Top 26+ Times Archeologists Found Relics That Made Us Rethink History And Its Stories

#1 Ancient Scrolls Reveal That Budget Cuts, Not Fire, Destroyed The Library Of Alexandria

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison', #5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated, #7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer, #9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia, #11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers, #13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe, #15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art, #17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species, #19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil, #21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations, #23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy, #25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

Contrary to popular belief that a fire, perhaps ordered by Julius Caesar, destroyed the Royal Library of Alexandria, recently discovered scrolls suggest a more gradual decline due to budget cuts. These ancient texts, uncovered by Luciano Canfora and written by library staff, indicate that government funding reductions led to the deterioration of scrolls and their transfer to other institutions. While remnants of its vast collection of ancient knowledge may have been destroyed in 642, the primary cause of its disappearance appears to be financial neglect rather than a single catastrophic event.

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison'

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison', #5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated, #7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer, #9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia, #11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers, #13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe, #15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art, #17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species, #19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil, #21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations, #23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy, #25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

By studying ancient cave art from Lascaux and Pergouset, researchers noticed distinct changes in bison depictions over a 5,000-year period, suggesting a new species. DNA analysis of bison bones and teeth dating from 22,000 to 12,000 years ago confirmed their hypothesis, revealing that this "Higgs bison" descended from the steppe bison and aurochs. This discovery not only introduced a new animal species but also resolved previous confusion surrounding the steppe bison's genome sequencing.

#5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison', #5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated, #7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer, #9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia, #11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers, #13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe, #15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art, #17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species, #19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil, #21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations, #23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy, #25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

A recent archaeological find in China has shed new light on the domestication of cats, a process that has long intrigued researchers. While ancient Egyptian art previously provided the earliest evidence, dating back roughly 4,000 years, the discovery of wildcat remains near Chinese farming communities suggests an earlier interaction. It's believed that these cats were drawn to the area by rodent infestations threatening farmers' grain, leading to a mutually beneficial relationship that gradually fostered closer ties between humans and felines.

#7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison', #5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated, #7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer, #9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia, #11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers, #13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe, #15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art, #17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species, #19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil, #21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations, #23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy, #25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

Discovered in a shipwreck in 1900, the Antikythera Mechanism, dating back to at least 100 BCE, has redefined our understanding of ancient Greek technological capabilities. This intricate device, essentially an early analog computer, used a complex system of gears to predict planetary orbits, the timing of eclipses, and to track solar and zodiac calendars. Its sophistication predates any comparable known technology by nearly a millennium, highlighting the advanced astronomical and mechanical knowledge of the Ancient Greeks.

#9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison', #5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated, #7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer, #9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia, #11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers, #13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe, #15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art, #17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species, #19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil, #21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations, #23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy, #25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

The discovery of five African coins in Australia's Northern Territory, each over 900 years old, significantly challenges the traditional account of James Cook "discovering" the continent in 1770. These artifacts suggest that people from other regions may have reached Australian shores long before European explorers. When considered with other evidence such as cave art and additional coin finds, this raises the possibility that traders from Africa, India, China, and Europe visited Australia much earlier than previously acknowledged.

#11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison', #5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated, #7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer, #9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia, #11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers, #13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe, #15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art, #17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species, #19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil, #21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations, #23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy, #25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

In 2013, archaeologists in Guatemala unearthed a massive stone carving that offered fresh insights into Mayan culture. This enormous facade showcased depictions of previously unknown gods, expanding the Mayan pantheon for researchers. The carving also provided new details about the transfer of power between different Mayan groups as new rulers ascended. Remarkably, the wall was so well-preserved that it even retained traces of its original colorful paint.

#13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison', #5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated, #7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer, #9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia, #11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers, #13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe, #15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art, #17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species, #19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil, #21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations, #23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy, #25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

In 2016, archaeologists in China's Shaanxi Province unearthed beer-making equipment dating back to 3400–2900 BC, providing the first direct evidence of on-site beer production in ancient China. Analysis of residue found in the vessels revealed a unique recipe including broomcorn millet, lily, Job’s tears, and, surprisingly, barley. This discovery was particularly significant as it indicated barley arrived in China 1,000 years earlier than previously thought and was initially used for brewing beer centuries before it became a food staple.

