Researchers studied the microbes associated with historical middens conserved in Greenland’s permafrost, left behind by Paleo-Inuit, ancient Norse, and early modern Inuit. These middens harbored biodiverse bacterial communities – including many unknown taxa – that were especially rich in human- and animal-associated groups. The authors concluded that microbial traces of human activities such as defecation, livestock farming, and seal hunting can linger for centuries in Arctic middens. They also found a wide range of antimicrobial resistance genes in the bacterial genomes. However, the limited outward spread of potential pathogens away from the frozen core of the middens means that they currently pose little risk to public health.  

A new study by Prof. Avraham Faust of Bar-Ilan University's Department of General History presents intriguing new evidence that may shed light on one of the most debated questions in the study of Israelite religion: did King Hezekiah's religious reforms actually occur, and did they transform religious practices throughout the Kingdom of Judah?

A new study has uncovered evidence that early human ancestors were using fire in South Africa's Wonderwerk Cave between 1.07 and 1.79 million years ago, extending the chronology of one of the earliest known records of fire use associated with hominins. By applying a new method that detects traces of burning in fossil bones, researchers found signs of repeated fire use deep inside the cave, far beyond the reach of natural wildfires. The findings suggest that early humans were bringing naturally occurring fire into the cave and maintaining it there, providing new insights into how our ancestors first began to harness one of the most important tools in human history.

How did people live centuries ago? How did they see themselves? How were they perceived by others? Today, archaeology uses modern methods to examine skeletons, personal belongings, burial practices, material culture and social and spatial relationships. The book “Human Identities in the Archaeological Record: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from Late Antiquity to the Modern Period” shows how past identities can be reconstructed from this evidence.

Archaeological evidence from the Canary Islands suggests that by the 11th century, people here were harvesting and processing a variety of fish and other marine organisms — indicating that coastal resources may have played a vital role in the economic system, according to a study published June 10, 2026 in the open access journal PLOS One by Jonathan Santana from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, and colleagues.

New discoveries from a UCF-led excavation in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, near the city of Erbil, are reshaping what researchers know about how ancient cities lived, governed and fell

New study finds that ancient hominins nearly 800,000 years ago deliberately selected specific basalt sources for different stages of tool production rather than simply using whatever stone was available nearby. By tracing the geochemical “fingerprints” of stone tools to both exposed and now-buried basalt flows, the researchers demonstrated that these hominins possessed detailed environmental knowledge, advanced planning abilities, and long-term technological traditions that were maintained and repeated across generations.