John Hawks

Fossils from the Grotte à Hominidés, Morocco, and crossroads of human evolution

Jaws, teeth, and a hyena-chewed femur may be close to the common ancestor of Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern people.

Jan 9 • John Hawks

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December 2025

A possible archaic human from Borneo

The find of a single tooth from Gua Danang may be the first evidence of the archaic inhabitants of the island.

Dec 28, 2025 • John Hawks

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Top 10 discoveries about ancient people from DNA in 2025

In a year full of Denisovan discoveries, I look at some of the top highlights of research.

Dec 19, 2025 • John Hawks

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Sparking ancient fires

New research helps to show the challenges of documenting ancient firemaking

Dec 11, 2025 • John Hawks

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Bringing emotional cognition to deep time

In a new article, my coauthors and I draw upon cognitive science to draw out archaeological traces of ancient social lives

Dec 2, 2025 • John Hawks

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November 2025

What explains the long stasis of Oldowan sites?

A new study reveals a 300,000 year record of toolmaking near the eastern shore of Lake Turkana

Nov 21, 2025 • John Hawks

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Human skull shape evolved faster than any of the apes

New research led by Aida Gómez-Robles helps illustrate how researchers study the evolution of cranial form.

Nov 14, 2025 • John Hawks

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Finding hormone biomarkers in ancient skeletons

The widening horizon of molecular biomarkers from ancient bones and sediments may open new doors to the biology of ancient people.

Nov 1, 2025 • John Hawks

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October 2025

Informal hominins, from Denisovan to superarchaic

In a new research article, I review the ways that paleoanthropologists name ancient groups outside the Linnaean system.

Oct 11, 2025 • John Hawks

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Deep history from the genomes of India

People carrying Neanderthal mixture entered the subcontinent after 50,000 years ago, meeting Denisovans

Oct 2, 2025 • John Hawks

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September 2025

The problem skulls from Yunxian

The relationships of fossils from deep time in China may help reveal ancestral connections for the Denisovans

Sep 25, 2025 • John Hawks

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A shorter, sharper Out-of-Africa story is emerging

A new study of genomic ancestry in Papua New Guinea supports a short timeline for the dispersal of modern people

Sep 18, 2025 • John Hawks

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