Easter Island’s famous statues really did “walk,” and physics proves it
For centuries, the massive stone statues of Easter Island—known as moai—have inspired awe and mystery.
How did the ancient people of Rapa Nui, with no...
Ancient murals at Teotihuacan may reveal the language of a lost civilization
More than 2,000 years ago, Teotihuacan was one of the greatest cities in the world. Located in central Mexico, it was home to around...
Sea sponges may have been Earth’s first animals, new study shows
What were the first animals to appear on Earth? New research points to a surprising candidate: sea sponges.
A team of geochemists from MIT and...
Would cockroaches really survive a nuclear apocalypse?
Popular culture loves to joke that cockroaches would be the last survivors on Earth if humanity ever faced a nuclear apocalypse.
The 2008 Pixar film...
When the Red Sea vanished—and came back in a giant flood
More than six million years ago, one of the most dramatic environmental events in Earth’s history unfolded in the Middle East.
The Red Sea, now...
Fossil ear bones rewrite the story of freshwater fish
A new discovery of tiny fossilized fish bones has forced scientists to rethink the origins of some of the world’s most successful freshwater fish.
These...
Scientists discover Europe’s oldest blue pigment in Germany
Archaeologists in Germany have uncovered something that could change our understanding of early human creativity.
At a site in Mühlheim-Dietesheim, researchers found traces of a...
Teen dinosaur fossil reveals secrets of dome-headed dinosaurs
A rare dinosaur fossil from Mongolia’s Gobi Desert is giving scientists new insight into one of the most mysterious groups of dinosaurs.
The fossil belongs...
Why the Moon’s “two faces” may have very different interiors
For centuries, humans could only wonder what the far side of the moon looked like.
Unlike the near side, which always faces Earth, the far...
Ancient pottery unlocks secrets of prehistoric fishing nets
For the first time, archaeologists have digitally and physically reconstructed fishing nets from more than 6,000 years ago, thanks to traces left in ancient...