When did our ancestors start looking up to the stars?
Changes in the sky have been important to peoples throughout the world. That connection may go back much further than our species.
Solving the mystery of the Red Deer Cave people
New DNA evidence is revealing the genetic relationships of ancient groups from southern China, showing how they were connected to living people across the region.
Why it is so hard for humanity to beat pathogens
In the first part of a review of pathogens in human origins, I examine a sampling of infectious diseases in people today and their diverse origins.
Can ancient amputations tell us about the care systems of our ancestors?
A 33,000-year-old case of an amputated leg prompts comparisons to earlier Neandertal instances of amputation.
The top 10 discoveries about ancient people from DNA in 2022
Research on ancient genomes has moved way beyond population mixture into broader questions about how ancient people lived and interacted with their environments.
The Nesher Ramla site: a third way between Neandertals and modern humans?
Fragments representing people who lived just before Skhūl and Qafzeh seem outside the expectations for these “early modern humans” or for Neandertals.
Finding ancient fire use in the Rising Star cave system
The study of the underground landscape enters a new phase with evidence of charcoal and burned animal bone in deep chambers.
A Neandertal recipe that tasted like the foods of later people
Looking at a fascinating new study that finds mixtures of different plants within ancient morsels of charred foods.
Bison bones from Gran Dolina show butchery practices 400,000 years ago
Ancient people left a bone bed of bison killed in two seasons and butchered at the site with expedient tools.
Research highlight: The frontal sinuses of fossil hominins
A look inside the skulls of hominins reveals the extensive variation in the form of the internal structures known as the frontal sinuses.
