First-of-their-kind ancient homes found in China and three more discoveries
Throughout history, cultures have left behind a trail of breadcrumbs for archaeologists to follow. New sites and artifacts are found all the time, revealing forgotten secrets of the past.
Here are some of the latest discoveries:
5,000-year-old homes — a first-of-their-kind find — unearthed in China. See them
In Xianyang, China, archaeologists uncovered the remains of ancient homes dating back to the Yangshao period, around 5,000 years ago. The excavation revealed 19 house foundations with unique circular designs, showcasing various room configurations, including single, double, and multi-room constructions. This discovery offers a glimpse into the daily lives and architectural practices of the Yangshao people. | Published June 5 | Read More |
Massive pits may actually be 'rare' 4,200-year-old ritual holes in UK. See them
At the site of a future nuclear facility in the United Kingdom, researchers found hundreds of pits dating back to the Neolithic period, between 4,200 and 6,000 years ago. These pits, filled with pottery, flint pieces and animal bones, may have served ritual purposes rather than just domestic activities. | Published June 9 | Read More |
Hobbyists dig up 4,500-year-old blade, lead archaeologists to sensational find
In northwestern Germany, amateur archaeologists discovered a 4,500-year-old flint blade fragment, prompting further investigation by professionals. This led to the discovery of an even older artifact related to the Middle Stone Age, dating between 9650 and 4900 B.C. The finds offer valuable insights into the region's ancient history, despite the challenging soil conditions for preservation. | Published June 10 | Read More |
16th-century shipwreck found — accidentally — at record depth in French waters
During a military operation, France's navy discovered a 16th-century shipwreck, named Camarat 4, at a depth of about 8,200 feet near Saint-Tropez. The wreck, believed to be a merchant ship, contained hundreds of ceramic items, some monogrammed with 'IHS,' indicating a possible origin from northern Italy. The depth of the wreck has helped preserve the artifacts, providing a unique snapshot of maritime history. | Published June 12 | Read More |
McClatchy News continues to follow the discovery of intriguing archaeological discoveries from around the globe. Check back to see the latest finds.
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National Geographic
7 hours ago
- National Geographic
Scientists found cut marks on a 850,000-year-old human neck bone. Was it ... cannibalism?
A toddler's neck bone discovered with clear cut-marks dating to about 850,000 years ago may be evidence that an ancient hominin species, Homo antecessor, cannibalized a child, according to archaeologists in Spain. The vertebra from a Homo antecessor child with cut marks indicating it was likely cannibalized. Photograph by Maria D. Guillén / IPHES-CERCA The researchers say the finding, announced July 24, is further indication of Paleolithic cannibalism at Gran Dolina cave in Spain's Sierra de Atapuerca, where signs of ancient humans butchering one another have been found for decades. "This is direct evidence that the child was processed like any other prey," says Palmira Saladié, an archaeologist with the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES-CERCA) and one of the leaders of the excavations where the neck bone was unearthed. Decapitation did not always mean meat from the dead individual was consumed, she says. But in the case of this child, who was between two and four years old, she believes it was almost certain the individual was also eaten. The toddler's vertebra was found along with bones from nine other individuals, in a layer of sediment within the cave dated to about 850,000 years ago. Many of the bones also had cut marks, as well as fractures the researchers say seem to have been made to reach the marrow inside. But not everyone agrees with the team's conclusions. Archaeological excavation work at the Gran Dolina cave site in Atapuerca. Photograph by Maria D. Guillén / IPHES-CERCA Gran Dolina and the Atapuerca site near the northern Spanish city of Burgos were uncovered in the 1890s, when a route for a new railway was cut through nearby mountains. Excavations since the 1960s have revealed broadly accepted evidence of cannibalism among the Homo antecessor group that lived there from about 900,000 years ago until their species went extinct, possibly a little more than 100,000 years later. Scientists disagree on whether Homo antecessor was a direct ancestor of anatomically modern humans—Homo sapiens—or if it was a related species that died out. Regardless, evidence from prehistoric archaeological sites—including the Mesolithic Gough's Cave in the west of England and the Neolithic Herxheim site in Germany—indicates that early Homo sapiens, too, were sometimes cannibals. Signs of cannibalism among earlier human species, such as Neanderthals, have been found at archaeological sites all over the world, including some of the earliest evidence from Kenya. In a few cases, what was once thought to be evidence of hominin cannibalism might actually be something else: stripping flesh from bones for a "reburial" perhaps, which has been suggested for Neolithic remains in France. An 850,000-year-old tooth belonging to an ancient human relative called Homo antecessor. Photograph by Maria D. Guillén / IPHES-CERCA Some experts disagree if the newfound cut-marks are evidence the child was cannibalized. "Cannibalism is very rare," says Michael Pante a paleoanthropologist from Colorado State University, who was not involved in the discovery. "It's just not a common thing that we see." He says that although scientists claim to have found evidence of cannibalism from remains at several archaeological sites, and especially at Atapuerca, direct evidence of it is uncommon. "This decapitation doesn't mean they consumed that individual," says Pante. "They were obviously cutting up a child for some reason, but there are a number of reasons they may have done that." A funeral ritual is one possibility. Pante also disagrees with a suggestion made by the researchers that early humans at Atapuerca hunted rival humans as a food resource. "There is not a lot of evidence of that," he says. Cannibalism among humans—even very early humans like these—was unusual for nutritional purposes and may have only occurred in rituals, he adds. Other researchers are more convinced, however. James Cole, an archaeologist and expert in early human cannibalism who was also not involved in the work, says the first evidence for cannibalism at Atapuerca was found almost 30 years ago. "The new find in this respect is perhaps unsurprising,' he says, 'but it is absolutely fascinating and hints at the rich story about our evolutionary past that the site still has to tell.' Limited Time: Bonus Issue Offer Subscribe now and gift up to 4 bonus issues—starting at $34/year.
