Archaeology

Archaeologists believe this area on Smith’s Island, in Bermuda, is where an early British colony flourished and helped sustain the settlers in Jamestown, Virginia.

The Hidden History of Bermuda Is Reshaping the Way We Think About Colonial America

New archaeological finds on the islands have revealed secrets about one of Britain’s first settlements in the Americas—and the surprising ways it changed the New World

In Scandinavia, early people adorned rocks with thousands of images of boats. 

These Markers of Scandinavia’s Bronze Age Boatyards Were Hiding in Plain Sight

Archaeologists argue that ancient fire pits were used for constructing the area's distinctive boats

Two sides of a single ceramic lion's head and a female figurine from Dolni Vestonice

Did Prehistoric Children Make Figurines Out of Clay?

Fingerprints and scratch marks found in artifacts in the Czech Republic suggest youngsters of the Upper Paleolithic used the soil like Play-Doh, according to a pending new study

Workers inside one of nine trenches excavated during the recent dig season this January.

A Buried Ancient Egyptian Port Reveals the Hidden Connections Between Distant Civilizations

At the site of Berenike, in the desert sands along the Red Sea, archaeologists are uncovering wondrous new finds that challenge old ideas about the makings of the modern world

The city gate of Ariassos, one of several ancient cities connected by the Pisidia Heritage Trail in the Taurus Mountains.

Hike Through Ancient Roman and Biblical History in Turkey’s Rugged Mountains

In southern Turkey, an extensive new trail network spirits trekkers to Pisidia, home to many lost treasures and a true crossroads of civilizations

Fossilized footprints, preserved in gypsum mud that hardened over time, are estimated to be 23,000-21,000 years old. 

Tracking Humans’ First Footsteps in North America

At a site in New Mexico, a new discovery rewrites the human history of the continent

About halfway between the Greek cities of Corinth and Lechaio, the area around Corinth’s ancient port is tectonically active. That makes the area even more scientifically precious. While many archaeological sites from millennia ago have sunk beneath rising seas, centuries of tectonic uplift have preserved this spot. Parts of the ancient port now sit above sea level, including the inner harbor, where boats likely once berthed in a protected channel.

Ancient Greece’s Biggest Port Is Older Than We Thought

Archaeological discoveries add 500 years to the history of Corinth's main harbor

A total solar eclipse as seen from Kentucky in 2017

How Ancient Civilizations Reacted to Eclipses

Communities may have thought the celestial events were messages from the gods, a reason to abandon a settlement or a cue to end a war

Cinnabar powder covered the remains of 20 people, mostly women, in this megalithic tomb at the site of Valencina, Spain.

Ancient Iberians Ingested Red Dust Loaded With Mind-Altering Mercury

Bones in Spain suggest a mercury-rich mineral used for art and hallucinogenic trips poisoned a community 5,000 years ago

The remains of a dog buried next to a baby

These Ancient Celts Were Buried With Their Animals

Some remains found in the 2,000-year-old graves were likely food offerings, but others may have been much-loved companions

Ruiz-Redondo examines a partially flooded chamber of Cova Dones. 

Just How Old Are the Cave Paintings in Spain's Cova Dones?

With help from a now-extinct bear, archaeologists have unlocked the mysteries of Spain’s Cova Dones

An experimental replica of shell beads with Natufian red organic colorant made from the roots of Rubiaceae plants

Archaeologists Find the First Red Paint Made From Plants

Hunter-gatherers cooked up the alluring pigment in the Eastern Mediterranean 15,000 years ago

An illustration of the Aztec calendar stone surrounds a young portrait of anthropologist Zelia Nuttall. “Mrs. Nuttall’s investigations of the Mexican calendar appear to furnish for the first time a satisfactory key,” wrote one leading scholar.

The Globe-Trotting Scholar Who Unlocked the Secrets of the Aztecs

Anthropologist Zelia Nuttall transformed the way we think of ancient Mesoamerica

The Pyramid Texts cover walls within the pyramids of King Unis (shown here) and other royals at the site of Saqqara.

Did Ancient Egyptians Know Meteorites Came From Space?

Hieroglyphic texts suggest they understood the rocks, which contained valuable iron, did not originate on Earth

An illustration of the Homo erectus child with her mother in the Ethiopian highlands, two million years ago

Two Million Years Ago, This Homo Erectus Lived the High Life

Dating of a child's fossilized jaw and teeth suggest our relatives lived at altitude earlier than once thought

There are an estimated 200 shipwrecks lost in the dark, cold waters of Stellwagen Bank, Massachusetts, not far from Boston’s harbor. The sunken wrecks attract fish, which in turn attract fishers, but fishing nets and metal scallop dredges can easily snag on and damage the irreplaceable vessels.

The Locations of These Shipwrecks Are No Longer a Secret

A marine sanctuary is letting fishers know where previously hidden wrecks can be found

The Tyrolean Iceman Ötzi is one of the oldest known human glacier mummies.

Famed 5,300-Year-Old Alps Iceman Was a Balding Middle-Aged Man With Dark Skin and Eyes

Genetic analysis shows that Ötzi was descended from farmers who migrated from an area that is now part of Turkey

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History paleoanthropologist Briana Pobiner came across this hominin tibia in Kenya’s Nairobi National Museum. The magnified area shows cut marks.

Our Human Relatives Butchered and Ate Each Other 1.45 Million Years Ago

Telltale marks on a bone from an early human’s leg could be the earliest evidence of cannibalism

Engravings discovered in La Roche-Cotard cave

Oldest Known Neanderthal Engravings Were Sealed in a Cave for 57,000 Years

The art was created long before modern humans inhabited France's Loire Valley

Natufian artworks, such as this figurine, became common around 15,000 years ago. Few artworks predating that period have been found in the Levant.

When Did Humans Start Settling Down?

In Israel, new discoveries at one of the world's oldest villages are upending the debate about when we stopped wandering

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