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Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of Neanderthal footprints in France dating to around 80,000 years ago, mostly from children. (trendobjects/AdobeStock)
11 September, 2019 - 13:58 ashley cowie

The Pitter Patter of Tiny Neanderthal Feet Echo Across Time as Footprints Found in France

They walked and perhaps played along the beach in a prehistoric world; we know this as archaeologists have discovered hundreds of Neanderthal footprints in France— with most of them left by children...
Early hominin works with tools. (procy_ab/AdobeStock)
5 September, 2019 - 23:14 ashley cowie

Finger Bone Points the Way to Revealing Denisovan DNA Secrets

A Denisovan finger fossil is revealing secrets about this extinct Stone Age race. A decade ago, scientists excavating Denisova Cave , an ancient archaeological site in southern Siberia, discovered...
Facial reconstruction of Australopithecus anamensis by John Gurche made possible through generous contribution by Susan and George Klein. Photograph by Matt Crow, courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
28 August, 2019 - 18:48 Alicia McDermott

Australopithecus anamensis Skull Discovery: A ‘Game Changer’ in Human Evolution

Before the famed Australopithecus afarensis Lucy roamed the land of Ethiopia some 3.18 million years ago, one of her progenitors, an Australopithecus anamensis, met its demise in what is now the...
The teeth in these Australopithecus africanus skulls contain important evidence about the nutrition of these individuals as they grew up. Source: Luca Fiorenza, Fair Use
17 July, 2019 - 23:02 ancient-origins

Teeth ‘Time Capsule’ Reveals That 2 million Years Ago, Early Humans Breastfed For Up To 6 years!

By Renaud Joannes-Boyau , Ian Moffat , Justin W. Adams , and Luca Fiorenza / The Conversation Humans’ distant ancestor Australopithecus africanus had a unique approach to raising their young, as...
Artists impression of the bird with a third toe 41 per cent longer than the second toe. Source: Zhongda Zhang/Current Biology
12 July, 2019 - 17:20 ancient-origins

Unique Bird With Bizarrely Long Toe Found Fossilized in Amber

Meet the ancient bird that had toes longer than its lower legs. Researchers have discovered a bird foot from 99 million years ago preserved in amber that had a hyper-elongated third toe. The study,...
Pachystruthio dmanisensis, new species of giant bird has been discovered. Source: nicolasprimola / Adobe Stock.
27 June, 2019 - 23:39 ancient-origins

First Giant Bird Found In Europe Lived Alongside Early Humans

Experts in Crimea have found a fossil of a gigantic bird , that lived some 1.6 to 1.8 million years ago. The find demonstrates that giant birds once made their home in Europe and reveals for the...
Finger bone fragment containing Denisovan DNA. Source: Thilo Parg / CC BY-SA 3.0.
18 May, 2019 - 18:49 Glenn Dahlem

Did the Denisovans Walk to North America?

For a people from whom one 41,000 year old finger bone fossil from a nine year old girl, along with a bracelet she wore, were (until recently) the only authenticated known artifacts, the mysterious...
16 May, 2019 - 22:27 ancient-origins

Tooth Study Has Modern Humans Splitting From Neanderthals 400,000 Years Earlier Than Thought

Neanderthals and modern humans diverged at least 800,000 years ago, substantially earlier than indicated by most DNA -based estimates, according to new research by a UCL academic. The research,...
A saber-toothed cat stands atop a boulder on a grassy plain. Credit: Daniel / Adobe Stock
8 May, 2019 - 23:00 ancient-origins

Of Bunyips and Other Beasts: Evidence of Extinct Megafauna Displayed in Art and Stories

On many continents during the last ice age , typically from about 50,000 to 12,000 years ago, species of megafauna that had lived there for hundreds of thousands of years became extinct...
Whole rattlesnake found in human-produced coprolites.
24 April, 2019 - 18:59 ashley cowie

Whole Rattlesnake Including Fangs Found Inside Lump of Fossilized Human Poo

Rattlesnake fangs are known to deliver hemotoxic venom which destroys human tissue causing disrupted blood clotting (necrosis and coagulopathy). But scientists have found one encased inside a human-...
Cthulhu fossil reconstruction of Sollasina cthulhu. Source: Elissa Martin / Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.
10 April, 2019 - 18:59 ancient-origins

'Cthulhu' Fossil Reconstruction Reveals Monstrous Relative of Modern Sea Cucumbers

An exceptionally-preserved fossil from Herefordshire in the UK has given new insights into the early evolution of sea cucumbers, the group that includes the sea pig and its relatives, according to a...
Study finds an archaic hominin had modern dental growth.(Inset: Two digitally reconstructed teeth)
17 January, 2019 - 22:51 ancient-origins

104,000-Year-Old Tooth of Mysterious Hominin Child Raises Questions About Human Evolution

By Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg / Science Advances A relative of modern humans that lived at least 104,000 years ago in northern China showed evidence of dental growth and development very similar to...
Drawing of a Neandertal mother and a Denisovan father with their child, a girl, at Denisova Cave in Russia.
23 August, 2018 - 14:02 ancient-origins

Neanderthal Mother, Denisovan Father! Concrete Proof that Hybrid Hominin Families Did Exist

Together with their sister group the Neanderthals, Denisovans are the closest extinct relatives of currently living humans. "We knew from previous studies that Neanderthals and Denisovans must have...
A linen bundle unwrapped many years ago, from Qau el-Kebir was found to contain fossil bones.
15 August, 2018 - 14:01 Mark Oliver

3,300 Years Ago Ancient Egyptians Collected and Revered Ancient Fossils Now Known as the ‘Black Bones of Set’

Some of the first people ever to stumble upon prehistoric fossils lived in Egypt 3,300 years ago. Their story likely started with a sandstorm. Some strong wind rose up and blew the desert sands away...
Fossil finger bone of Homo sapiens from the Al Wusta site, Saudi Arabia.
11 April, 2018 - 01:27 ancient-origins

Ancient Human Fossil Finger Discovery Points to Earlier Eurasian Migration

Huw Groucutt / The Conversation The Arabian Peninsula is a vast landmass at the crossroads of Africa and Eurasia. Yet until the last decade almost nothing was known about early humans in the area. In...
The 177,000 to 194,000-year-old maxilla (upper jaw) of Misliya-1 hominin
25 January, 2018 - 22:49 ancient-origins

Jawbone of Earliest Modern Human Outside of Africa Discovered in Israel

A large international research team, led by Israel Hershkovitz from Tel Aviv University and including Rolf Quam from Binghamton University, State University of New York, has discovered the earliest...

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