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Neandertals

Neandertal populations existed in the western part of Eurasia between 500,000 and around 40,000 years ago. They are among the best known fossil relatives of humans, and DNA evidence shows that some Neandertals were among the ancestors of people today.

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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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A look at the Neanderthal from Altamura

The exceptional skeleton encased in calcite has started to yield insights about early Neanderthals.

A skull and other bones encased with coralloid calcite encrustation
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Late Neandertals: more diverse than most scientists thought

The new “Thorin” genome from Grotte Mandrin represents a previously-unknown Neanderthal deep history.

Fragments of a jaw with teeth visible in an archaeological site
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Eclipses for the ancestors

Culture shapes our experience of these astronomical events, and would have done so for Neanderthals and other ancestral hominins.

Solar eclipse with bright point of sunlight just emerging from the moon's edge at right of image
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Vagrant birds and ancient human habitats

People killed the Carolina parakeet. An inquiry into their historic population range helps illustrate the challenges of understanding ancient human populations.

A painting showing several green parakeets in varied poses
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Top 10 discoveries about ancient people from DNA in 2023

This year's highlights include ways of finding ancient relatives, how some phenotypes evolved in ancient people, and trace evidence from artifacts.

DNA molecular models on a cloudy background
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Climate models, Neandertals, and Denisovans

A new paper on biogeography of Neandertals and Denisovans raises ideas about the interactions of these groups.

A Neandertal-looking person dressed in animal skins lifting a stick and looking at a misty sunrise on snow.
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Debates about Neandertal cave art miss the point of their visual culture

Humans today live in visually rich environments, and it's increasingly clear that Neandertals shaped their visual environments also.

A flowstone with a broken edge revealing a line of red ochre, red pigment on its surface.
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New evidence is revealing the ages of death, birth, and menarche in Neandertals

Analysis of dental cementum is yielding new insights into the ages when ancient people faced significant physiological stresses.

A Neandertal woman with two children clinging to her, an older woman tends a fire and a child looks on from the background
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Many people have a little Neandertal in the brain. Does it matter?

Research has started to show the ways that introgressed genes from Neandertals affect brain shape in living people.

Anatomical model of a brain