Archeology

New research published in the journal Antiquity suggests an ancient South American civilization spiked a beer-like drink with psychoactive drugs as a way of maintaining social cohesion and forging new bonds with surrounding communities.

While archeologists can learn a lot from studying ancient Egyptian mummified bodies, unwrapping those bodies may damage their valuable coverings. With that problem in mind, scientists have now "digitally unwrapped" a mummy via CT scanning technology.

A landmark study is reporting the discovery of nearly 500 ancient monuments in Mexico using airborne laser mapping. The newly discovered sites are thought to date back at least 2,500 years, in between the Olmec and Maya civilizations.

Archeologists excavating a remote site in northwestern Utah have discovered the oldest evidence of tobacco use, dating back more than 12,000 years. The find is almost 9,000 years older than prior evidence of ancient tobacco use.

Exactly when humans first set foot in North America remains a mystery, but archeologists have now uncovered the oldest unambiguous evidence. Human footprints have been found at White Sands National Park in New Mexico, dated to about 22,000 years ago.

Archaeologists have discovered one of the oldest examples of alcohol consumption. Ancient pots dating back 9,000 years have been found to contain traces of an early form of beer, which seems to have been used as part of a ritual honoring the dead.

Sharks have been around a long time, so it should come as no surprise to hear that even the first humans had run-ins with them. Scientists have now discovered evidence of the earliest-known such attack, which occurred 3,000 years ago in Japan.

A study published in the journal Nature is reporting on the broadest genomic analysis of ancient poo ever conducted. The research reveals clues to ancient gut bacteria compositions, detecting microbial species never before seen in modern microbiomes.

In case there was ever any doubt … atrocities are nothing new. Scientists have recently determined that piled human remains unearthed in what is now Potočani, Croatia, represent the earliest-known indiscriminate mass killing.

Dotted with thousands of giant stone vessels, the Plain of Jars in Laos is one of the most intriguing archeological sites in Southeast Asia. A new study has uncovered how old the jars are – and it turns out they're much older than previously thought.

Archeologists working in Egypt have uncovered the world's first industrial-scale beer brewery, which they believe was pumping out thousands of liters of beer for the ancient kings of the region some 5,000 years ago.

Archaeologists have discovered what they claim to be the oldest example of figurative art made by human hands. An ochre painting of pigs, found on a cave wall in Indonesia, has been dated to be at least 45,500 years old.