Ancient World News

Humans a Regular Meal for Cavemen?

For early Europeans, cannibalism was just another way to eat—and the meals may have given new meaning to "brain food," a study says.
First Feast for the Dead?

Packed with tortoise "leftovers," the earliest known shaman's burial hints that the first villagers made peace by partying.
"Terror Bird" Used Its Head to Punch

Standing up to ten feet tall, the prehistoric birds used their ax-like heads to jab their way to the top of the food chain, study says.
Friday the 13th Fears Explained

They date back to at least ancient Roman times, but Friday the 13th superstitions only get one chance to wreak havoc this year.
Magma-Ball Earth Glimpsed Via Rocks

From a reservoir born when the world was a ball of magma, the rocks offer "the best possibility yet" to understand early Earth.
"Lucy" Was a Butcher?

Newfound prehistoric leftovers suggest early human ancestors were using tools about 800,000 years earlier than thought, a new study says.
"Thor's Hammer" in Viking Graves

Seen as lightning repellent, stones resembling the Norse god Thor's hammerhead were put in graves for good luck, experts say.
Human Bones Made Into Tools

In what's now Mexico, thousands of bone pieces from freshly dead corpses were made into housewares in the ancient city of Teotihuacan.
Pictures: "Cat Crocodile" Found

See features that made the newfound fossil crocodile Pakasuchus kapilimai unique: mammal-like teeth, a bendy back, and more.
Fossil "Cat Crocodile" Discovered

With mammal-like teeth, the cat-size fossil croc could chew—unlike any known reptiles. Adding to the oddity: long legs and a dog-like nose.
Video: Mammal-like Croc Found

Fossils of an ancient crocodile show that it had mammal-like teeth and legs, and that it probably lived most of its life on land.
Photos: Human-Sacrifice Hall Found

Built for the "presentation," in which prisoners were bled to fill cups, a Peruvian chamber has emerged with burials intact.
Dead Sea Scrolls Mystery Solved?

Recent finds may help reveal who wrote the scrolls. For starters, they may hail from the purported home of the Ark of the Covenant.
Pictures: Stonehenge "Twin" Revealed

See the ghostly images that revealed Stonehenge's sister site, how it may have looked, the gear that found it, and more.
More "Stonehenges" at Stonehenge?

A stone's throw from Stonehenge, archaeologists have found a sister circle—hinting that such temples were once plentiful at the site.

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News Blogs

Double-Clawed Dino Found

The "stocky dragon" had several interesting features, and it sheds some light on how and where these dinos developed.
Space Unicorn's Close-Up

There's a unicorn in outer space that holds a rose and a star that rings like a bell, and that's no fairy tale.
The Bear and the Anteater

Aesop wishes he'd seen this one. Find out what caused these two critters to show up on a camera trap together.

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Gulf Oil Spill News and Pictures

"Firecane" Myth Busted

Flaming, oily hurricanes and "black rain" are no danger to Gulf residents on Katrina's fifth anniversary—or to anyone, anywhere, experts say.
22-Mile Oil Plume Found

A giant plume from the Gulf spill has been confirmed deep in the ocean—and it may stick around, a new study says.

More Gulf Oil Spill Coverage »

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