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Anchorage Daily News reports that an underwater archaeological team identified and mapped a shipwreck involved in one of Alaska's most tragic maritime disasters. The Star of Bengal was traveling from Wrangell to San Francisco when it went down on September 20, 1908, near Coronation Island in southeastern Alaska's Alexander Archipelago. The 264-foot ship, which was built in the same shipyard as the Titanic, was carrying around 140 people when it sank. Of the 110 souls that perished, the vast majority were seasonal Asian workers hired to work in local Alaskan canneries. The wreck was found to be scattered across nearly...

A new lidar survey of Michigan's Upper Peninsula revealed evidence of extensive farming by Native Americans that has stunned archaeologists, according to a statement released by Dartmouth College. The region's climate and short growing season has traditionally made it a difficult area for farming. However, researchers studying the Sixty Islands archaeological site near the Menominee River detected a huge network of raised garden beds spread across 330 acres, where the ancestors of the Menominee Tribe used to grow crops such as corn, beans, and squash. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal uncovered during preliminary excavations indicates that the agricultural system was used...

New research reveals that our extinct Neanderthal relatives were surprisingly savvy navigators who used river valleys to zip across continents in record time. Computer simulations show they could cross from western Russia to Siberia in as little as 1,600 years, a prehistoric speed record that shows the efficiency of their migration skills.A new study published in PLOS One reveals that Neanderthals could have traveled from the Caucasus Mountains to the Altai Mountains of Siberia in the blink of an eye in prehistoric terms. Using sophisticated computer simulations that model ancient migration patterns, researchers from New York University discovered that these...

When archaeologists were sifting through layers of sediment from the San Lázaro rock shelter in Segovia, Spain, they noticed an unusual looking stone that seemed to contain a small red dot in the middle. BBC News reports that deeper analysis of the object revealed that the strange mark was actually a Neanderthal fingerprint, the oldest known human fingerprint in existence. The researchers suggest that the small rock's three natural indentations resemble the two eyes and mouth of a human face. The dot seems to have been added to the stone's surface with red ocher to create the missing nose. Multispectral...

Over the past several years, investigation within the Cova Dones cave system in Valencia has shown it to be one of the most intriguing archaeological sites in western Europe. Not only does it contain the largest collection of Paleolithic artworks on the Iberian Peninsula's Mediterranean coast, some of which date back 24,000 years, it also housed a Roman sanctuary deep within its hollows. According to the Greek Reporter, recent research has revealed more than 100 speleofacts, or stalagmite formations that have been intentionally moved, broken, or modified by humans to create carefully arranged structures. Cova Dones is the cave site...

Officials claim they used coins discovered inside a shipwreck off the coast of Colombia to prove the doomed vessel is the legendary San José that was carrying a $20 billion treasure when it sank. The Colombian government used an unmanned vehicle to inspect the wreckage of the 18th-century craft to prove it has found the lost Spanish galleon. The submersible carried out a non-intrusive investigation to document areas of the shipwreck that have yet to be photographed that contained coin-like objects, according to a study from Antiquity. Coins found in a hoard area in the ship’s stern were photographed and...

Could artificial intelligence solve one of the Bible’s biggest mysteries? A team of researchers used AI-powered statistical modeling to analyze the authorship of the Hebrew Bible and made surprising discoveries about ancient narratives. Credit: Shutterstock A multidisciplinary team of researchers is using artificial intelligence to unravel the authorship of the Hebrew Bible’s earliest books. Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing everything from healthcare to filmmaking to finance. So, why not apply it to one of the most ancient and influential books in history—the Bible? That’s exactly what an international team of researchers set out to do. Among them was Shira Faigenbaum-Golovin, an...

During excavation of a gravel pit on the shores of the Yonne River in 1966, workers uncovered the foundations of a Roman villa just south of the Roman town of Autessiodurum (present-day Auxerre). The 7,500-square-foot structure contained around 10 rooms and was inhabited from the first through fourth century a.d. This discovery would prove to just be the tip of the iceberg, however. According to La Brüjula Verde, renewed archaeological work conducted at the site six decades later by the French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) has revealed a sprawling 43,000-square-foot estate that is among the largest villas...

When metal detectorists searching a field on northern Norway's Senja Island discovered two ancient metal brooches and human rib bones, they notified the authorities. Science Norway reports that an archaeological team from the Arctic University Museum of Norway was sent to investigate the site and learned that the two small pieces of jewelry belonged to an elaborate Viking Age burial dating to between a.d. 900 and 950. Given the presence of the oval brooches and other items such as spindle whorls and weaving tools that are typically only associated with women, experts believe the grave belongs to a high-ranking Viking...

A recent study published last year in the journal Cell has identified the ancient origins of a genetic mutation that confers resistance to HIV, and how it first appeared in an individual who lived near the Black Sea between 6,700 and 9,000 years ago. Named CCR5 delta 32, the uncommon genetic variant disables a key immune protein used by a large majority of strains of the HIV virus to enter human cells and therefore "locks out" the virus in individuals who carry two copies of the mutation.HIV is a relatively new disease. It was only identified in the last century,...

