All articles tagged with #anthropology
Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja, famed as Spain's 'wolf boy' for living for years with wolves after being sold to a goatherd, died at 80; his extraordinary life was documented by an anthropologist, inspired a film, and he later said he was happiest in the mountains rather than in civilization.
Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja, abandoned at seven, spent 11 years living with a goatherd and wolves in the Sierra Morena, learning to survive among wildlife; discovered by the Civil Guard at 19 and reintegrated into society, he struggled with speech and everyday life but later worked as a shepherd and in hospitality. His extraordinary upbringing became the subject of anthropological study and inspired books and films, underscoring how early surroundings shape identity and our enduring need for connection; he died at 80 in 2026.
A new study argues that several extinct primates long treated as separate from Homo—such as Gigantopithecus, Paranthropus, and Australopithecus—share more human-like traits (dental features, tool use) than previously thought, suggesting the traditional Homo/Australopithecus boundary may be outdated and that taxonomy should be revised to reflect shared ancestry rather than a few traits.
A study comparing modern and Neanderthal genomes found a Neanderthal variant of the growth hormone receptor that enhances growth signaling and persists in non-African populations, especially in some South and East Asian groups where about 20% carry it. Carriers tend to be taller and heavier due to increased muscle mass, and exhibit Neanderthal-like jaw traits (shorter mandibular ramus, higher overbite, shorter tooth roots). Effects emerge around puberty, with lab experiments showing faster cell growth and stronger signaling in cells with the Neanderthal receptor. The variant is one of many factors influencing body shape and is not the sole determinant of the modern human physique.
A new Science study argues that dietary sugars—glucose from fruit, honey, and later cooked starches—likely powered the energy demands of the expanding human brain over the last ~4 million years, suggesting carbohydrates played a central role alongside meat in human evolution, with meat remaining part of the picture.
A new computational method called TRACE uncovers traces of two unknown archaic human lineages in modern genomes. One African ghost lineage, diverging ~800,000 years ago and interbreeding with Homo sapiens over 50,000 years ago, contributes about 1% of every person’s DNA. A second, “super-archaic” lineage dating to ~1.8 million years ago mixed with Denisovans in Eurasia, with traces most evident in Oceania. Together, these lineages account for roughly 2% of the modern genome and include segments linked to immunity and metabolism, hinting at adaptive value. The study, published in Science on July 30, 2026, showcases how ancestral recombination graph methods can reveal deep ancestry without ancient DNA.
Archaeologists in Spain recovered RVH-1, a thick parietal bone fragment from Ruidera, dated to up to 224,000 years ago using uranium-series dating and luminescence. The fragment's features resemble archaic Homo forms seen in Ceprano and Caune de l’Arago, indicating diverse Middle Pleistocene populations persisted in Iberia. The researchers classify RVH-1 as Homo sp. rather than a single species, cautioning against drawing broad conclusions from a partial bone and highlighting a non-linear, multi-population view of European human evolution.
A new analysis cautions that the uneven distribution of Neanderthal DNA in modern humans cannot prove romantic attraction or social life between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. The proposed 'partner preference' is a possible, not definitive, explanation, with biology, migration, and sex-biased demography also at play. Archaeology from El Sidrón suggests female mobility (patrilocality), while Goyet hints at violence or cannibalism, showing that social structures can shape genetic signals. Overall, genetics alone can’t reconstruct Neanderthal society and must be interpreted alongside archaeological and anthropological context.
Scientists describe Masripithecus moghraensis, a new Early Miocene ape from Wadi Moghra, Egypt—the first definite North African ape—reconciling a geographic gap and suggesting North Africa was a key cradle for crown Hominoidea. The jaw shows a versatile, fruit-based diet with the ability to process harder foods. Bayesian analyses place Masripithecus closer to living apes than East African Miocene apes, positioning North Africa/Middle East as the likely home of the common ancestor of all living apes and highlighting the region as a corridor for dispersal into Europe and Asia. More fossils from the area could further illuminate ape origins.
A Nature study sequenced 27 Neanderthals from Belgium and France (plus a high-quality genome from a 45,000-year-old Goyet Cave individual) and found that late Neanderthals in northwestern Europe formed a connected regional population with close ties across the region. Belgian specimens show no signs of mating among close relatives, and none of the Neanderthal genomes carry recent human DNA, suggesting asymmetry with modern humans. There is no evidence that harmful mutations accumulated over time, indicating extinction was not simply due to genetic deterioration; the final chapter of Neanderthal life in this region remains open, highlighting regional diversity and connectivity prior to their disappearance around 40,000 years ago.
A University of Reading-led analysis of 386 fossil specimens across 21 hominin species used phylogenetically informed models to test how body size evolved. Contrary to a simple, steady increase, the data point to a major size jump late in the genus Homo, with Homo ergaster/erectus reaching ~60 kg on average and aligning with other shifts like increased bipedality and carnivory. Small-bodied lineages such as Homo floresiensis and Homo naledi remain exceptions, and any gradual, across-the-board size rise is only moderately supported and sensitive to dataset and methods. The study highlights a mosaic pattern of body-size evolution rather than a single upward trend.
New research argues that culture and technology are now the dominant forces shaping human evolution, reducing selective pressure on genes as innovations solve biological challenges faster than genetic change can, with potential long-term implications for health, society, and how we think about our species’ future.
Researchers sequenced 177 high-coverage genomes from 12 Near Oceanian populations and found that this region harbors some of the oldest human DNA, including a rich Denisovan legacy from at least three Denisovan-like groups. Near Oceanian genomes contain about 2.5 times more archaic DNA than Europeans and far more Denisovan DNA than East Asians, with high-frequency archaic variants linked to immunity and skeletal development, suggesting multiple interbreeding events and adaptive benefits. The findings reshape our understanding of Denisovans and human evolution and have implications for medical research in Oceanian populations.
A cross-species meta-analysis of 41 primate species shows human right-handedness likely arose in two stages: first with the shift to bipedalism freeing the hands, then with brain enlargement and cultural factors that strengthened the bias, with Homo sapiens and Neanderthals showing the strongest right-handedness while earlier hominins were weaker; brain size and limb proportions emerge as key predictors. Published in PLOS Biology (2026).
Anthropologist David R. Samson argues that humans biologically need about 9.5 hours of sleep but typically get under seven, because ancestral shifts from tree to ground sleeping favored short, deep, REM-rich bouts that free time for foraging, social learning and tool use. Drawing on chimpanzee nest-building and fieldwork with the Hadza and BaYaka, the book frames nest-building as a cognitive catalyst in primate evolution, while highlighting sleep’s broad importance to health and cognition and noting some gaps in the comparison to other species.