Ancient monuments, clay tablets, paintings, and photographs reveal the power that solar eclipses have had on the imaginations of prehistoric and modern civilizations. By Jen Viegas.

Cleaning up the Uffington Horse is the neigh-borly thing to do. By Emily Cleaver.

A study that brought horsepox back to life is triggering a new debate about the risks and power of synthetic biology. By Kai Kupferschmidt.

The sinister discovery of a tower of human skulls in Mexico City has cast doubt on traditional readings of Aztec history. More than 675 skulls of men, women and children have been unearthed by archaeologists following an investigation of one and a half years. By Will Worley.

A 13th-century conflict between faith and science ultimately led to a surprising outcome: a medieval multiverse theory. By Sarah Laskow.

115 years ago, divers found a hunk of bronze off a Greek island. It changed our understanding of human history. By Brian Resnick.

In 2011, photographer Christopher Michel chanced upon an online course about ancient Egypt and signed up. What was intended to be a diversion led, some six years later, to a voyage of 8,509 miles, to the orange deserts of Sudan. Although it’s less famous than the grouping of pyramids at Giza in Egypt, the complex at Meroë in Sudan is remarkable. More than 200 pyramids, primarily dating from 300 B.C. to A.D. 350, mark the tombs of royalty of the Kingdom of Kush, which ruled Nubia for centuries...

Literature’s evolution has reflected and spurred the growing complexity of society. By Julie Sedivy.

New clues to an old mystery about Inca writing aren’t etched in stone. They’re tied in knots. By Daniel Stone.

Hundreds of years before audiences fell in love with Star Wars, one writer dreamt of battles in space. By Lorraine Boissoneault. (Dec. 14, 2016)

Predating Stonehenge by 6,000 years, Turkey’s stunning Gobekli Tepe upends the conventional view of the rise of civilization. By Andrew Curry. (Nov. 2008)

The Olmec city of Tres Zapotes may have owed its longevity to a new form of government

The powerful civilization was hammered into oblivion by drought and floods, underscoring the connections between climate and people. By Stefan Lovgren

How does a citizen respond when a democracy that prides itself on being exceptional betrays its highest principles? Plato despaired, but he also pointed the way to renewal. By Rebecca Newberger Goldstein.

A new study of the relationship between climate change and clashes among the Classic Maya explicitly links temperature increases with growing conflicts. By Rossella Lorenzi.

A 2,300-year-old aqueduct uncovered by workers on Rome's new Metro line has been hailed as a sensational discovery of enormous importance by the city's Superintendency for Archaeology.

Cannibalism is not uncommon… By Ben Thomas.

Mummified cats and prehistoric skulls are being ‘rebuilt’ using the latest 3D technology which allows people to get close to the relics for the first time.

What do the mythical figures of clairvoyance and clairaudience look like and what weapons do they use? The answers could be found in the world-renowned Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing municipality. By Bi Nan.

Ceremonial suit was embellished with decorations and left as a sacrifice for the gods by ancient bear cult polar people, say archeologists.