New geological data indicate that marine life is somewhat resilient to warming in the tropics. Chris Fokkema, earth scientist at Utrecht University, discovered that tropical algae were largely unaffected by a number of periods of global warming of up to 1.5 degrees Celsius in the distant past. These unicellar organisms form the basis of food webs and are generally very sensitive to rising temperatures. Previous studies of periods of even greater warming showed a dramatic decline in these organisms. “Somewhere beyond those 1.5 degrees, a tipping point occurs.”

An international team of archaeologists and scientists has reconstructed the diets of prehistoric communities from north-central Poland, shedding new light on how people adapted to changing environments and shifting social landscapes over three millennia between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age.

During an archaeological survey conducted in February, researchers from the Maritime Encounters programme at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, identified six previously unregistered Bronze Age mines in Extremadura, southwestern Spain. The discoveries may represent a crucial piece of the puzzle in understanding the origin of the metal used in Scandinavian Bronze Age artefacts.

A new research technique provides a fresh vantage point to Stone Age burial outfits and their decorations.