In 2022, archaeologists worked on the ancient DNA from a number of early medieval cemeteries, and found two individuals that stood out. One was from Updown Eastry in Kent, known as Updown girl, and the other was a young man from Worth Matravers in Dorset. Both were dated to the 7th century and both appeared to have west African heritage.| phys.org
Written accounts tell the story of the Zanj rebellion—a slave revolt that took place in the late 9th century in southern Iraq. Some of the rebels were enslaved Africans working in various sectors of the local economy.| phys.org
Teenagers can seem to have their phones glued to their hands—yet they won't answer them when they ring. This scenario, which is all too familiar to many parents, can seem absurd and frustrating, or even alarming to some.| phys.org
Climate change is not new: temperatures have been rising for decades as a result of global warming. In South Africa's city of Pietermaritzburg, four low-income urban communities have experienced drought, heat waves, severe hailstorms, devastating flooding events that killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands, and wildfires as a result of climate change. Environmental scientist Sithabile Hlahla interviewed people in 378 homes there and found that they were not coping well with climate ...| phys.org
Australia's First Nations history stretches back many tens of thousands of years, rich in depth and diversity. Archaeological research has revealed much about this deep past, but it has rarely captured the gestures of the ancestors—their movements, postures and physical motions. Material traces like tools and hearths tend to survive; fleeting movements usually do not.| phys.org
What turns a democratically elected leader into an authoritarian? The process is rarely abrupt. It unfolds gradually and is often justified as a necessary reform. It is framed as what the people wanted. All this makes it difficult for citizens to recognize what is happening until it's too late.| phys.org
African Perspectives on Agroecology is a new book with 33 contributions from academics, non-governmental organizations, farmer organizations and policy makers. It is free to download, and reviewers have described it as a "must read for all who care about the future of Africa and its people." The book outlines how agroecology, which brings ecological principles into farming practices and food systems, can solve food shortages and environmental damage caused by mass, commercial farming. We aske...| phys.org
We often hear that Aboriginal peoples have been in Australia for 65,000 years, "the oldest living cultures in the world." But what does this mean, given all living peoples on Earth have an ancestry that goes back into the mists of time?| phys.org
