Blog articles
How capable were early human ancestors of crossing open water?
In past populations we should keep in mind the exceptional ability of humans to adapt to new circumstances.
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.
How did English come to have different words for "ape" and "monkey"?
The etymology of our words for living primates gives some insight into how common ideas adjusted to new scientific knowledge.
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
A critical look at the idea of Australopithecus prometheus
A historical perspective on a species name that was associated with fossils from Makapansgat, South Africa.
Lecture: Who were the ancestors of the Neandertals?
Looking at what we know about Neandertal origins and how our understanding has changed in the last decade.
How collagen fingerprinting is changing the way archaeologists understand ancient sites
Katarina Douka and coworkers are identifying the species of ancient bone fragments at a massive scale from Denisova Cave.
Artifacts of a pre-Clovis tradition from the Gault site, Texas
A 2018 paper by Thomas Williams and coworkers documents a Native American group that existed as early as 16,000 years ago.
A perspective on how media marginalize scientists from developing countries
A reminiscence from Emanuel "Wahyu" Saptomo sheds light on the discovery and reaction to Homo floresiensis.
Should archaeologists really fear and loathe geneticists?
An article in Nature focuses on the tension between archaeologists and ancient DNA specialists.
