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paleoanthropology, genetics and evolution

awkward moments

  • Awkward moments when reading

    Wed, 2009-05-13 22:43 -- John Hawks

    Awkward moments when reading 2: Paul Mellars pulls the old "blame the dirty thoughts on the undergraduates" gambit.

    Interestingly, this sexual-symbolism aspect of the art is effectively symmetrical, as the same sites have yielded equally explicit phallic representations, carved out of bone, ivory or (in one case) the horn core of a bison (Fig. 2c). The possibility that these could represent 'girls' toys' (as one first-year student once hesitantly expressed it) should perhaps not be dismissed.

  • Awkward moments when reading

    Wed, 2009-05-13 22:27 -- John Hawks

    Awkward moments when reading: John Noble Wilford's attempt to tastefully describe the "explicit" nature of a Venus figurine.

    The short, squat torso is dominated by oversize breasts and broad buttocks. The split between the two halves of the buttocks is deep and continuous without interruption to the front of the figurine.

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Neandertals

For years, I've worked on their bones. Now I'm working on their genes. Read more about the science studying these ancient people.

Denisova

From a finger bone of an ancient human came the record of a completely unexpected population. My lab is working on the science of the Denisova genome.

Acceleration

The advent of agriculture caused natural selection to speed up greatly in humans. We're uncovering some of the ways that populations have rapidly changed during the last 10,000 years.

Malapa

Just outside Johannesburg, the Malapa site is producing some of the most exciting finds in human evolution. This site is the headquarters of the Malapa Soft Tissue Project.