Dragon Man and more: Understand the ancient world through 9 images

Meet your new ancestors.

Researchers in Spain tested out different lighting methods to figure out how ancient painters were able to see in dark caves: via fireplaces, torches, or stone lamps. The latter two were most promising in their tests, but the researchers say all three have benefits and drawbacks.

Artifacts from Iron Age-era Scotland revealed ancient humans likely kept tokens to remind them of their deceased loved ones. Archaeologists uncovered spoons and gaming pieces built into a stone roundhouse that they think served as a reminder for the living of those they lost.

Little is known about the Denisovans, a group of early humans that lived in modern-day Asia. But a new report on artifacts uncovered in a cave in Russia reveals they probably crossed paths with Neanderthals.

An analysis of over 236 ancient skulls reveals that Anglo-Saxons living in what’s now the United Kingdom were more united by their cultural practices and language than their genes.

Researchers working in Japan uncovered a 3,000-year-old fossil of a shark attack victim in the Seto Inland Sea. It’s the oldest known occurrence of a shark attacking a human ever recorded.

Meet one of your newest ancestors: Neshler Ramla Homo. Parts of this early human’s skull were uncovered in Israel, suggesting that ancestors of Neanderthals did not exclusively come from Europe.

A massive skull uncovered by accident might reveal a new type of ancient human. Three papers were published on what scientists think is a new species, Homo longi.

Or just “Dragon Man,” if you prefer the nickname.

Fragments of a human skull uncovered in Latvia reveal the oldest known victim of the virus that caused the Black Plague. He lived nearly 5,000 years ago — centuries before nearly half of Europe’s population was wiped out by what was likely a deadlier strain.

A carved staff with a snake figurine found in modern-day Finland gives researchers a window to the past rituals of humans living there between 4,000 to 2,000 B.C.