Ancient skeletal hand could reveal evolutionary secrets
A 4.4 million-year-old skeleton could show how early humans moved and began to walk upright, according to new research led by a Texas A&M anthropology professor.
How did dogs get to the Americas? An ancient bone fragment holds clues
The remains -- thought to be the oldest confirmed from a dog in the Americas -- support the theory that the animals may have traveled with people along a...
New dating techniques reveal Australia’s oldest known rock painting
Kangaroo painting thought to be 17,300 years old.
CT scans of Egyptian mummy reveal new details about the death of a pivotal pharaoh
New interpretations based on medical imaging suggest Seqenenre-Taa-II was executed by multiple attackers and embalmers had skillfully concealed some head wounds.
A genetic variant inherited from Neanderthals reduces the risk of severe COVID-19
DNA variants passed on to modern humans from Neanderthals can increase as well as decrease our ability to fight SARS-CoV-2, a new PNAS study finds.
Climate change likely drove the extinction of North America’s largest animals
New research suggests that overhunting by humans was not responsible for the extinction of mammoths, ground sloths, and other North American megafauna.
On the origin of our species
Research indicates modern human origins much more complex than a single time and place.
Genes for face shape identified
Findings have implications for the evolution of the human face.
Neanderthals’ gut microbiota and the bacteria helping our health
Ancient DNA from Neanderthal fecal sediments show shared beneficial microbiota living in the human gastrointestinal tract since before the separation between the Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals more than 700,000...
New discovery sheds light on human history of symbols
A recent discovery by archaeologists has uncovered evidence of what may be one of the earliest-known use of symbols.
New study uncovers rare “mud carapace” mortuary treatment of Egyptian mummy
Also reveals a potential case of mistaken identity: the mummy and associated coffin did not originally belong together.
Past river activity in northern Africa reveals multiple Sahara greenings
The analysis of sediment cores from the Mediterranean Sea combined with Earth system models tells the story of major environmental changes in North Africa over the last 160,000 years,...
Modeling study of ancient thumbs traces the history of hominin thumb dexterity
Findings have important implications for human evolution.
