STONES, BONES, AND WRECKS

Fossilized human footprints in New Mexico’s White Sands National Park are between 21,000 and 23,000 years old and pre-date the Clovis people in North America.

8 Ancient Archaeological Sites That Pre-Date the Clovis People

Archaeologists used to think that the Clovis people were the first inhabitants of the Americas some 13,500 years ago. The evidence from these ancient sites says otherwise.

From this moment on, multiple entities have argued over ownership of the ‘Titanic’

Who Owns the ‘Titanic’?

The complicated legal case involving salvage rights to the RMS ‘Titanic’ continues, 40 years after the famous shipwreck was rediscovered.

15 Solid Facts About the Rosetta Stone

Its value as the key that unlocked the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphs is world-famous—but the turbulent history surrounding the Rosetta Stone’s discovery and translation is more obscure.

A scene from the La Brea Tar Pits with models of Ice Age animals.

10 Fascinating Facts About the La Brea Tar Pits

There’s a gooey time capsule in the heart of Los Angeles, left over from an era when saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, camels, and giant sloths prowled southern California.

Artifacts at the ‘Titanic’ wreck may never see the light of day.

‘Titanic’ Salvage Missions Placed on Indefinite Hold Thanks to Legal Issues

A blend of bureaucracy and saltwater is conspiring to keep any of the ship’s remaining secrets from being brought to the surface.

The spectacular Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru.

13 Amazing Facts About Machu Picchu

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.

Megalosaurus was an apex predator in Jurassic Britain.

‘Dinosaur Highway’ of 200 Footprints Uncovered in England

Dinosaurs roamed the UK millions of years ago, as evidenced by fossilized tracks recently uncovered in Oxfordshire.

An exact replica of some of the drawings in Chauvet Cave, including the quartet of horses and a woolly rhinoceros.

13 Facts About the Chauvet Cave Paintings

The Chauvet Cave paintings are tens of thousands of years old and depict iconic animals that are now extinct. Even Werner Herzog was impressed.

The online database covers nearly all the fossils discovered in New Zealand.

New Zealand Is the First Country to Open Its Fossil Database to the Public

New Zealand’s open-access fossil database makes it easier for scientists to collaborate.

A Neanderthal skull against a backdrop of the German valley where the first specimens of the human ancestor were found.

‘Thal Order: 11 Things You Might Not Know About Neanderthals

Often dismissed as “primitive,” our extinct relatives were surprisingly thoughtful. Some were also cannibals.

A replica of the Laetoli footprints discovered in Laetoli, Tanzania; The original footprints were dated to 3.6 million years ago.

9 Fascinating Discoveries that Changed Our Understanding of Human Evolution

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.

An artist’s rendering of what Lucy may have looked like in life.

On the Origin of Lucy: How One Extraordinary Fossil Helped Alter Our View of Human Evolution

Lucy walked on her own two feet. Scientists weren’t expecting that.

Tollund Man—a bog body at the Silkeborg Museum in Denmark

8 Kinds of Mummies That Aren’t From Ancient Egypt

China, Chile, and New Zealand are a few places that have historic mummies of their own.

Divers have said that the RMS ‘Rhone’ is haunted.

The Legends Behind 6 Haunted Shipwrecks

Whether real wrecks or ghostly sightings, these ships bear stories of unexplained deaths, flying orbs, and screams from the depths of the sea.

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Illinois.

11 Ancient Native American Earthworks You Can Visit

Hundreds—even thousands—of years ago, Native American peoples built complex and mysterious earthworks. Here are 11 you can visit for a glimpse into prehistory.

New 3D Scans Show the ‘Endurance’ Shipwreck in Stunning Detail

The footage is from a new ‘Endurance’ documentary hitting Disney+ later this year.

The knight’s tombstone rediscovered at Jamestown.

Jamestown’s Mysterious Black Tombstone Originated in Belgium, Archaeologists Say

Scientists examined microscopic fossils in the tombstone and suggest the jet-black slab with an English knight’s insignia could have come only from one place.

A Los Angeles high school turned out to be a hotbed for fossils.

Millions of Marine Fossils Discovered Beneath Los Angeles High School

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

Notre-Dame has been the site of a mystery.

Mysterious ‘Horseman’ Found in a Lead Coffin Beneath Notre-Dame May Have Just Been Identified

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

‘Le Lyonnais’ (not pictured above) has been discovered after nearly 200 years.

‘Le Lyonnais,' a Long-Lost French Steamship, Has Been Discovered Off the Massachusetts Coast

The French vessel was the victim of a maritime hit and run.

The newly-discovered diamond weighs about a pound.

World’s Second-Largest Diamond Uncovered in Botswana

The impressive gemstone comes in at 2492 carats.

A portrait of the scientists who found and examined the Piltdown Man skull (accompanied by a picture of Charles Darwin on the wall).

10 Famous Archaeological Hoaxes

From forged artworks to fake mummies and even fraudulent orangutan bones, archaeological hoaxes fool scientists and stir the public’s imagination—until the culprits are forced to come clean.

A replica of Paleolithic cave drawings of deer, horses, and aurochs, dating to 15,000 BCE, from Lascaux cave in France.

7 Misconceptions About the Stone Age

The Stone Age timeline encompasses a huge chunk of prehistory—and life wasn’t only about hunting and gathering.

The ruins of the Maya settlement Palenque in Mexico.

5 Civilizations Destroyed by Climate Change

The changing climate did not bode well for Khmer Empire, the Maya Civilization, and more ancient cultures.