Of all the extinct hominid species, Neanderthals are perhaps the most fascinating and well-studied. There's something about them that captures our interest and kindles our curiosity. In the past 10 years, several groundbreaking discoveries have been made about our extinct cousins that completely revolutionized the way we view them. Scientists used to think that Neanderthals
Map showing sites associated with classic Neanderthals. The depicted ice volume corresponds with the maximum extent of the ice during glaciations.
Scientists may have discovered the location of an ancient buried crater, a result of a meteorite that barreled into the Earth some 800,000 years ago.
Prompted by a paper by Chad Yost and coworkers, I look at the persistent myth that humans were an endangered species only 74,000 years ago.
Human evolution, the process by which human beings developed on Earth from now-extinct primates. The only extant members of the human tribe, Hominini, belong to the species Homo sapiens. The exact nature of the evolutionary relationships between modern humans and their ancestors remains the subject of debate.
Neanderthals are an extinct group of fossil humans that appeared in Western Eurasia in the mid-Middle Pleistocene and shared the stage with the first modern humans arriving in Europe from around 45,000...
Scientists may have discovered the location of an ancient buried crater, a result of a meteorite that barreled into the Earth some 800,000 years ago.
In 2002, a Polish paleontologist found what he thinks are the oldest human-like footprints in the world. Thus began a vicious fight over a discovery that raises new questions about our evolution.
A new analysis of two 7.2 million-year-old fossils belonging to a hominin species nicknamed “El Graeco” from Mediterranean Europe, suggests that mankind emerged in Europe and not in Africa. The new study could reshape history, since it openly challenges the “out of Africa theory.”
A new hominin species has been unearthed in the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system in the largest assemblage of a single species of hominins yet discovered in Africa.
Neanderthals are an extinct group of fossil humans that appeared in Western Eurasia in the mid-Middle Pleistocene and shared the stage with the first modern humans arriving in Europe from around 45,000...
Of all the extinct hominid species, Neanderthals are perhaps the most fascinating and well-studied. There's something about them that captures our interest and kindles our curiosity. In the past 10 years, several groundbreaking discoveries have been made about our extinct cousins that completely revolutionized the way we view them. Scientists used to think that Neanderthals
What can new fossil discoveries tell us about our human lineage? Zeray Alemseged tells us...
Rings of stalagmites found in a cave in France suggest that our ancient relatives were surprisingly skilled builders.
Neanderthals have served as a reflection of our own humanity since they were first discovered in 1856. What we think we know about them has been shaped and moul
Figurative art presents lifelike representations of subjects. Using a new laser technique, we’ve dated figurative rock art painted 51,200 years ago.
Neanderthals are an extinct group of fossil humans that appeared in Western Eurasia in the mid-Middle Pleistocene and shared the stage with the first modern humans arriving in Europe from around 45,000...
The 40,000-year-old bracelet was discovered alongside human remains in a cave in Siberia. Scientists claim it could have been made so precisely with tools similar to our modern drills.
Mapping out how one species of early hominin branches to another has always been complicated by the rarity of complete specimens and lack of precise dating methods for fossils more than 50,000 years old. Now researchers studying the braincase, pelvis, hands and feet of a primitive hominin — which lived about the same time early Homo species were evolving — are taking full advantage of a rare, nearly complete assemblage of fossils and a new highly accurate dating method to once again redraw humankind’s ancient lineage.
Neanderthals have served as a reflection of our own humanity since they were first discovered in 1856. What we think we know about them has been shaped and moul
No-one alive today has witnessed a volcanic eruption remotely as big as the Toba “super” eruption. But our ancestors may have done, tens of thousands of years ago, when northern Sumatra exploded, creating…
Homo heidelbergensis – also Homo rhodesiensis – is an extinct species of the genus Homo that lived in Africa, Europe and western Asia between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago. The skulls of this species share features with both Homo erectus and anatomically modern Homo sapiens; its brain was nearly as large as that of Homo sapiens. Although the first discovery – a mandible – was made in 1907 near Heidelberg in Germany where it was described and named by Otto Schoetensack, "the great majority of fos
Of all the extinct hominid species, Neanderthals are perhaps the most fascinating and well-studied. There's something about them that captures our interest and kindles our curiosity. In the past 10 years, several groundbreaking discoveries have been made about our extinct cousins that completely revolutionized the way we view them. Scientists used to think that Neanderthals
The Million Mito Project Team from FamilyTreeDNA recently discovered an ancient lineage from Eastern Africa through mitochondrial DNA.
From the murky depths of Spanish caves comes a surprising insight: Neanderthals created art.
