From The Tertiary insects of North America, 1890

Historical Bugs: Archaeoentomology

The remains of ancient insects reveal new information about Paleo-Eskimo life and the history of the Norse in Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands.
College students work with archaeologists at "Koster Dig" in East Saint Louis

Grave Matters: Conflict in Reburial and Repatriation

The public is placing pressure on institutions to respect the concerns of Native peoples regarding the repatriation of human remains and grave-associated artifacts.
Illustration: Reconstruction drawing of public Latrine at Forum Hadriani, Germania Inferior, Netherlands

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/carolemage/9548853868

The Early History of Human Excreta

When humans stopped being nomadic, we could no longer walk away from our waste. We’ve been battling it ever since.
Ground mustard

The Mystery of the Mustard Family

An archaeological dig turned up eight bottles of mustard powder in one eighteenth-century homestead. Why the condiment love?
Figurine: The Eros terracotta figurine from Tel Kedesh, front and back views 

Source: P. Lanyi; courtesy Sharon Herbert and Andrea Berlin, Tel Kedesh Excavations.

The Archaeological Mystery of Tel Kedesh

Was a well-preserved set of game pieces and other childhood items buried by a young woman before she got married?
Ruins of a Roman aqueduct in Tunisia

Fixing the Aqueduct from Hell

The Roman engineer Nonius Datus thought the project was in good shape when he left Saldae. He would return.
Roman ivory doll from the mid-2nd century AD

Girls and Dolls in the Roman Empire

Analyzing the dolls of elite girls shows that playthings reinforced gendered expectations but also allowed for imaginative play.
Sofia, a skeleton from the Durankulak Necropolis

How the Gender Binary Limits Archaeological Study

One case study demonstrates how contemporary assumptions about gender in ancient societies risk obscuring the larger picture.
Family photo with Heinrich and Sophia Schliemann, 1871

Giving Overdue Credit to Early Archaeologists’ Wives

These women labored alongside their famous husbands to produce world-renowned research.
A collection of rare beer cans

An Archeologist’s Guide to Beer Cans

Here's how to figure out how long it's been since someone left their empties around, only to be dug up later.