Revolutionary ancient DNA evidence indicates that Homo sapiens finished off Neanderthals through deadly infectious diseases

Less than a decade ago, the American anthropologist James C Scott described infectious diseases as the “loudest silence” in the prehistoric archaeological record. Epidemics must have devastated human societies in the distant past and changed the course of history, but, Scott lamented, the artefacts left behind reveal nothing about them.

Over the last few years, the silence has been shattered by pioneering research that analyses microbial DNA extracted from very old human skeletons. The latest example of this is a groundbreaking study that identified three viruses in 50,000-year-old Neanderthal bones. These pathogens still afflict modern humans: adenovirus, herpesvirus and papillomavirus cause the common cold, cold sores, and genital warts and cancer, respectively. The discovery may help us resolve the greatest mystery of the Palaeolithic era: what caused the extinction of Neanderthals.

Jonathan Kennedy teaches politics and global health at Queen Mary University of London and is the author of Pathogenesis: How Germs Made History

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© Photograph: Jens Schlueter/Getty Images

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© Photograph: Jens Schlueter/Getty Images

John Belgrave, 60, uncovered rare sword, axe head and bangle in Dorset after becoming separated from group

An amateur detectorist has described how he unearthed a bronze age hoard, including a rare sword, after getting lost during a treasure hunters’ rally.

John Belgrave, 60, became separated from the main group of detectorists and headed to higher ground to try to spot them when he made what he has called the find of a lifetime.

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© Photograph: Max Willcock/BNPS

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© Photograph: Max Willcock/BNPS

Archaeologists trying to determine whether animals were killed in battle or buried as part of a ritual

French archaeologists have uncovered nine large graves containing the remains of horses from up to 2,000 years ago, in a find described as “extraordinary”.

The 28 stallions, all around six years old, had been buried shortly after they died, each placed in pits on their right side with their head facing south. Nearby a grave contained the remains of two dogs, heads facing west.

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© Photograph: Inrap

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© Photograph: Inrap

Charcoal graffiti believed to have been sketched by children uncovered at ancient Roman city

Drawings of gladiators believed to have been made by children inspired by watching battles at Pompeii’s amphitheatre are among the latest discoveries in the ruins of the ancient Roman city.

The charcoal drawings were found during excavations at I’Insula dei Casti Amanti, a cluster of homes in Pompeii’s archaeological park that opened to the public for the first time on Tuesday.

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© Photograph: Parco Archeologico Pompei

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© Photograph: Parco Archeologico Pompei

Exclusive: Bronze age remains and Roman roads among 12,802 sites discovered using latest technology

Bronze age burial mounds, Roman roads and deserted medieval villages are among almost 13,000 previously-unknown ancient sites and monuments that have been discovered by members of the public in recent months, it will be announced this week.

Truck drivers and doctors are among more than 1,000 people who participated in Deep Time, a “citizen science project” which has harnessed the power of hobbyists to scour 512 sq km (200 sq miles) of Earth Observation data, including high-resolution satellite and lidar – laser technology – imagery.

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© Photograph: John Finney Photography/Getty Images

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© Photograph: John Finney Photography/Getty Images

long-lost branch of the Nile that ran by the pyramids: Geological survey reveals the remains of a major waterway that ancient Egyptian builders could have used to transport materials (Freda Kreier for Nature). Satellite images and geological data now confirm that a tributary of the Nile — which researchers have named the Ahramat Branch — used to run near many of the major sites in the region several thousand years ago. The discovery, reported on 16 May in Communications Earth and Environment1, could help to explain why ancient Egyptians chose this area to build the pyramids (see 'Ancient river').

Full article in Communications Earth & Environment, authors Eman Ghoneim, Timothy J. Ralph, Suzanne Onstine, Raghda El-Behaedi, Gad El-Qady, Amr S. Fahil, Mahfooz Hafez, Magdy Atya, Mohamed Ebrahim, Ashraf Khozym & Mohamed S. Fathy.

Experts call for conservation action as the features on Rapa Nui’s famous monoliths are eroded by fire and rain

The Ahu Tahai moai, on the east side of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is an impressive 4.5 metres high. Carved from a soft volcanic rock, the statue looks out solemnly over the island, with its back to the bay.

The Tahai (“where the sun sets”) and the island’s other thousand or so moai were erected roughly between 1100 and 1700 as a representation of Rapa Nui’s ancestors.

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© Photograph: UNESCO

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© Photograph: UNESCO