Latest science news in Paleontology & Archaeology
Earth's Original Ancestor Was 'LUCA'
Evolutionary geneticists have published a ground-breaking study that characterizes the common ancestor of all life on earth, LUCA (last universal common ancestor). Their findings show that the 3.8-billion-year-old organism was...
'Hobbit' fossils represent a new species, concludes University of Minnesota anthropologist
University of Minnesota anthropology professor Kieran McNulty (along with colleague Karen Baab of Stony Brook University in New York) has made an important contribution toward solving one of the greatest...
Polygamy, paternal care in birds linked to dinosaur ancestors
Sure, they're polygamous, but male emus and several other ground-dwelling birds also are devoted dads, serving as the sole incubators and caregivers to oversized broods from multiple mothers. It is...
VIDEO: Farmer Busted With Artifacts
A farmer in Italy uncovered hundreds of ancient artifacts—some perhaps 2,500 years old—but ran into trouble with police when he tried to sell some of them.
Daddy day-care: dinosaur fathers guarded the eggs
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - You can call it dino daddy day-care. Scientists who examined the fossilized remains of three types of medium-sized dinosaurs found with large clutches of eggs have concluded...
New World post-pandemic reforestation helped start Little Ice Age
The power of viruses is well documented in human history. Swarms of little viral Davids have repeatedly laid low the great Goliaths of human civilisation, most famously in the devastating...
Sketches found on back of da Vinci work
Researchers have found three previously unknown sketches on the back of a painting Leonardo da Vinci that may have been drawn by the Renaissance master.
PHOTOS: Ancient Mass Graves, "Baby Bottles" Discovered
On Sicily, ten thousand ancient Greek graves have come to light. Among their contents: war dead and infants encased, womblike, in jars.
PHOTOS: Huge Dinosaur and Pterosaur Found in Sahara
Remains of two potentially new prehistoric species have been unearthed in the Sahara: a pterosaur, or flying reptile, and a sauropod, a barrel-bodied, long-necked herbivore.
Passage graves from an astronomical perspective
Passage graves are mysterious barrows from the Stone Age. New research from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen indicates that the Stone Age graves' orientation in the...
Dreaming of a green Christmas? Try these tips
When I was growing up in a small town in eastern Pennsylvania, I was horrified that my mother insisted on carefully opening Christmas packages so she could reuse the wrapping...
Ancient cemetery found in Syria
DAMASCUS, Syria, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Archaeologists have dug up a large ancient cemetery in the middle of the Syrian desert, providing a glimpse into life and death...
Why Did The London Millennium Bridge 'Wobble'?
A new study finally explains the Millennium Bridge 'wobble' by looking at how humans stay balanced while walking.
Short-armed raptor dino found in Argentina
An unusual raptor dinosaur found in Argentina is the largest of its kind found so far in the Southern Hemisphere, with awkwardly short arms that made it resemble a Tyrannosaurus,...
PHOTO IN THE NEWS: Potty-Mouth Dinosaur Had Weird Bite
Recently found fossils reveal that an ancient amphibian swung its head and upper jaw upwards to eat in an action much like raising a toilet seat.
Ancient Insect Hails From Sunken Island
The Lord Howe tree lobster is 13 million years older than the land on which it dwells
Study: Flora not flourishing in tropics
CALGARY, Alberta, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Canadian researchers say they've determined extinction risks for plants growing in the Earth's tropical regions are higher than previously thought.
Archaeologists unearth ancient Wari city
Researchers digging at the Cerro Patapo archaeological site in northern Peru have discovered the ruins of an entire city, which may provide the "missing link" between two ancient cultures.
News 2008: Prizewinners of the year
Medals, cash and fame rained down on the heads of prominent scientists in 2008. Ashley Yeager rounds up some of them.
Sudan statues show ancient script
Three ancient statues, engraved with a little-understood sub-Saharan language, are unearthed in Sudan.
Peter Singer: Mbeki and the tragic cost of ignoring scientific evidence
Peter Singer: Malicious or not, the former South African president's Aids policy is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths
VIDEO: Roast Guinea Pig for Christmas?
A local government in Peru is promoting roasted guinea pig for Christmas dinner instead of the traditional turkey or pork.
Simple soybean anything but - genetically, researcher says
(PhysOrg.com) -- Think humans are complex creatures? Consider the lowly soybean, said a Purdue University researcher. When it comes to genetics, the soybean plant is far more intricate than that...
Researchers interpret asymmetry in early universe
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Big Bang is widely considered to have obliterated any trace of what came before. Now, astrophysicists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) think that their new...
Charles Darwin was crazy about dinosaurs
A set of 19th-century research publications about to go online reveals the work of famous European scientists, including Charles Darwin, who were obsessed with dinosaurs, pterodactyls, plesiosaurs and fossilized dung.
Romans fought in north in 3rd century, dig shows
Spears and arrowheads found on north German battlefield suggest fighting occurred later than thought
History Repeats: How 2008 Reflected the Past
For all the talk about change, everything old seemed oddly new again in 2008.
Ancient Battlefield Hints at Roman Persistence
2000-year-old site suggests Romans returned to area of massive defeat