https://humanities.ku.dk/news/histarch/ en Fri, 17 Apr 2026 01:07:05 +0200 Fri, 17 Apr 2026 01:07:05 +0200 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2026/april/4000-year-old-clay-tablets-inscribed-with-magical-spells-and-beer-tabs/ Around 5,200 years ago, people from ancient cultures in Iraq and Syria began carving characters onto...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2026/april/4000-year-old-clay-tablets-inscribed-with-magical-spells-and-beer-tabs/" alt="4,000-year-old clay tablets inscribed with magical spells… and beer tabs" title="4,000-year-old clay tablets inscribed with magical spells… and beer tabs"><img src="https://nyheder.ku.dk/alle_nyheder/2026/03/4.000-aar-gamle-lertavler-gemte-paa-magiske-besvaergelser-og-oelregninger/kilecollage1100x600.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2026/april/4000-year-old-clay-tablets-inscribed-with-magical-spells-and-beer-tabs/ Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:45:00 +0200 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2026/february/new-study-maps-where-wheat-barley-and-rye-grew-before-the-first-farmers-found-them/ Using advanced machine-learning and climate models, researchers have shown that the ancestors of crops...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2026/february/new-study-maps-where-wheat-barley-and-rye-grew-before-the-first-farmers-found-them/" alt="New study maps where wheat, barley and rye grew before the first farmers found them" title="New study maps where wheat, barley and rye grew before the first farmers found them"><img src="https://news.ku.dk/all_news/2026/02/new-study-maps-where-wheat-barley-and-rye-grew-before-the-first-farmers-found-them/AAO-sampling-wild-plants-near-Ma_in-in-Jordan1100x600.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2026/february/new-study-maps-where-wheat-barley-and-rye-grew-before-the-first-farmers-found-them/ Thu, 12 Feb 2026 13:30:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2025/archaeologists-uncover-5000-year-old-ceremonial-site-in-jordan/ A research team led by the University of Copenhagen has uncovered a remarkable Early Bronze Age ritual...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2025/archaeologists-uncover-5000-year-old-ceremonial-site-in-jordan/" alt="Archaeologists uncover 5,500-year-old ceremonial site in Jordan" title="Archaeologists uncover 5,500-year-old ceremonial site in Jordan"><img src="https://news.ku.dk/all_news/2025/10/archaeologists-uncover-5000-year-old-ceremonial-site-in-jordan/dolmen1100x600.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2025/archaeologists-uncover-5000-year-old-ceremonial-site-in-jordan/ Fri, 17 Oct 2025 11:30:00 +0200 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2025/researchers-on-the-verge-of-solving-mexican-mystery/ Christophe Helmke and Magnus Pharao Hansen have taken the first steps toward solving a major archaeological...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2025/researchers-on-the-verge-of-solving-mexican-mystery/" alt="Researchers on the verge of solving Mexican mystery" title="Researchers on the verge of solving Mexican mystery"><img src="https://news.ku.dk/all_news/2025/10/researchers-on-the-verge-of-solving-mexican-mystery/Figure01_Teo1100x600.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2025/researchers-on-the-verge-of-solving-mexican-mystery/ Mon, 06 Oct 2025 13:30:00 +0200 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2025/volcanic-eruptions-caused-neolithic-people-in-denmark-to-sacrifice-unique/ 4,900 years ago, a Neolithic people on the Danish island Bornholm sacrificed hundreds of stones engraved...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2025/volcanic-eruptions-caused-neolithic-people-in-denmark-to-sacrifice-unique/" alt="Volcanic eruption caused Neolithic people to sacrifice unique &quot;sun stones&quot;" title="Volcanic eruption caused Neolithic people to sacrifice unique &quot;sun stones&quot;"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2025/volcanic-eruptions-caused-neolithic-people-in-denmark-to-sacrifice-unique/Design_uden_navn.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2025/volcanic-eruptions-caused-neolithic-people-in-denmark-to-sacrifice-unique/ Thu, 16 Jan 2025 09:30:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2024/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 Foundation...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2024/archaeologists-to-contribute-to-major-new-research-project-on-ancient-dna/" alt="Archaeologists to contribute to major new research project on ancient DNA" title="Archaeologists to contribute to major new research project on ancient DNA"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2024/archaeologists-to-contribute-to-major-new-research-project-on-ancient-dna/Shubayqa-1100x600.