Snippet: HERVs are “non-coding” sequences comprising of genetic material that originated from the infection of germ cells with ancient retroviruses during evolution, which now constitute approximately 8% of the human genome7,8,9. After the initial infections took place, these sequences inserted in the genome and multiplied...
For the first time, dynamic modelling of terrain at the University of Sydney has helped us better understand how humans first travelled across the combined continent of Sahul - Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania - between 35,000 and 70,000 years ago.
Isotope analysis of human and faunal remains dated to the Later Stone Age reveals a substantial plant-based component to hunter-gatherer diets at the site of Taforalt, several millennia prior to the development of agriculture in the Levant, renewing the question of why agriculture did not develop contemporaneously in North...
Abstract: The transition from hunting-gathering to agriculture stands as one of the most important dietary revolutions in human history. Yet, due to a scarcity of well-preserved human remains from Pleistocene sites, little is known about the dietary practices of pre-agricultural human groups. Here we present the isotopic...
The first thing you should know is that Abyssinia was located in Ethiopia with its capital in Addis Ababa, and Abyssinia included countries such as Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan and Kenya, all of this area was called Abyssinia, and it was the third most powerful kingdom on earth after the Romans and Persians....
Abstract: Teotihuacan was one of the thriving cultures in the Mesoamerica pre-Hispanic times, located in the Central Valley of Mexico. The city-state was a dominant centre point during the Classic period and its influence affected other contemporaneous cultures. Around the year 550 CE, a continuous decrease in urban population...
Abstract: The known languages of the Americas comprise nearly half of the world's language families and a wide range of structural types, a level of diversity that required considerable time to develop. This paper proposes a model of settlement and expansion designed to integrate current linguistic analysis with other...
Abstract: “Placing the origin of an undeciphered script in time is crucial to understanding the invention of writing in human history. Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, developed a script, now engraved on fewer than 30 wooden objects, which is still undeciphered. Its origins are also obscure. Central to this issue is...
Abstract: “The Middle Jurassic was a critical time in pterosaur evolution, witnessing the appearance of major morphological innovations that underpinned successive radiations by rhamphorhynchids, basally branching monofenestratans, and pterodactyloids. Frustratingly, this interval is particularly sparsely sampled, with a...
“Following the arrival of the first farmers in Scandinavia 5,900 years ago, the hunter-gatherer population was wiped out within a few generations, according to a new study. The results, which are contrary to prevailing opinion, are based on DNA analysis of skeletons and teeth found in what is now Denmark.”...
Abstract: Current models of early human subsistence economies suggest a focus on large mammal hunting. To evaluate this hypothesis, we examine human bone stable isotope chemistry of 24 individuals from the early Holocene sites of Wilamaya Patjxa (9.0–8.7 cal. ka) and Soro Mik’aya Patjxa (8.0–6.5 cal. ka) located at 3800...
Snippet: “Built by hunters-gatherers in Siberia around 8,000 years ago, archaeologists have discovered the world's oldest fortress. Known as The Amnya I and II fortress, historians claim this structure will greatly assist them in understanding how complex hunter-gatherer societies evolved in the Mesolithic period....
“ How did our species, Homo sapiens, arrive in Western Europe? Published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, our new study analyzes two skull fragments dating back between 37,000 and 36,000 years to conclude that our ancestors came from Eastern Europe and migrated westwards....
“An interdisciplinary project led by primatologist Gisela Kopp is using genetic analysis to determine the geographic origin of mummified baboons found in ancient Egypt. The team finds evidence that the two legendary trading regions of Punt and Adulis may have been the same place separated by a thousand years of history.”
“ Until the discoveries at Melka Kunture, the oldest known Acheulean tools were dated to approximately 1.6 million years ago. But the new study links this technology with Homo erectus settlers who occupied the Ethiopian highlands 350,000 earlier, which makes them the first group from the fossil record to be connected to this...
Snippet “ The researchers use the "remarkable evidence" to tell a compelling story from 45,000–50,000 years ago with new detail: how the first humans migrated across Europe and Asia....
“ Inside the grave were the skeletal remains of a man who had died at the age of 30 or 40. All possible weapons surrounded the deceased Frankish warrior. Under his right arm, he had the most precious weapon, a spatha, a double-edged sword with a blade 75 cm long - including the hilt and pommel 93 cm. The blade is in excellent...
At the Kalambo Falls archaeological site in northeastern Zambia, archaeologists recovered specimens of ancient wood in the form of logs that had been preserved in waterlogged sand next to the Kalambo River for nearly a half-a-million years—or for 476,000 years, to be more exact. Using a new dating technology known as...
Warning! The article doesn’t really answer the question it poses in the headline, but provides an interesting overview of the debate surrounding the topic....
“A team of underwater excavators diving in Lake Ohrid, between Macedonia and Albania, have discovered an ancient stilted village protected by 100,000 defensive wooden spikes. Built around 8,000-years-ago, this is potentially the oldest stilted village ever discovered in Europe.”
“ In another step towards unraveling the intricate tapestry of human history, a huge database of prehistoric sites spanning a history from 3 million to 20,000 years ago has been unveiled. This achievement marks the culmination of 150 years of research and is set to revolutionize our understanding of human evolution. The...
A Bronze Age salt production technique from Transylvania and western Ukraine. Here, the authors focus on a third technique used in Romania and western Ukraine. Building on excavations at Băile Figa and a series of wooden troughs found there, the authors conduct experiments to elucidate how these objects may have been used in...
