Anthropology News

Homo floresiensis Likely Evolved from Primitive Ancestor in Africa, Researchers Say

According to Argue et al, Homo floresiensis is a long-surviving relict of an early hominin lineage and an unknown migration out of Africa, and not a recent derivative of either Homo erectus or Homo sapiens. This image is an artist’s impression of Homo floresiensis. Image credit: Katrina Kenny.
Apr 23, 2017 by News Staff

An Australian National University-led team of researchers has found that Homo floresiensis — a dwarfed human species that lived until about 50,000 years ago on a remote Indonesian island — most likely evolved from a very primitive ancestor on the African continent, and not from the rather modern Homo erectus as has been widely believed. Details of the research are published in the Journal of Human Evolution. According to Argue et al, Homo...

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A study by John Lindo et al reveals 10,000 years of genetic continuity in northwest North America. Image credit: Julie McMahon.

Ancient DNA Reveals Genetic Continuity between Early Holocene, Modern Populations in Northwest North America

Apr 5, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new analysis of nuclear DNA from ancient individuals, many of today’s indigenous peoples living in southern Alaska and coastal British...

The western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Image credit: Max Pixel.

‘Social Brain Hypothesis’ Challenged: Brain Size in Primates is Predicted by Diet

Mar 28, 2017 by News Staff

Primate brain size is predicted by diet, indicates new research from New York University. The findings, just reported in the journal Nature Ecology and...

Tsimane village from the water. Image credit: Hillard Kaplan et al.

Bolivian Tsimane People Have World’s Healthiest Arteries, Study Says

Mar 20, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new study published in The Lancet, the Tsimane (pronounced chee-MAH-nay) — an indigenous people of lowland Bolivia — have the...

Temperature and humidity of ancestral environment are linked to differences in nostril width across human populations. Image credit: Paul Topinard.

Study: Climate Shaped Human Nose

Mar 17, 2017 by News Staff

Humans inherit their nose shape from their parents, but ultimately, the shape of someone’s nose and that of their parents was formed by a long process...

El Sidron Neanderthals taste wild mushrooms, pine nuts and forest moss. Image credit: Abel Grau, CSIC Communication.

Neanderthals Used Plant-Based Painkillers, Ate Rhinoceros Meat, Mushrooms, Nuts, and Moss

Mar 9, 2017 by News Staff

An analysis of ancient DNA entrapped in Neanderthal dental calculus (calcified dental plaque) has revealed the complexity of Neanderthal behavior, including...

Virtual reconstructions of the Xuchang 1 and 2 skulls, superimposed on the archeological site where they were discovered. Image credit: Xiujie Wu.

Archaic Human Skulls from China Reveal Complex Mix of Trends in Time and Space

Mar 6, 2017 by News Staff

Two partial archaic human skulls unearthed in central China provide a new window into the biology and populations patterns of the immediate predecessors...

Limestone block engraved with an aurochs. Image credit: P. Jugie, Musée National de Préhistoire Collections.

38,000-Year-Old Aurignacian Artwork Found in France

Jan 30, 2017 by News Staff

Researchers have uncovered a 38,000-year-old engraved image at Abri Blanchard, an Upper Paleolithic site of the Aurignacian culture — a finding that...

Denisovans were probably dark-skinned, unlike the pale Neandertals. The picture shows a Neanderthal man. Image credit: Mauro Cutrona.

Inuits Inherited Cold Adaptation Genes from Denisovan-Related Species

Dec 22, 2016 by News Staff

In the Arctic, the Inuits have adapted to cold and a seafood diet. After the first genomic analysis of Greenlandic Inuits, a region in the genome containing...

According to Karen Hardy et al, earliest Europeans did not use fire. Image credit: Charles Robert Knight.

Earliest Europeans Did Not Use Fire for Cooking, Researchers Say

Dec 14, 2016 by News Staff

Europe’s earliest humans did not use fire, but had a balanced diet of meat and plants — all eaten raw, according to a team of researchers led by...

A group of Australopithecus afarensis. Image credit: Matheus Vieeira.

Australopithecus afarensis ‘Lucy’ Spent Significant Time in Trees, New Study Reveals

Nov 30, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE, the relative strength of arms and legs of ‘Lucy’ — a 3.18-million-year-old specimen...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Natural Selection Removed Many Neanderthal Genes from Human Genome, Scientists Say

Nov 11, 2016 by News Staff

According to a team of researchers at the University of California, Davis, only a very small percentage of Neanderthal DNA is present in the genomes of...

Examples of flaked stones produced by bearded capuchins (Sapajus libidinosus). Scale bars - 5 cm. Image credit: Tomos Proffitt et al.

Brazilian Capuchin Monkeys Unintentionally Make Sharp-Edged Stone Flakes

Oct 21, 2016 by News Staff

A University of Oxford-led team of scientists has observed bearded capuchins (Sapajus libidinosus) in Brazil deliberately break stones, unintentionally...

Denisovans were probably dark-skinned, unlike the pale Neandertals. The picture shows a Neanderthal man. Image credit: Mauro Cutrona.

Researchers Identify Archaic Hominins Associated with Chatelperronian Tool Technology

Sep 23, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany has demonstrated that Neanderthals were responsible...

Depiction of the Jarijari (Nyeri Nyeri) people near Merbein engaged in recreational activities, including a type of Aboriginal football, by William Blandowski & Gustav Mützel, 1857.

Unprecedented Genomic Study Shines Light on Ancestry of Indigenous Australians

Sep 22, 2016 by News Staff

The first comprehensive genomic study of Indigenous Australians has revealed that they are indeed the direct descendants of Australia’s earliest settlers...

Forensic facial reconstruction of another Australopithecus species - A. afarensis. Image credit: Cicero Moraes / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Australopithecus afarensis ‘Lucy’ Died after Falling from Tall Tree, Anthropologists Say

Aug 30, 2016 by News Staff

‘Lucy,’ perhaps the world’s most famous early human ancestor, probably died after falling from a tall tree, according to an international team of...

250,000-year-old stone tool that tested positive for rhino protein residue. Image credit: April Nowell.

Hominins Used Stone Tools to Butcher Rhinos, Other Animals 250,000 Years Ago

Aug 9, 2016 by News Staff

New research led by University of Victoria’s April Nowell reveals surprisingly sophisticated adaptations by early humans living 250,000 years ago in...

Image of the external morphology of a hominin foot bone (Paranthropus robustus or Homo ergaster) shows the extent of expansion of the primary bone cancer beyond the surface of the bone. Image credit: Patrick Randolph-Quinney.

South African Fossils Reveal Earliest Hominin Evidence of Cancer

Jul 29, 2016 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists led by Dr. Patrick Randolph-Quinney from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) in Johannesburg, South Africa,...

Reconstruction of Homo floresiensis. Image credit: Elisabeth Daynes.

Homo floresiensis Remains Unique, Valid Species

Jun 13, 2016 by News Staff

A new study contradicts the claim that LB1, the type specimen of Homo floresiensis, had Down syndrome, and further confirms its status as a valid and distinct...

Reconstruction of Homo floresiensis. Image credit: Kinez Riza / Atelier Elisabeth Daynes, Sangiran Museum.

Scientists Find 700,000-Year-Old Remains of Proto-Homo floresiensis

Jun 9, 2016 by News Staff

New hominin fossils from the Indonesian island of Flores shed light on the origin of the mysterious ‘hobbit’ species, Homo floresiensis. Hominin remains...

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