HN Atlas
← All topics

Archaeology and ancient history

Archaeological discoveries, prehistoric activity, fossils, ancient artifacts, and distant history.

9,639 stories · 87 in 30 days · Updated Sep 28, 2026

The pace of conversation

Posts per month

2020-01: 125 posts2020-02: 97 posts2020-03: 97 posts2020-04: 87 posts2020-05: 109 posts2020-06: 126 posts2020-07: 138 posts2020-08: 108 posts2020-09: 107 posts2020-10: 114 posts2020-11: 131 posts2020-12: 128 posts2021-01: 112 posts2021-02: 134 posts2021-03: 144 posts2021-04: 131 posts2021-05: 124 posts2021-06: 137 posts2021-07: 104 posts2021-08: 132 posts2021-09: 127 posts2021-10: 126 posts2021-11: 95 posts2021-12: 118 posts2022-01: 120 posts2022-02: 113 posts2022-03: 96 posts2022-04: 89 posts2022-05: 110 posts2022-06: 135 posts2022-07: 97 posts2022-08: 126 posts2022-09: 128 posts2022-10: 143 posts2022-11: 142 posts2022-12: 149 posts2023-01: 157 posts2023-02: 114 posts2023-03: 125 posts2023-04: 103 posts2023-05: 125 posts2023-06: 111 posts2023-07: 139 posts2023-08: 123 posts2023-09: 170 posts2023-10: 172 posts2023-11: 102 posts2023-12: 130 posts2024-01: 128 posts2024-02: 186 posts2024-03: 102 posts2024-04: 124 posts2024-05: 121 posts2024-06: 136 posts2024-07: 161 posts2024-08: 151 posts2024-09: 149 posts2024-10: 125 posts2024-11: 132 posts2024-12: 122 posts2025-01: 126 posts2025-02: 103 posts2025-03: 145 posts2025-04: 102 posts2025-05: 86 posts2025-06: 92 posts2025-07: 120 posts2025-08: 113 posts2025-09: 113 posts2025-10: 106 posts2025-11: 112 posts2025-12: 103 posts2026-01: 95 posts2026-02: 106 posts2026-03: 81 posts2026-04: 89 posts2026-05: 76 posts2026-06: 86 posts2026-07: 98 posts2026-08: 100 posts2026-09: 80 posts
2020-012026-09

Posts per month · first and latest months may be partial.

01 / EXPLORE THROUGH TIME

Timeline

Start with the latest. Scroll back through time, or zoom in for more.

Year by yearUp to 5 stories per year
2026811 stories
Late Bronze Age Collapse↗ acoup.blog · HN · 316 comments · 432 points · Jul 10, 2026
God sleeps in the minerals↗ wchambliss.wordpress.com · HN · 105 comments · 569 points · Apr 15, 2026
How far back in time can you understand English?↗ deadlanguagesociety.com · HN · 415 comments · 793 points · Feb 18, 2026
430k-year-old well-preserved wooden tools are the oldest ever found↗ nytimes.com · HN · 261 comments · 511 points · Jan 27, 2026
A 26,000-year astronomical monument hidden in plain sight (2019)↗ longnow.org · HN · 113 comments · 565 points · Jan 20, 2026
20251,321 stories
How ancient people saw themselves↗ worldhistory.substack.com · HN · 170 comments · 252 points · Oct 26, 2025
A 12,000-year-old obelisk with a human face was found in Karahan Tepe↗ trthaber.com · HN · 187 comments · 411 points · Oct 07, 2025
2,500-year-old Siberian 'ice mummy' had intricate tattoos, imaging reveals↗ bbc.com · HN · 70 comments · 245 points · Jul 31, 2025
Purple Earth hypothesis↗ en.wikipedia.org · HN · 79 comments · 286 points · Jul 24, 2025
Neanderthals operated prehistoric “fat factory” on German lakeshore↗ archaeologymag.com · HN · 197 comments · 264 points · Jul 04, 2025
20241,637 stories
'Obelisks': New class of life has been found in human digestive system↗ sciencealert.com · HN · 134 comments · 476 points · Dec 30, 2024
Evidence of oldest known alphabetic writing unearthed in ancient Syrian city↗ hub.jhu.edu · HN · 260 comments · 359 points · Nov 23, 2024
Egypt's pyramids may have been built on a long-lost branch of the Nile↗ nature.com · HN · 404 comments · 354 points · May 16, 2024
How many bathrooms have Neanderthals in the tile?↗ johnhawks.net · HN · 230 comments · 543 points · Apr 17, 2024
New Aztec Codices Discovered: The Codices of San Andrés Tetepilco↗ tlacuilolli.com · HN · 154 comments · 378 points · Mar 23, 2024
20231,571 stories
Derinkuyu: Mysterious underground city in Turkey found in man's basement↗ bigthink.com · HN · 24 comments · 106 points · Dec 29, 2023
A closer look at the Tabula Peutingeriana↗ blog.datawrapper.de · HN · 67 comments · 133 points · Dec 25, 2023
2,300-year-old mosaic made of shells and coral found under Rome↗ cnn.com · HN · 19 comments · 118 points · Dec 23, 2023
How Many People? Ancient Demography↗ acoup.blog · HN · 5 comments · 121 points · Dec 23, 2023
Spanish climber emerges after 500 days in cave↗ cbc.ca · HN · 21 comments · 65 points · Apr 14, 2023
20221,448 stories
Forgetting the Asbestos – how we lose knowledge and technologies↗ 1517.substack.com · HN · 209 comments · 283 points · Oct 24, 2022
Hear the World’s Oldest Known Song, “Hurrian Hymn No. 6” Written 3400 Years Ago↗ openculture.com · HN · 102 comments · 273 points · Aug 26, 2022
Did the early medieval era ever take place?↗ jonn.substack.com · HN · 283 comments · 298 points · Jul 06, 2022
Ancient civilisation under eastern Turkey estimated to be 11k-13k years old↗ spectator.co.uk · HN · 377 comments · 699 points · May 20, 2022
The Antikythera mechanism reveals new secrets↗ scientificamerican.com · HN · 200 comments · 344 points · Jan 04, 2022
20211,484 stories
An intact slave's room found in Pompeii's ruins↗ pompeiisites.org · HN · 199 comments · 362 points · Nov 06, 2021
Scientists recreated classic origin-of-life experiment and made a new discovery↗ arstechnica.com · HN · 202 comments · 409 points · Oct 29, 2021
Evidence for European presence in the Americas in AD 1021↗ nature.com · HN · 391 comments · 655 points · Oct 20, 2021
Life-size camel sculptures in Saudi Arabia are older than Stonehenge, pyramids↗ smithsonianmag.com · HN · 127 comments · 428 points · Sep 17, 2021
‘Seven Sisters’ Myths May Reach Back 100k Years↗ singularityhub.com · HN · 212 comments · 450 points · Jan 17, 2021
20201,367 stories
Archaeologists uncover ancient street food shop in Pompeii↗ reuters.com · HN · 210 comments · 344 points · Dec 26, 2020
Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert↗ bbc.co.uk · HN · 493 comments · 906 points · Nov 24, 2020
Algorithm discovers how six molecules could evolve into life’s building blocks↗ chemistryworld.com · HN · 165 comments · 390 points · Oct 04, 2020
Pharaoh Ramesses VI Tomb↗ my.matterport.com · HN · 88 comments · 352 points · Jun 09, 2020
Oldest 'nearly complete' HIV genome found in forgotten tissue sample from 1966↗ livescience.com · HN · 201 comments · 386 points · May 29, 2020
Scroll through time ↕

