Archaeology
![The Great Pyramids of Giza - Khufu's on the right and Cheops's on the left, Giza Plataeu, Egypt](jpg/b44kc9cdps5m7tvdnosf2w-320-80.jpg)
Humans have left clues of our existence throughout time, leaving behind burials, artifacts and written records that hint at our evolution, beliefs, practices and cultures. Studying the archaeological record shows us that the oldest known bones belonging to Homo sapiens are 300,000 years old, or that the world’s oldest civilizations arose at least 6,000 years ago.
Whether you’re looking for facts about the ancient Egyptians, the discovery of an ancient human skull, a gold hoard dating to the fall of the Roman Empire or how the latest technology is helping us find hidden pyramids, Live Science's expert science writers and editors are here to give you the latest coverage on our past with archaeology news, articles and features.
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![A red sandstone statue head unearthed at Melville House in Scotland in 1952.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kYuQRNto8T2V2T2EdpuGQX-320-80.png 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kYuQRNto8T2V2T2EdpuGQX-450-80.png 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kYuQRNto8T2V2T2EdpuGQX-500-80.png 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kYuQRNto8T2V2T2EdpuGQX-650-80.png 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kYuQRNto8T2V2T2EdpuGQX-840-80.png 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kYuQRNto8T2V2T2EdpuGQX-970-80.png 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kYuQRNto8T2V2T2EdpuGQX-1024-80.png 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kYuQRNto8T2V2T2EdpuGQX-1200-80.png 1200w)
Scottish boy digging for potatoes found 'masterpiece of Egyptian sculpture' on his school grounds. How did it end up there?
By Sascha Pare published
Archaeologists in Scotland may have finally solved the mystery of how ancient Egyptian artifacts that were unearthed in school grounds between 1952 and 1984 became buried there.
![A scuba diver with a flashlight approaches a large piece of obsidian on the seafloor.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hWDxtnnbkZk8SCZYoTzsie-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hWDxtnnbkZk8SCZYoTzsie-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hWDxtnnbkZk8SCZYoTzsie-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hWDxtnnbkZk8SCZYoTzsie-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hWDxtnnbkZk8SCZYoTzsie-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hWDxtnnbkZk8SCZYoTzsie-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hWDxtnnbkZk8SCZYoTzsie-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hWDxtnnbkZk8SCZYoTzsie-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
Chiseled obsidian recovered from Neolithic shipwreck near Capri's 'Blue Grotto'
By Tom Metcalfe published
Divers off the coast of Naples, Italy have recovered a large chunk of chiseled obsidian that likely went down in a Stone Age shipwreck more than 5,000 years ago.
![Ears of "Indian" corn](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uTL76vhqMsC2HariEGUwJQ-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uTL76vhqMsC2HariEGUwJQ-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uTL76vhqMsC2HariEGUwJQ-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uTL76vhqMsC2HariEGUwJQ-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uTL76vhqMsC2HariEGUwJQ-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uTL76vhqMsC2HariEGUwJQ-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uTL76vhqMsC2HariEGUwJQ-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uTL76vhqMsC2HariEGUwJQ-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
Indigenous Mexicans migrated to California 5,200 years ago, likely bringing their languages with them, ancient DNA reveals
By Tom Metcalfe published
The research challenges the idea that languages from prehistoric Mexico spread along with maize farming in California.
![Illustration of small group of early humans.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EhLEMCcyRxJ25zkCbqNkMV-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EhLEMCcyRxJ25zkCbqNkMV-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EhLEMCcyRxJ25zkCbqNkMV-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EhLEMCcyRxJ25zkCbqNkMV-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EhLEMCcyRxJ25zkCbqNkMV-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EhLEMCcyRxJ25zkCbqNkMV-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EhLEMCcyRxJ25zkCbqNkMV-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EhLEMCcyRxJ25zkCbqNkMV-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
Prehistoric women hunted too. The evidence is 'written in human bodies' and remains.
By Sarah Lacy, Cara Ocobock published
In small-group, subsistence living, it makes sense for everyone to do lots of jobs.
![A person holds clay seals in their hand](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PwXm9mKkJ72hKwZyqjsCbf-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PwXm9mKkJ72hKwZyqjsCbf-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PwXm9mKkJ72hKwZyqjsCbf-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PwXm9mKkJ72hKwZyqjsCbf-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PwXm9mKkJ72hKwZyqjsCbf-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PwXm9mKkJ72hKwZyqjsCbf-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PwXm9mKkJ72hKwZyqjsCbf-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PwXm9mKkJ72hKwZyqjsCbf-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
2,000 ancient clay stamps used to seal official Roman documents discovered in Turkey
By Jennifer Nalewicki published
Researchers found thousands of clay stamps used to seal official documents inside a former city archive in Doliche.
![A baboon skull against a white background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ffMXgpa4rn5s4zBm5uyk8C-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ffMXgpa4rn5s4zBm5uyk8C-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ffMXgpa4rn5s4zBm5uyk8C-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ffMXgpa4rn5s4zBm5uyk8C-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ffMXgpa4rn5s4zBm5uyk8C-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ffMXgpa4rn5s4zBm5uyk8C-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ffMXgpa4rn5s4zBm5uyk8C-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ffMXgpa4rn5s4zBm5uyk8C-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
Baboon mummy DNA from ancient Egypt reveals location of mysterious port city not on any maps
By Stephanie Pappas published
A new DNA study suggests that the lost realm of Punt and the port city of Adulis may have been in the same place, separated by time.
![Confederate relics were discovered in the Congaree River during a cleanup of toxic coal tar. These relics were displayed Nov. 13, 2023, during a public event on the Congaree.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/y4gPzXJK3zZGHwWoQ7WwR5-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/y4gPzXJK3zZGHwWoQ7WwR5-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/y4gPzXJK3zZGHwWoQ7WwR5-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/y4gPzXJK3zZGHwWoQ7WwR5-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/y4gPzXJK3zZGHwWoQ7WwR5-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/y4gPzXJK3zZGHwWoQ7WwR5-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/y4gPzXJK3zZGHwWoQ7WwR5-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/y4gPzXJK3zZGHwWoQ7WwR5-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
Civil War weapons thrown into river by General Sherman's forces recovered in South Carolina
By Kristina Killgrove published
Civil War weapons, including an unexploded ordnance, were found during a cleanup project in a South Carolina river.
![An aerial view of farmland that once housed a Bronze Age settlement.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Eywk5aYExYT7jLEY5dn3qg-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Eywk5aYExYT7jLEY5dn3qg-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Eywk5aYExYT7jLEY5dn3qg-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Eywk5aYExYT7jLEY5dn3qg-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Eywk5aYExYT7jLEY5dn3qg-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Eywk5aYExYT7jLEY5dn3qg-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Eywk5aYExYT7jLEY5dn3qg-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Eywk5aYExYT7jLEY5dn3qg-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
Satellites spy remnants of hidden Bronze Age settlement in Serbia
By Jennifer Nalewicki published
The more than 3,000-year-old site along a riverbank in Serbia contains the footprints of dozens of Bronze Age structures.
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