51��

Skip to content

An illustration of a scroll being unfurled by two hands, surrounded by Roman columns and wisps of smoke, with a Roman figure in a toga at the centre

Humans

We’re finally reading the secrets of Herculaneum’s lost library

A whole library’s worth of papyri owned by Julius Caesar’s father-in-law were turned to charcoal by the eruption of Vesuvius. Nearly 2000 years later, we can at last read these lost treasures

Features

: Ludovic Slimak, discoverer of Thorin showing the Thorin maxillar. Photography Laure Metz

Humans

A compelling book about the end of the Neanderthals is a rare treat

Culture

Humans

Does this sculpted head show an ancient hunter-gatherer's hairstyle?

51��

Illustration of a teenage girl who is the offspring of a Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis) mother and Denisovan (Homo sapiens denisova) father. A bone fragment with this hybrid ancestry was found in the Denisova Cave in Russia. The bone belonged to a female who was at least 13 years old and died around 90,000 years ago. It was known from genetic analysis of other fossils that the two species had interbred, but this is the first first-generation offspring of such a pairing to be found.

Humans

Understanding the Denisovans means understanding ourselves

Leader

A skull unearthed in Harbin, China, turns out to belong to a Denisovan

Humans

An incredible Denisovan skull is upending the story of human evolution

Features

TX DATE:21-07-2025,TX WEEK:29,EMBARGOED UNTIL:08-07-2025 00:00:00,DESCRIPTION:Dramatic reconstruction of early anatomically modern Homo sapiens living in Africa.,COPYRIGHT:BBC Studios,CREDIT LINE:BBC / BBC Studios

Humans

Exploring humanity's ancient origins in fantastic new BBC documentary

Culture

Humans

Why a mysterious group of ancient humans doesn’t have a species name

51��

Humans

Your pet dog’s ancestor was a fierce, wild animal. How was it tamed?

Features

Humans

Ancient tools on Sulawesi may be clue to origins of 'hobbit' hominins

51��

A 3D model of the tattooed mummy. The top image features textures derived from photographs that were captured using light visible to the human eye, while the bottom image's textures were derived from near-infrared photography, which we cannot see

Humans

Ancient Siberian ice mummy is covered in 'really special' tattoos

Tattoos may have been widespread in prehistory, with scientists discovering a plethora of body art on a pastoralist who died in the 3rd or 4th century BC

51��

Humans

Archaeologists are unearthing the most powerful women who ever lived

Features

Humans

Homo naledi's burial practices could change what it means to be human

Leader

Humans

AI helps reconstruct damaged Latin inscriptions from the Roman Empire

51��

Humans

What were ancient humans thinking when they began to bury their dead?

Features