Anthropology

Anthropology

Hominids used stone tool kits to butcher animals earlier than once thought

Finds in Kenya push Oldowan tool use back to around 2.9 million years ago, roughly 300,000 years earlier than previous evidence.

Archaeology

Vikings brought animals to England as early as the year 873

A chemical analysis of cremated remains offers physical evidence of the arrival of Norse animals to England in the ninth century.

Archaeology

Mysterious marks on Ice Age cave art may have been a form of record keeping

Hunter-gatherers during the Ice Age may have recorded when prey mated and gave birth, suggesting that these people possessed complex cognitive skills

Life

These science discoveries from 2022 could be game changers

Gophers that farm, the earliest known hominid, a strange hybrid monkey and the W boson's mass are among the findings awaiting more evidence.

Anthropology

Homo naledi may have lit fires in underground caves at least 236,000 years ago

Homo naledi may have joined the group of ancient hominids who built controlled fires, presumably for light or warmth, new finds hint.

Anthropology

Carvings on Australia’s boab trees reveal a generation’s lost history

Archaeologists and an Aboriginal family are working together to rediscover a First Nations group’s lost connections to the land.

Archaeology

King Tut’s tomb still has secrets to reveal 100 years after its discovery

More of Tut’s story is poised to come to light in the coming years. Here are four things to know on the 100th anniversary of his tomb’s discovery.

Genetics

Ancient DNA unveils Siberian Neandertals’ small-scale social lives

Females often moved into their mate’s communities, which totaled about 20 individuals, researchers say.

Humans

Here’s where jazz gets its swing

Swing, the feeling of a rhythm in jazz music that compels feet to tap, may arise from near-imperceptible delays in musicians’ timing, a study shows.

Anthropology

Tina Lasisi wants to untangle the evolution of human hair

Tina Lasisi is pioneering studies of human variation in an ethical and scientifically sound way.

Anthropology

In Maya society, cacao use was for everyone, not just royals

Previously considered a preserve of Maya elites, cacao was consumed across all social strata, a new study finds.

Anthropology

Fossil finds put gibbons in Asia as early as 8 million years ago

Specimens from China raise questions about the evolutionary ID of an even older ape tooth from India.