Anthropology News

Early Human Ancestors Went Through Severe Population Bottleneck 850,000 Years Ago: Study

Hu et al. detected a reduction in the population size of our ancestors from about 100,000 to about 1,000 individuals, which persisted for about 100,000 years. Image credit: Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Sep 1, 2023 by News Staff

Today, there are more than 8 billion human beings on the planet. Our species dominate Earth’s landscapes, and our activities are driving large numbers of other species to extinction. Had a researcher looked at the world sometime between 800,000 and 900,000 years ago, however, the picture would have been quite different. Using a new model called fast infinitesimal time coalescent process (FitCoal), East China Normal University’s Dr. Yi-Hsuan Pan...

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Graecopithecus freybergi lived 7.2 million years ago in the dust-laden savannah of the Athens Basin. This view from Graecopithecus freybergi’ place of discovery, Pyrgos Vassilissis, to the southeast over the plain of Athens and under a reddish cloud of Sahara dust; in the background: Mount Hymettos and Mount Lykabettos. Image credit: Velizar Simeonovski.

8.7-Million-Year-Old Fossil Suggests Ancestors of Humans and African Apes Evolved in Europe

Aug 24, 2023 by News Staff

The fossilized remains of the Miocene-period ape species Anadoluvius turkae have been unearthed at the paleotological site of Çorakyerler in central Anatolia,...

Archaic human peptides display in vitro and in vivo antimicrobial activities with low host toxicity. Image credit: Ella Marushchenko.

Scientists ‘Resurrect’ Extinct Antimicrobial Peptides of Neanderthals and Denisovans

Aug 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Molecular de-extinction could offer avenues for drug discovery by reintroducing bioactive molecules that are no longer encoded by living organisms. Archaic...

Ruan et al. demonstrate how glacial cycle variability synchronized hominin habitat overlap, Denisovan-Neanderthal interbreeding, and early human gene flow. Image credit: Axel Timmermann.

Climate Shifts Orchestrated Interbreeding between Neanderthals and Denisovans, New Study Says

Aug 15, 2023 by News Staff

Looking at habitat overlap for Neanderthals and Denisovans, Pusan National University researcher Jiaoyang Ruan and colleagues found patterns of interbreeding...

The occasional use of stone tools as ‘strike-a-lights’ was a technocultural feature shared among Neanderthals in France.

Extreme Glacial Cooling Caused Extinction of Early Pleistocene Hominins in Europe, Study Says

Aug 10, 2023 by News Staff

New paleoclimate evidence shows that around 1.1 million years ago, the southern European climate cooled significantly and caused an extinction of archaic...

The 300,000-year-old double-pointed wooden stick at the site of Schöningen in Germany. Image credit: Peter Pfarr.

Middle Pleistocene Humans Possessed Sophisticated Woodworking Skills, Study Reveals

Jul 20, 2023 by News Staff

An analysis of a 300,000-year-old double-pointed wooden stick from the Middle Pleistocene site of Schöningen, Germany, shows it was scraped, seasoned...

Ancient humans. Image credit: sjs.org / CC BY-SA 3.0.

New Research Shatters the Myth of Man the Hunter

Jun 29, 2023 by News Staff

The sexual division of labor among human foraging populations has typically been recognized as involving males as hunters and females as gatherers. Recent...

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

Hominins Butchered One Another 1.45 Million Years Ago: Study

Jun 27, 2023 by News Staff

Paleoanthropologists have found multiple cut marks on a 1.45-million-year-old (Early Pleistocene) hominin fossil found in the Koobi Fora Formation in the...

The 57,000-year-old Neanderthal engravings discovered in La Roche-Cotard cave, France: the ‘circular panel’ (left) and the ‘wavy panel’ (right). Image credit: Jean-Claude Marquet / CC-BY 4.0.

57,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Engravings Discovered in France

Jun 21, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Non-figurative markings on the walls of La Roche-Cotard cave in France are the oldest known engravings made by our sister species. The 57,000-year-old...

