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Archaeologists in Wyoming have discovered the oldest known bead in the Western Hemisphere: a nearly 13, 000-year- old bone ornament crafted by the prehistoric Clovis people. The tubular, 0.3-inch-long (7 millimeters) polished bead has several grooves and was crafted from the bone of a hare, according to the researchers. The bead's slight red color might be from the surrounding reddish iron oxide-rich soil, they noted. The researchers found the bead near the remains of a prehistoric hearth along with other artifacts from the Clovis people. The Clovis were not the first people in the Americas; they arrived in North America before 13,000 years ago, via the Bering Land Bridge — a now-submerged path across the Bering Strait that existed during the last ice age. Evidence of the Clovis is tied to their iconic spearheads , but the Clovis disappeared around 12,750 years ago , right around the time when the frigid Younger Dryas period began and some of the region's large Animals ...

Countless civilizations have risen and fallen over the millennia. But which one is the oldest on record? About 30 years ago, this question seemed to have a straightforward answer. Around 4000 B.C., the earliest phase of the Sumerian culture arose as the oldest civilization in the Mesopotamia region, in what is now mostly Iraq. The Sumerians are named after the ancient city of Sumer, which was a few miles south of the modern city of Kut, in eastern Iraq. Archaeologists call the earliest Sumerian phase the Uruk period , after the equally ancient city of Uruk about 50 miles (80 kilometers) to the southwest, where many of the oldest Sumerian artifacts were found.  But evidence uncovered in the past few decades indicates that the Sumerians have a few contenders, including ancient Egypt , for the title of "oldest civilization." Related: What is the oldest -known archaeological site in the world ?   The definition of what makes a civilization is vague, but generally a cultur...