The skeleton of Dushan 1 offers new perspectives on the settlement of Homo sapiens in China
A paper published on the skeletal remains found in Dushan Cave, in Linfeng, southern China, has revealed dental characteristics which are surprising for an Upper Paleolithic population.
Neandertals’ main food source was definitely meat
Neandertals' diets are highly debated: they are traditionally considered carnivores and hunters of large mammals, but this hypothesis has recently been challenged by numerous...
The monkey hunters: Humans colonize South Asian rainforest by hunting primates
A multidisciplinary study has found evidence for humans hunting small mammals in the forests of Sri Lanka at least 45,000 years ago.
Timeline of Denisova Cave occupation revealed
The timeline of ancient hominin occupation of Denisova Cave by Denisovans and Neanderthals has been refined by new dates reported in two papers published...
Ancient Mongolian skull is the earliest modern human yet found in the region
A much debated ancient human skull from Mongolia has been dated and genetically analysed, showing that it is the earliest modern human yet found in the region, according to new research from the University of Oxford. Radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis have revealed that the only Pleistocene hominin fossil discovered in Mongolia, initially called Mongolanthropus, is in reality a modern human who lived approximately 34 - 35 thousand years ago.
A surprisingly early replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans in southern Spain
A new study of Bajondillo Cave (Málaga) by a team of researchers based in Spain, Japan and the UK, coordinated from the Universidad de Sevilla, reveals that modern humans replaced Neanderthals at this site approximately 44,000 years ago.
Scientists confirm pair of skeletons are from same early hominin species
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 discovered a decade ago.
An ancient relative of humans shows a surprisingly modern trait
A relative of modern humans that lived at least 104,000 years ago in northern China showed evidence of dental growth and development very similar to that of people today, a new study found.
Peering into Little Foot’s 3.67 million-year-old brain
First ever endocast reconstruction of the nearly complete brain of the hominin known as Little Foot reveals a small brain combining ape-like and human-like features.
You are what you eat: High dietary versatility characteristic for early hominins
To eat what grows locally – today’s dietary trend was every day’s practice for prehistoric humans.
The whole of Africa was the cradle of Humankind
A team of scientists led by Mohamed Sahnouni, archaeologist at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), has just published a paper which 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 (Algeria), the oldest currently known in the north of Africa.
The hominins of Sima de los Huesos are drawing ever closer to the Neanderthals
The Dental Anthropology Group of the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) has just published a paper on dental histology in the journal Comptes Rendus PALEVOL, in which a comparison is made for the first time between the sample from the Sima de los Huesos site, in Atapuerca (Burgos), and dental samples from the Neanderthal site of Krapina, in Croatia, as well as with different modern human populations.
Oldest-known ancestor of modern primates may have come from North America, not Asia
About 56 million years ago, on an Earth so warm that palm trees graced the Arctic Circle, a mouse-sized primate known as Teilhardina first curled its fingers around a branch.
Evolution: South Africa’s hominin record is a fair-weather friend
New research from an international team of scientists led by University of Cape Town isotope geochemist Dr Robyn Pickering is the first to provide a timeline for fossils from the caves within the Cradle of Humankind.
Late Miocene ape maxilla (upper jaw) discovered in western India
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 study by Ansuya Bhandari from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, India, and colleagues.
