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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.
Handprints with sharpened fingertips are seen in the Maros region of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Photo: Ahdi Agus Oktaviana/Maxime Aubert via AP
Indonesia

World’s oldest cave art discovered in Indonesia

A handprint dating back at least 67,800 years is over a thousand years older than hand stencils in Spain that are attributed to Neanderthals.

Italy

Italy uncovers ancient basilica designed by the ‘father of architecture’ Vitruvius

Science

Chinese team restores legendary Tang dynasty ‘golden’ armour from Tibetan tomb

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Science

Could 2,000-year-old machine from tomb in China be earliest binary computer?

Silk-weaving loom dating to Western Han is world’s oldest known ‘computer hardware’ with corresponding ‘software’, China science body says.

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The ancient Chinese loom may well be recognised as the world’s earliest computer, according to the China Association for Science and Technology. Photo: China Silk Museum
Science

Bronze Age cemetery offers clues on how ancient Chinese brewed red rice wine

Vessels found in tombs at Mogou in modern-day Gansu contain traces of a fermentation starter of the type still used to make sake today.

Science

In eastern China, ancient ruins push back the date of Yangtze delta’s earliest cities

Excavations at the Doushan site near Wuxi suggest water may have spurred the development of the oldest centres in the area.

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Egypt

Egypt reveals restored colossal statues of prominent pharaoh in Luxor

The giant statues, toppled by an earthquake in about 1200 BC, were meticulously pieced back together in a project that lasted about two decades.

A man takes selfie in front of the two colossal statues. Photo: EPA
Britain

UK police hunt suspects after 600 British Empire artefacts stolen from museum

Police release images of four men after many items with ‘significant cultural value’ were stolen in Bristol on September 25.

Science

Oldest evidence of humans making fire discovered in UK, dating back 400,000 years

Scientists found an ancient fireplace in Suffolk, providing crucial evidence that humans mastered fire far earlier than previously believed.

France

Paris Louvre faces strike after major leak and robbery

Louvre staff warn of ‘collapse’ as they protest work conditions at the world’s most visited museum.

The Louvre Museum in Paris, France. Photo: AFP
France

Water leak at Paris Louvre damages books at Egyptian antiquities department

The leak underscores the deteriorating state of the world’s most visited museum just weeks after a jewel heist exposed security flaws.

The Louvre Museum in Paris, France. Photo: Reuters
Egypt

This man has gone viral for his resemblance to an ancient Egyptian king

Egyptian influencer Youssef Mohamed hopes his resemblance to Pharaoh Akhenaten fuels further interest in ancient Egyptian history.

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

Damaged skeleton of infant mammal that wandered into Victoria Harbour in 1955 meticulously recreated and displayed at original resting spot in Cape D’Aguilar.

Marine researchers and staff of the Swire Institute of Marine Science with the new replica at Cape D’Aguilar. Photo: Sam Tsang
Louvre

France’s Louvre Museum closes gallery due to structural weakness

The Campana Gallery was shuttered as a precaution after an audit revealed beam issues in the floor above.

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The Louvre Museum in Paris, France. Photo: Reuters
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.

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.

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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.

Tourists pose at the main staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum. Photo: AP
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?

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.

A relief of the Egyptian goddess Maat is displayed in the “Divine Egypt” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, on October 14, 2025. Photo: AP
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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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.

A treasure trove of exquisite bronze, gold and jade wares were unearthed for the first time at the Sanxingdui site. Photo: Xinhua
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.

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.

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