Early Humans News -- ScienceDaily

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Early Humans News

February 15, 2019

Neanderthal Footprints Found in Gibraltar

Humans in Asia, Oceania During Pleistocene

AI Finds Unknown Human Ancestor

Little Foot's 3.67-Million-Year-Old Brain

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Latest Headlines

updated 3:26pm EST

A Taste for Fat May Have Made Us Human

Feb. 5, 2019 — A new article argues that early human ancestors acquired a taste for fat long before they began hunting for meat by scavenging marrow from the skeletal remains of large ... read more

Over 800 New Genome Regions Possibly Relevant to Human Evolution Identified

Feb. 5, 2019 — Researchers have found genetic evidence of adaptations in 2,859 regions of the human genome, including some well-known examples such as those responsible for milk tolerance or high-altitude ... read more

Deep History of Archaic Humans in Southern Siberia

Jan. 30, 2019 — Scientists have identified the earliest evidence of some of the first known humans -- Denisovans and Neanderthals, in southern ... read more

Ancient Mongolian Skull Is the Earliest Modern Human Yet Found in the Region

Jan. 30, 2019 — A much debated ancient human skull from Mongolia has been dated and genetically analyzed, showing that it is the earliest modern human yet found in ... read more

Human Mutation Rate Has Slowed Recently

Jan. 22, 2019 — Researchers have discovered that the human mutation rate is significantly slower than for our closest primate relatives. The new knowledge may be important for estimates of when the common ancestor ... read more

A Surprisingly Early Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans in Southern Spain

Jan. 22, 2019 — A new study of Bajondillo Cave (Málaga, Spain) reveals that modern humans replaced Neanderthals at this site approximately ... read more

Scientists Confirm Pair of Skeletons Are from Same Early Hominin Species

Jan. 17, 2019 — Separate skeletons suggested to be from different early hominin species are, in fact, from the same species, a team of anthropologists has concluded in a comprehensive analysis of remains first ... read more

Neanderthal Genes Give Clues to Human Brain Evolution

Dec. 13, 2018 — A distinctive feature of modern humans is our round (globular) skulls and brains. Researchers report that present-day humans who carry particular Neanderthal DNA fragments ... read more

The Whole of Africa Was the Cradle of Humankind

Nov. 29, 2018 — A new study breaks with the paradigm that the cradle of humankind lies in East Africa, based on the archaeological remains found at sites in the region of Ain Hanech ... read more

New Archaeological Site Revises Human Habitation Timeline on Tibetan Plateau

Nov. 29, 2018 — Human ancestors first set foot on the interior of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau around 30,000-40,000 years ago, according to ... read more

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More Early Humans News

February 15, 2019

Summaries
Headlines

Stone Tools Linked to Ancient Human Ancestors in Arabia Have Surprisingly Recent Date

Nov. 29, 2018 — Beginning more than 1.5 million years ago, early humans made stone handaxes in a style known as the Acheulean - the longest lasting tool-making tradition in prehistory. New research has documented an ... read more

Oxygen Could Have Been Available to Life as Early as 3.5 Billion Years Ago

Nov. 27, 2018 — Microbes could have performed oxygen-producing photosynthesis at least one billion years earlier in the history of the Earth than previously ... read more

Prehistoric Cave Art Suggests Ancient Use of Complex Astronomy

Nov. 27, 2018 — As far back as 40,000 years ago, humans kept track of time using relatively sophisticated knowledge of the stars, new research ... read more

First Ancient DNA from Mainland Finland Reveals Origins of Siberian Ancestry in Region

Nov. 27, 2018 — A new study shows that the genetic makeup of northern Europe traces back to migrations from Siberia that began at least 3,500 years ago and that, as recently as the Iron Age, ancestors of the Saami ... read more

Human Ancestors Not to Blame for Ancient Mammal Extinctions in Africa

Nov. 23, 2018 — New research disputes a long-held view that our earliest tool-bearing ancestors contributed to the demise of large mammals in Africa over the last several million years. Instead, the researchers ... read more

