A new study suggests deity impersonation helped Classic Maya rulers project political power and reinforce their authority by linking themselves with powerful gods. Rather than serving as simple religious rituals, these sacred identities reflected the key responsibilities of kingship,...
An ancient Iranian writing system from nearly 4,000 years ago is closer than ever to being understood after researchers made major progress in deciphering the long-mysterious Linear Elamite script.
The latest study, led by French archaeologist François Desset and an...
Archaeologists in central Mexico have uncovered Toltec reliefs, ancient burials, and the remains of a large building near the ruins of Tula, one of Mexico's most important pre-Hispanic cities. The discoveries date back nearly a thousand years and show...
Ancient obsidian tools unearthed in Peru have revealed new clues about trade routes that extended far beyond the borders of the powerful Wari Empire. Researchers recovered two large obsidian tools at Cerro de Oro, a coastal site in the...
A Bronze Age boat carved into rock in northwest Iberia may show that ancient sailors, traders and local communities were far more connected than once thought. New research suggests several boat images found in Portugal and Galicia share close...
A rare Antarctic dinosaur fossil collected more than 40 years ago has finally been identified after decades of being unnoticed in a museum collection.
Researchers identified the fossil as part of the tail of a titanosaur, a long-necked plant-eating dinosaur...
A recent excavation on the eastern slopes of Lake Kifisida, also known as Kopaida, has uncovered an elite Archaic-era burial archaeologists are calling the “Lady with the Inverted Crown (Diadem).” The site lies about six kilometers (3.7 miles) north...
About 27,500 years ago, a teenage boy survived a violent bear attack long enough to receive care from his community before his death in what is now Liguria, Italy. Researchers say his burial at Arene Candide, Italy, offers rare...
Researchers have rediscovered a rare set of giant fossil vertebrae from the extinct megalodon, giving scientists new insight into the size, lifespan, and feeding habits of one of the largest predators ever to swim the oceans.
The fossils belonged to...
Around 1,100 years ago, people living in ancient Peru carefully buried a young dog in a small burial. They placed the animal on a woven mat as though it were sleeping. Researchers believe the dog may have been wrapped...
An ancient shipwreck off the coast of Tuscany, Italy, is giving researchers fresh insight into how Greek and Etruscan traders moved goods across the Mediterranean more than 2,500 years ago.
The wreck, discovered in 1961 in the Bay of Campese...
Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient village and a Roman baths complex at a major dig in Italy, revealing thousands of years of history beneath the Peligna Valley town of Sulmona.
Researchers from Italy's regional heritage authority, known as the Soprintendenza,...
Marbles quarried in Greece traveled hundreds of miles to decorate the churches of Hippos (Ancient Greek: Ἵππος, lit. 'Horse'), an ancient city near the Sea of Galilee, according to a new study that traces the origins of stone used...
Antioch on the Orontes, an ancient Greek city on the eastern side of the Orontes River, was one of the most glorious of all the Greek cities in the world.
Home to hundreds of thousands of people in its golden...
An Egyptian archaeological mission has uncovered an ancient settlement including tombs, a residential complex, ovens and storage silos at Tell el-Koua in the Wadi Tumilat region of Ismailia Governorate.
The discoveries date to Egypt's Second Intermediate Period and offer new...
