2025 archaeological discoveries rewrite human and natural history

The year 2025 has yielded a series of groundbreaking archaeological discoveries that are fundamentally reshaping our understanding of human history and the ancient world. Key findings span continents and millennia, including evidence of the earliest deliberate use of fire, a record-breaking dinosaur track site, and the oldest known example of human mummification.

Record-breaking dinosaur tracks in Bolivia

In Bolivia's Torotoro National Park, scientists documented the highest concentration of dinosaur footprints ever found in a single location. The site, covering over 7,400 square meters, contains 16,600 footprints and 1,378 swimming tracks left by theropods—bipedal, three-toed dinosaurs—between 145 and 66 million years ago. The discovery, published in PLOS ONE, provides unprecedented insight into the behavior and movement of these prehistoric creatures.

Redefining human milestones: Fire, tools, and writing

British researchers announced the discovery of the world's oldest direct evidence of controlled fire-making at a site in Suffolk, England, dating back approximately 400,000 years. In Spain, tools crafted from whale bones 20,000 years ago were uncovered, revealing early human-marine mammal interaction. Meanwhile, excavations at Keeladi in Tamil Nadu, India, unearthed an advanced urban settlement with a unique script, challenging established theories about the origins of writing systems in South Asia.

Surprising insights on ancient life and domestication

Other major finds included evidence that survivors returned to live in the ruins of Pompeii after the catastrophic 79 AD eruption. A genetic study revised the timeline for cat domestication, suggesting it began 3,500–4,000 years ago, later than previously believed. In the realm of natural history, a new species of sharp-toothed whale, Janjucetus dullardi, was identified from a 26-million-year-old fossil in Australia, and the oldest known mummification practice, dating back 14,000 years, was documented in Vietnam.