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Cover Photo: An artist’s reconstruction shows how a Neanderthal could hold a stone artifact with an adhesive handle. Daniela Greiner ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More than 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals in what is now France used a multi-component adhesive to make handles for stone tools. They produced a sophisticated mixture of ochre and bitumen, two raw materials that had to be procured from the wider region. This is the earliest discovery of a multi-component adhesive in Europe to date. This complex adhesive found on Neanderthal stone tools has given researchers new insights into the intelligence of this extinct human species. The work, reported...

A group of experts has discovered proof that people during the Bronze Age used drugs in their ceremonies. By examining hair strands from a burial location in Menorca, Spain, researchers have learned that our ancestors took in hallucinogenic drugs derived from plants. This new information presents the initial clear evidence of drug use in olden Europe. These drugs may have been an important part of their traditional events and practices, according to the researchers. The scientists identified three specific substances, scopolamine, ephedrine, and atropine, in three separate hair samples that they replicated. The researchers noted that due to the dangerous...

Evidence of early use of pigments by humans has been found at the Xiamabei relics site in north China's Hebei Province.Xiamabei is a Late Paleolithic site located in Yangyuan County's Nihewan Basin, which is one of the best-preserved areas in East Asia in terms of paleolithic remains and cultural sequences."The earliest known evidence of ochre-processing of prehistoric humans in China and even in East Asia was recently discovered in Xiamabei, depicting a vibrant living scene of East Asian dwellers 40,000 years ago," said Wang Fagang, associate researcher from the Hebei provincial institute of cultural relics and archaeology.The remnants of ochre,...

A 40,000-year-old archaeological site in northern China has unearthed the earliest evidence of ochre processing in east Asia, researchers say. The site was discovered at Xiamabei in the Nihewan Basin, in the northern Chinese province of Hebei. Ochre pieces and tools found in the area suggest that the clay earth pigment was processed there, via grinding and pounding, to produce powders of different colours and grain sizes. Near lumps of ochre, archaeologists unearthed a hammer stone as well as a flat limestone slab that showed signs of battering. In a study published in the journal Nature, the team has dated...

While the use of ochre by early humans dates to at least 250,000 years ago in Europe and Africa, this is the first time a paint containing ochre and milk has ever been found in association with early humans in South Africa, said Paola Villa, a curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History and lead study author. The milk likely was obtained by killing lactating members of the bovid family such as buffalo, eland, kudu and impala, she said... The powdered paint mixture was found on the edge of a small stone flake in a layer of...

A rock shelter in the Weld Range provides evidence of the oldest human occupation in the Mid-West region of Western Australia, a research project partnered between The University of Western Australia and Wajarri Traditional Owners has discovered. Funded by the Commonwealth Government and in collaboration with Wajarri heritage company Ethical Engagement Consultancy, the research project 'Weld Range Web of Knowledge' found new evidence to suggest that ancestors of Wajarri Native Title claimants have been present in the Mid-West region for more than 30,000 years. Samples for radiocarbon dating were collected by Wajarri Traditional Owners and archaeologists from UWA during an...