Taiwan finds 4,800-year-old fossil of mother cradling baby The 48 sets of remains unearthed in graves in the Taichung area are the earliest trace of human activity found in central Taiwan. The most striking discovery among them was the skeleton of a young mother looking down at a child cradled in her arms. Archaeologists in …

Part donkey, part wild ᴀss, the kunga is the oldest known hybrid bred by humans The kungas of Syro-Mesopotamia were ancient equines that roamed the region 4,500 years ago. Arriving long before domesticated horses did, the stocky horse-like animals were highly valued and used for pulling four-wheeled wagons into battle, reports James Gorman for the …

World’s Oldest Pants, Turfan Man’s Trousers, was Made through Three Weaving Techniques What little rain that falls on a gravelly desert located in western China’s Tarim Basin evaporates as it hits the blistering turf. Here, in this parched wasteland, lie the ancient remains of people who made one of the biggest fashion splashes of all …

Israel Museum obtains world’s ‘first Jewish coin’ The Israel Museum has acquired over 1,200 ancient silver Persian coins, among the earliest known currency from the area, including what the museum has identified as the world’s oldest Jewish coin. The coins, dated to the 5th and 4th centuries BCE when the region was controlled by the …

Israeli study finds early humans knew to situate hearth in cave’s optimal spot Spatial planning in caves 170,000 years ago. Findings indicate that early humans knew a great deal about spatial planning: they controlled fire and used it for various needs and placed their hearth at the optimal location in the cave – to obtain …

Terracotta Warriors Discovered in China Near Emperor’s Tomb Archaeologists have uncovered more than 20 new Terracotta Warriors,  life-size figures built to protect the first emperor of China in the afterlife.   The Terracotta Army is thought to consist of 8,000 sculpted “warriors” located in three pits about a mile northeast of the mausoleum of Emperor …

Lebanese museum returns millennia-old antiquities to Iraq A trove of archaeological objects, including more than 300 cuneiform tablets, were returned to Iraq from Lebanon over the weekend. Allegedly looted from several Iraqi archaeological sites, the artefacts had been exhibited in the Nabu Museum, a private insтιтution in northern Lebanon founded by the businessman Jawad Adra. …

Israeli archaeologists discover 7,000-year-old settlement Authorities in Israel have announced the discovery of an ancient human settlement in Jerusalem which is thousands of years old. The historic site was found while authorities were doing roadwork. Archaeologists in Jerusalem have uncovered an ancient settlement that dates back as far as 7,000 years. They are calling it …

Traces of 3,600-Year-Old Settlement Found in Qatar’s Desert Scholars looking for underground water sources on the Eastern Arabian Peninsula for a project funded by the United States Agency for Aid and International Development have accidentally uncovered the outlines of a settlement that appears to be over 3600 years old.   Asymmetrical  2 x 3 kilometre, landscaped …