#15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison', #5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated, #7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer, #9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia, #11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers, #13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe, #15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art, #17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species, #19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil, #21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations, #23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy, #25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

Challenging the outdated notion of Neanderthals as primitive, the discovery of painted shells in Italy, dated to a period before Homosapiens entered Europe, suggests a more sophisticated culture. These ornamental pieces, likely decorated by Neanderthals, indicate an early capacity for creating and collecting artwork. Such findings contribute to a growing body of modern research demonstrating that Neanderthals were more similar to modern humans than previously believed.

#17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison', #5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated, #7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer, #9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia, #11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers, #13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe, #15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art, #17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species, #19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil, #21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations, #23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy, #25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

Discovered by a laborer in 1933 but hidden until 2018, a 146,000-year-old skull from northeastern China, nicknamed "Dragon Man," may represent an entirely new human species. Scientists propose naming this lineage Homolongi, noting its massive size, large cranial capacity comparable to modern humans, and a unique combination of primitive and derived features like almost square eye sockets and a wide, low face. This well-preserved fossil, found near the Dragon River, could even be more closely related to Homosapiens than Neanderthals, potentially reshaping our understanding of human evolution.

#19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison', #5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated, #7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer, #9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia, #11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers, #13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe, #15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art, #17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species, #19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil, #21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations, #23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy, #25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

Evidence of right-handedness has been found in Homohabilis fossils dating back 1.8 million years, pushing back the timeline for this trait in hominins. Paleoanthropologist David Frayer's study, published in the Journal of Human Evolution, analyzed scrapes on teeth fossils consistent with right-handed tool use when processing meat. While the methodology of recreating the behavior—modern subjects holding meat with their mouths and left hands while using right-handed tools—has sparked some debate, the mere existence of hand dominance in Homohabilis is significant. This discovery suggests the trait, still not fully understood in modern humans, is much older than previously believed and could offer new insights into human brain evolution.

#21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison', #5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated, #7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer, #9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia, #11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers, #13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe, #15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art, #17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species, #19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil, #21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations, #23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy, #25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

A new AI tool is revolutionizing the study of paleofeces (fossilized excrement) by enabling scientists to more accurately distinguish between ancient human and dog waste, which are often remarkably similar. Molecular archaeologist Christina Warinner and her colleagues developed this program, which learns from massive datasets of modern human and canine excrement, to re-evaluate past assumptions about ancient diets. This enhanced ability to identify human paleofeces offers new insights into the historical composition of human gut microbiota and provides a more accurate understanding of how ancient diets relate to modern food knowledge and diseases like diabetes.

#23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison', #5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated, #7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer, #9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia, #11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers, #13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe, #15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art, #17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species, #19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil, #21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations, #23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy, #25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

Despite Etruscan being an extinct language for nearly two millennia, its influence on Latin and subsequently many modern European languages makes any new text discovery significant. In 2016, archaeologists in Tuscany unearthed a well-preserved, 1.2-meter (4 ft) stele inscribed with Etruscan, dating back 2,500 years; it had been reused as a temple foundation. While scholars anticipate the text is religious and will offer new insights into Etruscan beliefs, they plan to thoroughly clean and preserve the chipped and abraded stone slab before attempting a full translation.

#25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

#3 Early Cave Art Reveals Elusive 'Higgs Bison', #5 Cat Remains Helped Show How The Animals Became Domesticated, #7 The Ancient Greeks Invented The Earliest Analog Computer, #9 Ancient African Coins Indicate Cook Wasn't The Discoverer Of Australia, #11 A Giant Stone Carving Revealed New Mayan Gods And Rulers, #13 Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe, #15 Painted Shells Demonstrate 'Primitive' Neanderthals Made Art, #17 A 146,000-Year-Old Skull Found In China Might Represent A New Human Species, #19 Evidence Of Right Handedness Found In Fossil, #21 Artificial Intelligence Examination Of Archaeological Feces Offers New Insights Into Ancient Civilizations, #23 Inscribed Etruscan Stele Unearthed In Italy, #25 Ancient Stone Tools Raise Tantalizing Questions Over Who Colonized Sulawesi

The discovery of stone tools on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, dating back at least 118,000 years, has raised intriguing questions about its early inhabitants, as current evidence suggests modern humans only arrived there 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. This discrepancy points to the possibility of an as-yet-undetermined hominin species occupying the island, perhaps a new ancestor, a migration of Homofloresiensis from nearby Flores, or an earlier arrival of modern humans than currently believed. Archaeologists are now actively searching for fossils to solve this puzzle and clarify who made these ancient tools.

Post Related