Evolution: South Africa's Hominin Record Is a Fair-Weather Friend

Nov. 21, 2018 — The fossil record of early hominins in South Africa is biased towards periods of drier climate, suggests a study of cave deposits. This finding suggests there are gaps in the fossil record, ... read more

The 'Swiss Army Knife of Prehistoric Tools' Found in Asia, Suggests Homegrown Technology

Nov. 19, 2018 — A study by an international team of researchers have determines that carved stone tools, also known as Levallois cores, were used in Asia 80,000 to 170,000 years ago. With the find -- and absent ... read more

Jumping Genes Shed Light on How Advanced Life May Have Emerged

Nov. 19, 2018 — A previously unappreciated interaction in the genome turns out to have possibly been one of the driving forces in the emergence of advanced life. This discovery began with a curiosity for ... read more

Late Miocene Ape Maxilla (Upper Jaw) Discovered in Western India

Nov. 14, 2018 — An ape maxilla (upper jaw) from the Late Miocene found in the Kutch basin, in western India, significantly extends the southern range of ancient apes in the Indian Peninsula, according to a new ... read more

Primates of the Caribbean: Ancient DNA Reveals History of Mystery Monkey

Nov. 12, 2018 — Analysis of ancient DNA of a mysterious extinct monkey named Xenothrix -- which displays bizarre body characteristics very different to any living monkey -- has revealed that it was in fact most ... read more

Experts Find That Stone Tools Connected Communities

Nov. 9, 2018 — Stone tools that were discovered and examined by a group of international experts showed for the first time that various communities that lived during the Middle Stone Age period were widely ... read more

Ancient DNA Evidence Reveals Two Unknown Migrations from North to South America

Nov. 8, 2018 — A team has used genome-wide ancient DNA data to revise Central and South American history. Their analysis of DNA from 49 individuals spanning about 10,000 years in Belize, Brazil, the Central Andes, ... read more

DNA of World's Oldest Natural Mummy Unlocks Secrets of Ice Age Tribes in the Americas

Nov. 8, 2018 — A wide ranging international study that genetically analysed the DNA of a series of famous and controversial ancient remains across North and South America has discovered that the Spirit Cave remains ... read more

Oldest Evidence of Dairying on the East Asian Steppe

Nov. 5, 2018 — Although dairy pastoralism once made Mongolian steppe herders successful enough to conquer most of Asia and Europe, the origins of this way of life on the East Asian steppe are still unclear. Now an ... read more

Origin of the Periodicity of the Genome Explained

Nov. 2, 2018 — Scientists have researched what might have favored the periodicity of certain base pairs in the genomes of eukaryotic ... read more

How Cancer-Causing Papillomaviruses Evolved

Nov. 2, 2018 — Cancer-causing human papillomaviruses (HPVs) diverged from their most recent common ancestors approximately half a million years ago, roughly coinciding with the timing of the split between archaic ... read more

Earliest Recorded Lead Exposure in 250,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Teeth

Oct. 31, 2018 — Using evidence found in teeth from two Neanderthals from southeastern France, researchers report the earliest evidence of lead exposure in an extinct human-like species from 250,000 years ... read more

Neanderthal Ribcage Reconstructed, Offering New Clues to Ancient Human Anatomy

Oct. 30, 2018 — Scientists have completed the first 3D virtual reconstruction of the ribcage of the most complete Neanderthal skeleton unearthed to date. Using CT scans of fossils from an approximately ... read more

Synthetic Microorganisms Allow Scientists to Study Ancient Evolutionary Mysteries

Oct. 29, 2018 — Scientists have created microorganisms that may recapitulate key features of organisms thought to have lived billions of years ... read more

Earliest Hominin Migrations Into the Arabian Peninsula Required No Novel Adaptations

Oct. 29, 2018 — A new study suggests that early hominin dispersals beyond Africa did not involve adaptations to environmental extremes, such as to arid and harsh deserts. The discovery of stone tools and cut-marks ... read more

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Stone tools linked to ancient human ancestors in Arabia have surprisingly recent date

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Friday, November 23, 2018

Human ancestors not to blame for ancient mammal extinctions in Africa

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Evolution: South Africa's hominin record is a fair-weather friend

