Articles by

Bruce Bower

A puzzling mix of artifacts raises questions about Homo sapiens’ travels to China

More than half a century ago, Chinese researchers uncovered thousands of pieces of an ancient cultural puzzle....

How Ötzi the Iceman really got his tattoos

An off-beat experiment has poked holes in a popular assumption about Ötzi the Iceman’s tattoos. Ötzi’s roughly...

These South American cave paintings reveal a surprisingly old tradition

Near the southernmost tip of South America, people may have started cave painting nearly 8,200 years ago,...

A four-holed piece of ivory provides a glimpse into ancient rope-making

A mammoth ivory tool unearthed in central Europe has offered a peek at how teamwork enabled Stone...

Cold, dry snaps accompanied three plagues that struck the Roman Empire

For those who enjoy pondering the Roman Empire’s rise and fall — you know who you are...

How ancient herders rewrote northern Europeans’ genetic story

Ancient herders, who rode horses and drove ox-drawn carts west out of their grassy homelands in southwest...

Ancient Maya power brokers lived in neighborhoods, not just palaces

Pots with fancifully molded eyes, noses and mouths were one of the tip-offs. Adrian Chase already had...

A mysterious ancient grave with a sword and mirror belonged to a woman

A roughly 2,000-year-old woman with a potentially violent streak has emerged from skeletal rubble found on...