Archaeologists may have found ruins of fabled entrance to Zapotec underworld
An archaeological research expedition has uncovered evidence of a legendary subterranean labyrinth under the ruins of Mitla in Oaxaca, Mexico, believed by the ancient Zapotecs to be an entrance to the underworld they called Lyobaa. In 1674, a priest named Francisco de Burgoa published his account of visiting the ruins of the Zapotec city of…
Fossil marks suggest hominids butchered one another around 1.45 million years...
Science News was founded in 1921 as an independent, nonprofit source of accurate information on the latest news of science, medicine and technology. Today, our mission remains the same: to empower people to evaluate the news and the world around them. It is published by the Society for Science, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated…
Could these marks on a cave wall be oldest-known Neanderthal “finger...
Enlarge / Examples of engravings discovered in the Roche-Cotard Cave in France. (left) A "circular panel" with arch-shaped tracings. (right) A "wavy panel" with two contiguous tracings forming sinuous lines. Archaeologists have concluded that a series of engravings discovered on a cave wall in France were made by Neanderthals using their fingers, some 57,000 years…
Could these marks on a cave wall be oldest-known Neanderthal finger...
Enlarge / Examples of engravings discovered in the Roche-Cotard Cave in France. (left) A "circular panel" with arch-shaped tracings. (right) A "wavy panel" with two contiguous tracings forming sinuous lines. Archaeologists have concluded that a series of engravings discovered on a cave wall in France were made by Neanderthals using their fingers, some 57,000 years…
Neanderthal adhesives were made through a complex synthesis process
As Homo sapiens, we often consider ourselves to be the most intelligent hominins. But that doesn’t mean our species was the first to discover everything; it appears that Neanderthals found a way to manufacture synthetics long before we ever did. Neanderthal tools might look relatively simple, but new research shows that Homo neanderthalensis devised a…
Ancient Egyptian followers of a deity called Bes may have used...
Enlarge / An Egyptian drinking vessel in the shape of Bes head contained traces of Syrian rue and blue water lily, among other compounds.Tampa Museum of Art, Florida An ancient Egyptian vase in the shape of the deity Bes showed traces of chemical plant compounds known to produce hallucinations, according to a recent preprint posted…
These ancient flutes may have been used to lure falcons
Science News was founded in 1921 as an independent, nonprofit source of accurate information on the latest news of science, medicine and technology. Today, our mission remains the same: to empower people to evaluate the news and the world around them. It is published by the Society for Science, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated…
How to Peacefully Resolve a Dispute With Your Neighbor
They say “fences make good neighbors,” but if I’m to believe my TikTok feed, that’s a load of hoohockey: It’s all purple mountain majesties and property line disputes out there. It’s not just #fencetok, either. According to a 2016 study, a whopping 42% of Americans report a conflict with their neighbor, and those generally fall…
Homo naledi were burying their dead at least 100,000 years before...
Enlarge / Exploration team members Megan Berger and Rick Hunter navigate the narrow chutes leading to the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave in South Africa, where fossil elements belonging to Homo naledi were discovered.Robert Clark/National Geographic Some 25 miles outside of Johannesburg, South Africa, there is a famous paleoanthropological site known as the…
Homo naledi may have dug cave graves and carved marks into...
Science News was founded in 1921 as an independent, nonprofit source of accurate information on the latest news of science, medicine and technology. Today, our mission remains the same: to empower people to evaluate the news and the world around them. It is published by the Society for Science, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated…