When you think about what separates humans from chimpanzees and other apes, you might think of our big brains, or the fact that we get around on two legs rather than four. But we have another distinguishing feature: water efficiency. Chimpanzee drinking water in plastic bottle on a hot day at a public zoo in Thailand [Credit: 123RF Stock Photos] That's the take-home of a new study that, for the first time, measures precisely how much water humans lose and replace each day compared with our closest living animal relatives. Our bodies are constantly losing water: when we sweat, go to the bathroom, even when we breathe. That water needs to be replenished to keep blood volume and other body fluids within normal ranges. And yet, research published in the journal Current Biology shows that the human body uses 30% to 50% less water per day than our closest animal cousins. In other words, among primates, humans evolved to be the low-flow model. An ancient shift in our body's ability to conserve water may have enabled our hunter-gatherer ancestors to venture farther from streams and watering holes in search of food, said lead author Herman Pontzer, associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University. "Even just being able to go a little bit longer without water would have been a big advantage as early humans started making a living in dry, savannah landscapes," Pontzer said. The study compared the water turnover of 309 people with a range of lifestyles, from farmers and hunter-gatherers to office workers, with that of 72 apes living in zoos and sanctuaries. To maintain fluid balance within a healthy range, the body of a human or any other animal is a bit like a bathtub: "water coming in has to equal water coming out," Pontzer said. Lose water by sweating, for example, and the body's thirst signals kick in, telling us to drink. Chug more water than your body needs, and the kidneys get rid of the extra fluid. For each individual in the study, the researchers calculated water intake via food and drink on the one hand, and water lost via sweat, urine and the GI tract, on the other hand. When they added up all the inputs and outputs, they found that the average person processes some three liters, or 12 cups, of water each day. A chimpanzee or gorilla living in a zoo goes through twice that much. Pontzer says the researchers were surprised by the results because, among primates, humans have an amazing ability to sweat. Per square inch of skin, "humans have 10 times as many sweat glands as chimpanzees do," Pontzer said. That makes it possible for a person to sweat more than half a gallon during an hour-long workout—equivalent to two Big Gulps from a 7-Eleven. Add to that the fact that the great apes—chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans—live lazy lives. "Most apes spend 10 to 12 hours a day resting or feeding, and then they sleep for 10 hours. They really only move a couple hours a day," Pontzer said. But the researchers controlled for differences in climate, body size, and factors like activity level and calories burned per day. So they concluded the water-savings for humans were real, and not just a function of where individuals lived or how physically active they were. The findings suggest that something changed over the course of human evolution that reduced the amount of water our body uses each day to stay healthy. Then as now, we could likely still only survive a few days without drinking, Pontzer said. "You probably don't break that ecological leash, but at least you get a longer one if you can go longer without water." The next step, Pontzer says, is to pinpoint how this physiological change happened. One hypothesis, suggested by the data, is that our body's thirst response was re-tuned so that, overall, we crave less water per calorie compared with our ape relatives. Even as babies, long before our first solid food, the water-to-calories ratio of human breast milk is 25% less than the milks of other great apes. Another possibility lies in front of our face: Fossil evidence suggests that, about 1.6 million years ago, with the inception of Homo erectus, humans started developing a more prominent nose. Our cousins gorillas and chimpanzees have much flatter noses. Our nasal passages help conserve water by cooling and condensing the water vapor from exhaled air, turning it back into liquid on the inside of our nose where it can be reabsorbed. Having a nose that sticks out more may have helped early humans retain more moisture with each breath. "There's still a mystery to solve, but clearly humans are saving water," Pontzer said. "Figuring out exactly how we do that is where we go next, and that's going to be really fun." Source: Duke University School of Nursing [March 05, 2021] Support The Archaeology News Network with a small donation! Labels Anthropology, Early Humans, Human Evolution TANN you might also like Newer Post Older Post
Homo heidelbergensis – also referred to as Homo rhodesiensis –(Heidelberg human) is an extinct species of the genus Homo that lived in Africa, Europe and western Asia between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago. The skulls of this species share features with both Homo erectus and anatomically modern Homo sapiens; its brain was nearly as large as that of Homo sapiens. Although the first discovery – a mandible – was made in 1907 near Heidelberg in Germany where it was described and named by Otto Schoete
Get an in-depth profile of Australopithecus, including this hominid's characteristics, behavior, and habitat.
From the murky depths of Spanish caves comes a surprising insight: Neanderthals created art.
Discovery may re-write history of how humankind spread into northern Europe
Just one microscopic piece of volcanic glass was key to the discovery.
It depends on your definition of human.
Human evolution, the process by which human beings developed on Earth from now-extinct primates. The only extant members of the human tribe, Hominini, belong to the species Homo sapiens. The exact nature of the evolutionary relationships between modern humans and their ancestors remains the subject of debate.
