Cosmological myths, legends and superstitions of of our ancient ancestors were often tied to astronomical phenomena, and now researchers have found a truly stunning tool they used to make observations of these celestial happenings.

In the absence of modern magnifying glasses and reflective mirrors, the structure discovered in Portugal employed a lower-tech approach: a narrow passage filtered out extraneous light, helping people see stars at times when they would be hard to spot in the open sky.

Part of a prehistoric tomb complex called the Seven-Stone Antas, the astronomical observation device is thought to have been used to view Aldebaran, a red giant in the constellation of Taurus. This star becomes visible in the early morning s of spring, just before sunrise, but would be hard to see outside of a narrow window without a device to block out unwanted night. In turn, its passage was presumably used to mark a change of seasons from spring to summer.

More from the scientists behind the discovery and their next steps: “The team’s idea is to investigate how a simple aperture, for example an opening or doorway, affects the observation of slightly fainter stars. They focus this study on passage graves, which are a type of megalithic tomb composed of a chamber of large interlocking stones and a long narrow entrance. These spaces are thought to have been sacred, and the sites may have been used for rites of passage, where the initiate would spend the night inside the tomb, with no natural light apart from that shining down the narrow entrance lined with the remains of the tribe’s ancestors.”

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A student from Quebec, Canada, has stumbled on the find of a lifetime at the shockingly young age of 15: a long-missing Mayan city, tracked down using star maps. William Gadoury was following a theory that star-obsessed Mayans built towns in layouts that aligned with their constellations, arranging cities below along the same lines as stars above. Looking at star maps, he found a set of three cities where one, he theorized, was missing (two parts of a three-star constellation). He began exploring satellite images of the area in the Yucatan jungle, coming eventually across what appear to be large man-made shapes visible under the forest cover.

Canadian Space Agency scientist Daniel De Lisle, who has worked with satellite images for over 20 years, said the city was likely lost because the jungle is dense in that location. De Lisle said, “There are linear features that would suggest there is something underneath that big canopy. There are enough items to suggest it could be a man-made structure.” Geography professor Dr. Armand La Rocque agreed, with the assessment, suggesting the unnatural square shape may be the base of a pyramid, and pointing out adjacent lines that seem to show a street network.

Gadoury, as its discoverer, is calling the city K’aak Chi, which translates to Mouth of Fire. A scientific journey will publish his findings. Sooner or later, it is expected that archaeologists will travel to the location he identified to see what the shapes are up close, and perhaps discover a few more answers about the mysterious ancient civilization and how they positioned their cities.

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This 1,000-year-old golden statue has left China for the very first time, and already it’s having a grand global adventure. It made its way to Meander Medical Center in the Netherlands where some hospital employees decided to take a look inside with a CT scan – and what they found was seriously amazing.

Instead of more metal or even a hollow framework, the hospital staff found a mummified human being within the statue. They believe the remains are those of the Buddhist master Liuquan who died around 1100 C.E. That in itself would be a pretty noteworthy find, but the researchers also discovered that the body most likely underwent self-mummification.

After taking samples of the thoracic and abdominal cavities, doctors discovered all kinds of rotten material (as in, not the regular stuff you’d find in a dead person) and scraps of paper bearing ancient Chinese writing that has yet to be deciphered. In other known examples of self-mummification, however, the organs were not removed – making Liuquan an enigma wrapped in a shiny golden shell.

Although the self-mummification theory hasn’t yet been proven in regards to this particular statue, the process has been observed among other Buddhist monks. They prepare their bodies and organs to defy decay after death by ingesting certain herbs and other substances that actually lead to their eventual death. As this is the first Buddhist mummy to ever be studied in the West, Liuquan has a lot of secrets to tell.

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Fossils allow us an occasional glimpse into the history of life on our planet, but it takes some imagination to picture what the creatures must have been like when alive. A research team from the University of Manchester and the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin used simple open-source software and exceptionally preserved fossils from the Natural History Museum in London to recreate the walk of a long-extinct ancient relative of modern-day spiders.

The terrifying specimen lived 410 million years ago and was one of the first predators to walk on land. The arachnid group trigonotarbid lived from about 300-400 million years ago and ranged from a few millimeters to a few centimeters in length. According to scientists, they were probably more plentiful on Earth at the time than modern spiders are now. For the first time ever, and thanks to this research group, we are able to see how these creepy crawlies traversed the planet when they were at the top of the terrestrial food chain.

The computer-generated gait simulation was created using cross-section fossils which gave clues to the natural reach and motion of the creatures’ limbs. Combining this information with the leg structures and movements of modern arachnids, the researchers were able to create this creepy but compelling animation. One of the most exciting elements of this short animation is the fact that it was made with Blender, an open-source computer graphics program that is accessible to everyone and doesn’t require years of specialized training to use.

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Ancient humans had no choice but to figure out how to use the raw materials around them to accomplish essential tasks. As modern people, we have the luxury of choosing from a variety of pre-made tools that even come with instructions for use. Designers Ami Drach and Dov Ganchrow taught themselves to make ancient tools and then used modern techniques to give the tools specific defined purposes.

The stone hand-axe is a prehistoric tool that was used for a very wide variety of purposes. It would have functioned as a weapon, a food preparation tool, an animal-skinning blade, and a number of other uses – but it would have had the same form when being used for all of these purposes.

Drach and Ganchrow used 3D printing to add parts onto hand-axes that would give each a specific purpose and make them easier to use. The “Man Made” project added plastic pieces to flint tools to create a spear, a clip-on belt to store a throwing weapon, a cutting/slicing tool, a tripod display case, a chisel, a digging tool, and a swinging axe-like tool.

By defining each hand tool, the duo narrowed the number of things the hand-axes could be used for but also made them easier to do those newly-defined jobs. They now have a luxury that ancient humans never had and would be shocked to see: a comfortable way to perform necessary tasks with simplistic tools.

The Man Made project combines old and new technology and points out the stark contrasts between the two. Simple pieces of sharpened flint are exceptionally primitive, while the digital mapped and 3D printing add-ons are decidedly 21st century. Who would have thought they could come together to form tools that are not only useful but strangely beautiful?

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