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.

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

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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