New research cast doubts over suggestions an incestuous social elite ruled over the ancient people of Ireland, 5500 years ago. A paper led by researchers from University College Dublin has questioned the belief that burial within the ‘mega’ passage tomb of Newgrange was the preserve of kings and other dignitaries, who represented a dynasty that practised incest. Such claims were widely reported in the media following the discovery that a skull fragment found inside the tomb chamber of this Stone Age monument came from a man who was the product of either a brother-sister or parent-child pairing.

New research has cast doubts over suggestions an incestuous social elite ruled over the ancient people of Ireland more than 5,000 years ago.

Prehistoric people used a culinary method, similar to slow cooking today, to carefully extract animal teeth to use in decorative crafts, such as pendant-making, archaeologists have shown.

A pioneering study in experimental archaeology has revealed the techniques used by prehistoric communities in north-eastern Europe to extract animal teeth for crafting personal ornaments—offering fresh insights into the daily lives and cultural practices of Stone Age hunter-gatherers.

University of Cincinnati researchers Sharon Stocker and Jack Davis reflect on their archaeological discoveries in ancient Greece on the eve of an exhibition highlighting their work at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. “The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior Princes of Ancient Greece" opens June 27.

Before the ‘Out of Africa’ migration that led humans into Eurasia and beyond, new research shows that humans expanded their niche to include African forests and deserts. The authors argue that human populations learning to adapt to new and challenging habitats was key to the long-term success of this dispersal.