History and archaeology

archaeology

2025.01.16

Volcanic eruption caused Neolithic people to sacrifice unique "sun stones"

4,900 years ago, a Neolithic people on the Danish island Bornholm sacrificed hundreds of stones…

grant

2024.06.12

Archaeologists to contribute to major new research project on ancient DNA

Professor Eske Willerslev has been awarded a grant of up to DKK 585 million by Novo Nordisk…

archaeology

2024.02.19

Birds have been adapting to human activity for millennia

Roughly 14,500 to 10,500 years ago, in the transition from the last glacial period, Epipalaeolithic…

Colonisation

2023.07.06

Legends of Norse Settlers drove Denmark towards Greenland

The Danish colonisation of Greenland in the 18th century was in part driven by the desire to…

Mesopotamia

2023.05.18

The earliest recorded kiss occurred in Mesopotamia 4,500 years ago

Written sources from Mesopotamia suggest that kissing in relation to sex was practiced by the…

History

2023.03.03

Tree rings and strontium point researchers to the provenance of 400-year-old timber

Isotopes of the chemical element strontium, along with tree-ring analysis, point researchers to the…

archaeology

2022.03.11

Researchers confirm shipwreck could be 400-year-old colonial "Sparrow-Hawk"

The remains of a shipwreck in Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, thought to be a 400-year-old colonia…

archaeology

2022.02.03

Researchers to explore ancient dress practices in Sudan

Archaeologist Elsa Yvanez has received an ERC Starting Grant for the research project "Fashioning…

archaeology

2021.06.07

10,000-year-old bones reveal earliest goat herders’ practices

To trace the domestication of the goat, an international team of researchers have analysed 10,000…

archaeology

2021.04.14

Ancient DNA hints at diverse Stone Age traditions of kinship

An international team of researchers have used ancient genomes, 22 new genomes from Aşıklı Höyük an…

egyptology

2021.02.26

Ancient Egyptian manual reveals new details about mummification

Based on a manual recently discovered in a 3,500-year-old medical papyrus, University of Copenhagen…

Cultural and natural heritage

2021.02.17

Danish research institutions join the leading European network of cultural heritage

Led by researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Danish research institutions and museums now…

Mesopotamian medicine

2020.11.30

New book provides rare insights into a Mesopotamian medical practitioner’s education

2,700 years ago, a man called Kisir-Ashur practiced medicine and magic in the Assyrian city of Assu…

egyptology

2020.10.26

Inks containing lead were likely used as drier on ancient Egyptian papyri

Analysing 12 ancient Egyptian papyri fragments with X-ray microscopy, University of Copenhagen…

archaeology

2020.03.23

Paper on early agriculture’s impact on human lifestyle awarded prestigious prize

Together with an international team of researchers, University of Copenhagen archaeologist Scott…

assyriology

2019.12.20

Researcher discovers terrifying epilepsy demon on 2,700-year-old clay tablet

A 2,700-year-old cuneiform tablet from ancient Iraq describing medical treatments has suddenly…

archaeology

2019.12.13

Rare find: human teeth used as jewellery in Turkey 8,500 years ago

At a prehistoric archaeological site in Turkey, researchers have discovered two 8,500-year-old huma…

ERC grant

2019.12.10

New research project will tell the entangled history of the Lesser Antilles

In history books, the islands of the eastern Caribbean, the Lesser Antilles, are described as small…

islamic studies

2019.02.06

Forgotten Islamic literary tradition uncovered in the Horn of Africa

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have spent the last five years identifying and…

archaeology

2019.01.15

11,500-year-old animal bones in Jordan suggest early dogs helped humans hunt

11,500 years ago in what is now northeast Jordan, people began to live alongside dogs and may also…

archaeology

2018.07.16

Archaeologists discover bread that predates agriculture by 4,000 years

At an archaeological site in northeastern Jordan, researchers have discovered the charred remains o…