CNN
8 hours ago
- CNN
4,000-year-old teeth reveal the earliest use of this psychoactive substance
For the first time, archaeologists have used advanced scientific techniques on 4,000-year-old dental plaque to confirm traces of betel nut chewing in ancient Thai communities. Betel nuts are usually chewed as 'quids,' a mix of slaked lime and ground betel nuts—which contain psychoactive compounds that boost energy, alertness, euphoria, and relaxation—wrapped in a betel leaf. The stimulant, which can leave a red, brown or black stain on the teeth, is thought to be the world's fourth most commonly used psychoactive substance, after caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine, with hundreds of millions of users globally. In the past, betel nuts have been identified at archaeological sites via plant fragments or stained teeth, offering circumstantial evidence that its use goes back at least 8,000 years. But using advanced scientific techniques, an international team of researchers has identified betel nut chewing in an individual with no dental discoloration. The study, published Thursday in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, provides the earliest direct biochemical proof of betel nut consumption in Southeast Asia, predating previous evidence by at least 1,000 years, said author Piyawit Moonkham, an archaeologist at Chiang Mai University in Thailand. The discovery of 'invisible' traces of betel nut chewing in the molars demonstrates that for some prehistoric practices, 'the visible evidence that we have might not tell us the whole story,' Moonkham said. Highly sensitive and minimally invasive, the method requires only tiny samples of plaque and offers a 'fascinating' way of finding more clues about the past, said Thanik Lertcharnrit, an associate professor at Silpakorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, and an expert in Southeast Asian archaeology, who was not involved in the study. 'In terms of methodology, we have very few, if any, archaeologists using that kind of scientific technique, the residue analysis, to infer the life, the tradition, the culture of the (prehistoric) people,' said Lertcharnrit. 'This paper represents a pioneer; it's state of the art in terms of archaeological research in mainland South Asia, particularly in Thailand.' Researchers began collecting ancient dental plaque, known as calculus, from Nong Ratchawat, a Neolithic burial site in central Thailand, in 2021. The team removed tiny, five-milligram scrapes of plaque from 36 dental samples, taken from six individuals. The method, called liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), extracts, separates, and identifies chemical compounds by measuring how heavy the molecule is compared with its electrical charge. But before testing the ancient samples, the team needed a control sample — something they could compare the results with and demonstrate what traces of betel nut liquid might look like. 'We tried to mimic the culture of chewing,' said Moonkham, adding that in addition to the core ingredients of dried betel nut, red limestone paste, and piper betel leaves, they included catechu bark and tobacco in some of their control samples, and ground the ingredients together with human saliva. The modern control samples were tested first to validate the method before the dental samples were analyzed. They detected trace plant alkaloids – including betel nut's main psychoactive compounds, arecoline and arecaidine – in three samples from one individual known as 'Burial 11,' likely a woman aged around 25. Researchers say the benefit of the technique is that it doesn't destroy the original samples, leaving the remains intact for future study. LC-MS is currently used in a variety of fields, including pharmaceuticals, food safety, and environmental testing. But its use in archaeology so far has been limited, said Dr. Melandri Vlok, bioarchaeologist and a lecturer in anatomy and physiology at Charles Sturt University in Australia. 'A lot of the work that's been done using this (method) is looking for proteins in dental calculus for dietary reasons. So, using it to pick up these compounds that get trapped in the dental plaque, that's what's really innovative here. Nobody has done this before,' said Vlok. There's a reason it isn't common: the method requires expensive machinery—such as an Orbitrap, one of the most advanced mass spectrometers on the market, which identifies molecules by measuring the mass-to-charge ratio—that many researchers don't have access to, she added. 'It's starting to be used more routinely by some of the bigger labs, like Harvard and Max Planck — which makes this research even more amazing, because this is a paper with a Thai first-author, which is great,' she said. 'Seeing this research come from within the region is actually the thing that excites me the most.' The team on this paper included researchers from eight institutions across three continents, and the chemical residue analysis was conducted at Washington State University, where Moonkham studied for his PhD. The study's control samples, which created a 'standard' to test against, are another novelty, and future studies could refine this even further by considering how the compounds degrade over thousands of years, said Vlok. 'This is a method that I can definitely see being used quite frequently from now on in the region,' she added. While betel nuts have long been linked to hospitality and religious rituals, much of the research in recent years has focused on its classification as a carcinogen and the correlation between betel quid use and oral cancers. 'Betel nut chewing has significant implications for people's health,' said Vlok. 