All articles tagged with #early humans
A new study re-dates the Monte Verde site in Chile to 4,200–8,200 years ago, far younger than the widely cited 14,500-year figure. The finding undermines its role as an early pre-Clovis reference point and prompts a reevaluation of migration theories into the Americas, suggesting older material may have been exposed or moved by geological processes rather than indicating very early human presence.
A study of 112 engraved ostrich eggshell fragments from southern Africa, dating about 60,000 years ago, shows coherent geometric patterns—grids, right angles, and repeating lines—indicating early Homo sapiens used abstract, visuo-spatial planning and developed a geometric grammar that underpins later symbolic thought.
New research synthesizes fossil and genetic evidence showing early Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans ate a diverse, plant-inclusive diet in addition to meat. Plant remains at sites, evidence of processing, and early duplication of the AMY1 gene for starch digestion support a Broad Spectrum Species Hypothesis, challenging the long-held view that Paleolithic humans were hypercarnivores and reinforcing that our ancestors were flexitarians long before agriculture.
A study published in Science finds Neanderthal males interbred with human females more often than the reverse, suggesting a non-random partner pattern possibly driven by migration or social dynamics; researchers also note that hybrids from Neanderthal mothers and human fathers may have had lower survival, helping explain the persistence of Neanderthal DNA (up to about 2%) in modern European and Asian populations.
Chemical analysis of 60,000-year-old arrowheads from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in South Africa found residues of plant poisons (Boophone disticha), indicating deliberate poisoning of arrows and suggesting sophisticated hunting, patience, and knowledge transmission among early humans.
A 2.6-million-year-old Paranthropus lower jaw found in Ethiopia's Afar region extends the genus's known range by about 620 miles, implying greater mobility and a more flexible diet that overlapped with early Homo, challenging long-held maps of early human evolution.
Archaeologists in the Megalopolis Basin, Greece, unearthed 430,000-year-old wooden tools—an alder digging stick and a tiny willow/poplar tool possibly for shaping stone—remarkably preserved in wet sediment, providing the oldest evidence that early humans used wood in tool-making and expanding our view of ancient technology.
Archaeologists in Greece uncovered two wooden artifacts—one a roughly 80 cm digging-stick and another a smaller tool possibly used to shape stones—dated (via site age) to about 430,000 years, making them among the oldest wooden tools known. Their preservation in a wet, sediment-rich environment suggests they offer rare insight into early human tech, though it remains unclear who used them (Neanderthals, early Homo sapiens, or other hominins).
Dating of 11 Sulawesi-area cave paintings places a hand stencil in Metanduno Cave on Muna Island at about 67,800 years old—the oldest known rock art. The stencil was made by pressing a hand to the wall and spraying pigment around it, suggesting modern humans traveling by dugout canoes who helped populate Sahul (New Guinea and Australia) around 65,000 years ago, with later charcoal and ocher drawings surrounding the stencil.
A recent study reveals that early modern humans, called the LRJ Group, lived in Europe around 45,000 years ago, sharing the continent with Neanderthals and using distinctive tools. Genetic analysis shows these groups were closely related but left no descendants, highlighting a brief and unique chapter in human history marked by movement, connection, and survival challenges.
Archaeologists at Kalambo Falls in Zambia discovered a wooden structure dating back approximately 476,000 years, predating Homo sapiens, indicating early humans engaged in deliberate construction and environmental reshaping using timber, with implications for understanding prehistoric technology and behavior.
Archaeologists in Zambia have discovered a 476,000-year-old wooden structure beneath Kalambo Falls, revealing advanced early human craftsmanship and environmental manipulation, challenging traditional views of the Stone Age and highlighting the complexity of early human societies.
Archaeologists at Kalambo Falls in Zambia discovered a wooden structure dating back approximately 476,000 years, predating Homo sapiens, indicating early humans engaged in deliberate construction and environmental reshaping using timber, with implications for understanding prehistoric technology and behavior.
A study reveals that early humans like Homo habilis were still preyed upon by predators such as leopards around 1.75 million years ago, challenging previous beliefs that humans had already become top predators by that time.
Researchers used advanced digital reconstruction techniques on a 1-million-year-old skull found in China, revealing it belongs to Homo longi, a lineage related to modern humans, potentially pushing back the timeline of human origins.