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The Silver Bangle Of El Argar: First Evidence of Silver Lost-Wax Casting In Western Europe Recent study identifies first evidence of silver lost-wax casting in Bronze Age Western Europe and the Iberian Peninsula

A silver bangle from El Argar (2200-1550 BC) represents the first evidence of lost-wax casting in Bronze Age Western Europe. Surface analysis revealed diagnostic features including wax-carved grooves and a preserved fingerprint impression.
medium.com/science-spec...

Subjugators of the Sky: Ancient DNA Reveals the Origins of China’s Hanging Coffin Tradition Recent study uses ancient DNA to trace the origins of China’s Hanging Coffin tradition and confirms genetic continuity with modern Bo…

Scientists traced DNA from China's mysterious hanging coffins to confirm the modern Bo people are direct descendants of ancient cliff-burial practitioners. The tradition began 3,400+ ya on China's SE coast before spreading inland, with coffins placed on sheer cliffs.
medium.com/the-academic...

Tail Injuries Caused by Mating Could Identify Female Dinosaurs New Study Employs Computer Modeling and Statistical Analysis to Reveal Mating as Likely Cause of Hadrosaur Tail Injuries

Scientists discovered that repeated tail fractures in hadrosaurids were likely caused by aggressive mating with heavier males crushing females' vertebrae. This could help paleontologists identify female duck-billed dinosaurs in the fossil record 🦕

medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Buried Alone in the Desert: What an Ancient Skeleton Reveals About Life and Death in Old Kush Archaeological analysis of an isolated Old Kush II burial reveals insights into Kerma funerary practices and paleoenvironmental conditions…

Archaeologists discovered a solitary 4,000ya Kerma burial in Sudan's Bayuda Desert. His grave contained beads, an upside-down bowl (possibly symbolizing death's transformation), and a jar filled with bonfire remains that reveal the region once had grasslands and forests medium.com/science-spec...

Disability, Status, and Trophy Heads: New Study Analyzes the Only Known Cleft Lip Trophy Head Archaeological and ethnographic evidence for the social status of cleft lip individuals in ancient Peru

Archaeologists studied the only known ancient Peruvian trophy head with a cleft lip. Evidence suggests people with cleft lips held special status in ancient Peru, often becoming priests or shamans. His preserved head may have been a powerful spiritual relic
medium.com/the-academic...

Disability, Status, and Trophy Heads: New Study Analyzes the Only Known Cleft Lip Trophy Head Archaeological and ethnographic evidence for the social status of cleft lip individuals in ancient Peru

Archaeologists studied the only known ancient Peruvian trophy head with a cleft lip. Evidence suggests people with cleft lips held special status in ancient Peru, often becoming priests or shamans. His preserved head may have been a powerful spiritual relic
medium.com/the-academic...

Buried Alone in the Desert: What an Ancient Skeleton Reveals About Life and Death in Old Kush Archaeological analysis of an isolated Old Kush II burial reveals insights into Kerma funerary practices and paleoenvironmental conditions…

Archaeologists discovered a solitary 4,000ya Kerma burial in Sudan's Bayuda Desert. His grave contained beads, an upside-down bowl (possibly symbolizing death's transformation), and a jar filled with bonfire remains that reveal the region once had grasslands and forests medium.com/science-spec...

From King Tut to Xerxes: New Study Reveals Ancient Egyptian Alabaster Vessels Contained Opium Organic Residue Analysis Reveals Mysterious Brown Substance in Ancient Egyptian Alabaster Vessels to be Opium

Scientists have confirmed that sticky brown substances in Egyptian alabaster vessels were opium. Only a handful of vessels are known, including in King Tut's tomb. These were gifted to Persian elites & prized enough to take into the grave, where the opium was often looted
medium.com/the-academic...

The Decapitated Hunters: How Jurassic Predators Became Prey Recent study examines isolated fish skulls with intact gastrointestinal tracts from the Solnhofen Archipelago

🐟Scientists discovered the only fossils of their kind: decapitated fish heads from 150 million years ago with their digestive tracts still attached. These Aspidorhynchus predators were violently beheaded by larger hunters, preserving their last meals frozen in time. medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Tail Injuries Caused by Mating Could Identify Female Dinosaurs New Study Employs Computer Modeling and Statistical Analysis to Reveal Mating as Likely Cause of Hadrosaur Tail Injuries

Scientists discovered that repeated tail fractures in hadrosaurids were likely caused by aggressive mating with heavier males crushing females' vertebrae. This could help paleontologists identify female duck-billed dinosaurs in the fossil record 🦕

medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Work and Play: Researchers Discover One-of-a-Kind Ancient Maya Mosaic Game Board in Guatemala Recent study analyzes mosaic-style Patolli board from Naachtun, Guatemala, revealing intentional architectural integration and Early…

Archaeologists discovered a unique patolli game board at a Maya site in Guatemala but unlike typical scratched boards, this one was crafted as a mosaic. The board was intentionally built into the floor during construction before being built over.
medium.com/the-academic...

