5+ hour, 27+ min ago   (628+ words) When did our ability to communicate advance beyond grunting and gesturing? Clues to the genesis of our linguistic abilities may lie in extraordinary choices by ordinary hominins The question is when language emerged, evolving beyond animal modes of communication such…...

1+ day, 19+ hour ago   (104+ words) The fossil record suggested modern humans simply wiped out their evolutionary cousins, but genetic evidence now reveals a messier, more intimate history of coexistence and interbreeding....

2+ day, 12+ hour ago   (473+ words) In China, five Denisovan remains have been confirmed on the basis of ancient proteins, including the first known fragment of their radius. The discovery suggests that Denisovans lived in south-western China approximately 167,000–134,000 years ago. In the Bianfu Cave in the…...

2+ day, 9+ hour ago   (563+ words) The tooth shapes were then cross-referenced against known Denisovan specimens from Siberia, Tibet, and Laos, and matched closely. "As soon as he saw a picture of the tooth, 'I immediately assumed that they were probably Denisovan,'" said Clément Zanolli, a…...

2+ day, 14+ hour ago   (476+ words) Every modern human carries roughly 1.5% of their genome from two populations of hominins that left no known fossils, have no formally assigned species name, and have never had their ancient DNA sequenced. Both populations mated with our ancestors at different…...

2+ day, 11+ hour ago   (319+ words) We take thousands of steps each day and we never think about the evolutionary and cultural advantage it represents. Humans naturally land with a heel-strike and the metabolic energy savings were as much as 41 percent, which made traveling farther possible,…...

3+ day, 1+ hour ago   (820+ words) Denisovans were an ancient hominin that lived thousands of years ago and some modern humans still share their DNA. (Wikimedia: Cicero Moraes/Homo longi/CC BY 4.0) Archaeologists have found a new site containing remains of the Denisovans, a cryptic relative…...

3+ day, 9+ hour ago   (508+ words) A prehistoric child whose teeth were long held up as the physical proof that Ice Age modern humans hunted, butchered, and wore Neanderthals as jewelry was not a Neanderthal at all — a new study concludes the remains belong to a…...

3+ day, 14+ hour ago   (418+ words) Archaeologists discovered two teeth and three bone fragments from Denisovans in a cave in China. | Credit: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of China Archaeologists excavating in southwestern China have discovered a cave that was used by Denisovans for more…...

3+ day, 6+ hour ago   (907+ words) Archaeologists excavating a cave in southwestern China have unearthed fossilized remains that belonged to an enigmatic population of extinct hominins, revealing new details about their long-lost way of life. The new haul — which includes four teeth, part of an arm…...