Ancient World

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Archaeologists have begun excavating more of the famed terra-cotta warriors, life-size clay figures created to guard the tomb of China's first emperor. Video.

June 15, 2009
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Given away by crop circle-like formations, the pre-Stonehenge site surprised archaeologists with temple ruins, dozens of burial mounds, and two huge tombs that are among "Britain's first architecture."

June 15, 2009
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The Americas' first artist may have been an Ice Age hunter in what is now Florida, according to an anthropologist who has examined a 13,000-year-old bone etching.

June 10, 2009
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With a "surprisingly human" face, a newfound Spanish fossil ape species suggests the last common ancestor of humans and apes was European, not African, a new study says.

June 10, 2009
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The Taliban blew up Afghanistan's two known giant Buddhas in 2001, but is there a third? Archaeologist Zemaryalai Tarzi says yes, and he's determined to find it.

June 10, 2009
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In one of North America's Great Lakes, robot-assisted archaeologists may have discovered prehistoric American camps and long "drive lanes" built to guide caribou to their deaths.

June 08, 2009
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Archaeologists are trying to unravel the mysteries of an unusual, inscribed 400-year-old slate tablet they dug out of a well in the early American settlement.

June 8, 2009
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Tickling baby chimps and other apes—and a few humans—scientists have found the first hard evidence for ape laughter, a new study says.

June 4, 2009
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Thousands of years before the Joker gassed comic book victims into a grinning death, Phoenicians were forcing smiles on the faces of the dead—and now we know how, scientists say.

June 2, 2009
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Good for more than just zooming in on Obama's inauguration, new GigaPan technology is allowing remote researchers to explore sites from bird's-eye to magnifying glass level. With interactive pictures.

May 27, 2009
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A "missing link" found in Germany may be a key to human evolution—a nearly intact skeleton of a 47-million-year-old lemur-like creature. Video.

May 20, 2009
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"Ida," a "missing link" found in Germany, is an exceptionally well-preserved fossil primate and is being hailed by some as a milestone in human evolution—but not all experts are convinced.

May 20, 2009
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Ida, an exceptionally well-preserved fossil primate from Germany, is being hailed by some as a critical "missing link" in human evolution—but not all experts are convinced.

May 19, 2009
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Prehistoric creepy crawlies--frozen in opaque amber for a hundred million years--have been brought back to (digital) life with a new x-ray technology. Several of the critters were added to a new online database.

May 19, 2009
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Scientists have discovered the first evidence of preindustrial mercury pollution from mining that took place in Peru more than 3,000 years ago.

May 18, 2009

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50 Drives of a Lifetime

National Geographic Traveler has scoured the globe for the world's most beautiful, interesting, and off-beat road trips. Dive in to get drive directions, quizzes, photos, and more.