History

If you're wondering what the weather was like thousand of years ago, well … there aren't going to be weather reports from back then. What there are, however, are fossilized giant clam shells, and a new study suggests they could provide the answers.

Earth’s rotation is changing how many hours are in a day and days in a year. Now palaeontologists have managed to precisely measure how long days and years were back in the age of the dinosaurs – and it’s all thanks to a humble mollusk fossil.

Archaeologists have used laser technology to map a 100-km (62-mile) Maya stone road that could have been built 1,300 years ago to help with the invasion of an isolated city in modern-day Mexico at the command of the warrior queen Lady K’awiil Ajaw.

After the death of Larry Tesler this week, New Atlas takes a brief look back at the invention of those now-ubiquitous computer commands: cut, copy and paste.

Scientists have recreated the “voice” of a 3,000 year-old mummy by scanning the shape of his vocal tract, 3D printing a replica of it, then hooking it up to an electronic larynx. The resulting sound is a single vowel that's quite eerie.

Could the German Luftwaffe have won the Battle of Britain in 1940? A team of mathematicians at the University of York used a statistical technique to determine if Germany could have defeated Britain if different decisions had been made.

Scientists have extracted a complete human genome from a 5,700-year-old piece of "chewing gum." It was discovered that the chewer was an ancient female – now named Lola – with dark skin, blue eyes, and most likely a taste for duck and hazelnuts.

Fossilized shells have now revealed that Earth’s systems were already stressed before the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs, as volcanic eruptions may have heated the oceans and raised mercury levels to dangerous heights.

From lost cities, civilizations and stone circles to a startlingly well-preserved dinosaur, here’s a look back at five of the most significant archaeological finds and breakthroughs of the last decade.

Scientists have confirmed that facial deformities among the House of Habsburg were caused by inbreeding, according to a newly-published study. The twist: they reached their findings by studying paintings. The influential Austrian royal line produced European rulers between the 14th and 20th centuries.

Whenever computer scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee makes the headlines, a significant minority of outlets inevitably, and wholly incorrectly, refer to him as “the inventor of the internet.” Here’s why they’re wrong.

In its third year, the Historic Photographer of the Year contest has become one of the most captivating photo competitions on the calendar, presenting everything from ancient stone circles in the UK to beautiful Islamic architecture in Pakistan.