Anthropology
- Anthropology
Homo erectus’ last known appearance dates to roughly 117,000 years ago
New evidence helps resolve a debate over how long ago Home erectus survived in what’s now Indonesia, a study finds.
- Science & Society
These science claims from 2019 could be big deals — if true
Some of this year’s most tantalizing scientific finds aren’t yet ready for a “best of” list.
- Humans
Mysterious Denisovans emerged from the shadows in 2019
Denisovan fossil and DNA finds this year highlighted the enigmatic hominid’s complexity and our own hybrid roots.
- Science & Society
A Dallas museum hosts rare hominid fossils from South Africa
Fossils of the South African hominids Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi are on display at the Perot Museum of Science and History in Dallas.
- Humans
The medieval Catholic Church may have helped spark Western individualism
Early Catholic Church decrees transformed families and may help explain why Western societies today tend to be individualistic and nonconformist.
- Humans
Fossils suggest tree-dwelling apes walked upright long before hominids did
A partial skeleton from an 11.6-million-year-old European ape still doesn’t answer how hominids adopted a two-legged gait.
- Archaeology
A toe bone hints that Neandertals used eagle talons as jewelry
An ancient eagle toe bone elevates the case for the use of symbolic bird-of-prey pendants among Neandertals, researchers say.
- Humans
Quarrying stone for Easter Island statues made soil more fertile for farming
Easter Island’s Polynesian society grew crops in soil made especially fertile by the quarrying of rock for large, humanlike statues, a study suggests.
- Humans
Ancient DNA reveals the first glimpse of what a Denisovan may have looked like
A controversial technique reconstructs a teenage Denisovan’s physical appearance from genetics.
- Humans
An island grave site hints at far-flung ties among ancient Americans
Great Lakes and southeastern coastal hunter-gatherers had direct contact around 4,000 years ago, a study suggests.
- Humans
Culture helps shape when babies learn to walk
The culture in which a baby is raised can accelerate or slow down the development of early motor skills. Does it matter?
- Humans
DNA indicates how ancient migrations shaped South Asian languages and farming
Farming in the region may have sprung up locally, while herders from afar sparked language changes.
