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history of paleoanthropology

Human evolution research has existed for more than 150 years, and the ideas of past scientists continue to shape our concepts and practices today.

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A look at the Maba hominin skull

Found in 1958, the skull is one of a handful of fossil hominins from southern China that may be connected with the Denisovans.

Photo of partial skull from Maba, China, in frontal (left) and right lateral (right) view with black background
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A look at the fossil skull from Steinheim

The skull provides some of the best evidence for the ancestral population of Neandertals, and had a tumultuous history in the decades after its discovery.

Steinheim skull in grayscale image in a museum exhibit
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A sad end for the Journal of Human Evolution

A joint statement announces the resignation of the entire editorial board, while disclosing for the first time the use of AI in article production.

Closeup of Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man sketch, focusing on head, trunk, and right arm
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Did scientists miss a fake Neandertal for 25 years?

An investigation claims dozens of cases of misdated bones in Rheinland-Pfalz, including the purported Ochtendung Neandertal.

Skull portion of the Ochtendung supposed Neandertal
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“Lucy”, superstar of evolution, at fifty

Today's science has broadened enormously since the 1970s but the iconic fossil still has an important place in understanding our ancient past.

The skull fragments, ribs, arm bones, pelvis, and femur of the Lucy skeleton are visible in this photo
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What do we know about the ancestry of Homo erectus?

A creation interest group takes a quote from me, and I look back at a classic paper.

Nine fossil skulls viewed in lateral view with Australopithecus near the top and Homo erectus at bottom
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A remembrance of Frans de Waal

Among many highlights of this primatologist's work, he maintained that humans are not unique or separated from other primates.

Frans de Waal giving a lecture
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Secrets within the teeth of the first Homo fossils

New studies of the enamel-dentin junction show that early members of our genus may have been less distinctive than we think

Closeup of three left mandibular molars with cracks and wear
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Lecture: Opening new frontiers in human origins

At a memorial for Richard Leakey, I shared some ideas about where technology and new discoveries will take paleoanthropology over the next decade.

Conference slide logo for Africa: The Human Cradle
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Why anthropologists rejected the aquatic ape theory

Human ancestors did not evolve in an aquatic environment. But they did make use of coastal and shoreline resources where they were abundant.

A painting showing an ape and some kind of fish in water, with an ape-looking-Darwin-looking figure at lower right