Prehistory
Cave of Swimmers: Prehistoric Rock Art of the Gilf Kebir
The paintings became a famous symbol of a once wetter Sahara, though whether they really show swimming is still debated.
Era · Before c. 3000 BC
Prehistory
From the formation of Earth and the age of dinosaurs to the first cave art and monuments, before writing was invented.
Prehistory
Gobero: Prehistoric Cemetery of the Green Sahara in Niger
Gobero became the largest and best-documented Stone Age cemetery in the Sahara, recording two successive cultures and 5,000 years of climate change.
Prehistory
Domestication of the Cat: How Wildcats Joined Early Farmers
The Near Eastern wildcat became the domestic cat, which spread with farmers and traders to nearly every part of the world.
Prehistory
Çatalhöyük: Life in a 9,000-Year-Old Neolithic Town
One of the largest and best-preserved Neolithic settlements, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012.
Prehistory
Cueva de las Manos: The Cave of the Hands in Patagonia
The site became one of the best-known rock art sites in South America and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999.
Prehistory
Ain Ghazal Statues: Neolithic Plaster Figures from Jordan
Two caches of about 32 plaster statues and busts were found in 1983 and 1985, revealing early large-scale human sculpture.
Prehistory
Cheddar Man: Britain's Oldest Near-Complete Skeleton
The skeleton became Britain's best-known Mesolithic human, and its 2018 genome analysis reshaped public ideas about the appearance of early Britons.
Prehistory
Kennewick Man: The Ancient One and the Battle Over His Remains
After two decades of dispute, DNA showed the man was related to Native Americans and his remains were returned to Columbia Plateau tribes and reburied in 2017.
Prehistory
Kuk Swamp: Early Agriculture in the Highlands of New Guinea
Recognised as one of the few places where agriculture developed independently; inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008.
Prehistory
Domestication of Maize: From Teosinte to Corn in Ancient Mexico
Maize became the staple crop of the Americas and, after 1492, one of the most widely grown cereals in the world.
Prehistory
Mehrgarh: Early Farming Village of Neolithic South Asia
One of the earliest known farming settlements in South Asia, occupied for over four thousand years before the rise of the Indus civilisation.
Prehistory
Jiahu: Bone Flutes, Early Signs and Rice Wine in Neolithic China
A major early Neolithic village whose flutes, incised signs and fermented-drink residues changed views of early Chinese music, symbols and diet.