The brain is in a less restorative state under the influence of caffeine while sleeping

 

 - Caffeine is not only found in coffee, but also in tea, chocolate, energy drinks and many soft drinks, making it one of the most widely consumed psychoactive substances in the world.

In a study published in April in Nature Communications Biology, a team of researchers from Université de Montréal shed new light on how caffeine can modify sleep and influence the brain's recovery — both physical and cognitive — overnight.

The research was led by Philipp Thölke, a research trainee at UdeM's Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Laboratory (CoCo Lab), and co-led by the lab's director Karim Jerbi, a psychology professor and researcher at Mila - Quebec AI Institute.

Working with with sleep-and-aging psychology professor Julie Carrier and her team at UdeM's Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, the scientists used AI and electroencephalography (EEG) to study caffeine's effect on sleep.

They showed for the first time that caffeine increases the complexity of brain signals and enhances brain "criticality" during sleep.  Interestingly, this was more pronounced in younger adults.

"Criticality describes a state of the brain that is balanced between order and chaos," said Jerbi. "It's like an orchestra: too quiet and nothing happens, too chaotic and there's cacophony. Criticality is the happy medium where brain activity is both organized and flexible. In this state, the brain functions optimally: it can process information efficiently, adapt quickly, learn and make decisions with agility."

Added Carrier: "Caffeine stimulates the brain and pushes it into a state of criticality, where it is more awake, alert and reactive While this is useful during the day for concentration, this state could interfere with rest at night: the brain would neither relax nor recover properly."

40 adults studied
To study how caffeine affects the sleeping brain, Carrier's team recorded the nocturnal brain activity of 40 healthy adults using an electroencephalogram.  They compared each participant’s brain activity on two separate nights — one when they consumed caffeine capsules three hours and then one hour before bedtime, and another when they took a placebo at the same times.

"We used advanced statistical analysis and artificial intelligence to identify subtle changes in neuronal activity," said Thölke, the study's first author. "The results showed that caffeine increased the complexity of brain signals, reflecting more dynamic and less predictable neuronal activity, especially during the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) phase of sleep that's crucial for memory consolidation and cognitive recovery.”

The researchers also discovered striking changes in the brain's electrical rhythms during sleep: caffeine attenuated slower oscillations such as theta and alpha waves —  generally associated with deep, restorative sleep — and stimulated beta wave activity, which is more common during wakefulness and mental engagement.

"These changes suggest that even during sleep, the brain remains in a more activated, less restorative state under the influence of caffeine," says Jerbi, who also holds the Canada Research Chair in Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroimaging. "This change in the brain's rhythmic activity may help explain why caffeine affects the efficiency with which the brain recovers during the night, with potential consequences for memory processing.”

People in their 20s more affected
The study also showed that the effects of caffeine on brain dynamics were significantly more pronounced in young adults between ages 20 and 27 compared to middle-aged participants aged 41 to 58, especially during REM sleep, the phase associated with dreaming.

Young adults showed a greater response to caffeine, likely due to a higher density of adenosine receptors in their brains. Adenosine is a molecule that gradually accumulates in the brain throughout the day, causing a feeling of fatigue.

"Adenosine receptors naturally decrease with age, reducing caffeine's ability to block them and improve brain complexity, which may partly explain the reduced effect of caffeine observed in middle-aged participants," Carrier said.

And these age-related differences suggest that younger brains may be more susceptible to the stimulant effects of caffeine. Given caffeine’s widespread use around the world, especially as a daily remedy for fatigue, the researchers stress the importance of understanding its complex effects on brain activity across different age groups and health conditions.

They add that further research is needed to clarify how these neural changes affect cognitive health and daily functioning, and to potentially guide personalized recommendations for caffeine intake.

About this study
"Caffeine induces age-dependent increases in brain complexity and criticality during sleep," by Philipp Thölke et al., was published April 30, 2025 in Nature Communications Biology.

