At the Aztec site of Templo Mayor in Mexico City, archaeologists have discovered a large, round ceremonial platform decorated with carvings of snake heads. Spanish historical documents say that Aztec rulers were cremated on such a structure. “Archaeologists are inching closer and closer to finding an Aztec royal tomb,” commented Michael Smith of Arizona State […]

A genetic study has concluded that wild asses in Northeast Africa are the ancestors of modern donkeys, indicating that the first domesticated donkeys traveled out of Africa with their human companions. Donkeys are important because they mark the human shift from agrarian society to a more trade-oriented society, explains Albano Beja-Pereira of Université Joseph Fourier. An […]