How Did Patterns Help Reveal an Older Origin of Mummies?
I want to talk about patterns. We take them for granted but they shape our lives. That morning coffee you need to start your day has more meaning than you think.
"archaeology"
Marine Archaeology Goes High-Tech
Editor's Note: Veteran science journalist Philip Hilts is working and diving with a team of archeologists, engineers and divers off the shore of Antikythera, a remote Greek island, where a treasure ship by the same name sank in 70 B.C...
Return to the Antikythera Shipwreck: The Exosuit’s First Mission
Editor's Note: Veteran science journalist Philip Hilts is working with a team of archeologists, engineers and divers off the shore of Antikythera, a remote Greek island, where a treasure ship by the same name sank in 70 B.C...
Popular special edition adapted for eBook format: Becoming Human: Our Past, Present and Future*
We humans are a strange bunch. We have self-awareness and yet often act on impulses that remain hidden. We were forged in adversity but live in a world of plenty.
Ancient Indonesian Cave Paintings Force Rethink of Art’s Origin
Archaeologists have determined that artwork found in limestone caves on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is far older than previously thought.
Hadrian's Villa Brought Back to Life Online
Students of ancient Rome can now immerse themselves in the world of Roman emperor Hadrian, who ruled from 117 to 138 A.D. Hadrian's Villa is now a ruin, but a team led by Indiana University's Professor Bernie Frischer has brought it back to life...
Sunken Treasures from 2 Long-Lost Ancient Cities Now on Display
For centuries, two fabled Egyptian cities lay hidden in the Nile delta – until underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio found them. A new exhibition explores their treasures. This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on May 18, 2016...
Monkeys Can Make Stone Tools, Too
When these monkeys bang rocks together, they make stone flakes that resemble those archaeologists believe humans made two million to three million years ago. This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on October 19, 2016...
Oldest Footprints Outside Africa
English mud captures an ancestral stroll
"Gospel of Jesus's Wife" Shown to Be Authentic in Tests
Testing of a scrap of papyrus, which bears words suggesting that Jesus had a wife, points to the document's authenticity
![Hollywood’s <em>Pompeii</em> Gets History Mostly Right, but Takes Some Geologic Artistic License [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/CB84B9AD-8048-4E90-BF4D4D0521428086_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Hollywood’s Pompeii Gets History Mostly Right, but Takes Some Geologic Artistic License [Video]
The makers of the new disaster film went to extensive lengths to accurately portray the city and the eruption, with mixed success
A September Afternoon on the Grand River, 1825
One of the most powerful contributions of scientific illustration is to give us an informed visual where it is typically impossible to find one.
The Missing Link that Wasn’t
April Fools’ Day is not unique to Western cultures. People all over the world and all throughout history have celebrated the coming of Spring with festivals of deception and lightheartedness...
How Hobbits Happened: The Evolution of Homo floresiensis
New fossils shed light on the origin of the unusual human relative known as ‘the hobbit’. This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on June 8, 2016. ..
How Cats Leapt from the Wild to Our Sofas
Tamed cats spread across the globe beginning almost 10,000 years ago, becoming the rodent-killing helpers of early farmers, mariners and Vikings. This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on June 19, 2017...
Return to the Antikythera Shipwreck: Technology Tackles Dangers of the Deep
Editor's Note: Veteran science journalist Philip Hilts is working with a team of archeologists, engineers and divers off the shore of Antikythera, a remote Greek island, where a treasure ship by the same name sank in 70 B.C...
What can teeth tell us about our prehistoric ancestors?
Our distant past is just that: the distant past. It’s this murky place that science is slowly filling in but the landscape still largely exists just on the periphery of our imagination, and it’s dominated by raw, somewhat violent natures...
Broken Bones Hint at Earlier Human Arrival in the Americas
Mastodon bones and shattered stones suggest humans were migrating to the Americas some 100,000 years earlier than currently thought. Nature Video explores this controversial find. This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on April 26, 2017...
Ancient Sculpture Garden Was Built by Neandertals
In a cave in France archaeologists have found some of the oldest human constructions ever discovered — but no one knows what they are. Nature Video takes a look. This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on May 25, 2016...
Computer Models Improve Odds of Fossil-Hunting Success
Luck has played a big part in many of the world's great fossil discoveries. New models predict where the bones are and put serendipity in the backseat
