A study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports reveals that the Neanderthals who inhabited the Valdegoba cave in Burgos, in addition to hunting large herbivores, also included birds in their diet. The research, led by experts from the University of Burgos and the Catalan Institute of Paleontology, analyzed more than 1,500 bird bone […]
Stone Age Archaeology
By exploring caves, rock shelters, open-air camps, and later permanent settlements, Stone Age archaeologists gain valuable insights into how hunter-gatherer and early farming communities organized themselves and adapted to various environments and climate changes over thousands of years. The gradual developments from simple Oldowan stone tools to complex multilayered Upper Paleolithic sites reveal the cultural and technological progress of our earliest human ancestors.
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The enigma of the gigantic basin in the Matarrubilla dolmen solved: transported by boat and over 1,000 years older than the tholos that houses it
A team of Spanish researchers has solved the enigma of the gigantic stone “basin”, unique in the Iberian Peninsula, which is located inside the Matarrubilla dolmen in the prehistoric site of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville). According to the study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, this enormous block, which weighs over 2,000 kilos, […]
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The Earliest Use of Fire by Humans Was Not for Cooking but for Preserving Meat
A study from Tel Aviv University proposes the hypothesis that prehistoric humans’ control of fire was not initially intended for cooking, but rather for preserving meat through smoking and drying techniques, thus preventing its decomposition and protecting it from predators. The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, addresses one of the most persistent […]
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Over One Hundred Prehistoric Structures and Modifications Discovered Inside Cova Dones in Valencia, Spain
An interdisciplinary team composed of researchers from the University of Alicante (UA) and the University of Zaragoza (Unizar) has documented over one hundred speleofacts—stalagmite formations that were intentionally modified by human activity—inside Cova Dones in Valencia (Spain). This finding makes Cova Dones the second most important site in the world in terms of speleofact presence, […]
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Whale bones turned into tools 20,000 years ago: Did Pleistocene hunter-gatherers hunt cetaceans?
A study published in Nature Communications by researchers from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), and the University of British Columbia has revealed that humans were already using whale bones to make tools between 19,000 and 20,000 years ago. […]
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Oldest Human Fingerprint in the World Discovered in Spain, Left by Neanderthals 43,000 Years Ago
At the San Lázaro rock shelter near Segovia in central Spain, a team of scientists has discovered a granite cobble bearing a red ochre dot, upon which the fingerprint of a Neanderthal was imprinted approximately 43,000 years ago. The finding, confirmed through forensic techniques and advanced microscopy, represents the oldest evidence of a human fingerprint […]
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Precise Timeline Reconstructed for When Denisovans, Neanderthals, and Homo sapiens Inhabited Denisova Cave Over 300,000 Years
In the Altai Mountains, in southern Siberia, lies the famous Denisova Cave, the only place in the world where the presence of three distinct types of humans has been demonstrated: Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans. A new study, published in Nature Communications, has managed to reconstruct in unprecedented detail the complete history of the cave […]
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Valencina, the Great Prehistoric City Contemporary with Stonehenge That Flourished and Collapsed Five Thousand Years Ago
Just a few kilometers from Seville lies the archaeological site of Valencina de la Concepción, which five thousand years ago was one of the largest settlements in Europe, contemporary with ceremonial complexes like Stonehenge and Newgrange. According to a new study published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology by Leonardo García Sanjuán and Timothy Earle, […]
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The Schöningen Spears May Have Been Made by Neanderthals Who Already Hunted in Organized Groups
The famous Schöningen spears, discovered in Germany in 1994, are considered the oldest weapons made by hominins that have been preserved in their entirety. For a long time, the original dating that placed them at 400,000 years old was accepted, later revised down to 300,000 in more recent analyses, attributing their creation to Homo heidelbergensis. […]
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Oldest Evidence of Sicily’s First Settlers, who Used the Island as a “Glacial Refuge”, Discovered
In San Teodoro cave, north-eastern Sicily, a team of scientists has found evidence of earliest recorded presence of humans on the island. They are dated to about 16,500 years ago and were left behind by hunter-gatherers who arrived in Sicily after the last glacial period ended. The cave is near Acquedolci town (Messina), and inside […]
