Even in prehistoric Denmark, some liked it hot. Residues scraped from the inside of 6000-year-old pots found in the Baltic show they were used to cook meat and fish that was seasoned with a peppery, mustard-like spice. The find is the oldest known evidence of spiced food in Europe, and perhaps anywhere in the world. Image: Peter aka anemoneprojectors
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Brandt’s bat (Myotis brandtii) typically weighs 4 to 8 grams – about half the weight of a house mouse. At that weight, a well-established link between body mass and lifespan dictates that it should live no more than five years. Yet in 2005, biologists captured a Brandt’s bat in Siberia 41 years after it had first been caught. A new study may have identified the genes behind its longevity. Image: Gilles San Martin
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Even in the Bronze Age there was more to life than work. Excavations at a burial site in south-east Turkey have revealed a set of 49 sculpted pieces that may once have been used in board games. They are among the oldest evidence of such games ever found. Image: shri_ram_r
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A team of archaeologists has found evidence to suggest that Neanderthals were the first to produce a type of specialised bone tool, still used in some modern cultures today. The find is the best evidence yet that we may have – on rare occasions – learned a trick or two from our extinct cousins. Image: Abri Peyrony and Pech-de-l’Azé I Projects
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Different strokes for different folks? Not when it comes to the aquatic ape: the first detailed observations of swimming chimpanzees and orang-utans suggest that they, like us, tend to swim using a form of breaststroke. The findings imply that we may owe our swimming style to our evolutionary past. Image: Tambako the Jaguar
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