Archeology

September 3, 2023

66-Million-Year-Old Fully Articulated Dinosaur Embryo is Discovered Inside of a Fossilized Egg

Back in a land before time, many dinosaurs laid eggs. With parents guarding their clutches, tiny baby dinosaurs might eventually emerge from incubating embryos. Yet this process is only occasionally captured in the fossil record. Fossils of nesting dinosaurs atop eggs, or of complete egg embryos, are quite rare. However, a fully articulated dinosaur embryo was discovered inside a fossilized egg held by a Chinese museum, according to a paper published in iScience in 2021.

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August 10, 2023

Ape-Like Hominids Made World’s Oldest Tools 3.3 Million Years Ago, Before Humans Did

Humans often think ourselves different from the animal kingdom, differentiated by our ability to think and create with tools. But in reality, apes, otters, birds, octopuses, and many other animals use tools, too. In fact, beyond not being the only modern creatures to use tools, humans were not event the first. Discoveries of stone tools have shown that early hominids, not “human” members of the later Homo genus, used stone flake tools in daily life.

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July 18, 2023

Researchers Discover New Extinct Species of Mini Penguins That Lived 3 Million Years Ago

Penguins are survivors. Modern species of the adorable birds withstand freezing temperatures or dive deep in swift currents. In fact, penguins have been doing their adorable thing for millions of years. Prehistoric penguin species date back to the days of the dinosaurs. A team of researchers in New Zealand have discovered one more member of the ancient family, a tiny and distinctly precious species newly known as Eudyptula wilsonae. Its name means Wilson’s little penguin.

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July 9, 2023

12,000-Year-Old Bird Bone Flutes Mimic Ancient Bird Song

Researchers in Israel found a deposit of ancient bird bones clearly collected by people from 12,000 years ago. The 1,100 bones were discovered in the Hula Valley in Israel, forming a fascinating collection. Yet within these relics lay several carefully carved little surprises. Seven of these bird bones were crafted into flutes by the Natufians, a people who lived in the Levant region from 13,000 and 9,700 BCE.

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