News by Subject Archaeology

Neanderthals passed along genetic defenses against viral diseases to modern humans when the two species interbred 50,000 years ago.

University of Cincinnati anthropology and University of Bordeaux medical science reveal ancient thyroid disease using science and art

The genetic variation within the Scythian nomad group is so broad that it must be explained with the group assimilating people it came in contact with. This is shown in a new study on Bronze and Iron Age genetics of the Pontic-Caspian Steppe, situated in the Black Sea region. The article is published in the scientific journal Science Advances.

Knowledge of the diet of people living in the prehistoric settlement of Çatalhöyük almost 8000 years ago has been complemented in astonishing scope and detail by analyzing proteins from their ceramic bowls and jars. Using this new approach, an international team of researchers has determined that vessels from this early farming site in central Anatolia, in what is now Turkey, contained cereals, legumes, dairy products and meat, in some cases narrowing food items down to specific species.

Some of the dental features characteristic of Neanderthals were already present in Early Pleistocene Homo antecessor, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Laura Martín-Francés of the University of Bordeaux, France and colleagues.

Fossil teeth from Italy, among the oldest human remains on the Italian Peninsula, show that Neanderthal dental features had evolved by around 450,000 years ago, according to a study published Oct. 3, 2018, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Clément Zanolli of the Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier in France and colleagues.