'It's something that affects millions of people in tropical Asia-Pacific today, but we don't really know how long people have been doing this for.' Better understanding where the tradition comes from, and how and why people are using it, could help address some of these concerns, she added. In Thailand, Moonkham says the practice has been strongly discouraged by the government since the 1940s, and while it's still popular in rural areas, it's now uncommon in cities and with younger generations. Although he recognizes the potential health hazards, Moonkham believes the practice has been overly 'demonized' and hopes research like this can show the long history of betel nuts in Thailand, and their importance in society. He has a personal attachment to the practice, too: he has childhood memories of his grandparents often chewing betel quids, usually while gossiping with friends or relaxing after a family meal. 'I asked my grandmother once, 'Why do you chew it?' And she responded, because it cleans the teeth and it helps me relax,' Moonkham recalled. 'When she chewed it, she tended to share with a friend, family, or colleagues. I think it's significant in the way it creates a social bond.' Researchers are still exploring possible reasons for the absence of tooth stains in the individual they examined, which they speculate could be due to different chewing methods, cleaning habits, or decay over the thousands of years since. Further research could help narrow down the possibilities. The team plans to analyze more individuals from the Nong Ratchawat site, where a further 150 individuals could be tested for signs of betel nut use, and Moonkham intends to dig deeper into the social, religious and medicinal roles of betel nut in ancient societies in future projects. The technique could also be applied to a wide range of plant and food residues, opening new avenues for understanding ancient practices. 'I think people tend to neglect the social and cultural aspect of plants,' said Moonkham. 'It's important to understand the whole perspective.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Humans may be inhaling 100 times more microplastics than previously assumed, scientists warn
Humans are likely inhaling far greater amounts of lung-penetrating microplastics than previously assumed, scientists are warning. People may be breathing in about 100 times more of these tiny fragments than past estimates indicated — from sources based both outside and indoors, including in homes and cars, researchers revealed in a new study, published on Wednesday in PLOS One. These tiny, inhaled particles can invade the lungs and cause oxidative stress, while wreaking havoc on the immune system and other organs, according to the study authors. 'Everywhere we look, we find microplastics, even in the air we breathe inside our homes and cars,' they said in a statement. 'The biggest concern is how small these particles are completely invisible to the naked eye.' While research has thus far largely focused on larger microplastics ranging from 20 to 200 micrometers in diameter, the study authors — from the Université de Toulouse in France — decided to focus on those 10 micrometers or less, which penetrate the lungs more easily. 'Something we can't see can still harm us,' co-lead-authors Nadiia Yakovenko, a postdoctoral scholar at the university, and Jerome Sonke, a research director at the French National Center for Scientific Research, said in joint remarks. 'Our findings show that microplastics in the air, especially indoors, may be an invisible threat we are only beginning to understand,' Yakovenko and Sonke added. To better quantify the typical number of inhaled microplastics, the scientists said they collected air samples from their own apartments and cars, under realistic driving conditions. The researchers then employed a technique called Raman spectroscopy, through which they measured concentrations of microplastics in 16 air samples. The median concentration of detected microplastics was 528 particles per cubic meter in the apartment air samples and 2,238 particles per cubic meter in the cars, with 94 percent of all detected particles measuring less than 10 micrometers. 'We inhale thousands of them every day without even realizing it,' the authors said. 'Deep inside our lungs, microplastics release toxic additives that reach our blood and cause multiple diseases.' After combining their results with previously published data regarding indoor microplastics, the researchers estimated that adults inhale about 3,200 microplastic particles in the 10-300-micrometer range daily. But they also found that these same individuals breathe in about 68,000 particles of 1-10-micrometer particles per day — more than 100 times more than previous research estimated for these small-diameter fragments. These findings, the authors stressed, suggest that health risks from inhaling lung-penetrating microplastic could be much higher than previously thought. As such, they called for more research into this critical question. Yakovenko and Sonke, the co-lead-authors, expressed particular concern about car cabins, which they stressed have limited ventilation — enabling microplastic particles to accumulate and concentrate in the air. Under these circumstances, they explained, people can inhale microplastics in greater quantities during long commutes. The two researchers said they hope that by raising awareness about this issue, their study could help guide future public health recommendations and indoor air quality standards. Their team, the scientists continued, plans to assess a wider variety of indoor exposures and relevant daily habits. 'We hope to shed light on a more personal and constant route of microplastic exposure through inhalation that has so far remained under the radar,' they added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
