1 . Back in 2019, three Chinese scientists were playfighting during a break from working in the Chongqing Province, China. One was kung-fu kicked into a rock, causing an opening in the rock face. Inside, a wonderful fossil (化石) lay undisturbed, preserved for millions of years.

The fossil was a jawed fish, some 439 million years old, and the findings from the Chongqing site, along with other fossil findings in nearby Guizhou province, have excited the science world, as they are 11 million years older than any fish fossil found before. It is a significant discovery because scientists have suspected that jaws evolved (进化) some 450 million years ago, but there had yet to be any fossils that supported this theory. The oldest fossils with jaws found were 439 million years old.

In this discovery, though, there was a new species of shark that was 439 million years old, with a full jaw.

“All these things are still like dreams,” said Zhu Min, who led the research teams that recently published four papers on the discoveries. “Today we are staring at complete early fishes, 11 million years earlier than the previous oldest finds. These are both the most exciting as well as the most challenging fossils I have had the privilege to work on.”

Some of the fish that were discovered were placoderms, an extinct class of fish that have hard plates that formed a shield around the head and trunk, while others were an ancient type of shark.

The scientists found the oldest-known teeth of any vertebrate (脊椎动物), 14 million years older than any previous findings, as well as two other shark descendants. China has been the site of numerous discoveries in recent years, including fossils of feathered dinosaurs, as well as the oldest known animals on Earth.

“The discovery of the Chongqing site is indeed an unbelievable miracle of fossil hunting,” Zhu added. “Suddenly we realized we have found a jaw-dropping fossil site. We are now close to the core of solving the fishy tree of early jawed vertebrates.”

2 . When the discovery of fossilized (化石的) footprints made in what’s now New Mexico was made public in 2021, it was an astonishing moment for archaeology (考古学), seemingly rewriting a chapter of the human story. Now new research is offering further evidence of their significance.

While they look like they could have been made yesterday, the footprints were pressed into mud 21,000 to 23,000 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating of the seeds of a water plant that were preserved above and below the fossils. This date dramatically pushed back the timeline of humans’ history in the Americas, the last land to be settled by prehistoric people. The 61 dated prints, which were discovered in the Tularosa Basin, near the edge of an ancient lake in White Sands National Park, were made at a time when many scientists think that massive ice sheets had stopped human passage into North America, indicating that humans arrived in the region even earlier.

However, some archaeologists questioned the age of the footprints established by those initial findings. They noted that water plants such as Ruppia cirrhosa — the one used in the 2021 study — can acquire carbon atoms from the water rather than the air, which can result in a misleadingly early date.

In a follow-up study published Thursday in the journal Science, researchers said they have produced two new lines of evidence to support their initial dates. “Even as the original work was being published, we were speeding up to test our results with multiple lines of evidence,” said Kathleen Springer, co-lead author on the new Science paper, in a news release. “We were confident in our original ages, as well as the strong evidence.”

When and how early humans first moved to the Americas has long been debated and remains poorly understood. Current estimates range from 13,000 years ago to more than 20,000 years ago. However, the earliest archaeological evidence for the region’s settlement is insufficient and often controversial, making the footprints especially important.

4 . Human footprints in White Sands National Park in New Mexico aroused an argument two years ago when scientists found the prints to be surprisingly old.

In 2021, researchers described more than 60 footprints preserved in New Mexico. Radiocarbon dating(放射性碳定年法)of an aquatic(水生的)plant’s seeds in and around the footprints suggested that the first humans in North America came from Siberia via a land bridge between 23,000 and 21,000 years ago, almost 7000 years earlier than the long-held theory.

But some scientists noted that the aquatic plants used to date the footprints could have absorbed ancient carbon in groundwater. “There’s a possibility then for the plant to give overstated viewpoints on its age,” says Davis, who wrote a criticism of the 2021 paper.

Now, two other ways probably solving the argument, researchers report in the Oct. 6 Science. Pigati and colleagues radiocarbon-dated pollen(花粉)stuck in the same layers as some of the footprints. The pollen came from land plants, mainly pine, avoiding the groundwater carbon issue. The researchers also collected stones above the lowest footprints and used a dating method that estimates how long the stones had been buried.

The pollen gave an age range of 23,400 to 22,600 years old, and the stone an age minimum of about 21,500 years old. Both results proved the previous age estimate. Despite possible errors in the individual dating methods, “the data overall from the new study strongly indicate human presence in the Americas” around 22,000 years ago, says Bente Philippsen, a physicist at the Norwegian University.

