Anthropology

Anthropology

African Legacy: Fossils plug gap in human origins

Scientists who discovered three partial Homo sapiens skulls in Ethiopia that date to nearly 160,000 years ago say that the finds document humanity's evolution in Africa, independently of European Neandertals.

Anthropology

Humanity’s pedestal lowered again?

A new genetic study reaches the controversial conclusion that chimpanzees belong to the genus Homo, just as people do.

Anthropology

Stone Age Genetics: Ancient DNA enters humanity’s heritage

Genetic material extracted from the bones of European Stone Age Homo sapiens, sometimes called Cro-Magnons, bolsters the theory that people evolved independently of Neandertals.

Anthropology

Ancestral split in Africa, China

Environmental conditions may have encouraged Homo erectus to develop a level of social and tool-making complexity in Africa that the same species did not achieve in China.

Anthropology

Wari skulls create trophy-head mystery

A 1,000-year-old Peruvian site has yielded the remains of decapitated human heads that were used as ritual trophies but, to the researchers surprise, did not come from enemy warriors.

Anthropology

Jaw-dropping find emerges from Stone Age cave

A nearly complete lower jaw discovered in a Romanian cave last year and dating to around 35,000 years ago may represent the oldest known example of anatomically modern Homo sapiens in Europe.

Anthropology

Ancestral Bushwhack: Hominid tree gets trimmed twice

In separate presentations at scientific meetings, two anthropologists challenged the influential view that the human evolutionary family has contained as many as 20 different fossil species.

Anthropology

Cannibalism’s DNA Trail: Gene may signal ancient prion-disease outbreaks

Cannibalism among prehistoric humans may have left lasting genetic marks.

Anthropology

The Stone Masters

Investigations of modern-day expert and novice craftsmen of stone tools and decorative stone beads offer insights into the making of stone implements thousands and perhaps even millions of years ago.

Anthropology

Ancient people get dated Down Under

New dating analyses indicate that people reached southeastern Australia between 50,000 and 46,000 years ago and that two human skeletons previously unearthed there were buried about 40,000 years ago.

Anthropology

Hand and Brain

Get a handle on primate handedness research and its bearing on brain function at a Web site run by anthropologist M.K. Holder. Participate in ongoing research and listen to various primates sound off, from a screaming chimpanzee to a belching mountain gorilla. Go to: http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/index.html

Anthropology

Pieces of a Disputed Past: Fossil finds enter row over humanity’s roots

Two new fossil discoveries have fueled scientific debates about the evolutionary status of a pair of species traditionally considered to have been our direct ancestors, Homo habilis and Homo erectus.