Blog articles
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.
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.
When did our ancestors start looking up to the stars?
Changes in the sky have been important to peoples throughout the world. That connection may go back much further than our species.
Solving the mystery of the Red Deer Cave people
New DNA evidence is revealing the genetic relationships of ancient groups from southern China, showing how they were connected to living people across the region.
Probing the pathogens that afflicted ancient humanity
In the first part of a review of pathogens in human origins, I examine a sampling of infectious diseases in people today and their diverse origins.
Ancient amputations tell remarkable stories of survival and care
A 33,000-year-old case of an amputated leg prompts comparisons to earlier Neandertal instances of amputation.
Top 10 discoveries about ancient people from DNA in 2022
Research on ancient genomes has moved way beyond population mixture into broader questions about how ancient people lived and interacted with their environments.
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.
Finding ancient fire use in the Rising Star cave system
The study of the underground landscape enters a new phase with evidence of charcoal and burned animal bone in deep chambers.
A Neandertal recipe that tasted like the foods of later people
Looking at a fascinating new study that finds mixtures of different plants within ancient morsels of charred foods.
