VIENNA, AUSTRIA—Live Science reports that an inscription on a jar fragment unearthed at the site of Tel Lachish in south-central Israel could offer a missing link between early examples of alphabetic writing from Egypt and later writing samples found in the Levant. The Egyptian alphabet dates to the 12th Dynasty, …

A team of archaeologists from the Austrian Archaeological Institute and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology has discovered an inscribed sherd at the site of Tel Lachish, which is located in the Shephelah region in modern-day Israel and is one of the most prominent Bronze and Iron Age …

An international team of scientists has developed new methods for the enrichment and analysis of nuclear DNA from sediments, and applied them to cave deposits in Europe and Siberia dated to between approximately 200,000 and 50,000 years ago. Vernot et al. extracted Neanderthal nuclear DNA from cave sediments. Image credit: …

Historical and ethnographic literature from across Africa suggests bee products, honey and larvae, had considerable importance both as a food source and in the making of honey-based drinks. To investigate this, a team of researchers from the University of Bristol and Goethe University analyzed lipid residues from 458 prehistoric pottery …

An intricately carved stone slab from the early Bronze Age found in France has been identified as the oldest cartographical representation of a known territory in Europe. The 4,000-year-old stone slab found in France. Image credit: Nicolas et al. The Bronze Age stone slab measures 3.86 m long and 2.1 …

New research by Griffith University and University of Cape Town scientists provides the first traceological evidence of multipurpose nature of Australian hardwood boomerangs. Australian Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield, c. 1920. Image credit: National Museum of Australia. “Australian lithic assemblages contain a great …

An international team of archaeologists has uncovered a 3,300-year-old city in the southern province of Luxor in Egypt. The 3,300-year-old ruins of Aten in Egypt. Image credit: Zahi Hawass Center for Egyptology. The first remnants of the ancient city, known as Aten, were uncovered in September 2020 by a team …