Tag: prehistoric times

First Scandinavian farmers were far more advanced than we thought

The first farmers in Denmark and Sweden knew how to rear cattle – suggesting they knew much more about farming than previously thought, shows new research.

Why dinosaurs avoided the equator for 30 million years

Researchers have discovered why it took the dinosaurs 30 million years to capture the equator.

Prehistoric humans were far smarter than previously assumed

325,000-year-old stone tools go to prove that our forefathers were far better at collaborating and planning than we thought.

Photo gallery: The six styles of Viking art

Vikings decorated their objects with patterns and motifs. Researchers have identified six different styles that formed the fashion in the Viking Age.

Ancient insects reveal Danish climate secret

Ice Age insects dug up from a bog in Denmark reveal that Danish winters were colder in the late Ice Age than previously thought.

Tartar from ancient monks reveals serious diseases

Tartar in the mouths of 1,000-year-old monk skulls are a storehouse of information about past, and possibly also present-day, diseases. Analyses of the tartar indicate that humans were resistant to antibiotics 1,000 years ago.

Animal origin theory challenged: Early animals needed almost no oxygen

The first animals on Earth could get by with much less oxygen than previously thought, new study reveals.

Nordic people drank wine 3,000 years ago

Researchers have found traces of wine in jars, dating back to 1100 BC. The finds suggest that wine was imported long before previously thought.

Less ice in Greenland 3,000 years ago than today

A new method for dating ancient sea shells reveals that the Greenland Ice Sheet was smaller between 3,000 and 5,000 years ago than it is today. The new study also indicates that the inland ice is more robust than previously thought.

Oxygenated Earth much older than we thought

The discovery of the world’s oldest soil suggests that Earth’s atmosphere contained oxygen as early as three billion years ago. That’s 700 million years earlier than previously thought.

Greenland icebergs may have triggered the Younger Dryas

Just as the last Ice Age was drawing to a close, Greenland icebergs changed the temperature in the Atlantic and triggered a 1,000-year-long extension of the Ice Age.

Early Earth was pounded into pieces

Scientists have found evidence of a previously unknown meteor bombardment of Earth some 4.3 to 4.1 billion years ago.

Remarkable climate details in Antarctic ice core

An ice core extracted from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet reveals in unprecedented detail how the weather in the Antarctic has changed over the past 68,000 years. The ice core may also tell us how future climate change will affect the frozen continent.

Danish pollen reveals new interglacial period

New analysis of rare Danish soil layers reveals a hitherto unknown temperate period during the Ice Age.

Surprisingly few major Ice Ages in southwest Greenland

The waters off southwest Greenland have escaped extremely large and thick ice sheets during most of the Ice Ages, new research reveals.

Oceans drive climate change

Researchers say that changes in the climate can be traced in the ocean hundreds of years before there is any trace of it in the atmosphere.

How far north did the Neanderthals go?

Archaeologists are disagreeing about whether or not the Neanderthals travelled all the way up to Scandinavia. A new research project seeks to settle the dispute once and for all.

Fish corrupt Carbon-14 dating

Danish Stone Age settlements may have been misdated by up to 2,000 years. In sites where people ate fish, there might well be errors in the Carbon-14 dating of clay vessels.

New technique reveals rare pattern on Stone Age adze

Engravings on a 10,000-year-old elk-antler prong adze emerged after it had been on exhibition for 50 years. Here, the researchers explain about the RTI technique that led them to the discovery of the concealed symbols.

Sun-kissed sulphur reveals volcanic effects on climate

Remains from the most powerful volcanic eruptions were branded by the sun before they ended up buried under the polar ice. This discovery enables scientists to find out when the volcanoes controlled the climate.

New signs of pre-Viking life on the Faroe Islands

The earliest traces of human life on the Faroe Islands date back to the Viking era. But new pollen analyses suggest that people, and perhaps even agriculture, existed on the islands long before the Vikings arrived.

DNA drilled up from the bottom of Greenland’s ice sheet

DNA residues drilled up from Greenland’s ice sheet base reveal a green, lush landscape before the great island became covered by ice. New methods in DNA research make it possible to show a Greenland that’s different to the one we know today.

Stone Age hunters liked their carbs

Analyses of Stone Age settlements reveal that the hunters were healthy and would gladly eat anything they could get their hands on, including carbohydrates – contrary to the modern definition of the Paleolithic, or Stone Age diet.

Prehistoric fossil preserved in a leech cocoon

For the first time ever, scientists can see the nucleus of an animal that lived at the same time as the dinosaurs.

Here’s the weather report – from 5,200 years ago

Scientists can now tell us how the weather in the North Atlantic has changed over the last 5,200 years. New research enables them to ‘see’ more than 4,000 years further back in time than before.

Mountains are younger than we think

A new study has shaved several million years off the age of mountain ranges following new evaluations of fossils and other impressions of ancient sea animals and plants.

New sea snake species rattles scientists

A newly discovered species of sea snake gorges itself with fish eggs in Australia’s coral reefs. The distribution of the species could give new insight into aquatic life..

An entire army sacrificed in a bog

Archaeologists have found skeletal remains of an entire army in an ancient mass grave in Denmark. The bones confirm reports from written sources of shocking Teutonic massacres.

Your DNA loves horror movies

When we watch a scary movie, we’re training our ability to cope with critical situations. This explains our natural attraction to horror, says researcher.

Study casts doubt on popular mass extinction theory

A new study casts doubt on a popular theory about the mass extinction that occurred in the transition between two geological periods, the Triassic and the Jurassic. The findings give us a better understanding of today’s climate changes, scientists claim.