Scientists analyzing cave formations in Turkey find layers of soot and charcoal in stalagmites, revealing that humans—and their fires—occupied caves thousands of years ago.
Archaeology
Posted inNews
Drought, Not War, Felled Some Ancient Asian Civilizations
Radiocarbon dating, luminescent sand grains, and climate records point to drought as the reason for the civilizations’ demise.
Posted inNews
Tree Rings Reveal How Ancient Forests Were Managed
By analyzing thousands of oak timbers dating from the 4th to 21st centuries, scientists have pinpointed the advent of a forest management practice.
Posted inNews
Earth’s Magnetic Field Holds Clues to Human History
Items burned in the sacking of ancient cities are time capsules of geomagnetic data.
Posted inFeatures
A Lost Haven for Early Modern Humans
Sea level changes have repeatedly reshaped the Paleo-Agulhas Plain, a now submerged region off the coast of South Africa that once teemed with plants, animals, and human hunter–gatherers.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Ancient Ruins Reveal 8th Century Earthquake in Sea of Galilee
Research into past seismic activity shows northeast Israel is still vulnerable to large quakes.
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Armagedón a 10,000 A.C.
Fragmentos de un cometa probablemente golpearon la Tierra hace 12,800 años, y una pequeña aldea del Paleolítico en Siria podría haber sufrido el impacto.
Posted inNews
Humans Colonized Polynesia Much Earlier Than Previously Thought
Evidence from mud, charcoal, and feces suggests humans arrived in East Polynesia during the driest period in 2 millennia.
Posted inNews
Armageddon at 10,000 BCE
Fragments of a comet likely hit Earth 12,800 years ago, and a little Paleolithic village in Syria might have suffered the impact.
Posted inNews
New England Forests Were Historically Shaped by Climate, Not People
A first-of-its-kind study combining paleoecology and archeology indicates that the New England landscape was not actively managed with fire prior to European arrival.