John Hawks

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Neandertal DNA

Tracing the wave of Neanderthal-modern interactions
A rapid expansion of modern people ran into Neanderthals and mixed with them nearly to the ends of their range.
 • John Hawks
Deep history from the genomes of India
People carrying Neanderthal mixture entered the subcontinent after 50,000 years ago, meeting Denisovans
 • John Hawks
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
 • John Hawks
The gene from Denisovan to Neanderthal to modern mucus
A “genetic sandwich” reveals how a block of DNA entered several populations successively and was affected by natural selection.
 • John Hawks
The humanity of a new Denisovan
Identification of the Harbin skull by mtDNA and proteins and what it means to be Homo sapiens.
 • John Hawks
Lactase and the Neandertals
New research shows that a common gene variant that may explain some lactase persistence in East Asia is introgressed from Neandertals.
 • John Hawks
A hard ceiling on modern human dispersal
Neandertal DNA in some of the oldest modern human genomes establishes a short timeline of 50,000 years for the out-of-Africa founder event.
 • John Hawks
Top 10 discoveries about ancient people from DNA in 2024
New resolution is emerging of some events in ancient human populations, and a clearer view of some parts of the genome.
 • John Hawks
A look at the Neanderthal from Altamura
The exceptional skeleton encased in calcite has started to yield insights about early Neanderthals.
 • John Hawks
The impressive genetic diversity of the last Neanderthals
The new “Thorin” genome from Grotte Mandrin represents a previously-unknown Neanderthal deep history.
 • John Hawks
Vagrant birds and ancient human habitats
People killed the Carolina parakeet. An inquiry into their historic population range helps illustrate the challenges of understanding ancient human…
 • John Hawks
Tracing the signature of African-to-Neandertal gene flow
A new study of African genetic variation yields a more accurate picture of the genetic exchanges between ancient Africans and Neandertals 250,000 years…
 • John Hawks
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