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2024/archaeologists-to-contribute-to-major-new-research-project-on-ancient-dna/ Wed, 12 Jun 2024 15:00:00 +0200 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2024/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 and...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2024/birds-have-been-adapting-to-human-activity-for-millennia/" alt="Birds have been adapting to human activity for millennia" title="Birds have been adapting to human activity for millennia"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2024/birds-have-been-adapting-to-human-activity-for-millennia/Coot-nesting-on-bike1100x600.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2024/birds-have-been-adapting-to-human-activity-for-millennia/ Mon, 19 Feb 2024 10:30:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2023/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 re-establish...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2023/legends-of-norse-settlers-drove-denmark-towards-greenland/" alt="Legends of Norse Settlers drove Denmark towards Greenland" title="Legends of Norse Settlers drove Denmark towards Greenland"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2023/legends-of-norse-settlers-drove-denmark-towards-greenland/cover.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2023/legends-of-norse-settlers-drove-denmark-towards-greenland/ Thu, 06 Jul 2023 13:15:00 +0200 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2023/humanitys-earliest-recorded-kiss-occurred-in-mesopotamia-4500-years-ago/ Written sources from Mesopotamia suggest that kissing in relation to sex was practiced by the peoples...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2023/humanitys-earliest-recorded-kiss-occurred-in-mesopotamia-4500-years-ago/" alt="The earliest recorded kiss occurred in Mesopotamia 4,500 years ago" title="The earliest recorded kiss occurred in Mesopotamia 4,500 years ago"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2023/humanitys-earliest-recorded-kiss-occurred-in-mesopotamia-4500-years-ago/kiss.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2023/humanitys-earliest-recorded-kiss-occurred-in-mesopotamia-4500-years-ago/ Thu, 18 May 2023 11:30:00 +0200 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2023/strontium-points-researchers-to-the-provenance-of-400-year-old-timber/ Isotopes of the chemical element strontium, along with tree-ring analysis, point researchers to the origins...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2023/strontium-points-researchers-to-the-provenance-of-400-year-old-timber/" alt="Tree rings and strontium point researchers to the provenance of 400-year-old timber" title="Tree rings and strontium point researchers to the provenance of 400-year-old timber"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2023/strontium-points-researchers-to-the-provenance-of-400-year-old-timber/N_rregade-Horsens-sample1100x600.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2023/strontium-points-researchers-to-the-provenance-of-400-year-old-timber/ Fri, 03 Mar 2023 10:45:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2022/researchers-confirm-shipwreck-most-likely-is-40-year-old-colonial-sparrow-hawk/ The remains of a shipwreck in Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, thought to be a 400-year-old colonial...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2022/researchers-confirm-shipwreck-most-likely-is-40-year-old-colonial-sparrow-hawk/" alt="Researchers confirm shipwreck could be 400-year-old colonial &quot;Sparrow-Hawk&quot;" title="Researchers confirm shipwreck could be 400-year-old colonial &quot;Sparrow-Hawk&quot;"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2022/researchers-confirm-shipwreck-most-likely-is-40-year-old-colonial-sparrow-hawk/sparrow_hawk1100x600.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2022/researchers-confirm-shipwreck-most-likely-is-40-year-old-colonial-sparrow-hawk/ Fri, 11 Mar 2022 10:45:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2022/researchers-to-explore-ancient-dress-practices-in-sudan/ Archaeologist Elsa Yvanez has received an ERC Starting Grant for the research project "Fashioning Sudan....<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2022/researchers-to-explore-ancient-dress-practices-in-sudan/" alt="Researchers to explore ancient dress practices in Sudan" title="Researchers to explore ancient dress practices in Sudan"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2022/researchers-to-explore-ancient-dress-practices-in-sudan/Elsa1100x600.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2022/researchers-to-explore-ancient-dress-practices-in-sudan/ Thu, 03 Feb 2022 11:30:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/10000-year-old-bones-reveal-earliest-goat-herders-practices/ To trace the domestication of the goat, an international team of researchers have analysed 10,000 year-old...