News about History

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 were surprised to find previously unknown lead compounds in both red and black inks and suggest they were used…

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 were surprised to find previously unknown lead compounds in both red and black inks and suggest they were used…

Alaskan volcano linked to mysterious period with extreme climate in ancient Rome

An international team, including researchers from the University of Copenhagen, has found evidence suggesting that the megaeruption of an Alaskan volcano may be to blame.

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

Together with an international team of researchers, University of Copenhagen archaeologist Scott Haddow receives this year’s PNAS Cozzarelli Prize for co-authoring the best paper in the field of Social and Behavioral…

Historical inequalities and uncertain land tenure systems create problems in protected areas of Patagonia

Systematic repression through harassment, violence and bureaucracy. This is how families experience everyday life in the hands of a powerful national park in the Argentine region of Patagonia. One hundred years ago, the…

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 revealed a secret – a hitherto overlooked drawing of the demon that the ancient Assyrians thought caused epilepsy. It is the…

Ancient “Chewing Gum” Yields Insights into People and Bacteria of the Past

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have succeeded in extracting a complete human genome from a thousands-of-years old “chewing gum”.

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 human teeth, which had been used as pendants in a necklace or bracelet. Researchers have never documented this practice…

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 societies controlled by European colonial powers. But the many small islands were in fact deeply dependent on…

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…

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…