The story of the first human tool that might not be a weapon, scientists say it was far more important |

When people imagine the earliest human tools, they usually picture weapons. Stone handaxes, sharpened spears and heavy clubs have long dominated both archaeology textbooks and popular culture, reinforcing the idea that survival in prehistoric life depended mainly on hunting and violence. But some researchers now believe one of humanity’s most transformative early inventions may have…

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In 1856, a group of quarrymen in Germany tossed aside a few “deformed” bones and accidentally discovered Neanderthal 1 |

Miners in Germany’s Neander Valley unearthed peculiar bones in 1856, revealing evidence of a distinct human type. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons Picture a cave made up of limestone, wet, and dark, situated in the valley of Neander in Germany. The year is 1856, and there are people excavating through the sediment layer in the cave…

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Scientists discover massive ancient ship graveyard with 150 hidden shipwrecks beneath Gibraltar waters |

For centuries, ships carrying merchants, soldiers and explorers passed through the narrow waters linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. Many never made it out. Now, archaeologists working in southern Spain have uncovered what may be one of the largest underwater archaeological concentrations in the western Mediterranean: a vast ship graveyard hidden beneath the…

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These 4-billion-year-old rocks found in Canada may reveal how Earth’s first continents formed |

Hidden crystals inside ancient Canadian rocks are rewriting Earth’s early history. Image credit – Wikimedia In the northernmost part of Canada’s Northwest Territories, an area composed of old rock is recognised by scientists to be among the most significant geological formations in the world. The Acasta Gneiss, which comprises some of the oldest rocks on…

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Why geologists are obsessed with this giant slice of ocean crust in Oman |

Oman’s mountains hide one of the strangest geological discoveries on Earth. Image credit – Wikimedia In Oman, geologists get to do something almost impossible anywhere else. They can walk straight across rock formations usually found kilometres below the ocean bed. According to researchers, the area, named the Oman ophiolite, provides the most extensive and well-exposed…

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