Archaeology
If we don't understand our past, how can we be expected to prepare for our future? Archaeology is the study of human activity throughout history by studying ancient artefacts, structures and cultural landscapes, and goes hand in hand with the field of anthropology. Unlike what we are led to believe in films such as the Indiana Jones series, archaeology is a painstaking and meticulous scientific practise, with barely a whip or fedora in sight.
Scientists capture Egyptian mummy’s ‘scent of eternity' - and are pumping it through a museum
This is one perfume you probably wouldn’t want to wear.
These ancient stone weapons may link the ice age peoples of North America and Northeast Asia
The discovery of North America’s oldest-known stone ‘projectile points’ has given archaeologists valuable insights into the use of ancient technology.
4,000-year-old head lice comb found inscribed with phrase using the alphabet
The comb was made by the Canaanites, an ancient people that lived in what is now Israel and Palestine around 4,000-5,000 years ago.
Oldest human DNA found in the UK reveals two genetically distinct groups migrated from Europe
The remains of the ancient Britons were found in caves in Somerset and North Wales and date back more than 13,500 years.
Were the bones of soldiers that died at the Battle of Waterloo sold as fertiliser? Probably, archaeologists say.
Very few human remains have been found at the site of the conflict despite thousands of soldiers being killed.
4,500-year-old poo found near Stonehenge shows Neolithic Britons were infected with parasites
The parasites were also present in dog poo found at the site, suggesting that prehistoric humans fed leftovers to their pet pups.
Scientists that found Shackleton’s lost ship are developing a ‘Google Maps for the Antarctic’
Navigating the polar regions is almost as complicated now as it was when Ernest Shackleton's Endurance sank in 1915. But the technology used to find the shipwreck could help create "a kind of Google Maps for the Arctic and Antarctic".
In Pictures: Shackleton’s ship Endurance found over a century after it sank
Incredible discovery made by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust and National Geographic.
Ancient spines threaded onto sticks found in Peru
The strange burial practice was discovered in the Chincha Valley on the Pacific Coast of Peru.
Earliest evidence of humans decorating jewellery unearthed in Polish cave
The 41,500-year-old ivory pendant is decorated with an ornate pattern of dots.
Children’s skull from ancient human ancestor Homo naledi unearthed in South African cave
The 250,000-year-old remains were found in the remote depths of the Rising Star cave system in Johannesburg.
Secrets of the dead: How perfectly preserved brains let us look back in time
What can preserved human brains tell us about the past?
Early humans in Israel used modern fishing tools 12,000 years ago
The people who used these tools "knew all there was to know about fish".
Stone Age humans hatched and raised cassowary chicks in New Guinea
Thousands of years before the domestication of the chicken, humans were collecting cassowary eggs just before they hatched.
Drinking milk enabled Bronze Age nomads to migrate thousands of miles across mainland Europe
The ancient herders drank the milk of cows, sheep, goats, and even horses.
What did the Denisovans look like? How did they go extinct? Full guide to the ancient humans
Did they mate with Neanderthals? How were they discovered? Everything you need to know about the Denisovans
The Babylonians were using Pythagoras’ Theorem over 1,000 years before he was born
An ancient clay tablet shows that the Babylonians used Pythagorean triples to measure accurate right angles for surveying land.
Did a huge comet impact ignite civilisation on Earth as we know it?
A new analysis suggests society may have started with a bang.
The story of two mammoths, preserved forever in a fight to the death
In this extract from Locked In Time, palaeontologist Dean Lomax describes the battle that killed two mammoths 12,000 years ago.
Neanderthals weren't just smart – they might have taught humans a thing or two
Tom Higham, Professor of Archaeological Science at the University of Oxford and author of The World Before Us, explains the important exchanges, both cultural and genetic, that between us and Neanderthals.
How scientists are using cosmic radiation to peek inside the pyramids
Muon tomography is a non-invasive investigation technique made possible by particles travelling through space at almost the speed of light. And it’s revealing secrets buried deep inside ancient pyramids and volcanoes.
Cancer in the court: CT scans identify lesions in medieval Britons' remains
Even though they lived before the carcinogens of cigarettes and industrial pollution, up to 14 per cent of medieval Britains could have died from cancer.
Henry VIII's Mary Rose ship had crew members of multinational descent
It is thought as many as three of the eight crew of the Tudor warship may have originated from southern European coasts, Iberia and North Africa.
3D scanning gives new insight into 275-year-old Jacobite battlefield
Lidar technology has allowed experts to create a map of the Culloden battlefield, where the last pitched battle on British soil occurred in April 1746.