Ancient DNA cracks puzzle of Basque origins
DNA from ancient remains appears to have solved the puzzle of one of Europe’s most enigmatic peoples: the Basques.
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New human-like species discovered in S Africa
Scientists in South Africa have discovered a new human-like species, which could change ideas about our early relatives.
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The lost genius of Mozart’s sister
Nannerl Mozart was a child prodigy like her brother Wolfgang Amadeus, but her musical career came to an end when she was 18. A one-woman play puts her back on the stage, where she belongs.
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Laos’ strange plain of jars
The few travellers that make it to this remote corner of Laos will find fields of ancient stone jars. Who put them there, and what were they for?
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Stonehenge researchers ‘may have found largest Neolithic site’
Huge stones found buried near Stonehenge were part of a ritual site built on an “extraordinary scale” and unique in the world.
The Blitz families who built a city underground
The German bombing campaign over Britain drove many families into cave systems.
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Why Orkney is the centre of ancient Britain
Long before the Egyptians began the pyramids, Neolithic man built a vast temple complex at the top of what is now Scotland. Robin McKie visits the astonishing Ness of Brodgar.
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The Mysterious Origins of Punctuation
As readers and writers, we’re intimately familiar with the dots, strokes and dashes that punctuate the written word. The comma, colon, semicolon and their siblings are integral parts of writing, pointing out grammatical structures and helping us transform letters into spoken words or mental images. We would be lost without them (or, at the very least, extremely confused), and yet the earliest readers and writers managed without it for thousands of years. What changed their minds?
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Five Fascinating Facts about Mary Shelley
Five facts about the life and work of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein.
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Discovery of ancient cave paintings in Petra stuns art scholars
Exquisite artworks hidden under 2,000 years of soot and grime in a Jordanian cave in Petra have been restored by experts from the Courtauld Institute in London.
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