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Archaeology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 12-Dec-2025 03:11 ET (12-Dec-2025 08:11 GMT/UTC)

First ‘Bible map’ published 500 years ago still influences how we think about borders

University of Cambridge
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The first Bible to feature a map of the Holy Land was published 500 years ago in 1525. The map was initially printed the wrong way round – showing the Mediterranean to the East – but its inclusion set a precedent which continues to shape our understanding of state borders today, a new Cambridge study argues.

Journal: The Journal of Theological Studies

Continental map of tree-ring oxygen isotopes opens new opportunities for understanding past climate changes and tracing wood origins

Science China Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS) has produced the first continent-wide map of tree-ring oxygen isotopes (δ¹⁸O_TR) in Asia. Published in National Science Review, the study provides a comprehensive new perspective of how atmospheric circulation, rainfall isotopes, and topography shape the isotopic fingerprints of trees—offering new opportunities for understanding past climate changes and tracing wood origins.

Journal: National Science Review

Climate change: Major droughts linked to ancient Indus Valley Civilization’s collapse

Springer Nature
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Successive major droughts, each lasting longer than 85 years, were likely a key factor in the eventual fall of the Indus Valley Civilization, according to a paper in Communications Earth & Environment.

Journal: Communications Earth & Environment

Human-cat friendship started much later than you think

Peking University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Peking University, December 5, 2025: A research team led by Professor Luo Shujin from the School of Life Sciences has uncovered a surprising chapter in the history of cats in China. Through ancient DNA sequencing of feline remains spanning over 5,000 years, the team discovered that the animals living alongside early Chinese farming communities were not domestic cats, but the native leopard cat. Domestic cats arrived much later, during the Tang dynasty, likely brought along Eurasian trade routes connected to the Silk Road. The findings, published in Cell Genomics, clarify a long-debated question about when and how domestic cats first appeared in China.

First-of-its-kind 3D model lets you explore Easter Island statues up close

Binghamton University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

You can now explore Rano Raraku, one of the major quarries on Easter Island, from the comfort of your home. A research team including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York has created the first-ever high-resolution 3D model of the quarry, providing people worldwide with a glimpse of the island, including almost 1,000 of its iconic moai statues.

Journal: PLOS One

Famous Easter Island statues were created without centralized management

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The famous statues of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) were carved by numerous independent groups, according to a study published November 26, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Carl Philipp Lipo of Binghamton University, New York and colleagues.

Journal: PLOS One

Ancient wolves on remote Baltic Sea island reveal link to prehistoric humans

Stockholm University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists have found wolf remains, thousands of years old, on a small, isolated island in the Baltic Sea – a place where the animals could only have been brought by humans. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, Stockholm University, the University of Aberdeen and the University of East Anglia, suggest that grey wolves may have been managed or controlled by prehistoric societies.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

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