Monday, November 19, 2018

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Late Miocene ape maxilla (upper jaw) discovered in western India

Monday, November 12, 2018

Primates of the Caribbean: Ancient DNA reveals history of mystery monkey

Friday, November 9, 2018

Experts find that stone tools connected communities

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Monday, November 5, 2018

Oldest evidence of dairying on the East Asian Steppe

Friday, November 2, 2018

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Earliest recorded lead exposure in 250,000-year-old Neanderthal teeth

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Neanderthal ribcage reconstructed, offering new clues to ancient human anatomy

Monday, October 29, 2018

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Newly described fossils could help reveal why some dinos got so big

Monday, October 8, 2018

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Viruses influenced gene sharing between Neanderthals and humans

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Ancient past of a body plan code probed

Thursday, September 20, 2018

What makes a mammal a mammal? Our spine, say scientists

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Discovery of the earliest drawing

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Cold climates contributed to the extinction of the Neanderthals

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Neanderthal mother, Denisovan father! Hybrid fossil

Monday, August 20, 2018

Monday, August 13, 2018

Scarlet macaw DNA points to ancient breeding operation in Southwest

Friday, August 10, 2018

Laziness helped lead to extinction of Homo erectus

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Prehistoric peopling in southeast Asia: Genomics of Jomon and other ancient skeletons

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Modern Flores Island pygmies show no genetic link to extinct 'hobbits'

Monday, July 30, 2018

Homo sapiens developed a new ecological niche that separated it from other hominins

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Evidence of Salmonella Paratyphi C found for the first time in medieval northern Europe

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Friday, July 6, 2018

Ancient DNA testing solves 100-year-old controversy in Southeast Asian prehistory

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Our human ancestors walked on two feet but their children still had a backup plan

Monday, July 2, 2018

Neanderthals practiced close-range hunting 120,000 years ago

Thursday, June 28, 2018

The evolution of testes

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Tropical 'banana eater' birds lived in North America 52 million years ago

Monday, June 25, 2018

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Fossils show ancient primates had grooming claws as well as nails

Monday, June 18, 2018

22,000-year-old panda from cave in Southern China belongs to distinct, long-lost lineage

Sunday, June 17, 2018

New technique provides accurate dating of ancient skeletons

Friday, June 8, 2018

Oldest bubonic plague genome decoded

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

World’s oldest lizard fossil discovered

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Prehistoric teeth dating back two million years reveal details on Africa's paleoclimate

Thursday, May 24, 2018

How humans and apes are different, and why it matters

Monday, May 21, 2018

Genome structure of dinosaurs discovered by bird-turtle comparisons

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Scientists analyze first ancient human DNA from Southeast Asia

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Worm-eating mice reveal how evolution works on islands

Monday, May 14, 2018

Where hominid brains are concerned, size doesn't matter

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

78,000-year cave record from East Africa shows early cultural innovations

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Can chimpanzee vocalizations reveal the origins of human language?

Monday, April 30, 2018

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Respect Indigenous ancestors: Scholars urge community engagement before research

Monday, April 23, 2018

Human-like walking mechanics evolved before the genus Homo

Friday, April 20, 2018

Genomics study in Africa: Demographic history and deleterious mutations

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Monday, April 16, 2018

Surviving climate change, then and now

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Sweet potato history casts doubt on early contact between Polynesia and the Americas

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Monday, April 9, 2018

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Large carnivores were scarce but very diverse in Europe more than one million years ago

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

First land plants were parasitized by microbes

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

13,000-year-old human footprints found off Canada's Pacific coast

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Secrets of famous Neanderthal skeleton La Ferrassie 1 revealed

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Genomes of five late Neandertals provide insights into Neandertal population history

Monday, March 19, 2018

Discovery of sophisticated 115,000-year-old bone tools in China

Friday, March 16, 2018

New understanding of Kenyan paleoenvironments opens window on human evolution in the area

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Neanderthals were artistic like modern humans

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Brain size of human ancestors evolved gradually over 3 million years

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