Ancient people transported a wild relative of the common potato across the southwestern U.S., likely expanding the range of the species, according to a study published January 21, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Lisbeth Louderback from the University of Utah, U.S., and colleagues. This research provides new evidence that Indigenous people may have put the species on a path to domestication, while creating a unique cultural element in the Four Corners region.

The presence of S. jamesii starch on tools, combined with earlier genetic, ecological, and ethnographic research, indicates that Indigenous people intentionally transported, cultivated, and managed the plant across the Four Corners region. These activities define an “anthropogenic range” created through extensive trade networks and long-term use, a key indicator of early domestication.

A remarkable prehistoric hammer made from elephant bone, dating back nearly half a million years ago, has been uncovered in southern England and analysed by archaeologists from UCL and the Natural History Museum, London.

A hand stencil on the wall of a cave in Indonesia has become the oldest known rock art in the world, exceeding the archaeologists’ previous discovery in the same region by 15,000 years or more. 

A recent study indicates that colour was not the only property of ochre relevant to people in the Stone Age.

Three researchers from the Faculty of Humanities, Communication and Documentation at the Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M), Jesús Bermejo, Michele Curnis and Ana Mejón, have been selected in the latest call for applications for the Ramón Areces Foundation's Digital Humanities Research Grants Program. The projects stand out for their use of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, enriched digitization, and chronotope mapping to advance knowledge of the archaeology, history, and culture of the Castilian Middle Ages and the Spanish film industry, respectively.

Teeth provide a wealth of information about the lives of Iron Age Italians, according to a study published January 14, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Roberto Germano of Sapienza University of Rome, Italy and colleagues.