ARCHAEOLOGY

Is This America’s Oldest Condom?

“In terms of its dimensions, it’s clearly the right shape and everything,” Sara Rivers-Cofield told mental_floss.

Ötzi the Iceman Probably Loved Bacon Too

His last meal was a dry-cured meat similar to speck or bacon, according to new analysis of his stomach contents.

How the Global Bird-Poop Trade Created a Traveling Mummy Craze

Bird poop has been a favored fertilizer for centuries—and, it turns out, is an excellent preserver of human flesh.

Charles Robert Knight via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

Here's What a Neanderthal's Voice Might Have Sounded Like

Less grunting, more hoarse screaming.

9 Archaeological Sites of Biblical Importance

Archaeology might raise more questions about the bible than it answers, but that doesn’t stop millions of religious tourists from flocking to the Holy Land every year to walk in the footsteps of figures like Jesus and Moses.

St. Nick's Real Hometown Is an Ancient City in Turkey Entombed in Mud

Welcome to Myra, where a Greek bishop became a power player in early Christianity.

15 Incredible Discoveries That Were Hiding in Plain Sight

Whether it's a lost purse or an entire galaxy, the thing you're looking for is almost always the last place you look.

Woolly Mammoth Skeleton May Revise Experts' Timeline of Early America

The mammal appears to have been butchered 15,000 years ago, long before humans were thought to arrive in the region it was found.

John Kappelman / University of Texas at Austin

Our Early Human Ancestor "Lucy" Spent Plenty of Time in the Trees

Researchers say her 3.2-million-year-old remains include heavily built arms and weaker legs like those of tree-dwelling chimpanzees.

Scientists Reveal the Secrets of the Capuchin Catacomb Mummies

The crypt has long been a religious site and morbid tourist attraction. But only recently has it also become a place for serious science.

The highly polished stone adze. Image courtesy of York University.

9000-Year-Old Polished Axe Uncovered in Ireland

It’s the oldest axe of its kind ever discovered.

Archaeologists Discover Rare Viking Tools in Danish Fortress

The iron equipment is the first direct piece of evidence that people once lived at the site.

Archaeologists Find 49,000-Year-Old Artifacts in Australia’s Interior

The cave where the artifacts were found might be the oldest archaeological site in Australia’s dry southern interior.

10 Intentionally Deformed Skulls From Around the World

Intentional cranial deformation has been recorded on almost every continent over tens of thousands of years.

Brewery Recreates Booze Found in a 2500-Year-Old Grave

The drink contained traces of honey, mint, and barley.

If this man were smart, he’d be heading into Rome’s Cloaca Maxima to look for archaeological treasures buried among the ancient poop.

8 Archaeological Treasures Found in Poop

Among its many fine qualities, human waste gives archaeologists a wealth of information about people's daily lives—and reveals the occasional treasure or two.