Cat-like footprints from the John Day Formation of Oregon.
NPS
Fossilized footprints reveal unprecedented insight into prehistoric animal behavior in Oregon
Researchers created 3D models of ancient tracks in Oregon’s John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The study revealed a glimpse of animal life 50 million years ago.

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Anderson Lepeco
‘Extraordinary’ fossil reveals the oldest ant species known to science
Unearthed skeletons reveal tough lives of Early Medieval women
A bite from a lion likely led to the demise of a gladiator, new research finds
An ancient ‘terror crocodile’ became a dinosaur-eating giant. Scientists say they now know why
Mysterious altar found in ancient Mayan city contains bodies – and wasn’t made by the Maya
Were dinosaurs headed for extinction even before massive asteroid strike? Scientists offer new clues
Jawbone dredged up from the seafloor expands the range of a mysterious species of ancient human
National Geographic will present "Titanic: The Digital Resurrection," a documentary that uses underwater scanning technology to unveil a digital twin of the ship.
Atlantic Productions/Magellan
3D scan of Titanic sheds new light on doomed liner’s final moments
Ongoing-excavations-include-protection,-site-management,-and-conservation-of-these-structures-in-Abydos,-Egypt.-Image--Dr.-Josef-Wegner-for-the-Penn-Museum.jpg
Josef Wegner/The Penn Museum
Archaeologists uncover an ancient Egyptian tomb belonging to a mystery king
A mass grave of Roman soldiers was found under an Austrian football pitch.
Urban Archeology Vienna
Mass grave of Roman soldiers tells gruesome tale of military disaster
View of Takarkori rock shelter from west
Archaeological Mission in the Sahara/Sapienza University of Rome
Ancient DNA sheds light on origins of 7,000-year-old Saharan mummies

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Mandatory Credit: Photo by Shutterstock (515009di) The skull of a newly discovered species of human - Homo Floresiensis. Believed to be living 18,000 years ago, barely a metre tall with a skull the size of a grapefruit. The partial skeleton was discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores - 27 Oct 2004 VARIOUS
Shutterstock
The remarkable fossil that radically changed our understanding of the human story
Sue the T. rex strikes a pose in its old location at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. (Antonio Perez /Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Getty Images
What is a mass extinction, and why do scientists think we’re in the middle of one?
DTGN0M Megalosaurus jaw
Natural History Museum/Alamy Stock Photo
Megalosaurus, the first ever dinosaur discovery
Babylonian clay model showing a nude couple engaged in kissing. Date: 1800 BC
The Trustees of the British Museum
Humanity’s earliest recorded kiss adds new twist to the history of locking lips

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Tone Blakesley/Scott Reid
Footprints show giant carnivorous dinosaurs and their plant-eating prey drank from same Scottish watering hole
A funerary relief of a couple, a man and a woman - almost life-size - belonging to a monumental tomb in the Porta Sarno necropolis, has emerged during an archaeological excavation, as part of the research project “ <em>Investigating the Archaeology of Death in Pompeii</em> ” conducted by the Universitat de València in collaboration with the Archaeological Park (scientific direction of Prof. Llorenç Alapont).
Pompeii Archaeological Park
Rare, near-life-sized statues discovered in Pompeii tomb
Did Neanderthals make it as far east as China? Discovery of stone tools suggests it’s a possibility
Qi-Jun Ruan/Hao Li
Archaeologists unearthed a cache of stone tools. Neanderthals may have made them, study finds
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• Video 0:54
ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute
Video Scientists spot mesmerizing creatures after iceberg snaps off ice shelf 0:54
Australian Museum © Salty Dingo 2020 CG
Salty Dingo/Australian Museum
Fossilized fish up to 16 million years old found in Australia, with last meal still intact
Holotype of Sirenobethylus charybdis
Qiong Wu
Bizarre creature preserved in 99 million-year-old amber was ‘beyond imagination,’ scientists say
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Sarah Gabbott
These discarded objects will form humanity’s lasting geological footprint, paleontologists say
Duonychus Hand reconstruction
Masoto Hattori
Largest fully preserved dinosaur claw unearthed in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert
Dated: 18/09/2024 In September 2022, a metal detectorist searching a field – with the landowner’s permission – near the village of Melsonby, North Yorkshire, discovered what is thought to be one of the biggest Iron Age hoard found in the UK. A team of archaeologists from Durham University were working in a separate field, close by, and he asked them to take a look. Experts from Durham University have been involved from the beginning – leading on the excavation and conservation of the items Historic England provided emergency funding for the excavation, assessment and conservation of the finds. The British Museum has also been involved from the beginning, providing specialist advice. The discovery is highly significant in terms of what it can tell us about Iron-Age society, technology and the wealth and power of communities at the end of the Iron Age. Over 800 objects have already been excavated and taken to Durham University, where they have been stabilised and are conserved. These items were buried deliberately and date from around 1st Century BC – 1st Century AD.
Durham University
‘Exceptional’ Iron Age hoard unlocks secrets of life in Britain 2,000 years ago
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Courtesy The University of Queensland
‘Unprecedented snapshot’ of Early Jurassic dinosaurs has been hiding in plain sight at a school, scientists say
Original fossil (ATE7-1) of the midface of a hominin assigned to Homo aff. erectus recovered at level TE7 of the Sima del Elefante (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos).
Maria D. Guillén/IPHES-CERCA
Cave discovery reveals previously unknown prehistoric human population in Europe
Italian authorities to present the discovery of an "extraordinary" Jewish ritual bath (mikveh) found during archaeological excavations in the ruins of the ancient Roman port city of Ostia Antica, in Rome, Italy, March 10, 2025. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
Remo Casilli/Reuters
Discovery of ritual bath sheds light on Jewish life in ancient Rome
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CSIC
Archaeologists uncovered a cache of 1.5 million-year-old bone tools. They’re trying to determine who made them
Aerial view of the Sforza Castle, Milan, Lombardy. Italy, 14th-15th century.
De Agostini/Getty Images
Mysterious tunnels sketched by Leonardo da Vinci in the late 1400s may have been found
A fragment of the organic glass found inside the skull of the deceased individual in Herculaneum.
Pier Paolo Petrone
A young man’s brain turned to glass during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Scientists say they have figured out how
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George Alexis Pantos/Kristel Zilmer
World’s oldest rune stone has more pieces that contain mysterious messages, researchers say