The human remains of 12 individuals have been discovered in a chamber in the well-known Petra in Jordan.Petra, one of the new seven wonders of the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site, was the capital of the Nabatean Kingdom, which lasted from roughly 400 B.C. until the Romans absorbed the Kingdom as a province in the beginning of the second century A.D.“Complete burial sites are not a common thing in Petra,” says Richard Bates, a geophysicist at St. Andrews University in Scotland who has ...read more
We often associate the word “caveman” with crude simplicity. But based on a new finding, maybe we should, instead, use it as a stand-in for technological innovation. Researchers discovered a new kind of fire pit dating back about 75,000 years. After analyzing its novel design — a ringed trench rather than a simple pit — and the traces of chemical components left behind by burning, they determined that Neanderthals used it to produce tar from rockrose (Cistus ladanifer). They then employe ...read more
The Grand Egyptian Museum has been in the works for over two decades. Construction ground to a halt during the Arab Spring a decade ago but the museum, which is set to fully open in the coming months, will be the largest archeological complex in the world, housing some of Egypt’s greatest treasures.Among the most impressive artifacts come from the boy king's tomb, the young pharaoh Tutankhamun, first discovered on November 26, 1922, by the British archeologist Howard Carter.Tutankhamun, whose ...read more
Tail clubs were rare a trait that didn’t survive past the Pleistocene, a period that ended about 11,700 years ago. The last species to have them were glyptodonts – large dome-shaped armadillos from South America, and extinct turtle species from South America and Australasia. Before this, only two species of dinosaurs had tail clubs: the quadrupedal armored tanks known as ankylosaurs and the long-necked sauropods. Of those approximately 250 sauropod species, only three were known to have tail ...read more
Superstition is all around us in today’s world, whether it’s the fear of walking under a ladder or encountering a black cat late at night. Many of these quirks and common practices that people follow unquestioningly are steeped in history, dating back hundreds and sometimes thousands of years to ancient times. So what are the origins of some common superstitions and their historical roots? 1. Conniving Crows(Credit: Stephen John Edwards/Shutterstock) Immortalized in today’s culture and ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine