Anthropology

Anthropology

Making sacrifices in Stone Age societies

A half-dozen burials at sites in Europe and western Asia dating to between 27,000 and 23,000 years ago provide clues to possible human sacrifices.

Anthropology

Digging up debate in a French cave

A scientific debate has broken out over whether a French cave excavated more than 50 years ago contains evidence of separate Stone Age occupations by Neandertals and modern humans.

Anthropology

Neandertals take out their small blades

Excavations of Neandertal artifacts have yielded a trove of thin, double-edged stone blades that researchers usually regard as the work of Stone Age people who lived much later.

Anthropology

Ancient islanders get a leg up

A new analysis of bones from a tiny evolutionary cousin of people found on a Pacific island indicates that these late Stone Age individuals carried a lot of weight on short frames and had extremely strong legs.

Anthropology

Evolutionary Back Story: Thoroughly modern spine supported human ancestor

Bones from a spinal column discovered at a nearly 1.8-million-year-old site support the controversial possibility that ancient human ancestors spoke to one another.

Anthropology

Branchless Evolution: Fossils point to single hominid root

Fossils of a 4.1-million-year-old human ancestor in Ethiopia bolster the controversial idea that early members of our evolutionary family arose one species at a time rather than branching out into numerous species.

Anthropology

Mystery Drilling: Ancient teeth endured dental procedures

Researchers have discovered the oldest known examples of dental work, 11 teeth with drilled holes dating to between 9,000 and 7,500 years ago.

Anthropology

Chimps scratch out grooming requests

Pairs of adult males in a community of wild African chimps often communicate with gestures.

Anthropology

Capuchins resist inbreeding chances

Wild capuchin monkeys manage to avoid inbreeding, despite rampant opportunities for high-status fathers to mate with their grown daughters.

Anthropology

Evolution persisted in agricultural era

Natural selection has continued to propagate survival-enhancing gene variants in human populations over the past 10,000 years, according to a new genetic analysis.

Anthropology

Polynesian Latecomers: Easter Islanders took fast track to culture

New radiocarbon dates from Easter Island indicate that the isolated Polynesian island was first colonized around A.D. 1200, up to 800 years later than had previously been thought.

Anthropology

Big Woman with a Distant Past: Stone Age gal embodies humanity’s cold shifts

A 260,000-year-old partial skeleton previously found in China represents the largest known female among human ancestors and underscores the ancient origins of large, broad bodies adapted for survival in cold conditions.