Prehistoric Archaeology Blog

The Prehistoric Archaeology Blog is concerned with news reports featuring Prehistoric period archaeology. If you wish to see news reports for general European archaeology, please go to The Archaeology of Europe Weblog.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

'Big, bad wolf' image flawed - scientists

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Wolves are good at working together to get food rewards New research casts doubt on the idea that dogs are naturally more tolerant and...
Monday, October 16, 2017

Whisper it – Greek amphitheatre's legendary acoustics are a myth

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Epidaurus. Ancient Greeks might have used all manner of devices to amplify sound, including placing hollow vessels at strategic locations...
Monday, October 9, 2017

Prehistoric humans are likely to have formed mating networks to avoid inbreeding

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Early humans seem to have recognized the dangers of inbreeding at least 34,000 years ago, and developed surprisingly sophisticated social an...

Ax Linked to Ötzi the Iceman Found North of the Alps

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Apart from a few scratches, the 2.6-inch-long (6.5 centimeters) blade is undamaged.  Credit: Res Eichenberger Archaeologists found a ...
Friday, October 6, 2017

Mysterious Stone Tools Unearthed at Bronze-Age Site in Wales

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The stone tools found by the CRAG team vary in size, from around 220 millimeters (8.5 inches) in length, down to about 50 millimeters (2 ...

Antikythera Shipwreck Yields More Amazing Finds

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For the third consecutive year, the Greek Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities has conducted an underwater excavation at the site of the Antik...

Antikythera shipwreck yields bronze arm – and hints at spectacular haul of statues

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Arm points to existence of at least seven statues from Greek shipwreck, already the source of most extensive and exciting ancient cargo ever...
Tuesday, September 26, 2017

New scientific dating research unravels the story of life in prehistoric Orkney Read

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A new study, published today in Antiquity journal, is challenging the previously understood narrative for prehistoric life on Orkney. It was...

House “older than Stonehenge” found in East Ayrshire field

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The field near Kilmarnock where man settled some 6,000 years ago. PIC: Scottish Water. The remains of a pre-historic dwelling older than...

Storytelling flints and the original Oxen Ford: Oxford flood scheme archaeology begins

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THIS tiny piece of flint is barely an inch long, but it tells an incredible story. A stone flake reveals that 6,000 years ago, for just...

Bronze Age Arrows and a Viking Sword – The 2017 Fieldwork Was Awesome!

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Finally, the long wait was over and we were so ready for fieldwork! We had chosen two large sites for the main fieldwork in 2017 – the Lau...

Neanderthal brains 'grew more slowly'

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The skeleton of a boy that shattered our view of Neanderthal brain development A new study shows that Neanderthal brains developed more...

Ancient DNA sheds light on African history

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Burials at Mount Hora in Malawi yielded DNA used in the study DNA from ancient remains has been used to reconstruct thousands of years ...
Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Ancient British stone circles were used for ‘Neolithic parties’, study finds

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The Ring of Brodgar originally had 60 stones, but now has 27  Colin Richards, Historic England Orkney is home to a host of Neolithic ...

Spanish researchers discover 30,000 year-old cave paintings

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Cave drawings at Altamira.Museo de Altamira/D. Rodríguez Researchers have discovered four new sets of cave paintings in Cantabria, nor...

Secrets of ancient Irish burial practices revealed

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Carrowkeel neolithic passage tomb in Co. Sligo. A new analysis of bones taken from a century-old excavation at Carrowkeel in County...
Thursday, September 14, 2017

The enigma of early Norwegian iron production

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Ancient Norwegians made top-quality iron. But where did the knowledge to make this iron come from? A professor emeritus from the Norwegian U...
Friday, August 18, 2017

Bronze Age tombs unearthed during car park construction in Switzerland

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The burial site of a Bronze Age warrior has revealed yet more treasures  [Credit: SBMA - ARIA SA] Workers digging the foundations for...

13 million-year-old infant ape skull discovered in the Turkana Basin

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Alesi partially excavated after careful removal of loose sand and rocks with dental picks and brushes. © Isaiah Nengo. The discovery in...

New 13-million-year-old infant skull sheds light on ape ancestry

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Alesi, the skull of the new extinct ape species Nyanzapithecus alesi (KNM-NP 59050) [Credit: Fred Spoor] The discovery in Kenya of a ...
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About Me

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David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scot
I am a freelance archaeologist and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland specializing in the medieval period. I have worked as a field archaeologist for the Department of Environment (Northern Ireland) and the Museum of London. I have been involved in continuing education for many years and have taught for the University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education (OUDCE) and the Universities of London, Essex, Ulster, and the London College of the University of Notre Dame, and I was the Archaeological Consultant for Southwark Cathedral. I am the author of and tutor for an OUDCE online course on the Vikings, and the Programme Director and Academic Director for the Oxford Experience Summer School.
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