The rediscovery of Noah a 6,500-year-old skeleton, who survived a great flood Scientists at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia are quite literally cleaning the skeletons out of their closets. Museum staff recently rediscovered a 6,500-year- old human skeleton that’s been boxed up in the basement for 85 years. Tucked away in a storeroom, the wooden …

Hundreds of Monumental “Kites” Spotted in the Arabian Desert Archaeologists at the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology have used satellite imagery to identify and map over 350 monumental hunting structures known as ‘kites’ across northern Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq – most of which had never been previously documented. Led by Dr Michael Fradley, a …

5000-year-old ‘graveyard of giants’ found in a Chinese village Archaeologists in China have discovered a 5000-year-old graveyard of abnormally tall people who used to live in the country’s Shandong province. The skeletal remains measured over six feet in height. An archaeological excavation at Jiaojia village in Jinan City’s Zhangqiu District has uncovered 104 houses, 205 graves, …

31,000-year-old skeleton missing lower left leg is earliest known evidence of surgery, experts say A 31,000-year-old skeleton missing its lower left leg and found in a remote Indonesian cave is believed to be the earliest known evidence of surgery, according to a peer-reviewed study that experts say rewrites understanding of human history. An expedition team …

Israeli archaeologists dig up the large tusk of an ancient elephant Israeli archaeologists have unearthed the complete tusk of a giant prehistoric elephant that once roamed around the Mediterranean. The 2.6-meter (8.5-foot) remnant, weighing approximately 150 kilograms (330 pounds), is estimated to be around half a million years old. “This is the largest complete fossil …

DNA reveals surprise ancestry of mysterious Chinese mummies Since their discovery a century ago, hundreds of naturally preserved mummies found in China’s Tarim Basin have been a mystery to archaeologists. Some thought the Bronze Age remains were from migrants from thousands of kilometres to the west, who had brought farming practices to the area. But …

The Immortal Armour of China Jade burial suits Threaded hand-crafted from thousands of precious stone slabs with silver and gold during the Han Dynasty about 2000 years ago, ancient China’s jade burial suits were built as armour for the afterlife to prevent mortal decay. The Jude Burial Suits of China are maybe the most opulent …

The largest animal-shaped bronze mythical beast unearthed at Sanxingdui Chinese archaeologists have unearthed a big bronze beast – one of the most highly anticipated treasures of the Sanxingdui ruins – a year after spotting it in a pit at the mysterious site in Sichuan province. The bronze was discovered in July last year, but archaeologists were not able to …

Burials in Indonesia Offer Clues to Migration Scientists have discovered three bodies on an Indonesian island which provide an insight into the movements of early humans, thousands of years ago. The bodies, found across three burial sites, form part of the excavation and analysis of 50,000 bones unearthed along the south coast of Indonesia’s Alor …