ARCHAEOLOGY

The Inca stronghold of Machu Picchu has astounded and confounded visitors since it was unveiled to the wider world more than 100 years ago by an ambitious Yale professor.

Make sure your passport is current, book your flight, and let yourself imagine the lives of the people who called these ancient cities home.

The astonishing cave paintings of bison, deer, and extinct animals were discovered by accident in France in 1940. They offer a tantalizing glimpse into prehistory.

The ancient Acropolis has loomed over the Greek city of Athens for more than 3000 years as a defensive citadel, temple complex, weather station, and even a site of resistance against the Nazis.

These prehistoric members of our genus, ‘Homo,’ occupy different branches of the human family tree.

Scientists have uncovered ancient fossils, prehistoric artwork, and other clues to human evolution. Here are nine of the most revealing discoveries that have changed our understanding of our early ancestors—and ourselves.

Within the last 200 years, we’ve discovered about two dozen species of hominins in Europe, Africa, and Asia—which you can see laid out in this map.

According to a medieval saga, the Norwegian “Well Man” might have been used as a biological weapon.

Millions of fossils, from shells to the largest known shark species, were unearthed beneath San Pedro High School.

The 2019 fire at the cathedral brought a mystery to the surface: a lead coffin containing an unknown skeleton.

Historic doors can reveal a lot about their times—like the medieval trend of covering doors in (allegedly) human skin.

The rare golden bracelet was probably given to a soldier as a reward for bravery as Roman armies invaded England.