geology
How many bathrooms have Neanderthals in the tile?
A Reddit poster finds an ancient jaw in his parents' new travertine. It may be more common than most people imagine.
![Two fragments of a skull, bearing a browridge and truncated by slice marks](/content/images/size/w1460/2024/04/kocabas-skull-fragments-vialet-wikimedia-commons-2.jpg)
Ancient apocalypses are so disappointing
The archaeological and paleoclimate records usually lack the resolution to see how meteorites or volcanoes mattered to our ancestors.
![A satellite image of a round lake surrounded by a round ridge with green surrounding](/content/images/size/w1460/2023/07/bosumtwi-crater-lake-ghana-wikipedia-nasa-worldwind-public-domain.jpg)
The so-called Toba bottleneck simply didn't happen
Prompted by a paper by Chad Yost and coworkers, I look at the persistent myth that humans were an endangered species only 74,000 years ago.
Describing the Great Rift Valley
I share some geological and geographical knowledge from the Omo River valley, one part of the African Rift system.
![John Hawks in front of a wooded river with badlands in the distance](/content/images/size/w1460/2022/11/johnhawks-rift-valley-still.jpg)