Classic Mayan people: how their population expanded or declined during the rise and fall of their civilization

A new study published today [Thursday 29 May 2025] explores the genetic origins of the Classic Mayan people and investigates how their population expanded or declined during the rise and fall of their civilization. The Classic Maya Civilization was one of the most advanced and sophisticated ancient civilizations in the Americas.

The team’s analysis traces local ancestry back to the Late Archaic period, followed by an influx of highland Mexican ancestry as the ancient Maya city of Classic Copán rose to power. When the civilisation collapsed, signs of population decline emerged. The civilisation flourished primarily in present-day southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Honduras and El Salvador between roughly 250 CE and 900 CE. The study is published in the journal Current Biology.

The Maya region, a key part of Mesoamerica, has been relatively understudied in ancient genomics, largely because the tropical climate poses serious challenges for ancient DNA preservation. In this study, the team successfully recovered and analysed ancient genomes from seven individuals, from what today is Copán in Honduras, all dated to the Classic period.

In this study, the central question researchers aimed to answer was: what were the genetic origins of the Classic Maya people, and how did their population expand or decline during the rise and fall of their civilization? By investigating these patterns, they hoped to better understand how demographic changes may have been linked to broader social, political, and environmental shifts.

In a world increasingly shaped by climate change, it is critical to understand how human societies have historically responded to environmental stress—whether through resilience, adaptation, or collapse. The fall of the Classic Maya civilization is one of the most compelling and enduring mysteries in human history. By examining their genetic origins and potential population shifts, we can gain new insights into how environmental pressures may have influenced societal change, offering valuable lessons for our own time.

The study was led by geneticist Dr. Shigeki Nakagome, Ussher Assistant Professor in Genomic Medicine, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin.  He said:

“ I have always been deeply interested in human origins, specifically where people come from, how populations moved and interacted, and how cultures evolved over time. The Classic Maya civilization is well-known for its rich history, yet many aspects of their ancestry remain underexplored. By applying ancient genomics, I saw an opportunity to contribute new insights into their population history and help fill in gaps in our understanding of their origins.”

The team’s most surprising finding was the clear signal of ancestry from highland Mexico appearing in individuals from Copán, a major capital at the southeasternmost extreme of the Classic Maya civilisation, supporting the role of gene flow in the formation of the Classic Maya state. 

Dr. Nakagome concluded:

“This research contributes valuable knowledge to the fields of anthropology, archaeology, and human genetics, which can indirectly inform our broader understanding of human diversity and evolution.”

The research team has identified next steps for this research which involves expanding the sample size by analysing more ancient DNA from different Classic Maya states. This will assist in building a more detailed picture of population movements and interactions. Additionally, integrating genetic data with archaeological and environmental evidence will allow them to better understand how social and ecological factors influenced the rise and fall of the Classic Maya civilization.

You can view the full paper:’ Ancient genomes reveal demographic trajectories during the Classic Maya period’ at this link: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)00577-9  

Ancient genomes shed light on human prehistory in East Asia

 

Caption

Population migration, replacement, and the preservation of deeply diverged ancestry in southern East Asia.

 Image by Prof. FU Qiaomei's group 

Newly sequenced ancient genomes from Yunnan, China, have shed new light on human prehistory in East Asia. In a study published in Science, a research team led by Prof. FU Qiaomei at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences analyzed data from 127 ancient humans, dating from 7,100 to 1,400 years ago. The results show that this region is pivotal to understanding the origin of both Tibetan and Austroasiatic (i.e., ethnic groups with a shared language group in South and Southeast Asia) population groups.

The team found that a 7,100-year-old individual from Yunnan was as genetically distinct from most present-day East Asians as a 40,000-year-old individual from the area of present-day Beijing, suggesting a previously unobserved Asian ancestry, denoted in the study as Xingyi ancestry. Collectively, these ancestries highlight the profound genetic divergence among human populations in East Asia.

