Ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti, thought to have ruled as Pharaoh, might be buried near Tutankhamun. Credit: Filo/Getty Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings has long puzzled archaeologists. Might hidden chambers — suspected to hold the remains of Nefertiti — lie beyond its walls? Now, researchers say they have found new evidence pointing to
Archaeological site and samples Bianfu Cave (26° 27′ 43.65′′ N, 100° 09′ 55.45′′ E) is in Heqing County, western Yunnan Province in southwestern China, approximately 2 km south of the Yinhe River, a secondary tributary of the Yangtze River (Fig. 1a). In 2019, the Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and other cooperative institutes conducted excavations on this site. The stratigraphy
Krause, J. et al. The complete mitochondrial DNA genome of an unknown hominin from southern Siberia. Nature 464, 894–897 (2010). Article ADS CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Reich, D. et al. Genetic history of an archaic hominin group from Denisova Cave in Siberia. Nature 468, 1053–1060 (2010). Article ADS CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google
In the remains of the Roman theatre, Israeli activist Alon Arad – who heads Emek Shaveh, an Israeli group that aims to ensure that the ancient heritage of the region belongs to all communities – says that the Israeli authorities have bypassed consultation with the local administration and residents of Sebastia. “The thing is that
Atahualpa, the last Incan emperor, was seized by troops in 1532 during the Spanish Conquest, but smallpox had already devastated the Inca Empire around 1524–1528.Credit: Florilegius/Alamy More than 400 years ago, two people living in modern day Chile died while infected with the smallpox virus. Viral DNA found in their mummified remains has now yielded
Nature, Published online: 24 June 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01704-4 A surge of genetic data from the skeletal remains of Neanderthals disproves some assumptions and generates fresh questions about these ancient hominins.