Credit: Xue Ling et al., Antiquity (2026) A microscopic study of residue left on surgical tools from a Ming Dynasty tomb in eastern China has provided the first direct chemical evidence of anesthetic use on ancient surgical instruments. The findings suggest Chinese physicians in the 14th century had developed careful methods for using toxic plant … Read more
A man buried near Lake Kitka in northern Finland around 400 years ago appears to have lived a far more mobile life than researchers once thought. A new study based on ancient DNA and isotope analysis found close genetic ties between the man and Sámi populations. The findings also point to years spent outside Finland, … Read more
A team led by the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana studied fossil teeth from the Payre site in southeastern France. The material comes from nine teeth found in layers linked to the Middle Pleistocene, around 250,000 years ago. The research focuses on how early Neanderthal populations in Europe changed over time and … Read more
Ancient Persian metalworkers worked with brass far earlier and in far more varied ways than researchers once thought. A new study of metal artifacts from the Sasanian Empire shows brass in jewelry, fittings, and military helmets between the 4th and 7th centuries CE. The findings point to skilled metalworkers who understood how different copper alloys … Read more
Archaeologists studying the ancient fortress of Argishtikhinili in Armenia’s Araks Valley have identified more than 1,000 kilometers of water-management features across the landscape, including over 134 kilometers of channels that could trace back to the kingdom of Urartu. The findings offer a new look at how one of the ancient Near East’s lesser-known states transformed … Read more
Human bones buried for centuries carry more than traces of the people they once belonged to. They also hold microbial communities linked to decay and preservation. A new study from Norway examined those hidden populations and found clear differences between well-preserved bones and heavily degraded ones. Skeletons exposed during a research excavation in a medieval … Read more
Archaeologists working in northeastern Romania have uncovered a large prehistoric building linked to the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture, a society known for building some of Europe’s earliest large settlements. The structure stood at the site of Stăuceni-Holm and dates back around 6,000 years. Magnetogram of the site. Made with QGIS. Digital surface model made by SfM and … Read more