Anthropology

Anthropology

Evolution’s DNA Fusion: Hybrid gene forms clue to human, ape origins

A gene of mixed evolutionary pedigree may have transformed mammalian reproduction, leading to the evolution of apes and humans.

Anthropology

Gene test probes Neandertal origins

A new DNA study supports the theory that Neandertals didn't contribute to the evolution of modern humans.

Anthropology

Dairying Pioneers: Milk ran deep in prehistoric England

Chemical analyses of prehistoric pot fragments indicate that English farmers milked livestock beginning around 6,000 years ago, providing the earliest confirmed evidence of dairying anywhere in the world.

Anthropology

Southern Reindeer Folk

Western scientists make their first expeditions to Mongolia's Tsaatan people, herders who preserve the old ways at the southernmost rim of reindeer territory.

Anthropology

Chinese Roots: Skull may complicate human-origins debate

A Chinese Homo sapiens skull, estimated in a controversial new study to be at least 68,000 years old and probably more than 100,000 years old, may challenge the theory that modern humans originated solely in Africa.

Anthropology

Chinese Roots: Skull may complicate human-origins debate

A Chinese Homo sapiens skull, estimated in a controversial new study to be at least 68,000 years old and probably more than 100,000 years old, may challenge the theory that modern humans originated solely in Africa.

Anthropology

Ethiopians reveal high-altitude twist

To the surprise of researchers, blood measures of oxygen-rich hemoglobin in Ethiopian villagers living more than 2 miles above sea level are the same as those of lowland dwellers.

Anthropology

Ethiopians reveal high-altitude twist

To the surprise of researchers, blood measures of oxygen-rich hemoglobin in Ethiopian villagers living more than 2 miles above sea level are the same as those of lowland dwellers.

Anthropology

Script Delivery: New World writing takes disputed turn

Researchers announced, to considerable controversy, that inscriptions found on artifacts at an Olmec site in southeastern Mexico represented the earliest known writing system in the Americas.

Anthropology

Care-Worn Fossils

A nearly toothless fossil jaw found in France has reignited scientific debate over whether the skeletal remains of physically disabled individuals show that our Stone Age ancestors provided life-saving care to the ill and infirm.

Anthropology

Ancient Lure of the Lakes: Early Americans followed the water

Archaeological investigations in Chile indicate that beginning around 13,000 years ago, early American settlers lived at high altitudes during humid periods, when they could set up hunting camps on the shores of lakes.

Anthropology

Fossil skull spurs identity dispute

A dispute has broken out over whether a recently discovered, 7-million-year-old fossil skull represents the earliest known member of the human evolutionary family or an ancient ape.