Although the individual genetically differed significantly from modern East Asians, the researchers noted that the individual's ancestry shared qualities similar to those of populations indigenous to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. This aligns with previous observations that these plateau populations have certain genetic characteristics that make them distinct from other present-day human groups.

This individual's genome has filled in a large piece of the puzzle, making it easier to study Tibetan prehistory. The study revealed that an early Asian population that separated at least 40,000 years ago persisted in Southwestern China until the Holocene and interacted with humans migrating westward from northern East Asia to originate Tibetan populations.

This deeply diverged Xingyi ancestry was also found in an 11,000-year-old Longlin individual previously sampled in Guangxi, yet it gradually disappeared in later Guangxi populations.

Moreover, the researchers conducted a genome-wide analysis of DNA from humans living in central Yunnan from 5,100–1,400 years BP. Their study revealed a shared ancestry that was closely related—but genetically distinct—from East Asian ancestries observed in northern and southern China. According to the researchers, the Yunnan individuals genetically diverged from northern and southern East Asian groups at least 19,000 years ago.

Interestingly, the Yunnan samples also share a close genetic relationship to Austroasiatic speakers, who are widespread today across Southeast Asia, as well as some regions of South Asia and southern China. 

Some scientists have hypothesized that the spread of Austroasiatic speakers was linked to the expansion of farming in this region. However, the presence of these Austroasiatic-related populations in central Yunnan predates agricultural practices.

This study may provide insights into the origins of Austroasiatic populations. It presents the oldest evidence of ancestry associated with Austroasiatic speakers, with a continuous record from 5,100–1,400 years BP. Looking to central Yunnan and the nearby Red River Valley could be crucial for unveiling Austroasiatic prehistory.

The study also sheds light on the history of populations in western and southeastern Yunnan. Specifically, genetic analyses show that populations with northern East Asian ancestry influenced populations in western Yunnan, whereas populations carrying northern East Asian ancestry influenced populations in southeastern Yunnan.

Southwest China is a key region for prehistoric human migration and interaction. By accessing the genetic history preserved in these ancient genomes from Yunnan, the researchers have uncovered deep genetic diversity that accounts for the rich ethnic and linguistic diversity in Yunnan today. This research has also transformed our understanding of ancient human dynamics over a much wider geographic area, from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to Southeast Asia.

The study's comprehensive analysis of ancient DNA from 7,100–to 1,400-year-old Yunnan populations offers new insights into long-debated questions regarding the origins and expansion of various East Asian populations.

Leprosy in the Americas predates European contact

Leprosy has been present in the Americas for more than 1,000 years, long before the arrival of European settlers, according to a groundbreaking new finding published this week in the journal Science.

The major international study was co-led by scientists at Colorado State University and the Institut Pasteur in France, in collaboration with Indigenous communities and more than 40 scientists from institutions across the Americas and Europe. The study reframes the history of leprosy in the Americas and has implications for better understanding how infectious diseases spread, persist and evolve in human and animal populations over time.

“This study is a powerful example of how ancient and modern DNA can rewrite medical history and deepen our understanding of contemporary infectious diseases,” said Charlotte Avanzi, co-lead author and assistant professor at CSU, who led the analysis of modern clinical samples for the study. “We’re only just beginning to uncover the diversity and global movements of this recently discovered pathogen.”

Leprosy is a disease that affects thousands of people worldwide, with M. leprae being the most common species of leprosy-causing bacteria. Scientists have long thought that the disease was introduced to the Americas by European colonizers. This new study, however, shows that a lesser-known species of leprosy-causing bacteria, Mycobacterium lepromatosis, infected humans in the Americas centuries before European contact.

“This discovery changes how we understand the history of leprosy in the Americas,” said co-lead author Maria Lopopolo from Institut Pasteur. “It tells us that a form of the disease had been endemic among Indigenous populations long before European ships arrived.”

