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Categories: Anthropology: Cultures, Paleontology: Dinosaurs
Published Challenging prehistoric gender roles: Research finds that women were hunters, too
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Anthropologists challenge the traditional view of men as hunters and women as gatherers in prehistoric times. Their research reveals evidence of gender equality in roles and suggests that women were physically capable of hunting. The study sheds light on the gender bias in past research and calls for a more nuanced understanding of prehistoric gender roles.
Published Researchers identify the oldest pieces of Baltic amber found on the Iberian Peninsula: imports began over 5,000 years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Baltic amber is a luxury material used in jewellery and handicrafts all over the world. Researchers have shown that Baltic amber arrived on the Iberian Peninsula at least in the 4th millennium BC, more than a millennium earlier than previously thought.
Published The encounter between Neanderthals and Sapiens as told by their genomes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source About 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals, who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years in the western part of the Eurasian continent, gave way to Homo sapiens, who had arrived from Africa. This replacement was not sudden, and the two species coexisted for a few millennia, resulting in the integration of Neanderthal DNA into the genome of Sapiens. Researchers have analyzed the distribution of the portion of DNA inherited from Neanderthals in the genomes of humans (Homo sapiens) over the last 40,000 years. These statistical analyses revealed subtle variations in time and geographical space.
Published A non-exploitative economy favored the splendor of the Iberian Peninsula's Copper Age communities
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study describes the productive forces of the Chalcolithic communities of the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula as being very diverse, both in the type of tasks performed and in intensity, with a high degree of cooperation and no apparent signs of dependence between the different types of settlements or of political centralization. The work, based on the analysis of macrolithic tool data and the additional support of bioarchaeological information, allows to confirm the large ditched enclosure of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville) as a macro-populated area, inhabited by thousands of people, and not only as a place of worship.
Published Survival of the newest: the mammals that survive mass extinctions aren't as 'boring' as scientists thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For decades, scientists have assumed that mammals and their relatives that survived challenging times (like those during mass extinctions) made it because they were generalists that were able to eat just about anything and adapt to whatever life threw at them. A new study into the mammal family tree through multiple mass extinctions revealed that the species that survived aren't as generic as scientists had thought: instead, having new and different traits can be the key to succeeding in the aftermath of a catastrophe.
Published A turtle time capsule: DNA found in ancient shell
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Paleontologists discover possible DNA remains in fossil turtle that lived 6 million years ago in Panama, where continents collide.
Published Pollen analysis suggests peopling of Siberia and Europe by modern humans occurred during a major Pleistocene warming spell
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study appearing in Science Advances compares Pleistocene vegetation communities around Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia, to the oldest archeological traces of Homo sapiens in the region. The researchers use the 'remarkable evidence' to tell a compelling story from 45,000-50,000 years ago with new detail: how the first humans migrated across Europe and Asia.
Published Dinosaur feathers reveal traces of ancient proteins
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Palaeontologists have discovered X-ray evidence of proteins in fossil feathers that sheds new light on feather evolution.
Published Ancient Amazonians intentionally created fertile 'dark earth'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study suggests patches of fertile soil in the Amazon, known as dark earth, were intentionally produced by ancient Amazonians as a way to improve the soil and sustain large and complex societies.
Published Archaeologists discover world's oldest wooden structure
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Half a million years ago, earlier than was previously thought possible, humans were building structures made of wood, according to new research.
Published Slow growth in crocodile ancestors pre-dated their semi-aquatic lifestyle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A groundbreaking study is reshaping our understanding of crocodile evolution by pinpointing the onset of slow growth rates to the Late Triassic period, much earlier than the previously assumed Early Jurassic timeline. The research highlights newly discovered fossil crocodile ancestors (known as crocodylomorphs) that exhibited slow growth rates, similar to modern-day crocodilians. Intriguingly, these early crocodylomorphs were not the lethargic, semi-aquatic creatures we are familiar with today; they were small, active, and fully terrestrial. The study also suggests that this slow-growth strategy was not a mere evolutionary quirk but a survival mechanism, as only the slow-growing crocodylomorphs managed to survive the End-Triassic mass extinction. This stands in stark contrast to the fast-growing dinosaurs of the same era, setting the stage for the divergent evolutionary paths that would later define their modern descendants.
Published How just one set of animal tracks can provide a wealth of information
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Rock faces in Namibia are decorated with hundreds of stone-age images not only of animals and human footprints, but also of animal tracks. These have been largely neglected to date as researchers lacked the knowledge required to interpret them. Archaeologists have now worked together with animal tracking experts to investigate the engraved animal tracks on six rock faces in more detail, and were able to determine detailed information on the species, age, sex, limbs, side of the body, trackway and relative direction of the tracks.
Published Nature's great survivors: Flowering plants survived the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study by researchers from the University of Bath (UK) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico) shows that flowering plants escaped relatively unscathed from the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Whilst they suffered some species loss, the devastating event helped flowering plants become the dominant type of plant today.
Published St Helena's 'liberated' Africans came from West Central Africa between northern Angola and Gabon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Between 1840 and 1867, thousands of enslaved Africans who had been 'liberated' from slave ships intercepted by the British Royal Navy were taken to the South Atlantic island of St Helena. But little is written in history books or otherwise known about the lives of these individuals. Now, ancient DNA analyses offer the first direct evidence for the origins of St Helena's liberated Africans.
Published Europe's very own dinosaurs -- the enigmatic Late Cretaceous rhabdodontids
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study brings together intriguing details about the little-known Rhabdodontidae dinosaurs of Late Cretaceous Europe. These gregarious herbivores, characterized by robust builds and beaks specialized for tough vegetation, inhabited the European archipelago. Despite being widespread and abundant, they vanished in Western Europe due to environmental changes around 69 million years ago, while surviving longer in Eastern Europe. Their fossil record offers valuable insights into their evolution and lifestyle, although its limited nature still challenges comprehensive understanding.
Published Malaysian rock art found to depict elite -- Indigenous conflict
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have dated drawings of Gua Sireh Cave in Sarawak, uncovering a sad story of conflict in the process.
Published Newly discovered 'primitive cousins of T rex' shed light on the end of the age of dinosaurs in Africa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered the fossils of two new abelisaurs in Morocco, showing the diversity of dinosaurs in this region at the end of the Cretaceous period.
Published Spear thrower weapon use by prehistoric females equalized the division of labor while hunting
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has demonstrated that the atlatl (i.e. spear thrower) functions as an 'equalizer', a finding which supports women's potential active role as prehistoric hunters.
Published Ancient metal cauldrons give us clues about what people ate in the Bronze Age
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Archaeologists have long been drawing conclusions about how ancient tools were used by the people who crafted them based on written records and context clues. But with dietary practices, they have had to make assumptions about what was eaten and how it was prepared. A new study analyzed protein residues from ancient cooking cauldrons and found that the people of Caucasus ate deer, sheep, goats, and members of the cow family during the Maykop period (3700--2900 BCE).
Published Unveiling Japan's ancient practice of cranial modification: The case of the Hirota people in Tanegashima
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Cranial modification is a form of body alteration where the head is pressed or bound to permanently deform the skull. The practice has been reported across various cultures throughout history. Researchers report that the Hirota people -- who lived on the southern Japanese island of Tanegashima between the 3rd to 7th century CE -- also conducted cranial modification, with indication that both males and females performed the practice.