Inscrutable symbols etched on a limestone boulder in western Nevada — herringbone patterns, series of pits, and chain-like links — are the oldest known petroglyphs in North America, scientists say….
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‘Impressive’ Pueblo Great House, Dozens of Ruins Found in Petrified Forest National Park
FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA — A fuller picture of Arizona’s past is starting to emerge from the desert north of Petrified Forest National Park, a year after officials revealed that the park’s…
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Infamous Mass Grave of Young Women in Ancient City of Cahokia Also Holds Men: Study
The scene, discovered by archaeologists in Illinois more than 40 years ago, depicts one of the most extravagant acts of violence ever documented in ancient America: A thousand-year-old pit found…
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15,500-Year-Old Mammoth Bones and Hunting Tools Found ‘Close Together’ in Kansas
The bones of an Ice Age mammoth have been discovered on the Kansas plains, just steps away from where ancient hunters left evidence of having hewed hunting tools out of…
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First Japanese-American Labor Camp From World War II Unearthed in Idaho
A strange and bitter layer of history has returned to the surface in northern Idaho, where archaeologists have excavated the first World War II internment camp that put men of…
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What Is ‘The Rock That Tells Stories’?
Like a palimpsest manuscript, showing traces of ancient writing under the new, the rock reveals layers of messages. And each stratum takes us not only back in time, but across…
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Ancient Californians Revered — And Likely Ate — Dogs, Canine Graves Reveal
In California’s long, rich prehistoric record, among the most intriguing legacies that archaeologists have discovered is the tradition of burying canines — sometimes with humans, sometimes with garbage, sometimes in…
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Earliest Use of Chocolate in America Discovered, Suggesting Ancient Immigrants
Some strange pottery found at an ancient settlement in southeastern Utah contains the oldest known traces of chocolate in the United States, an anthropologist says. The site dates back to…
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‘Atari Dump’ Excavation Confirmed by Canadian Entertainment Company
Western Digs confirmed today that Fuel Entertainment, an Ottawa-based digital media company, will be excavating the so-called Atari Dump, a midden of video game hardware, cartridges, and other electronic detritus…
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New Mexico’s ‘Atari Dump,’ a Midden of Video Games, to Be Excavated
How old do remnants of our material culture have to be before they’re considered artifacts? If you’re a gamer, not very old at all. This week, Canada-based game developer Fuel…
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Mummified Man, Bundled Baby Change View of Ancient Burials in Texas
More than 10 elaborately prepared bodies recovered from caves in West Texas could rewrite the history of how people processed, buried, and even thought about the dead in the ancient…
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Prehistoric Feces Yield Clues to Diet of Ancestral Puebloans in Arizona
Native Americans suffer the highest rates of diabetes in the United States — 16 percent, more than twice the average among Anglos. For decades, scientists have thought this modern health…
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Ancient Americans Pounded ‘Black Drink’ 6 Times Stronger Than Coffee
In the largest metropolis of what would become the United States, some residents occasionally consumed a “black drink” that was six times stronger than coffee — which could produce rather…
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New ‘Pueblo Bonito’ Discovered in Arizona
An ancient multi-room pueblo resembling Chaco Canyon’s largest and best-known great house, Pueblo Bonito, has been discovered in Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park, according to park officials. The site, along with nearly…
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