News about History

Major EU grant for research on collective identity

The ERC has awarded Professor Dan Zahavi from University of Copenhagen an Advanced Grant of €2.4 million for the research project “Who are we”, which will examine what it means to feel, think and act as a group - as a…

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 more than 2,000 Islamic manuscripts in the Horn of Africa in order to map and preserve the rich, but largely…

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 have used them for hunting, a new study from the University of Copenhagen shows.

Archaeologists discover bread that predates agriculture by 4,000 years

At an archaeological site in northeastern Jordan, researchers have discovered the charred remains of a flatbread baked by hunter-gatherers 14,400 years ago. It is the oldest direct evidence of bread found to date,…

New research shows how Indo-European languages spread across Asia

A new study has discovered that horses were first domesticated by descendants of hunter-gatherer groups in Kazakhstan who left little direct trace in the ancestry of modern populations.

EU trade ban brings down global trade in wild birds by 90 %

Trade of wild birds has dropped about 90% globally since the EU banned bird imports in 2005. A study published today in the recognized scientific journal Science Advances demonstrates how the EU’s ban decreased the…

Ink from ancient Egyptian papyri contains copper

Until recently, it was assumed that the ink used for writing was primarily carbon-based at least until the fourth and fifth centuries AD. But in a new University of Copenhagen study, analyses of 2,000-year-old papyri…

Scandinavia’s earliest farmers exchanged terminology with Indo-Europeans

5,000 years ago, the Yamnaya culture migrated into Europe from the Caspian steppe. In addition to innovations such as the wagon and dairy production, they brought a new language – Indo-European – that replaced most loca…

Archaeologists connect ancient Corinth's inner and outer harbours

Researchers from the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports and the University of Copenhagen are continuing to make important discoveries at Lechaion, the main harbour town of ancient Corinth. Among them structures that…

Prehistoric plant remains highlight diverse origins of cereal domestication

Recent archaeological studies have suggested that the cultivation of morphologically wild plant species (pre-domestication cultivation), a precursor of agriculture, developed across southwest Asia around 11,600-10,700…

Danish archaeologist discovers the remains of ancient naval base in Athens

Marine archaeologist Bjørn Lovén from the University of Copenhagen has - with a team of Greek colleagues - discovered the remains of Athens' ancient naval base that was established in 493 BCE. The base, which was one of…

Head chef of Nordic Food Lab wins Sardinian Prize

Roberto Flore, head chef of Nordic Food Lab at University of Copenhagen, won the Sardinian award “Manos in Pasta” for sending a message about true Sardinian gastronomic heritage to the rest of the world.

University of Copenhagen establishes research corporation with Iranian heritage organisation

Iranian and Danish archaeologists soon launch a collaborative research project that will investigate the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture in Iran.

Fighting terrorism may actually increase the risk of terrorist attacks

After the attacks in Brussels: Danish economist Thomas Jensen claims that anti terrorism efforts may increase the risk of terror attacks.

Historical debates on power transitions must be recovered

It is a widely held fact among Western policymakers and academics that power transitions tend to bring tension and conflict, if not war, to world politics. In a new research project, Peter Marcus Kristensen, Postdoc at…

Politicians condition the influence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)

EU politicians have decisive influence on the broader impact of the Court’s jurisprudence. That is the conclusion by Professor Dorte Sindbjerg Martinsen, who is one of the first to analyse the judicial influence on EU…

Steep learning curve for efforts between war and peace

In a new Danish-language book entitled "Never-ending War? Denmark, civil-military cooperation and stabilization of global conflicts", senior researcher Henrik Ø. Breitenbauch, the Centre for Military Studies, examines…

The Danish election poster has become a shadow of its former self

In the past the Danish election poster was a piece of art. Today it is often like a dull advertisement according to professor Peter Nedergaard, Department of Political Science, who is co-author of a new book about the…

Inca children were drugged with coca and alcohol before sacrifice

Scientists have examined three 500-year-old Inca children giving new knowledge about an old Ince ritual - capacocha.

This is why it takes so long to get over tendon injuries

By combining the nuclear tests of the 1950s with tissue samples and modern technology, a research collaboration now reveals why the healing process to get over tendon damage is so slow.

Etymology and the European Lexicon: Call for Papers

We are pleased to announce that the 14th Congress (Fachtagung) of the Indogermanische Gesellschaft / Society for Indo-European Studies / Société des Études Indo-Européennes will be held in Copenhagen from Monday 17…