Unearthed

Subscribe to CNN’s Wonder Theory newsletter to delve into the wonders of science. Discover incredible breakthroughs, intriguing research, and fascinating cosmic stories. Fossils that preserve entire animals as they appeared in death give us a rare glimpse into the distant past. Such is the case for multiple finds of Archaeopteryx—the earliest known bird—and a newly studied, long-inaccessible fossil now reveals fresh insights into whether or not Archaeopteryx could truly fly. Scientists have

Subscribe to CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter for insights into the cosmos and groundbreaking discoveries in the world of science. For over a millennium, the dense forests of the Mexican state of Campeche cloaked a remarkable ancient history. The region, long regarded as an archaeological “blank spot” within the Maya Lowlands — an area stretching across present-day Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and southeastern Mexico — was home to the Maya civilization from around 1000 BC to AD 1500.

Subscribe to CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter to dive into the cosmos and stay updated with remarkable breakthroughs, scientific progress and much more. In northwest China, mummified remains from the Bronze Age have revealed a curious burial practice: desert dwellers were interred with cheese carefully placed on their heads and necks—perhaps as sustenance for the afterlife. Over a decade after this dairy discovery emerged from the Taklamakan Desert's dry grasp, researchers have