One thing is certain: There’s still plenty to uncover about the footprints.Coauthor Kathleen Springer says, “We are learning more every time we go out there,” she says. “This paper is literally the latest chapter in the White Sands story.”

This is the famous Sanxingdui Ruins site, which is in Southwest China’s Sichuan province.

The Sanxingdui Ruins     1     (believe) to be the remnants(遗迹) of the Shu Kingdom, dating back some 5,000 to 3,000 years. Ancient city walls, palaces and many gold, ivory and bronze     2     (artifact) unearthed here     3     (true) proved the existence of the ancient Shu Kingdom and the diversity of Chinese civilization.

The     4     (culture) relics unearthed here look quite exotic. The most representative one is a bronze mask with protruding eyes. The mask is 66 centimeters in     5     (high)and 138 centimeters wide. Its weight is about 71.9 kilograms, similar to     6     of an adult man. It has upturned brows, almond eyes ,huge ears and a mysterious smile. It’s eyes stick out 16 centimeters, just like a telescope looking up at the sky.Its mysterious appearance has aroused heated discussion among researchers. The exaggerated eyes and ears reflect a desire of the ancient Shu people,     7     were unable to see or hear anything in the distance due to lack of necessary tools. Therefore, when making the bronze mask, they incorporated their wishes into the artifact,     8     (hope) to enhance their visual and auditory abilities.

Nowadays, the Sanxingdui Museum attracts millions of visitors from home and abroad every year. Their special guided tour developed     9     the mixed reality technology can help people better understand the Sanxingdui culture. Just put on the special MR glasses, and you can visit     10     was filled with the wonderful stories of the relics.

When you’re in Sichuan province, do come and visit the mysterious and unique Sanxingdui Ruins site.

9 . Scientists found what could be the oldest evidence of cooking at the edge of the ancient Lake Hula in Israel at the Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, according to a newly-published paper. The remains, especially fish teeth, were discovered near places where scientists also found signs of fire. Tests showed the teeth had been exposed to temperatures that were hot, but not super-hot. This suggested the fish were cooked slowly over a low heat, rather than being put right onto a fire.

With all the evidence together, scientists concluded that these ancient humans had used fire for cooking some 780,000 years ago. That is much earlier than the next oldest evidence for cooking, about 170,000 years ago, which showed Stone Age humans ate burnt roots in South Africa.

Scientists believe cooking started long before this, though physical evidence has been hard to come by —considering the importance of using fire to cook. Cooked food makes it easier for the body to digest and get more nutrients. When early humans figured out how to cook, they were able to get more energy, which they could use to fuel bigger brains. Based on how human ancestors’ bodies developed, scientists guess that cooking skills would have had to appear nearly 2 million years ago.

Those first cooked meals were a far cry from today’s dinners. And at that time, humans started eating not just for fuel, but for their community. In a 2010 paper, scientists described the earliest evidence of a feast(盛宴), which was a specially prepared meal that brought people together for an event in a cave. This “first feast” came at an important turning point in human history, right as hunter-gatherers were starting to settle into more permanent living situations. Gathering for special meals may have been a way to build community and reduce tensions now that people lived closer to each other. Scientists believe ancient feasts served a lot of the same social uses that modern gatherings serve: People exchange information, make connections, or try to improve their position.

The Sanxingdui Ruins, in the city of Guanghan, is one of the     1     (important) ancient remains not only in China but all over the world. It is about 40 kilometers from Chengdu in Sichuan Province.

The Sanxingdui Ruins is best known for     2     (it) rich cultural content, large size, and the length of time it has been standing since it     3     (create). The Sanxingdui Ruins is made up    4     several large relic areas that are considered as the largest ancient Shu cultural relic sites in Sichuan Province,     5     (total) extending 12 square kilometers.

According to     6     the experts were able to find, the Sanxingdui Ruins housed actual life about 2,800 to 4,800 years ago, which means the people     7     (live) behind the mysterious Ruins were during the late Neolithic (新石器时代的) age. While you are visiting the Sanxingdui Ruins, the highlight (最精彩的部分) will be the very unique Sanxingdui Museum in the northeastern part of the Ruins. The museum     8     (cover) a total area of 200,000 square meters and has lots of modern equipment. The government spent over 30 million yuan on the     9     (construct) of the museum, creating     10     simple but very solemn (庄严) style.