Since time immemorial, megaliths have fascinated archaeologists, historians, and travelers alike. These enormous stone structures, erected by prehistoric cultures, have withstood the passage of time and continue to raise questions: How were they built? What purpose did they serve? And most importantly, what significance did they hold for those who constructed them? There are many […]
Prehistory
Posted inIron Age Archaeology, Prehistory
The Hjortspring Boat: The Celts Who Attacked a Danish Island in 350 BCE and Ended as a Votive Offering
The Hjortspring Boat was discovered in 1921 in the Hjortspring Bog on the island of Als, southern Denmark. It is considered the oldest archaeological evidence of naval construction found in Scandinavia. Dating back to around 350 BCE, the boat measures over 19 meters (62 feet) in overall length and 2 meters (6.5 feet) in beam. […]
Posted inArchaeology, Prehistory
Genome of the Oldest Modern Humans in Europe Reveals They Belonged to the Same Family and Had Dark Skin and Hair
An international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has sequenced the oldest known genomes of modern humans. These belong to seven individuals who lived between 42,000 and 49,000 years ago in the regions of Ranis, Germany, and Zlatý kůň, Czechia. The findings offer a unique insight into early human migrations […]
Posted inPrehistory
The Clacton Spear is the Oldest Known Wooden Tool
In 1911, an extraordinary archaeological discovery was made in the small coastal town of Clacton-on-Sea (Essex, England). Samuel Hazzledine Warren, an amateur prehistorian who had been searching for simple stone tools in a Paleolithic sediment, discovered what he initially thought was a piece of animal antler. But he soon realized it was a fragmented wooden […]
Posted inPrehistory
Enigmatic Tablets: The Small Artifacts from the Bronze Age Found Across Central Europe That No One Knows the Purpose Of
The enigmatic tablets, the subject of intense study by archaeologists throughout Europe, are small artifacts made of terracotta or stone dating back to the Bronze Age, specifically between 2100 and 1400 BCE. These mysterious objects have been found since the second half of the 19th century at various archaeological sites across the continent, primarily in […]
Posted inBronze Age Archaeology, Prehistory
Lucone di Polpenazze, the Bronze Age pile-dwelling settlement that was preserved because a fire caused it to collapse into the lake
Located in the Lombardy region, near the impressive Lake Garda, the archaeological site of Lucone di Polpenazze is a living testament to Prehistory in northern Italy. This place, a large natural basin that in ancient times housed a small body of water, has witnessed a series of discoveries that have allowed archaeologists to reconstruct fragments […]
Posted inPrehistory
The Oldest Carpet in the World, Found in an Iron Age Tomb
It is reasonable to deduce that in the successive phases of prehistory, humans, in their effort to create a warmer environment, used animal skins to cover the floors of the caves and huts they inhabited. These were the precursors to what would later be purposefully woven with advancing technology and is known today as the […]
Posted inArt, Prehistory
The Mysterious Engravings of the Fugoppe Cave in Hokkaido, One of Only Two Sites with Ancient Petroglyphs in Japan
Located in the small fishing town of Yoichi, on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, is Fugoppe Cave, an archaeological site that contains over 800 petroglyphs carved into its walls, making it a unique location in all of Japan. The discovery of the cave dates back to 1950, when two young brothers, drawn by stories of […]
Posted inModern Era, Prehistory
How an African American Cowboy Made a Discovery that Changed North America’s Prehistory
We’ve seen them drive large herds from state to state, fight against Native Americans, defend stagecoaches from bandits, duel, and even battle aliens, but there’s something else cowboys can add to their resume: discovering key lithic tools essential for American paleoanthropology. This happened in 1908, and what makes it even more striking is that the […]
Posted inArt, Prehistory
The Amber Bear of Słupsk, an Exceptional Prehistoric Amulet
Although at first glance its appearance may remind us of a tasty gummy bear, the so-called Bear of Słupsk is actually an amulet that is about 3,000 years old. It was discovered in a peat bog near the town of Słupsk in Poland in 1887 and immediately attracted attention for its exceptional state of preservation. […]