Extensive screening

For this study, the team conducted the most extensive screening done for this pathogen, analyzing DNA from nearly 800 samples, including ancient skeletal remains from different regions and clinical samples from five countries: Mexico, the U.S., Brazil, Paraguay and French Guiana. The most positive cases were identified in Mexico and the U.S., which, according to the authors, likely reflects a combination of a higher prevalence of the pathogen in those regions as well as more intensive sampling in those countries.

Working in collaboration with Indigenous communities, the team recovered M. lepromatosis DNA from ancient human remains in Canada and Argentina that dated back over 1,000 years. Using a DNA sequencing method known as long-read sequencing, the team also generated the first high-quality, complete genome for the bacterium from a modern sample, a leprosy patient from Costa Rica — an essential step for mapping evolution and spread.

Despite being separated by over 10,000 kilometers, the infections from the Canadian and Argentinian remains fell within a relatively narrow time frame, and the corresponding strains were similar, suggesting the bacterium had spread widely across the continent in a few centuries. Whether this rapid dispersal was human-mediated, such as through networks of trade and contact, or animal-driven, remains an open question, the authors said.

“Our findings significantly alter the historical narrative of leprosy in the Americas,” said Nicolás Rascovan, a senior author from the Institut Pasteur. “This discovery not only reshapes our understanding of the pathogen’s origins but also raises the possibility that this pathogen may have been introduced in various geographic regions and highlights the complex interplay between human populations and pathogens over time.”

Altering the historical narrative

The road to this discovery began in 2008 when M. lepromatosis was first identified in a patient in Mexico — an unexpected revelation at the time.

“It was hard for many in the field to accept that a second agent of leprosy had been hiding in plain sight,” said John Spencer, an associate professor at CSU who contributed to the original discovery of M. lepromatosis. “The idea that such a significant pathogen could go undetected for so long was deeply surprising.”

In 2015, the genome of M. lepromatosis was sequenced, which enabled scientists to develop molecular tools to detect the bacterium in human tissue. Despite this progress, confirmed data on the geographic distribution of M. lepromatosis remained sparse.

“Genome sequencing enabled the development of specific markers to detect Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Since then, numerous cases have been identified in Mexico, raising strong suspicion that North America may be the pathogen’s place of origin,” said co-author Lucio Vera-Cabrera, microbiologist and researcher at the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, Mexico. “However, until now, its true origin remained unclear.”

One of the study’s earlier breakthroughs came in 2016, when M. lepromatosis was unexpectedly found in red squirrels in the British Isles — the first confirmed animal reservoir of the pathogen, also reported in Science.

“At that time, we were puzzled,” Avanzi said. “We had detected the pathogen mostly in the Americas, and it was unclear how red squirrels in Europe had become infected.”

The new research builds on that finding and found five genetically distinct lineages of M. lepromatosis, including one lineage formed by the red squirrel strains. Analyses suggest that the strain infecting squirrels likely originated from a strain introduced from the Americas between 4,000 and 100 years ago. 

Llamas may have been domesticated in the semi-arid North of Chile prior to the Incas

 

image: 

View of funerary context from the El Olivar site with complete camelids in situ: Context with a camelid associated with human remains.

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Credit: Paola González, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Llamas may have been domesticated in the semi-arid North of Chile prior to the Incas, according to multi-proxy analysis of early camelid remains

Article URL: https://plos.io/4mzZabZ 

Article title: Multi-proxy analysis of El Olivar camelids (1,090-1,440 cal AD): Evaluating the presence of llamas (Lama glama, Linnaeus 1758) in the Semiarid North of Chile before the arrival of the Inca

