Hybrid animal in 4500-year-old tomb is earliest known bred by humans Mesopotamians were using hybrids of domesticated donkeys and wild asses to pull their war wagons 4,500 years ago — at least 500 years before horses were bred for the purpose, a new study reveals. The analysis of ancient DNA from animal bones unearthed in … Continue reading Hybrid animal in the 4500-year-old tomb is earliest known bred by humans →

An Old Classic Bronze Age board game ‘played 4,000 years ago’ uncovered in the Oman desert While innovative and artistic board games may hold our attention today, settlers four millennia ago in the Arabian Peninsula whiled away the time on a stone board game. Last month, archaeologists discovered a stone slab carved with a grid … Continue reading An Old Classic Bronze Age board game ‘played 4,000 years ago’ uncovered in the Oman desert →

The ancient Kingdom Discovered Beneath Mound in Iraq An ancient city called ‘Idu’ has been discovered in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. Hidden beneath a 32 foot (10 metres) mound, the city is thought to have been a hub of activity between 3,300 and 2,900 years ago.  Inscriptions made for kings in walls, tablets … Continue reading Ancient Kingdom Discovered Beneath Mound in Iraq →

3,000-year-old clan cemetery uncovered in central China Photo provided by the Anyang Institute of cultural relics and archaeology on Jan. 5, 2022, shows a horse buried with the dead at the Shaojiapeng site, which is decorated with shell strings. (Anyang Institute of cultural relics and archaeology/Handout via Xinhua) A large-scale tomb cluster dating back to … Continue reading 3,000-year-old clan cemetery uncovered in central China →

7,200-year-old skeleton unearthed in Indonesia reveals unknown human group The ancient remains of a hunter-gatherer girl who died over 7,000 years ago in Indonesia, has revealed clues to a mysterious group of humans from the past. The discovery, made in 2015, in the Leang Panninge cave on Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island is the first discovery of ancient human … Continue reading 7,200-year-old skeleton unearthed in Indonesia reveals an unknown human group →

India’s largest known burial site is 4,000 yrs old, confirms carbon dating One day in 2005, Shriram Sharma, a farmer from Sanauli village Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district, was carrying about his day, and ploughing his field. Little did he know that what was otherwise part of his daily routine would lead to an accidental discovery … Continue reading India’s largest known burial site is 4,000 yrs old, confirms carbon dating →

Archaeologists stunned by ancient Babylonian device: ‘More advanced than we thought’ Babylon was the city where some of the most influential empires of the ancient world ruled. For a long time, it was the capital of the Babylonian Empire, and was considered to be the global centre of commerce, art and learning, and is even … Continue reading Archaeologists stunned by ancient Babylonian device: ‘More advanced than we thought’ →

The real utopia: This ancient civilisation thrived without war Many believe the idea of a utopian society is an impossible fantasy. But there may have been one mysterious, ancient group of people that was able to fulfil the dream of life without conflict or rulers. Remains of the Indus civilisation, which flourished from 2600 to … Continue reading The real utopia: This ancient civilisation thrived without war →

2,700-year-old leather armor proves technology transfer happened in antiquity Researchers at the University of Zurich have investigated a unique leather scale armour found in the tomb of a horse rider in Northwest China. Design and construction details of the armour indicate that it originated in the Neo-Assyrian Empire between the 6th and 8th centuries BCE … Continue reading 2,700-year-old leather armour proves technology transfer happened in antiquity →