Middle Pleistocene
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.
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.
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.
Julurens: a new cousin for Denisovans and Neanderthals
A new study suggests that the Middle Pleistocene record in China includes more groups than have previously been recognized.
Ghostbusters of human origins
Humans tend to mix and interact with each other. Geneticists are once again starting to take that seriously, changing their view of our origins.
Bison bones show butchery practices 400,000 years ago
In the Gran Dolina cave site, ancient people left a bone bed of bison killed in two seasons and butchered at the site with expedient tools.
The transition to Middle Stone Age from Acheulean did not make humans more deadly
Reading a meta-analysis of faunal data by Geoff Smith and coworkers that concludes that all Middle Pleistocene African peoples hunted the same prey animals.
Three big insights into our African origins
Recently, I delivered a lecture to the American Society for Human Genetics, focusing on the African record of human origins. It was a great privilege to speak to more than 5000 members of this professional organization, together with other distinguished experts on African genetic variation and health. Here I share
An possible ancestor of Homo floresiensis from the Middle Pleistocene of Flores
Gerrit van den Bergh and coworkers describe dental remains and a jaw from Mata Menge, 700,000 years ago.
Did humans colonize the northern latitudes without fire?
An article by Wil Roebroeks and Paola Villa argues that fire was not present in Europe before 400,000 years ago.