Morgane Ollivier, paleogenomician at the CNRS, seeks to make the DNA of soils speak. Tracking residues of human DNA as well as animal or plant species that have disappeared in the sediments, a new avenue of research. There is no reason to suspect that the sediment cores brought up from the depth
A controversy has recently erupted between historians and the restriction of access to certain archival documents. Between Kafka and the Office of Captions , trip to the classified Secret or Confidential funds of the National Archives. Interview with Emmanuel Rousseau, its director. Example of a d
In 1890, during a terrible confrontation, more than 300 Lakota Sioux Indians were killed at Wounded Knee by the American army. The archaeologist Laurent Olivier returned to the springs of this drama in a new book. Lakota Sioux - men, women and children - were massacred after being rounded up at W
Archaeological excavations carried out during the summer of 2020 brought to light on the site of the former Augustodunum – today Autun, in Saône-et-Loire – a lot of exceptional objects which could have belonged to the first Christians of Gaul. Among them, an extremely rare glass vase. A close view
Undoubtedly found in the 18th century on the ancient site of Herculaneum, near Pompeii, this olive oil was produced nearly 2,000 years ago and frozen in its bottle by the famous eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. C. No less than 0.7 liters have stood the test of time. The bottle of olive oil enthroned
While exploring a lava tube in New Mexico, geoscientists discovered that around 1,500 years ago, the ancestral Pueblos had managed to survive the drought by sinking deep into these tunnels. They harvested ancient ice there and turned it into drinking water. Here, part of the ice exploited by the a
The microbial composition of the artists drawings carries information about the places where they were made and their journeys over the centuries. Samples from one of Leonardo da Vincis drawings. No one drew and wrote like Leonardo da Vinc i, testified Martin Kemp, art historian at the University
American students have revealed, thanks to an imaging system based on ultraviolet rays, a text hidden in a manuscript dating from the 15th century. Using ultraviolet fluorescence imaging, RIT students revealed that a 15th century manuscript sheet held in the Cary Graphic Arts Collection was actual
Archaeologists have unearthed the exceptionally well-preserved remains of two men who died during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE. Remains of two men fleeing the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago found in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy. For nearly 2000 years, their
Evidence of hallucinogen ingestion at a rock art site has been discovered in California, USA. A first. Rock art:Depiction of a Datura flower on the cave ceiling in Pinwheel Cave, California. For the first time, unequivocal proof of the consumption of hallucinogenic plants in a site decorated wit
How Homo Sapiens could he have the upper hand over his Neanderthal cousin? Researchers show that a simple morphological innovation modifying the anatomy of his thumbs could have played a major role... Reconstruction of the grip used by Neanderthals, with the thumb extended along the handle and dir
American researchers have studied an 800-year-old turkey feather blanket. Such objects were used by Pueblo Indians to cover infants as well as the dead. A segment of fiber rope that has been wrapped in turkey feathers. In a new study published November 29, 2020 in the journal Journal of Archaeolo
Rebound in the controversy over the age of the famous Nebra disc:this astronomical representation of the celestial vault would be the oldest known, dating from the Bronze Age. A new scientific publication refutes point by point recent work that rejuvenated this 1000-year-old object. The complete
Right arm of the Duke of Burgundy Philippe le Bon, Nicolas Rolin appears in a famous painting by Van Eyck. The discovery of the tomb of the founder of the Hospices de Beaune, who died in 1462, constitutes a remarkable new find in archaeology. On the left, the Chancellor of the Duke of Burgundy Nic
With more than a million visitors a year, Stonehenge, a set of megaliths erected in the middle of a plain in southern England during the Neolithic period, is undeniably a fascinating monument. Still shrouded in mystery and legend, the site nevertheless gradually reveals its secrets to archaeologists
Mexican archaeologists have unearthed new skulls linked to one of the towers of Huei Tzompantli in ancient Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City. Elements of an Aztec tower made of human skulls, discovered near the Templo Mayor. One hundred, 200, 600 skulls... The basements of Mexico City (Mexico), the a
This cedar wood fragment is one of only three objects found inside the pyramid in 1872 by British archaeologist Waynman Dixon. It was found in Scotland, in a cigar box! The pyramids of Cheops, Kephren and Mekerinos, in Giza, Egypt, on October 21, 2020. More than seventy years after going missing,
In his latest book Cosmogonies, the historian Julien dHuy explains how the study of certain myths, using advanced technologies, would make it possible to go back to the origins of humanity! Of myths and men. Myth of the Cosmogonic Diving, of the Stolen Sun, or of the Woman-Bird… All human beings
This Portuguese ship sank in the 16th century with its cargo of gold and silver coins and elephant tusks whose origin has just been established. An African forest elephant, Loxodonta cyclotis , of the same species as those whose tusks were found in the Bom Jesus . In the 16th century, ivory was a
Very well preserved, this mummy of a loupiote (female cub) reveals details about the animals short life. Cub mummy head found. Zhùr is the name given to the mummy of this cub found in Yukon, Canada. The discovery was made by a miner looking for gold who was trying to melt the frozen mud with grea
The minimum solar radiation in the 17th century had a surprising effect in the West Indies:the virtual disappearance of tropical cyclones, thus sparing Spanish ships. Between 1645 and 1715, when solar radiation was less, the number of shipwrecks in the Antilles decreased. Digital:This article is t
In 1850 the French Auguste Mariette, interested in the study of Egyptian hieroglyphics and the Coptic language, was commissioned by the Louvre Museum to travel to Egypt in search of Coptic, Syriac and Arabic manuscripts. He was to buy as many as he could find, to maintain the primacy of the Parisian
It is possible that people worshiped the small statuette as a water deity between 2,800 and 2,500 years ago. Her function as a cult object with a strong connection to water is at least suggested by the place where she was found. Archaeologists discovered the ceramic figure in a prehistoric ravine t
During recent excavations northeast of Cairo, an Egyptian-German team of archaeologists has found important evidence of the history of the temple city of Heliopolis. Among the objects discovered, dating from different millennia, are reliefs and inscriptions on basalt blocks belonging to the north an