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

Paleoanthropologist Reconstructs Missing Soft Tissues of 3.2 Million-Year-Old ‘Lucy’

Jun 14, 2023 by News Staff

Soft tissues rarely preserve in the fossil record, rather scientists are mostly left with just the skeletal material. Yet, muscles animate the body. They...

Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Study: Viking Disease is Partly of Neanderthal Origin

Jun 14, 2023 by News Staff

Also known as Dupuytren’s disease, ‘Viking disease’ hand disorder — a condition in which one or more fingers become permanently bent in a flexed...

The 153,000-year-old footprint, lightly ringed with chalk, in the Garden Route National Park, South Africa; it appears long and narrow because the trackmaker dragged their heel. Image credit: Charles Helm.

153,000-Year-Old Homo sapiens Footprint Discovered in South Africa

May 26, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

The 153,000-year-old footprint, which was found in the Garden Route National Park, a national park in the Garden Route region of the South African Western...

Ancient humans. Image credit: sjs.org / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ancient DNA Sheds New Light on Human Evolution during Out-of-Africa Migration

May 24, 2023 by News Staff

The dispersal of anatomically modern Homo sapiens out of Africa and across Eurasia provides a unique opportunity to examine the impacts of genetic selection...

An artist’s illustration of hominins arriving in a multi-biome mosaic landscape. Image credit: Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science.

Early Humans Preferred Mosaic Landscapes, New Study Reveals

May 11, 2023 by News Staff

Early humans and their hominin relatives had to adapt to new environments to spread out of Africa. In a new study, paleoanthropologists from the Institute...

Neanderthals are commonly thought to have relied on dangerous close range hunting techniques, using non-projectile weapons like the thrusting spears depicted here; this hunting approach is thought to have brought them into violent contact with large mammals, resulting in high levels of injury especially to the head and neck when compared to modern humans; Beier et al found similar head injury levels in both Neanderthals and Upper Paleolithic humans, casting doubt on this hypothesis. Image credit: Gleiver Prieto.

Strontium Isotope Analysis Provides Insights into Hunting Habits and Diets of Neanderthals

May 10, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

In new research, scientists examined chemical properties locked inside tooth enamel of two Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals and a Magdalenian human from...

Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Modern Humans Inherited Nose Shape Gene from Neanderthals, Study Says

May 8, 2023 by News Staff

ATF3, a gene that leads to a taller nose (from top to bottom), may have been the product of natural selection as ancient humans adapted to colder climates...

Overview of the non-destructive DNA extraction method: (a) workflow of the gradual, non-destructive DNA extraction method using sodium phosphate buffer at elevated temperatures; (b) four 3D surface texture measurements indicated on the outline of a tooth used for testing before and after non-destructive DNA extraction showing no substantial surface alterations; (c) photographs of the Denisova Cave tooth pendant before and after cleaning and non-destructive DNA extraction. Image credit: Essel et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06035-2.

Scientists Extract Human and Deer DNA from Paleolithic Pendant Found in Denisova Cave

May 4, 2023 by News Staff

Application of a novel non-destructive DNA extraction method to a Paleolithic deer tooth pendant from Denisova Cave, Siberia, resulted in the recovery...

Like humans, great apes voluntarily seek and engage in altered experiences of self-perception and situational awareness. Image credit: We-o.

Great Apes Spin Themselves to Deliberately Make Themselves Dizzy, Scientists Say

Mar 17, 2023 by News Staff

Among animals, humans stand out in their consummate propensity to self-induce altered states of mind. Archaeology, history and ethnography show these activities...

Reconstruction of a hunter-gatherer associated with the Gravettian culture (32,000-24,000 years ago), inspired by the archaeological findings at the Arene Candide site, Italy. Image credit: Tom Bjoerklund.

Scientists Sequence Genomes of Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers from Different Eurasian Cultures

Mar 2, 2023 by News Staff

Modern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years. However, our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers...

A model of a Neanderthal man in modern clothing. Image credit: H. Neumann / Neanderthal Museum.

New DNA Study Points to Importance of Balancing Selection in Human Evolution

Feb 22, 2023 by News Staff

Different genetic traits can be beneficial (for example, fending off disease) or harmful (making humans more susceptible to illness), depending on the...

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