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2025-12-08T15:51:12.794Z
Unusual sacrificial complex discovered in Russia
Russian archaeologists recently discovered a collection of hundreds of horse bridles and bronze beads near the tomb of a high-ranking nomad from the 4th century BC.
The artifacts themselves are not that surprising – after all, these nomads relied on horses for transportation, but their collection as a kind of “sacrifice” is unusual.
If you want to know more about this find, which strangely included a golden plate depicting a tiger, check out my article here.
christina killgrove
staff writer
2025-12-08T15:38:58.300Z
Japan hit by a major earthquake
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurred off the northeast coast of Japan’s main island, Honshu. The earthquake occurred at 11:15 pm local time (9:15 am ET).
The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a tsunami warning for three areas: the central Pacific coast of Hokkaido, the Pacific coast of Aomori prefecture, and Iwate prefecture. The maximum expected tsunami height is 3.2 to 9.8 feet (1 to 3 meters).
The most severe earthquake was in Hachinohe City, where it registered a magnitude 6 on the intensity scale. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency’s explanation of the earthquake’s intensity, it means that “you cannot remain standing or move without crawling.”
Tsunami Information Bureau: M7.6 Hokkaido, Japan Area December 8th 0615PST: Tsunami not expected. California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska December 8, 2025
The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center tweeted at 9:32 a.m. ET that tsunamis were not expected in California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, or Alaska.
Sophie Verdugo
staff writer
2025-12-08T14:35:58.193Z
Live Science News Summary
2025-12-08T14:04:52.716Z
“Hobbit” extinction
Live Science contributor Owen Jarrus reports that drought may have wiped out the ancient small hominin species Homo floresiensis, nicknamed the “hobbit.”
A new study suggests that reduced rainfall may have reduced the population of stegodonts (an extinct elephant relative) that H. floresiensis relied on for food, thus forcing the Hobbits to compete with modern humans (us).
H. floresiensis lived in Indonesia from at least 100,000 years ago to about 50,000 years ago. Researchers are still learning a lot about these mysterious ancient humans. Their remains have only been found in one cave so far, and it remains unclear whether they interacted with us.
Species usually go extinct for multiple reasons. In the case of H. floresiensis, volcanic eruptions may have also been a major factor in its extinction.
Read the full text here.
2025-12-08T13:00:33.681Z
Lost my camera in a lava fountain
Good morning, science fans! Patrick is here to kick off another week of science news blog posts.
Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted a spectacular giant lava fountain over the weekend, consuming a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) camera.
Remotely controlled cameras filmed their own demise inside Halemaumau Crater on Saturday (December 6) as a wall of volcanic debris approached and went offline.
Kilauea Volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and has been erupting almost continuously on the Big Island of Hawaii for more than 30 years.
This latest activity marked the 38th episode of Kilauea’s summit eruption cycle, which began on December 23, 2024. We’ve seen plenty of lava fountains, but rarely do USGS cameras come this close to capture them.
patrick pester
Popular news writer
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