Author countries: Chile, Denmark, Argentina

Funding: Work funded by the El Olivar Archaeological Project. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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 To evaluate the presence of domesticated camelids in the Semiarid North of Chile (29°S) before the arrival of the Inca, we utilized a multidisciplinary approach to analyze 57 South American camelids that were part of the funerary contexts of the El Olivar site, dated between 1,155 and 1,538 cal AD and associated with the Diaguita Culture. The analyses included osteometric data, age profiles, sex estimation, genetic analysis, identification of pathologies, isotopic analysis and dental calculus analysis. The results indicate a higher frequency of juvenile-adult and adult animals, together with a relatively similar proportion of males and females. Osteometric analysis allowed us to identify the individuals as belonging to the “large group” which consists of both llama (Lama glama) and guanaco (Lama guanicoe), while genetic analysis indicates that the camelids from El Olivar are most closely related to Lama glama and the wild subspecies Lama guanicoe cacsilensis. Isotopic analyses suggest the consumption of a mixed diet of C3 and C4 plants, following the pattern seen in domestic camelids from the central-southern Andes. Dental calculus analyses indicate anthropic management through the provision of previously cooked food to two camelids with polydactyly. Taken together, we provide the first solid evidence of domesticated camelids (Lama glama) in the Semiarid region of Chile, prior to the influence of the Inca.

Citation: López Mendoza P, González P, Westbury MV, Saghessi D, González Venanzi L, González BA, et al. (2025) Multi-proxy analysis of El Olivar camelids (1,090-1,440 cal AD): Evaluating the presence of llamas (Lama glama, Linnaeus 1758) in the Semiarid North of Chile before the arrival of the Inca. PLoS One 20(5): e0323497. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323497

A sweeping study of 7,000 years of monuments in South Arabia

 

Structures played key role in preserving social connections

P

Ohio State University

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Researchers look over the remains of a platform monument, the largest type of monument studied. They were generally created in a single session, by multiple individuals.

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Credit: The Ohio State University

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research brings together 7,000 years of history in South Arabia to show how ancient pastoralists changed placement and construction of monuments over time in the face of environmental and cultural forces.

 

In a study published today (May 28, 2025) in PLOS One, an international team of archaeologists documents how monuments changed as the climate transitioned from a humid environment to, eventually, an arid desert.

 

Early monuments were built by larger groups at one time. But as people dispersed with the increasingly drier climate, smaller groups began constructing monuments and eventually built many of them in several visits.

 

“The findings show that monuments are a flexible technology that reflect the resilience of desert pastoralists in the face of a changing climate,” said Joy McCorriston, lead author of the study and professor of anthropology at The Ohio State University.

 

But the key role that these monuments played in people’s lives remained a constant.

 

“These monuments are touchstones for human social belonging,” McCorriston said.

 

“As these groups became smaller and more spread out in the desert, people’s interactions with the monuments consolidates a sense of being part of a larger society.”

 

The research team analyzed 371 archaeological monuments in the arid Dhofar region of Oman. The earliest monuments studied were created from 7500 to 6200 BP (years Before Present) in the Holocene Humid Period. This period was characterized by higher-than-modern rainfall in southern Arabia.

 

The most recent monuments studied were created from 1100-750 BP, during the Late Antiquity when the area had become a desert.

 

While examples of most of the monuments and archaeological sites had previously been studied and classified, that research was generally very time- and place-specific, McCorriston said.

 

“What we’ve done is take a holistic look and show how all these individual monuments were part of a larger story of how the monuments changed as the lives of the people changed over thousands of years,” she said.

 

The researchers did this by looking at a standard set of observations for all the monuments and developing a model that could be used in other contexts and places around the world.

 

For example, the model may be applicable and adaptable to assess social resilience in regions such as Saharan, Mongolian, or the high Andes.

 

One of the key measurements the researchers made was the volume and size of stones used in construction of the monuments. The earliest-built monuments in the study were Neolithic platforms, which contained larger stones. They were the largest monuments studied and were built at one time.

 

“The significance of the larger stones is that it takes more people to lift them.  We know that it took at least seven strong men to lift the largest stones,” McCorriston said.

 

“These large monuments that were built in one episode could only be built early on, before the region became arid. This is when large groups of people could still come together at one time.”

 

Some of these larger monuments could serve large gatherings of people, where they could converge with multiple herds of cattle, and have animal sacrifices and feasts.

