Ancient North Americans started using tobacco around 12,500 to 12,000 years ago, roughly 9,000 years before the oldest indications that they smoked the plant in pipes, a new study finds.…
Category: Archaeology
‘Ghost tracks’ suggest people came to the Americas earlier than once thought
Footprints left behind by prehistoric people may be some of the strongest evidence yet that humans arrived in the Americas earlier than previously thought. Over 60 “ghost tracks” —…
DNA from mysterious Asian mummies reveals their surprising ancestry
Mystery mummies from Central Asia have a surprising ancestry. These people, who displayed facial characteristics suggesting a European heritage, belonged to a local population with ancient Asian roots, a new…
Lidar reveals a possible blueprint for many Olmec and Maya ceremonial sites
An unexpected architectural tradition linked many Olmec and Maya societies of Mesoamerica, an ancient cultural area that ran from central Mexico to Central America. Starting as early as around 3,400…
Lasers reveal construction inspired by ancient Mexican pyramids in Maya ruins
At Teotihuacan, near Mexico City, three giant pyramids rise above the ancient city’s main street, the Avenue of the Dead. The smallest of these is the Temple of the Feathered…
Vikings lived in North America by at least the year 1021
Vikings inhabited North America exactly 1,000 years ago, a new study finds. Counting tree rings reveals that wooden objects previously found at an archaeological site on Newfoundland’s northern peninsula were…
Dog DNA reveals ancient trade network connecting the Arctic to the outside world
Ancient Arctic communities traded with the outside world as early as 7,000 years ago, DNA from the remains of Siberian dogs suggests. Analysis of the DNA shows that Arctic…
