Fast-acting German insecticide lost in the aftermath of WWII
A new study explores the chemistry as well as the complicated and alarming history of DFDT, a fast-acting insecticide.
Read moreAnthropology
Private property, not productivity, precipitated Neolithic agricultural revolution
The Neolithic Agricultural Revolution is one of the most thoroughly-studied episodes in prehistory. But a new article shows that most explanations for it don't agree with the evidence, and offers a new interpretation.
Read moreArchaeology: Social inequality in Bronze Age households
Archaeogenetic analyses provide new insights into social inequality 4,000 years ago: nuclear families lived together with foreign women and individuals from lower social classes in the same household.
Read moreCretan tomb's location may have strengthened territorial claim
Examining the position occupied by tombs in their landscape in Prepalatial Crete gives us new insights into the role played by burial sites, mortuary practices and the deceased in the living society.
Read moreOldest miniaturized stone toolkits in Eurasia
Microliths are often interpreted as being part of composite tools, including projectile weapons, essential to efficient Homo sapiens hunting strategies. In Europe and Africa, these lithic toolkits are linked to hunting medium and large-sized animals in grassland or woodland settings, or as adaptations during periods of climatic change. The presence of microliths in Sri Lanka suggests the existence of more diverse ecological contexts for these technologies by some of the earliest members of our species.
Read moreAncient genomes provide insight into the genetic history of the second plague pandemic
Researchers have analyzed remains from ten archaeological sites in England, France, Germany, Russia, and Switzerland to gain insight into the different stages of the second plague pandemic and the genetic diversity of Yersinia pestis during and after the Black Death. The researchers reconstructed 34 Y. pestis genomes, tracing the genetic history of the bacterium, which revealed key insights into the initiation and progression of the second plague pandemic in Europe.
Read moreAristocratic family trees became scientific model
Before the French Revolution, family trees were reserved for the feudal upper classes, who used them to consolidate their social status. While feudalism broke down and family trees lost their old roles, the trees gained new functions as scientific models.
Read moreInsight into competitive advantage of modern humans over Neanderthals
A team of researchers have evidenced mechanically delivered projectile weapons in Europe dating to 45,000-40,000 years — more than 20,000 years than previously thought. This study indicated that the spear-thrower and bow-and-arrow technologies allowed modern humans to hunt more successfully than Neanderthals — giving them a competitive advantage. This discovery offered important insight to understand the reasons for the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans.
Read moreMusic is essential for the transmission of ethnobiological knowledge
Songs are a storehouse for ethnobiological knowledge and a means to construct, maintain and mobilize peoples' relations with their local environments.
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