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Archaeology and palaeontology

Archaeology and palaeontology
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Archaeology and palaeontology. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Two brothers in China discover that flat rocks they had used as stepping stones for nearly 20 years are, in fact, 190 million-year-old dinosaur footprint fossils. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/QQ.com
Trending in China

China brothers shocked that rock stepping stones are 190-million-year-old dinosaur fossils

Scientists conduct study in ‘home of Chinese dinosaurs’, discover that flat rocks with ‘chicken claw’ prints are from Jurassic period.

Hong Kong environmental issues

Hong Kong’s whale of a tale: famous skeleton at Shek O gets new lease of life

Louvre

France’s Louvre Museum closes gallery due to structural weakness

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Egypt

Grand Egyptian Museum introduces time slots to cope with crowds

The new museum, which has been averaging 19,000 daily visitors, will require online bookings starting December to regulate the rush.

People hold mobile devices in front of the golden burial mask of King Tutankhamun. Photo: AP
Crime

UK seizes US$15 million in dinosaur bones from Chinese money-laundering suspect

The Chinese businessman was previously wanted for involvement in Singapore’s biggest money-laundering case but has since struck a deal.

Art

After delays, mammoth Grand Egyptian Museum by the Pyramids is finally opening

The US$1 billion ‘GEM’, poised to be the world’s largest museum dedicated to one civilisation, houses King Tut’s treasures and 50,000 artefacts.

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History

Where do witch hats come from? China’s Tarim mummies may hold the answer

The ‘witch hat’-wearing mummies have long caused debate among historians. Could they suggest Europeans reached Asia earlier than we thought?

The Princess of Xiaohe is one of the most famous mummies found in the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, China. Can the origins of the modern witch hat be traced to this region? Photo: Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
United States

Rare duck-billed dinosaur ‘mummies’ reveal a surprise: hoofed feet

Edmontosaurus fossils had large areas of preserved external skin surface, providing the most fleshed-out view of a large dinosaur to date.

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Art

How ancient Egyptians depicted their gods shown in more than 200 objects

An exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art explores how the gods were portrayed by Egyptians both royal and common.

Egypt

Ancient Pharaonic painting vanishes from famed necropolis in Egypt

The priceless artwork disappeared from an ancient tomb notable for its written curse warning intruders.

Egyptian antiquities workers dig at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, near Cairo, Egypt. File photo: AP
Science

Was Venice’s winged lion made in China and delivered by Marco Polo’s family?

Italian researchers believe the famous statue may have originated in Tang dynasty China but Chinese scholars are not convinced.

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The bronze winged lion sculpture overlooking St Mark’s Square is one of Venice’s most iconic symbols. Photo: AFP
United Nations

UN heritage body opens virtual museum to spotlight artefact trafficking

Unesco’s online space will showcase hundreds of stolen cultural objects in the hopes of drawing attention to the vast illegal trade network.

Science

Conflict at China’s ancient Sanxingdui led to exodus, destruction: scholar

New theory about famous ruins stems from recent archaeological research suggesting a war erupted for control of the capital.

Chinese culture

China’s Sanxingdui Museum eyes future tech to showcase national treasures abroad

As China steps up soft power push, curators seek ways to engage a broader audience without putting national treasures at risk.

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Discovered in the late 1920s and excavated extensively since the 1980s, the Sanxingdui site has yielded more than 17,000 artefacts, including numerous bronze masks with exaggerated facial features. Photo: May Tse
Indonesia

Netherlands to return ‘Java Man’ fossils to Indonesia in historic move

The move will see the skull cap and other remains of the first-ever Homo erectus found returned, after they were looted during Dutch colonial era.

Original fossils of Pithecanthropus erectus (now Homo erectus) found in Java in 1891.The find is commonly referred to as Java Man. Photo: Handout
Chinese culture

How China’s earliest 3 dynasties shaped its society and culture

From 2070BC to 256BC, the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties paved the way for Chinese society with Taoism, written language, music and more.

Americas and the Caribbean

Scientists find new dinosaur from Argentina with crocodile bone in its mouth

Joaquinraptor hailed from a mysterious group of dinosaurs known for their huge and powerful claws.

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Egypt

Outrage after pharaoh’s gold bracelet stolen from Egypt museum and melted down

The bracelet belonged to Pharaoh Amenemope, who reigned about 3,000 years ago. Four suspects have been arrested, the Interior Ministry said.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is illuminated at night. Photo: AP
Belt and Road Initiative

Central Asia beckons for China’s cultural tourists retracing ancient Silk Road

Beijing’s infrastructure programme and other partnership initiatives with the Central Asian republics have seen visitor numbers soar.

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History

Monumental tomb of Roman period discovered in Albania

The large tomb is the first discovery in Albania of what the experts believe to be a wealthy person’s resting place.

Trending in China

Tomb-raiding fiction-fixated China thief breaches burial site, steals 20 relics

Storybook fanatic who poured over works of fiction turns real-life tomb raider; puts together team of criminals, masterminds heist.

A Chinese man obsessed with fictional tomb-raiding stories has broken into a burial site and stolen 20 cultural relics from 771 BC. Photo: SCMP composite/CCTV
Australia

Scientists discover ancient whale with Pokémon face and predator bite

The 25 million-year-old fossil shows a cartoonish creature with bulging eyes the size of tennis balls.

Museums Victoria researcher Ruairidh Duncan (left) and palaeontologist Erich Fitzgerald with the partial fossil skull and teeth of Janjucetus dullardi in Melbourne. Photo: AFP/Tom Breakwell/Museums Victoria
Indonesia

1.5 million-year-old stone tools found in Indonesia rewrite human history

The new discovery of ancient tools on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island is forcing scientists to rethink early human migration routes.

Diplomacy

Opinion | China’s safeguarding of cultural heritage signals its global ambition

For China, the protection of antiquities is not just about safeguarding objects of its past – it is about defining its place in the future.

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European Union

How artists and scientists brought a prehistoric woman back to life

The reconstructed bust of Mos’anne is part of a project to explore how the region’s last hunter-gatherers lived during the Mesolithic era.

Dutch artist Alfons Kennis holds a model under construction representing a prehistoric human skull in his workshop in Arnhem, on July 3, 2025. Alfons and his twin brother Adrie are known for their paleo-anthropological work. Photo: AFP
Science

Opinion | Blockbuster auctions of dinosaur skeletons don’t do science any favours

From auction houses to the emergence of online retailers, the fossil trade risks robbing the world of research and educational opportunities.

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A boy looks at a model of a dinosaur at the “DINO ERA” exhibition in Sky City near Hong Kong International Airport, on March 2. Photo: Dickson Lee
Art

How incredible King Tutankhamen collection is being restored for new museum

From gilded coffins to golden amulets, many of the Grand Egyptian Museum’s items have not undergone restoration since their 1922 discovery.

Science

Tools unearthed in China are first evidence of East Asia’s ‘Wood Age’

Archaeological site in Yunnan province yields nearly 1,000 wooden artefacts, including 35 tools, mostly used for digging, according to study.

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