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Archaeology and palaeontology

Archaeology and palaeontology
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Archaeology and palaeontology. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
The auction house estimates the value of the T. rex leather bag to be between US$346,000 and US$576,000. Photo: AFP
France

Bag made from ‘T. rex leather’ fails to sell at Paris auction

The material was created using cells from a dinosaur femur found in the US state of Montana 25 years ago.

Science

Scientists find woolly mammoth DNA while digging through squirrel poo

Trending in China

Recent analysis shows Neanderthals may have been first dentists in recorded history

Trending in China

Chinese scientists suggest harsh environments foster early human creativity

The research unveils a more intricate narrative of innovation, intelligence, and human evolution in East Asia.

To survive harsh environments and support their communities, ancient humans developed group hunting and sophisticated tools. Photo: Wikipedia
Science

Can China team’s Greek dig unveil an untold truth in ancient world history?

A joint archaeological project between Greece’s culture ministry and a Chinese team of researchers is breaking new ground.

Italy

Archaeologists use AI to reconstruct Pompeii victim’s face and final moments

AI-generated image shows a man ducking for cover, with a flaming Mount Vesuvius in the background.

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Jewellery

King Tut’s 3,200-year-old legacy inspires a new era of Egyptian jewellery

The opening of Giza’s Grand Egyptian Museum is sparking renewed interest in ancient motifs from brands like Azza Fahmy and Bibi van der Velden.

Azza Fahmy The Tutankhamun necklace. Photo: Handout
Women and gender

The palaeontologist making her mark in what was a ‘gentleman’s science’

Art

From Jurassic Park kid to dinosaur expert in what was ‘a gentleman’s science’

Natalia Jagielska, dinosaur researcher, illustrator and scientific consultant, explains how women are under-represented in her field.

Trending in China

Celestial craftsmanship: secrets of meteorite axe from China Sanxingdui unveiled

Artefact was made of a particular blend of metal that would have been extremely difficult for the ancient people to create on Earth.

Various meteoric iron artefacts have been discovered in China, with the latest finding revealing how the inhabitants of Sanxingdui forged an axelike tool from a meteorite. Photo: SCMP composite/Archaeological Research in Asia/Shutterstock
Trending in China

Unearthing peace: ancient China gravesite reveals significance of broken weapons

The bronze daggers and knives were intentionally damaged during burial as offerings to ensure deceased’s peaceful passage into afterlife.

Archaeologists uncovered a grave near Xian containing broken weapons, reflecting a peace ritual from the Western Zhou dynasty, emphasising the philosophy that “stopping war is true valour.” Photo: SCMP composite/Xinhua/people.com.cn
The Netherlands

Lost remains of French musketeer d’Artagnan may have been found in Dutch church

DNA testing is under way to verify ⁠the skeleton. D’Artagnan, fictionalised in Alexandre ⁠Dumas’ novel The ⁠Three Musketeers, died in 1673.

Trending in China

How climate change led to demise of an advanced Chinese civilisation 4,500 years ago

New research paints a picture of a culture that struggled to navigate a significant increase in rainfall and slowly disappeared from history.

Trending in China

Jar burials: a glimpse into ancient China’s compassion for infant deaths

New study indicates Neolithic cultures in China may have separated graves of perinatal infants; different treatment than older children.

Recent research suggested that ancient jar burials in China were primarily for newborns, stillborns, or miscarriages, as most infants did not survive to be breastfed. Photo: SCMP composite/Baidu/sciencedirect
Science

Why is Andy Lau’s name carved on a 600-year-old brick from the Ming dynasty?

The inscription – identical to the Hong Kong star’s name – reveals ancient quality-control system and early use of simplified characters.

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Hong Kong actor and singer Andy Lau appears to have shared a name with a Ming dynasty brickmaker. Photo: Sam Tsang
United States

Triceratops skeleton ‘Trey’ to hit the auction block as dinosaur market soars

The 66-million-year-old fossil, for sale on musician Pharrell Williams’ auction platform Joopiter, is expected to fetch up to US$5.5 million.

Australia

Australian police recover stolen Egyptian artefacts after museum heist

The man is accused of stealing a mummy mask, collar, necklace and wooden cat from a museum in Caboolture, Queensland.

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Science

How did a prized red gemstone reach the ancient, mysterious Shu kingdom?

The presence of the warm, reddish-orange mineral in the Bronze Age archaeological site of Sanxingdui has long puzzled archaeologists.

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A visitor views the “Ancient Shu Civilisation of the Sanxingdui and Jinsha Sites” exhibition at the National Museum of China in Beijing on January 18. A Chinese team says it has solved some mysteries related to crimson beads found in Sanxingdui. Photo: Xinhua
Indonesia

Indonesia’s 68,000-year-old handprint: the birth of human art?

Found hiding beneath a chicken sketch, the faded outline proves ancient humans were capable of reflecting on their existence, scientists say.

Science

How old is Chinese civilisation? A scholar says it really dates back 8,000 years

Leading scholar’s argument stretches the timeline back beyond the widely accepted figure of 5,000 years.

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Science

Composite tool find puts China in tech revolution up to 160,000 years ago: paper

Team says discovery of 2,600 stone tools, including hafted tools, reshapes understanding of human evolution in eastern Asia.

A new paper published in Nature Communications says the presence of hafted stone tools among discoveries in China shows “an understanding of how to enhance tool performance”. Image: Handout
Indonesia

World’s oldest cave art discovered in Indonesia

A handprint dating back at least 67,800 years is over a thousand years older than hand stencils in Spain that are attributed to Neanderthals.

Handprints with sharpened fingertips are seen in the Maros region of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Photo: Ahdi Agus Oktaviana/Maxime Aubert via AP
Italy

Italy uncovers ancient basilica designed by the ‘father of architecture’ Vitruvius

Mayor calls archeological find in the central Italian city of Fano the ‘discovery of the century’.

Science

Chinese team restores legendary Tang dynasty ‘golden’ armour from Tibetan tomb

Tomb’s occupant confirmed to be a Tuyuhun king and the golden armour is likely to have been among his prized possessions, conservators say.

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Science

Could 2,000-year-old machine from tomb in China be earliest binary computer?

Silk-weaving loom dating to Western Han is world’s oldest known ‘computer hardware’ with corresponding ‘software’, China science body says.

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The ancient Chinese loom may well be recognised as the world’s earliest computer, according to the China Association for Science and Technology. Photo: China Silk Museum
Science

Bronze Age cemetery offers clues on how ancient Chinese brewed red rice wine

Vessels found in tombs at Mogou in modern-day Gansu contain traces of a fermentation starter of the type still used to make sake today.

Processes similar to Bronze Age brewing techniques are still used today. Photo: Shutterstock
Science

In eastern China, ancient ruins push back the date of Yangtze delta’s earliest cities

Excavations at the Doushan site near Wuxi suggest water may have spurred the development of the oldest centres in the area.

Egypt

Egypt reveals restored colossal statues of prominent pharaoh in Luxor

The giant statues, toppled by an earthquake in about 1200 BC, were meticulously pieced back together in a project that lasted about two decades.

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