News Desk

A new study published in Nature Neuroscience provides a detailed look at how the psychedelic drug psilocybin facilitates the unlearning of fear in the brain

A group of scientists are studying the Cyclades, an island group in Greece’s Aegean Sea, looking for signs of early human activity. They are using technology such as laser scanning and magnetometry, which may be more effective and non-invasive than traditional archaeological methods. One of these methods is magnetometry—the subject of a recent publication in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

Bleached clay rocks found on the Martian surface suggest that the Red Planet was once home to heavy rainfall and tropical conditions, new Perseverance observations hint. The study was published Dec. 1 in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

Years ago, humanity lost one of its last surviving hominin cousins, Homo floresiensis (also known as “the hobbit” thanks to its small stature). The cause of its disappearance, after more than a million years living on the isolated volcanic island of Flores, Indonesia, has been a longstanding mystery. Now, new evidence suggests a period of extreme drought starting about 61,000 years ago may have contributed to the hobbits’ disappearance.

Caves can preserve tens of thousands of years of genetic history, providing ideal archives for studying long-term human–ecosystem interactions. The deposits beneath our feet become biological time capsules.

Extinct relatives of modern humans, like Neanderthals and Homo erectus, that lived in the Levant around 120,000 years ago, did not engage in mass hunting but preferred selective and strategic hunting of wild cattle. A recent study was published in Scientific Reports.

Conch-shell trumpets discovered in Neolithic settlements and mines in Catalonia make a tone similar to the French horn, says the lead researcher. Their article was published in the journal Antiquity.

The research examined the pivotal period between 18,000 and 7,500 years ago, spanning the end of the last Ice Age and the transition to the warmth of the modern Holocene era. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

An isolated burial in Sudan has revealed the first evidence of an unknown funeral ritual that took place nearly 4,000 years ago in a little-known African kingdom, a new study finds. The study was published Nov. 13 in the journal Azania.

A rock on Mars spilled a surprising yellow treasure after Curiosity accidentally cracked through its unremarkable exterior.

Is time real, or an illusion? The best answer may be neither: Both physics and philosophy suggest that time is a projection of the mind onto a timeless reality.

Archaeologists are to resume digging at the Ness of Brodgar on Orkney after 3D radar technology led to an “extraordinary discovery”.

The presence of an extraordinary circle of yawning pits created by Neolithic people near Stonehenge has been proved, thanks to a novel combination of scientific techniques, a team of archaeologists is claiming.

A new study published in Nature on November 26 has shed light on the origins, population structures, and kinship systems of the people of Shimao—one of China’s most significant late Neolithic settlements.

New genetic research shows that DNA and archaeological evidence align with the “long chronology” of the peopling of Australia. The new study was published Friday (Nov. 28) in the journal Science Advances.

You can now explore Rano Raraku, one of the major quarries on Easter Island, from the comfort of your home. A research team including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York has created the first-ever high-resolution 3D model of the quarry, providing people worldwide with a glimpse of the island, including almost 1,000 of its iconic moai statues.