Anthropology
- Humans
Origins of alcohol consumption traced to ape ancestor
Eating fermented fruit off the ground may have paved way for ability to digest ethanol.
- Humans
Wrist bones said to distinguish hobbits
New fossils enter the debate over tiny humanlike species that lived in Indonesia.
- Humans
Oldest examples of hunting weapon uncovered in South Africa
A common ancestor of people and Neandertals may have flung stone-tipped shafts at animal prey.
- Anthropology
Highlights from the American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting
Iceman’s origins, DNA fingerprinting, microRNAs and cancer risk, and growth genes and obesity risk.
- Humans
Ancient hominid had an unusual diet
A long-extinct member of the human evolutionary family had an uncommon taste for grasses and sedges.
- Humans
An ancient civilization’s wet ascent, dry demise
Cave data suggest that ancient rainfall patterns swayed the course of Classic Maya societies.
- Humans
Ancient blades served as early weapons
African find reveals complex toolmaking 71,000 years ago.
- Humans
Shoulder fossil may put Lucy’s kind up a tree
Fossils of an ancient child suggest the more than 3-million-year-old hominid mixed climbing with walking.
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- Humans
Human-Neandertal mating gets a new date
Late Stone Age interbreeding between Neandertals and people may have left a mark on Europeans’ DNA.
- Humans
In New Guinea, peace comes with a price
Conflict resolution in small-scale societies may have contributed to declines in state-sponsored violence.
- Humans
Feather finds hint at Neandertal art
Plumage found at ancient sites may indicate capability for abstract thought among humans’ Stone Age cousins.
