A large study has shown highly differentiated diets among farming and herding populations in Western Europe 7,500 years ago. The molecular analysis of food residues found in pottery (here, those of Verson, in France) made it possible to determine what type of food was consumed in the north and in
Some Polynesians would have Amerindian genetic ancestry, evidence of an ancient contact, which would have occurred around 1200 AD, with inhabitants of South America. Matavai Bay (Tahiti), canvas by William Hodges (1776). It is thanks to their mastery of the winds and currents, and especially to th
These ancient inhabitants of Mexico carved strange giant heads whose significance we are only just beginning to understand. The archaeologist Ann Cyphers is preparing to publish a sum on this people whose Mayas and Aztecs are the heirs. Pre-Columbian art from the Olmec civilization:this colossal s
In Britain, analyzes underway to determine the age of the enigmatic Cerne Abbas colossus have just delivered their very first results:the famous giant figure carved in chalk probably dates back to the Middle Ages. The Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset, UK. 228 meters of linear development under the sky
We know that our current domestic cat is a distant descendant of a wild cat present in the Near East at the beginning of the Neolithic period. After following the first farmers of the Fertile Crescent to Europe, whose cereal crops attracted rodents, it nevertheless forged links with humans much late
It was a mystery two millennia old. Thanks to an analysis of the isotopic compositions of the material, researchers have finally been able to determine the origin of the glass of Alexandria ”, reputed to be of the highest quality in the history of the Roman Empire. Fragment of colorless glass call
What was Germany like in prehistoric times? Exceptional archaeological and paleontological discoveries allow us to paint a picture of the landscapes and inhabitants who populated Central Europe. This research demonstrates the importance of climate change in the evolution of biodiversity. Discovery
Long seen as the invaders of Egypt, the name of the Hyksos has only been rehabilitated for twenty years. Recent data sheds a little more light on their potential origin, although it still remains imprecise despite the studies devoted to it. The Hyksos ruled Lower Egypt during the 14th and 15th Dyn
More than 100 seals engraved on ceramics dating from 2,700 years ago were unveiled this week in Jerusalem. According to archaeologists, this discovery sheds new light on the ancient Israelite kingdom of Judea and in particular on the organization of tax collection. A photo taken on July 22, 2020 s
Corpses of Vikings up to 1,400 years old prove that these Scandinavian warriors could have been infected with smallpox. Researchers believe they may have contributed to the spread of this viral disease. 1,200-year-old smallpox-infected Viking skeleton found in Öland, Sweden. Officially declared e
This July 27, 2020, Googles Doodle tribute to botanist Jeanne Barret. She is the first woman to have circumnavigated the globe. Jeanne Barret is the first woman to circumnavigate the globe. This July 27, 2020, Google pays tribute to the French botanist Jeanne Barret, born July 27, 1740 and the f
Using a sample taken from one of the stones in the 1950s, British and South African researchers were finally able to solve one of the lingering mysteries around the Stonehenge site:that of the origin of the megaliths, taken from a small wood 25 kilometers away. If the origin of the smaller stones
In July 2020, French archaeologists visited the island of Cabrera, in the Spanish Balearic archipelago as part of a project related to one of the most dramatic and largely ignored episodes of the Napoleonic epic:Cabreras captivity. A prison island where thousands of soldiers were abandoned and died
A team from the University of Rome has succeeded in reconstructing the face of the famous painter Raphael in 3D from a plaster cast of his skull, further confirming the authenticity of his remains kept in the Pantheon. Image released on August 6, 2020 by Tor Vergata University in Rome showing the
Christopher Columbus was accused of bringing the bacterium Treponema pallidum to Europe. from the New World, causing an outbreak of syphilis cases. A new study casts doubt on this scenario. Christopher Columbus and his caravels arrive on the island of Guanahani, later renamed San Salvador. Was Ch
Essential in fields such as archeology and geosciences, radiocarbon dating is now more precise thanks to the work of an international team spread over more than seven years. Three new dating curves have been created, each adapted to a specific area of the object studied. Wilfried Rosendahl, Dire
Alfred the Great is often presented as the founder of the British Royal Navy. But a study reveals that his father already had an effective fleet to fend off Viking attacks. Portrait of Alfred the Great Two Australian researchers from Flinders University have looked into the history of Englands se
According to a study by the University of Oxford, intestinal infections due to Helminths (parasitic worms) were common in medieval Europe. Analyzes of bones across the continent have allowed researchers to determine the frequency of these diseases. Photomicrograph of an egg of the intestinal paras
Behind the canvases of the Renaissance masters, a rigorous geometric construction. By inventing perspective, Italian artists create the illusion of depth... and revolutionize the representation of the world. The Ideal City, preserved in the city of Urbino, Italy, and made between 1480 and 1490 by
Despite a life of particularly harsh conditions, Neanderthals were carriers of genetic mutations that gave them an increased sensitivity to pain. But even more surprisingly, these mutations would have reached us and concern 0.4% of current Britons. Neanderthals would have had an increased sensitiv
To ensure the eternity of Pharaoh, whose death jeopardizes the balance of the world, the Egyptians invented gigantic staircases intended to lead him to the gods. But if the pyramids, five millennia later, still testify to the power of Egypt, their construction remains a mystery. Necropolis of Giza
What links a fossil finger bone and teeth found in a cave in Siberias remote Altai Mountains to a single tooth found in a cave in the calcareous landscapes of tropical Laos? The answer to this question has been established by an international team of researchers from Laos, Europe, the United States
If you take a look at the map of the Third Punic War, which represents the territories dominated by the contenders, three large blocks will be observed:the Roman, the Numidian - an ally of the previous one - and the Carthaginian. But although the latter is shown in a uniform way, in reality it would
Just a few millimeters tall, this bird figurine found on the Chinese site of Lingjing pushes back the appearance of figurative sculpture in East Asia by more than eight millennia. It could also help to better understand why the latter appeared much earlier in Europe, between 35,000 and 40,000 years