ARCHAEOLOGY

The front (left) and back (right) of a 3000-year-old copper mask. Small holes near the edges suggest the mask could have been attached with threads. Someone tried to repair the fracture near the left eye—note the holes near it.

Rainy Season in the Andes Reveals the Oldest Known Copper Death Mask

Its discovery complicates the long-standing idea that metalworking began on the continent in Peru.

The Enduring Mystery of the Antikythera Mechanism

A strange calculation machine from an ancient Roman shipwreck is still unlocking its secrets.

Two views of an adult Homo naledi cranium found in the Lesedi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system in South Africa, where the remains of 15 individuals were discovered in a different cave in 2013.

Puzzling Human Relative Homo Naledi May Have Lived at the Same Time as Our Ancestors

Scientists date the intriguing hominin remains to 335,000–236,000 years ago—and find three more bodies.

Archaeologists Need Your Help to Study 100+ Graves in Philadelphia

With enough funding, they will analyze—and then reinter—the remains of people buried between 1707 and 1859 in a Baptist cemetery—and mental_floss will be in the lab with them.

Archaeologists Need Your Help to Study 100+ Graves in Philadelphia

With enough funding, they will analyze—and then reinter—the remains of people buried between 1707 and 1859 in a Baptist cemetery—and mental_floss will be in the lab with them.

The Deepest Shipwreck Ever Found

We are only just beginning to find ways to explore the deepest trenches.

7 Ingenious Ways Architecture Helped Humans Thrive

We take the idea of sturdy buildings and city infrastructure for granted in the modern era.

Gernot Keller via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.5

Did Medieval Brits Worry About a Zombie Uprising?

Archaeologists say the discovery of mutilated human remains could be evidence of “attempts to lay the revenant dead.”

Archaeologists Find 30,000-Year-Old Jewelry in Indonesia

They were found in a cave on the island of Sulawesi.

Crusader-Era Shipwreck Discovered on Israeli Coast

The ship may have been helmed by soldiers fleeing the historic Siege of Acre.

18 Mummies From Peru and Egypt Come to the American Museum of Natural History

Opening March 20, "Mummies" lets visitors peer inside remains thousands of years old—all without disturbing or unwrapping them.

How Archaeologists and Locals Are Protecting Ancient Ruins in Peru

Shantytowns threaten to swallow Pachacámac, an important pre-Columbian archaeological complex.

Portugal’s Oldest Skull Adds to Puzzle of Human Evolution

It's about 400,000 years old.

English Palace Identifies Marble Garden Planter as Roman Sarcophagus

The artifact is believed to date back to the 2nd century CE.

The ME 109 Messerschmitt. Image credit: Bundesarchiv, Bild via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Danish Teen Uncovers Remains of WWII Plane and Its Pilot in His Backyard

The discovery started out as a school assignment.

Antibiotics, Pain Meds, and a Vegetarian Diet Found in Neanderthal Teeth

Dental plaque traps bits of food, bacteria, and pathogens. That might be bad news for you, but it’s good news for archaeologists.

Iraqi forces patrol the front of the Nabi Yunus shrine in Mosul. Image credit: DIMITAR DILKOFF/Getty

ISIS Destruction in Iraq Reveals 2700-Year-Old Palace

The ancient Assyrian site had been previously undiscovered.

Unusual 100,000-Year-Old Human Skulls Found in China

The finds bolster the idea that the precursors to modern humans were a diverse bunch who routinely interbred with one another.

4 Spectacular Shipwrecks You Can Dive Near Chicago

Rediscover forgotten history—80 feet below the surface.

McDonald's Unveils Excavated Roman Road Beneath Italian Location

They're billing the site as their "first museum-restaurant."

Scientists Find Genetic Evidence of Matrilineal Dynasty at Chaco Canyon

Nine high-status people buried there during a 330-year period share identical mitochondrial DNA, which is passed from mother to child.

National Park Service via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

Archaeologists Are Excavating a WWII Internment Camp in Hawaii

The Honouliuli Internment and POW Camp will eventually open as a national monument.

Surprising Viking Boat Burial Found in Scotland

Such ships have previously been unearthed across Scandinavia, but recently, archaeologists report the first discovery of a rich Viking boat burial on the UK mainland.

Geoglyphs Are Evidence of Ancient Farming in the Rainforest

Archaeologists say the builders of ancient earthworks were farming and logging the rainforest for millennia before Europeans arrived.

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