Latest science news in Paleontology & Archaeology
Children are more curious than apes, often choosing a 'mystery box' over a certain reward
Children are more curious to explore the unknown than great apes, but after a glimpse of the potential rewards, apes learn to investigate uncertain options, Alejandro Sánchez-Amaro at the Max...
More pragmatic approach needed when sourcing seeds for ecological restoration in New Zealand
It's time to relax the strict guidelines around ecosourcing seed for local genetic stock if we want to build resilience into our changing environment.
French Open tennis: Garcia among women's upsets; Alcaraz, Tsitsipas advance
Anna Blinkova upset Carolina Garcia, eliminating the first Top 5 women's tennis player from the 2023 French Open on Wednesday in Paris. No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas were...
New research analyzes socioecological influences on carbon in agroecosystems
Researchers from Michigan State University, with colleagues from the University of South Dakota, recently published a paper analyzing socioecological influences on carbon in agroecosystems in the journal Landscape Ecology.
Watch: Marvel fans both earn world record with 34 tattoos
A pair of strangers with one very special shared interest became co-holders of a Guinness World Record when they each got 34 tattoos of Marvel Comics characters.
Pterosaur bones found three decades ago are Australia's oldest, researchers say
Fossilized bones from pterosaurs, flying creatures that lived at the same time as the dinosaurs, discovered three decades ago are the oldest ever discovered in Australia, according to a new...
Geneticists discover hidden 'whole genome duplication' that may explain why some species survived mass extinctions
Geneticists have unearthed a major event in the ancient history of sturgeons and paddlefish that has significant implications for the way we understand evolution. They have pinpointed a previously hidden...
Spinosaur Britain: Multiple species likely roamed Cretaceous Britain
Analysis of a British spinosaur tooth by paleontologists at the EvoPalaeoLab of the University of Southampton shows that several distinct spinosaur groups inhabited Cretaceous Britain.
Paleontologists discover elephant graveyard in North Florida
About five and a half million years ago, several gomphotheres—extinct relatives of elephants—died in or near a river in North Florida. Although their deaths likely occurred hundreds of years apart,...
Archaeologists identify Moluccan boats that may have visited Australia from Indonesia in rock art drawings
Archaeologists at Flinders University have identified rare images of Moluccan vessels from Indonesia's eastern islands in rock art paintings that may provide the first archaeological evidence of visitors from Southeast...
A lost ‘bawdy bard’ act reveals roots of naughty British comedy
The roots of English comedy run deep in a newly discovered naughty narrative from the 1480s. Deposit Photos Libraries are full of unique and missing oddities from long lost letters to famous forgeries....
Decoding Darwin's abominable mystery: The diverse origin of flowering plants
In a quest to unravel Charles Darwin's enigmatic "abominable mystery," a team of scientists from The University of Western Australia has embarked on a ground-breaking study of flowering plants that...
Killer bees stung a man 250 times in swarm attack, but he survived. How?
A man escaped death after being stung by a swarm of 1,000 killer bees, yet previous similar incidents have proved fatal. Why do some people survive and others don't?
The biggest extinction event in the planet's history is happening again — in Santa Cruz
Scientists are using a UC Santa Cruz greenhouse to recreate the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs. They want to learn why some species survived when so many did...
Oldest known plague cases identified in 4,000-year-old skeletal DNA
Researchers have identified the oldest cases of plague in Britain to date, with DNA that is 4,000 years old.
This 500-pound Australian marsupial had feet made for walkin’
Reassembled partial skeleton Ambulator keanei with silhouette demonstrating advanced adaptations for quadrupedal, graviportal walking. Flinders University Over three million years ago, a 500-plus pound marsupial roamed Australia, winning the prize of the continent’s first...
Britain opens new post-EU free trade chapter with Australia and New Zealand
Flagship post-Brexit free trade deals between Britain and New Zealand and Australia came into force Wednesday, lifting tariffs on exports, opening up market access for services, and easing bureaucratic hurdles
The clams that fell behind, and what they can tell us about evolution and extinction
Every so often, life on Earth steps onto a nearly empty playing field and faces a spectacular opportunity. Something major changes—in the atmosphere or in the oceans, or in the...
Saved from extinction, Southern California's Channel Island Foxes now face new threat to survival
Tiny foxes—each no bigger than a five-pound housecat—inhabiting the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California were saved from extinction in 2016. However, new research reveals that the foxes...
Unique 'bawdy bard' act discovered, revealing 15th-century roots of British comedy
An unprecedented record of medieval live comedy performance has been identified in a 15th-century manuscript. Raucous texts—mocking kings, priests and peasants; encouraging audiences to get drunk; and shocking them with...
Quarter-ton marsupial roamed long distances across Australia's arid interior, reveals 3D-scanning study
One of Australia's first long-distance walkers has been described after Flinders University paleontologists used advanced 3D scans and other technology to take a new look at the partial remains of...
Relive SpaceX Starship's epic launch with these amazing highlights (video)
Recently released footage gives new, highly detailed looks at the first-ever launch of a fully stacked Starship vehicle, which SpaceX conducted last month.
Shell beads discovery sheds light on Stone Age seafaring
Stone Age humans may have made extended maritime voyages on the Caspian Sea, according to a new study published in the journal Open Archaeology.
Old buffalo outsmarts lions in a battle of life and death
A lone Buffalo outsmarts lions and survives an attack from the whole pride by using a crocodile infested river to his advantage.
Snorkeler pries crocodile’s jaws off his head to survive attack
"Salties" can grow up to 19 feet long and weigh up to 2,000 pounds. Deposit Photos On May 27, an Australian man snorkeling off of the coast of North Queensland survived an...
Philippa Langley on search for Richard III's remains: It was the right thing to do'
Philippa Langley, the amateur historian who discovered British King Richard III's remains under a Leicester parking lot in 2012, told UPI the new film, "The Lost King," gets her story...
Plague DNA was just found in 4,000-year-old teeth
Dental pulp can trap the DNA remnants of infectious diseases. Deposit Photos The persistent pathogen known as the plague was circulating around Europe and Asia centuries before it wiped out about 25 million...
DNA from 4,000-year-old plague discovered—the oldest cases to date in Britain
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have identified three 4,000-year-old British cases of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria causing the plague—the oldest evidence of the plague in Britain to date, reported...