John Hawks

Denisova Cave mystery yak

DNA from bone fragments reveals lost populations of bovines in the cold caves of Central Asia.

Oct 8 • John Hawks

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September 2026

A visit to Vanguard Cave, a Neanderthal workshop

The site has seen remarkable discoveries over 30 years, and excavations have opened a new unexplored chamber.

Sep 27 • John Hawks

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Grieving for infants by primate and hominin mothers

Studies of nonhuman primates have documented days up to months of carrying infants after death.

Sep 20 • John Hawks

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New Denisovans from China’s southwest

The site of Bianfu Cave provides evidence that this group spanned all of China during the later Middle Pleistocene.

Sep 9 • John Hawks

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August 2026

Modern humans evolved from an 80-20 mixture of two deep streams

Genome models are converging on a scenario in which two stem lineages separated 1.5 million years ago, and merged together 300,000 years ago.

Aug 25 • John Hawks

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Legs of the last Denisovans

Two bones from the floor of the Penghu Strait reveal some of the latest evidence of Denisovan survival.

Aug 8 • John Hawks

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How Neanderthal ancestry affects growth and muscle

Study of a Neanderthal-derived haplotype of GHR show effects on height and lean body mass

Aug 6 • John Hawks

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The big feet of Paranthropus boisei

New analysis of footprint trackways suggest a larger body size than previously thought for this Early Pleistocene human relative.

Aug 2 • John Hawks

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July 2026

Traces of insect DNA in dental calculus may reveal bug-eating past

A study finds that Neanderthals had comparable insect trace evidence as gorillas and western chimpanzees.

Jul 18 • John Hawks

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June 2026

The first molecular data from Homo naledi

Protein data from the Rising Star cave system show the known sample of this species is entirely female.

Jun 24 • John Hawks

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How many Denisovan ancestors?

New studies magnify the observation that three groups of Denisovans may have contributed to many living people's genomes, but I find some unanswered…

Jun 19 • John Hawks

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The ancient mixture in cave lion genomes

Introgression is widespread among lineages of big cats. Our ancestors encountered one of the biggest products.

Jun 6 • John Hawks

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