 

As the region became more arid and could no longer support large numbers of people nor their coming together, small groups traveled widely, going to where they could find water and places for their animals to graze.

 

They still had to build monuments in one episode, such as for burials, but by this time they tended to be smaller and use smaller stones, the researchers found.

 

What became more common were what are called accretive monuments, which people built over time – sometimes many years – rather than in one episode, like the earlier platform monuments.

 

One example of such monuments is accretive triliths. The higher number of triliths, along with the smaller stone volumes with few heavy stones, are consistent with monuments built over time by smaller, dispersed groups in an era of hyper-aridity.

 

These accretive monuments functioned as touchstones, allowing pastoralists to maintain connections and social resilience even as their movements and populations became more dispersed.

 

“In many cases, they were building a memory. They come to a monument and add their piece, which was a replicated element of the whole. It helped people maintain a community, even with those they may rarely see,” she said.

 

It is impossible to say what were the precise messages the monuments were meant to convey, according to McCorriston. “What we can say is that the monuments conveyed readable meanings to others who shared the same cultural context.”

 

It is possible, though, that some monuments were built to assure others in a social network access to important environmental information as they came by later.

 

“People would need to know, did it rain here last year? Did the goats eat all the grass? Pastoralists used this technology to help absorb the risk of being in an inherently variable and risky environment,” she said. And they would need to depend on social networks for livestock exchanges, marriage partners, and rare materials, like sea shells, carnelian and agate and metal.

 

“That is one of the key points of what we found. Our model highlights a reliance on monuments to preserve connections and adapt socially in a changing world.”

 

Other Ohio State co-authors on the study were Lawrence Ball, Ian Hamilton, Matthew Senn and Abigail Buffington. Other co-authors were Michael Harrower of Johns Hopkins University; Sarah Ivory of Penn State University; Tara Steimer-Herbet of the Université de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland; and ‘Ali Ahmad Al-Kathiri and ‘Ali Musalam Al-Mahri of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Salalah, Sultanate of Oman.

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Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0323544 

Excavating life on the medieval Mongolian frontier

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

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Grave inside the garrison

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Credit: Credit: Gideon Shelach-Lavi

New archaeological findings along a little-known medieval wall in eastern Mongolia reveal that frontier life was more complex than previously believed. Excavations show evidence of permanent habitation, agriculture, and cultural exchange, suggesting that these walls were not solely defensive structures but part of a broader system of regional control and interaction during the Jin dynasty.

Link to pictures and video: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1krCqKwVHzMIA-EaU7AhES47HikEgElmp?usp=sharing

A team of international archaeologists led by Professor Gideon Shelach-Lavi of the Department of Asian Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has uncovered new insights into life along one of Asia’s most enigmatic medieval frontiers. Their findings, recently published in the journal Antiquity, focus on a little-known section of the Medieval Wall System and reveal that the main function of this section was not military defense. In fact, excavation reviled that in this part of the Medieval Wall System there was now standing linear wall but only a relatively shallow trench that starched over 300 km long.  Researchers now believe that the main function of this line, that included also walled forts, was managing movement of nomadic populations, controlling local unrest, regulating trade, marking territory, and shaping regional interactions.

The Medieval Wall System is a vast network of trenches, earthen walls, and fortified enclosures constructed between the tenth and thirteenth centuries across parts of Mongolia, China, and Russia. Despite its impressive scale, many segments remain poorly understood. Since 2018, the collaborative research project The Wall: People and Ecology in Medieval Mongolia and China based in the Hebrew university—funded by the European Research Council—has worked to map, excavate, and interpret these monumental features. The 2023 field season focused on the Mongolian Arc, a remote frontier zone running through Mongolia’s Sukhbaatar and Dornod provinces parallel to the current border with China.

“Our goal was not only to understand how these walls were built, but to uncover what life was like for the people who lived near them,” explained Professor Shelach-Lavi. “This goes beyond military history—it’s about reconstructing everyday experiences on the edges of imperial power.”

