early humans

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

In Ancient Times, Humans May Have Gone Nearly Extinct

Little more than 1K remained after collapse around 930K years ago, study finds

(Newser) - Scientists have observed a hole in the fossil record of early humans in Africa dating from about 900,000 to 600,000 years ago. That might be because, as a new study contends, 98.7% of human ancestors were wiped out. "The novel finding opens a new field in...

Bone of Human Ancestor Bears Signs of Suspected Cannibal

Tool marks offer definite evidence of butchering, though species responsible is unknown

(Newser) - Small marks on a fossilized shin bone could serve as some of the earliest evidence of cannibalism among human ancestors. Certainly the nine marks on the left tibia bone from an unknown human relative who lived in what is now northern Kenya suggest hominins were eating other hominins some 1....

Ancient Lucy Could've Walked Much Like Us
Ancient Lucy
Had Some Pretty
Powerful Legs
NEW STUDY
Jun 15, 2023 9:55 AM CDT

Ancient Lucy Had Some Pretty Powerful Legs

Knee extensor muscles were like modern humans', meaning she could have walked like us: researcher

(Newser) - Part of the reason the human ancestor known as Lucy is so famous is that her bones, discovered in Ethiopia in 1974, indicated her hominin species, Australopithecus afarensis, was among the first to walk on two legs more than 3 million years ago. But what would her long-vanished muscles tell...

They Buried Their Dead 100K Years Before Homo Sapiens

Researchers describe cognitive complexity of Homo naledi, though skeptics remain

(Newser) - Just two hominin species are thought to have intentionally buried their dead: Neanderthals and modern humans. That idea has been floundering over the last decade, however, with the discovery of Homo naledi , an archaic human species that appears to have buried its dead deep inside South Africa's Rising Star...

'Neanderthal Pompeii' Upends Theories on Replacement by Humans
Cave Find 'Literally Rewrites
All Our Books of History'
in case you missed it
Feb 13, 2022 1:45 PM CST

Cave Find 'Literally Rewrites All Our Books of History'

Site repeatedly changed hands between Neanderthals, Homo sapiens

(Newser) - A cave in southern France that one researcher calls a Neanderthal Pompeii has upended theories about how our species replaced the earlier hominid species in Europe tens of thousands of years ago. Scientists had thought Homo sapiens arrived in western Europe around 40,000 and quickly wiped out the Neanderthals,...

Oldest Known Grave of Baby Girl Found in Europe
Rare Find: Infant Girl
Buried 10K Years Ago
NEW STUDY
Dec 16, 2021 12:12 PM CST

Rare Find: Infant Girl Buried 10K Years Ago

Burial suggests females were highly regarded at the time

(Newser) - The earliest known burial of a female infant in Europe has convinced some archaeologists that humans living 10,000 years ago considered females as members of society at birth—a find that might be surprising considering many women didn’t gain personhood under law until the 20th century. The child,...

Meet Our Direct Ancestor: Homo Bodoensis
Meet Our
Direct Ancestor:
Homo Bodoensis
NEW STUDY
Oct 29, 2021 10:50 AM CDT

Meet Our Direct Ancestor: Homo Bodoensis

Researchers propose new human species, elimination of 2 others

(Newser) - The Middle Pleistocene brought about the emergence of modern humans in Africa some 300,000 years ago. But plenty else happened during the epoch, stretching from 774,000 to 129,000 years ago, and a new study aims to clarify things with the naming of a new species and direct...

These Footprints May Be an Archaeological 'Holy Grail'
These New Mexico
Footprints May
Be a 'Bombshell'
in case you missed it
Sep 26, 2021 1:00 PM CDT

These New Mexico Footprints May Be a 'Bombshell'

Researchers say the tracks were made 23K years ago

(Newser) - The footprints look ordinary enough, those of young kids and teenagers walking near what was once a lake. But a new study in Science adds a remarkable twist—scientists say the prints were made about 23,000 years ago in what is now White Sands National Park in New Mexico....

What Researchers Just Did in This Cave Is a Marvel
What Researchers Just Did
in This Cave Is a Marvel
NEW STUDY
Jun 25, 2021 10:57 AM CDT

What Researchers Just Did in This Cave Is a Marvel

It's most comprehensive study of ancient DNA extracted from sediment at single site

(Newser) - As far as caves go, Siberia's Denisova Cave is a super prominent one, the place where scientists confirmed the existence of a species of hominins (we're one, as are Neanderthals) known as the Denisovans. But the prehistoric treasures the cave has given up have been few—just eight...

They Ran Out of Big Game to Hunt. Then Their Brains Swelled

Researchers say shift to hunting smaller game caused early humans' brains to nearly triple in size

(Newser) - In hunting large mammals to near extinction, early modern humans may have prompted an explosion in brain size—in a good way. Humans emerged as big-game hunters in Africa 2.6 million years ago but would ultimately see large animals dwindle as a result of hunting practices, according to Miki...

