Latest science news in Paleontology & Archaeology
New book eyes Earth's excavators, from microbes to elephants and dinosaurs
The ordinary person looks at Stone Mountain and sees a solid, unmovable monolith. Emory paleontologist Anthony Martin, who thinks in geologic time, sees something more akin to a giant sugar...
'Russia will be free,' says Russian anti-Putin group fighting in Belgorod region
Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed a group of "saboteurs" crossed into Russia from Ukraine, allegedly injuring several people and damaged three homes in clashes inside the Belgorod region
Dinosaurs were the first to take the perspectives of others
When someone near you turns their head towards something in the environment, you likely can't help to follow their gaze direction. This reaction is observed in mammals, birds and even...
All butterflies evolved from ancient moths in North America 100 million years ago
Scientists have revealed how butterflies evolved and took over the world in a new tree of life.
Earliest evidence of wine consumption in the Americas found in Caribbean
Scientists have found what they believe to be the earliest known evidence of wine drinking in the Americas, inside ceramic artifacts recovered from a small Caribbean island. Forty ceramic sherds...
Mysterious white, powdery substance found inside 3,000-year-old ruins in Armenia isn't what it seems
Archaeologists in Armenia have unearthed the remains of a 3,000-year-old bakery that still contains heaps of wheat flour.
A botanical detective story: shedding light on the journey out of Africa for one of Australia's worst weeds
The scrubby harbor-side hills of a South African city recently revealed details of an historical event that transformed Australian coastlines. That event led to the arrival in Australia of a...
This tiger-sized, saber-toothed, rhino-skinned predator thrived before the ‘Great Dying’
An artist’s illustration of the giant gorgonopsian Inostrancevia with its dicynodont prey, scaring off the much smaller African species Cyonosaurus. Matt Celeskey About 250 million years ago, massive volcanic eruptions triggered catastrophic climate...
Fossils of a saber-toothed top predator reveal a scramble for dominance leading up to 'the Great Dying'
Two hundred and fifty-two million years ago, Earth experienced a mass extinction so devastating that it's become known as "the Great Dying." Massive volcanic eruptions triggered catastrophic climate change, killing...
Lotto winner pledges to fund classrooms in his native Mali
Happiness for one lucky North Carolina resident comes not from newfound wealth from a lottery win, but using those winnings to help schoolchildren -- in this case, from Mali.
Look: Claire Holt expecting third child with Andrew Joblon
Claire Holt, an actress who played Rebekah MIkaelson on "The Vampire Diaries" and "The Originals," announced her pregnancy at the Cannes Film Festival.
Study suggests dinosaurs were the first to understand the perspectives of others
Understanding that others hold different viewpoints from your own is essential for human sociality. Adopting another person's visual perspective is a complex skill that emerges around the age of 2....
The ancient seafaring fauna of Madagascar
Three hundred miles off the southeastern coast of Africa, Madagascar is a land of mystery. There is such a rich diversity of vertebrates found only on the island that is...
Marsupials might be the more evolved mammals
Mammal evolution has been flipped on its head, according to new research that suggests marsupials are the more evolved mammals.
'Fast X' tops North American box office with $67.5M
Vin Diesel's "Fast X" is the No. 1 movie in North America, earning $67.5 million in receipts this weekend, BoxOfficeMojo.com announced Sunday.
‘Dream glove’ boosts creativity during sleep
On a stormy night in 1816, Mary Shelley had a terrifying dream about a corpse coming to life—a nightmare that inspired her to write Frankenstein . More than a century later, a...
Comb jelly ancestor may have been first animal to branch from tree of life
The first single-celled organisms drifted at sea. Then, some 700 million to 800 million years ago, clusters of cells joined together to form Earth’s first multicellular animal. More recently, the animal family tree...
James Joseph McCarthy, 75
At a meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on May 2, 2023, the following tribute to the life and service of the late James Joseph McCarthy was spread upon the...
James Joseph McCarthy, 75
At a meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on May 2, 2023, the following tribute to the life and service of the late James Joseph McCarthy was spread upon the...
Bringing Stone Age genomic material back to life
For the first time, molecules dating to the Stone Age have been revived in the lab. This breakthrough was made possible only after scientists achieved another first — they successfully reconstructed the genomes...
Anténor Firmin challenged anthropology’s racist roots 150 years ago
At the end of the 19th century, one of the hottest debates among anthropologists was whether human beings originated from a single ancestor or many (the answer: just one). Members of both...
The oldest scaled-down drawings of actual structures go back 9,000 years
Two large, engraved stones found in the Middle East display the oldest known building plans drawn to scale, researchers say. One carved depiction covers part of a rectangular stone found at a Jordanian...
'Mini kangaroos' hop back in South Australia
The brush-tailed bettong—a rare, very cute marsupial resembling a rabbit-sized kangaroo—is bouncing back on the South Australian mainland, more than 100 years after disappearing from the region.
United States returns 'Earth Monster' Olmec sculpture to Mexico
Mexico announced Friday that a huge 2,500-year-old Olmec stone sculpture has been returned from the United States.
Humans were using fire in Europe 50,000 years earlier than previously thought
Human history is intimately entwined with the use and control of fire. However, working out when our relationship with fire began and how it subsequently evolved has been notoriously difficult.
New species of pterosaur discovered in Patagonia
This is a paleoartist's reconstruction of a ptesosaur. Scientists today announced the discovery of a new species of pterosaur from the Patagonia region of South America. The cranial remains...
New species of pterosaur discovered in Patagonia
This is a paleoartist's reconstruction of a ptesosaur. Scientists today announced the discovery of a new species of pterosaur from the Patagonia region of South America. The cranial remains...
On This Day, May 21: Clara Barton founds American Red Cross
On May 21, 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.