Recent archaeological research at the El Cerrón site in Illescas, Toledo, is reshaping traditional views of ancient Carpetania, a central Iberian region long considered culturally marginal. A study led by Universidad Autónoma de Madrid researcher Pablo Sánchez de Oro, published in the journal Antiquity, introduces firm evidence to propose that Carpetania's local elite were actively involved in Mediterranean trade and cultural networks throughout the Late Iron Age (4th–1st centuries BCE).At the center of this find is a stunning terracotta relief discovered in Structure 2, which has been interpreted by archaeologists as a sanctuary. The artifact depicts a procession that includes...

Peripatopsis barnardi represents the first ever species from the little Karoo, which indicates that the area was historically more forested than at present. It is one of seven new species from the Cape Fold Mountains described by researchers from Stellenbosch University. Credit: Savel Daniels A newly discovered velvet worm species is the first ever found in South Africa’s arid Karoo region. In March 2022, Stellenbosch University student Rohan Barnard was exploring a farm in the Swartberg Mountains between Calitzdorp and Oudtshoorn, turning over rocks in search of ants, reptiles, and other small creatures. During his search, he made the discovery...

The dominant literary culture of the late 20th century loved to tear down the heroes of the past, focusing almost entirely on their flaws while belittling the virtues, beliefs, and deeds that made them worthy of admiration in the first place. I have written about this annoying tendency previously on several occasions, including here and here. In our own time, we are afflicted with a slightly different problem: cultural arbiters who know almost nothing about the great men and women who went before them, save the cherry-picked anecdotes that magically seem to support their political cause of the moment. It...

Social control within spotties goes hand in hand with the overall body size. A female spotty/paketi (an endemic species of wrasse) in the Gemmell Lab at the University of Otago. - Gemmell Lab ========================================================================= Researchers at the University of Otago have discovered that the New Zealand spotty fish, or paketi, can begin displaying dominant behaviors just minutes after a shift in their social order, well before their bodies begin changing sex. The study highlights how quickly social hierarchies can influence this remarkable species’ behavior and even biological transitions. “The aggressive behaviors (called ‘rushes’) involved the dominant fish swimming rapidly towards...

0:00 Introduction 0:36 Old English 1:25 Norman conquest 3:23 Medieval to Renaissance 4:18 Shakespeare and company 5:08 Modern borrowings 5:48 Spelling 6:33 Grammar 7:03 Too much Latin? 7:40 Gifts of a dual heritage The Latin Roots of English | 10:29toldinstone | 583K subscribers | 28,937 views | June 6, 2025

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have unearthed parts of a Roman and Byzantine settlement just outside the modern city of Kiryat Gat. The researchers believe the settlement was founded in the first century b.c. and flourished for more than 600 years, thanks to its location along an important road connecting the Judean Mountains with the coastal plain. The settlement seems to have been especially prosperous during the fifth and sixth centuries a.d., based on evidence of an extensive building campaign as well as distinctive types of pottery, coins, and decorative marbles found at the site. Also dating to this...

One of the most spectacular Byzantine mosaics ever discovered in Israel was finally revealed to the public for the first time, according to a statement released by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). The so-called Be'er Shema (Birsama) mosaic was first uncovered three decades ago near Khirbat Be'er Shema in the western Negev, but spent years undergoing intensive conservation and preservation work. "Over the ensuing years since its discovery, the mosaic floor's state of conservation deteriorated," said IAA's Ami Shahar. "Upon completion of our expert team's intensive efforts, the results enable the public to view and appreciate a spectacular 1,600-year-old work...

The study, currently under review by Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics, applied the Generalized Hough Transform, a sophisticated computer vision method, to digital images of the manuscript. The method, widely used in image processing, allowed researchers to compare the positions of stars that were listed in the catalog with modern-day astronomical coordinates, accounting for distortions due to Earth's axial precession and positional inaccuracies in ancient recordings.Dating back as far as Shi Shen, the prominent Chinese astronomer of the Warring States period, the Star Manual of Master Shi (石氏星经) has long perplexed historians due to star position discrepancies that would appear...

Thousands of workers spent years clearing the hillside and carving the stone from the mountain. According to a legend, workers who failed to produce the daily quota of crushed rock of at least 33 sheng were executed on the spot. In memory of all those who died at the construction site, including those who died from overwork and disease, a nearby village became known as Fentou, or "Grave Mound".After huge expense and unimaginable labor, the three parts were chiseled almost entirely free from the mountain. Then the engineers realized their emperor’s folly -- there was no way they could move...

Snaking for 200 miles across the inhospitable terrain of southern Mongolia, the so-called Gobi Wall is the least studied section of a system of medieval fortifications that once extended from China into Mongolia. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced that a research team has recently completed a comprehensive investigation of the structure, combining remote sensing, pedestrian survey, and targeted excavations. The study revealed that the wall was primarily constructed from rammed earth, stone, and wood during the Xi Xia period (a.d. 1038-1227 ), a dynasty ruled by the Tungut tribes of western China and southern Mongolia. However, evidence showed that...