dfts_thumb.jpg

Phil Plait

Bad Astronomy

Last minute holiday gift advice, Part 2: books!

stone tools

Learn about the 430,000-year-old stone tools and techniques that allowed ancient humans to butcher elephant meat for a hefty meal. 

Ancient Humans Carved Up Elephant Meat with Small, Yet Sophisticated Stone Tools 

View of Shanidar cave, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where the buried Neanderthals were found. 
(Image Credit: Matyas Rehak/Shutterstock) 

Shanidar cave

Learn more about the Neanderthal remains uncovered in Shanidar Cave, and how evidence, such as flower seeds, could indicate that Neanderthals buried their dead. 

Did Neanderthals Bury Their Dead with Flowers? Shanidar Cave Findings Put Questions to Rest

Neanderthal human skull comparison

Discover what our world may be like today if Neanderthals hadn't gone extinct. 

What Our World May Have Looked Like If Neanderthals Hadn't Died Off 

Stone alignments revealed an ancient temple, called Palaspata after the native name for the area. The temple complex is approximately 125 meters long by 145 meters wide — about the size of a city block — and includes 15 quadrangular enclosures arranged around a rectangular inner courtyard. This is a digital reconstruction of the temple. (Image Credit: Jose Capriles/Penn State/CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Digital reconstruction of ancient Palaspata temple

Recent archaeological discovery expands our knowledge on complex Indigenous societies in South America.

Ancient Temple Ruins Shed Light on Life of Tiwanaku, a Thriving Pre-Inca Civilization

Older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Giza, Newgrange is believed to have been built by a farming community that prospered in the Boyne Valley, County Meath, some 5,000 years ago. (Image Credit: Tjp Finn) 


Newgrange

Discover more about Newgrange and the people who were buried there. And what those people can tell us about the elites of Neolithic Ireland. 

Neolithic Ireland Was Likely Not Ruled by Incestuous God-Kings

Humans learned to thrive in a variety of African environments before their successful expansion into Eurasia roughly 50,000 years ago. (Image Credit: Ondrej Pelanek and Martin Pelanek)

African Bush Elephant

Learn more about the new  study which suggests humans had to adapt to different environments within the African continent before being able to successfully migrate out of it. 

Advanced Weapons and Communication Helped Humans Migrate Out of Africa 50,000 Years Ago

Last minute holiday gift advice, Part 2: books!

Newsletter