Artificial intelligence has helped decipher the rules of an ancient Roman game. A puzzling stone artifact found at the site of Coriovallum features geometric patterns, hinting at its use for gaming, but scholars had no idea how the game was played. Two AI agents were programmed to compete against each other using different sets of rules from known ancient games as a guide. The software revealed that the artifact’s wear patterns are consistent with blocking games, such as tic-tac-toe, which were not known to have existed in Europe before the Middle Ages.

Paleo-Inuit people were accomplished seafarers who routinely braved treacherous seas 4,500 years ago to visit remote High Arctic locations. An archaeological survey identified evidence of seasonal occupation, such as tent rings and hearths, on the Kitsissut Islands, some 30 miles off northwest Greenland. These early sailors had to cross notoriously dangerous open water in skin-covered wood-frame crafts to hunt marine mammals and gather eggs from the islands’ thriving seabird colonies. 

When humans first began using bows around 80,000 years ago, it represented a monumental step forward in their hunting capabilities. Lacing projectiles with toxins was the next game changer. The earliest evidence of poison-tip technology comes from 60,000-year-old quartz arrowheads found at the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter. Researchers studying the arrowheads detected residue from a toxic plant known as bushman’s poison bulb. Although not immediately fatal, this substance would have severely weakened wounded prey over time.