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Categories: Anthropology: Cultures, Anthropology: Early Humans
Published 'A ticking clock': First ground-based survey of damage to Ukrainian cultural sites reveals severity, need for urgency



And after nearly two years of fighting, war is destroying Ukraine’s cultural heritage on a scale not seen since World War II, according to new research.
Published Archaeologists unearth one of earliest known frame saddles



Recovered from looters, a new archaeological discovery from a cave in western Mongolia could change the story of the evolving relationship between humans and horses around the world.
Published Paleolithic humans may have understood the properties of rocks for making stone tools



Research suggests that Paleolithic humans in the Middle East selected flint for their cutting tools based on differences in the mechanical properties of the rock. They seem to have purposefully selected the most suitable rocks for fashioning into tools, even being able to distinguish rocks that were unsuitable.
Published A mixed origin made maize successful



Maize is one of the world's most widely grown crops. It is used for both human and animal foods and holds great cultural significance, especially for indigenous peoples in the Americas. Yet despite its importance, the origins of the grain have been hotly debated for more than a century. Now new research shows that all modern maize descends from a hybrid created just over 5000 years ago in central Mexico, thousands of years after the plant was first domesticated.
Published Dishing the dirt on human evolution: Why scientific techniques matter in archaeology



Scientists should seek answers hidden in the dirt using proven and state-of-the-art archaeological science techniques to support new discoveries about human evolution following recent controversies at a cave site in Africa, says a group of international experts. Their recommendations follow claims published in June of this year that Homo naledi --a small-brained human species -- buried their dead in Rising Star Cave, South Africa, between 335,000 and 241,000 years ago, and may also have decorated the cave walls with engravings.
Published Unknown animals were leaving bird-like footprints in Late Triassic Southern Africa



Ancient animals were walking around on bird-like feet over 210 million years ago, according to a new study.
Published Study of ancient British oral microbiomes reveals shift following Black Death



The Second Plague Pandemic of the mid-14th century, also known as the Black Death, killed 30-60 percent of the European population and profoundly changed the course of European history. New research suggests that this plague, potentially through resulting changes in diet and hygiene, may also be associated with a shift in the composition of the human oral microbiome toward one that contributes to chronic diseases in modern-day humans.
Published Neanderthals were the world's first artists, research reveals



Recent research has shown that engravings in a cave in La Roche-Cotard (France), which has been sealed for thousands of years, were actually made by Neanderthals. The findings reveal that the Neanderthals were the first humans with an appreciation of art.
Published Looking for 'LUCA' and the timing of cellular evolution



LUCA, the 'last universal common ancestor' of all living organisms, lived 4.32 to at most 4.52 billion years ago. What LUCA looked like is unknown, but it must have been a cell with among others ribosomal proteins and an ATP synthase.
Published 'Woman the hunter': Studies aim to correct history



New research combined both physiological and archaeological evidence to argue that not only did prehistoric women engage in the practice of hunting, but their female anatomy and biology would have made them intrinsically better suited for it.
Published Radiocarbon dating meets Egyptology and Biblical accounts in the city of Gezer



New dates provide detailed insights into the timing of events in the ancient city of Gezer, according to a new study.
Published Evolution of taste: Early sharks were able to perceive bitter substances



New genetic data show that humans and sharks share bitter taste receptors, even though their evolutionary pathways separated nearly 500 million years ago.
Published No scientific evidence for cognitively advanced behaviors and symbolism by Homo naledi



A new study casts doubt on claims that Homo naledi, a small-brained hominin dating to between 335-241,000 years ago, deliberately buried their dead and produced rock art in Rising Star Cave, South Africa. Recent articles suggested the recent excavations at the Rising Star Cave system provided evidence of at least three burial features, two in the Dinaledi Chamber and a third in the Hill Antechamber cavity. The group of experts have now called for a deeper dig into the science behind the findings.
Published New research exposes early humans' ecological versatility



A recent study sheds new light on the ecological adaptability of early humans at the time when they first expanded their range outside Africa, 2--1 million years ago.
Published Head lice evolution mirrors human migration and colonization in the Americas



A new analysis of lice genetic diversity suggests that lice came to the Americas twice -- once during the first wave of human migration across the Bering Strait, and again during European colonization.
Published Long-distance weaponry identified at the 31,000-year-old archaeological site of Maisières-Canal



The hunter-gatherers who settled on the banks of the Haine, a river in southern Belgium, 31,000 years ago were already using spearthrowers to hunt their game. The material found at the archaeological site of Maisières-Canal permits establishing the use of this hunting technique 10,000 years earlier than the oldest currently known preserved spearthrowers. This discovery is prompting archaeologists to reconsider the age of this important technological innovation.
Published Fossils tell tale of last primate to inhabit North America before humans



Paleontologists have shed light on the long-standing saga of Ekgmowechashala, based on fossil teeth and jaws found in both Nebraska and China. Ekgmowechashala is the last primate found in the fossil record before humans.
Published The genetic heritage of the Denisovans may have left its mark on our mental health



A research team has identified the most widespread genetic contribution by Denisovans to date. The study reveals that the genetic variant observed, which affects zinc regulation, could have signified an evolutionary advantage in our ancestors' adaptation to the cold. The study also reveals that this genetic adaptation may have predisposed modern humans to neuropsychiatric disorders.
Published In Prehispanic Cancun, immigrants were treated just like Maya locals



Ancient people immigrated to Cancun Island and were treated just like locals, according to a new study.
Published Climate change likely impacted human populations in the Neolithic and Bronze Age



Human populations in Neolithic Europe fluctuated with changing climates, according to a new study.