Early ancestral bottleneck could've spelled the end for modern humans
How a new method of inferring ancient population size revealed a severe bottleneck in the human population which almost wiped out the chance for humanity as we know it today.
How a new method of inferring ancient population size revealed a severe bottleneck in the human population which almost wiped out the chance for humanity as we know it today.
Evolution
Aug 31, 2023
3
336
A Cambridge University researcher has digitally reconstructed the missing soft tissue of an early human ancestor—or hominin—for the first time, revealing a capability to stand as erect as we do today.
Evolution
Jun 13, 2023
0
494
Along the shores of Africa's Lake Victoria in Kenya roughly 2.9 million years ago, early human ancestors used some of the oldest stone tools ever found to butcher hippos and pound plant material, according to new research ...
Archaeology
Feb 9, 2023
1
257
Millions of years ago, giant dwarf crocodiles roamed a part of Africa with a taste for our human ancestors.
Evolution
Jun 15, 2022
1
430
A new study combining climate data with fossil records of large mammals that lived across Africa during the last 4 million years casts doubt on a long-standing hypothesis that repeated shifts in climate acted as major drivers ...
Evolution
Apr 11, 2022
1
72
For hundreds of thousands of years, early humans in the East African Rift Valley could expect certain things of their environment. Freshwater lakes in the region ensured a reliable source of water, and large grazing herbivores ...
Archaeology
Oct 21, 2020
4
403
How did humans learn to walk upright?
Archaeology
Nov 6, 2019
6
248
A study has concluded that the earliest ancestors of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) emerged in a southern African 'homeland' and thrived there for 70 thousand years.
Archaeology
Oct 28, 2019
7
841
Neanderthals and modern humans diverged at least 800,000 years ago, substantially earlier than indicated by most DNA-based estimates, according to new research by a UCL academic.
Archaeology
May 15, 2019
18
1268
More than 3 million years ago, our ancient human ancestors, including their toddler-aged children, were standing on two feet and walking upright, according to a new study published in Science Advances.
Archaeology
Jul 4, 2018
24
411