Archaeological Interest

The latest archaeology news from around the web

Asians made humanity's longest prehistoric migration and shaped the genetic landscape in the Americas

May 15, 2025

A groundbreaking international study has revealed that early Asians undertook humanity s longest known prehistoric migration walking more than 20,000 kilometers over thousands of years from North Asia...

Dexterity and climbing ability: how ancient human relatives used their hands

May 14, 2025

Scientists have found new evidence for how our fossil human relatives in South Africa may have used their hands. Researchers investigated variation in finger bone morphology to determine that South Af...

Fossil tracks show reptiles appeared on Earth up to 40 million years earlier

May 14, 2025

The origin of reptiles on Earth has been shown to be up to 40 million years earlier than previously thought -- thanks to evidence discovered at an Australian fossil site that represents a critical tim...

Australia's oldest prehistoric tree frog hops 22 million years back in time

May 14, 2025

Scientists have now discovered the oldest ancestor for all the Australian tree frogs, with distant links to the tree frogs of South America....

UV light and CT scans helped scientists unlock hidden details in a beautifully-preserved fossil Archaeopteryx

May 14, 2025

Archaeopteryx is the fossil that clearly demonstrated Darwin's views. It's the oldest known fossil bird, and it helps show that all birds -- including the ones alive today -- emerged from dinosaurs. A...

From prehistoric resident to runaway pet: First tegu fossil found in the U.S.

May 12, 2025

Originally from South America, the charismatic tegu made its way to the United States via the pet trade of the 1990s. But a recent discovery shows these reptiles are no strangers to the region -- tegu...

Vast Aztec trade networks behind ancient obsidian artifacts

May 12, 2025

Researchers analyzed 788 obsidian artifacts from Tenochtitlan, revealing that the Mexica (Aztec) Empire sourced this important material from at least eight different locations, including regions outsi...

First fossil evidence of endangered tropical tree discovered

May 9, 2025

Scientists have discovered fossil evidence of an endangered, living tropical tree species. The unprecedented find was made in Brunei, a country on the large island of Borneo, and reveals a critical pi...

Researchers map 7,000-year-old genetic mutation that protects against HIV

May 9, 2025

Modern HIV medicine is based on a common genetic mutation. Now, researchers have traced where and when the mutation arose -- and how it protected our ancestors from ancient diseases....

New ancient fish species earliest known salmon ancestor

May 9, 2025

The Arctic landscape during the Cretaceous Period may have been dominated by the dinosaurs, but the rivers and streams held something more familiar. Alaska's fresh waters 73 million years ago were tee...

Comb jellies reveal ancient origins of animal genome regulation

May 7, 2025

Life depends on genes being switched on and off at exactly the right time. Even the simplest living organisms do this, but usually over short distances across the DNA sequence, with the on/off switch ...

Preserving Chile, Costa Rica, Italy, Morocco, and Vietnam

May 7, 2025

Your experience matters! Join our letter writing campaign to save a place you love. February’s meeting to discuss recent requests from Chile, Italy, and Morocco to renew their bilateral agreemen...

T. rex's direct ancestor crossed from Asia to North America

May 6, 2025

Tyrannosaurus rex evolved in North America, but its direct ancestor came from Asia, crossing a land bridge connecting the continents more than 70 million years ago, according to a new study....

Introducing the 2025 AIA Fellowship Cohort

May 6, 2025

Here at the AIA we are unleashing the power of archaeology to provide a better understanding of the past and present and to create a brighter future.  The 2025 Fellowship […] The post Intro...

Why did some ancient animals fossilize while others vanished?

May 1, 2025

Why do some ancient animals become fossils while others disappear without a trace? A new study reveals that part of the answer lies in the body itself. The research shows that an animal's size and che...

Giant croclike carnivore fossils found in the Caribbean

April 29, 2025

Imagine a crocodile built like a greyhound -- that's a sebecid. Standing tall, with some species reaching 20 feet in length, they dominated South American landscapes after the extinction of dinosaurs ...