Tag: Neanderthals

DNA analysis of people in West Africa reveals ‘ghost’ human ancestor

Four West African populations may carry genes from an undiscovered archaic hominin that diverged from a shared ancestor of Neanderthals, Denisovans and modern humans Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2233488-dna-analysis-of-people-in-west-africa-reveals-ghost-human-ancestor/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Lost World Revealed By Human, Neanderthal Relics Washed Up On North Sea Beaches

sciencehabit writes: Most days, Willy van Wingerden spends a few free hours walking by the sea not far from the Dutch town of Monster. Here, the cheerful nurse has plucked more than 500 ancient artifacts from the broad, windswept beach known as the Zandmotor, or “sand engine.” She has found Neanderthal tools made of river cobbles, bone fishhooks, and human remains…

Neanderthals never lived in Africa, but their genes got there anyway

Neanderthals never lived in Africa, but traces of their DNA persist in the genomes of people of African ancestry today, and the amount of Neanderthal DNA in people of European ancestry has been underestimated Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2231991-neanderthals-never-lived-in-africa-but-their-genes-got-there-anyway/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Neanderthals may have climbed an active volcano soon after it erupted

Footprints on an extinct Italian volcano suggest ancient humans were regular visitors, and the shapes of the tracks point to the identity of the trackmakers Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2230655-neanderthals-may-have-climbed-an-active-volcano-soon-after-it-erupted/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Twenty years of discoveries changing story of human evolution

Archaeological discoveries are happening faster than ever before, helping refine the human story. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/archaeological-discoveries-changing-story-of-human-evolution…

Last known appearance of Homo erectus was in Ngandong, Java

New research shows that Homo erectus, an ancestor of human beings, lived as recently as 108,000 to 117,000 years ago in Ngandong, on the Indonesian island of Java. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/homo-erectus-latest-date-ngandong-java…

Early Humans Domesticated Themselves, New Genetic Evidence Suggests

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Science Magazine: A new study — citing genetic evidence from a disorder that in some ways mirrors elements of domestication — suggests modern humans domesticated themselves after they split from their extinct relatives, Neanderthals and Denisovans, approximately 600,000 years ago. Domestication encompasses a whole suite of genetic changes that arise as a species is…

Neanderthals may have died out due to sheer bad luck

Modern humans have long been in the frame for driving our Neanderthal cousins to extinction, but random chance may explain their downfall Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2225123-neanderthals-may-have-died-out-due-to-sheer-bad-luck/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Neanderthals’ cave art skills questioned in dispute over age of images

A dispute over the dating of prehistoric Spanish cave paintings is fuelling a fractious debate over Neanderthals’ artistic capabilities Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2222689-neanderthals-cave-art-skills-questioned-in-dispute-over-age-of-images/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…