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/10000-year-old-bones-reveal-earliest-goat-herders-practices/" alt="10,000-year-old bones reveal earliest goat herders’ practices" title="10,000-year-old bones reveal earliest goat herders’ practices"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/10000-year-old-bones-reveal-earliest-goat-herders-practices/Mud-brick-with-hoof1100x600.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/10000-year-old-bones-reveal-earliest-goat-herders-practices/ Mon, 07 Jun 2021 11:15:00 +0200 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/ancient-dna-hints-at-diverse-stone-age-traditions-of-kinship/ An international team of researchers have used ancient genomes, 22 new genomes from Aşıklı...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/ancient-dna-hints-at-diverse-stone-age-traditions-of-kinship/" alt="Ancient DNA hints at diverse Stone Age traditions of kinship" title="Ancient DNA hints at diverse Stone Age traditions of kinship"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/ancient-dna-hints-at-diverse-stone-age-traditions-of-kinship/Catal1100x600.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/ancient-dna-hints-at-diverse-stone-age-traditions-of-kinship/ Wed, 14 Apr 2021 22:00:00 +0200 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/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 Egyptologist...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/ancient-egyptian-manual-reveals-new-details-about-mummification/" alt="Ancient Egyptian manual reveals new details about mummification " title="Ancient Egyptian manual reveals new details about mummification "><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/ancient-egyptian-manual-reveals-new-details-about-mummification/Embalming_the_face_1100x600px.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/ancient-egyptian-manual-reveals-new-details-about-mummification/ Fri, 26 Feb 2021 13:45:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/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 join...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/danish-research-institutions-join-the-leading-european-network-of-cultural-heritage/" alt="Danish research institutions join the leading European network of cultural heritage" title="Danish research institutions join the leading European network of cultural heritage"><img src="https://cms.ku.dk/arkiv/sund/fak/fak-sites/arkiv-sund.ku.dk/sund.ku.dk/news2021/02/1._Experimental_Loom1100.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2021/danish-research-institutions-join-the-leading-european-network-of-cultural-heritage/ Wed, 17 Feb 2021 11:00:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2020/new-book-provides-rare-insights-into-a-mesopotamian-medical-practitioners-education-2700-years-ago/ 2,700 years ago, a man called Kisir-Ashur practiced medicine and magic in the Assyrian city of Assur...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2020/new-book-provides-rare-insights-into-a-mesopotamian-medical-practitioners-education-2700-years-ago/" alt="New book provides rare insights into a Mesopotamian medical practitioner’s education " title="New book provides rare insights into a Mesopotamian medical practitioner’s education "><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2020/new-book-provides-rare-insights-into-a-mesopotamian-medical-practitioners-education-2700-years-ago/clay-tablet1100x600.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2020/new-book-provides-rare-insights-into-a-mesopotamian-medical-practitioners-education-2700-years-ago/ Mon, 30 Nov 2020 12:45:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2020/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 researchers...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2020/inks-containing-lead-were-likely-used-as-drier-on-ancient-egyptian-papyri/" alt="Inks containing lead were likely used as drier on ancient Egyptian papyri " title="Inks containing lead were likely used as drier on ancient Egyptian papyri "><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2020/inks-containing-lead-were-likely-used-as-drier-on-ancient-egyptian-papyri/detail-of-medical-treatise.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2020/inks-containing-lead-were-likely-used-as-drier-on-ancient-egyptian-papyri/ Mon, 26 Oct 2020 09:30:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2020/paper-on-early-agricultures-impact-on-human-lifestyle-awarded-prestigious-prize/ Together with an international team of researchers, University of Copenhagen archaeologist Scott Haddow...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2020/paper-on-early-agricultures-impact-on-human-lifestyle-awarded-prestigious-prize/" alt="Paper on early agriculture’s impact on human lifestyle awarded prestigious prize" title="Paper on early agriculture’s impact on human lifestyle awarded prestigious prize"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2020/paper-on-early-agricultures-impact-on-human-lifestyle-awarded-prestigious-prize/scott1100x600_1.