Human beings may have suddenly doubled their age thanks to some recent research on a group of fossilised skulls from China, known as Yunxian 1 and 2. Previously classified as Homo erectus, they have now been designated as belonging to the Denisovan group, based on skull shape.
A 4,500-year-old Egyptian skeleton from a rock-cut tomb in Nuwayrat, near Beni Hasan, has provided the first biological evidence for links between ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in the early Old Kingdom. The man’s unusual burial – in a sealed pottery…
Tacitus, in his book on the life and character of his father-in-law Julius Agricola, the Roman Governor of Britain from c.AD 77 to 84, makes the often-quoted observation that ‘Britons make no distinction of sex in their leaders’. In his Annals (XIV.35), the same author depicts Boudica (AD 30-61) rallying her supporters with the cry: ‘we British are used to women commanders in war’.
Analysis of human remains from Winterborne Kingston in Dorset (see CA 281) has revealed evidence of female-centred societal structures in this area of Iron Age Britain, as well as genetic links to Continental Europe. Matrilocality, a societal pattern whereby marriage…
A new, more precise way of analysing historic ancestries has revealed previously unknown waves of human movement during the 1st millennium AD. Carly Hilts and Rebecca Preedy report.
It might have been used as an antiseptic or… a hunger suppressant – or just because people liked the taste.
In this month’s ‘Science Notes’, we examine a recent paper that has developed a new method to identify ‘aneuploidies’ – conditions characterised by an atypical number of chromosomes – among a large array of individuals from Europe, spanning the Iron…
REVIEW BY KK This volume brings together the current evidence of dogs in the past: from their evolution from wild animals to domesticated pets, to their presence in the archaeological record, through to their importance in myths and legends. Combining…
During the medieval period, it was speculated that the Picts had migrated from isles north of Britain, or even further-afield places such as Thrace or Scythia. A recent genetic study (published in PLOS Genetics: ), however, suggests that they in…
A round-up of some of latest archaeology news from around the world.
Researchers conducted genetic analysis of bone and tooth remains from 13 Neanderthals from two sites in the foothills of the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia.
Your views on some of the latest issues raised in CA.
The study suggests that two Palaeolithic individuals - one from Kendrick’s Cave in Wales, and the other from Gough’s Cave in Somerset - came from two completely separate populations.
Svante Pääbo is the second member of his family to be elected a Nobel laureate: his father, Sune Bergström (1916-2004) shared the same Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1982. Is there a gene, one wonders, for Nobel-Prize-winning science?
I have a personal dislike of the term ‘Anglo-Saxon’ to describe the people and culture of southern and eastern Britain from the 4th to the 8th centuries because it is anachronistic – it implies homogeneity where I see much more interesting diversity
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions
Ancient DNA analysis has revealed that two of the individuals, though not genetically related, could have shared a kinship through marriage.
Findings show that there were at least two genetically distinct Late Upper Palaeolithic populations present in Britain after the last Ice Age, around 15,000 years ago.
Roughly how long ago did the earliest human migrations begin?
Newly published research centred on ancient DNA, which is revolutionising our understanding of early medieval mobility and the genetic changes it brought in its wake, forms the focus of this special issue of Current Archaeology. Duncan Sayer discusses some of the key themes that we will cover this month, and how the project came together.
The remains of at least 17 individuals found in a medieval well in central Norwich most likely represent a group of Ashkenazi Jews who fell victim to anti-Semitic violence in the 12th or early 13th century, a new study suggests.…
One common motif is that of a knight in armour engaging in combat with a snail. Another is that of the killer rabbit, shown wielding sword, axe, or bow and arrow as it fights against those hunting it.
Analysis of the Pompeian individual's skeletal remains revealed they likely suffered from spinal tuberculosis.
Joseph L. Thimes reassesses the 2010 genetic testing of the royal mummies and proposes a new set of tests to build a more accurate Amarna family tree.
Analysis of human remains from the Links of Noltland, Westray, has revealed the first concrete evidence of a major influx of non-local people into Orkney during the Bronze Age – and, uniquely for the period, it appears that this movement of migrants was dominated by women. Carly Hilts reports.
A new investigation has now seen an international team of more than 200 geneticists and archaeological scientists discover aDNA evidence for a second significant and hitherto unknown Bronze Age migration into Britain
Examining ancient DNA is revolutionising our knowledge of the past. Being able to detect family relationships is revealing ever more about connections between people buried in cemeteries and even individual coffins. Caroline Arcini introduces three cases where DNA evidence has opened new windows into past lives.
Over the last decade, revolutions in the scientific analysis of archaeological material have allowed us to delve deeper into the origins and migrations of modern humans. Through the lens of Johannes Krause, director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary…
One of the more impressive aspects of this book – the outcome of a British Academy Conference held in 2015 – is the range of evidence that is marshalled to trace migrants in the medieval past. As might be expected,…
Over the last decade, developments in genetic sequencing, as well as in the successful extraction of DNA from increasingly older and even contaminated remains, have allowed our knowledge of ancient hominins to expand exponentially. But even with these advances, our…
A team from UCL and the Natural History Museum has successfully sequenced his DNA for the first time, revealing a wealth of details about his physical appearance.