The team’s excavation centered on a fortified enclosure known as MA03 in Sukhbaatar Province, dated by radiocarbon analysis to the period of the Jin dynasty (twelfth to thirteenth century). Although traditionally thought to serve defensive purposes, the shallow trench near MA03 lacked a substantial wall, suggesting that it functioned more as a territorial marker or checkpoint than a military barrier. Within the enclosure, the researchers uncovered stone architecture, an advanced heating system, and a range of artifacts—including animal bones, pottery, iron tools, and a broken iron plough. These remains point to a permanent settlement engaged in herding, hunting, and agriculture, challenging the common perception of the region as exclusively nomadic. The heating system, similar to those found in medieval China and Korea, further suggests cultural exchange and adaptation to Mongolia’s severe winters.

One of the most striking discoveries was a mid-fifteenth-century burial inserted long after the enclosure had been abandoned. The grave, which contained well preserved textiles, wooden objects, and metal artifacts, was dug directly into the collapsed remains of the enclosure wall.

“This tells us that even centuries later, the site still held meaning,” said Professor Shelach-Lavi. “It remained visible in the landscape and may have been remembered—or even revered—by later communities.”

The findings contribute to a growing body of research suggesting that ancient frontier walls across Eurasia served not just military ends, but also administrative and symbolic functions. In the context of Mongolia—long associated with mobile pastoralism—the study reveals a more complex and adaptable way of life.

“Our research reminds us to look beyond capital cities and royal courts,” said Professor Shelach-Lavi. “People lived, worked, traded, and built communities along these borderlands.

Understanding their lives helps us understand the broader dynamics that shaped Eurasian history.”

Learn more: https://www.the-wall-huji.com/the-mongolian-arc

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Journal

Antiquity

DOI

10.15184/aqy.2025.49 

Oldest whale bone tools discovered

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona

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 Excavations in 2022 in the Basque cave of Isturitz, France, where several dozen whale bone objects were discovered. Picture: Jean-Marc Pétillon 

Excavation director (to be credited): Christian Normand 

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Credit: Picture: Jean-Marc Pétillon

Humans were making tools from whale bones as far back as 20,000 years ago, according to a study conducted by scientists from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and the University of British Columbia. This discovery broadens our understanding of early human use of whale remains and offers valuable insight into the marine ecology of the time. 

Whales, the largest animals on Earth, were an important source of food and materials such as oil and bone. For this reason, they are believed to have played a key role in the survival of many coastal human groups. However, tracing the origins of human-whale interactions is challenging, as coastal archaeological sites are especially fragile and vulnerable to rising sea levels, making it difficult to preserve evidence of early human-marine mammal relationships. 

 The research, led by Jean-Marc Pétillon (CNRS) along with ICTA-UAB scientist Krista McGrath and published in Nature Communications, analyzes 83 bone tools excavated from sites around the Bay of Biscay in Spain, along with 90 additional bones from Santa Catalina Cave, also located in the province of Biscay. The authors used mass spectrometry and radiocarbon dating to identify the species and age of the samples. 

“Our study reveals that the bones came from at least five species of large whales, the oldest of which date to approximately 19,000–20,000 years ago. These represent some of the earliest known evidence of humans using whale remains as tools”, says Jean-Marc Pétillon, senior author of the research. 

According to Krista McGrath, leading author of the paper, “ZooMS is a powerful technique for investigating past sea mammal diversity, particularly when diagnostic morphometric elements are missing from bone remains and objects, which is often the case for bone artefacts. We managed to identify species such as sperm whales, fin whales, blue whales, all still present in the Bay of Biscay today, as well as grey whales, a species now mostly restricted to the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans”. 

In addition, chemical data extracted from the bones suggest that the feeding habits of these ancient whales differed slightly from those of their modern counterparts, pointing to potential changes in behavior or the marine environment. Overall, this discovery not only enhances our understanding of early human use of whale remains but also sheds light on the role whales played in past ecosystems. 

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-025-59486-8