Archaeology, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 31, 2020

How do scientists figure out how old things are?

The ability to precisely date, or identify the age of an object, can teach us when Earth formed, help reveal past climates and tell us how early humans lived. So how do scientists do it? Radiocarbon dating is the most common method by far, according to experts. This method involves...

Dec 31, 2020

Statue of mysterious woman with 'Star Wars'-like headdress found in Mexico

A 500-year-old statue of a mysterious woman wearing a large, Star Wars-like headdress has been discovered in central Mexico, according to Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). The 6.5-foot-tall (2 meters) limestone statue depicts a young woman dressed in elaborate clothes and jewelry, including a circular pendant, known...

Dec 31, 2020

Europe's earliest form of money found and it's a bunch of rings and axes

Got change for an axe? Thousands of years ago, people used bronze objects such as neck rings, axe blades and ribs (curved, flattened rods) as a type of prehistoric currency, making them the one of the oldest known forms of money in the world. Archaeologists recently analyzed more than 5,000...

Dec 31, 2020

Ritual monument discovered in Scotland dates to the time of Stonehenge

A massive cursus monument, a site for ancient rituals, that was built around the same time as Stonehenge, has been discovered on the Scottish Isle of Arran. Cursus monuments, which were constructed during the Neolithic period (4000 B.C. to 2500 B.C.) are long rectangular earthwork enclosures, meaning that they are...

Nov 30, 2022

Woman's name and tiny sketches hidden in 1,200-year-old manuscript

Researchers have discovered secret scribbles and sketches that were scratched into a medieval manuscript more than 1,200 years ago. The hidden markings, made without ink, were found in the pages of an early medieval book housed at a University of Oxford library in England. Researchers think they are the work...

Sep 30, 2022

Buried treasure of 44 Byzantine gold coins found in nature reserve in Israel

Excavators in Israel have discovered a trove of 44 Byzantine gold coins and other valuables. Coins from the hoard were minted by the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Emperor Phocas (A.D. 602 to 610) and Emperor Heraclius (A.D. 610 to 641). All of the pieces of money were gold...

Aug 31, 2022

Hoard of Islamic era gold and silver coins found behind Egyptian temple

Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered a nearly 1,000-year-old cache of gold and silver coins behind a temple in Esna, a city located along the Nile River. The hoard, which was discovered by a team of researchers from Egypt's Supreme Council for Archaeology, includes coins minted throughout different parts of the...

Aug 31, 2022

Artificial islands surrounding British Isles were used for ancient parties, archaeologists find

Just as waterfront mansions are status symbols for today's rich and famous, ancient artificial islands in the British Isles known as crannogs may have been used by elites to display their power and wealth through elaborate parties, a new study finds. A crannog is an artificial island within a lake,...

Jun 30, 2022

Lost city, a real-life 'Helm's Deep,' possibly discovered in Iraq

Nestled in a valley shadowed by mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan sits an ancient fortress that archeologists think may be the lost, royal city of Natounia, based on the discovery of intricately carved rock reliefs depicting an ancient leader, a new study finds. The stronghold, known as Rabana-Merquly, was once part...

May 31, 2022

Silver coin featuring famous Viking king unearthed in Hungary

A metal detectorist has discovered a small silver coin marked with the name of a famous Viking king. However, it was unearthed not in Scandinavia, but in southern Hungary, where it was lost almost 1,000 years ago. The find has baffled archaeologists, who have struggled to explain how the coin...

Apr 30, 2022

Largest known cave art images in US by Indigenous Americans discovered in Alabama

Archaeologists in Alabama have discovered the longest known painting created by early Indigenous Americans, a new study finds. Indigenous Americans crafted this 1,000-year-old record-breaking image — of a 10-foot-long (3 meters) rattlesnake — as well as other paintings, out of mud on the walls and ceiling of a cave, likely...

Apr 30, 2022

Fertility cult complex discovered under Turkish home dates to the Iron Age

A bungled looting scheme has led archaeologists to an underground Iron Age complex in Turkey that may have been used by a fertility cult during the first millennium B.C., a new study finds. The ancient complex, which has yet to be fully investigated due to the instability of the structure,...

Apr 30, 2022

Stonehenge builders ate parasite-infested meat during ancient feasts, according to their poop

In addition to a Neolithic monument, the builders of Stonehenge left behind something a little less celebratory: fossilized clumps of poop. A new analysis of these so-called coprolites suggests that during epic winter feasts, the ancient workers and their dogs ate undercooked meat littered with the eggs of parasitic worms....

Apr 30, 2022

What did ancient Egypt's pharaohs stash inside the pyramids?

When British archaeologist Howard Carter cracked open King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, he reported seeing wonderful things. Tut's tomb was filled with extraordinary treasures, including the golden death mask of Tutankhamun, a golden throne and even gold sandals. But did all royal tombs in ancient Egypt have such plush grave...

Mar 31, 2022

Stonehenge was a hunting hotspot long before the monument was built

Long before Neolithic people erected Stonehenge's majestic bluestones and sarsen stones, Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age hunter-gatherers frequented the site, using it as a hunting ground. Later, farmers and monument builders moved into the region, a new study finds. Earlier research had suggested that before Stonehenge was built, the surrounding...