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2020/paper-on-early-agricultures-impact-on-human-lifestyle-awarded-prestigious-prize/ Mon, 23 Mar 2020 09:00:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/researcher-discovers-terrifying-epilepsy-demon-on-2700-year-old-clay-tablet/ A 2,700-year-old cuneiform tablet from ancient Iraq describing medical treatments has suddenly revealed...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/researcher-discovers-terrifying-epilepsy-demon-on-2700-year-old-clay-tablet/" alt="Researcher discovers terrifying epilepsy demon on 2,700-year-old clay tablet" title="Researcher discovers terrifying epilepsy demon on 2,700-year-old clay tablet"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/researcher-discovers-terrifying-epilepsy-demon-on-2700-year-old-clay-tablet/tavle550x300.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/researcher-discovers-terrifying-epilepsy-demon-on-2700-year-old-clay-tablet/ Fri, 20 Dec 2019 15:00:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/rare-find-human-teeth-used-as-jewellery-in-turkey-8500-years-ago/ At a prehistoric archaeological site in Turkey, researchers have discovered two 8,500-year-old human...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/rare-find-human-teeth-used-as-jewellery-in-turkey-8500-years-ago/" alt="Rare find: human teeth used as jewellery in Turkey 8,500 years ago" title="Rare find: human teeth used as jewellery in Turkey 8,500 years ago"><img src="https://hum.ku.dk/faknyt/2020/januar/sjaeldent-fund-mennsketaender-blev-brugt-som-smykker-for-8500-aar-siden/drilled-teeth1100x600.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/rare-find-human-teeth-used-as-jewellery-in-turkey-8500-years-ago/ Fri, 13 Dec 2019 10:15:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/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 isolated...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/new-research-project-will-tell-the-entangled-history-of-the-lesser-antilles/" alt="New research project will tell the entangled history of the Lesser Antilles" title="New research project will tell the entangled history of the Lesser Antilles"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/new-research-project-will-tell-the-entangled-history-of-the-lesser-antilles/Map_Lesser-Antilles550x300.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/new-research-project-will-tell-the-entangled-history-of-the-lesser-antilles/ Tue, 10 Dec 2019 22:00:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/forgotten-islamic-literary-tradition-uncovered-in-the-horn-of-africa/ Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have spent the last five years identifying and analysing...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/forgotten-islamic-literary-tradition-uncovered-in-the-horn-of-africa/" alt="Forgotten Islamic literary tradition uncovered in the Horn of Africa" title="Forgotten Islamic literary tradition uncovered in the Horn of Africa"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/forgotten-islamic-literary-tradition-uncovered-in-the-horn-of-africa/manuscript550x300.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/forgotten-islamic-literary-tradition-uncovered-in-the-horn-of-africa/ Wed, 06 Feb 2019 16:00:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/11500-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 have...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/11500-year-old-animal-bones-in-jordan-suggest-early-dogs-helped-humans-hunt/" alt="11,500-year-old animal bones in Jordan suggest early dogs helped humans hunt" title="11,500-year-old animal bones in Jordan suggest early dogs helped humans hunt"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/11500-year-old-animal-bones-in-jordan-suggest-early-dogs-helped-humans-hunt/gazelle_bones_1100.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2019/11500-year-old-animal-bones-in-jordan-suggest-early-dogs-helped-humans-hunt/ Tue, 15 Jan 2019 12:30:00 +0100 https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2018/archaeologists-discover-bread-that-predates-agriculture-by-4000-years/ At an archaeological site in northeastern Jordan, researchers have discovered the charred remains of...<div class="item-image"><a href="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2018/archaeologists-discover-bread-that-predates-agriculture-by-4000-years/" alt="Archaeologists discover bread that predates agriculture by 4,000 years" title="Archaeologists discover bread that predates agriculture by 4,000 years"><img src="https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2018/archaeologists-discover-bread-that-predates-agriculture-by-4000-years/shubayqa-stone-structure-with-fireplace_505x300.jpg/" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> https://humanities.ku.dk/news/2018/archaeologists-discover-bread-that-predates-agriculture-by-4000-years/ Mon, 16 Jul 2018 11:00:00 +0200