modern human origins
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.
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.
Explaining the X chromosome hole in Neandertal ancestry
Natural selection reduced the variation on human X chromosomes in populations with the most Neandertal and Denisovan mixture. It may have been meiotic drive.
The Nesher Ramla site: a third way between Neandertals and modern humans?
Fragments representing people who lived just before Skhūl and Qafzeh seem outside the expectations for these “early modern humans” or for Neandertals.
Fossil profile: Skhūl 1 and the mixing of populations
A child's skull from Mount Carmel gives an occasion to look at the history of ideas about population mixture.
Zlatý kůň and the Neandertal heritage of first Europeans
A skull from Czechia represents an individual from one of the earliest European modern human populations to encounter Neandertals.
Fossil profile: BOU-VP-16/1 and mortuary practice
A fossil from Bouri, Ethiopia, represents an individual whose skull was processed after his death.
Neandertals got 6% of their genomes from Africa
An analysis by Melissa Hubisz and coworkers finds that mtDNA is not all that Neandertals received from our African ancestors
There are no “anatomically modern” elephants. Why do we treat humans differently?
A quote from Phillip Tobias illustrates the strange way that we talk about human variation compared to other species.
How old is the "early Homo sapiens" skull from Florisbad?
Introducing a new preprint in which I examine critically the evidence for a skull thought to be contemporary with Homo naledi.
How much do Y chromosome haplogroups shape our views of modern human origins?
The divergent A00 haplogroup roots the modern human Y chromosome tree deeper in time.
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
Lida Ajer, early modern human remains in island Southeast Asia
A site first investigated by Eugene Dubois is rediscovered by Kira Westaway and collaborators.
How much sex did it take for Neandertal DNA to enter modern populations?
Addressing a widespread misconception about what geneticists are really measuring when they look at population mixture.
The Manot 1 skull and how we now look at Neandertal ancestry in early modern humans
The discovery of a 54,000-year-old skull in Israel sheds light on the dispersal of modern humans and their contacts with Neandertals.
Secrets of the genome from Ust'-Ishim
A discovery from Siberia represents one of the earliest branches of modern humans to disperse into Eurasia.
Becoming human: Presentation on Mount Carmel sites and cultural origins
A visit to Israel occasions reflections on the cultural evolution of humans and Neandertals.
Modern human origins was more interesting than a single point of dispersal
A study of SNP variation across Africa enables us to look at a structured ancestral population long before 100,000 years ago.
Are the "earliest modern human" skulls really modern?
The redating of the Omo Kibish fossil remains prompts a close look at what it means to be a modern human.
