The last exit from Africa, 70,000 to 60,000 years ago, was the right one. That of a small group of humans who, crossing the Red Sea, marks the start of an odyssey. Prehistory, Upper Palaeolithic. A group of Homo sapiens grouped around a fire are carving flint tools. Painting by Francisco Fonollosa
During its long migration, Sapiens mated with human species that have since disappeared. A clearly visible crossbreeding… in our genetic heritage. Parietal painting:Upper Palaeolithic. A group of Homo sapiens draw a bison on the wall of a cave. Painting by Francisco Fonollosa. This article is tak
Unearthed in Morocco, a prehistoric ornament composed of sea shells could be the oldest adornment encountered to date. Series of shell beads discovered in the prehistoric cave of Bizmoune, Morocco. Was it a necklace? Wristbands? Beads sewn onto a backing? From a belt? The oldest set of shells eve
A mummy over 800 years old in perfect condition has been discovered near Lima in Peru. Pre-Inca mummy recently discovered in an underground burial structure at the Cajamarquilla site, on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. A broad smile floods the faces of the two researchers responsible for the excava
Soft moccasins were used in the Gravettian era 30,000 years ago. This is convincingly demonstrated by the identification of footprints in the cave of Cussac (Dordogne). Depth and contour maps of shod footprints discovered in Cussac Cave, Dordogne Valley. They are seven! Seven footprints imprinte
In the Middle Ages, being afflicted with an incurable infectious disease meant solitary confinement forever. Leprosy, syphilis or tuberculosis thus automatically condemned to oblivion. The discovery of 400 skeletons on the site of the former cemetery of a medieval leprosarium in Freiburg im Breisgau
Two sealed tombs dating back 2,500 years have been discovered at the site of El Bahnasa in Upper Egypt. They housed two mummies of the XXVIth dynasty. The tip of a golden tongue appears in the mouth of a 2,500-year-old mummy discovered at the site of El Bahnasa, in Egypt. Silence is golden , the
A late 2nd-century skeleton has been discovered with a nail driven through the heel bone at the archaeological site of Fenstaton in the county of Cambridge in eastern England. The first case of crucifixion described in Northern Europe. Talon of the Crucified of Fenstanton Extremely rare! A nearly
Sapiens has fashioned more and more powerful weapons, capable of defeating all types of game. Prehistory, Upper Palaeolithic. Homo sapiens sheltering from the cold in a cave. Painting by Francisco Fonollosa. This article is taken from n°204 of Indispensables de Sciences et Avenir, dated January/M
Egyptologist, director of studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Laurent Coulon is also the director of the French Institute of Oriental Archeology (Ifao). Specialist in the cults of Osiris and Egyptian religion (1st millennium BC. J.C), he received Sciences et Avenir in the Mounira Palace
Archaeologists in Hamburg (Germany) have recently found timber from the old ramparts of a Saxon castle, which in the 11th century was the largest in northern Germany. They reconstruct in an exhibition the various fortifications erected during the dark ages of the city. Built just a thousand years
Skip, skeiô, knörr…. It had been a hundred years since a Viking grave ship had been discovered in Norway. Detected in 2018, the one in Gjellestad is starting to tell its story. 2021 archaeological excavations of the Viking ship-grave of Gjellenstad (9th century), Norway. Was its prow adorned with
Small bulging gold coins were discovered in a field southwest of Berlin. Of Celtic origin, they allow for the first time to presume that commercial relations existed in the 1st century before our era between Celtic tribes established in the west of present-day Germany and the proto-Germanic culture
Unique in the world, the spherical stones of Costa Rica intrigue researchers. The recent discovery of two of them will perhaps help to better solve their enigma by offering more precise datings. Pre-Columbian megalithic spheres from Diquis, Costa Rica. In the famous blockbuster Raiders of the Lo
This particularly brutal torture ritual attributed to certain Viking warriors has often had its historicity questioned. But recent work by historians and doctors has given credit to this practice, considered exceptional but not impossible from an anatomical point of view. An excerpt from the Vikin
In the Sohag region, archaeologists have unearthed a unique collection of more than 15,000 ostraca, fragments of pottery bearing ancient texts. The largest Greco-Roman deposit ever unearthed in Egypt. Accounts of offerings in demotic, text with an alphabet of birds in hieratic, mathematical exerci
Dated to around 250,000 years old, human remains discovered in South Africa belong to a child of the species Homo naledi . A reconstruction of the skull of the first Homo naledi child whose remains were found in Rising Star Cave in Johannesburg. He was 4 to 6 years old. This article is taken from
Analysis of textiles found at the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyuk revealed that they were made of oak fibers, not linen. The site of Çatalhöyuk, Turkey, photographed on June 16, 2018. This article is taken from Science et Avenir - La recherche n°899, dated January 2022. 8,700 years ago, the oldes
Contrary to popular belief, the Gauls used writing. A vast research program provides for the next online publication of all the Gallic inscriptions collected to date on our territory. Heres a taste of what it will reveal. The Coligny calendar (1st century) is one of the 800 Gallic inscriptions col
A Spanish team of archaeologists has announced that they have located, thanks to LiDAR, important underwater remains in the bay of Cadiz, on the Andalusian coast. They could be the remains of one of the most famous sanctuaries of antiquity - that of Hercules Gaditanus, sought after for centuries.
After 2000 years spent in the soil of the ancient city, talismans and lucky charms were found in a box in Pompeii. Gems, amulets, and other talismans found in a box exhumed in the House of the Garden, on the site of Pompeii (Italy). The gri-gris werent enough to save them! Phallic amulets, magic
3500 years ago, in Central Asia, the civilization of the Oxus died out. Who were these Bronze Age populations? How did their rich cities disappear? The results of archaeological excavations carried out by a Franco-Turkmen team provide the first elements of an answer. With its temples and palaces,
A mummy over 800 years old in perfect condition has been discovered near Lima in Peru. Pre-Inca mummy recently discovered in an underground burial structure at the Cajamarquilla site, on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. A broad smile floods the faces of the two researchers responsible for the excava
On May 1 a new campaign of archaeological activities at the Heping Dao B site (Keelung, Taiwan), which ended on July 15. The project, co-directed by Dr. María Cruz Berrocal (IIIPC, University of Cantabria) and Dr. Tsang Chenghwa (National Tsing Hua University), began its journey in 2011 and to date