Who was Ötzi the Iceman?

What did Ötzi the Iceman have with him when he died?

Ötzi the Iceman and his belongings were remarkably well-preserved by the mountainous ice that usually covered the area near the Italy-Austria border where he was found. This article by the Italian museum that houses Ötzi's body details some of the...

What is glacial archaeology?

Melting glaciers continue to reveal archaeological and anthropological evidence previously hidden by solid ice. This article details the newer archaeological field, which was popularized after the 1991 discovery of Ötzi the Iceman. A German couple came across Ötzi as they hiked the Ötzal Alps near the Italy-Austria border. Ötzi was initially believed to be the corpse of an unlucky mountaineer, but further study revealed he had been dead for about 5,300 years.

How 'the Iceman' got his tattoos remains a mystery

Ötzi the Iceman, discovered in 1991, is one of the oldest human mummies ever found—and his 61 tattoos remain a mystery. This explainer looks at how researchers believe the tattoos were made, what their placement suggests about ancient medicine and culture, and why we’re still piecing together their true purpose today.

Investigating the death of a 5,300-year-old mummy

Authorities generally consider a case to have gone cold once they've run out of leads or the ability to collect and consider new evidence, usually within a few years of the instigating event. Now imagine being a detective charged with investigating a death that happened more than 5,000 years ago. This article details how Alexander Horn, a then-detective inspector, attempted to solve the mystery of Ötzi the Iceman's death.

The world’s oldest tattoos belong to 'Iceman' Ötzi

Ötzi is the corpse of "the Iceman" found in the Alps along the Italian and Austrian border in 1991. His mummified body was covered with lines and crosses along the “hard-working” areas of his body, signifying their potential application for therapeutic pain management.

What did Ötzi the Iceman sound like?

The natural pitch of a person's voice depends on the size of their larynx, also known as their voice box, and the length and thickness of their vocal folds or vocal cords. Using this information, scientists have recreated the voice of Ötzi the...

Is the Inca maiden the world's best-preserved mummy?

Found atop a snowy peak in the Andes, this teen mummy is at least 500 years old. Watch this four-minute video to see the Inca maiden, a mummy so well-preserved that small details, such as her many braids, are clearly defined.

Rediscovering the Inca Empire

In 1991, anthropologist Johan Reinhard was trekking up the snowy face of a dormant volcano when he came face to face with the mummified remains of a teenager who had been sacrificed to the Incan gods centuries earlier. The story of “Juanita the Ice Maiden” is just one of the riveting tales featured in this four-part series from the popular podcast "History Hit".

The archaeological discovery that shifted scientists' understanding of human evolution

In 2003, archaeologists in Indonesia uncovered the remains of a 3-foot-tall skeleton that appeared to belong to a new type of human. Read this article to learn how the discovery of this 50,000-year-old skeleton upended the idea that human evolution...

In 2025, UK scientists began studying climate data from a 1.5-million-year-old ice core

The Antarctica sample will be melted and analyzed in Cambridge to learn about prehistoric environmental conditions. Researchers hope the ice core reveals how Earth's glacial cycles shifted dramatically around 800,000 years ago.

Explaining the icy mystery of the Dyatlov Pass deaths

A decades-old mystery from Soviet Russia could be explained by studying the science of snow. After nine students died on a hiking trip in the Ural Mountains, Soviet investigators found six had perished from hypothermia while three others died from blunt force trauma. The mystery confounded officials for years, and rumors of yeti attacks and similar theories abounded until researchers proposed a new potential culprit: an avalanche.

A cave painting might be the oldest illustrated story ever recorded

A nearly 44,000-year-old cave painting may be the oldest story ever recorded, offering viewers a tale of human-like creatures on a hunt. This article details the discovery of the cave and its archaeological implications.

The oldest DNA recovered so far is 2 million years old

The oldest DNA recovered so far is about 2 million years old and has given scientists an unadulterated peek into ancient history. This nine-minute video explores the findings and implications of the DNA, which was pulled from frozen soil in...

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Western China's millennia-old mummies

The extremely dry climate of China's western province of Xinjiang has preserved mummy-like dessicated corpses from as long as 4,000 years ago. The so-called Tarim Basin mummies were discovered in Central Asia at the start of the 20th century and have since been studied by archaeologists, genome experts, and more. Take a look at their extremely well-preserved blonde braids and other features while reading about them in this essay.

A timeline of human fossil discoveries

A key part of writing a coherent story about our origins is finding and identifying the remains of our ancestors and understanding their significance. Scientists will not always agree on identifications and opinions will change as new find are made and new ways of studying them are developed.

Santa Barbara's Channel Islands revealed the oldest skeletal remains in North America

IN 1959, archaeologists found a human femur jutting out from a rock face on Santa Rosa Island. Using the then-new technology of radiocarbon dating, they measured the age of the remains at 13,000 years—the oldest in the continent.

The explorer who re-discovered Machu Picchu

If there was a real-life inspiration for Indiana Jones, it may well have been Hiram Bingham, the Yale University historian who set out to find the rumored “lost city” of the Inca. This short feature from the BBC’s History magazine explains how this son of missionaries brought international renown to the site and to himself. In the process, he sparked an international feud that would last more than a century.

