Paleoanthropology News

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

Limestone block engraved with an aurochs. Image credit: P. Jugie, Musée National de Préhistoire Collections.
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 marks some of the earliest known graphic imagery found in Western Eurasia. Limestone block engraved with an aurochs. Image credit: P. Jugie, Musée National de Préhistoire Collections. The limestone slab engraved with image of a now-extinct wild aurochs (Bos primigenius) was discovered at the partially...

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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...

A group of Neanderthals in a cave. Image credit: Tyler B. Tretsven.

Climate Change Contributed to Neanderthals’ Demise, Study Suggests

May 12, 2016 by News Staff

Neanderthals showed signs of nutritional stress during periods of extreme cold, according to a new study published in the July 2016 issue of the Journal...

Spatial frequency distribution map of haplogroup R0a. Image credit: Francesca Gandini et al.

Humans Arrived in Southern Arabia Earlier Than Thought

May 11, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of genetic researchers from the United States and Europe has found new evidence that there was an Ice Age refugium in southern Arabia. Spatial...

Ancient DNA Study Sheds New Light on Genetic History of Europeans

May 3, 2016 by News Staff

Analyses of genome-wide data from 51 Eurasians from 7,000 – 45,000 years ago reveal two big changes in prehistoric human populations that are closely...

Life reconstruction of a pair of Chasmaporthetes gangsriensis. Image credit: Julie Selan.

Tooth-Marks on 500,000-Year-Old Bone Indicate Hominin Hunting/Scavenging by Large Carnivores

Apr 29, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to a team of scientists headed by Dr. Jean-Jacques Hublin at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, tooth-marks...

Neanderthals consumed plants, too. Image credit: University of Utah via kued.org.

Neanderthals May Have Been Infected with Diseases Carried out of Africa by Homo sapiens

Apr 11, 2016 by News Staff

A new study published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology suggests that the transfer of infectious pathogens between populations of Neanderthals...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Genetic Scientists Complete First Analysis of Neanderthal Y Chromosome

Apr 8, 2016 by Natali Anderson

Neanderthal Y-chromosome genes disappeared from the genome of modern humans long ago, suggests a new study published this week in the American Journal...

This is a map of Indonesia, the green circle shows the island of Flores. The inset shows facial approximation of LB1, female Homo floresiensis (Susan Hayes / Australian Archaeological Association)

Homo floresiensis May Have Disappeared Earlier than Thought

Mar 30, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to a multinational team of scientists, Homo floresiensis — a primitive hominin species discovered in the Late Pleistocene sediments at...

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