Microbes
Dormant microbes from Ötzi the Iceman’s body can grow in the lab
These cold-loving yeasts may be thousands of years old. They also suggest the mummy’s remains may not be completely frozen in time.
By Tom Metcalfe
Archaeology
More Stories in Archaeology
- Archaeology
These 12,000-year-old Native American dice are the oldest in the world
A study of ancient artifacts suggests Native American dice games began thousands of years earlier than previously documented.
- Tech
Scientists Say: Technofossil
Experts predict that the durability of modern, human-made materials will give rise to a radical new form of fossil.
- Archaeology
Ancient pottery shows the earliest evidence of humans doing math
The numbers of petals painted on 8,000-year-old pottery showed a distinct numerical pattern.
- Archaeology
60,000-year-old poison arrowheads show early humans’ hunting tactics
Traces of poison on the South African arrowheads hint that people used poisoned weapons 50,000 years earlier than previously thought.
- Archaeology
Neandertals used fire-making tools 400,000 years ago
Flint, iron pyrite and fire residues found at an ancient site in England offer the earliest clear evidence of people lighting fires.
- Archaeology
This ancient Siberian ice mummy had intricate tattoos
The 2,000-year-old woman wears ink of prowling tigers and a fantastical griffin-like beast. Her tattoos were inked by two artists — a beginner and an expert.
- Humans
Scientists Say: Artifact
Take note: This term might describe ancient pottery shards in the field of archeology. But in statistics, it’s a misleading pattern in data.
- Archaeology
Knotted strands of 500-year-old hair tell a surprising story
Used in a device called a khipu, the hair reveals the owner’s simple diet. Those data now suggest that in Incan society, even some commoners kept records.
- Archaeology
This may be the oldest, most complete Neandertal fingerprint ever seen
The print appears in a red ochre dot, which a Neandertal left on the ‘nose’ of a facelike rock roughly 43,000 years ago.
