Prehistoric cave painters may have been hallucinating through lack of oxygen, study claims

Prehistoric cave painters who daubed colourful murals on the walls of deep caverns thousands of years ago may have been hallucinating due to a lack of oxygen.  A new study speculates that the artists who produced numerous underground works across Europe may have deliberately starved themselves of oxygen.  Among the paintings mentioned by Israeli researchers are … Read more

Prehistoric cave painters may have been hallucinating through lack of oxygen, study claims

Prehistoric cave painters who daubed colourful murals on the walls of deep caverns thousands of years ago may have been hallucinating due to a lack of oxygen.  A new study speculates that the artists who produced numerous underground works across Europe may have deliberately starved themselves of oxygen.  Among the paintings mentioned by Israeli researchers are … Read more

Palaeontology: David Attenborough’s new app brings prehistoric creatures into your home

David Attenborough is bringing long-extinct prehistoric creatures into people’s homes through the magic of augmented reality in a new app. ‘Museum Alive’, from Alchemy Immersive and Atlantic Productions, is an extension of Sir David’s BAFTA-winning 2013 documentary ‘Natural History Museum Alive’. Suitable for all ages, the app uses your camera to create the illusion of … Read more

Russia scientists ‘are trying to extract prehistoric viruses from 50,000-year-old animal caracasses’

Russia is seeking to unlock unknown prehistoric viruses up to 50,000 years old by extracting biological material from carcasses of ancient animals frozen in permafrost. Scientists from the Kremlin’s equivalent of Porton Down are this week taking samples from a collection of specimens preserved in ice which have been found in recent years. They are … Read more

Russia scientists ‘are trying to extract prehistoric viruses from 50,000-year-old animal caracasses’

Russia is seeking to unlock unknown prehistoric viruses up to 50,000 years old by extracting biological material from carcasses of ancient animals frozen in permafrost. Scientists from the Kremlin’s equivalent of Porton Down are this week taking samples from a collection of beasts preserved in ice which have been found in recent years. They are … Read more

Rare 5,000-year-old crystal dagger is uncovered in Prehistoric Iberian megalithic tomb in Spain

Ancient tools that once belonged to prehistoric civilizations have been found all over the world, but a discovery in Spain is unlike those traditionally made of stone or flint. A team excavating the megalithic tomb of Montelirio tholos in 2007 through 2010 uncovered a dagger formed from rock crystal that experts say is the ‘most … Read more

Rare 5,000-year-old crystal dagger is uncovered in Prehistoric Iberian megalithic tomb in Spain

Ancient tools that once belonged to prehistoric civilizations have been found all over the world, but a discovery in Spain is unlike those traditionally made of stone or flint. A team excavating the megalithic tomb of Montelirio tholos in 2007 through 2010 uncovered a dagger formed from rock crystal that experts say is the ‘most … Read more

Prehistoric worm that leapt from the seabed unearthed in southeast Asia

A giant prehistoric worm that leapt from tunnels in the seabed and could slice fish in half, according to a new study.  Researchers found large, L-shaped burrows from layers of seafloor dating back to the Miocene period (23 million to 5.3 million years ago) of northeast Taiwan. These burrows are trace fossils – geological records of … Read more

Bizarre sea beast sparked a ‘prehistoric arms race’ 500million years ago

A bizarre sea beast with a circular mouth full of serrated teeth triggered a prehistoric ‘arms race’ when it evolved eyes, new research has revealed. Radiodonts stalked the oceans more than 500 million years ago and are one of the earliest animal types to emerge on planet Earth. Now a new study has revealed how … Read more

Bizarre sea beast sparked a ‘prehistoric arms race’ 500million years ago

A bizarre sea beast with a circular mouth full of serrated teeth triggered a prehistoric ‘arms race’ when it evolved eyes, new research has revealed. Radiodonts stalked the oceans more than 500 million years ago and are one of the earliest animal types to emerge on planet Earth. Now a new study has revealed how … Read more