Hollywood is set to produce “The Man from Hattusha,” a historical epic based on a novel by Turkish archaeologist Ahmet Çelik, detailing a pivotal diplomatic mission between the Hittite and Egyptian empires around 3,350 years ago. The film, backed by “Avatar” producer Shawn Anthony Sequeira and Emmy-winning director Nazim Hajiyev, aims to bring the little-known history of the powerful Hittite civilization to a global audience and potentially mark a breakthrough moment for Turkish cinema. The story centers on an envoy sent to negotiate a marriage alliance following the death of Tutankhamun, promising a narrative rich in political intrigue and cultural exchange.
Archaeological analysis of waste from Bronze Age Troy reveals insights into daily life, economic shifts, and social organization over nearly two millennia. Layers of refuse, including animal bones, pottery, and production debris, document changes in trade, technology, and urban planning.
A joint Egyptian-Italian archaeological mission has discovered a remarkably well-preserved tomb near the Mausoleum of Aga Khan, belonging to a senior official named Ka-Mesiu. The tomb contains a limestone sarcophagus, intricate hieroglyphic inscriptions, and mummies, offering new insights into ancient Egyptian social dynamics and funerary practices.
A pair of landmark studies has identified the originators of the Indo-European family of languages in current-day Russia about 6,500 years ago, the Caucasus Lower Volga people.
>“We can see there was a small group of villages 5,700 to 5,300 years ago with just a couple thousand breeding individuals,” Reich said. “And then there was a demographic explosion, with these people going everywhere.”
>“We can see there was a small group of villages 5,700 to 5,300 years ago with just a couple thousand breeding individuals,” Reich said. “And then there was a demographic explosion, with these people going everywhere.”
A newly deciphered Hittite tablet offers potential connections between Bronze Age Anatolia and the epic tradition of Homer’s Iliad, including references to figures and places associated with the Trojan War and a Luwian poetic fragment echoing the Iliad's opening.
Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of 11,000-year-old feasting rituals in western Iran, involving wild animals transported from distances up to 70 kilometers. The findings, centered around the site of Asiab, suggest complex social practices and the deliberate effort to gather animals for communal events, potentially even sacrifice, predating agriculture.
The Thinker of Hamangia, a masterpiece of primitive universal art from the Neolithic Hamangia culture in Romania, is a 5,500-6,000-year-old statuette included in UNESCO's list of 10 artifacts that should never disappear.
| **Aspect** | **Details** |
|---------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| **Artifact** | The Thinker of Hamangia |
| **Age** | 5,500-6,000 years (3500-4000 BCE) |
| **Significance** | Masterpiece of primitive universal art |
| **UNESCO Recognition** | Included in the list of 10 artifacts that should never disappear |
| **Culture** | Hamangia Culture (Neolithic, IV-II millennium BC) |
| **Location** | Named after the old village Hamangia in Dobrogea, Romania |
| **Aspect** | **Details** |
|---------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| **Artifact** | The Thinker of Hamangia |
| **Age** | 5,500-6,000 years (3500-4000 BCE) |
| **Significance** | Masterpiece of primitive universal art |
| **UNESCO Recognition** | Included in the list of 10 artifacts that should never disappear |
| **Culture** | Hamangia Culture (Neolithic, IV-II millennium BC) |
| **Location** | Named after the old village Hamangia in Dobrogea, Romania |
Archaeologists have uncovered the lost city of Imet in Egypt’s Nile Delta using satellite imagery, revealing a thriving ancient urban center with unique tower houses and insights into religious practices during the Late Period.
A new analysis of Indian genomes—the largest and most complete to date—helps untangle the groups' complex evolutionary history, uncovering a 50,000-year history of genetic mixing and population bottlenecks that shaped genetic variation, health and disease in South Asia.
A study combining archaeology and genetics, published in Science, reveals that the spread of Neolithic practices from Anatolia wasn't solely due to migration. Researchers found evidence of significant genetic continuity in West Anatolia over 7,000 years, despite cultural shifts like the adoption of agriculture and settled lifestyles. This suggests ideas and technologies spread without large-scale population movement in many areas. Some regions did experience migration and genetic mixing around 7,000 BCE, and later in the Aegean, but the overall picture is one of cultural diffusion occurring alongside, and often independently of, population shifts. The study highlights the importance of supporting research in the regions directly related to the questions being investigated and demonstrates a new methodology for integrating genomic and archaeological data.
