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Ciampate del Diavolo
Foresta, Italy

Ciampate del Diavolo (Devil's Footprints)

A trail of footprints discovered after a landslide was left not by the Devil, as originally believed, but by an early human ancestor.
mammoths

Podcast: The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team September 29, 2021
Egypt is home to fossils that include a range of ancient marine animals, such as this early whale from Wadi al-Hitan, southwest of Cairo.
science

Meet the Egyptian Scientists Studying 'Ghosts' of the Desert

The country's extensive fossils include early ancestors of whales, the largest mammals on the planet.
Jessica Leigh Hester September 21, 2021
A thin section of petrified wood identified as <em>Cynometra</em>, a genus of tree also found throughout the tropics today.
forests

To Imagine a 39-Million-Year-Old Forest, Start Small—Very Small

Decades of work has revealed a "megadiverse" ancient landscape in northern Peru that was destroyed in a volcanic eruption.
Gemma Tarlach September 16, 2021
DInosaur tracks.
Tuba City, Arizona

Moenave Dinosaur Tracks

One of the most extensive and well-preserved collections of dinosaur footprints in North America.
One of the largest <em>T. rex</em> skeletons ever found, "Scotty" was apparently at home in a swampy Saskatchewan.
dinosaurs

T. Rex Thrived in a Swampy Home, According to Amber 'Time Capsule'

Fragments of fossilized tree resin suggest the iconic dinosaur ruled an ecosystem similar to the Everglades.
Jack Tamisiea August 26, 2021
deserts

Podcast: Valley of the Whales

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team July 7, 2021
Rock Carvings in Gobustan
Qobustan, Azerbaijan

Gobustan Rock Art

A massive collection of petroglyphs dating back some 40,000 years.
Gildardo and other amber miners work in the tunnels' high heat and humidity using basic tools like a pick, sledgehammer, and shovel.
mines

Amber Mines in Mexico Offer Hope, Hazards, and 'A Perfect Time Capsule'

In Simojovel's network of dark tunnels, workers risk their lives to find coveted treasures that preserve a distant past.
Emiliano Ruprah April 28, 2021
An artist's rendering of one of the three new giant cloud rat species.
islands

Giant Cloud Rats Hint at a Prehistoric Biodiversity Paradise

Oversized, fluffy rodents in the Philippines may have been hunted by our evolutionary cousins. 
Gemma Tarlach April 27, 2021
How many of you were there?
dinosaurs

The Thorny Problem of Tallying Every T. rex to Ever Live

Here’s why it’s really, really hard to count how many of the apex predators once stalked Earth’s surface.
Jessica Leigh Hester April 19, 2021
Toronto, Ontario

Gordo the Barosaurus

Canada's largest dinosaur skeleton was hidden away in storage for more than 40 years.
This creature, <em>Podokesaurus holyokensis</em>, is primed to be Massachusetts's future official dinosaur.
dinosaurs

In Other Election News, Massachusetts Just Voted on a State Dinosaur

Meet Podokesaurus holyokensis, a prehistoric resident of the Commonwealth.
Jessica Leigh Hester February 5, 2021
This artists' rendering illustrates the scientists' idea of how the ancient worms might have settled in to wait for prey.
science

Enter the Lair of an Enormous, Ancient, Predatory Worm

Trace fossils are useful paleontological allies—but they can't tell us everything.
Jessica Leigh Hester February 4, 2021
Family of mammoth replicas.
Ottawa, Ontario

Dinosaur Crossing Signs and Statues

These prehistoric replicas were based on actual skeletal remains.
Stan sold for a thunderous sum.
dinosaurs

The Fossils That Get Away (From Scientists)

A high-profile T. rex sale is a reminder that paleontologists get stressed when fossils vanish into private hands.
Jessica Leigh Hester November 13, 2020
The <em>Archaeopteryx</em> cocktail, which Carney concocted the day his paper was published, is pictured here with a replica of the Berlin specimen.
dinosaurs

How a Black-Feathered Dino Inspired a Series of Nerdy Cocktails

Drink your way through the history of life on Earth.
Isaac Schultz November 13, 2020
Another view of the ice cave exhibit.
Ithaca, New York

Ice Age Glacial Exhibit

This exhibit allows visitors to wander through the interior of a replica Ice Age glacial cave.