News tagged with human evolution
Germany may be birthplace of European music and art
The remains of the world's oldest musical instruments and human figurines suggest that music and artistic depictions of the human form may have first developed in Germany around 40,000 years ago, say researchers.
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
May 29, 2012 |
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Scientist: Evolution debate will soon be history
(AP) -- Richard Leakey predicts skepticism over evolution will soon be history. Not that the avowed atheist has any doubts himself.
May 26, 2012 |
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Evolution may explain 'Runner's high,' study says
(HealthDay) -- The pleasurable feeling known as "runner's high" that's triggered by aerobic exercise may have played a role in the evolution of humans' ability to run long distances, a new study suggests.
May 09, 2012 |
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Archaeology expands beyond traditional scope into other sciences
The popular perception of archaeology is a team of dusty individuals in wide-brimmed hats unearthing treasures from a pharaoh's tomb or an ancient collection of Native American artifacts.
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Apr 30, 2012 |
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Shedding light on southpaws: Sports data help confirm theory explaining left-handed minority in general population
Lefties have always been a bit of a puzzle. Representing only 10 percent of the general human population, left-handers have been viewed with suspicion and persecuted across history. The word "sinister" even derives from "left ...
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Apr 25, 2012 |
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'Inhabitants of Madrid' ate elephants' meat and bone marrow 80,000 years ago
Humans that populated the banks of the river Manzanares (Madrid, Spain) during the Middle Palaeolithic (between 127,000 and 40,000 years ago) fed themselves on pachyderm meat and bone marrow. This is what ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Apr 24, 2012 |
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Did climate change shape human evolution?
(Phys.org) -- As human ancestors rose on two feet in Africa and began their migrations across the world, the climate around them got warmer, and colder, wetter and drier. The plants and animals they competed ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Apr 24, 2012 |
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Meat eating led to earlier weaning, helped humans spread across globe
When early humans became carnivores, their higher-quality diet allowed mothers to wean babies earlier and have more children, with potentially profound effects on population dynamics and the course of human evolution, according ...
Apr 18, 2012 |
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Cutting through ancient evidence of human tool use
The earliest evidence of human tool use may be written on the bones of other animals, but in order to produce reliable conclusions, researchers are calling for improved tools and analysis, including an easy-to-access ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Apr 06, 2012 |
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Analytical standards needed for 'reading' Pliocene bones
Researchers studying human origins should develop standards for determining whether markings on fossil bones were made by stone tools or by biting animals, Indiana University faculty member Jackson Njau writes ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Apr 05, 2012 |
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Human ancestors used fire one million years ago, archaeologist find
An international team led by the University of Toronto and Hebrew University has identified the earliest known evidence of the use of fire by human ancestors. Microscopic traces of wood ash, alongside animal ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Apr 02, 2012 |
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Geologists correct a rift in Africa
The huge changes in the Earth's crust that influenced human evolution are being redefined, according to research published today in Nature Geoscience.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 26, 2012 |
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New research suggests European Neandertals were almost extinct long before humans showed up
Western Europe has long been held to be the "cradle" of Neandertal evolution since many of the earliest discoveries were from sites in this region. But when Neandertals started disappearing around 30,000 years ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Mar 26, 2012 |
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Mystery human fossils put spotlight on China
Fossils from two caves in south-west China have revealed a previously unknown Stone Age people and give a rare glimpse of a recent stage of human evolution with startling implications for the early peopling ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Mar 14, 2012 |
4.7 / 5 (27) |
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Culture not genes drives humans forward
Evolutionary biologist at the University of Reading Professor Mark Pagel argues that our cultural influences are more important to our success as a species than our genes in his new book published this week.
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Feb 27, 2012 |
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Human evolution
Human evolution, or anthropogenesis, is the part of biological evolution concerning the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species from other hominins, great apes and placental mammals. It is the subject of a broad scientific inquiry that seeks to understand and describe how this change occurred. The study of human evolution encompasses many scientific disciplines, most notably physical anthropology, primatology, archaeology, linguistics and genetics.
The term "human", in the context of human evolution, refers to the genus Homo, but studies of human evolution usually include other hominins, such as the Australopithecines. The Homo genus diverged from the Australopithecines about 2 million years ago in Africa. Scientists have estimated that humans branched off from their common ancestor with chimpanzees—the only other living homininis—about 5–7 million years ago. Several species of Homo evolved that are now extinct. These include Homo erectus, which inhabited Asia, and Homo neanderthalensis, which inhabited Europe.
Archaic Homo sapiens evolved between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago. The dominant view among scientists is the recent African origin of modern humans (RAO) that H. sapiens evolved in Africa and spread across the globe, replacing populations of H. erectus and H. neanderthalensis. Scientists supporting the alternative hypothesis on the multiregional evolution (ME) view modern humans as having evolved as a single, widespread population from existing Homo species, particularly H. erectus. The fossil evidence is insufficient to resolve this vigorous debate,. Studies of haplogroups in Y-chromosomal DNA and mitochondrial DNA have largely supported a recent African origin, while some researchers argue that evidence from nuclear genes supports a multiregional origin.
For more information about Human evolution, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