The messy story of humanity's genealogical past

For decades, scientists viewed the human fossil record and concluded Neanderthals, an early hominin, came before homo sapiens, or modern humans. The story became more complicated as technology advanced and ancient DNA samples were analyzed. This video breaks down the evidence, concluding the development of humanity was a lot messier than previously believed.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii

Excavations revealed stunning finds—a wooden bed, a horse's saddle, and vivid frescoes—while also suggesting the eruption may have occurred in October, not April. See the discoveries from the EU's $140M Great Pompeii Project.

The unsolved mysteries of Machu Picchu

Who lived there? How did they get all that granite up there? Who were the 100 bodies found buried here, and why did some of them have elongated heads? Explore eight of Machu Picchu’s unanswered questions while scrolling through panoramic, clickable street-view images of the site, in this guide from Google Arts and Culture.

See haunting images of the plaster casts of Pompeii’s victims

The plaster casts preserve victims’ final moments in striking detail—from their poses to the expressions frozen on their faces. This piece explains how 19th-century archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli devised the method long after the bodies had decomposed.

Homo sapiens may have migrated into Europe earlier than previously believed

Archaeologists used to believe that Homo sapiens migrated to Europe from Africa about 42,000 years ago, at about the time that Neanderthals went extinct. This 27-minute podcast episode explores new evidence that suggests Homo sapiens migrated about...

Tracking the Isdal Woman

In 1970, a burnt body encircled by an odd assortment of items was found in a remote Norwegian valley. For nearly 50 years, the true identity of the woman escaped authorities who found she had traveled the country under many names. This podcast episode is the first in a 12-part series seeking to uncover the woman's identity and what happened in her final moments.

New scientific tools, such as radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis, have transformed what we know about who built Stonehenge.

Techniques such as radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis, and isotopic testing have revised scholars' understanding of Stonehenge. This article presents evidence suggesting that societies were more cooperative and less violent than earlier theories had suggested.

How do we know what prehistoric humans ate?

Without recourse to ancient menus, how can historians know what our ancient human ancestors—as far as 3 million years ago—ate on a daily basis? Researchers evaluate several factors, including the type of teeth the species had evolved, chemical analysis of the teeth, patterns of wear and tear on teeth, as well as food scraps found in the vicinity of ancient remains. Learn the approach to discovering ancient hominin diets.

Can you guess which ancient human skull is which?

When scientists discover a new fossil skull, they compare it to skulls that have already been identified as particular early human species. In this activity, you get the chance to be the scientist! Choose a mystery skull to identify by clicking on it.

Recreating ancient faces: where art meets archaeology

Artistic renderings and reconstructions of ancient people are one way to bring the past to life, providing viewers with insights into and empathy for those who came before. This article details how modern artists and archaeologists work together to...

Ice ages are periods of glaciation that last tens of millions of years

During these periods, Earth grows cold and is covered in massive continental ice sheets. Scientists have outlined at least five major ice ages, which result from the alignment of complex factors, like the flow of ocean currents and the movement and location of tectonic plates.

The lifestyles of early humans

For 2.5 million years, humans lived on Earth without leaving a written record of their lives—but they left behind other kinds of remains and artifacts.

Searching for Albert Einstein's stolen brain

Within moments of Einstein's 1955 death, someone reportedly ferreted away the 76-year-old genius's brain. Decades later, a reporter's editor told them to solve the case. This 64-minute podcast episode follows the work of Steven Levy, the reporter who ultimately tracked down Einstein's brain, which had been sliced and stored in slides, goo, and a cardboard box in a scientist's office.

Here's how early humans lived

Explore the evidence of early human behavior—from ancient footprints to stone tools and the earliest symbols and art – along with similarities and differences in the behavior of other primate species.

Neanderthal stereotypes fall flat in the face of evidence, advocates argue

Picture a Neanderthal in all their knuckle-dragging, loin cloth-wearing glory. Now, throw that picture away. This article dives into the rising tide of academic advocates for Neanderthals, a human ancestor that went extinct about 40,000 years ago.

What can we learn from archaeology?

By revealing buried civilizations and dating objects of antiquity, archaeology turns hard data into human stories. But what's the use of knowing these stories? Find out for yourself in this interactive resource that can take you to and through historic sites around the globe.

Interactive human migration map

Using archeological, genetic, and climate data, scientists have pieced together an outline of the human odyssey—the journey that took our species from Africa to all corners of the globe. Experience this 200,000-year migration using an interactive human migration map.

Georges Cuvier used his knowledge of anatomy to prove extinction had occurred

Extinction had been viewed as impossible because a divine plan for the world would not rationally involve the loss of any of God’s creations. However, mammoth and mastodon bones differed from elephants’, and it seemed impossible that such creatures could be hiding elsewhere on Earth.

How glaciers melt

Greenland and Antarctica are home to most of the world's glacial ice, including its only two ice sheets, making them areas of particular interest to scientists. Watch this three-minute video to learn why understanding them is not just interesting, but crucial to our near-term adaptability and our long term survival in a changing world.