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Archaeology

Analysis and Comment (8)

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The amateur radio satellite, Australis Oscar V, is an important part of our spacefaring history. Alice Gorman

Saving space junk, our cultural heritage in orbit

By Alice Gorman, Flinders University

A few weeks ago astronauts on the International Space Station hid in escape capsules following concerns a piece of space junk was going to collide with the station. The collision didn’t eventuate but…
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Bones recovered from northern Ethiopia have forced a major rethink about how bipedalism evolved. Lars Plougmann

Ancient toe gets a foothold in bipedal evolution

By Darren Curnoe, University of New South Wales

A report published today in Nature by Yohannes Hailie-Selassie and co-workers outlines the importance to our evolutionary story of some very ancient foot bones discovered recently in the Rift Valley of…
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The Red Deer Cave people and humans could be part of different evolutionary lines. Peter Schouten

Defining ‘human’ – new fossils provide more questions than answers

By Darren Curnoe, University of New South Wales

The origin of the human species remains one of the most fascinating and difficult topics of modern science. One of the main reasons for this is a continuing lack of agreement about how we should define…
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Looking at the earth from above can reveal incredible secrets. delayed gratification

Googling the past: how I uncovered prehistoric remains from my office

By David Kennedy, University of Western Australia

Archaeology is the study of the remains of the past but has long been predatory on the sciences and their ever-growing technologies. I was brought up as a student in 1970s Britain, when we learned of the…
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Genetic estimates of the age of the common ancestor of non-African humans may be wrong. bruncosta

Out of Africa, only to die … new clues on early human migration

By Peter Hiscock, Australian National University

How and when did humans colonise the globe? This question has become one of the key concerns of archaeologists, geneticists and human biologists. And now the latest archaeological discovery in Oman in…
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We are still learning about the Mongolian invasions, 750 years after they happened. Hanoi History Museum, James Delgado

The original kamikaze: Kublai Khan’s invasion shipwreck found?

By Mark Staniforth, Monash University

Archaeologists from the University of the Ryukyus in Japan have discovered part of a 13th century ship that apparently belonged to Mongolian warlord Kublai Khan. The ship is believed to be a remnant of…
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Infamous street artist Banksy's precursors have been found in South Africa. Lord Jim

Birth of bling: world’s first art studio found in South Africa

By Peter Hiscock, Australian National University

Could we have found the first artist’s studio in human history? We may well have. We all recognise the material signs of wealth. Fast cars, large yachts and sparkling bling all tell us who has more. Crowns…

Research Briefs (2)

Ancient fortress uncovered

University of Cincinnati

The remnants of a Late Bronze Age (1500-750 B.C.) fortress that may have protected an important urban economic centre has…