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Archaeology and palaeontology

Archaeology and palaeontology
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Archaeology and palaeontology. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
A Chinese man obsessed with fictional tomb-raiding stories has broken into a burial site and stolen 20 cultural relics from 771 BC. Photo: SCMP composite/CCTV
Trending in China

Tomb-raiding fiction-fixated China thief breaches burial site, steals 20 relics

Storybook fanatic who poured over works of fiction turns real-life tomb raider; puts together team of criminals, masterminds heist.

Australia

Scientists discover ancient whale with Pokémon face and predator bite

Indonesia

1.5 million-year-old stone tools found in Indonesia rewrite human history

Diplomacy

Opinion | China’s safeguarding of cultural heritage signals its global ambition

For China, the protection of antiquities is not just about safeguarding objects of its past – it is about defining its place in the future.

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China’s Western Xia imperial tombs in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region were officially added to the Unesco World Heritage list in July 2025. Photo: Xinhua
European Union

How artists and scientists brought a prehistoric woman back to life

The reconstructed bust of Mos’anne is part of a project to explore how the region’s last hunter-gatherers lived during the Mesolithic era.

Science

Opinion | Blockbuster auctions of dinosaur skeletons don’t do science any favours

From auction houses to the emergence of online retailers, the fossil trade risks robbing the world of research and educational opportunities.

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Art

How incredible King Tutankhamen collection is being restored for new museum

From gilded coffins to golden amulets, many of the Grand Egyptian Museum’s items have not undergone restoration since their 1922 discovery.

The golden funerary mask of ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamen is displayed in the Tutankhamen gallery at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square on June 11, 2025. The Tutankhamen collection to be displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum was retrieved from several museums and storage sites, including the Egyptian Museum. Photo: AFP
Science

Tools unearthed in China are first evidence of East Asia’s ‘Wood Age’

Archaeological site in Yunnan province yields nearly 1,000 wooden artefacts, including 35 tools, mostly used for digging, according to study.

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Science

Did China’s first emperor launch westwards mission to find ‘elixir of life’?

State media report on ‘fully preserved’ Qin dynasty inscription found by Chinese archaeologists leaves academics divided over authenticity.

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Science

China’s scientists unlock secrets of how early birds conquered the skies

Analysis of feathers trapped in amber sheds new light on evolutionary path that led to early birds’ ability to fly.

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Fossils preserved in amber offer a unique opportunity to study soft structures, as objects stuck in the hardened tree resin remain trapped in time. Photo: AP/Science
Science

China boosts Southeast Asian populations overlooked in Human Genome Project

Before China took a role in the research, fewer than 200 indigenous genomes from MSEA existed in global databases, according to Nature paper.

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Kunming Institute of Zoology is working to rectify the underrepresentation of mainland Southeast Asia populations in the Human Genome Project. Image: Shutterstock
Science

Chinese team traces ‘ghost ancestors’ of modern Tibetans to Yunnan province

DNA analysis reveals progenitor of Tibetan Plateau populations diverged from other Asian populations at least 40,000 years ago.

Wellness

How dinosaur fossils could help fill in cancer’s molecular ‘jigsaw’

It’s not quite Jurassic Park but scientists studying a fossil with a tumour say such research could influence future human cancer treatments.

Egypt

Egyptian archaeologists discover 3 tombs of prominent statesmen in Luxor

Discovery comes in the lead-up to the highly anticipated full opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Hieroglyphs are revealed in the three new graves of senior statesmen found in the Dra’ Abu al-Naga necropolis area in Luxor, Egypt. Photo: Egypt Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities via AP
Science

Genes whisper ancient tales of longest human migration out of Asia

DNA analysis helps researchers unlock mysteries of indigenous groups who crossed prehistoric land bridge to western hemisphere.

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A new genetic study finds that early migrants to South America formed distinct groups that remained isolated because of environmental conditions. Photo: Nanyang Technological University
Science

Could dinosaurs walk on massive glaciers? Oyster fossil offers clue

‘Reductions in Arctic and Antarctic ice are expected to continue, potentially leading to completely ice-free polar regions’: paper.

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Science

A fiery conquest in 112BC may have led to decline of the Chinese swamp cypress

Han military campaign toppled the rebel Nanyue kingdom but also decimated vast stands of cypress, study finds.

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From our archives

When the Terracotta Army came to Hong Kong

A historic exhibition showcases artefacts from the Shang and Qin dynasties, drawing over a quarter million visitors.

Visitors look at exhibits during the exhibition of archaeological finds of China at Star House, Tsim Sha Tsui, in 1978. Photo: SCMP Archives
Science

Denisovans first discovered in Russia reached Taiwan Strait, fossil suggests

The discovery of archaic human jawbone shatters assumptions about the geographic limits of the Denisova hominin.

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Science

Chinese basin may have been a refuge in largest extinction. Do we need another?

Researchers say Turpan-Hami Basin in Xinjiang hosted diverse plant life throughout end-Permian mass extinction 252 million years ago.

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Science

Skull fragments found in Spain point to previously unknown ancient humans

Scientists say bones could be from the earliest human face of Western Europe.

Archaeologists a the excavation site near Burgos, Spain. Photo: Maria D. Guillen/IPHES-CERCA via Reuters
Science

Scientists take first step to bringing back mammoth by creating ‘woolly mouse’

US start-up Colossal Biosciences says it is on track to produce a woolly mammoth calf born to a surrogate elephant mother by late 2028.

A genetically edited mouse (left) with long, thick, woolly hair is held next to a regular mouse at a lab in Dallas, Texas. Photo: Colossal Biosciences via AP
US-China relations

US hands over 41 cultural relics to China under deal to return looted artefacts

Items seized in New York include pottery, jade, bronze and Tibetan Buddhist art, some dating back thousands of years.

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Natural disasters

Mount Vesuvius eruption turned man’s brain into glass. Here’s how it happened

The disaster that obliterated two cities also created the intense heat and rapid cooling behind the one-of-a-kind transformation.

Egypt

Egypt announces first discovery of pharaoh’s tomb in over 100 years

Archaeologists uncover Thutmose II’s tomb near Luxor, marking Egypt’s first royal tomb discovery since Tutankhamun’s in 1922.

The entrance to the tomb of King Thutmose II in Luxor in southern Egypt. Photo: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities via AFP
History

Archaeologists unearth remains of Roman basilica at new London skyscraper site

‘Significant’ discovery provides a glimpse into early Roman London and its governance.

A drawing of the Roman London Basilica which was recently unearthed. Illustration: Peter Marsden via AP
Wellness

How ancient bones reveal secrets to old diseases such as plague

Anthropologist Alice Roberts describes how secrets of diseases can be uncovered from old skeletons building workers and archaeologists find.

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Science

Where did the first dinosaurs evolve? Scientists have an answer

Dinosaurs likely originated in a locale that spans the modern-day Sahara desert and Amazon rainforest regions, study suggests.

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