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Categories: Anthropology: General, Offbeat: Earth and Climate

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The Celtic culture of the pre-Roman Iron Age in Western and Central Europe has left numerous traces to this day, not least in the form of enormous burial mounds and spectacular archaeological artifacts. Despite this rich legacy, much about this civilization remains hidden from us.

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A whaler's forgotten aerial photos from 1937 have given researchers the most detailed picture of the ice evolution in East Antarctica to date. The results show that the ice has remained stable and even grown slightly over almost a century, though scientists observe early signs of weakening. The research offers new insights that enhance predictions of ice changes and sea level rise.

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Advances in electrochromic coatings may bring us closer to environmentally friendly ways to keep inside spaces cool. Like eyeglasses that darken to provide sun protection, the optical properties of these transparent films can be tuned with electricity to block out solar heat and light. Now, researchers report demonstrating a new electrochromic film design based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that quickly and reliably switch from transparent to glare-diminishing green to thermal-insulating red.

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Orchid plants nurture their seedlings via an underground fungal network, new research has revealed.

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Most native species avoid more urbanized areas of Los Angeles, but slugs and snails may actually prefer these environments, according to a new study.

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Corals play an essential role in ocean ecosystems, and like many organisms, they are under threat from climate change and other human activities. To better protect coral, it's first necessary to understand them, in particular their reproductive life cycle, which only happens once a year. For the first time, researchers have produced a model for coral spawning, based on various environmental factors. They achieved this by tapping an often overlooked source of aquatic knowledge, an aquarium.

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Using ancient DNA extracted from the toe bone of a museum specimen, biologists have sequenced the genome of an extinct, flightless bird called the little bush moa, shedding light into an unknown corner of avian genetic history. The work is the first complete genetic map of the turkey-sized bird whose distant living cousins include the ostrich, emu, and kiwi.

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The African turquoise killifish lives in ephemeral ponds in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. To survive the annual dry season, the fish's embryos enter a state of extreme suspended animation or 'diapause' for approximately 8 months. Now, researchers have uncovered the mechanisms that enabled the killifish to evolve this extreme survival state.

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Entomologists have solved the 250-year-old origin puzzle of the most prevalent indoor urban pest insect on the planet: the German cockroach. The team's research findings, representing the genomic analyses of over 280 specimens from 17 countries and six continents, show that this species evolved some 2,100 years ago from an outdoor-living species in Asia.

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Members of the vertebrate group including anglerfishes are unique in possessing a characteristic known as sexual parasitism, in which males temporarily attach or permanently fuse with females to mate. Now, researchers show that sexual parasitism arose during a time of major global warming and rapid transition for anglerfishes from the ocean floor to the deep, open sea.

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A new study demonstrates that kangaroos, wallabies and other Australian marsupials fear humans far more than any other predator.

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In a new study, a team of researchers used research on fossilizing techniques to create a new method for sealing cracks and fractures in rocks and bedrock using a 'concretion-forming resin'. This innovative technique has applications in a wide range of industries, from tunnel construction to long-term underground storage of hazardous materials.

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The discovery of thousands of stone artefacts and animal bones in a deep cave in Timor Island has led archaeologists to reassess the route that early humans took to reach Australia. Researchers dated and analysed the artefacts and sediment at the Laili rock shelter in central-north Timor-Leste, north of Australia, to pinpoint the arrival of the colonists.

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Dozens of Alaska's rivers and streams are turning orange. The staining could be the result of minerals exposed by thawing permafrost and climate change, finds a new study.

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A new study found evidence that Indigenous groups in the Pacific Northwest were intentionally harvesting edible camas bulbs at optimal stages of the plant's maturation as far back as 3,500 years ago.

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The analysis of fat traces in over one hundred pottery vessels reveals deep changes in food consumption and preparation by communities living in central Germany between the Early Neolithic and the Late Bronze Age, as well as in their relation with innovations in pottery styles and decorations. In a groundbreaking study, researchers identified a generalized inclusion of dairy products in prehistoric diets, a preference in consuming pork with the arrival of communities from the Eurasian Steppe, and the importance of dairy products in funeral rites. Central Germany was a key region for the emergence of great prehistoric cultures, such as the Linear Pottery Culture, the Corded Ware Culture, the Bell Beaker populations and the Unetice Culture, one of the first state societies in Europe.

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From the small ossicones on a giraffe to the gigantic antlers of a male moose -- which can grow as wide as a car -- the headgear of ruminant hooved mammals is extremely diverse, and new research suggests that despite the physical differences, fundamental aspects of these bony adaptations likely evolved from a common ancestor.

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Horses crossed the Baltic Sea in ships during the Late Viking Age and were sacrificed for funeral rituals. Studies on the remains of horses found at ancient burial sites in Russia and Lithuania show that they were brought overseas from Scandinavia utilizing expansive trade networks connecting the Viking world with the Byzantine and Arab Empires. Up to now, researchers had believed sacrificial horses were always locally-sourced stallions. But these results reveal horses from modern Sweden or Finland traveled up to 1,500 km across the Baltic Sea. The findings also show that the sex of the horse was not necessarily a factor in them being chosen for sacrifice, with genetic analysis showing one in three were mares.

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The spiny legged 308-million-year-old arachnid Douglassarachne acanthopoda was discovered the famous Mazon Creek locality.

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The patterns of dispersal of early humans across continents and islands are hotly debated, but researchers have found that Pleistocene hunter-gatherers settled in Cyprus thousands of years earlier than previously thought. In examining the timing of the first human occupation of Cyprus, research found that large islands in the Mediterranean Sea were attractive and favorable destinations for palaeolithic peoples. These findings refute previous studies that suggested Mediterranean islands would have been unreachable and inhospitable for Pleistocene hunter-gatherer societies.