Bones

Measuring human skulls in physical anthropology

When Museums Rushed to Fill Their Rooms With Bones

In part fed by discredited and racist theories about race, scientists and amateurs alike looked to human remains to learn more about themselves

OSU archaeologist Loren Davis alongside the bones uncovered underneath the end zone.

Construction Crews Discover Mammoth Bones Beneath an Oregon Football Stadium

10,000-year-old bones were hiding just ten feet beneath the endzone

Nicholas Cage, Tyrannosaurus returner.

Nicholas Cage Returned a Stolen Dino Skull

The actor paid $270,000 for the skull of one of T. rex's cousins

Investigating the Case of the Earliest Known Murder Victim

A 430,000-year-old skull discovered in a Spanish cave bears evidence of deliberate, lethal blunt force trauma

The Egtved girl was a high-born female from the Bronze Age. In her grave in Denmark, she wears a wool dress. Wool textiles and a bronze belt plate that resembles the sun surround her remains.

What Was Life Like for a Girl in the Bronze Age?

Analysis of a 3,400-year-old burial traces the life story of a Bronze Age female

Vampire Healing: Young Blood Can Mend Old Broken Bones

It's old blood, not old bones, that makes fracture healing difficult among the elderly

An X-ray of the knee bone.

We're Not That Far From Being Able to Grow Human Bones in a Lab

The company EpiBone could be on the verge of a major breakthrough

The results of agriculture changed our mouths, but not completely for the better.

Before Agriculture, Human Jaws Were a Perfect Fit for Human Teeth

The emergence of agricultural practices initiated major changes to the jaw structure of ancient humans, leading to dental problems we still experience

Researchers found that human joint-bone density remained pretty high until recently in our evolutionary history, around the same time that humans began switching from hunting and gathering to farming.

Switching to Farming Made Human Joint Bones Lighter

A more fragile skeleton evolved about 12,000 years ago, probably driven by a shift from hunting to agriculture

This relatives and friends of this 30-something-year-old woman suspected she might come back from the grave as a vampire, as indicated by the sickle placed directly across her neck, and meant to keep her in the ground.

The 17th-Century Polish Vampire Next Door

In 17th century Poland, people pegged as vampires weren't weirdo foreigners but locals who freaked their neighbors out

Children’s Skulls Encircled Some Bronze Age Lake Villages

The bones may have been thought to ward off flooding in lakeside villages

Archeologists Find Evidence of Torture at 1,200 Year Old Massacre

An archaeological dig in Colorado was the site of a horrific massacre

Mayan Ruins

Mayas Used Spiked Clubs to Bash Combatant’s Heads

Analysis of skulls gives insight into violence in the Mayan culture

Being able to identify people based on their skulls is a key part of forensic anthropology. The problem is that no one has ever really tested how good we are at it.

Can You Match These Skulls? Many Experts Can’t

Only 56 percent of forensic anthropologists can correctly pair up two images of the same skull when given two profile images

Close inspection showed that a T. rex tooth was lodged in a hadrosaur’s vertebrae, the result of an ancient attack gone awry.

Caught in the Act: Scientists Find A T. Rex Tooth Stuck in a Hadrosaur Tail

The ancient attack proves once and for all that the T. Rex was a hunter, not just a scavenger

A facial reconstruction of King Richard III, based on an analysis of his recently identified remains and artist portrayals over the years, was unveiled by an eponymous historical society on Tuesday.

The Battle Over Richard III’s Bones…And His Reputation

Rival towns are vying for the king’s remains and his legacy now that his skeleton has been found 500 years after his death

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Bones to Pick

Paleontologist William Hammer hunts dinosaur fossils in the Antarctic

A field crew in Kenya excavates a Homo erectus skull.

Head Case

Two fossils found in Kenya raise evolutionary questions

Anthropologists recently found fossils of Paranthropus robustus, also called robust australopithecines, in an excavation site in South Africa. Paranthropus coexisted with human ancestors Homo habilis and Homo erectus as recently as 1.5 million years ago. Some anthropologists had believed that Paranthropus' limited diet caused its extinction, but new evidence from the fossils suggests that Paranthropus had a varied diet that included both hard and soft plants as well as herbivores.

Teeth Tales

Fossils tell a new story about the diversity of hominid diets

35 Who Made a Difference: Douglas Owsley

Dead people tell no tales—but their bones do, when he examines them

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