Decades ago, archaeologists discovered a sticky substance in a copper jar in an ancient Greek shrine. And until recently, the identity of the residue was still murky — is it a mixture of fats, oils and beeswax or something else? Researchers publishing in the Journal of the American Chemical Society have reanalyzed samples of the residue using modern analytical techniques and determined that it’s likely the remains of ancient honey — a conclusion previous analyses rejected.

A University of Kansas researcher recently published a reexamination of ancient human migratory routes from Africa, where homo sapiens first evolved, based on a newly improved glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) model of historical sea levels along with DNA and archaeological data. An improved simulation of ancient sea levels can reveal how melting glaciers — continuing long after the Last Glacial Maximum — may have transformed migration pathways and shaped the rise of civilizations in Africa.

A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem reveals that Neanderthals living in two nearby caves in northern Israel—butchered their food in noticeably different ways. Despite using the same tools and hunting the same prey, groups in Amud and Kebara caves left behind distinct patterns of cut-marks on animal bones, suggesting that food preparation techniques may have been culturally specific and passed down through generations. These differences cannot be explained by tool type, skill, or available resources, and may reflect practices such as drying or aging meat before butchering. The findings provide rare insight into the social and cultural complexity of Neanderthal communities.