Archaeology

We Found Spectacular Australian Plant Fossils From 30 Million Years Ago

The Australian continent is now geologically stable. But volcanic rocks, lava flows, and a contemporary landscape dotted with extinct volcanoes show this wasn’t always the case. Between 40 and 20 million years ago — during the Eocene to Miocene epochs — there was widespread volcano activity across eastern Australia. In places such as western Victoria ...

Troy Oakes

A silicified fern fossil.

Neanderthals and Modern Humans Co-Existed in Europe at Least 10,000 Years

The idea that two different human species, Homo sapiens (us) and Neanderthals, co-existed in western Eurasia 50-40,000 years ago has long captured the imagination of academics and the public alike. It is therefore not surprising that this time period — the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition — has been a focus of research for many archaeologists, physical ...

Troy Oakes

Illustration of cavemen outside around a fire.

What Happened to the Giant ‘Kings of Apes’ That Once Roamed Southern China?

Giant creatures are usually associated with dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, or mystical beasts. But if you go back though the human lineage, you’ll find a very distant relative that stood three meters tall and weighed around 250 kilograms. This was Gigantopithecus blacki, the mightiest of all the apes and one of the biggest unresolved mysteries in ...

Troy Oakes

Artist’s impression of a group of G. blacki.

New Analysis Unlocks the Hidden Meaning of 15,000-Year-Old Rock Art in Arnhem Land

Rock art is one of the most intriguing records of the human past — it directly represents how our ancestors viewed their world. This provides a fundamentally different perspective compared to other archaeological items, such as stone artifacts. Despite this beguiling potential, rock art research can be highly challenging. Different researchers can have contrasting interpretations ...

Troy Oakes

Australia's Arnhem Land.

Controversial Claims About Extinct Humans Are Stirring Up Evolution Research

In June, evolution researchers, led by palaeoanthropologist Lee Berger, published sensational claims about an extinct human species called Homo naledi online and in the Netflix documentary Unknown: Cave of Bones. They argued the small-brained H. naledi buried their dead in Rising Star Cave in South Africa more than 240,000 years ago, and may also have ...

Troy Oakes

A skull of Homo heidelbergensis.

Giant Eagles and Scavenging Vultures Shared the Skies of Ancient Australia

Today, Australia is home to 17 species of hawks and eagles. But the fossil record shows some other, rather special raptors were present in the relatively recent past. Tens of thousands of years ago, Australia was home to species such as Dynatoaetus gaffae, the largest eagle ever to have lived in Australia, and Cryptogyps lacertosus, ...

Troy Oakes

Eagles and vultures in ancient Australia.