From King Tut to Xerxes: New Study Reveals Ancient Egyptian Alabaster Vessels Contained Opium Organic Residue Analysis Reveals Mysterious Brown Substance in Ancient Egyptian Alabaster Vessels to be Opium

Scientists have confirmed that sticky brown substances in Egyptian alabaster vessels were opium. Only a handful of vessels are known, including in King Tut's tomb. These were gifted to Persian elites & prized enough to take into the grave, where the opium was often looted
medium.com/the-academic...

The Decapitated Hunters: How Jurassic Predators Became Prey Recent study examines isolated fish skulls with intact gastrointestinal tracts from the Solnhofen Archipelago

🐟Scientists discovered the only fossils of their kind: decapitated fish heads from 150 million years ago with their digestive tracts still attached. These Aspidorhynchus predators were violently beheaded by larger hunters, preserving their last meals frozen in time. medium.com/fossils-et-a...

Condor Burials: Ancient Andean Condors Once Lived on Peru’s Northern Coast Recent study conducted a multi-isotope analysis of Condor Remains from Castillo de Huarmey from the Wari Period (600–1000 CE)

Isotope analysis proves Andean condors once thrived on Peru's northern coast during the Wari Empire (600-1000 CE), feeding almost entirely on marine carrion. This archaeological evidence could support conservation efforts to reintroduce condors to their ancestral habitats
medium.com/the-academic...

Drink for the Dead: Study Uncovers How Bronze Age Cultures Made Alcohol Using Fungus and Rice Residue analysis of 42 pottery vessels from the Mogou cemetery reveals qu-based fermentation methods using rice and Monascus mold

Bronze Age cultures in northwest China were brewing alcohol 4,000+ years ago using rice and Monascus mold in a fermentation method called "qu." Archaeologists found evidence in 42 pottery vessels from burial sites it seems the ancient dead got one last drink for the road. medium.com/teatime-hist...

Rats, Not Just Humans, Drove Rapa Nui’s Deforestation, New Study Reveals New archaeological analysis reveals the underestimated role of rats in the deforestation of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

New study reveals rats, not just humans, drove Easter Island's deforestation. The invasive rodents devastated palm forests through relentless seed predation. The real lesson is about unintended consequences when invasive species enter vulnerable island ecosystems
medium.com/the-academic...

Dueling Dinosaurs: The Fossil That Proves We’ve Been Wrong About T. Rex for Decades Recent study reveals ‘juvenile T. rex’ fossils belong to separate species

New study finds that "juvenile T. rex" fossils actually belong to a separate species called Nanotyrannus, settling a decades-long debate in paleontology. This discovery completely rewrites what we thought we knew about T. rex development and behavior.
medium.com/fossils-et-a...

New study traces the origin of 2000-year-old looted coins & a missing coin hoard New study examines the numismatic characteristics and probable origin of seized Carthaginian bronze coins

In 2022, Norwegian police seized 30 ancient Carthaginian coins from a smuggler who claimed they were part of a massive 200kg hoard looted from Tunisia's coast. Scientists traced the bronze coins back to Carthage around 205 BC, likely minted during the Second Punic War 🪙 medium.com/the-academic...

Ancient DNA Reveals the History of Rome’s Forgotten Enemies and King Arthur’s Knights Ancient DNA reveals the origins, migrations, and genetic legacy of the Sarmatians, the ‘forgotten people’

Sarmatians once ruled the Hungarian plains for 400+ years & battled Rome, yet no modern nation claims them as ancestors. New DNA study of 156 genomes reveals the origins of these steppe warriors. How does an entire warrior civilization just vanish from collective memory? medium.com/teatime-hist...

The Plague That Never Was: Was The Ancient Egyptian City of the Sun God Hit by a Plague? New Archaeological Evidence Reveals that the Plague of Akhetaten Likely Never Was

The "Plague of Akhetaten" that supposedly devastated ancient Egypt's sun god city, likely never happened. New evidence shows normal burial practices, expected death rates, and orderly abandonment, not the chaos of an epidemic.🏺
medium.com/science-spec...

