is, as far as is known, the first attempt in Europe to build a ...

Population Dynamics and the Rise of Empires in Inner Asia

Researchers seek to understand the genetic, sociopolitical and cultural changes surrounding the formation of the eastern Eurasian Steppe's historic empires. The study analyzes genome-wide data ...

Population Dynamics and the Rise of Empires in Inner Asia

Researchers sought to understand the genetic, sociopolitical and cultural changes surrounding the formation of the eastern Eurasian Steppe's historic empires. The study analyzed genome-wide data ...

Bronze Age Travel Routes Revealed Using Pioneering Research Method

Archaeologists have reconstructed the ancient seasonal migration routes of Bronze Age herders in Xinjiang, north-western China. Their research was the result of innovative methodology. To determine ...

Resilience in the Face of Climate Change: Archaeological Investigations Reveal Human Adaptability in Ancient Turkey

An examination of two documented periods of climate change in the greater Middle East, between approximately 4,500 and 3,000 years ago, reveals local evidence of resilience and even of a flourishing ...

Study of Ancient Dog DNA Traces Canine Diversity to the Ice Age

A global study of ancient dog DNA presents evidence that there were different types of dogs more than 11,000 years ago in the period immediately following the Ice ...

Bison Engravings in Spanish Caves Reveal a Common Art Culture Across Ancient Europe

Recently discovered rock art from caves in Northern Spain represents an artistic cultural style common across ancient Europe, but previously unknown from the Iberian Peninsula, according to a new ...

Inks Containing Lead Were Likely Used as Drier on Ancient Egyptian Papyri

Analyzing 12 ancient Egyptian papyri fragments with X-ray microscopy, researchers were surprised to find previously unknown lead compounds in both red and black inks and suggest they were used for ...

Ancient Maya Built Sophisticated Water Filters

Ancient Maya in the once-bustling city of Tikal built sophisticated water filters using natural materials they imported from miles away, according to new research. A multidisciplinary team of ...

Modern Humans Took Detours on Their Way to Europe

Favourable climatic conditions influenced the sequence of settlement movements of Homo sapiens in the Levant on their way from Africa to Europe. In a first step, modern humans settled along the coast ...

Central Asian Horse Riders Played Ball Games 3,000 Years Ago

Researchers have investigated ancient leather balls discovered in the graves of horse riders in northwest China. According to the international research team, they are around 3,000 years old, making ...

Anglo-Saxon Warlord Found by Detectorists Could Redraw Map of Post-Roman Britain

A discovery by a metal detectorist on club outing proved to be a significant burial with the remains of an imposing warlord, along with well-preserved weapons and ...

A Tale of Two Cesspits: DNA Reveals Intestinal Health in Medieval Europe and Middle East

Analysis of 14th-15th century latrines in Jerusalem and Riga, Latvia identifies some of the microbes resident in the guts of these pre-industrial populations, illuminating how gut contents have ...

Raids and Bloody Rituals Among Ancient Steppe Nomads

Traces of violence on 1700 year old skeletons allow researchers to reconstruct warfare and sacrifices of nomads in Siberia. An international and interdisciplinary team of anthropologists, ...

World's Largest DNA Sequencing of Viking Skeletons Reveals They Weren't All Scandinavian

Invaders, pirates, warriors - the history books taught us that Vikings were brutal predators who travelled by sea from Scandinavia to pillage and raid their way across Europe and beyond. Now ...

To Recreate Ancient Recipes, Check out the Vestiges of Clay Pots

UC Berkeley archaeologists have discovered that unglazed ceramic cookware can retain the residue of not just the last supper cooked, but earlier meals as well, opening a window onto gastronomic ...

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