Beneath the rugged mountains of southeastern Iran, archaeologists are carefully unearthing traces of a Bronze Age society that could upend the accepted narrative of where writing and urban life began.

Our understanding of ancient civilizations is constantly challenged by newly discovered ruins that defy mainstream historical and archaeological explanations. These fascinating remnants of the past ...

Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world. More than 1,500 years ago, an ancient Arab people built a Christian ...

Nearly two million years ago, Homo erectus became the first human species to walk upright. Today, only Homo sapiens remain. What happened along the way — and how did food and language shape our path?

Long before Athens or Rome, the Minoans built a thriving, seafaring civilization on the island of Crete marked by grand palaces, advanced art, and undeciphered writing. This video explores who the ...

Pt 1: The evolution of complexity -- A laboratory for modern man -- Great Basin Shoshone: cultural impoverishment -- Eskimo: environment and adaptation -- The Sub-Arctic: living with expediency -- ...

Two archaeologists from the American heartland are embarking on an Amazonian adventure to uncover the remains of a lost civilization — proving that world-class research can emerge from the Ozarks just ...

Why do virtually all humans today live in large-scale societies organized as states? A new book by Peter Turchin, from the ...

Beneath the windswept plains of the Bolivian highlands, a discovery is rewriting the story of a continent. Archaeologists have unearthed a ceremonial temple, predating the famous Inca Empire by ...