No Gold, No Myths, Only Rams, Snakes, and Bronze: How The Art of the Ancient Steppes Began Recent study finds Scythian animal art began with functional objects, with limited motifs lacking the gold and mythological creatures that…

Early Scythian art looked nothing like its famous golden successors. The earliest art was only rams, snakes, birds & felines rendered in bronze & bone, all functional horse gear & weapons, no personal adornment. The iconic "Scythian style" we know today evolved much later
medium.com/the-academic...

Before Columbus: The Log That Dates North America’s Greatest Ancient City New study dates Ancient Cahokia’s Mitchell Log to 1124 CE and traces its origin 180 kilometers from Cahokia

New research dated the Mitchell Log from ancient Cahokia to exactly 1124 CE, a massive ~4 ton tree pole that had to be transported at least 180 km without modern technology. At its peak, Cahokia was larger than London making it the largest city north of Mexico at the time.
medium.com/the-academic...

The Invisible Maya: The Submerged Maya Salt Works Hidden in a Mangrove New study documents preserved pole and thatch architecture in submerged Maya residential compounds

Archaeologists discovered a complete Late Classic Maya residential compound preserved underwater in Belize's mangroves. These invisible sites suggest Maya populations were significantly larger than current estimates based on stone structures alone medium.com/teatime-hist...

A Child’s Illness Frozen in Time: Uncovering a 900-Year-Old Mystery New study identifies rare infantile cortical hyperostosis in 12th-century child remains from Byzantine Aphrodisias, revealing disease…

Archaeologists uncovered a Byzantine child whose bones had swollen to twice their normal size from a disease that baffles even modern doctors. The rare condition, ICH, vanishes completely by age 3, leaving no trace. This child is one of only a few archaeological cases medium.com/the-academic...

Scientists Just Found the World’s First Fossilized Buttock-Drag Mark New Study Identifies First Ever Dassie Trace Fossils Including the First Ever Buttock-Drag Mark Fossil

Scientists discovered the world's first fossilized buttock-drag mark & it was made by a dassie (rock hyrax) 126,000 years ago in South Africa. The 95cm groove in ancient sand dunes also contains what may be fossilized dung, making it one of ichnology's most unusual finds.
medium.com/teatime-hist...

Survival of the Kindest: First Study of its Kind to Analyze Hunter-Gatherer Trauma in Patagonia A recent study conducted the first population-level analysis of trauma, finding that survival was not always based on being the ‘fittest’.

A new study of 189 ancient Patagonian hunter-gatherers reveals that even the severely injured were cared for, not abandoned. 💔❤️
3,000 years ago, survival wasn’t just of the fittest, it was of the kindest.
medium.com/the-academic...

Skull Cups and Face-Masks: The Only Neolithic Chinese Culture To Work Human Bones A recent study examines the modified human bones belonging to the Liangzhu culture, the only Neolithic Chinese culture to do so.

5,000 ya, the Liangzhu were the only Neolithic Chinese society to work human bones. Research suggests they belonged to anonymous lower-class strangers, discarded like waste in moats. A haunting reflection on what happens when progress creates cities of forgotten people
medium.com/the-academic...

New Study Claims 1 Million-Year-Old Human Skull Rewrites Human Evolution When I began university, I was told two things: number one, modern humans originated in Africa between 500,000 and 700,000 years ago, when…

Scientists reconstructed a 1mya skull that's rewriting human evolution. The findings suggest modern humans didn't originate 500-700kya, but over 1.3 mya. This pushes back our evolutionary timeline by more than half a million years, if the controversial theory holds up
medium.com/teatime-hist...

Woman With The Tiger Tattoo: Decoding The 2,000-Year-Old Ice Tattoos That Would Challenge Modern… New study reveals hidden techniques behind 2000-year-old tattoos of Siberian ice mummies

2,000 yo Siberian ice mummy tattoos were so advanced they'd challenge modern artists. New infrared imaging revealed intricate details showing a master tattooist and apprentice at work. The tattoos were cut during burial, suggesting they served the living, not the dead
medium.com/teatime-hist...

Survived But Not Healed: Archaeologists Find Mysterious Object Embedded in Ancient Parthian Man’s… Recent study finds Parthian-era individual survived an arrow to the leg but he never had it removed

Researchers find a Parthian man with an arrowhead still lodged deep in his leg. Remarkably, his bones show signs of healing, meaning he survived the wound despite the arrow never being removed. The find reveals both the precision of their weaponry & their medical knowledge medium.com/the-academic...