Ancient World

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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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Long before the industrial revolution, long before the conquistadors set foot in South America, ancient Americans were mining mercury, a new study says.

May 18, 2009
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The glittering "grills" of some hip-hop stars aren't exactly unprecedented. Sophisticated dentistry allowed Native Americans to add bling to their teeth as far back as 2,500 years ago, a new study says.

May 18, 2009
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Forget those drawings of long-necked dinosaurs munching on treetops. New research suggests sauropods didn't have the heart to eat like giraffes do.

May 14, 2009
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Priests and other elites performed smoking and drinking rituals on the lake island, home to the Tarascan Empire in the 15th and 16th centuries.

May 13, 2009
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Ancient peoples whipped up an adhesive of powdered red ochre and acacia-tree gum that required more intelligence than we give our ancestors credit for, one scientist says.

May 11, 2009
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The "remarkable," yard-long, horseshoe crab-like arthropods roamed in swarms of up to a thousand animals, a new study suggests.

May 11, 2009

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