02 / CATCH UP

The conversation now

Popular stories, with attention fading over roughly two weeks.

Pre-Greek: The lost language hidden within Ancient Greek↗ linguisticdiscovery.com · HN · 74 comments · 196 points · Sep 18, 2026
Fragment of oldest known peace treaty found in Turkey↗ livescience.com · HN · 11 comments · 92 points · Sep 27, 2026
New evidence for hidden chambers beyond Tutankhamun's tomb↗ nature.com · HN · 81 comments · 150 points · Sep 17, 2026
4,400-Year-Old Tomb of Egyptian Judge Found at Saqqara with Colors on Walls↗ arkeonews.net · HN · 60 comments · 202 points · Sep 12, 2026
Rope, twine and thread: Invisible technologies of the Stone Age↗ knowablemagazine.org · HN · 57 comments · 118 points · Sep 11, 2026

03 / GO DEEPER

Follow your curiosity

Find a particular story, revisit a year, or see what resonated.

Highest rated · the last 30 days

4,400-Year-Old Tomb of Egyptian Judge Found at Saqqara with Colors on Walls↗ arkeonews.net · HN · 60 comments · 202 points · Sep 12, 2026
Pre-Greek: The lost language hidden within Ancient Greek↗ linguisticdiscovery.com · HN · 74 comments · 196 points · Sep 18, 2026
New evidence for hidden chambers beyond Tutankhamun's tomb↗ nature.com · HN · 81 comments · 150 points · Sep 17, 2026
Rope, twine and thread: Invisible technologies of the Stone Age↗ knowablemagazine.org · HN · 57 comments · 118 points · Sep 11, 2026
Fragment of oldest known peace treaty found in Turkey↗ livescience.com · HN · 11 comments · 92 points · Sep 27, 2026
Researchers Spot Fake Ancient Pottery Using the Earth's Magnetic Field↗ smithsonianmag.com · HN · 30 comments · 83 points · Sep 05, 2026
Apple detectives solved mystery of ancient tree and rewrote the history of fruit↗ scientificamerican.com · HN · 19 comments · 71 points · Sep 16, 2026
1960s theory that Stonehenge was a prehistoric computer↗ bbc.com · HN · 68 comments · 67 points · Aug 31, 2026
Ancient cave art suggests first known humans in Ireland walked over from Wales↗ bbc.com · HN · 12 comments · 62 points · Sep 07, 2026
The Siberian Ice Maiden and the Scythian World↗ patrickwyman.substack.com · HN · 4 comments · 59 points · Sep 15, 2026

10 stories shown.

Help shape Hacker Atlas

Useful, confusing, or missing something? I’d love to hear.

Your feedback is private. Your email is only used to reply, never to sign you up for a newsletter.