Early Humans May Have Acted Like Bears During Winter
Our Ancestors May Have
Slept Through Winter
new study
Dec 21, 2020 8:45 AM CST

Our Ancestors May Have Slept Through Winter

Study suggests early humans hibernated

(Newser) - It's a provocative theory, one that the researchers themselves admit sounds farfetched. But their analysis of ancient bones from a cave in Spain suggests that early humans hibernated—or something close to it—through the winter, reports the Guardian . Scientists poring over skeletal remains dating back 430,000 years...

Discovery Alters Notions About Early Humans' Travel
Discovery Alters Notions
About Early Humans' Travel
new study
May 11, 2020 12:02 PM CDT

Discovery Alters Notions About Early Humans' Travel

It appears they reached Europe earlier than thought, hung out with Neanderthals

(Newser) - Human bones from a Bulgarian cave suggest our species arrived in Europe thousands of years earlier than previously thought and shared the continent longer than realized with Neanderthals, per the AP . Scientists found four bone fragments and a tooth that detailed radiocarbon and DNA tests show are from four Homo...

Researchers Make Bold Claim About Human Origins
Researchers Make Bold Claim
About Human Origins
in case you missed it
Nov 2, 2019 3:00 PM CDT

Researchers Make Bold Claim About Human Origins

Controversial study argues all modern humans originated in Botswana

(Newser) - Where you from? If the authors of a controversial new study are correct, everyone on the planet has the same answer: Botswana, Africa. More specifically, a northern swath of the country, along with small parts of Namibia and Zimbabwe. Researchers led by geneticist Vanessa Hayes of the Garvan Institute of...

Humans of the Era as Prone to Violence as Neanderthals
200 Skulls Suggest Neanderthal
Stereotype Is Wrong
NEW STUDY
Nov 15, 2018 10:20 AM CST

200 Skulls Suggest Neanderthal Stereotype Is Wrong

Early modern humans just as prone to violence: study

(Newser) - The perception of Neanderthals as big, stupid oafs has been mostly debunked . Now, a new study is helping buck another stereotype depicting the human relatives as especially prone to violence. The idea stems from trauma, particularly to the head and neck, visible among Neanderthal remains. When researchers compiled reports on...

Ancient Rhino Radically Changes Philippines History

Human tools found near 700,000-year-old butchered animal, rewriting first arrival

(Newser) - An international team of researchers has discovered a 700,000-year-old butchered rhinoceros on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, forcing scientists to radically adjust current estimates about when humans first occupied the archipelago. Previously, a 67,000-year-old foot bone found in a cave in northern Luzon was the oldest...

These Stone Tools Are Smashing Theories on Africa
These Stone Tools
Are Smashing
Theories on Africa
NEW STUDIES
Mar 20, 2018 7:14 PM CDT

These Stone Tools Are Smashing Theories on Africa

At 320K years old, they push back date of Middle Stone Age

(Newser) - For decades, the human story was one told through signs of modernity—art, tools, burials—found only after Homo sapiens left Africa. Recent discoveries pushing back the date of departure are helping to change that narrative, as are three new studies in Science. Together, they describe the earliest stone tools...

Humans Mated With Mysterious Species Twice
Humans Mated Outside
Our Species 3 Times
NEW STUDY
Mar 16, 2018 9:31 AM CDT

Humans Mated Outside Our Species 3 Times

Second instance of human-Denisovan interbreeding discovered

(Newser) - Ancient humans weren't against knocking boots with other species: We know they had sex with Neanderthals . We also know they mated with the mysterious Denisovans, as some Australasians (those from Papua New Guinea in particular) have 5% Denisovan DNA. But a "breakthrough" study shows the interbreeding wasn't...

'Healthiest Dead Things You'll Ever See' Found in S. Africa
Bones Found in 2nd Chamber
of Cave Spur Huge Questions
in case you missed it
May 13, 2017 10:55 AM CDT

Bones Found in 2nd Chamber of Cave Spur Huge Questions

More bones unearthed from H. naledi species, upending evolution beliefs

(Newser) - In 2015 it was a discovery described as "unlike anything we have seen." Now even more so. A second chamber in a South African cave system has produced bones belonging to Homo naledi, a species scientists now believe may have existed around the same time as Homo sapiens...

Humans May Have Lived in California 130K Years Ago
Mastodon Bones Spark
Major Claim—and Major Doubt
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 30, 2017 2:00 PM CDT

Mastodon Bones Spark Major Claim—and Major Doubt

Did humans live in California 130K years ago?

(Newser) - Exactly how long have humans been in the Americas? A wealth of evidence suggests they arrived as early as 20,000 years ago, while the earliest record of modern humans in the world dates back 200,000 years to Africa (and they probably didn't leave until around 50,000...

How a Bit of Cave Dirt Just Changed Archaeology

In first, scientists pull ancient human DNA from dirt

(Newser) - The study of humans has long relied on bones to reveal human DNA. The problem is that those bones are hard to come by. As the Atlantic points out, scientists have only a finger bone and two teeth belonging to the Denisovans, cousins of Neanderthals. It's no wonder then...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>