Art

We generally associate the origins of mathematical thinking with the emergence of writing but a new study challenges this assumption looking at floral designs found on the pottery sherds across northern Mesopotamia, dating back 8000 years.

Step aside, Van Gogh. New research shows that several orb-weaving species create giant web-mounted “doppelgängers” convincing enough to confuse potential predators. It’s a clever form of deception that nudges the line between instinct and ingenuity.

New research is adding to the body of evidence showing Neanderthals indulged in expressing abstract behavior, this time with archaeologists finding evidence of pencil-like crayons that were likely used to make symbolic art.

Large rock-face murals scattered across the desert represent one of the most ambitious – and perilous – creative feats of ancient humans, with researchers arguing the massive carvings acted as visual beacons, guiding people to crucial water sources.

If you're impressed by the machines that can now print graphics in cake icing or cappuccino foam, well … this'll really blow your mind. The Blackdot system, which has already entered use, utilizes AI to robotically apply tattoos to people's skin.

Scientists have “painted” with DNA, creating 16 million colors to accurately reproduce digital images with 24-bit color depth. The resulting images are incredible, and represent not just a new art form but potential advances for storing data on DNA.

More than 400 footprints across a diverse range of species have been identified in incredible detail for the first time, with researchers enlisting a trio of expert indigenous trackers to help solve the mystery of these 5,000-year-old records.

Scientists are divided over whether there's a new "earliest known sexed anthropomorphic representation," in the form of a 4.3-cm (1.69-in) carved graphite pendant that University of Bordeaux archaeologists believe is supposed to be a penis.

For some people, wandering around a gallery to ponder over a Picasso, revel in a Rembrandt, or find meaning in a Magritte can boost their mood and improve their well-being. But is the same true for viewing art online? New research says that it is.

Archaeologists have discovered what they claim to be the oldest example of figurative art made by human hands. An ochre painting of pigs, found on a cave wall in Indonesia, has been dated to be at least 45,500 years old.

Scientists have confirmed that facial deformities among the House of Habsburg were caused by inbreeding, according to a newly-published study. The twist: they reached their findings by studying paintings. The influential Austrian royal line produced European rulers between the 14th and 20th centuries.

Researchers from ETH Zurich have refined a process that can detect modern fakes of paintings by measuring excessive levels of the isotope carbon-14 released into the atmosphere through nuclear testing in the 20th century.