Lizzie Wade

Mexico City

Science Writer at Science Magazine

Founder and Writer at The Lizzie Wade Weekly

Articles

Mediterranean hunter-gatherers voyaged across the open sea 8500 years ago

2 weeks ago | science.org | Lizzie Wade

Archaeologists thought they knew how Malta was first settled: by ancient farmers who reached the remote Mediterranean archipelago some 7400 years ago, crossing the open sea from Sicily with pottery, crops, and domesticated animals in tow. Now, an analysis published today in Nature reveals a previously unknown coastal site brimming with stone tools, hearths, shells, and animal bones that turns the old view on its head.
Apocalypse: How Catastrophe Transformed Our World and Can Forge New Futures

3 weeks ago | libraryjournal.com | Lizzie Wade

. May 2025. 320p. ISBN 9780063097308. $32. SCI COPY ISBN Journalist and Science correspondent Wade looks at apocalypses through the lens of archaeology.
The Next Big Idea Club’s May 2025 Must-Read Books

1 month ago | nextbigideaclub.com | Mark Blyth |Nicolo Fraccaroli |Lizzie Wade |Adam J. Kucharski

I’m pleased to share what I consider the most promising, must-read nonfiction titles scheduled for release in May 2025. These titles will be included in our longlist of potential titles for Season 27 of the Next Big Idea Club. In a couple of months, our curators—Susan Cain, Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink—will review all of my monthly selections, narrow the list down to a handful of finalists and, ultimately, choose our two official season titles, which we will send the members.
‘Creepy’ puppets may have starred in rituals at ancient Central American pyramid

1 month ago | science.org | Lizzie Wade

When University of Warsaw archaeologist Jan Szymański and colleagues unearthed five clay figurines on top of the ancient pyramid at the site of San Isidro in El Salvador, they were immediately enchanted by their striking facial features. All had open mouths, some with visible tongues; the three largest had detachable heads with small holes in their necks and the top of their heads.
How dogs’ health reflects our own, and what ancient DNA can reveal about human sacrifice

Jun 13, 2024 | science.org | Sarah Crespi |Andrew Curry |Lizzie Wade

Contributing Correspondent Andrew Curry joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss two very different studies that used DNA to dig into our past. One study reveals details of child sacrifices in an ancient Maya city. The other story is on the surprising historical reach of malaria, from Belgium to the Himalayas to South America. Next on the show, using our canine companions to track human health.
Sea creatures began to glow half a billion years ago

Apr 23, 2024 | science.org | Phie Jacobs |Lizzie Wade |Michael Price

When a shaggy bamboo coral (Isidella tentaculum) gets jostled by the arm of a remotely operated submersible, its limbs begin to sparkle with bluish light. The gleam penetrates the blackness of the deep sea, where many octocorals—an ancient, diverse group of marine invertebrates that includes quill-shaped sea pens, bamboo corals, and other soft corals and waving sea fans—form lush underwater gardens.
Roman-era bone container holds potent, hallucinogenic medicine

Feb 7, 2024 | science.org | Andrew Curry |Lizzie Wade

To ancient physicians, black henbane was a source of both fascination and fear. In the right amount, this poisonous plant was a mild narcotic, capable of relieving pain and helping with difficult pregnancies.
Black community members, scientists object to plan to bury skulls from Philadelphia museum

Jan 23, 2024 | science.org | Lizzie Wade

For nearly 2 centuries, the skulls of 20 Black people who died in Philadelphia have formed part of the Morton Cranial Collection, now housed at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Le città ritrovate dell’Amazzonia

Jan 18, 2024 | internazionale.it | Lizzie Wade

In passato gli archeologi credevano che l’antica foresta pluviale dell’Amazzonia fosse un luogo inospitale, popolato solo da pochi gruppi di cacciatori-raccoglitori. Ma negli ultimi vent’anni il ritrovamento dei resti di enormi terrapieni, piramidi e strade che vanno dalla Bolivia al Brasile ha dimostrato che l’Amazzonia ospitava società complesse ben prima dell’arrivo degli europei.
Laser mapping reveals oldest Amazonian cities, built 2500 years ago

Jan 11, 2024 | science.org | Lizzie Wade

Archaeologists once believed the ancient Amazon rainforest was an inhospitable place, sparsely populated by bands of hunter-gatherers. But the remains of enormous earthworks, pyramids, and roads from Bolivia to Brazil discovered over the past 2 decades have proved conclusively that the Amazon was home to large, complex societies long before European colonizers arrived.