Anthropology

Humans

Cannibalism in Colonial America comes to life

Researchers have found the first skeletal evidence that starving colonists ate their own.

Anthropology

American Association of Physical Anthropologists meeting

Perhaps the oldest swatch of hominid skin yet found and –tzi the iceman’s Neandertal genetics are among the highlights from the physical anthropology meeting.

Humans

Possible human ancestor in Australopithecus sediba

The hominid’s unusual build may place it in into humankind’s lineage.

Humans

Ancient people and Neandertals were extreme travelers

Stone Age folk were built for journeying farther than even the most active individuals today.

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.