ancient health
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.
Did Homo erectus get herpes from chimpanzees?
New research suggests that herpes simplex virus 2 may have invaded ancient humans from chimpanzees sometime after 1.6 million years ago.
Investigating Darwin's ideas about disease in Indigenous populations
A passage from the historian Alfred Crosby points me deeper into the texts of Charles Darwin.
