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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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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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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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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.

A fossil child's upper jaw with teeth, in two views on left and two angles of microCT on the right
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The evolutionary mystery of the German cockroach

The species evolved to exploit human-built environments and exists nowhere else. So where did it come from?

A cockroach poised on a rock
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New insights into the biology of Homo luzonensis

Studies of teeth from Callao Cave yield information about the pace of development in this species and its possible connections with Homo erectus.

image of two people within a very large cave with green color on stalactites in the background
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Why did the ancients make gigantic handaxes?

Looking at new research on the distribution and function of curiously large bifacial tools

Two very large handaxes
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Four amazing Stone Age sites with wooden artifacts

From Africa, Asia, and Europe, these sites give us a rare window into the ways that organic technology shaped ancestral lives.

Four views of a double-pointed throwing stick in center, with detail of sharpened points at top left and bottom right.
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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